cropr

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cropr
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  • Supreme Court questions Apple's arguments over App Store antitrust suit

    jdgaz said:
    That 30% does quite a bit for the developer. They need not maintain their own storefront, They need not attract potential buyers to their own storefront, they need not develop a money collection mechanism that operates around the globe, they need not develop their own customer feedback mechanism, they also get the benefit of having their product reviewed for potential security issues. Not bad for 30% since it comes with over a billion potential customers.
    As a developer of apps (iOS, Android and web based) I must say that this statement is only true for standalone apps that don't communicate with an Internet cloud service. 

    For the cloud solutions I am developing and which have an iOS client among other clients, the App Store has very limited value.  I have my own internet servers, my own security infrastructure and 1 single payment API which cost me less than 3% of turn over of my apps.  

    Developing for one payment API on iOS, for another payment API on Android and for a 3rd one for web based clients, would only lead to additional costs.

    A survey among my customers revealed that exactly 0 customers found my app on the Apple App Store.  I won all customers because of the marketing actions I took (and paid for).  


    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Future path of Apple's App Stores at stake in Monday's Supreme Court arguments

    frantisek said:
    I think App Store is about security. You could have number of stores but iOS security will not allow to install App that was not examined. It is one of core features of platform why people buy iPhones. .
    That Apple is approving/checking apps before they are allowed to put on the App Store is a great thing, but it is not necessarily related to the distribution model which is the core question here.   With digital signatures it is technically very easy to set up a system where Apple approves apps before the apps are distributed/hosted via a non Apple app store. 

    avon b7forgot username
  • MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro: which one is right for you?

    jdw said:
    It's a dead horse that's been beaten for going on its third year now. When does it stop? Most "pros" have moved on and are adapting just fine.
    Whoever clicked "Informative" on your Yawn post must be ready for bed themselves, if they aren't already fast asleep.

    The only place where many of those "Pros have moved onto" is Windows.  I for one will NOT be doing that.  Seriously, Apple is taking a shotgun to the Mac faithful by incorporating extremist levels of minimalism into their designs.  I've loved Macs since 1984, not because they were the most feature rich machines relative to Windoze, but because they were PRACTICAL TO ME.  The late 2016 and newer MBP's are no longer machines that I deem practical, and it doesn't matter one teensy tiny bit to me if a few other people do enjoy the excessive minimalism.  Again, I dare Apple to give us a full featured notebook selling along side their existing line.  Let's see who's right.  My guess is that I am right.  For who in their right mind would buy a stripped down machine for $4500 when you can get more features for that amount of money, and your life is better as a result?  Apple removed key features for no sensible reason at all.  It's a crying shame.  I continue to send Apple feedback about it, and encourage like-minded Mac users to do the same.  If we pound hard enough and long enough, the company just might wise up, especially if the media joins us.

    Don't some of you get tired of your fellow Mac users blindly worshipping every decision out of Cupertino as if somehow Steve Jobs is still alive and blessed it?  Steve is no longer around and it shows.  Steve was pro-minimalism too, but at least he knew where to draw the line.  Johnny Ive's line is "so little design there's no design at all."  It's like a blank piece of paper, yet without the paper.  Sorry, but that's not practical for me, and there's a lot more people out there like me too.  Not every Mac user loves what Apple has been doing to the Mac since Steve's departure from this planet.  And we let our voices be heard, both in online forums and at Apple's feedback channel. 

    And before a Cupertino Worshipper comes along and bashes me for having the guts to say all this, time and time again, consider well that Apple has 3 different notebook lines! Folks, did you hear that?  THREE DIFFERENT LINES!  These "I don't need ports, and I don't care about dongles or tactile feedback" people who perpetually defend Apple need only buy a MacBook or MacBook AIR to satisfy their lusting after zero practicality.  Why must Apple also gut the MacBook Pro?  It makes NO SENSE at all.  Apple should keep the Pro model feature rich, bridging the needs of today (which includes USB-A and an SD card slot) with the needs of tomorrow, which includes USB-C/TB3.  They have the MacBook and AIR to strip down to their heart's content.  Why must they also gut the Pro?  Again, it's the dumbest business decision I've ever come across.  And don't give me the "well, they needed to be consistent across the line and really push USB-C too, which they couldn't if they included USB-A."  All speculation and wild guesses, and I don't even care if these guesses are correct.

    It's time for Apple to consider THE REST OF US.  They aren't now.
    That's the thing -- they are. They are considering "the rest of us," meaning the vast majority of the computer market, with the Mac for possibly the first time since the bondi iMac. I'm not sure how many times I have to point it out that the target just isn't you, and probably also not a decent percent of the long-time AI reader base. Keep sending that feedback, if you'd like, I encourage it. Just realize that you are a drop in the bucket.

    If a Windows PC is the right tool for your job, just get that, man. You're not going to get what you want from Apple.
    I am one of "the rest of us".  2018 will be the first year since I started company in 2012 that I did not buy a Mac for the company, because no  Mac fulfils the requirements for a rather standard 2018 software development machine: 8th generation i7, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD and  a decent keyboard (the escape key included).

    The touch bar is just an expensive, non productive gimmick for software development.  When will Apple listen to its customers  and realize that a MacBookPro without a real escape key is a MacBookProAmateur

    The machine that approaches best my requirements is the 2017 non Touch Bar MBP.   But it is 45% more expensive and 20% slower than the Ubuntu based Dell XPS13 I have bought.

    If Apple would upgrade the 2017 non touch model to an modern processor and add the T2 chip without price increase, I would buy one.
    GeorgeBMacwilliamlondon
  • Tim Cook expects 'inevitable' privacy legislation, values user privacy as an Apple core va...

    IMO the question about using google as a standard search engine is a good one and wasn’t properly answered (unless you imply it’s simply about the money). The fact that there hs been already something on the market never really stopped Apple from going in. See maps, pay, news and others. Why not start their own search engine? They have the resources to do so. Possibly base it off DuckDuckGo eg. do they want to stay away because it would inevitably interfere with their core value of privacy - in other words: it cannot be done without selling out on this value? Personally, I would opt in an Apple search in a heartbeat, and it might help with stuff like Siri as well. 
    Have you ever considered that the Google Apple deal about the search engine is hidden from the public and might contain restrictions: e.g. that Apple is not allowed to develop its own search engine.  If I would be Google I would certainly put such a clause in the contract.

    There is another concern.  DuckDuckGo is very US oriented (content wise and language wise), while Google Search has a worldwide focus, fully localized in a lot of languages and regions.  Apple does not have a good track record in supporting its services worldwide.  Maybe it is better to choose the battles you can win.
    williamlondonwonkothesane
  • Tim Cook expects 'inevitable' privacy legislation, values user privacy as an Apple core va...

    Google and Facebook make most of their money by invading user privacy so I doubt there will be any legislation putting controls on those companies
    Never heard of GDPR?  Or do you live on another planet?
    As far as users are concerned, most Facebook and Google app users simply don't care about their own privacy and are likely happy to have their personal data spread all over the internet as long as they get free use of Facebook's and Google services.
    A hardware vendor who charges excessive prices, can of course tell a different story than companies who offer free services.  A lot of people do care about their privacy but do not have the means or the will to pay >$1000 for a smartphone.  That is the reason why GDPR legislation has been created.
    muthuk_vanalingam