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>it's not that different from a deb or rpm repository

The difference is that the default app stores require you to make an account to be able to use them. This would rightfully be considered insane on desktop OSs, yet is considered normal for phones.

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Also apt supports multiple repositories and you can add your own. The Play Store app only supports Google's app repository and doesn't interoperate.

Is it really that insane of itself? I don't see many people arguing that Valve is evil for requiring a Steam account to access their game library (ignoring the online activation/DRM question).

You don't need an account to browse the steam store, you need one to verify you're a user before downloading/installing a game, or (obviously) buying a game.

In a perfect world, you wouldn't need an account to buy or download something, either. It's too bad we've somehow normalized this idea that you need an account just to buy something.

It’s not insane because Valve is not the OS provider, and you can install as many “app stores” as you want. Even SteamOS doesn’t lock down the OS so Steam is the only way to install software.

Annoyances like requiring an account become a preference, because you have alternatives.

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