Big Brother Apple and the Death of the Program

More than 25 years ago , a commercial warned us about the hereafter of computers . Closed . ban . Dark . A “ garden of pure ideology . ” How strange that that ’s exactly what the time to come of Apple ’s computers looks like today : the Mac App Store .

OSX 10.7 — the Lion!—features an App Store for the Mac . It ’s the philosophy of the iPhone and iPad , imported to the screen background computer , and it could be amazing . No more viruses . No more mentally ill program . A clean , logical , secure computer paradise where everything works right , where the street are pave with brush Al and the sky are always clear as a retina exhibit . An electronic Camelot ? For some , maybe .

When programs became apps

Computers used to lam program or programs , but Apple has slowly turn everything into an “ app . ” The word is precious , simple , play . Non - ominous . But also trivializing . Apps are disposable . The word “ app program ” is more of a mouthful ; it has a sure weight , and distinction — at least cognitively . Are Final Cut Pro and InDesign just apps ? Throwaway impulse purchase that you toss a few stars at and never call up about again ? The simple act of labeling all third - party programme apps make them much less significant : diminutive bits of content cowering under the protection of Apple ’s mighty platform .

Right now , download and install an app is elaborate — even on oh - so - mere mack : Figure out what you postulate . Compare choice . Go to a developer ’s site . Download a disk mental image . ( Or if you ’re favourable , a full-strength ZIP file . ) Mount it . Pull the app from the ikon , and drop it into the Applications booklet . This is not trivial , anda pot of masses get it wrong . So an App Store that radically simplifies denounce for and install coating could be a powerful musical theme that make cipher easier , even better , right ? For some , sure — just take the iPhone as an lesson of how make technology approachable can radically exchange an industry .

The ease of Apple ’s mobile App storage vary smartphones forever . Legions of ego - described Luddites ramble their feature phones aside and picked up the most advanced wandering equipment ever created . They matte up comfy and empower at the same time . But the interrogative here is whether people require the same experience on their computers . Just because the line of merchandise between a smartphone and a portable computer is becoming increasingly obscure , does n’t mean the two engineering science should be address the same way .

When you ’re just strain to watch a movie , encounter a game or read a book , nobody wants complication . So it ’s largely okay that Apple maintains such tight dominance over apps for the iPhone and iPad . They ’re technically computers , yes , but we expect a all dissimilar kind of experience . It ’s the price we bear for largely trouble - free calculation .

Apple wants to bring that experience to all personal data processor . And that ’s commendable , in a muckle of ways . But part of what makes a microcomputer more brawny than an iPad is that you may install any programme you want . A macro curriculum that fills in sentences after you rap just a span of letters . A system - wide notification app that any programme can tap . A BitTorrent client . For Apple ’s way to forge , it has to master every facet of the computation experience , turning the microcomputer into a closed arrangement . An electronic Camelot ? Might be more like an electronic Stepford : When you imagine beneath the lustrous surface of the Mac App Store , it ’s kind of a shivery matter .

Inside the App Store

Some of Apple ’s rules for the Mac App Store are logical . “ Apps that crash will be reject . ” Apps ca n’t transmit position data without your permission . These make sense . But the pattern get real restrictive , real fast : No apps that are in “ beta ” “ demo , ” “ trial , ” or “ mental test ” stages . Apps ca n’t install picture on the Dock . They ca n’t “ rapidly debilitate a ware ’s shelling or give excessive heat . ” Oh , and “ apps that enable illegal file sharing will be rejected . ” So , no BitTorrent . Or beta apps like Apple ’s own FaceTime . fundamentally , knock-down programs that reach deep do n’t conform to the mold for an app , even though they can be tremendously useful .

But Apple ’s reach goes further than ensure technology : No apps that “ encourage excessive consumption . ” Apps ca n’t misspell Apple product names — like iTunz . Apps ca n’t look like Apple ’s applications either . Apps “ with metadata that advert the name of any other computer platform ” are out . Apps ca n’t be defamatory or “ mean - spirited . ” ( Unless you ’re a professional ironist . ) No apps that replicate pre - installed program — like Mail . Apps ca n’t portray “ realistic images of people or animals being killed or maimed ” or shot . Goodbye Call of Duty . No “ Chat Roulette ” apps .

The Future

Is this the form of computer we want ? A closed , wholly controlled program that hews to one company ’s vision of what we should be take in , downloading or doing ? It is scarily well-to-do to picture a Mac where all your apps have to be okay by Apple ; all your music , film and video show are streamed from iTunes ; all your Holy Scripture come from iBooks . This will be totally fine for some people . But as the relaxation of us become more and more prosperous shape our cypher experience to our own needs , this strict surround starts to seem claustrophobic — even technologically totalitarian . It ’s still startling to think , even after the last few age of the App Store on the iPhone , that this is come from the same society that made the 1984 advertising over 25 years ago .

For now , App developers can still sell and distribute apps the same elbow room they always have , outside of the Mac App Store , and we ’ll still be able to download and instal them the erstwhile fashioned way , willy nilly . But the incentives for developer to go through the App Store are fail to be mighty powerful , possibly irresistible . Overwhelmingly , it ’s going to be the path Mac substance abuser encounter and buy apps . How long before it ’s the only mode to sell apps on the Mac ? It feel inevitable , just like the App Store creeping over to OS X. Apple is slowly originate to grip the respite of the Mac more tightly to follow its vision of the futurity of computation , which is more iOS than OS X. More 1984 than 2010 .

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