[boucher]

It's an incredibly simple claim. Apple is engaging in hypocritical policies. Apple forbids actions on its own platform that Apple uses to make money and gain market share on other platforms. I don't see how you can interpret this any other way.

[tlrobinson]

See the top comment in this thread by pohl: "it would be hypocrisy if Microsoft forbade middleware and Apple complained about whether or not it was right for Microsoft to do so."

[chc]

That isn't hypocrisy. Jobs isn't saying he believes that people must never create cross-platform apps — he's just saying that they suck (as this author acknowledges Apple's cross-platform apps do) and thus he doesn't want them on his system.

It's like the owner of McDonalds not wanting to take his wife to a McDonalds for their anniversary — he's not saying nobody should eat there, just acknowledging that it's rather low-class for the given situation.

[boucher]

This is a terrible analogy. In the real situation, Apple has forced developers not to use third party technologies, ever. In your hypothetical, the owner chooses not to go to McDonalds on occasion.

An apt analogy: The owner of a four star restaurant says that McDonalds is shit food, and refuses to let patrons who eat at McDonalds into his restaurant. Then, when not at work, this owner goes and eats at McDonalds. That's what is happening here, and yes, its hypocritical.

[chc]

I imagine it looks terrible because you missed the whole point. Apple doesn't care if you make cross-platform apps (eat McDonalds) — they just don't want them on their high-end mobile platform (their anniversary). They are perfectly happy to have them on Windows (their lunch break) or to have patrons who eat at McDonalds occasionally (have non-iPhone cross-platform apps).

Jobs' position is that cross-platform apps suck. Apple is mainly concerned that iPhone apps don't suck. If Windows apps suck, Jobs isn't going to cry too much.