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> Moreover, the App Store race to the bottom undermined the previous paid upfront software model in favor of everything being free, supported either by ads or by "cash cow" manipulative IAP.

Microtransactions were a thing even before the App Store race - remember Farmville, MafiaWars and the other host of Zynga's Facebook games?

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I didn't say microtransactions weren't a thing. But clearly the App Store vastly expanded these practices.

Pointing to Facebook just proves the point. Facebook is a walled garden, but does anyone think Facebook is a "healthy software ecosystem" for developers and users?

Ancient GSM services were the starting point for those, from daily horroscope subs to java applet games sales... Apple is still eating the "take that out of GSM menus and sms orders and put it on its own dedicated internet app" cake (with same rate of tax of those ancient provider app stores took from 3rd parties).

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