The term "zombie" in the title made me think that the apps were malware, before I read the article.
I completely agree. I'd like it if the author/headline writer would remove the headline reference to "zombies." Have it in the body of the story since that's what the ad-guy said but in the headline -- I thought the AppStore was 66% populated by malicious apps!
Use "undiscovered" or "neglected" if you must... something that describes this apparently huge percentage of apps that are left "undownloaded."
The "analyst" is probably using such a negatively provocative phrase to garner attention. In my case, the wrong kind of attention... I won't have anything to do with "Adeven".
Many of those apps aren't any more complex than the samples Apple makes available to developers. If anything. I think the iTunes App Store needs more screening to prevent crapware from getting published.
Apple needs to learn a thing or two from Amazon. Amazon sells a million disparate items but still makes it easy to find what you're looking for. Amazon also does a good job at suggesting items based on your purchase history.
The app store isn't bad but there's plenty of room for improvement.
u mean like the genius feature that already exists? You can not just arbitrarily remove items from the top 1..n list as that would mean the top 1..n is meaningless as it is really not a top 1..n list.
Not really like the Genius feature as it doesn't work very well. Genius will still recommend apps even after you tell it you're not interested in them and it runs out of recommendations because it's entirely dependent on your past purchases. The setup I would suggest is merely a filter so every time you visit the store, you can see the top apps that you haven't excluded.
The top listings wouldn't be meaningless if it removed apps you owned and apps you don't care about. It's still the top apps out of the remainder that you might buy, that's why the listings exist.
The App Store is there to sell apps. If it continues to recommend only apps you own or apps you don't want, then it's not working.
I completely agree. I'd like it if the author/headline writer would remove the headline reference to "zombies." Have it in the body of the story since that's what the ad-guy said but in the headline -- I thought the AppStore was 66% populated by malicious apps!
Use "undiscovered" or "neglected" if you must... something that describes this apparently huge percentage of apps that are left "undownloaded."
The "analyst" is probably using such a negatively provocative phrase to garner attention. In my case, the wrong kind of attention... I won't have anything to do with "Adeven".
It also implies that 2/3 of the Apps are coming back from the dead so to speak. When in fact, the apps are dead, and will remain so.
This is why I think that the system should be even more closed than it is, not more open. Who needs a store where most of the apps are junk? Good retailers don't inventory everything - they curate. While the search tools can be vastly improved across all of Apple's stores (iTunes included), it's never going to be easy to find what you want (unless you already know it by title) with 600,000 apps on there.
Personally, I think that any app that doesn't sell a single copy in a year's time should be removed from the store.
And I agree with the person who thinks that games should be segregated, although not necessarily in a totally separate store.
How about zombie "mobile analytics and ad firms"? Is there no "proper search" for "mobile analytics and ad firms" so we have this article to help them out? LOL.
Zombie apps....funny concept, nice try, but no - poorly researched and a demonstrated lack of understanding. Give us all a break.
There's a difference between searching and finding. A lot of the time you won't know what you're looking for in much the same way you watch TV without searching for shows.
The criticism of the App Store is not that you can't search for things but that you can't discover things very easily, which leads to a mass of undiscovered apps.
If you go to the store one day and it has Angry Birds in the top 10, you go and buy it and play it. The next day, Angry Birds is still there in the chart but what good is that recommendation to you now? It's pointless because you already bought the app and now it's taking up a spot in the top chart that another app you might buy can't have.
So you use the alternative, which is sifting through apps totally at random, sometimes with no ratings in the main view, but no way to exclude apps you've seen so you hit the same problem day after day. You just keep seeing the same apps over and over with no way to efficiently exclude ones you've seen to look through the mass of undiscovered apps.
I always use search for apps that I want and I pay for something that I want. Sometimes there is a free app that is amazingly good. When you go to "Categories" there are literally 50+ pages to browse in a category. Who has time for that? Not me The zombie apps that I've seen, I've found searching, and they are dated 2009 or 10, have 0 or 1 download, or review, but one thing I do now for any app I guy, is to click the support page, sometimes you get PAGE NOT FOUND, nope, don't wan't that app, others I will write and ask the developer a question about the app because the page provides little, or no information, and I never receive a reply. No app purchase. Then there are amazing apps with fantastic support, where the developer will write to you and help you if you need it, and i think those are the apps that probably do the best. As far as apps for advertising, I suppose if you are interested in a particular product or whatever, you might find that in a search. I always search after the fiasco of d/l apps because they sounded useful or cool when I was new. Thanks to the developers that do answer and help customers! I think the app store could make it easier to see or find apps other than "Categories" too. If there are typo's I am sorry, RA is not kind to my hands. Thanks.
2/3 of software anywhere is "zombie" then I guess. Was this article just a ploy to use the word zombie??
In the old days (and today too, except for those guys ref'd in TFA) we called that 2/3 of the software made something like "business software." Almost all of it was single-use and very esoteric. (Ringing a bell?) The percentage of software available at retail for consumers - general use or entertainment - was always a small percentage of the amount of software made. I think this phenomena in the App Store is merely a modern expression of that meme.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by jd_in_sb
The term "zombie" in the title made me think that the apps were malware, before I read the article.
I completely agree. I'd like it if the author/headline writer would remove the headline reference to "zombies." Have it in the body of the story since that's what the ad-guy said but in the headline -- I thought the AppStore was 66% populated by malicious apps!
