Texas based Music Business Attorney, Chris Castle is busy again misrepresenting the communications revolution. I post another retort to his seemingly uninformed anti Open Source rantings...
First you might want to read some clear reporting about what Castle in on about this time:
ars technica - Mar 24 2014 | "US gov’t secures first-ever win against Android app pirates" | by Cyrus Farivar | http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/03/us-govt-secures-first-ever-win-against-android-app-pirates/
..And now this week's exceptionally annoying snippet from Castle's "MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY" blog:
MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY
Light the Cat Signal: Did Google Ask the Feds to Arrest Android Hackers?
April 2, 2014 - by Chris Castle
Are These More Alike Than Not?
According to the Department of Justice, the operators of the Android version of Megavideo have–with one exception–pleaded guilty. Recall that the DOJ seized two domain names earlier this year under its pre-trial seizure process (kind of like they did with Rojadirecta, the tiny Spanish single member LLC pirate site–more about them later–during the SOPA days).
Remember this is not just any pirate app site–this is an Android pirate site. And this exists because Google and Google alone allows unknown third parties to maintain storefronts for Android apps. Unlike Apple that actually thinks its more important to maintain brand integrity than to allow their footprint to be used for illegal activity. You can get iOS apps from one place only–the App Store. Windows Phone Apps from the Windows Phone Store. If Google had the same values as Apple or Microsoft, this problem would not exist, and app developers would face much lower risk of being pirated. All the more reason not to develop apps for Android.
...
To which I respond:
Chris Castle, your unenlightened knee jerks against Google's business model are extraordinarily annoying. But because you represent popular reaction when complex reasoning is required instead ... I must respond.
First off - 'Did Google Ask the Feds to Arrest Android Hackers?'
No.
Google allows crowd sourced development because developers in offices at Apple and Microsoft (especially MS) don't know what the world needs apps for. Free enterprise in software development speeds the adoption of new innovation - enables innovation that would not have occurred otherwise.
Also there are only two major web phones Apple and Google - one uses the propitiatory model, and the other doesn't - not as you say, 'Google is the only one that allows independent development'. As well, because Google does allows independent development based on their open source software architecture (as does Firefox), there are lots of Android style brands out there - and they're all hackable too. So to put it correctly - there are thousands of web phone brands - only one (major one) uses the propitiatory model.
A mobile browser is a very simple thing - it's like a radio - anyone can build a radio from parts found at an electronics store. Fooling the consumer public with branding and a beautiful containers is a symptom of the early years of this particular communications revolution. You don't need an App to access the weather for example - what you need is a way to manage links on a mobile browser - like bookmarks.
As a natural function of development problems with software will be found and exploited; and developers will create fixes; criminals will innovate new exploits; the web development community will plug the holes --- and so on.
This is a revolution, and it's not going to end any time soon. Get used to it - learn how to secure your web platform - just like you secure your wallet.
Don't bank online for example.
_____________
List of mobile browser software containers, and the mostly proprietary software that are slightly tweaked versions of the same thing) inside each:
Wikipedia | "Mobile browser" | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_browser#Popular_mobile_browsers
Read the rest of Castle's rant at his blog:
MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY | "Light the Cat Signal: Did Google Ask the Feds to Arrest Android Hackers?" | http://musictechpolicy.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/light-the-cat-signal-did-google-ask-the-feds-to-arrest-android-hackers/
mh
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