Android vs iPhone = Internet vs MSN (also, porn!)

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/android-tries-harder/

What we’re witnessing here is musical chairs. Apple seems keen to take Microsoft’s chair, Google is taking Apples’.

If Apple don’t have the relationships referred to above with developers – it’s because they don’t *have* to. They’re Apple and can do no wrong. If a developers app is rejected, the developer is wrong. Apple decide.

Apple’s attitude to the mobile app space reminds me very much of Microsoft’s attitude to the net back in 95-96 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN — they neither wanted it nor believed it would succeed. They changed their mind eventually, and IE was the main result (not saying that was a panacea ). Now, Apple wants a nice walled garden via their app store. “We will decide what you can and cannot do on your device.”

That’s never been OK. Remember the freak out when microsoft announced palladium? It’s my device. I bought it. Help me if you like, but don’t hinder.

Recently, Jobs has been cited as saying “If you want porn, go for android.” in the apparent context of Apple’s “shepherd of the app store” position.

If that smells a bit fishy, it’s not surprising. Jobs actually managed to pack three (count ‘em) 3 Red Herring Fallacies into that little nugget – “Straw Man” – the issue is control of what users can put on their phone, not ‘porn or no porn’, “Guilt by association” – ‘see? only filthy perverts want non-apple-approved apps’, and “Emotional Appeal” – ‘it’s porn! we’re just more moral than you! Ignore the playboy iphone apps. And what you can see using safari.’

UPDATE (to me at least) – A year ago, there was this controversy of an app called “Baby Shaker”? Sure, the app is sick, but Apple, you put yourself as the gatekeeper, so… you condoned it? You… approved… an app that is about infanticide?

Master showman, that he is. As someone who naturally makes use of all the argument types you can find at the “Fallacy Files” just to win arguments, believe me when I say I can recognise BS when I read it.

BS is, after all, my middle name.*

**disclaimer** I use a mac – and a nexus one. That should say something.

G

* Well ok, my middle two initials.