This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz by Charles Miller. Original Post: Try before you buy at the iPhone App Store? Feed Title: The Fishbowl Feed URL: https://fishbowl.pastiche.org/atom.xml Feed Description: tail -f /dev/mind > blog Latest Java Buzz Posts Latest Java Buzz Posts by Charles Miller Latest Posts From The Fishbowl

Why is it that, in absolute opposition to the last fifteen years of software industry trends, there's no way to try an iPhone app before you buy it? How do I know which of the six dozen different Solitaire apps I want to buy if I don't get the chance to play any of them first?

You'd think it was a no-brainer. Every App Store application is wrapped in DRM¹ anyway. Presumably, it would only take a minor software update and Apple could wrap downloads in 30-day time bombs, just like they do with rental movies, without any need to change the apps themselves.

¹ I know I should get up in arms about the closed-source, walled garden, DRM-wrapped, "it's not your phone it's ours" nature of the iPhone, but I can't muster the energy. It's a shiny toy that in a few years I will replace with another shiny toy.