Apple's Schiller Responds To iPhone Dictionary App Fiasco 200
beef curtains writes "Phil Schiller, Apple senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, responded by e-mail to a blog post discussing Apple's rejection of a dictionary app. If Schiller's e-mail is to be believed, it offers an interesting perspective on this whole issue. He said, 'The issue that the App Store reviewers did find with the Ninjawords application is that it provided access to other more vulgar terms than those found in traditional and common dictionaries, words that many reasonable people might find upsetting or objectionable. ... The Ninjawords developer then decided to filter some offensive terms in the Ninjawords application and resubmit it for approval for distribution in the App Store before parental controls were implemented. Apple did not ask the developer to censor any content in Ninjawords, the developer decided to do that themselves in order to get to market faster. ... You are correct that the Ninjawords application should not have needed to be censored while also receiving a 17+ rating, but that was a result of the developers' actions, not Apple's.' PC World has an article summarizing the drama-to-date, the blog post, and Schiller's response."
What?? (Score:5, Funny)
Blackadder said it best :
Samuel Johnson [wikipedia.org]: Ah, I see you've underlined a few (takes dictionary, reads): `bloomers'; `bottom'; `burp'; (turns a page) `fart'; `fiddle'; `fornicate'?
George IV: Well...
Samuel Johnson: Sir! I hope you're not using the first English dictionary to look up rude words!
Edmund Blackadder: I wouldn't be too hopeful; that's what all the other ones will be used for.
Re:surprise (Score:5, Funny)
Fuck Apple (Score:3, Funny)
Break out the smelling salts, I think I just saw the word "piss" in Ninjawords!
Re:surprise (Score:2, Funny)
You left out George Soros and fluoridation.
Re:surprise (Score:5, Funny)
I don't think you people realize just how close we came to having an app on iPhones that contained vulgar words.
Disaster was narrowly averted.
These things start innocently enough. A dictionary, for example, that defines the word "crap" and includes a phonetically-spelled pronunciation. Before you know it, iPhone users will be using those words, and then it's a straight path downward to public displays of affection between members of different races, laughter at fat people in stretch pants, and ultimately universal health care for everyone.
This is how societies are destroyed. I'm sure if you were to read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, you would see that this is how it happened. And where is Rome today? "In Italy" you might say, but I mean the spiritual Rome of civilized behavior, regular bathing (for the upper classes) and great philosophers like Plato and Jesus.
Don't scoff. You look like you're getting ready to scoff, so just...don't. I mean it. I've had enough of you scoffers.
Re:surprise (Score:3, Funny)
Parents need to raise there children!
Is the fact that you posted this in an article about a dictionary an attempt at irony?