E-book barred from App Store due to obscene content

Gee, willickers. More App Store madness. In case you needed even more evidence that the whole approval process in Cupertino was in complete disarray, David Carnoy's "contemporary medical thriller" has been rejected from Apple's App Store twice now. The first time it was returned to sender due to a few bugs in the coding; the second time, it was rejected due to the inclusion of "obscene content." Despite all of this, certain apps like iFart and Pull My Finger are allowed to remain, though it stands to reason that those programs are just as "obscene" as a few dirty words and sexual innuendos. Alexandru Brie, a developer and one of the first publishers of e-books to the App Store, feels that "each of Apple's reviewers can interpret the obscene, pornographic or defamatory content clause in a different way." Clearly, he's right.

[paul @ Dec 24th 2008 4:23AM]

slow day huh engadget?
the app store is run by a team of reviewing monkeys apparently. its so random its not even funny. apple communism ftw

and i'm writing this from a macbook pro. shame on me

[Oli D @ Dec 24th 2008 4:44AM]

if you have an infinite number of monkeys sitting at an infinite number of typewriters, its only so long before one of them writes an iphone app

[Jason @ Dec 24th 2008 4:55AM]

Every time I see an article like this, I get a glimmer of hope that people might stop buying Apple products on principle. But the sales numbers just don't bear out. I guess the average consumer doesn't mind DRM, whimsical content moderation and substandard hardware quality as long as the device looks "sexy".

[maty @ Dec 24th 2008 5:24AM]

@Jason,

I'm one of those. Within the last 6 months I now refuse to buy Apple products - out of principle. Don't get me wrong, some of their products are pretty slick as hardware - I just can't bring myself to justify purchasing anything as a result of Apple's activities.

Maybe when I start to see some good turns from Apple I'll consider investing again.

[Raheem @ Dec 24th 2008 5:43AM]

Jason,

None of those things truly bothers me as I use my Apple products without being hindered by any of them. I know it sucks for some people but others have no care for those issues. It may still piss me off one day; but for now I'm happy to stick to Apple products.

[Paul Chapel @ Dec 24th 2008 8:08AM]

Well, I feel the same about Microsoft whenever I have to call up to re-activate Windows because I've changed out a video card or hard drive because of WGA or whenever Vista wouldn't play high def content. People blow out a bunch of nice sounding bullshite about Apple and how they're morally outraged about this or that, but the truth is, you probably can't afford their products.

[Dave @ Dec 27th 2008 1:59AM]

First thing... enough with the "slow news day" crap. Your Holier than thou attitude just because you dont care about the article is quite annoying.

Secondly.. Jason... what drm? You mean the drm imposed by the music labels? which by the way... is quite transparent if you use iPods mainly (which if you're buying from iTunes.. well.. duh) and/or burning an audio cd. I guess you could always buy the physical cd and ya know.. bypass any drm. Just a thought.

Also, what substandard hardware are you speaking of? I've owned 3 mac laptops, and 2 desktops. I've only had one issue with my "macbook" that Apple took care of immediately. The rest have been insanely reliable and yes... they DO look damn sexy. My new MacBook Pro is amazing both in appearance and operation. It also gets quite a bit of attention at the local coffee shop. I've passed on my old G3 Blue and White Powermac to my mother and has been working reliably for just about 10 years now. And last, but certainly not least, the iPhone has some of the highest ratings in customer satisfaction, and hardware reliability, which is amazing for a company that just entered the wireless phone market.

If you dont like Apple thats fine.. but you're arguments hold no water. Ohh.. and Merry Christmas!

[That Fender Strat Guy @ Dec 24th 2008 9:18AM]

@Jason &Maty

You don't use Apple products simply out of dislike for the company? Clearly you're a morons, or righteous teenagers trying to impress spotty hippy girls.

Have a hard glass of Reality and Wake Up to the reality that EVERY corporation or company is out to sell whichever way they can. If you're such nutjobs to think differently, don't wear your clothes that were made by sweatshop kids and peasants, or eat your processed foods designed to make you fat and greedy.

Seriously, put down those banners and grow a pair. I don't use Apple, Microsoft, Dell or any gear because I intrinsicly give a fuck about their mission statements, I use them because I choose to, be it by clever promotion by them or genuine need/desire.

[puhsitch @ Dec 24th 2008 10:32AM]

Jason, could you share with the rest of the group what tech manufacturer you buy all of your products from? Don't keep this angel of a company all to yourself!

[dcoaster @ Dec 24th 2008 11:52AM]

@ Dave: The only reason people look at your Macbook Pro in the coffee shop is because they think you're from another planet.

[Brian @ Dec 24th 2008 12:37PM]

@maty

I'm in the same boat. Apple makes some good looking devices, but their business conscience is in line with Kim Jong-il's social awareness. It does not exist.

I'm not buying a single one of their products, while Jobs still has a pulse.

