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FWIW, I contribute to an app that has been on the App Store for ~10 months now, been in the top 100 for its category since release and is open source (under a B

FWIW, I contribute to an app that has been on the App Store for ~10 months now, been in the top 100 for its category since release and is open source (under a BSD license). We've had several people tell us that someone could do this very thing - compile the app and post it online for free - but it hasn't been done yet. That would be because: - The copied app (unlike on the free internet) couldn't be called "Colloquy" (or reference Colloquy in its tags) because Apple would forbid its distribution, and so discoverability is significantly reduced. - It costs $99 to acquire an appstore developer certificate to work with Apple's DRM, reducing the chances of opportunistic behavior on behalf of users. I can't just check out your project and put it online. Of course, the app has been cracked and placed on other sites (and its technically legal since binary modifications/redistributions are allowed). But thats a different issue. Is it really a different issue? It seems like the only thing protecting you from unrestricted copying is Apple's DRM and control over the AppStore.

Zev 17y ago
The copied app (unlike on the free internet) couldn't be called "Colloquy" (or reference Colloquy in its tags) because Apple would forbid its distribution, and so discoverability is significantly reduced. Sadly, not completely true. It couldn't be called colloquy, but the I last time I looked (admittedly, a month or two ago,) two of the competing IRC clients in the app store mention Colloquy by name in their description and one of them also has "Colloquy" as one of their search terms. Is it really a different issue? It seems like the only thing protecting you from unrestricted copying is Apple's DRM and control over the AppStore. I don't see the difference between Apple creating some semblance of DRM in the app and developers having to do so on their own. A cracked app is a cracked app, regardless of the protection that was cracked. One of the things that I love about the App Store is that I don't have to deal with keeping track serials. I buy the app, and it just works. If (when?) Apple were to allow people to put apps on their device without going through the App Store, serials may then become an issue.

Zev 17y ago

The copied app (unlike on the free internet) couldn't be called "Colloquy" (or reference Colloquy in its tags) because Apple would forbid its distribution, and so discoverability is significantly reduced. Sadly, not completely true. It couldn't be called colloquy, but the I last time I looked (admittedly, a month or two ago,) two of the competing IRC clients in the app store mention Colloquy by name in their description and one of them also has "Colloquy" as one of their search terms. Is it really a different issue? It seems like the only thing protecting you from unrestricted copying is Apple's DRM and control over the AppStore. I don't see the difference between Apple creating some semblance of DRM in the app and developers having to do so on their own. A cracked app is a cracked app, regardless of the protection that was cracked. One of the things that I love about the App Store is that I don't have to deal with keeping track serials. I buy the app, and it just works. If (when?) Apple were to allow people to put apps on their device without going through the App Store, serials may then become an issue.