Why Microsoft Shouldn't Copy Apple's iOS Walled Garden 244
Kethinov writes "Will the computers of the future be tools for freedom or for censorship? An insightful Ars editorial examines this question in depth, concluding that Apple's walled garden approach to iOS is fundamentally flawed and thus Microsoft should reconsider their plans to apply the same model to WinRT. The authors are careful to present a nuanced analysis that adequately weighs the competing interests of security, convenience, and user freedom, ultimately concluding that Mac OS X and Android offer better models because while their walled gardens are on by default, they offer supported mechanisms to opt-out if desired, thereby offering users the same security and convenience benefits without sacrificing user freedom in the process."
A similar article by software engineer Casey Muratori looks at the effect Windows 8's closed distribution system will have on game development. The restrictions involved in getting approval for the Windows Store would preclude 2011's game of the year, Skyrim, from appearing there, as well as 2012's top candidates. The requirements contain clauses that would cut out huge swathes of the video game industry, like this one: "Your app must not contain content or functionality that encourages, facilitates, or glamorizes illegal activity."
Re:This is what Microsoft wants (Score:5, Informative)
the xbox's walled garden makes a good statement about what MS does with walled gardens. drives the devs insane. charging devs to push updates. good idea! lets discourage bug fixes and updates! *sigh*
Re:I agree but... (Score:4, Informative)
why? this is why: (Score:2, Informative)
Why Microsoft Shouldn't Copy Apple's iOS Walled Garden
Microsoft should not copy Apple, it should sue Apple for copy right infringement. The idea of proprietary file formats, making switching costs high, getting people and making it difficult to leave, monoculture, etc etc were all invented by Microsoft and pushed for decades. Of course it is sad people jump out of one walled garden and jump right into another in the form of iOS. But still, if Microsoft copies Apple it will be a xerox copy of a xerox copy.
Re:I agree but... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:I agree but... (Score:2, Informative)
People with a tenuous grasp on the concept seem to think the walled garden is referring to the nature of the stores. They miss the fact that the walled garden isn't walled until the user is trapped in by the actions of the store owner.
Android gets around this by simply allowing sideloading.
You can sideload Win8 too... (Score:2, Informative)
Sideloading is permitted on Win8 as well, though. You don't even have to pay for it. The option is less public than on Android - it requires either having Visual Studio installed or using the command line (Powershell, sepcifically), but it's there, it's free, and the info isn't hard to find if you do a search for it.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh974578.aspx [microsoft.com]
Re:The only thing Windows needs to do (Score:4, Informative)
NT permissions are actually much more fine-grained than POSIX; you can for example permit all logged-in users to read, and all users of a specific group to write as well, but deny one specific user (who might even be a member of the aforementioned group) the right to do anything at all with the file. Write, append, and delete are different permissions. The same permission can be applied to multiple users and/or groups. The owner of a file (or other securable object; in POSIX these would all be files so I might as well call them that) can overwrite any permissions, as you'd expect, and the Administrator ("root") can take ownership of any file, but it's also possible to allow multiple users/groups the ability to take ownership of files. By default, directories use inherited permissions, but it's possible to add additional permissions (or to deny permissions, which overrides "allow" behavior), and it's possible to disable permission inheritance on a directory or file entirely.
Re:The only thing Windows needs to do (Score:5, Informative)
Point #1: You just described AppArmor or SELinux. These already exist. They're a pain to configure, but they do what you want.
Point #2: This is, in fact, one of the things that "Metro-style" apps do. It's not just a "touch-first" UI; it's also a per-app sandbox with restrictions on the locations and access that each app has, independent of other apps or of the permissions of the logged-in user.
Re:This is what Microsoft wants (Score:4, Informative)
MAKs are available under the following circumstances
Medium or enterprise sized customers with Software Assurance for Windows or Windows VDA subscriptions in the following Volume Licensing programs will be granted Enterprise Sideloading rights and provided with the MAK keys as an SA benefit at no additional cost. Product keys for Enterprise Sideloading will be made available through the Volume License Service Center (VLSC).
Time-limited developer licenses are available for free for the purpose of testing your own software and...
Microsoft can detect fraudulent use of a developer license on a registered machine. If Microsoft detects fraudulent use or another violation of the software license terms, we might revoke your developer license. The monitoring process helps ensure the overall health of the app marketplace.
In other words, in order to sideload you're either an enterprise customer, you run your own AD setup at home or you use a time-limited developer license that's not intended to be used for sideloading and that can be revoked if Microsoft finds out you use it for sideloading. Which, according to TFA, Microsoft monitors.
Either you're wrong or TFA is and TFA has links to Microsoft as its sources.