[clug] Android in the Business Press

[Alex Satrapa]

On 14/05/2010, at 12:34 , Nathan O'Sullivan wrote:

> A great feature of Android is they took a technical approach to this issue: since the apps are all Java, the only way to do "bad things" is through the appropriate API. When you upload an app to Android Market, it analyses what APIs you use and when it comes time to install the app, your phone tells you what the app wants to do (use the GPS, use the network, make calls, send SMS, and a few others)

That's a rather naive approach, in my opinion.

First, the person acting on the information is not in a position to decide whether the app is going to use those features to do bad stuff or not. Second, things that get in between choosing the app from the store and running the app will get dismissed, just like all those millions of EULA dialogs that expect people to read 2000 line licence agreements through a scrolling field that shows twelve lines of text at a time. Then there are those "calculate your baby's name" scams where sending one SMS to a premium SMS target signs you up for a three dollar per day subscription*.

Expecting people to read the fine print and understand the legal, technical and ethical implications of their actions when they are merely buying an application for their mobile phone is sheer foolishness.

Alex
*if anyone has had success in having these charges reversed and all moneys reimbursed when the carrier has been told you never intended to sign up for a subscription service, I'd love to hear it.