I followed the Epic fiasco for a little while. They started off wanting to avoid paying Apple for distribution, and bent their pitch to suggest that Apple was taking too large of a cut. Nevermind that years ago they also wanted something like 25% for using their Unreal Engine, and have lost some ground so they adjusted their business model. Competition is good. Apple also adjusted and now provides a platform where independent developers can distribute for I think around 15% till they make something like $1,000,000. I still remember when platforms like Nintendo, Xbox, and Playstation were too cost prohibitive for small developers. I think they are still relatively expensive platforms, especially for cost of entry, startup. On the other hand, Apple made things more accessible, iOS startup costs are almost zero, and then only 15% till you make a million bucks.
BUT, all of that is something different from side loading. That is, Epic wants to avoid paying for distribution, more so, they want alternate ways to steer people to a plethora of other payment gateways, right? Even that sucks from an end-user perspective. If there is anything disputable in my costs regarding iOS apps, I have one place to go, and get it resolved in a snap. But this side loading thing, what exactly is it? Every game and app I've put on my iOS devices does just what I want, and for the most part, I trust them. What am I, an end-user, going to gain from having to open up my phone to grant more access? Why?
My experience on PCs is very different. I can install something as base as device drivers these days, and they side load a bunch of background services, game launchers, and all sorts of startup apps that tend to splash my system with advertisements till I've meticulously silenced them, but even then, it's not a guarantee they're all squashed. They still choke down the system and periodically we have to clean it all, start all over. It also opens up the system so that updates can completely replace the intended app, install key stroke loggers, malware, spyware, trackers, and all sorts of other nasty things. I've about 0% trust in unfettered PCs. All of that in mind, I can't recall ever having a poor experience with consoles like Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, or any iOS devices.
So, assuming Epic gets part of what they want, the ability to circumvent the apple payment system, what does a law do for consumers, that would permit developers to side load, to give them a backdoor, unfettered, unchecked, unrestrained access to the filesystem and hardware? What exactly is Epic trying to get with having such a law passed for their benefit?
Also, I can't imagine a law that says, "And Apple must allow side-loading on iOS", so if this law gets passed, does that mean that Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft must also allow unfettered access to their platforms?
Anyhow, can someone clarify exactly what side loading is going to do for consumers? I sure do not want the PC experience on my phone, but if the backdoor is opened, the interface is created for one big developer, it'll certainly mean every other one will follow.
BUT, all of that is something different from side loading. That is, Epic wants to avoid paying for distribution, more so, they want alternate ways to steer people to a plethora of other payment gateways, right? Even that sucks from an end-user perspective. If there is anything disputable in my costs regarding iOS apps, I have one place to go, and get it resolved in a snap. But this side loading thing, what exactly is it? Every game and app I've put on my iOS devices does just what I want, and for the most part, I trust them. What am I, an end-user, going to gain from having to open up my phone to grant more access? Why?
My experience on PCs is very different. I can install something as base as device drivers these days, and they side load a bunch of background services, game launchers, and all sorts of startup apps that tend to splash my system with advertisements till I've meticulously silenced them, but even then, it's not a guarantee they're all squashed. They still choke down the system and periodically we have to clean it all, start all over. It also opens up the system so that updates can completely replace the intended app, install key stroke loggers, malware, spyware, trackers, and all sorts of other nasty things. I've about 0% trust in unfettered PCs. All of that in mind, I can't recall ever having a poor experience with consoles like Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, or any iOS devices.
So, assuming Epic gets part of what they want, the ability to circumvent the apple payment system, what does a law do for consumers, that would permit developers to side load, to give them a backdoor, unfettered, unchecked, unrestrained access to the filesystem and hardware? What exactly is Epic trying to get with having such a law passed for their benefit?
Also, I can't imagine a law that says, "And Apple must allow side-loading on iOS", so if this law gets passed, does that mean that Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft must also allow unfettered access to their platforms?
Anyhow, can someone clarify exactly what side loading is going to do for consumers? I sure do not want the PC experience on my phone, but if the backdoor is opened, the interface is created for one big developer, it'll certainly mean every other one will follow.
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