Speak as we say
Apples draconian censorship of its iPhone applications
has now turned into a neurotic campaign that George Orwell warned about in his
novel 1984. (When Jobs unpersons you, this story will be the first to go. sub.ed.)
The company has censored a dictionary, the $2,
lightweight "Ninjawords" app because it contains words that Steve Jobs might say,
but forbids others to read. Ninjawords carries a 17+ rating but apparently that is
not strong enough because it carries slang words.
The words in question appear in other dictionaries which
you can buy from the Apple app store but apparently in one place Apple said
they were either removed or the application was forbidden. The list includes words that might be naughty in context,
but have perfectly innocent meanings in others. Gone are ass, snatch, pussy,
cock, and even screw.
It seems that Apple requires you to be 17 years or older
to purchase a censored dictionary. At 17 years old you can probably use a fair
few swearwords and have probably used a screw or two.