It is good to have alternative.
Except in china I guess. That place seems somehow everyone is making exception like people are different kind of human. They are the same human. Should have the same human rights.
Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
31–40 of 488 posts
Re: Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
#32It's a devil's bargain: now we have to choose between walled gardens that offer some privacy and extract their revenue from lock-in, and more open systems that live off spying our data. Truth be told, the software development cost of these systems (Android and iOS) is not that huge, a reasonably good open source alternative could probably be created for less than a billion dollars, knowing how financially efficient a…
> the software development cost of these systems [...] is not that huge
> probably be created for less than a billion dollars
I don't think I've worked anywhere that's put more than $500M into a single software project. That is "huge" cost.
(Except maybe Yahoo! but even then I'm not sure.)
Re: Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can use Google Drive on pretty much anything. Now try using iCloud Drive on an Android...
Seriously... Even Microsoft came around to putting Office on Android. Apple? Nowhere to be seen.
Because it makes no financial sense for them. MS’s Office is ubiquitous and has a market beyond the borders of a specific OS. Apple’s solution isn’t nearly as competitive as Google’s or MS’s. It’s a “better than nothing” approach as far as I can tell. Even Google’s solution only competes because of the synergy with the ecosystem (Android), not because of technical superiority.
It’s similar to the reason MS stopped making a mobile OS.
And if you’re wondering, Google’s solution also integrate pretty poorly with the competition’s products, if they can get away with it. But in their case it’s not because it doesn’t make sense, it’s to force people into using G stuff.
Maybe this will change if Apple guarantees some privacy features but without solid technical features to compete, it’s still a tough sell.
Re: Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
#34Still they were/are part of PRISM so keep in mind that the privacy offered depends by various U.S agencies.
Re: Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can use Google Drive on pretty much anything. Now try using iCloud Drive on an Android...
Sure, but if you’re not using Apple products, why would you want iCloud Drive? I mean if it wasn’t deeply connected with iOS and I could slot in any third party, I’d probably never pay for iCloud Drive either. If you want third party on Android, Microsoft’s 1TB of OneDrive as part of Office 365 (can buy annual subscriptions at a discount from Amazon as well) seems the better deal.
> but if you’re not using Apple products, why would you want iCloud Drive?
I think that's the point though: some of apple's products are quite appealing, but really only make sense if you buy into their ecosystem entirely. I could use Chrome without using anything else from Google. I can subscribe to a Google Group without having a Gmail account (though they're not making it easy, or good tbh). I can even use Android without Google – although at that point it's not much of a Google product.
iOS is looking like a nice mobile OS but I'm not interested in buying an iPhone. iTunes may be a good service but I won't be able to use it on Linux or my phone.
Re: Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
#36Apple's strategy is simple. They want to retain control over their customers; at the same time, force the developers into relying entirely on Apple as a middle man so that they can't cut Apple out of any transactions. This way, Apple gets their cut and user's get some level of privacy. That they can get away with this arm-twisting as "privacy" is to give credit to their brand positioning.
You can release a free app and sell subscriptions through real world means e.g. advertising, PR.
You control the customers and you pay Apple nothing. So this idea that Apple is forcing developers to do anything is nonsense.
Re: Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
#37Lots of negativity/skepticism here which is reasonable I would say given tech companies' abuse of our trust. I for one, am happy that Apple can afford to offer privacy as one of its strong suites. Whether they can do it because of their business model or not is moot IMO. Everyone is here to make money, I would rather have someone who doesn't have to sell every aspect of my life to do it.
Trying to sell something to privacy obsessed tech segment is a futile effort. They are never happy and don’t want to pay for anything anyway. But that is not their target market anyway. It is the general public and these comments are just noise.
I don't think that's true, there's quite a thriving privacy based market for the tech obsessed. take librem one and purism's products, the VPN market, the pinephone, proton mail, or lavabit as examples.
https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/
But yes, these comments are likely just noise.
Re: Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
#38Sure sure, If you avert your gaze from China.
Re: Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
#39I still can't access Techcrunch and other Oath website on mobile. Instead of the article I land on a GDPR cookie page and I can only say "OK" there is no way for me to refuse tracking or turn off part of the cookies like on every other websites. WTF?
Re: Apple is now a privacy-as-a-service company
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not in any way an Apple fan and only look at their ecosystem via VM, but I curious. What company have more convenient integration of both own proprietary services and 3rd-party one? As I see it with Apple you can be at least fairly sure their products going to have good integration within their closed-garden ecosystem. With anyone else not even this is guaranteed and you'll likely be bombarded by ads. I'm among t…
I can use Google Drive on pretty much anything. Now try using iCloud Drive on an Android...
Google Drive increases the data you have with Google and encourages you to use other services like Gmail or GSuite. This increases the time you spend with their apps which increases the chances of clicking an in-app advertisement.
Apple doesn't sell ads so there isn't a financial benefit to them releasing iCloud Drive on Android.