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I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

judiciary.house.gov

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Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#261

Post by perryizgr8 »

oltremarino wrote: post #259

I don't really understand why Apple is allowed to have the amount of power it has today: it provides the hardware, the operating system, the software store (which they make sure is the only way to get software for most users), _and_ gets to decide whether any particular piece of software is allowed on the store? Surely there needs to be some separation of powers? e.g. a third party (could be set up by the government…

> Is anything being done in that direction that might become effective?

Stop buying iphones and macs.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#262

Post by frogpelt »

antimeme wrote: post #247
mhafez17 wrote: post #29

Wow. I am the author of this email. I have no idea how it resurfaced after 5 years, I was only made aware of this when a friend emailed me the HN link. The sad thing is it was not just my company which was targeted, but Apple removed this entire product category. We never knew the real reason why, or if it was bigger than just a random app reviewer trying to apply Apple policy, until May 2019. That's when Bloomberg i…

Hello. I read your email to Tim Cook with interest and I sympathize with the plight of your company. But I wish you would treat other platforms with more respect. To be clear, I'm glad you enjoy Apple products and I'm not trying to talk you out of that -- as if that were possible. But I do want you to understand that my experience with them is different than yours. Apple products don't delight me. I've tried them. Ev…

Consider that he tailored his message for the recipient, as most anyone would do.

Imagine if you had spent years (maybe you have, I don't know you) building an app and a business for a platform you love only to have it snatched away.

Wouldn't it bring out strong emotion and cause you to want to appeal to them in the same way?

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#263

Post by bluquark »

umvi wrote: post #114
wvenable wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Security or freedom, chose one. You can't have both.

I think we are slowly coming to the consensus (as a society) that security is preferable to freedom because it maximizes harm reduction (harm reduction being the ultimate metric by which to measure the value of something). I don't agree at all, but the way our government is, it's a one way ratchet to get new laws passed. Speech laws only get stricter (one inch at a time) over the years, never looser. Gun laws only ge…

We are in the middle of a pandemic that the US has been singularly unable/unwilling among the world's developed countries to apply the necessary measures to solve, and still you argue that the real problem is too much harm reduction...

I'm sure enjoying my fulfilling free life as I make plans to sit alone in my apartment for another entire year because I live in the land of freedom, where people can dine in indoor restaurants without a mask.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#264

Post by perryizgr8 »

greatjack613 wrote: post #212

I honestly feel the best option would be for spotify, netflix, microsoft, facebook, epic, and all other companies who have been burned by apple to pull their apps indefinitely. Sort of like a hunger strike. I am confident apple will cave first.

I actually don't think it will make a difference. Apple users are used to accepting weird compromises. Iphone 4 was notorious for bad reception during calls. Apple's solution: hold it correctly. People buy apple h/w for the shine, not any specific use, whose absence would make them buy something else. So they will just endure without Fortnite, MS Word, Google Maps, Youtube etc.

In fact I'm sure many people will blame Microsoft/Google/Epic and say that Apple is in the clear, just look at this thread.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#265

Post by perryizgr8 »

hellofunk wrote: post #12
floren wrote: post #9

>I am in no way delusional enough to think we are partners or that Apple needs us in any respect. Of course we are insignificant to the success of Apple. Our departure from the App Store won't make even the tiniest blip. Of course I know that and this is no way meant to try to insinuate otherwise. "Oh Lord, oooh you are so big. So absolutely huge. Gosh, we're all really impressed down here I can tell you. Forgive us,…

This snarky response undermines the meaningful content found throughout the whole letter.

Meaningful content does not excuse the real cringey shit like quoted above.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#266

Post by jolux »

zepto wrote: post #220
Hamuko wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Am I comparing streaming video to streaming video? Why yes, I am.

You keep repeating this, but at this point it’s hard to imagine that you really see no difference in either the technology or the experience between what Netflix does and what xCloud does. Do you really not see that there is a difference between watching a movie, and controlling a remote video console which is playing a fully interactive video game?

There’s a difference but it’s relatively pedantic. Netflix has interactive shows and the play/pause is necessarily controlling a remote server as well.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#267

Post by pinpanpuchi »

mhafez17 wrote: post #29

Wow. I am the author of this email. I have no idea how it resurfaced after 5 years, I was only made aware of this when a friend emailed me the HN link. The sad thing is it was not just my company which was targeted, but Apple removed this entire product category. We never knew the real reason why, or if it was bigger than just a random app reviewer trying to apply Apple policy, until May 2019. That's when Bloomberg i…

Not trying to start a flame war, but as an Android user, I often hear things from Apple users along the lines of what you said "I picked up an Android phone and after 5 mins I couldn't handle how they completely missed delighting the user over and over again". It all sounds rather wishy-washy and ambiguous to me, do you mind to elaborate and give some examples? In all fairness, I tried out the demo units of Iphones and Ipads at the Apple Stores and never found the interface to be immediately intuitive despite the hype about Apple's polished UI.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#268

Post by sequoia »

tomc1985 wrote: post #116
overeater wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My sympathies. That's a really sad story. I don't know if it's any consolation that it was at least discussed among the executives. I don't know why you originally eschewed the web. I've developed on closed platforms in the past: Facebook (when Facebook games like Farmville and Mafia Wars were crazy hot), Silverlight, OpenSocial, Twitter, and now Google Apps Script. My work is always worthless in 2-3 years, and what…

Honestly, making fun of old platforms like the web (which isn't even that old) suggests that the writer is the kind of wide-eyed business huckster playing into Americans' cultural affinity for new tech, and folks like that are a huge chunk of the reason why we have so much technology churn today Old, mature technology is a treasure. Not something to make fun of

This is a rude and unkind way to refer another person in this conversation (the poster two comments up from you in the thread and the author of the letter in question). Reconsider your approach.

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#269

Post by Abishek_Muthian »

mhafez17 wrote: post #29

Wow. I am the author of this email. I have no idea how it resurfaced after 5 years, I was only made aware of this when a friend emailed me the HN link. The sad thing is it was not just my company which was targeted, but Apple removed this entire product category. We never knew the real reason why, or if it was bigger than just a random app reviewer trying to apply Apple policy, until May 2019. That's when Bloomberg i…

I had a retro arachnoid type game in Appstore for years which was under 'Arcade' category, when apple branded its gaming subscription service as 'Arcade', it forced me to change it to an irrelevant category(Casual). I'm confident, none of the earlier 'Arcade' type games made it to the new 'Apple Arcade' program as it required to be a shiny new unreleased game, developed according to Apple's wishes for its subscription program.

Bam, just like that all Arcade games became non-Arcade with a single email.

If this is not clear abuse of power, then what it is? Don't tell me that a Trillion dollar company couldn't come up with a better name for its subscription service without hurting hundreds, perhaps thousands of small time developers?

Re: I fear App Review is getting too powerful (2015) [pdf]

#270

Post by chillfox »

mhafez17 wrote: post #142
jrochkind1 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happened to the company and the 20+ people? Did it indeed just wind down, everyone lost their job?

Pretty much. Site still up, but only one part time publisher making very little to keep it afloat. Site is now loaded with Google ads (we used to have no ads on the site). I'm kind of embarrassed to show the site in its current form. It's 99% old content, and no maintenance is several years. It was the best time of my life in its heyday. The founders and dev team started a new company unrelated to apps. I tried my be…

If you still have some involvement with the site then I would suggest moving to a premium ad network (Ezoic, Mediavine, AdThrive) instead of google.
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