There's a tragic irony to the fact that Google lost to Epic while Apple won.
I choose Android over iOS precisely because there aren't barriers to installing whatever I want. I give up a lot of creature comforts and integrations that iOS users take for granted in order to be a part of an ecosystem where I can count on always being able to install apps that I write for my own use without getting approval from a gatekeeper.
And yet, here we are, with Apple getting a free pass from the US court system because they were completely locked down, while Google's systems get ripped open by a court because they were open enough that they could be anti-competitive.
I worry that decisions like this will backfire horribly—that they'll create an environment where something like Android can never happen again, because no company can take the risk of accidentally creating a market that they might be deemed to monopolize later.
I choose Android over iOS precisely because there aren't barriers to installing whatever I want. I give up a lot of creature comforts and integrations that iOS users take for granted in order to be a part of an ecosystem where I can count on always being able to install apps that I write for my own use without getting approval from a gatekeeper.
And yet, here we are, with Apple getting a free pass from the US court system because they were completely locked down, while Google's systems get ripped open by a court because they were open enough that they could be anti-competitive.
I worry that decisions like this will backfire horribly—that they'll create an environment where something like Android can never happen again, because no company can take the risk of accidentally creating a market that they might be deemed to monopolize later.