Windows Marketplace For Mobile Kill Switch Details

An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft recently gave more details on Windows Marketplace for Mobile during the Tech Ed New Zealand 2009 session titled 'Distributing and Monetizing Applications through Windows Marketplace Mobile,' led by Loke Uei Tan, Senior Product Manager on the Windows Mobile Team. Geekzone covered the event in good detail, but one of their points caused a lot of uproar in the blogosphere: 'If an application is approved but later removed from the marketplace it will then be automatically removed from all mobile devices.' That sounded a bit ominous to Ars Technica, so they checked in with Microsoft. 'In the vast majority of instances where an application is removed from Windows Marketplace for Mobile, users of this application will continue to be able to use these applications on their phones,' a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars. 'In the rare event an application from Marketplace exhibits harmful behavior or has unforeseen effects, Marketplace has the capability to remotely uninstall these applications. While we hope to avoid this scenario, we will make refunds available in such cases.'"

Woah. That was me!

[Kalriath]

Woot. I was the one that asked that question too! Well, I clarified the question anyway since the guy didn't get it the first time.

Not a horrible idea

[Anonymous Coward]

If an application is doing some harmful (virus, worm, whatever) it should be removed. A mobile OS isnt like Windows where you have or should have an anti virus running.

Not saying Microsoft would be honest with that kind of power, I doubt it. Good idea though.

Re:Thats kind of scarry

[Gerzel]

What about the scenario where MS doesn't like a product for some reason other than being strictly insecure or malware?

We've seen Apple use that one quite liberally.

Re:Not a horrible idea

[rdnetto]

A mobile OS isnt like Windows where you have or should have an anti virus running.

Are you so sure about that? As phones, etc. get more powerful, we're going to be able to do a lot more with them, and more viruses are going to turn up. It may be just as necessary in the future to run AV on your phone as on your desktop.

Refund-Smeefund - That is Big Brother Speaking

[pubwvj]

A refund is no good. I don't want Corp/Gov pulling these kinds of strings. That's too much power. It's my computer, my data. They have no right to reach in and mess with it. The Amazon Animal Farm book rescinding fiasco proved how bad an idea this is. They destroyed the class notes people had made while reading the book. That was the user's data. I won't buy any products with remote deactivation. A kill switch is a product killer.

1984

[Ozlanthos]

I find the lack of outrage over this really surprising. Seems like we are drifting closer and closer to a time when texts found online will be changed globally without anyone knowing the difference. All "bad" news (stories not conforming to the party line) will suddenly disappear. All apps that do things Apple or any other company don't like will just disappear off of your phone (no matter how much you paid for it, or where you bought it from). Now you know why they are trying to kill the written word in all it's non-digital forms. You simply can't change a story on the fly if people have a solid printed copy of what it use to say.

-Oz