maximara

mcdave said:

shareef777 said:

I'm confused, what's the diff with how Roblox and Fortnite were treated? Both have in-game currency that must be purchased via IAP so that Apple gets their 30% fee. I don't see how they were treated any differently.

I think it’s less about charging for in-game currency and more about creating an app which is really a storefront for in-game apps. Roblox provides templates but Epic wants to supply discreet apps.

Except Roblox is not about in-game apps - it is akin to Mario Maker, Tinker Toys, Lego, or Minecraft.  Mario Maker and Minecraft have called themselves "games" from day one.

"For example, in allowing the purchases of real-world goods and services but charging for digital ones, there is a disparity between apps."

If purchases of real-world goods equates to charging for digital ones then what of loot boxes?  If they are "goods" then clearly we have illegal unregulated gambling all over the place.  It is like the DOJ has never heard of the concept of "unintended consequences".

rob53 said:

If this acquisition is allowed it makes no sense why Apple’s App Store is being forced to open up. Apple has every right to run its products the way it wants to. Nvidia owning ARM affects multiple computing companies not just its own. 

Considering every bill that has tried to force Apple’s App Store open has failed (North Dakota), vanished from the voting session when it became obvious the votes weren't there (Arizona), and the rest are in committee (where some 90% of bills die) the whole thing is a tempest in a teapot.

sdw2001 said:

darkvader said:

Always remember that 'Genius' you think is doing such a great job repairing your computer, so much better than a third-party repair shop could possibly do, is actually working for about $13/hour.  Apple does not pay store employees a living wage.

Care to explain what a "living wage" would be? Who decides it? And why people continue to work for less than that amount?  

I'll do better.  I'll quote a Republican President:

"No man can be a good citizen unless he has a wage more than sufficient to cover the bare cost of living, and hours of labor short enough so that after his day’s work is done he will have time and energy to bear his share in the management of the community, to help in carrying the general load. We keep countless men from being good citizens by the conditions of life with which we surround them. We need comprehensive workmen’s compensation acts, both state and national laws to regulate child labor and work for women, and, especially, we need in our common schools not merely education in book learning, but also practical training for daily life and work."

"We stand for a living wage. Wages are subnormal if they fail to provide a living for those who devote their time and energy to industrial occupations. The monetary equivalent of a living wage varies according to local conditions, but must include enough to secure the elements of a normal standard of living--a standard high enough to make morality possible, to provide for education and recreation, to care for immature members of the family, to maintain the family during periods of sickness, and to permit of reasonable saving for old age."

His cousin, a Democratic President had this to say:
"No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages, I mean more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of a decent living"

As far as whey people work for below a living wage read novels based on the real live horrors that were the Gilded Age: The Jungle and Midnight is a Place.

Having worked in the service industry I have to ask is there any company (even franchises) who do not treat the customer as god and you, their employee, like something that came out of the rear end of a dog?  Even when I had great superiors the one above them would have a hissy fit over any kind of bad review - even when we could prove the bad review wasn't about us.  

Corporate America, regardless of industry, has become a stress filled nightmare.  Small wonder I had heart failure with a 5% chance of surviving at the age of 49 - and that was as a night auditor - a supposedly stressless position.

darkvader said:

Looking forward to Apple getting smacked down again.

It is hard to tell if that happens.  The law in question is a vague state law and Federal appeals courts tend to go with 'retain the status quo'. It all depends on how well Apple explains the situation and how fast the court acts.  A 30 day extension (getting Apple past the somewhat chaotic holiday season) could be in the cards.  I don't see much further down the line.

As for lawsuits against Apple for changing things - that is DOA because Apple would be compiling with a court ruling. I seriously doubt any judge would tolerate any such lawsuit and likely give a summary judgment so fast it would make the plaintiffs' heads spin like a top.  If they were really ticked off at the plaintiffs' they could have them pay Apple's legal fees on top of everything else.