Feds Want Apple and AT&T to Explain Google Voice Rejection
Found on Wired on Friday, 31 July 2009
According to the letters, the FCC wants to know the who, what, why and when of the rejection of the Google Voice app for the iPhone.
And here the FCC isn't limiting itself to questions about the Google Voice incident. The FCC also wants to know what other apps have been rejected, what the rules are and what role AT&T plays in such decisions.
For instance, AT&T said it expected Apple to reject a Skype application that would let users make internet phone calls using the phones' 3G data connection. Apple also forced Slingbox to cripple its video streaming application so that it would only work over WiFi, and not a mobile carrier's network.
Imagine where we would be today if the same stupidity was applied to computers: you just bought a HP/Lenovo/Dell system and are only allowed to install the software they think is good for you. Want to install that neat freeware that helps you save hours of work? Well too bad if it's not in their store. All that only hurts the consumer. Just let users install everything they want, and if they brick it, they will learn from that and have to reinstall. But then I guess that's not an option since the iPhone is so unbelievable buggy that a hacker can use it to bring down the entire network if it's not controlled by Big Apple.