Hackers and power users see this as a bad tradeoff, but I would imagine that for many users, this tradeoff is completely worth it. Apple’s freedom is about giving you the opportunity to install any of thousands of applications with the knowledge that your phone will work just as well after you install them as it did before, and that you can get rid of those applications whenever you want. Freedom 0 is about giving you the right to screw up your computer in whatever way you see fit. What Apple offers in exchange for giving up Freedom 0 (and they ask not only end users but also developers to give it up) is a new freedom for computer users - the freedom to install stuff on your computer without screwing things up. As far as the second freedom goes, some iOS software is freeware, some isn’t. For the most part, Apple seems to see Freedom 0 as a negative. Yes, you can jailbreak your phone but that is considered completely out of bounds. You use it on Apple’s devices, under Apple’s terms, or not at all. Obviously Apple’s iOS does not represent Freedom 0 in any way. Software that’s free to download and install - freeware. The first freedom, referred to as Freedom 0 by Mark Pilgrim, is the freedom to “run the program, for any purpose.” Back in the day, people called it “libre” software to distinguish it from software that’s free in the “free beer” sense. What I want to talk about, though, is a sort of “third freedom” when it comes to computing. I don’t use an Android device, so it could be that Gruber’s argument rests on a shaky foundation, but it seems right to me from what I’ve read. In it he talks about some reasons why, despite the strengths of the platform, we’re not seeing developers create unique, compelling applications for it. John Gruber posted a piece on Friday that is a must read for people who are interested in mobile computing, noting an absence of killer apps for Android.
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