But this morning, something John Gruber mentioned on Daring Fireball grabbed my attention:

of course the App Store will be the only avenue for native third-party tablet apps. (“Native” as opposed to web apps, which by definition are wide open.) Whatever the problems and complaints developers have about the iPhone App Store, Apple clearly sees it as a huge win. They love the experience it provides, they love the control, and I’m sure they enjoy the 30 percent cut of the revenue.

That Apple would consider this is not all that surprising. As Gruber points out, for them it is a huge win. But for the rest of us, and the open web in general, I believe it is a huge step in the wrong direction. As we've already seen, Apple's iPhone application approval process has thrown up a number of questionable decisions over the past year, from a crippled version of Skype to a blocked Google Voice application (now being investigated by the FCC). Decisions that were made not in the interest of quality control, but in protecting Apple's (and AT&T's) control over the device and networks. 

Initially, Apple's application approval process seems like a great idea. Applications can be downloaded from a single location, without the worry of spyware or viruses. Software free of errors and bugs. Ultimately though, these decisions not only censor information, they stifle innovation. By setting up a platform where developers can't make whatever application they want, we get a situation where developers are only making applications that Apple want, as 'thinking differently' is likely to leave them out of pocket. 

The idea of that this model may be rolled out onto the PC level is quite disturbing. Apple already block 3rd party applications on the iPhone that 'duplicate' services  provided on the iphone, such as browsers, mp3 players and mail clients. All applications that could also be blocked in a Tablet OS should it follow the same model. What is even more concerning is that other companies are following suit. Google and Palm now also distribute 3rd party applications through stores that are subject to the same type of 'quality control'.