NoFliesOnMe

mjtomlin said:

greginprague said:

• Bornstein says that console markets taking 30% is fundamentally different than Apple, since consoles generally operate at a loss

Why is that fundamentally different?  Apple isn’t allowed to make money on the equipment and the App Store?  That seems like a preference of Bornstein but nothing that would hold up in court.  To me the App Store commission percentage between platforms is completely relevant and should stand on its own.  If Epic is fine with Sony and Nintendo charging 30% then he must be fine with Apple doing the same.  How was that not ruled on in summary judgement??

People probably don't remember that we all had to pay for OS upgrades. Mac OS was $129, and if I remember, iOS was $19.99 (or 9.99?). The advent and success of the App Store has allowed Apple to remove the need for revenue from OS upgrade sales (to sustain platform development) and that's when they started offering free upgrades. This in turn has allowed Apple to achieve the unusually high upgrade numbers and move the platform forward at a pace the industry had never seen and no one else can match.

While agree Apple does need to do something, allowing 3rd party App Stores on the platform is not one of them. I'm all for side-loading (from "identified" developers and at user's own risk), and dropping their cut from 30/15% to 20/10%.

Actually, Apple providing “free” OS upgrades has absolutely nothing to do with the App Store. When Apple made that change, I think it was around the release of “Snow Leopard”, said they were using an accounting trick to integrate all future software upgrades into the purchase cost of the Apple device. 

NumbuhOne said:

"...the team has put a stop to most device leaks and has discovered some incredible theft attempts. This included factory workers who had tried to build a tunnel in hopes of transporting components outside of the building unnoticed." Who are these guys - Hogan's Heroes?

No they are Wang’s Warriors.

avon b7 said:

NoFliesOnMe said:

avon b7 said:

NoFliesOnMe said:

avon b7 said:

tmay said:

https://qz.com/1660460/hong-kong-protesters-use-airdrop-to-breach-chinas-firewall/

Yeah, I'm "anti-China" because I'm for basic freedom's for the Chinese people, and this tactic is a great way of letting Mainlanders in Hong Kong understand what is going on with the protests.

Ya think that Ren is going to add an Airdrop clone to Huawei and Honor phones?

Ren's lying about Apple as his privacy role model, because he knows it can't happen in China.

You are still mixing a lot of things up.

What does basic freedoms have to do with Huawei?

Huawei might not be perfect (no one is) but Huawei isn't going to help with basic freedoms. Still, just 30 years ago, things were far worse than they are now. If you are seeking some kind of 'instant perfect' you are on the wrong track. Everything takes time. How long did it take for U.S Civil Rights to be enshrined in law for everyone? It definitely wasn't that long ago.

You need to be realistic but you aren't. Either way, Huawei is not ruling China.

You have got to be kidding! 

Now you are the one showing your ignorance, you need to get educated on the subject matter you write about before you post. Isn’t that what you said to me.

Things are worse now in China then they were 30years ago, have you not heard of the pervasive facial recognition system and how it interfaces with the social credit system as a start.

Believe me. I am not kidding. The change has been staggering.

Facial recognition is not a uniquely Chinese thing. They are probably right at the head of the pack in that area but most western governments have people who drool over that kind of technology. There are civil liberties involved and control is required but the technology is already pervasive to most western societies in some form or another. Most of which already have your biometric information already on record anyway.

Like I said 'instant perfect' is not realistic but if you truly believe that China hasn't gone through staggering change (for the better) over the last 30 (or even 40 years) you really should be doing some checks and posting your findings.

If you feel I was unfair in highlighting your false claims further up, I apologise but what you posted was factually incorrect and came over as a deliberate attempt to misrepresent what actually happened. For the benefit of people reading from afar it really is better to have the other side of the story also on the table. That is what I and Gatorguy provided.

I accept your apology and I’ll move on.

As to your claims about China, the post you made a few levels up in the same paragraph as 30years of change you also make the connection to “Civil Rights”. Now even in your last reply you didn’t consider what I said. Yes China has moved ahead in a technological front and living standards have improved but that is not what you said. You made the connection that if they have moved forward on these fronts that they would also be moving along with their civil rights. The opposite is true, when you link facial recognition with big data and a social behavioral modification device like the “Social Credit Score” civil rights go out the window. China is more oppressive now then it was before the Tiananmen Square massacre, and that says a lot. This is part of the fear that the Hong Kong students have in China’s over reach into their society, that all the same systems will be introduced to their island state.

The point on U.S civil liberties was simply to highlight that even in the U.S, things were far from perfect a relatively short time ago. Therefore 'basic freedoms' won't be on a par with what the U.S or many other governments have any time soon and hoping for that kind of change to happen quickly, isn't realistic.

However, in spite of slowness in some areas, staggering progress has been made all over China and lots of it for the better. The reason that the rest of the world does business with China, and doesn't try to isolate it, is because isolation would not be very helpful for anyone. The rest of the world also understands that massive, rapid change on civil liberties is also unrealistic. 

I am part of the rest of the world being located in Australia. And yes our view on China is uniquely our own, and unfortunately from a political view, completely self serving. The mixed messages our government sends is unbelievable at times, but the general theme is we can be bought off with money in the form of direct investment or greater access to their markets. 

