[dragonwriter]

> Apple have never tried to adopt a model similar to the one used by Linux distributions, positioning themselves as the intermediary between the end users and application developers.

Wait, isn't the prime example of an OS or device manufacturer doing that not “Linux distros”, but instead the app store model that Apple embraced we exclusive consumer mechanism for add-on software with iOS, and have since extended in less-rigid form (because of legacy expectations) to MacOS?