[Jon Doe. @ Dec 24th 2008 2:31PM]

Jason,

I'm another. Apples is easily 10x worse then MS at their worst, because their zealot fanbase will eat ANYTHING Steve "I walk on iWater" Jobs gives them. I don't support asshat companies and its why I sold my MBP in Nov and will be getting a quad core Dell precision M6400 sometime in Jan. Screw Apple's form over function behavior

[Jason @ Dec 24th 2008 3:26PM]

@puhsitch:

I don't think it's wise to lock in to any one company too much. Buy products from companies that bring good value, good hardware and good business practice to market. Now I'm not saying I don't carry a bit of brand loyalty myself, but a good chunk of Apple customers really take it to a whole (and unhealthy) level. That's why they're called zealots.

There are definitely better options for most of Apple's products if you care to look for them. The Zune is a very worthy competitor to the iPod classic, function for function. iTunes? No thanks, the myriad of MP3 managers combined with DRM-free Amazon MP3 for me. Macbook? Lenovo and Sony make quite handsome computers too. There are some very specific Apple products that have no peer. Final Cut Pro is one of them.

[puhsitch @ Dec 24th 2008 4:38PM]

@Jason: The point was that there aren't many (if any) companies out there who are perfectly principled.

The reason that I generally buy Apple products is because of the OS and integration with the OS. If I primarily used Windows, I'll tell you right now that I probably wouldn't be strutting around with an iPod. But if a company makes a good product, I ain't gonna boycott them because they refused to carry a particular book in their store.

[Jason @ Dec 24th 2008 5:32PM]

@puhsitch:

"But if a company makes a good product, I ain't gonna boycott them because they refused to carry a particular book in their store." Precisely. One book is just a single drop in the bucket of the troubled history of the iPhone App Store approval process.

I don't consider the iPod, iPhone, or Macbook to be good products or good values. The best I can say is that Apple does a very good job of marketing. On that note, am I the only one who found Apple's "I'm a Mac" ad blasting Vista's marketing budget ironic? Like to the extreme?

[Boards of Canada @ Dec 24th 2008 10:07PM]

more like fascism to me! communism doesnt mean censure and repression like we sadly saw in the past.

[puhsitch @ Dec 25th 2008 1:21AM]

@Jason: Yeah I do hope that Apple fixes the App Store soon; it really isn't a good representative for the company. I'm gonna go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt for the time being...

As far as the ads go, that was a little ballsy on Apple's part, but I guess they got away with it because people haven't been bitching about ongoing quality issues of OS X. The hardware is arguably overpriced, but I've never been more satisfied with any other OS out there.

[Gad Get @ Dec 24th 2008 4:30AM]

They're censoring literature now? Sheesh! Apple tries to control their little universe like some kind of totalitarian ruler! They even dedicate huge amounts of resources to feeding everyone propaganda and brainwashing followers into unquestioning loyalty to the regime!




P.S. iFart?!

[Oli D @ Dec 24th 2008 4:45AM]

its ok, we all do.

[Sor @ Dec 24th 2008 5:12AM]

@Gad Get.

When i saw the name iFart and Pull my finger, i thought it must be some kind of joke that engadget does every now and then, but then i google it and to my HUGE surprise not only they exist but for some period were in 1st and 2nd place in iPhone's apps store (still iFart is somewhere in #8). un-be-lie-va-ble (sorry if i spelled that wrong).
I mean WOW !.. And to think that they compare smartphones and PPCs with a phone that has this kind of apps in the top 10 ?..And they censored a e-book now ???? It's funny that still some people believe, that thing that tries to be a phone, is a smartphone ?

I don't have anything against Apple, it does some things right and some other not, but i start to think that Gad Get made a point there when he said "feeding everyone propaganda and brainwashing followers into unquestioning loyalty".
I suggest to Apple fans to start questioning a bit,complain and demand more, otherwise these situations might get worse. That's my opinion ofc.

[Raheem @ Dec 24th 2008 5:47AM]

Sor,

It's a good point but I think what has happened here is just some idiot reviewer thought he'd better screen the eBook in case he got in trouble and was being over cautious.

You're right though; the market dictates and if consumers complain or abstain then companies will be forced to reconsider their approaches. I am one of those people who often writes to companies I regularly purchase from - as much to compliment a service (if good) as to complain about one (if bad). People deserve their props, too!

[Gad Get @ Dec 24th 2008 5:49AM]

@ Oli D

I LOL'd!

[Glenn @ Dec 24th 2008 8:03AM]

Well played Oli D, Well played.

[Paul Chapel @ Dec 24th 2008 8:26AM]

@Sor, who said: "I suggest to Apple fans to start questioning a bit, complain and demand more, otherwise these situations might get worse."

I suggest the same thing to my fellow Windows users. I mean, COME ON, we have Windows Geniune Advantage, proprietary Windows codecs up the wazoo, Vista not playing high def content, Internet Explorer not conforming to web standards and every version of Windows coming out and not being usable until a couple Service Packs and all I hear on these Engadget forum is how much everyone hates Apple.

