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Cake day: July 24th, 2023

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  • Well technically it’s still $25 registration fee for the developer. Also, more apps being available on a platform increases the value of that platform, so google benefits even if an app is free. But I get what you are saying.

    But this is where the whole monopoly argument comes into play. Just paraphrasing the issue quickly: No app store works even almost as well as play on android. And google is doing that on purpose. First issue is installing the alternative store in the first place. You have to download apks and accept scary warning how this is very very unsafe and you will get hacked and lose all your money and it’s your own fault. Then after that it still does not really work as a store should, you have to manually check for updates and approve every single update individually. Only way to get around that is to unlock bootloader and root, which 99.9% of users can’t and won’t do, and then we have safetynet put in place by google that btw does not check for any actual safety features but only checks if you modified your system, aka tried to escape google hell, and causes all kind of issues.

    So in short if Android was a platform where stores and billing systems could compete in a fair way your argument would absolutely make sense. The whole point though is that it’s not, that google made damn sure that the only viable option for any company creating apps for android is to use their store and their ecosystem. Sure, if you ask google of course it’s all just for your safety and surely has nothing to do with them making a shitload of money. The jury decided on exactly that and their verdict is very clear, understandably.

    Don’t worry though, there are still decades worth of appeals and other legal moves google can pull off to slow down any potential change. And by the time this case is won by google in 2040 everyone will fully accept this as normal and have already forgotten about the case in the first place. Just like with Microsoft some twenty years ago. Surely they don’t bundle their OS with a browser anymore, right? Wasn’t there a lawsuite?

    Long story short I’m pretty sure Google will keep it’s monopoly. They got unlimited amount of money to throw at lawyers and for out-of-court settlements. Epic doesn’t stand a chance, they are on a whole different level.






  • The Rafah Border Crossing is the only crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It lies on the international border that was confirmed by the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty and the 1982 Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. The Rafah Border Crossing can only be used for the passage of persons. All goods traffic must use the Kerem Shalom border crossing on the Israel-Gaza border.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt–Gaza_border

    The Rafah Land Port became the primary border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, managed by the Israel Airports Authority until Israel had dismantled its settlements in Gaza on 11 September 2005 as part of a disengagement plan. It subsequently became the task of the European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah (EUBAM) to monitor the crossing.

    In the 2023 Israel–Hamas war that began in October, the crossing was again effectively sealed. The Egyptian government refused to allow either Gazans or foreign nationals to exit Gaza via the Rafah crossing, despite intensive international efforts to secure a window of time for the Rafah crossing to open to foreigners who want to exit the Strip.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafah_Border_Crossing

    The Philadelphi Route, also called Philadelphi Corridor, is a narrow strip of land, 14 km (8.699 miles) in length, situated along the entirety of the border between Gaza Strip and Egypt. Under the provisions of the Egypt–Israel peace treaty of 1979, it was established as a buffer zone controlled and patrolled by Israeli forces. One purpose of the Philadelphi Route was to prevent the movement of illegal materials (including weapons and ammunition) and people between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphi_Route

    Tl;Dr: Europe, Egypt and Israel all play a part in managing that border. The only party that has zero control over this border is Gaza.