Felt like that "5-star" App was overrated? You're probably Right

There's No Longer an App for That

Apple has eliminated 1,000 apps—or 1 percent of its total inventory—from the iTunes store after it was revealed that a major software developer was scamming the system. The scam was first discovered at the iPhoneography blog, when writers noticed that 90 percent of the reviews of Molinker applications came from the same 50 people—and they were all doling out five-star ratings. iPhoneography speculated that Molinker was trading promotional codes for free apps to boost their popularity. A week later, Apple's marketing boss responded to the charges in a terse e-mail, and Molinker apps were gone from the iTunes store. Although the purge shows that "Apple is happy to do whatever it takes to keep its house clean," Wired wonders if the scam was a symptom of the iTunes store setup. "Because there is no clear way to try-before-you buy … ratings are absurdly important to choosing an application."

Read original story in Wired | Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009