I'm not backpedaling, I stand by my opinion that "this isn't a technical user choice that matters to many users (including me)". That's the first thing that I said on the subject, and that's what I've been sticking to. I don't know why my opinion is upsetting you so much, but consider toning things down a bit before they get personal or hurtful?

What may sound like "backpedaling" is that I am admitting sympathy for your concern, despite disagreeing with it. I think you've made good points. I don't find anything "contentious" about it. I still disagree with you, and I'm not apologizing for disagreeing with you. I can understand your points just fine, and also still disagree with them. I would like you to consider my point of view, and maybe engage with me on this issue that it is much more complex than a simple "good versus evil". I hope this not to change your mind, but in the hopes of a better overall discussion than just "Apple is evil and doing evil things because Freedoms". The reality is not that simple. I don't blame you for thinking it is, and you are free to continue to do so, just don't yell at me for saying "well I think it's kind of complicated", please.

I'm not yelling at anyone. You're making weasel-y statements, and I'm calling you on them outright. If Apple wants to lead the way in browser development, then they should do so on their own merits. They're welcome to pre-install it on my iPhone, and they can even make it impossible to delete like on Mac. Just don't use it as an excuse to prevent alternative browser engines, it's not a solid argument. The concerns over Javascript engines and JIT compilation was sketchy at best, but I won't stand around and listen to people defend an opportunistic greed magnet for trapping their users.