You guys are a bunch of flaming hypocrites.

[dale1v @ Dec 24th 2008 9:00AM]

Paul Chapel

www.apple.com/getamac/stopexaggerating/stopcrying.stfu

[puhsitch @ Dec 24th 2008 10:38AM]

@Paul Chapel: Yeah, if Apple ever implements their own version of WGA, then that'll mark the beginning of the end in my book. The beautifully surprising thing now is that they still pretty much function on the honor system when it comes to OS X licenses.

[BigD145 @ Dec 24th 2008 2:13PM]

@Gad Get
You've just described religions AND NeoCons.

[Ian @ Dec 24th 2008 5:21PM]

@ Paul Dumbass:

What does any of what you said have to do with censorship, or Apple's attitude towards customers, which assumes that customers are too stupid to make their own choices regarding what is appropriate material for their own tastes, and what is inappropriate?

[Mike10010100 @ Dec 24th 2008 10:41PM]

@Paul

"Internet explorer not conforming to web standards"

But that's why we have Firefox. Certainly Windows does not lock you in to use only Internet Explorer. And what does that have to do with ANYTHING you have said before?

[Fred @ Dec 24th 2008 4:37AM]

I like this new turn Engadget seems to have taken so far.

[Paul Chapel @ Dec 24th 2008 10:22AM]

Wait, you guys advocate censorship when it comes to Engadget writers giving their opinions on Apple products, but you're against censorship in the App Store?

Hmmmmm.

[Ed @ Dec 24th 2008 4:39AM]

Surely reading a Book is wholly more fulfilling, and indeed educational, regardless of literal content (i.e. Swear Words) than a fart machine. For those parents worried about it, there are parental controls, lets not forget.

Come on Apple, this is ridiculous!

[gareth @ Dec 24th 2008 4:40AM]

Apple is in 100% control of everything they do and own, Even the film and music industry bendover for apple on a daily basis

[AlDeezy @ Dec 24th 2008 4:42AM]

Engadget, Not everyone owns an iphone, please stop posting these meaningless crap, apple does what apple wants, we all know that and the people who own iphones will have to deal with it.

[John @ Dec 24th 2008 4:52AM]

Man, I hate it when my scroll bars stop working!

[RichardBronosky @ Dec 24th 2008 9:01AM]

Dear Engadget, please only write about items that everyone owns. No one is interested in hearing about gadgets that not everyone owns. Your coverage of events like CES and NAB are totally ridiculous. We don't own any of those "coming soon" products, so stop wasting our time.

There you go AlDeezy. I'll help you with your cause.

[onw @ Dec 24th 2008 4:43AM]

but we can still have more farting & burping applications than we can count - thanks apple.

[LongKnight @ Dec 24th 2008 5:01AM]

Gee censorship.......you would think we could have freedom to speak our minds. Now I do have to say that there are too many people that would not take the responsiblity to "move on" when they come across something they don't agree with. And worse be responsible for their offspring (why be responsible when you make everyone else responsible).

[Uncontrol @ Dec 24th 2008 5:17AM]

While I agree that this is essentially bullshit, Apple has every right to do it ... just as you have every right to criticize it, and not buy their products.

[diggit @ Dec 24th 2008 5:02AM]

Is it me or Apple getting more and more obnoxious with their antics? They went from rebel cool to grandpa strict over the past years it seems.
Jason above me has a point (pos bang'd btw)

[Uncontrol @ Dec 24th 2008 5:02AM]

*sets MacBook on fire*

[Uncontrol @ Dec 24th 2008 5:15AM]

nevermind, if i leave safari open for long enough it'll end up eating enough resources to melt my computer from the inside!

[B3astofthe3ast @ Dec 24th 2008 5:08AM]

They might as well make a brink app for the iphone...a permanent brink app.

[Wwhat @ Dec 24th 2008 5:32AM]

Isn't it the 'american way' though? censorship. I notice people now massively censor themselves, even in areas that need no censorship and by people who censor things unrelated to their own believe system.
Related question: What do they call 'gordon ramsay hell's kitchen' on US TV? heck's kitchen?

[Oli D @ Dec 24th 2008 5:44AM]

They even censor Gordon Ramsey to "He who cannot be named"

[hamza @ Dec 24th 2008 5:52AM]

No, I think it's the Australian way. I heard that they started blocking bittorrent.

[Wwhat @ Dec 26th 2008 7:15AM]

Yeah I guess it's the 'western way' :/

[rita hainsworth @ Dec 24th 2008 6:00AM]

Not surprising since i cant type the words ...shit or fuck on my iphone without correcting the spelling.

[Gad Get @ Dec 24th 2008 6:06AM]

I bet that causes you much grief, too!

[G. I. @ Dec 24th 2008 6:11AM]

Apple only loves gay porn.