Publishers, Apple remain in a stalemate over iPad subscriptions

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 62
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by a1ang View Post


    What device are you viewing the magazines on? the iPad? how well have they been implemented?



    thanks,

    alan



    Reading the mags on the Pad is very easy..intuitive. Backs up with iTunes too.



    Well done.
  • Reply 42 of 62
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mac_dog View Post


    apple is hardly forcing ping down my throat. i merely opted not to enable it and it's forgotten.

    you must have just wanted something to complain about.



    Do you not purchase anything in iTunes? I have ping disabled, and every time I purchase something in iTunes it pops up at the top of the screen "Ping Want to tell your friends about this? Connect with them on Ping?"



    It is hard to forget something when they keep telling you about it.
  • Reply 43 of 62
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    So Apple is fighting for the consumers, while the publications are fighting for owning the consumers. Not very hard to take sides with Apple here.

    The publications could offer half price for individuals who are giving away their private details, or offer some other shit for taking a customer survey. The thing is, they KNOW that noone is willing to give it away for free. So they'd rather steal the information behind the customers' backs. Very charming, guys.
  • Reply 44 of 62
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Publishers can join the rotting music, TV and movie industry. When Justin Bieber is your last, best hope, and dragging Friday The 13th out of the grave (horrible, horrible movie, the new one, not scary or thrilling, just... Garbage) is your solution to coming out with new horror movies... I say, enjoy sitting far up your a** my dear publishers. Where you once ruled the written world and created superstars out of those who graced your covers, your time has now come. The branch is extended to you. It is the iPad. You should attempt to seize such branch, do Ye not know the pit of doom you are so sailing towards?
  • Reply 45 of 62
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Superbass View Post


    Hate to break it to you all, but about 80% or more of magazine revenues come from advertising. Digital ads are worth FAR less money than the equivalent hard copies, which means publishers need to recoup the lost money somehow.



    Funny how, just to plug my iphone into my computer to sync, etc., I had to create an iTunes account, give my full personal details including cc number and 3-digit security, etc, and then Apple tries to jam Ping down my throat to further gather customer data; most apple fans are fine with that, but if Conde Nast wants to do the same, its a big deal...



    It's not like they're asking for your criminal record and dental history, they basically just want your postal code and email address, the same shit you'd give them if you wanted to subscribe to their print editions... They don't even want your credit card number/date of expiry/3 digit security, which apple happens to collect and store, and they don't want a list of every song app and film you've ever bought either, which Apple also happens to store. What's the big deal?



    Umm... If you use iTunes gift cards to top up your account you don't supply any credit card information. That's what I do.
  • Reply 46 of 62
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AI7R View Post


    If you are interested in subscribing to magazines check out Zinio. I get a half dozen magazines now and they appear automatically every month. Landscape it shows two pages at a time and portrait shows a page at a time. Squeeze works too.



    So, as much as I like Steve protecting my privacy, I can already subscribe to just about any magazine for about $10-$20 a year.



    Love it!



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by a1ang View Post


    What device are you viewing the magazines on? the iPad? how well have they been implemented?



    thanks,

    alan



    Zinio is pretty impressive, I've been following it for a few months now. But I've just been browsing the free samples... Bloomberg Business Week and Economist for example.



    There is really an opportunity for good magazine content and many publishers have tried various solutions, it's a good start.



    But the iPad offers something besides just pinch-and-zoom. There really is an opportunity to turnaround the digital publishing scene.



    When using Zinio for example, I am immersed in the type and pictures. Like I am "in" the magazine. There must be something unique these major publishers can do and be successful.
  • Reply 47 of 62
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tundraboy View Post


    Apple already said they no like that. (What? I carry your water and you no pay me?)



    Seriously, I think one of the iOS App Store rules is you cannot publish a supposedly free app but then charge for it outside of the App Store, thus cutting Apple out of its 30 percent. That's percent not pieces of silver. I think that's a fair rule.



    How do you explain Zinio though?
  • Reply 48 of 62
    kolchakkolchak Posts: 1,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Superbass View Post


    Hate to break it to you all, but about 80% or more of magazine revenues come from advertising. Digital ads are worth FAR less money than the equivalent hard copies, which means publishers need to recoup the lost money somehow.



    Funny how, just to plug my iphone into my computer to sync, etc., I had to create an iTunes account, give my full personal details including cc number and 3-digit security, etc, and then Apple tries to jam Ping down my throat to further gather customer data; most apple fans are fine with that, but if Conde Nast wants to do the same, its a big deal...



    These are magazines. If they're anything like Zinio, their "digital" ads will look exactly the same as print ads, taking up whole pages at times.



    As for the iTunes account thing, I don't remember being forced to have an account to sync my iPad. Only when I finally decided to buy apps. At that point, you could do what I did. Go down to a store, buy an iTunes gift card, sign up for an iTunes account under a fake name and address. Voila! Apple has no info on me other than my IP address.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AI7R View Post


    Reading the mags on the Pad is very easy..intuitive. Backs up with iTunes too.