Use "undiscovered" or "neglected" if you must... something that describes this apparently huge percentage of apps that are left "undownloaded."
The "analyst" is probably using such a negatively provocative phrase to garner attention. In my case, the wrong kind of attention... I won't have anything to do with "Adeven".
Many of those apps aren't any more complex than the samples Apple makes available to developers. If anything. I think the iTunes App Store needs more screening to prevent crapware from getting published.
Apple needs to learn a thing or two from Amazon. Amazon sells a million disparate items but still makes it easy to find what you're looking for. Amazon also does a good job at suggesting items based on your purchase history.
The app store isn't bad but there's plenty of room for improvement.
Not really like the Genius feature as it doesn't work very well. Genius will still recommend apps even after you tell it you're not interested in them and it runs out of recommendations because it's entirely dependent on your past purchases. The setup I would suggest is merely a filter so every time you visit the store, you can see the top apps that you haven't excluded.
The top listings wouldn't be meaningless if it removed apps you owned and apps you don't care about. It's still the top apps out of the remainder that you might buy, that's why the listings exist.
The App Store is there to sell apps. If it continues to recommend only apps you own or apps you don't want, then it's not working.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacLuvin
It would be nice if Apple had an App store and a Game center.
Look at the top 250 "apps" and it's 98% games.
I do not want games on my iPhone. Separate the apps from the children's games and
Maybe grown ups can find Useful apps.
You had a good point till you wrecked it with your condesending tone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by H2P
I completely agree. I'd like it if the author/headline writer would remove the headline reference to "zombies." Have it in the body of the story since that's what the ad-guy said but in the headline -- I thought the AppStore was 66% populated by malicious apps!
Use "undiscovered" or "neglected" if you must... something that describes this apparently huge percentage of apps that are left "undownloaded."
The "analyst" is probably using such a negatively provocative phrase to garner attention. In my case, the wrong kind of attention... I won't have anything to do with "Adeven".
It also implies that 2/3 of the Apps are coming back from the dead so to speak. When in fact, the apps are dead, and will remain so.
This is why I think that the system should be even more closed than it is, not more open. Who needs a store where most of the apps are junk? Good retailers don't inventory everything - they curate. While the search tools can be vastly improved across all of Apple's stores (iTunes included), it's never going to be easy to find what you want (unless you already know it by title) with 600,000 apps on there.
Personally, I think that any app that doesn't sell a single copy in a year's time should be removed from the store.
And I agree with the person who thinks that games should be segregated, although not necessarily in a totally separate store.
What do you call it if you write a Plants vs Zombies clone and it sits on the shelf? A zombie zombie app?
@zunx - the article's about the iOS App Store, not the Mac App Store. Your comment and link don't apply.
Originally Posted by mrswine
@zunx - the article's about the iOS App Store, not the Mac App Store. Your comment and link don't apply.
Oh, good. You added a name. In the future, just go ahead and quote the guy you're referencing. It can get confusing otherwise.
Don't… don't hit "reply". That does nothing.
"Zombie apps"....puuu-lease!
How about zombie "mobile analytics and ad firms"? Is there no "proper search" for "mobile analytics and ad firms" so we have this article to help them out? LOL.
Zombie apps....funny concept, nice try, but no - poorly researched and a demonstrated lack of understanding. Give us all a break.
There's a difference between searching and finding. A lot of the time you won't know what you're looking for in much the same way you watch TV without searching for shows.
The criticism of the App Store is not that you can't search for things but that you can't discover things very easily, which leads to a mass of undiscovered apps.
If you go to the store one day and it has Angry Birds in the top 10, you go and buy it and play it. The next day, Angry Birds is still there in the chart but what good is that recommendation to you now? It's pointless because you already bought the app and now it's taking up a spot in the top chart that another app you might buy can't have.
So you use the alternative, which is sifting through apps totally at random, sometimes with no ratings in the main view, but no way to exclude apps you've seen so you hit the same problem day after day. You just keep seeing the same apps over and over with no way to efficiently exclude ones you've seen to look through the mass of undiscovered apps.
I always use search for apps that I want and I pay for something that I want. Sometimes there is a free app that is amazingly good. When you go to "Categories" there are literally 50+ pages to browse in a category. Who has time for that? Not me The zombie apps that I've seen, I've found searching, and they are dated 2009 or 10, have 0 or 1 download, or review, but one thing I do now for any app I guy, is to click the support page, sometimes you get PAGE NOT FOUND, nope, don't wan't that app, others I will write and ask the developer a question about the app because the page provides little, or no information, and I never receive a reply. No app purchase. Then there are amazing apps with fantastic support, where the developer will write to you and help you if you need it, and i think those are the apps that probably do the best. As far as apps for advertising, I suppose if you are interested in a particular product or whatever, you might find that in a search. I always search after the fiasco of d/l apps because they sounded useful or cool when I was new. Thanks to the developers that do answer and help customers! I think the app store could make it easier to see or find apps other than "Categories" too. If there are typo's I am sorry, RA is not kind to my hands. Thanks.
2/3 of software anywhere is "zombie" then I guess. Was this article just a ploy to use the word zombie??
In the old days (and today too, except for those guys ref'd in TFA) we called that 2/3 of the software made something like "business software." Almost all of it was single-use and very esoteric. (Ringing a bell?) The percentage of software available at retail for consumers - general use or entertainment - was always a small percentage of the amount of software made. I think this phenomena in the App Store is merely a modern expression of that meme.