Free Republic

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg slammed Apple over its dominance over the app store market Wednesday, ramping up his criticism of the tech giant on the heels of similar comments made by new Twitter CEO Elon Musk. Zuckerberg called Apple’s control in the app store market “problematic” at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit. “It is the only one where one company can control what apps get on the device. I don’t think it’s sustainable or good,” Zuckerberg said. Apple only allows apps to be downloaded through the Apple App Store on devices that run on its iOS, such as iPhones...

Trump statement: "Truth Social is number ONE in the Apple App Store!" pic.twitter.com/MxNLsJXNEk— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 26, 2022

Parler is back.On the Apple App Store, that is.Or, it will be.You’ll no doubt recall a Big Tech move against the social media platform following January 6th’s chaos at the Capitol.On the 9th, Apple removed the app from its store — despite it being the #1 download.Apple has pulled Parler's smartphone app from its app store, following complaints that the far right-friendly social media platform was being used to “plan and facilitate yet further illegal and dangerous activities.” https://t.co/gTOQSRGF9n— The Associated Press (@AP) January 10, 2021Google yanked it from Google Play, and it was axed from Amazon’s servers.NEW: Amazon is...

John Matze, CEO of Parler, the free speech-oriented Twitter alternative, responded Friday to the report that Apple might kick his app off its app store if it did not censor users. “Apple is currently threatening to ban Parler — the free speech alternative to Twitter — unless the service enacts draconian censorship policies demanded by left-wing Big Tech oligarchs, according to two sources familiar with Apple’s threats,” The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis tweeted. But Matze indicated that the Twitter alternative would not amend its policies to appease the Big Tech company. “We plan on enforcing our [terms of service] and...

Now you can download Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and OneDrive from Apple. No Clippy though. The next time you open up a new Apple computer, go to the App Store to start downloading apps, and type in "Microsoft Office," you'll actually get something.Until now, anyone who wanted to use Microsoft Office and its popular Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote apps had to do so by going to Microsoft's website and downloading it all from there. Now, they're available on the Mac App Store as well, making it even easier for people to download and use."We love the idea of the...

The Department of Justice on Wednesday filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting Apple's fight against a class action suit alleging that the company violates antitrust laws in regards to how it assesses app store fees, and how it decides what is hosted on the App Store. The class suing believe Apple has engaged in anti-competitive behaviors in taking a cut from developers sale proceeds. Also at issue is whether companies like Apple can be sued under antitrust law over App Stores, with the plaintiffs potentially awarded treble damages because of the behavior. The Ninth Circuit Court of...

Developers say latest crackdown will have ‘drastic effects’ on Iran’s startup economy Apple removed several popular Iranian apps from its app stores this week, telling developers that the apps were blocked due to US sanctions against Iran. The move was met with criticism from Iran’s telecommunications minister and has sparked a backlash among Iranian iOS developers, who have faced increasingly tight restrictions in recent months.On Thursday, Apple removed Snapp, an Uber-like ride-hailing app, from its App Store, after having previously a range of other apps, including DelionFoods, a food delivery service. The company has also prevented developers from updating their...

Apple has removed the Blockchain wallet app from its iOS App Stores, leaving iPhone and iPad users with no native bitcoin wallet options for their devices. Apple offered no explanation for the action and no option to appeal, other than saying the removal was due to “an unresolved issue”. The Cupertino company’s move did not come as a complete surprise, as Apple had previously banned bitcoin wallet apps Coinbase and CoinJar, and insisted encrypted messaging app Gliph remove an option that allowed users to send bitcoin. CoinJar is still available for download on the local Australian App Store. Blockchain had...

SNIPPET: "I. When considering the matter of jihadis online, remember that most of what we think we know is based on analyses of the comments made by an handful of vocal activists. The vast majority of jihadis online, be they on forums or social networking sites[i], say nothing. Skillful translations and insightful analyses by definition tell us little about this potentially lethal yet silent majority."

An Apple spokesperson has provided a brief explanation of why an unofficial Wikileaks app was pulled from the App Store. "We removed WikiLeaks because it violated developer guidelines," the representative says. "An app must comply with all local laws. It may not put an individual or target group in harms way." Apple has declined to say which groups or individuals might be "in harms way." The claim likely refers to the belief in some political quarters that recent Wikileaks documents are putting Americans and the US government at risk, having recently exposed activities like spying at the United Nations or...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Owners of the iPhone will be able to legally unlock their devices so they can run software applications that haven't been approved by Apple Inc., according to new government rules announced Monday. The decision to allow the practice commonly known as "jailbreaking" is one of a handful of new exemptions from a 1998 federal law that prohibits people from bypassing technical measures that companies put on their products to prevent unauthorized use of copyright-protected material. For iPhone jailbreakers, the new rules effectively legitimize a practice that has been operating in a legal gray area by exempting it...

In Malcolm Gladwell’s review of Chris Anderson’s new book, “Free: The Future of a Radical Price,” he said that Apple will soon be making more money from iPhone downloads than it does from the iPhone itself. He said this to make a point that businesses can still be successful charging for content. But a quick glance at the iPhone’s numbers show that he may have been a little too hasty in his assertion. By “iPhone downloads,” Gladwell is probably referring to the software programs that people download from Apple’s App Store, which offers a selection of more than 50,000 applications,...