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Apple has locked me out of my developer account

rambo.codes

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Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#341

Post by saagarjha »

zepto wrote: post #339
saagarjha wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Have you published information about undisclosed features in the press? Define "press". > Why is distributing information covered by the NDA ok, but screenshots not? Because that's what the license agreement says. Information about prerelease software is OK to discuss, sharing screenshots is not.

Ok - so it seems like you are confirming that we do know what he has done that breaks the NDA.

Yes. It's just that we don't know if that's why Apple has locked him out of his account.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#342

Post by dkonofalski »

benologist wrote: post #212
dkonofalski wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read your own articles. None of the decisions were overturned as a result of a report to the media. All of them were resolved independently between Apple and the developer.

Google Voice and the NiN album were both reinstated without change after succumbing to public pressure. Google actually went to the FTC where Apple claimed they didn't reject their app! The drone strike notification app in the Vice article ended up being approved in 2017(!!) after five years of trying to publish it, then it got immediately removed lol. https://www.macworld.com/article/1140476/accessapproved.html http…

None of those articles cite the reason for the change as being media backlash, though. If that was the case, then why would Apple wait days in some cases, weeks in others, and years (according to you) for still others.

It's always resolved through either a change by the developer or a change in the review policy at Apple. Again, the statement is about the relationship between the developer and Apple. If anything, Apple will be less likely to cave or change a decision just because of media pressure. Otherwise, the countdown timer, podcast app, and South Park would have just been approved after the media got wind of it. You're literally arguing against yourself with that point.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#343

Post by anoncake »

dkonofalski wrote: post #187
anoncake wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. Free speech (and other rights) isn't about governments but about people. Your rights aren't less violated because the violator has no democratic legitimation, that just makes it worse. The only way in which companies infringing your rights is less relevant is that companies having that ability shouldn't even exist, so making them behave is merely a band-aid.

That is nonsense. This isn't about limiting speech. It's about maintaining a business relationship. No one, individual or otherwise, has the right to force a business relationship, or any other relationship, between two people, entities, or companies unless both sides are willing to maintain it.

Of course you have a right to use the services companies provide! That's the whole point of allowing them to exist. Your approach just gives power to capitalists they shouldn't have.

It's obviously not quite as clear-cut when it comes to relationships between individuals that have rights.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#344

Post by mzs »

I didn't have to agree to anything to develop for my handspring, just used gcc. I did have to click some agreement for the emulator ROMs but those weren't strictly necessary either. There weren't any recurring charges, app review process, or forbidden APIs either. I didn't have to buy a computer from handspring or palm and nobody could stop me or the authors that wrote books. I miss those days.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#345

Post by dkonofalski »

saagarjha wrote: post #228
dkonofalski wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except it doesn't. In nearly every case where a decision by Apple was reversed, it was internal communications with the affected party that led to the resolution. I would love a source that said that bad-mouthing Apple to the media resulted in the outcome they wanted.

Running to the press is a sure way to get Apple to stop ignoring you.

No it's not. There have been several cases where someone has run to the press and it's done nothing. I have yet to see someone cite an instance where a media connection suddenly made Apple be more communicative with an individual. In every case I've seen so far, Apple has already been in contact with the individual and the only thing the media attention does is give that person an outlet to post the emails they get from Apple along with their side of the "story" with a bunch of conjecture from a blogger thrown in.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#346

Post by helpPeople »

IAmEveryone wrote: post #299
helpPeople wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have refused as well. My users and I lose by buying Apple products. I weep that Apple has entrenched themselves into the tech ecosystem. They take advantage of the least educated users fear and outright lie about security and product quality. Is there anything we can do?

> They take advantage of the least educated users If you actually want to convince people, it might help not to start from the assumption of them being stupid. Walk around at a physics conference, Google office, Harvard or MIT campus, and you'll see more MacBooks than any other brand. The notion of these users universally being clueless defies logic.

Plenty of people fall for marketing.

I'm not sure how that is relevant.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#348

Post by dannyw »

dkonofalski wrote: post #345
saagarjha wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Running to the press is a sure way to get Apple to stop ignoring you.

No it's not. There have been several cases where someone has run to the press and it's done nothing. I have yet to see someone cite an instance where a media connection suddenly made Apple be more communicative with an individual. In every case I've seen so far, Apple has already been in contact with the individual and the only thing the media attention does is give that person an outlet to post the emails they get f…

If you think PR teams don't escalate issues internally, you're probably just not part of the people your PR department talks to.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#349

Post by scarface74 »

jariel wrote: post #295
scarface74 wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another day another case of an HN user not understanding the definition of a “monopoly”.

If you want a better word, how about 'oligarchy' (iOS/Android). That said 'monopoly' is essentially a fine word, it captures the essence of the situation. Monopolists in particular dictate the terms to all their surrounding entities, which is what Apple does. It's actually a misunderstanding of the nature of monopoly to characterise it as the only 'single provider' of a service, because that technical differentiation…

Words Mean Things: The word “monopoly” has a specific legal meaning with various legal remedies. Anytime you are working with any major company there is an “imbalance of power”. That doesn’t mean they have a monopoly.

One of those meanings isn’t “a company is doing something with their platform that I don’t like”.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#350

Post by bsder »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #329
fjabre wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This 100%. Government needs to get involved. Apple is clearly using its monopolistic power as shield against any kind of accountability. Devs have absolutely no recourse against this monopoly.

OK, I'll bite. So in this case, a dev has (we think) broken the ToS of his agreement with Apple by publishing information before launch. What do you think the government should do about this?

I think ToS that say "We can screw you and you can't do anything about it." need to get ripped up once you reach monopoly status.

At the very least, Apple and Google should have to appoint a "public ombudsman" overseen by the government that handles these kinds of complaints/problems that people can actually contact. And if they don't seem to be handling them very well, they need to get fined increasingly severely until they do.

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