There is a vital difference between user experience and user results. Where the result will land is a matter of the project itself. The user experience should always be good, but the results have to rank higher than some conveniences. Beyond those vague criteria, I have little I can add without more specifics on the project itself.

Not its relevance to my question, particularly with my specification of what my question was not. my question was why users should GAF, not why politicians GAF.

Exactly. You are paying for guaranteed uptime and (in my opinion it's ridiculous that this is considered business-only, but) an unblocked Port 80.

People seem to be willing to call this "commercial" use too readily in this article's comment section here. I find the trend towards calling browse-only internet service disconcerting. I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to run a noncommercial box or series of boxes at home that provide myself, family, and friends, with access. Either you have internet connectivity or you don't. Arbitrarily determining that use is "commercial" simply because the average user does not use their connection the same way is asinine.

the imaginary line between business and personal usage is not drawn in any way that reflects the actual meaning of the words.

AC doesn't bother to comprehend a post before responding. Go figure.

What I want to know is why in the world the publisher deserves a cent for a game already paid for. Not why they legally can put it into their license, but why they deserve it.

I actually left the fire service four years ago with a hereditary medical issue after a bit over two years professional and several years volunteer service. Landed back in IT.

My time serving definitely changed my view of what constitutes heroism though. The threshold seems to have become much lower than it once was, reserved for the Davy Crocketts and William Wallaces of the world. Now it seems to be applied to practically everyone in one way or another.

It is outselling Apple's offerings 4:1

Yes, because it's installed on every cheap phone around - that are mostly being used as phones. I have an Android phone myself because it was an easy thing to pick up when I lived in Europe for a short while, but it was so slow and dysfunctional all I could really use it for was tethering data to my iPhone...

I mean it's pretty telling that even when you are supposedly outselling another platform by a factor of four, the platform being outsold manages to outUSE you in turn by a factor of four (or more)! Look at any mobile browser stats or money being made by app store developers; in any metric where phones are being used as smartphones the iPhone is still vastly ahead.

It is easy for people to install what they like on it... that's the attraction,

It's easier on the iPhone because there is more software people want. The real attraction of Android is being cheap, for someone that needs a dirt cheap phone and you don't even know what a smartphone really is about there it is. That is the reality of sales today, is a huge number of devices that you cannot seriously consider "Android" devices the way Slashdot users think of them. And the percentage of NEW devices shipping with 2.2 grimly illustrates this fact.

Android has both a large user base of generally satisfied customers and more freedom for those customers.

Sorry, but iOS users are more free, because they are free from worry about things like these viruses and trojans and negative effects from them. They have more freedom in choice of well built software. They have more freedom to sell old devices because an old iPhone is actually worth something. By any metric a non-technical user cares about, iPhone users have more freedom.

Apple has a tiny market share by comparison

And yet again, this thing with a tiny market share is totally blowing the socks of Android in terms of being used as a mobile computing device. If you really opened your eyes here that would tell you something needs fixing. But you'd rather not see that, would you?

It doesn't help to outsell something if you lose your purpose in life.

MLK was only around as long as he was because he owned guns and was surrounded by people with guns. Had they not had them you would never even heard of him, just another black guy dead at the hands of the KKK and a system that didn't care.

This, of course, applies to both platforms.

Not really, because even the Play apps have far greater reach into the Android system than iOS apps.

running programs from outside the Google Play store is any less safe on Android than running programs from outside the App Store would be if iOS permitted it.

iOS does permit it, when jailbroken. And it's not as safe - but the system still has the inherent sandbox for apps that you run, and people technically apt enough to handle the ability to jailbreak can also properly assess risk of items installed outside the app store. Anyone installing Android apps from the Amazon app store or other alternate app stores is wide open and has no technical ability to assess risk - not to mention that as I said even some Play apps have the ability to deeply modify the system in ways that iOS App Store apps just cannot.

sure, humans would be productive, but orbital mechanics, assuming current and near term rockets, means that you're still looking at 8-9 months on the way out there, and 8-9 months on the way back plus the year or more on the ground while you wait for Mars to get back

Back back back back back.

It's pretty damn obvious at this point there is no "back" for the first people going. When you ignore that part, especially having to launch from the surface, the whole trip is far simpler and cheaper even if you plan for what are essentially colonists to try and stay for 10 years.

There are more than enough people perfectly willing to go so lets do what makes the most sense here.

Lots of people leave Bluetooth enabled because they use it pretty often - car audio, headsets /speakerphones.

NFC I would think you'd leave enabled if you really used it for payments, otherwise it would be almost as slow as a normal credit card.

What people miss is that iOS is MORE customizable for users by default in the ways that matter most. As you say, Skype having my contact list? Hell no!

Or Google Maps app having my location or contacts or anything whatsoever? Don't think so! All I have to do is say no, but I'm still using the app.

But standing at a bus stop and spotting someone sharply-dressed, I could ask to use their phone

You just had to get close enough to have it automatically installed over NFC. No need to have your face ever seen.

Or just install it under a bench at the bus station and have it email you the targets acquired remotely along with images and recordings of whatever conversations they might have had there.

If the platform is so safe, why does Apple have to review and sign every app before it's allowed to run?

Because trojans can use legal API's to do work, and defense in depth means that there is actually depth to your defense.