arlomedia

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arlomedia
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  • Snapchat response to user revolt over iPhone app redesign advises of new features, no roll...

    I have a fraction of Snapchat's user base, but I had a similar experience with one of my apps a couple years ago. I rolled out a major update (numbered as version 4.0) along with detailed release notes, announcements, video demos, etc. but the main response from users was "give me the old version back." That's not a productive request because a major app redesign is likely a part of a significant back-end upgrade and/or a significant strategic shift. It might look to a user like something that was updated in a few minutes could be rolled back in a few minutes, but the developer has months or years of work and planning invested and they're not going to simply delete that. It's better to do as Snapchat is doing and keep improving on the new design.

    I've always advised my users to turn off app auto-updating, then read the release notes before installing updates. I got lots of emails from users saying, "Why did you update my app without my permission," but it really is up to users to manage their updates. Apple stands in opposition to this advice by pushing app auto-updates (IIRC, an iOS update some time before this release had turned that on for everyone by default) and nagging people endlessly about OS updates. This policy comes from Apple's reality-distorted world where every software update is completely and obviously superior to the one that preceded it.

    Anyway, eventually most of my users came around and admitted that the updates were worth it and the app is now better for it.
    randominternetpersonMacsplosiondoozydozenchasm
  • Pixar head John Lasseter takes leave of absence amid sexual misconduct allegations

    He's lucky to have the means to take six months off work for personal reflection. Many women who quit a job to avoid sexual harassment don't have that luxury.

    That said, this is sad news. John Lasseter has put a lot of love into the world with those Pixar films and I would have hoped he'd be above such behavior.
    paxmanspinnydleavingthebiggbsimpsenhumanaftera11ronnaylkdysamoriastanthemanStrangeDays
  • Apple called 'modern tape pirate' in copyright lawsuit

    DAalseth said:
    Music copyright is a mess. You wright it, he records it, they put out the record, someone else converts it to a download or a stream. Everyone is entitled to a cut right down to the backup horn player that played one note. Unless of course someone along the way signed away their rights or bought the rights from someone else, or inherited the rights from their long lost uncle Friggy who arranged the piece. Add a few mergers and acquisitions, and copyright expirations, and it's damn near impossible to know who owns what. 
    There are a few different aspects of a recording that entitles someone to royalties -- basically writing and recording -- but not arranging, playing on the track or converting between formats. Those people could possibly have negotiated a deal to share royalties with the copyright owners, but there's no law requiring that and it would be more common to pay a one-time fee for those services. Mergers and expiration dates can make it complicated, but probably not the "everyone gets a piece of the pie" scenario you described.
    ronnuraharacincyteerandominternetperson
  • Apple's iOS App Store now generating 4x revenues per app vs Android Google Play

    That's the same the ratio I'm seeing from my own apps. I have two that are available on both platforms and generate about 80% of their revenue from iOS vs 20% from Android.
    napoleon_phoneapartbrucemczimmermannDeelroncapasicumjbdragonjony0
  • The Big Redesign Feedback Thread

    Here's another vote against the article blocks "sliding" up as I scroll down the front page.

    Also, the way the horizontal menu bar snaps together or splits apart when scrolling, making the page content jump up or down an inch or so, is really annoying. This has become common on websites, but what were they thinking? It's hard to read content when it jumps away from the spot where my eyes are looking, or jumps up behind the menu bar. In general, I'd rather just have the top menu scroll out of view when I scroll down, and I can return to the top of the page if needed. Keeping it visible at all times isn't worth the space it uses or the wonky content jumping effect it often creates.

    And making everything larger just increases the need for scrolling, which in turn emphasizes these two problems.
    henrybayfastasleepclinckillroy
  • Apple launches new wireless Magic Keyboard for Mac with Touch ID

    I still use a wired keyboard, because I don’t like charging basic peripherals all the time (I know, I’m a monster). Wired + backlit would have sold this for me.
    I also have no need for my keyboard and trackpad to be wireless. Depending on where the charge ports are, you could just leave them plugged in.
    scampercombaconstangwatto_cobra
  • Apple pressures email app 'Hey' to integrate in-app purchase option [u]

    thekrew said:
    So you released an app to Apple and the public with no price info in the description. You want Apple to distribute and advertise it for free and you expect your new customers to be okay with the cost being a surprise? Uh, no. That amounts to false advertising and I can’t say I’m terribly surprised that Apple have decided not to play. 
    Apple's rules say that if developers don't use Apple's payment system, they are not allowed to provide any pricing info or a link to their website in the app description or the app itself. My app takes this approach and it subjects me to routine criticism about false advertising, bait and switch, etc. The pricing is clearly presented on my website, but if I put it in the app description, the app would be rejected. I wish users understood this so they would stop blaming the developers.

    I have suggested solutions to Apple through their developer feedback tool -- for example, allow developers to hide an app from the store search so only established customers will install it -- but have never received a response.
    jdb8167prismatics
  • Apple launches new wireless Magic Keyboard for Mac with Touch ID

    Ugh, I hate that arrow key layout, where the left/right arrows are full-size instead of half-size like the up-down arrows. This is continually annoying on my 2017 MacBook Pro. When my older Apple keyboard died earlier this year, I saw that the new keyboards use this layout, so I got a Logitech keyboard to use temporarily in the hopes that the next generation of Magic Keyboard would revert to the arrow key layout of the older (and current) MBP's. I hope this doesn't mean the next iteration of MBP's (I'm waiting for a 16" Apple Silicon) will switch again to this style. I mostly use my laptop on a stand with an external keyboard, so it's not a dealbreaker on the laptop but it is on the external keyboard.
    Eric_WVGG