What sicko could even invent a game where a crying baby is silenced by shaking one's IPhone until it dies. (The game ends when the baby's eyes turn into X-es, signifing death.)
Worse, what kind of sicko would even want to play this game?
Apple on Thursday apologized for offering on its App Store the "deeply offensive" Baby Shaker iPhone application that sparked protests from groups fighting infant abuse.
The company acknowledged that it made a "mistake" approving the application, which depicts a crying baby and has users quiet the infant by vigorously shaking the smartphone. The quieted baby is shown with crosses on its eyes to indicate it's dead.
Their apology:
"This app is deeply offensive and should not have been approved for distribution on the App Store," an Apple spokeswoman told InformationWeek. "We sincerely apologize for this mistake."
She declined to discuss whether the incident indicated that the company's approval process was less than foolproof and in need of review. "We do have a process and this was a mistake," she said. "I don't have any comment beyond that."
Sounds sincere to me.
on the other hand, as usual, people who can make some money out of this debacle look like they're gearing up to do so.
Apple's refusal to disclose how the application found its way onto the App Store was one of several complaints the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation had with the company's apology, which the group called "stale."
"Who is this apology directed to?" said Patrick Donohue, founder of the foundation. "It's directed at the media to kill the story. This is the most cynical apology I have ever seen."
The popularity of the App Store is evident in the 1 billion downloads reached Thursday in nine months. Many users of the online store and the iPhone are young men who as first-time fathers are often the ones who shake crying babies out frustration, causing severe brain damage or death, Donohue said. "You literally couldn't have asked for a worse form of messaging for the demographic that are specifically targeted to prevent shaken baby syndrome."
and
A company called Sikalosoft developed Baby Shaker, which sold for 99 cents. The application is not the first controversial one connected to the App Store. In February, Apple rejected as "potentially offensive" an application that would have shown clips from South Park, the irreverent TV cartoon known for its scathing social commentary.
Frankly, I'd forget the IPhone and go after Sikalsoft and whichever idiot there created this app.
No comments:
Post a Comment