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Yep, and Microsoft does exactly the same thing. I have an open source video review tool for esports teams that I give away. On both Windows and Apple I'm expected to pay a yearly tax (~$200 on Windows from memory) to distribute my software on that platform. The owners of these platforms make no allowance for open source authors to distribute without that fee.

This is done in the name of "security", as if malware authors couldn't afford to pay it.

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> as if malware authors couldn't afford to pay it.

I think it's the identity verification bit that's dissuades malware authors, not the cost. Having your malware linked to your name and address isn't something most malware distributors want.

Nonprofit orgs and schools can get free dev accounts (at least for Apple), so for some open source projects distributed by one of the open source nonprofits, it is free.

> I think it's the identity verification bit that's dissuades malware authors

I mean, the whole LastPass trojan situation seems to have proven that Apple doesn't even drill down on that: https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2024/02/warning-from-...

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