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Epic, Spotify, and Tinder form advocacy group to push for app store changes

appfairness.org

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Re: Epic, Spotify, and Tinder form advocacy group to push for app store changes

#381

Post by nerfhammer »

Udik wrote: post #270
tmotwu wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not exactly sure if it's astroturfing, but there's definitely been a lot of non-devs commenting on this issue. You can see this when they go off on some security tangent while the App Store is in fact host to thousands of malware in disguise. They trust that Apple is manually reviewing each and every App for security holes, that's why the App Store exists in the first place and totally why there's a 30% toll. I'm sta…

Security and privacy are just like those 200 metres waterproof watches they were selling in the '80s. Most people who bought them hardly went deeper than their bathtub. You buy the concept, and caring about the expensive details is a nice signal of affluence and self-esteem (I deserve this much security & privacy).

tangent, but that 200M rated depth matters even if you don't go deep underwater because it's only rated for static pressure, i.e. when the device/water aren't moving. Thrashing your arm around underwater will create momentary pressures much greater than the static pressure of a few feet of water. The temporary pressure from a wave at the beach hitting you can easily ruin a 50M watch.

Re: Epic, Spotify, and Tinder form advocacy group to push for app store changes

#382

Post by jonny_eh »

danShumway wrote: post #199
dpratt wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a flawed analogy. The correct one would be Cheerios printing "If you buy me at Costco, I cost $1 less" on the outside of the box. No rational retailer that isn't Costco would carry that product.

Eh. A better analogy would be Cheerios sticking an insert inside their box of cereal that said, "save $1 at Costco". That kind of behavior is pretty common with physical retailers; most boxed products I buy will contain inserts that advertise replacement parts and other products from other sources. Apple isn't just banning apps from mentioning competing stores in app descriptions, it's banning them from mentioning co…

This! Even better would be an insert in the box saying "buy future Cheerios from Cheerios.com at 30% off".

Re: Epic, Spotify, and Tinder form advocacy group to push for app store changes

#383

Post by m000 »

systemvoltage wrote: post #158
izacus wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting how there's so many posts here attacking the companies behind the action (ad hominem style) by specifying actions that have nothing to do with the abuses Apple and AppStore do. Is this targeted?

Showing how App Store is consumer centric - I think that's important to put in the context where Apple has to keep a tight grip or else these savage businesses would devour the customer's privacy in instant and exploit their psyche with tricks to milk as much money as they can. I am glad Apple is gatekeeping.

This is like claiming that you're glad when a TSA agent gropes you, because that keeps the savage terrorists out.

In both cases, it is a security theatre which is abused for reasons not related to security.

Re: Epic, Spotify, and Tinder form advocacy group to push for app store changes

#386

Post by egypturnash »

shadowgovt wrote: post #50

Ah, okay. Now I begin to see their goals. I've been trying to wrap my head around why Epic would shoulder-tackle Apple in the space of app stores, when they have their own app store. Naively, I've been thinking that any ruling adverse to Apple here also impacts Epic's business model---if the government caps app store revenue cuts at, say, 10%, that's a slice off the top of what Epic can charge developers going throug…

Valve used to be a game publisher first and an app store owner second, too. I'm sure Epic's app store was in part inspired by looking at the immense pile of money Valve is now sitting on due to getting a 30% cut of most PC game money for most of the past two decades.

Re: Epic, Spotify, and Tinder form advocacy group to push for app store changes

#387

Post by M4v3R »

sushid wrote: post #362
burlesona wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it means Sony has to add Steam to PS5 or else it is narrow and arbitrary. To me the iPhone is a console, end of story. If you like the console experience, it’s a great device. If you don’t, there are a million android and even alternative OS based phones out there which are more like a PC. If you want your phone to be a PC, you should do what most people around the world do and buy one of those. Instead we have…

This is so ridiculous. Do you sign into your bank or trade stocks on your XBox? Where would you access important documents outside of your desktop/laptop?

Playstation Network does store my credit card details on file for future purchases. It stores my personal data. It also has a web browser that could be used for pretty much anything.

Re: Epic, Spotify, and Tinder form advocacy group to push for app store changes

#388

Post by nicetryguy »

clansimus wrote: post #329
nicetryguy wrote: post #75

I'm surprised at all of the negativity here. The changes proposed would be great for developers, even if (most) of the companies involved are shady, their reasons are selfish, and the obvious "astroturfiness" of the website is laughably dissonant and reeks like a dirty think tank that hasn't been cleaned in months. Apple has no qualms about absolutely screwing developers historically. I'm happy to see some pushback.

Because "great for developers" just shouldn't matter. It should be about what the consumers want.

That's an easy opinion to have when it's not your livelihood.

Does consumer centric focus necessitate draconian developer policies?

Re: Epic, Spotify, and Tinder form advocacy group to push for app store changes

#389

Post by dang »

tmotwu wrote: post #225
nicetryguy wrote: post #75

I'm surprised at all of the negativity here. The changes proposed would be great for developers, even if (most) of the companies involved are shady, their reasons are selfish, and the obvious "astroturfiness" of the website is laughably dissonant and reeks like a dirty think tank that hasn't been cleaned in months. Apple has no qualms about absolutely screwing developers historically. I'm happy to see some pushback.

Not exactly sure if it's astroturfing, but there's definitely been a lot of non-devs commenting on this issue. You can see this when they go off on some security tangent while the App Store is in fact host to thousands of malware in disguise. They trust that Apple is manually reviewing each and every App for security holes, that's why the App Store exists in the first place and totally why there's a 30% toll. I'm sta…

Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing. That's in the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Unless people have specific evidence, the overwhelming majority of the time, these perceptions turn out to be illusory. Other commenters having different views than one's own does not constitute specific evidence (or rather, it's evidence merely that a topic is divisive). Plenty of past explanation here: https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=comme...

Re: Epic, Spotify, and Tinder form advocacy group to push for app store changes

#390

Post by bluedevil2k »

pb7 wrote: post #204
bluedevil2k wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Happy to rip off their customers via in-game transactions. If people are happy and willingly buying skins, dances, and battle passes, that's not a rip-off.

How is this different than "if developers are happy and willingly develop for iOS then [the fees] are not a rip-off"?

The developers aren’t happy. No one forces a Fortnite player to buy skins or emotes, Apple forces developers to pay the fee.
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