    I absolutely do not back up my Zinio magazines with iTunes. There's no point. It just slows down the backup process. Instead, get the Zinio reader for Mac OS (preferably version 3, not the current version 4) and download the same magazines to your Mac as well. One Zinio account lets you download each subscription to five separate devices included iPad, iPhone, Macs and PCs. Disable Zinio backup on the iPad. You get to read the same mags on a bigger screen. The files won't be the same, but who cares? If your iPad crashes, you can always download the iPad versions from their servers again for free.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AI7R View Post


    So, as much as I like Steve protecting my privacy, I can already subscribe to just about any magazine for about $10-$20 a year.



    Unfortunately not. There are quite a few magazines I can't get right now on Zinio. The one I really want is New York magazine, but they're moving away from being a magazine with a website toward being a website with a magazine on the side, anyway.
  • Reply 49 of 62
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Superbass View Post


    When somebody subscribes, they get the purchaser's name, address, sometimes email, and credit card number (and CC company).



    Although they had my name, address, and phone number, my paper had no further information about me. I paid my carrier (who was a contractor, not an employee) by check every couple months.
  • Reply 50 of 62
    daseindasein Posts: 139member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by سیب View Post


    Those magazines are crazy. They would rather that they continue to lose money the way they are used to doing things instead of doing it Apple's way and making money. Typical.



    It's starting to look like RIAA deja vu all over again.
  • Reply 51 of 62
    dunksdunks Posts: 1,254member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RayInHou View Post


    For protecting my privacy... shame on you publishers for wanting my information without letting me know about it.



    I feel the same way about Facebook. Why can't we install an application and maintain the right to opt out of disclosing everything? It's the reason I block all applications.



    I'm concerned that in the future total customer disclosure will become an integral part of so many business models it will be difficult to legislate against.
  • Reply 52 of 62
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dasein View Post


    It's starting to look like RIAA deja vu all over again.



    That was awful. I love it!
  • Reply 53 of 62
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jfanning View Post


    Do you not purchase anything in iTunes? I have ping disabled, and every time I purchase something in iTunes it pops up at the top of the screen "Ping Want to tell your friends about this? Connect with them on Ping?"



    It is hard to forget something when they keep telling you about it.



    Go to your iTunes Store Account settings, click on "Manage Panels" and uncheck the box concerning Ping Posting and Recommendations. Hit "Save Changes" and you will no longer be bothered after each purchase.
  • Reply 54 of 62
    enohpienohpi Posts: 103member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Orlando View Post




    No Google (and Google Ads) and no Apple Insider.








    Amen. People should not use Click to Flash on this site, and they should get into the habit of clicking on the occasional advertisement.



    Unless we do this, AI gets no money from Google. And no Google revenue means no Apple Insider.
  • Reply 55 of 62
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sgrandi View Post


    Go to your iTunes Store Account settings, click on "Manage Panels" and uncheck the box concerning Ping Posting and Recommendations. Hit "Save Changes" and you will no longer be bothered after each purchase.



    Thanks.
  • Reply 56 of 62
    I finally got round to installing Click To Flash on my mom's iBook G4. She mentions it is a big difference and she's seeing much less beachballs. I don't know what took me so long to install Click To Flash.
  • Reply 57 of 62
    tonctonc Posts: 3member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RayInHou View Post


    For protecting my privacy... shame on you publishers for wanting my information without letting me know about it.



    I agree, and thanks for exposing this Apple.



    I remember when I signed up for a popular tech mag and was almost immediately bombarded with Partner Offers, mailing lists and other subscriptions. Being foolish, I took the bait and soon was subscribed to 8 print magazines I still havent read. The quality was pretty low. Cancelling them was a bigger issue.



    I hope Apple puts the kibosh on these practices, and the magazines that have *good* content see the platform as a way to develop strong content and articles instead of marketing list opportunities.



    Thanks, Apple.
  • Reply 58 of 62
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,860member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Orlando View Post


    No Google (and Google Ads) and no Apple Insider. It is the money that comes from advertisers make websites like this one possible.





    Just something for you to think about.



    This is a complete red herring. Advertising worked fine for years with OTA broadcasting. It's completely false that advertisers, Google, et al. need this information to be able to advertise effectively. What they need to do is make their ads compelling, instead of the current state of junk web ads that most people either eliminate with ad blockers or just ignore because it's become just so much noise.



    It's a totally perverted and pernicious view that the desires of commercial interests ought to somehow trump the right to privacy. In a free society, the right to privacy is the must fundamental and necessary right we have. Those who seek to violate our privacy are, intentionally or not, the agents of the destruction of that freedom.



    Those who defend online tracking and other privacy violations with arguments that it's necessary for a "healthy industry", are just as much fear mongers as those who say we have to give up all our rights to stop terrorism. And in both cases, listening to them amounts to a defeat for freedom.
  • Reply 59 of 62
    noirdesirnoirdesir Posts: 1,027member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tundraboy View Post


    Apple already said they no like that. (What? I carry your water and you no pay me?)



    Seriously, I think one of the iOS App Store rules is you cannot publish a supposedly free app but then charge for it outside of the App Store, thus cutting Apple out of its 30 percent. That's percent not pieces of silver. I think that's a fair rule.



    Apple absolutely does allow it, look only at the The Economist, Financial Times, or Wallstreet Journal.

    What this model does not offer is automatic download of new issues and it does not offer the "1-click" ease of use that in-app purchasing offers.
  • Reply 60 of 62
    The publishers will need to wise up or some new player will come in and replace them. Thank you Apple for protecting my privacy!
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