Re: [Enigma-devel] Enigma on iPhone

[Andreas Lochmann]

Hi Kurt,

kurt hofmann schrieb:
> What you are writing here is complete rubish.
> There are thousands of free apps in the apple app store.
> And not one of them payed a cent to publish it.
>
> Secondly anyone publishing an app on the app store remains authority of 
> the software.
>
> You should not write things that are simply not true.
> Please try to base your arguments on facts.
>
> I can't beleive you are basin your arguments on a stupid page that 
> publishes nonsense as can be proved.

Well, first of all, there's no cause to become insulting.
Even in a flame war.
(Though it might make things more boring.)

> Please tak a look at this page:
> http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/distribute.html
>
> And read aloud:
>
> «No charge for free apps»

I'm indeed confused by Ingo's findings. Seems somehow
inconclusive to me.

However, I was able to find it somewhere else on macworld,
which brings us back to facts:

  http://www.macworld.com/article/132376/2008/03/liveupdate.html

Here we find an interview with Mr Jobs, about a year ago:

  "The App Store is going to be the exclusive way to distribute
  iPhone applications," Jobs says. "We think we've got a great
  business deal for developers." Developer picks the price.
  Developer gets 70% of the revenues right off the top. We
  keep 30%. No credit card fees for developers. No hosting fees.
  No marketing fees. "And it's paid monthly," Jobs says. "This
  is the best deal going to distribute applications in the
  mobile space."

  And there is no charge for free apps.

Aha, we get closer. So, yes, the blog entry on FSF seems to
be wrong, when it says "developers must pay a tax to Apple".
Maybe it's outdated, but at least now it seems wrong.
But this is not the point when it comes to "free software".
And here we have to distinguish (once again) between
"free apps" like in "free beer", and "free apps" like in
"free speech". When we at Enigma, or the people at FSF speak
of "free apps", we mean the latter.

When Mr Jobs says

  "The App Store is going to be the exclusive way to distribute
  iPhone applications"

this means: He wants to control the software. From a legal
point of view, we'd give up our rights to distribute the code
through other means than App Store -- and we end up with unfree
code. "Unfree", because it is bound by a single instance, by
Apple, who then is in exclusive control of the software,
regardless of what we developers wanted.
There might not be a high tax -- but a high price.

I hope you understand our considerations. It's not that easy to
grasp the concept of freedom of software, but nevertheless it's
a very important concept in our Digital Rights Modern Times.

Andreas

P.S.: Thanks Ingo and Erich for further answers, but this
mail was at me directly, I got it three times in different
revisions! ;-)


> On 23.03.2009, at 21:15, Andreas Lochmann wrote:
>
> > "iPhone completely blocks free software. Developers must pay a tax to
> > Apple, who becomes the sole authority over what can and can't be on
> > everyone's phones."
>
>
>
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