CHS Systems

Apple has banned sexy apps. But apps from Playboy and Sports Illustrated remain. Why does Apple care what turns me on? If you need another example of why the iTunes App Store's walled garden is flawed, Apple has been only too happy to oblige, capriciously and arbitrarily removing an unknown number of "sexy" apps without warning. All that's missing to complete the metaphor is a flaming sword. Jenna Wortham, writing for The Times, quotes Apple's Phil Schiller: "It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see." By Apple's own count, there are over 130,000 apps in the App Store. With a selection that varied, I'm sure there's something to offend everyone. Think about that last one for second and the furor that would erupt if Apple made a sweeping ban of religious apps from the App Store. I am not a Christian. I would be concerned if my child were discovering religion before I'd gotten a chance to talk to them about it. (Especially since that would mean I had given birth to a baby without a mother, completing—if adventitiously—my dream to be the Male Madonna.) Yet I wouldn't blame Apple for letting the app be sold, just like I wouldn't complain that I found it morally offensive, its existence alone threatening and insulting. And to be clear, I've got absolutely no problem with the "Grindr" app pictured here being on the app store. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em. It's simply a great example to highlight how subjective Apple's ban has been. That image is right there on its App Store page. Look, we know censorship is wrong. We've been having this conversation as a society for a couple hundred years, and if you haven't learned by now that freedom of speech negates freedom from offense, there's nothing I can do to convince you except renew your subscription to Hustler. The issue at hand is that Apple doesn't have to abide by the laws we've put in place in our society because the App Store is part of its business. Often I feel like that's a good thing—or at least fair dinkum. They built it; they get to run it. With a closed ecosystem comes a lot of responsibility. Apple has taken Read More

by It’s the beginning of the summer blockbuster season, and we’ll all be going to the theaters in droves to see cars explode and boys turn into wizards. But this weekend is different because it marks the long-awaited return of one of the most storied franchises in all of entertainment: Star Trek. If you’re itching to see Captain Kirk beat up some Romulans, or if you just can’t get enough Star Trek even after you see the movie for the third time, then these iPhone apps are for you. We promise that after you’ve downloaded these applications, Star Fleet will be consulting you for information on aliens and warp drives. Maybe. Always trying to remember what happened in an old episode of Star Trek? Named after the Trill symbiont central to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, is an application that provides a comprehensive guide to every episode of the different Star Trek TV series. And by comprehensive, I mean comprehensive. This full application has over 200 MB of data, including details on episodes, thumbnails of episodes, and even the stardate on which it aired. For just $2.99, it provides a lot of information that will satisfy any Star Trek nerd. The people behind the Star Trek movie really know how to promote. CBS and Star Trek got together with iVerse Media to build Star Trek: Countdown, a series of 99 cent iPhone apps that provide an exclusive prequel mini-series comic that leads up to the movie. It utilizes the iVerse Comic Reader to make it easy for you to dive deep into the world of Star Trek right before you hop into that theater. It’s a well-drawn comic, and each app has about 90 full-color pages of Star Trekkie-goodness. Here are the links to all four episodes: And if this isn’t enough, iVerse media has a lot more Star Trek comics out, exploring everything from the different Star Trek races to untold Trek stories. Stun some stubborn Romulans with the iPhone app. It does exactly as it sounds – it turns your iPhone into a standard-class phaser. But it’s not just about the sounds, it’s also a game and a video app. How do you play? Simple: Shoot the moving target and destroy it. You can play 2 player via Wi-Fi as well. Phaser also has a slew of Star Trek-related videos and, of course, trailers of the new movie. Did Read More