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+++
title = "Software devolution in the hands of Apple"
author = ["Michał Sapka"]
date = 2024-01-26T19:51:00+01:00
categories = ["blog"]
draft = false
weight = 2001
abstract = "Apple tries dodging creating user freedom once again"
+++
Let's go back some 60 years into the past.
Image buying a _mainframe_ computer for a low price of 200k USD.
You can not install any arbitrary software there, as the architecture is closed.
PC with its openness will come in some 30 years.
For now, you have bought machine, but you are also renting it.
Any changes require a dedicated team to come to your site.
You are also forced to pay constant fee every month for the privilege to use the machine.
This was the standard way to _compute_ in the 60s.
But we have evolved.
Nowadays, you buy a computer and nothing keeps you from doing anything with it.
Unless you bought it from Apple.
Yesterday the Big A dropped a news article[^fn:1] about how they will comply with Digital Markets Act[^fn:2].
In short: they Cook-ed it.
They fulfilled the letter of the law, completely bypassing any reasoning behind the act.
One may say: Apple made the Cookie popup of the DMA.
Yes, external store will be possible and one may install[^fn:3] programs bypassing Apple App Store.
It may even be possible to bypass Apple requirements for programs this way.
Hooray?
First of all: no _truly_ independent store will emerge.
Apple still needs to accept store before it is allowed to install anything.
And this comes with two requirements:
- 0.5Eur fee for each first install from so-called "Core Technology Fee" [^fn:4].
- 1 million EUR credit[^fn:4] [sic].
Yup, to secure the above you need a letter of credit from a bank.
This ensures that no independent store, akin to F-Droid will emerge.
But that's not all!
Apple requires that each version of you program distributed from different stores needs to be the same.
So, if you even think of having it _also_ on Apple App Store, you are forbidden from giving more freedom to a user in version sold _outside_.
And with those two Catch-22 requirements Apple stopped any real user freedom on their platform.
You may create an independent, non-for-profit store if you have enough profits to do that.
This goes against everything I believe in when it comes to _software_.
I want open computers empowering users, not closed ones guarding them.
And the scariest part?
Some folks are defending this policy.
Sometimes I feel like a relict of the past.
And I wonder how will they the botch opening iMessage.
I used to be an Apple fanboy.
I even owned an Airport Extreme.
But, as a father and person living from software development, I am at this point where I don't want to have anything to do with this company.
I own an iPhone 13 Mini and I hate UI.
I am forced to work on an MacBook and I hate how little one can customize there.
I also own an AppleTV and the availability of programs there is a joke.
I planned to _never_ buy an Apple device ever again.
But with this I am no longer just an ex-fanboy.
I am now actively **against** what they do and what they stand for.
This is no longer the company I fell in love with[^fn:5].
For some time we've been discovering that a single provider shouldn't control the entire chain.
Apple became the _worst_ enemy when it comes to software freedom simply because _they can_.
Little by little, they prove Stallman's take[^fn:6] is stop on.
Wake me up when Linux is ready for everyday phone use, because Google is a poor alternative.
[^fn:1]: [Apple announces changes to iOS, Safari, and the App Store in the European Union](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/01/apple-announces-changes-to-ios-safari-and-the-app-store-in-the-european-union/)
[^fn:2]: [The Digital Markets Act on EC site](https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/index_en)
[^fn:3]: let's not call it "sideloading".
[^fn:4]: [Apple says third-party app marketplace creators must have €1,000,000 ‘letter of credit’](https://9to5mac.com/2024/01/25/apple-says-third-party-app-marketplace-creators-must-have-e1000000-letter-of-credit/)
[^fn:5]: yup, having any positive feelings towards a company is not a good idea.
Proven by case in point.
[^fn:6]: [Reasons not to use Apple](https://stallman.org/apple.html)
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