tdsmac

rogifan_new said:

Apple needs to be careful here. Apple Music isn't even something you have to seek out on the App Store and download. They just updated the native music app that's pre-installed on every phone. Look what happened with Microsoft and IE. And the DOJ already has contempt for Apple. Last thing Apple needs is a whole can of worms opened up about only being able to install software from the App Store. 

Huge difference. Microsoft had a monopoly. A monopoly is not on a particular platform but on all devices. Microsoft only sold software and not the hardware that the software was put on. So they weren't also selling their own "platform". The WinTel alliance put Windows on every manufacturers desktop hardware. Thus, leading to a monopoly in the market. 

Apple makes the hardware and is controlled by its own software. Unless either Apple's hardware takes over 90% of the market or Apple starts selling its iOS to other manufacturers hardware,  leading to a monopoly of the device market then nothing they are doing is Illegal. 

People are also overlooking the fact that The App Store also markets the apps. This is part of the cost of sales as well. So the 30% Spotify pays goes to marketing, credit card processing, hosting, etc. I'm willing to bet the paid apps help subsidize in small portion the "free" apps in terms of hosting and marketing. Spotify glosses over the fact that many people download the app by seeing it on the App Store either by visiting music apps, top downloaded apps, etc. Spotify would have none of that exposure if not for the IOS and App Store. The price drops in subsequent years to 15% most likely is due to upfront costs, like marketing, which don't apply to an app that has been purchased.  

If if all users if Spotify were downloading based on Spotify marketing, then Spotify could easily state for them to signup on their site. I'm also willing to bet the reason why they are bitching about Apple is that those happen to be the paying customers. Where as, my guess is 80%+ on android are on the free version. 

k2kw said:

This keynote lead me to believe that getting the Echo is better for Home automation control.   Expected more after DED's article last week on WWDC and Siri.   kinda disappointed.   things seemed evolutionary not revolutionary.    SIRI understands me only 1/3 the time-same old frustration on macOS as on the phone. huh.

I think you need to wait and see. Apple never gives all the details of the software at WWDC. Usually, at the time of new hardware and that Keynote, Apple shows off more of the capabilities of the devices. You have to look at all of the announcements made in regard to Siri from all the OS platforms during the keynote to piece some pieces together. First, when discussing Siri on macOS, you are now able to ask Siri followup questions to the previous query. This could be a significant advancement alone in Siri functionality. Siri is now open to developers and 3rd party apps, so Siri functionality will also grow exponentially. The last part was the mention of "differential privacy". Other platforms have advanced due to the collecting of usage data off the device in regard to queries, speech recognition, pattern recognition, etc. All of that was of course at a cost of privacy. Apple enabled differential privacy to send more usage data off of devices to its servers for analysis without knowing who that particular data is tied to. This will also aid advancement of Siri and other areas. 

You have to remember that this software will not be avail until the Fall (as well as any new hardware) . So Apple doesn't want to tip their hat into all of its capabilities now or what may be developed or added by its release. That would give time for the competition to alter, create or announce something prior to the release of the new OS's and hardware. Wait to the keynote in the fall and then make decisions. 

I'll rock the boat and say that this would be a 2016 model. Saying its something coming in 2017 gives competition the idea that they have an additional year to beat Apple to the punch when in reality it shows up in the next 5 months. This is akin to the release of the Apple watch with limited functionality with WatchOS 1.0 only to have 2.0 at the ready a few short months later. Keeps the competition guessing. I'll keep dreaming.

entropys said:

cali said:

Part of me thinks this is BS and they never got into the iPhone and withdrew because of all the bad press they were getting.

I suspect you could be right. From the FBI's perspective better to leave the issue unresolved than to go to court and have it resolved in a way the FBI didn't like. If Apple won it would reduce the FBI's options not just with Apple but also with other 'less principled' manufacturers.

On the other hand, the withdrawal also creates the impression Apple's encryption might have been broken. Apple will need to at least be seen to upgrade encryption in iOS9.4 that could deal with the exploit.

The gripping hand is the encryption war goes on forever.

I think this is a real possibility.  If the FBI did break the encryption I get them not saying how it was done. However, I will not accept them not saying if anything was found on the phone. They made this public and that is what this was all about "supposedly". All citizens have the right to know if they found anything of value after this whole charade.