arlomedia

scampercom said:

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.

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.

Rayz2016 said:

But I tell you what. If you don’t think the App Store is helping you find paying customers then pull your apps, rewrite them for Android and reap the benefits of the larger markets. 

My apps are already available on both platforms. Being told to simply abandon iOS is pretty unrealistic considering the size of its customer base and the enormous investments I've already made in that platform. I also don't see how telling developers to leave helps Apple or its customers.

I'm so tired of all the "free market" or "go somewhere else" arguments, all of which ignore the simple fact that iOS customers are not allowed to install apps from anywhere else. That breaks any comparison or analogy that has been made with other business models or forms of retail sales. I don't believe the 30% commission is the cost of hosting apps, "marketing" them or providing quality control. It's an arbitrary amount that Apple has set because they can, because there is no alternative to deliver products to customers who use their platform.

But clearly the focus here is defending whatever Apple has decided to do rather than looking realistically at areas that could be improved.

Why is retail sales of a physical product the benchmark?

Also, I think people are really overestimating the value of the App Store as a marketing resource. I can't remember the last time I downloaded an app that I wasn't aware of until I found it on the App Store. When I survey my own customers, they're mostly finding my product in other ways.

sacto joe said:
If it’s not a free app, it shouldn’t be allowed to disguise itself as a free app. Period. If Apple says you have to go through their payment system, and you want on their app store, then follow the rules. Period.

Apple doesn't say you have to go through their payment system. They say if you don't, you can't lead people to your payment system. They also say the only way a consumer can install an iOS app is by downloading it from a public App Store listing. It is this combination of rules that prohibits developers from being clear about pricing, not developers who are trying to "disguise" their apps. Apple could fix the situation by offering more listing options, such as unlisted apps for developers who need to distribute an app that's part of a larger product, or a label that says "This app requires a subscription." I have similar language as the first line of my App Store description, but some people apparently just see the FREE label and don't read beyond that.

This isn't the only App Store policy that customers blame developers for. I remember when Apple added the app auto-update function to iOS, and turned it on for everyone by default. For a few months I was getting enraged messages from users: "Why did you update my app version without my permission?" I had to explain that I have no ability to push app updates to their devices and this is actually a setting that Apple turned on and they can turn off if they want it to work like it used to. I also sent Apple feedback about that and got no reply. I think these are the sorts of things that make developers feel taken for granted and can push someone like the Basecamp guy over the edge.

I'll save someone the trouble of writing the usual response: "If you don't like their system, you don't have to use it." As if there is no possibility of improvement.