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Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

deccanherald.com

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Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#131

Post by ahiknsr »

bilalhusain wrote: post #126

Since the title mentions the idea as well as the govt, let me add that while the idea is excellent, the current (Modi) govt is incompetent when it comes to execution, or may be has some other interests. Examples - failed demonetization, poor implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), failed Covid-19 lockdown. Most of what the govt does benefits select corporates (eg. rise of Jio). Interestingly, Paytm benefited…

>>>They are known to blackout journalists, assassinate lawyer, conduct media trials and put anyone speaking against them in jail.

Can you please share some citation for the assassination part. I don't think the Bar Council of India would be happy if a lawyer is assassinated by government.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#132

Post by whimsicalism »

akritrime wrote: post #98

I am not sure how I feel about the government being directly involved in creating the app store. On one hand, I believe the government should take measures to nurture the local startups and app, to give them a fair chance at growing. On the other hand, I don't think an app store created and managed by the government will have the right incentive to be competitive against foreign players and may just end up spiraling…

> may just end up spiraling into a hot bureaucratic mess

Many publicly traded corporations are not that much different. I am confident that an app-store is not that hard of a task relative to the revenue Google et al are extracting from mit.

If the govt can run a postal service competitively, then I don't see why what is basically a glorified file hosting service + reviews would be impossible.

If anything, I think we need more of these "public options" to compete with walled-garden "platform"/market-making tech companies like Google's play store, Venmo, Uber, etc.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#133

Post by abc-xyz »

dgellow wrote: post #57
risyachka wrote: post #17

It will be a special kind of joy for small developers to publish their apps on a billion stores each with its own regulations.

You mean that us, developers, will have to choose the right fit between multiple options, in a competitive ecosystem? That’s exactly what I want!

Have you tried publishing apps for the App/Play Store? Last time I made a game with Unity then I had to export it to different platforms and for some of them, such as iOS, then I had to make additional code modifications with xcode to get e.g. ads to work properly. I’d easily end up spending a day on making sure each store listing looked good (required files in different formats, and tons of settings to setup).

I also struggle to think of a scenario in which you wouldn’t want your app published on all app stores (unless you for moral reasons wouldn’t want your app on Chinese-owned stores or something like that).

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#134

Post by whimsicalism »

dannyw wrote: post #122
yorwba wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

F-Droid's press release actually explains their decision not to ban Fedilab even though it allows accessing Gab and they don't like it. https://f-droid.org/en/2019/07/16/statement.html

Their press release says: > F-Droid is taking a political stance here I do not want any App Store to be taking political stances.

> I do not want any App Store to be taking political stances.

I don't think there is a clean separation between political and non-political when you're choosing whether to accept or deny apps to an app store.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#135

Post by patmorgan23 »

dannyw wrote: post #122
yorwba wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

F-Droid's press release actually explains their decision not to ban Fedilab even though it allows accessing Gab and they don't like it. https://f-droid.org/en/2019/07/16/statement.html

Their press release says: > F-Droid is taking a political stance here I do not want any App Store to be taking political stances.

Free software is a political stance

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#136

Post by whimsicalism »

return1 wrote: post #112
actuator wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't see that same characteristic in Indian culture; of course there is a market for luxury goods but it's not the same. Can it be just because of the difference in disposable income in the countries? I don't know any reliable metric for income but the GDP per capita of PRC is five times that of India. The quench for luxurious goods comes with rising income.

True but apple sells luxury , or premium products. They don’t seem to care for poorer countries

Yes, but China only became rich enough that lots of wealthy young Chinese could be buying iPhones recently. I do not think it would be unreasonable to make the same bet on India being a decade or two behind.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#137

Post by d3nj4l »

hawkoy wrote: post #21
switch11 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's look at some background 1) The issue is that Google is attacking competitors using the App Store as a weapon Google Pay is one of the biggest payment apps in India It attacked PayTm, another very big payment app, by making its app disappear 2) So lots of Indian companies are using it as an opportunity to do BOTH A) Point out Google attacking competitors B) Google taking 30% cut is unsustainable * Now, in INdia…

Attacked Paytm? They have fantasy cricket now which is definitely gambling and my dad is getting spammed with messages that look exactly like scams. I am glad they removed it even if just for a few hours. They didn't comply after being requested to multiple times. Justifying it as cashback can be used for almost anything in the way they have done.

Yes. This is entirely because PayTM thought it was too big to fail - and Google shut it down anyway.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#138

Post by onelovetwo »

bhaavan wrote: post #84
abrbhat wrote: post #82

It seems most people are arguing that the only alternative to 2 app stores is a large number of app stores. But what if the alternative is no app stores? Anyone can install whatever software they want on their device from wherever they want it. Just like it works for desktops. The need for app stores is an artificially created need (by the marketing brilliance of Jobs).

I would argue that an App Store, on mobile has helped avoid virus, and malware on phones, unlike how Windows was able to contain it. Having a trusted App Store by a company, who understands security, and has a financial backing to commit to a secure system, is beneficial all the way down.

I think you might not be aware of how many vulnerabilities iOS has had over the years and still has. Its not the security heaven you and Apple are making it out to be. https://9to5mac.com/2020/05/14/zerodium-has-too-many-ios-exp...

And believe it or not a Store does not have much to do with covering your ass when it comes to malware. There is the same security check on mac regardless where the application comes from (its done at the OS level) The only thing the App Store does is verify the developer because they have to be resisted with Apple (and makes sure Apple gets that 30 cut). Mac already does that btw (you actually cant download an app from an unknown developer by default) unless you choose to in the settings.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#139

Post by dheera »

diego_moita wrote: post #56

I welcome this. It will be messy, it will open oportunities to corruption, lobbying, crappy user experiences, unsafe apps, government abuse, nationalism, ... it is really a Pandora box. But mess can be a fertile ground for competition and innovation when excessive regulation blocks it. Today's app stores are just feature development labs for Apple & Google. There is no chance that anyone will be able to create a big…

The thing is, why would anyone voluntarily use a censored/restricted app store?

For Apple hell yes, maybe their government app store will be less anal than Apple is with their own app store, and e.g. allow other payment channels and allow embedding other rendering engines than Safari.

For Google though ... why wouldn't one just use the Google store instead? It's pretty open, and if their government's motive is to just create a subset of the Play store that doesn't have Chinese apps, why the hell would anyone use it?

And if the government is forcing the entire population to use its app store -- do they have the authority to do that? I thought India was a democracy with free speech.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#140

Post by jpxw »

bhaavan wrote: post #81
baybal2 wrote: post #49

India has a following issue with Android ecosystem, almost everything not owned by Google, is owned by some Chinese co. GetJar - sold to Chinese PayTM - Chinese shareholder Flipcart - Chinese shareholder Zomato, swiggy, + 10+ others online delivery/logistics apps. Some used to be reskins of Chinese apps. Some only have Indian C-levels. 20 something messengers - all except FB, and Twiter are Chinese ... I believe they…

Do you know reality, like at all? GetJar: I am hearing of this app for the first time, and I have seen and used many indian phones. Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy are Indian companies with apps completely developed in India. Walmart has a major shareholding stake in Flipkart since a few years now. PayTM is also fully developed and operated in India, but yes, it does have Alibaba backing it. However, it was not at all consi…

> Also you have really funny spelling skills

Given the poor grammar of your comment, I’d remind you that kids in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones

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