[oscargrouch]

The MacDonalds its not yours, while your iPhone is.

There's a big difference between the two, and the key difference here is ... Property.

But i like your example because its shows the mindset that the iPhone you bought, is in the end the property of Apple, not really yours, and that you are "fine with it".

[chrisseaton]

You can do already do whatever you want with your phone from the point you receive it in the condition Apple sell it to you.

But you cannot require that Apple do work to build support for third-party app stores. Property rights do not extend to forcing other people to do labour for you.

If your phone doesn't come with support for third-party stores when you buy it then I don't see how it would be your right to have that feature added.

[ac29]

> But you cannot require that Apple do work to build support for third-party app stores. Property rights do not extend to forcing other people to do labour for you.

You and I can't, at least not directly. But governments certainly can, if they deem it in the interest of the citizens they serve.

[xvector]

> You and I can't, at least not directly. But governments certainly can, if they deem it in the interest of the citizens they serve.

Tyranny defined. “Do what we tell you to do, it’s ‘for our citizens.’” That’s how you get Australia forcing companies to backdoor encryption.

[saagarjha]

Apple does work to prevent third-party app stores from being on their platform.

[Terretta]

On the contrary, Apple does work to ensure users are protected from uncurated code. That incidentally challenges third party App Store models.

[chipotle_coyote]

If you buy a home in a neighborhood with a restrictive homeowners' association covenant, you still own your home even though you're not allowed to paint it blue and put plastic flamingos in the yard. You may not like those restrictions, but they're the restrictions you literally bought into.

I really think this is a more accurate take than "Apple restricts what you can do to your device therefore you don't really own it." Yes, they restrict what I can do with the device, but yes, I really own it. And bonus: f I decide those restrictions are too much to bear, well, buying a new phone is way easier than buying a new house.

[oscargrouch]

Using your analogy, there's is a boundary that can even be considered reasonable. In the example you gave, you know the limits, when you bought and you thought they were reasonable.

But suppose that they define which cars you need to have to live in that neightborhood? You would start to think that now they are being unreasonable..

The thing is, Apple can change those "ok, now this is unreasonable" things behind your back without you even being aware of it. How can you know that you would want that car that the "owners" of your neighborhood did not allowed that car seller to offer you? (And no, this is not a stretch, remember that your digital life is a whole big dimension of your life, imagine a centralized point of control)

You wont feel as you would if they forced you to a limited set of cars, but there are a lot of damages happening by allowing them to do as they please, and not only about your rights as a owner of the product, because there are developers and other technological, social and political issues happening with those decisions being made like that.

Unfortunately it cant be compared as just a house that you have not full control of it, because in that case it would most "damage" you in the end.

The decisions Apple are making hurting digital and material property rights have broader implications to the society in general.

[falcolas]

Your iPhone OS is not yours. It’s an unfortunate thing, the way that licensing works, but that’s how it is.

A more apt analogy is perhaps that you’re a McDonalds franchise owner, and you can’t serve Subway food there.

[oscargrouch]

I think this analogy would work if you think in terms of opening a Apple franchise, and being able to sell only Apple products.

The problem here is a centralized point of control, that basically controls, or can eventually exercise this control to define in the end how you experience your life in the digital realm.

As the subtraction, or whats left out, will happen before, people wont even notice whats being taken from them.

That's why its hard to compare to anything that happened before, because its unparalleled.