Apple is Still an Enemy of Open Standards and Software Freedom
Over a decade ago we called for an Apple boycott and it got a lot of publicity, even at the front page of Slashdot. Apple did not get any more benign; it's getting more vicious and when it talks about privacy it is actually lying. Apple also refuses to support very common and useful protocols, formats etc.
Apple gravitates towards monopoly power, even if that actively and thoroughly harms users.
According to this new report: "The European Commission announced guidance today for improving third-party connectivity with iOS. Apple is, of course, miserable about this. I am curious to see the real-world results, particularly as the more dire predictions of permitting third-party app distribution have shockingly not materialized."
An associate of ours asked: "Can the EU force Apple to support ODF, finally?" "ODF is thoroughly documented and not a moving target. ODF was around long before DOCX, but it's not wise to draw attention to the name DOCX," the associate added.
One can only hope, but over 15 years ago we wrote many articles about how Apple helped OOXML (or "DOCX" etc.) and by doing so it helped Microsoft while acting against open standards and Free software. Since then Apple did a whole bunch of other things against Free software, including on the patent front, the licensing front, and censorship of "apps".
Apple is a vicious and Trump-supporting company (not "woke"); saying you use Macs or iSomething while supporting Free software is a bit of a contradiction; it sends a baffling message. It's like saying that you love animals while you eat them.
The associate hopes the EU will get its way, "or will it mean that the Apple's MacOS Finder will finally support SFTP like all the GNU/Linux file managers have done for *decades*?"
No, not really. SFTP is not "an app" and Apple wants to steer people away from actually secure (shielded by SSH) transmission protocols. This other article is in the news:
EU orders Apple to open up iOS connectivity features
[...]
With the Digital Markets Act adopted in 2022, the European Union has identified Apples iOS (as well as other companies products) as Gatekeepers...
That's from a pro-Apple site of IDG. The EU's site is a JavaScript "app" that lacks real pages, so more authoritative links are hard to vouch for. █