Apps in Windows Marketplace for Mobile Have Remote Kill Switch
Microsoft is readying the Windows Marketplace, which is expected to launch in just a few weeks. The Marketplace, an online shop for finding and buying apps for Windows phones based on the Windows Mobile OS, is Microsoft’s answer to the Apple iTunes App Store. The store will carry apps for the upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 platform at first, with support for the older 6.1 version later this year. Troubling information about the Marketplace has appeared at the Microsoft Tech.Ed in New Zealand. Microsoft has admitted that apps sold in the Marketplace have a remote kill switch, and that approved apps sold in the store that are subsequently removed will be automatically deleted from customer devices — reminiscent of the Amazon Kindle book deleting.
The company didn’t provide clarification on whether this is for free apps only, or if it applies to paid apps, how that might work. If paid apps are removed from customers’ devices then a reasonable assumption would be that refunds would be issued. We should also make it clear that this is not a likely scenario — hopefully, Microsoft will be diligent in the approval phase to keep such apps out of the store to begin with. It does hint at an example like the Kindle situation, where companies feel justified in deleting content from customer devices. It’s a wireless world we live in, after all.
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Shades of iPhone and Android perhaps?
From my viewpoint it like saying,”…as we all live in a relationship (sex) world so anyone has the RIGHT to give anything to anyone (think sickness)…”
Charge whatever – just once that is done – it is own by the purchaser!
This run-away-greed, would be nice if when I work on the 1st workday of the year and get paid for that 8hrs for the rest of my life, not doing – giving anything – just “due me” as the company profits the rest of the time from what I (we who do an honest days work) did on that day, AND was paid for that day only.
So, I will risk the flaming and say, songs sung once, acting once, etc. are public domain after the 1st time paid. All those that earn a living form this repeated flow of monies will need to be re-train, yet within 10 years everything/everyone could be ‘fairly’ situated.
When you raise the bar (of greed) when will it stop. Put a stick in the ground (whatever will fly be it 1M or 100M) after that 90% of earnings MUST be put back into the world that allowed that to be earned. Still a capitalist, ‘buyers market force’ just WITHIN LIMITS.
So many ways this could be done, yet has not nor sadly will it until ???????
If I buy a hammer, nobody can come and repo it,
nor can they dictate the conditions or use of my hammer.
I can sell it, give it away, or loan it to a friend.
The manufacturuer can not come and repo my hammer either.
Software seems to be in another world.
After you pay for it, they dictate how you can use it,
how many times, when you can use it, and it is usually
not resellable.
After the Kindle fiasco, apparently, they can repo
without notice if they so choose.
Well, at least with Windows Mobile, you don’t HAVE to go through the Marketplace, and you certainly don’t need to jailbreak it to just download and install .cab files from elsewhere!