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Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

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Re: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

#291

Post by forrestthewoods »

ObsoleteNerd wrote: post #10

Doesn't Valve take 30% from games on Steam? But they're complaining Apple taking 30% is too much? I also don't really think the Apple/Google fee is that unreasonable. Considering the resources, tools, marketplaces, tutorials, payment processing, all the other All dev stuff they provide in general. Yes if your app goes big, they make a lot of money. But for every big app there's something like 9 that fail completely (…

Steam’s 30% is also too high.

There’s a reason the new Fallout 76 is skipping Steam and will be sold through a Bethesda launcher.

Re: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

#292

Post by tankerdude »

michaelchisari wrote: post #231
damon_c wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My GF and I recently moved from NYC to Los Angeles and an Uber driver once asked her "Are you from NY?", "Yes, why?", "Because your rating is so low and people from NYC usually have really low ratings." We checked her rating and it's 4.5 or so. But it's funny, she looks like a deadbeat here because of more discerning/critical NYC Uber drivers who gave her 4 stars 50% of the time.

Los Angeles has serious grade inflation across the board wrt social ratings. Their yelp reviews are completely unreliable, everything is 4 or 5 stars. I'm used to Chicago where even a great restaurant can have 3 stars because everyone is so picky, and the 4 or 5 stars are reserved for the truly extraordinary.

Untrue. Chinese restaurants in the SGV are tough.

3 stars in LA crushes 5 stars in other cities in the US.

And yes, I’ve lived 10 years in the Bay Area and the Chinese food pales in comparison.

Re: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

#293

Post by mrep »

emsy wrote: post #143
throwawaymath wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can you argue that it's not worth "anywhere near 10%, let alone 30%" if there are so many firms willing to pay it? The idea of the fees is not to cover the costs of doing business, it's to turn a (ideally significant) profit. It sounds like your expectation is that a company would not charge as much as the market will accept for a unique product. How much it costs to simply handle e.g. payment processing has rela…

Ideally profits should be incentives for a good service. Instead the profits are a result of the lack of competition because it‘s impossible in iOS‘ case and virtually impossible in Android’s case to compete.

I agree about IOS but it is not hard to download an app for android outside the play store. Amazon has a competing store and fortnite skipped the play store and sells their game straight from the web.

Re: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

#294

Post by mchahn »

Galaxeblaffer wrote: post #286
baby wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good chinese restaurants in London (like my old place) end up having less than 4 stars because of service. I find that raging since the food is the only thing that should matter.

I just had this discussion with my SO while traveling n Japan. Here google maps give a really good indication, but you really really have to check out restaurants with under 4 stars. We found several gems that had under 4 stars because these places where just really busy. From reading the reviews these places the bad reviews where all from really condescending assholes that would even sometimes claim that the waiters…

> had under 4 stars because these places where just really busy

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." -- Yogi Berra

Re: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

#295

Post by mrep »

throwawaymath wrote: post #155
emsy wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ideally profits should be incentives for a good service. Instead the profits are a result of the lack of competition because it‘s impossible in iOS‘ case and virtually impossible in Android’s case to compete.

Is that a lack of competition in the actual legal sense of the word? I don't actually know the answer, but my perception is that it's probably not. Apple does not restrict the ability of another browser to be installed (like Chrome) nor another music service (like Spotify) nor another video service (Amazon). It does charge a high fee for purchases through the App Store platform, but I think reasonable people can disa…

> Apple does not restrict the ability of another browser to be installed (like Chrome)

They do not allow you to develop/use any other webkit than the one provided though.

> nor another music service (like Spotify)

Back when I had an iphone, you could not change the default app switches to competing products like spotify and google maps.

> nor another video service (Amazon)

Amazon cannot sell their videos in their app (nor books in kindle) without paying Apple a 30% cut and there is no way users can download an amazon app that allows them to do so because you cannot install software onto IOS devices outside of their app store.

Re: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

#296

Post by tokyodude »

drb91 wrote: post #262
consto wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe people are over critical but the service and experience of a meal is not to be ignored. I'm sure you would agree that if they literally threw the food at you it wouldn't deserve a rating regardless of the food.

Rating the food, or rating the service? Rating them together is nonsensical.

both ways have problems. when I'm dissatisfied with a place I want to help people not go there but let's say there are separate ratings for service, decor, food, atmosphere. I don't want to lie so if the food tasted like garbage but everything else was a 5 then it will look like I'm helping to recommend the place with 5 5 1 5 average 4 out of 5. 4 out of 5 sounds like a recommendation but what I really wanted to say is "don't go here!"

Re: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

#297

Post by jsjohnst »

opportune wrote: post #216
walterbell wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some Uber drivers also use the Lyft app. Would they use a “DriveTogether” app for labor organizing? Is digital labor organizing more or less work than old-school organizing of workers in factories across a large geographic region? Edit: looks like this is now legally permitted, https://tcf.org/content/report/virtual-labor-organizing/ ”Due to a little-known, but far-reaching change made by the NLRB last year, virtual…

One major barrier is that you don’t have to meet any of your coworkers unless you explicitly seek them out, and your employer certainly isn’t going to help you. So yes I would say that labor organizing across a gig platform is considerably harder than for factories across geographic regions. The social fabric is a lot harder to construct

Many drivers (in NYC anyway) are members of online discussion forums, so they are connecting already. I read many a multi-hundred page threads of drivers ranting and deciding to strike several years ago over Uber forcing black cars to accept UberX rides. Them joining together is a major reason Uber backtracked that policy per Uber’s public statement about it.

Re: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

#298

Post by mrep »

dangjc wrote: post #70

Maybe Apple and Google should be paying app makers instead considering how much more valuable their phones become BECAUSE of apps. If there was perfect competition between more than two OS makers, I'd predict the charge would be closer to 0. Without it, we can only stab into the air to guess what the real clearing price would be.

For IOS, that would make sense but the play store is basically the only way (with the recent EU fine) that google can make money on android.

Re: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

#299

Post by compostable »

tankerdude wrote: post #292
michaelchisari wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Los Angeles has serious grade inflation across the board wrt social ratings. Their yelp reviews are completely unreliable, everything is 4 or 5 stars. I'm used to Chicago where even a great restaurant can have 3 stars because everyone is so picky, and the 4 or 5 stars are reserved for the truly extraordinary.

Untrue. Chinese restaurants in the SGV are tough. 3 stars in LA crushes 5 stars in other cities in the US. And yes, I’ve lived 10 years in the Bay Area and the Chinese food pales in comparison.

Hmmm, we are going to have to check your credentials. In your opinion what is the best Chinese restaurant in either LA or SF?

Re: Apple and Google Face Growing Revolt Over App Store ‘Tax’

#300

Post by tjr225 »

felipelemos wrote: post #281
baby wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good chinese restaurants in London (like my old place) end up having less than 4 stars because of service. I find that raging since the food is the only thing that should matter.

If the food is the only thing that should matter everyone should be ordering for delivery. The service counts so much as the food in my opinion.

Eh, unless they're shitting on my plate I feel no need to be critical of service at all. Also, it's nice to eat out simply because it's away from your home.
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