The Mac App Store: It’s an Honor Thing

Michael Gartenberg on the Mac App Store’s lightweight approach to copy protection:

Apple’s approach is simple. It’s an honor thing. The company believes that, given the choice, people will do the right thing. It also understands that anti-piracy techniques don’t stop pirates, but they do get in the way of honest users.

I touched on this in 2007, regarding the success of Apple’s “family pack” licensing for Mac OS X updates:

What’s interesting about this is that the single-computer license isn’t enforced in code by the operating system. (Or at least that’s been the case with Mac OS X 10.0 through 10.4.) And, I suspect, most DF readers are aware of this. Which means many readers are doing the right thing simply because they’re honest.

★ Sunday, 13 February 2011