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Comment by echelon

In the world you're describing, the future of technology is owned by Apple and Google forever. They got there first, and they'll forever be the victors.

They can tax it. They can starve the entire landscape of innovation capital and prevent other companies from ever growing large. They set the rules, and they have enough human and financial capital to keep the game going forever.

That's not good for capitalism, the free market, entrepreneurs, or innovation. In the ten years since smartphones came about, we've seen a contraction of other forms of computing. A contraction in the number of smartphone manufacturers, too! The world is worse for it.

This type of duopolistic advantage also creates a system where Apple and Google can grow close to governments and become a surveillance and control apparatus. That's scarier than anything a developer could do to slight you.

The status quo is great for Apple and Google shareholders, but bad for those trying to innovate and those wanting personal freedom and privacy.

Almost all of computing connects to these two companies now, and that's a fragility that benefits these two giants to the rest of our detriment.

> I explicitly do. not. want. my web browser to have access to the bluetooth and NFC APIs. Nor the screen orientation lock and full screen APIs. I absolutely do not want website notifications.

Easy enough to turn all of these things off. You're describing a setting.

parent echelon 4 years ago

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