s.metcalf

viclauyyc said:

If the government need to save/protect their citizen base on moral and ethical grounds, then a whole lot more things needed to ban, gun, religion, gambling, alcohol, pornography, big corporation, etc.

Parents should help and guide their children when using internet. Adult should knows how to wisely use their money. 

Ah yes, blame the victims.  There are plenty of precedents for government regulation, limitation and outright banning of things less harmful, but in a country that is happy to see an epidemic of school massacres and gun violence then it's not surprising that this mindset exists in the US.  I expected better from the UK, however.

In time I think action will be taken.  As the article mentions, Belgium has already taken action, and as awareness grows then more will be done to limit these methods and practices.  The games are deliberately addictive and allow people to spend an infinite amount of money.  They use many of the same tactics as poker machines.  It's hilarious if you think that government is not supposed to take action that results in a fairer, more just, safer, and more prosperous society.  That is, I argue, entirely their raison d'être.  It's a bold position to suggest or argue otherwise, but each to their own I guess.

And as someone who is not a said victim can I say this: gaming existed long before these ultra-predatory practices, and did just fine.  These methods only harm the gaming industry and give it a bad name.  They make it harder for decent developers to get the publicity and recognition they deserve.  And the only ones that benefit are the rich CEOs, executives and shareholders of the disgusting companies that do it, and the publishers like Apple who take their cut.  Again, it's bold position to take to defend them.  It's not a position I'd be proud of.

Well “Pro” is certainly not stopping me buying their better products labelled as such, so if that means accepting it then I suppose you’re right, but at the same time it’s still ridiculous marketing.  Marketers tend to march to the beat of their own drum.  Like.  Inventing.  One.  Word.  Sentences.  Or dropping the “ly” from the end of words to save space, but I think that’s more of an American English thing.  I’m not sure.

mpantone said:

I've been an Apple customer for decades and as far as I can tell "professional" is a marketing moniker that mostly means "more expensive."

It's usually accompanied by slightly better performance. Is that enough to merit the "professional" branding?

It is for Apple. And perhaps more importantly their overall customer base has accepted Apple's usage of the term.

It’s not like they have a choice.  Yes, for Apple “Pro” simply means better, which by extension is also more expensive.  If you want to better version, get the “Pro” model.  I got an iPad Pro for my elderly disabled mother and she’s hardly a  “Pro”.  The quality of life improvements made it worth it in my opinion.

Looking forward to the ultra-high detail map arriving in Sydney and Melbourne as was announced during WWDC.  The maps are already very good, but I want the same detail as New York/San Francisco/LA etc.

Apple has been moving slowly but steadily in the right direction after its debacle of a launch and their best maps are now far superior to Google in my opinion.

As I geographer myself I think it’s time to retire aerial photography in these areas that have the ultra-detailed map.  There is no benefit to it and it actually has numerous flaws and weaknesses compared to the ultra-detailed, 3D vector map.  It’s also typically far less current than the continually updating vector map.

I would also like a better way of showing bus routes because currently it doesn’t aid discoverability at all.  Perhaps, for example, by selecting a bus stop it could show all routes using that shop in a colour-coded fashion.  Sydney has hundreds of bus routes and even locals struggle with it.