The problem with China is that they want to be not just at the big boys/girls table but sitting at its head with all the pomp and benefits it entails. But they don’t want to put the work in to get there on their own terms, as well as not wanting to take on the responsibilities as a good global citizen along the way. This is why they act like the bully boy in the playground, ignoring the rules when it suits them, taking what they want, acting as a stand over country to force what they want and giving back only when there is something in it for themselves. This may sound harsh, however I do want the best for China and what they could do for the the world at large if they chose to but that is not the behavior I see on the world stage(and yes politics both domestic and foreign is what I invest my spare time in, not technology). On the current trajectory I hold grave fears for the people of China and the Asia/Pacific, Australia included, as I can see all the diversity in the region being strangled out by an authoritarian government that has no conscience and is hell bent on expansion.

A group of countries need to stand up to China’s behavior but at this stage I can’t see it happening especially with the foreign affairs train wreck that is the Trump administration. It would nice to see a group standing up to China and saying its behavior is not acceptable along with their being consequences to their actions. I know that is what the trade war with the US and China is supposed to be about, but I have to wonder if there couldn’t be some other strategy that could be employed that didn’t involve so much collateral damage to the world and US economies. 

avon b7 said:

NoFliesOnMe said:

avon b7 said:

tmay said:

https://qz.com/1660460/hong-kong-protesters-use-airdrop-to-breach-chinas-firewall/

Yeah, I'm "anti-China" because I'm for basic freedom's for the Chinese people, and this tactic is a great way of letting Mainlanders in Hong Kong understand what is going on with the protests.

Ya think that Ren is going to add an Airdrop clone to Huawei and Honor phones?

Ren's lying about Apple as his privacy role model, because he knows it can't happen in China.

You are still mixing a lot of things up.

What does basic freedoms have to do with Huawei?

Huawei might not be perfect (no one is) but Huawei isn't going to help with basic freedoms. Still, just 30 years ago, things were far worse than they are now. If you are seeking some kind of 'instant perfect' you are on the wrong track. Everything takes time. How long did it take for U.S Civil Rights to be enshrined in law for everyone? It definitely wasn't that long ago.

You need to be realistic but you aren't. Either way, Huawei is not ruling China.

You have got to be kidding! 

Now you are the one showing your ignorance, you need to get educated on the subject matter you write about before you post. Isn’t that what you said to me.

Things are worse now in China then they were 30years ago, have you not heard of the pervasive facial recognition system and how it interfaces with the social credit system as a start.

Believe me. I am not kidding. The change has been staggering.

Facial recognition is not a uniquely Chinese thing. They are probably right at the head of the pack in that area but most western governments have people who drool over that kind of technology. There are civil liberties involved and control is required but the technology is already pervasive to most western societies in some form or another. Most of which already have your biometric information already on record anyway.

Like I said 'instant perfect' is not realistic but if you truly believe that China hasn't gone through staggering change (for the better) over the last 30 (or even 40 years) you really should be doing some checks and posting your findings.

If you feel I was unfair in highlighting your false claims further up, I apologise but what you posted was factually incorrect and came over as a deliberate attempt to misrepresent what actually happened. For the benefit of people reading from afar it really is better to have the other side of the story also on the table. That is what I and Gatorguy provided.

I accept your apology and I’ll move on.

As to your claims about China, the post you made a few levels up in the same paragraph as 30years of change you also make the connection to “Civil Rights”. Now even in your last reply you didn’t consider what I said. Yes China has moved ahead in a technological front and living standards have improved but that is not what you said. You made the connection that if they have moved forward on these fronts that they would also be moving along with their civil rights. The opposite is true, when you link facial recognition with big data and a social behavioral modification device like the “Social Credit Score” civil rights go out the window. China is more oppressive now then it was before the Tiananmen Square massacre, and that says a lot. This is part of the fear that the Hong Kong students have in China’s over reach into their society, that all the same systems will be introduced to their island state.

avon b7 said:

tmay said:

https://qz.com/1660460/hong-kong-protesters-use-airdrop-to-breach-chinas-firewall/

Yeah, I'm "anti-China" because I'm for basic freedom's for the Chinese people, and this tactic is a great way of letting Mainlanders in Hong Kong understand what is going on with the protests.

Ya think that Ren is going to add an Airdrop clone to Huawei and Honor phones?

Ren's lying about Apple as his privacy role model, because he knows it can't happen in China.

You are still mixing a lot of things up.

What does basic freedoms have to do with Huawei?

Huawei might not be perfect (no one is) but Huawei isn't going to help with basic freedoms. Still, just 30 years ago, things were far worse than they are now. If you are seeking some kind of 'instant perfect' you are on the wrong track. Everything takes time. How long did it take for U.S Civil Rights to be enshrined in law for everyone? It definitely wasn't that long ago.

You need to be realistic but you aren't. Either way, Huawei is not ruling China.

You have got to be kidding! 

Now you are the one showing your ignorance, you need to get educated on the subject matter you write about before you post. Isn’t that what you said to me.

Things are worse now in China then they were 30years ago, have you not heard of the pervasive facial recognition system and how it interfaces with the social credit system as a start.