Apple ticks off trigger-happy Bitcoiners with App Store snub

Apple has issued a series of takedowns on Bitcoin trading apps, prompting outraged users to destroy iPhones in protest. The company has removed a number of Apps that allow users to trade Bitcoins on their iOS devices. Most recently, Apple pulled the popular Blockchain tool from the App Store, prompting a user backlash amongst …

[Steven Roper]

Suck it, fanbois

When you went out and bought your iThings, you legitimised and financed a company whose business model revolved around you paying for a device they retained control of. You knew Apple created a walled garden, you knew they could reach in and remove apps they didn't like, and take effective control of your device and your data, and now that policy is costing you real money. And your widespread support of this business model encouraged other companies to follow suit - Google with Android, and Microsoft with Windows 8, leaving everyone with no choice but to accept a world in which the OS vendor can reach into your machines and monitor and tamper with your software and data as they see fit.

Well, boys and girls, suck it up and drink it down. You get no sympathy from me. Your idiocy legitimised this invasive and megalomaniac business model, so you can live with the consequences. Enjoy.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Suck it, fanbois

I see I'm not the only Apple fan here ;-P. But in the other bad guys defense, only Apple would give no warning.

Whoa, I forgot to be paranoid. What if the worlds governments, I mean just the NSA is targeting Apple first? Think it will be Android next? Think they'll even bother with WinPhone?

[Jonathan 29]

Re: Suck it, fanbois

Apple have just removed an app from the store, they are not deleting all copies of it. This isn't quite as bad as Amazon who actively erased books from people's kindles without warning. There's all sorts of things I would like on the app store including XBMC and the nudey ladies, but you pay your money and make your choice.

I don' understand all the violence though. Haven't they already given Apple their money. I would just jailbreak it, though I suppose the video of this would be less dramatic.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Suck it, fanbois

Ah! Sweet, sweet schadenfreude.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Suck it, fanbois

How is this policy costing anyone real money? It's not like the apps are being removed from the devices so the wallets are still very much intact. Apple have a history of forcing changes to apps or blocking them completely in the past, specifically because of Bitcoin functionality, so this comes as no real surprise.

[Frankee Llonnygog]

Re: they could reach in and remove apps they didn't like

@Steven Roper: Nice rant but can you point to an example of this happening of this happening in reality?

[dssf]

Obvious, but, it is a ...

BIT too much.

It looks as if Apple decided that whatever the iPhoners spent aquiring their Bit Coins, it was insignificant and that Apple could just destroy their currency.

If Apple is the only one to do this (not that Google and MS couldn't or won't), Apple may "destroy" a lot of "currency" has with current and future would-be users.

[dssf]

Re: Obvious, but, it is a ...

BTW,

Is there any possibility the snubbed iphone Bit Coin users can regain access to their BC money if they switch devices, or is "ownership" of the coinage also tied by device, not just personal credentials? (I have no experience with BitCoin...)

[Frankee Llonnygog]

Re: Obvious, but, it is a ...

Apple have removed the app from the store - how does that stop you from using it if you've already installed it, or block you from accessing your money?

[Stretch]

Oh those videos make me feel all warm inside

[guybit]

Bitcoiners don't need to smash their iphones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws91Pzx-HLw

There are subtler ways of getting Apple's attention - like the peaceful protest in this video

[Grease Monkey]

Delusional

Let's see, 120,000 downloads and they think it's competing with Apple's own payment system? Less than 120,000 users against how many users of Apple's own payment system? That's what I'd call delusions of significance,

[Mark .]

Re: Delusional

So if it's no competition, why does it get blocked in the first place?

And that's 120,000 users (as well as far more if we include more popular platforms) who have gone and downloaded this out of choice, as opposed to it being the only way to purchase something on their device, or the only advertised way to buy a TV programme/film/album. You're right, it's not competing - because Apple doesn't do competing.

[Grease Monkey]

Re: Delusional

Your logic is flawed. If Apple had taken this down because they didn't want the competition then why did they allow it in the store in the first place and even if they did why did it last so long?

[csumpi]

69

Apple owns the government, the government owns Apple. So what the fuck did the fanbois expect?

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple are doing them a favor by stopping them losing all their money when the guys who own the exchanges decide that this bitcoin scam has run its course and shut everything down and move to their own private islands.

[Mark .]

Except if someone's storing it on a mobile wallet, there's no way an exchange can run away with that money. In general, storing non-trivial amounts of bitcoin on an exchange is a bad idea, but that argument doesn't apply if we're talking about a mobile wallet - indeed, a mobile wallet is one of the things you can use to easily transfer your bitcoins away from an exchange, so Apple are certainly not doing anyone a favour!