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Apple blocked the FlickType Watch keyboard then announced a clone of it

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Re: Apple blocked the FlickType Watch keyboard then announced a clone of it

#221

Post by Sunspark »

marcellus23 wrote: post #167
jclardy wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’ll be surprised to know that Apple is quite fine with keyboards using network access. That is literally why the “Full Access” switch exists. Without it, the keyboard is fully sandboxed. It can receive input from the container app, but nothing can get out. It is surprisingly a user choice, something Apple will rarely give up on iOS. The rejection was only because the app existed on the Apple Watch, and it was only…

The rejection was because Apple never allowed keyboard apps on the watch. The idea of bringing a full keyboard to the watch isn't exactly the groundbreaking innovation many people here are acting like it is. Do people really think Apple stole the idea from this guy?

Apple has a history of taking features from apps and calling it their own. Instapaper is an example.

Re: Apple blocked the FlickType Watch keyboard then announced a clone of it

#222

Post by jacquesm »

Terretta wrote: post #216
jacquesm wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not so much about copycat games per-se but about the ability to run whatever software you want on a device that you own, and in that respect those games consoles are quite good representations of the walled garden concept. In fact, the 'general purpose computer' will historically be seen as some kind of very stupid aberration, who ever thought that giving end users that kind of power was a good idea? /s

Software is not different from hardware. Digital parts aren't magic, bring no magic rights, it's still just boring old parts someone invested in engineering into a product. Even in digital, beige box server, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, FaaS, applications, devices, apps, screens... different waterlines, none of them magic. Which waterline do you have the right to "run whatever you want"? Which waterline is a business ok to say,…

> Software is not different from hardware.

I'm sorry but this is where I'm going to have to bow out of the conversation.

Re: Apple blocked the FlickType Watch keyboard then announced a clone of it

#223

Post by probably_wrong »

whatever1 wrote: post #199

Unless they can establish theft of IP, I don’t think that Eleftheriou has any chance to win on the grounds of monopolistic behavior. Apple can claim that they were developing for years the feature and did not release it for UX reasons. Apple also does not charge for the app, so consumers were not harmed. I think that spotify has a much stronger case, given the fact that apple is selling a directly competing service w…

> Apple also does not charge for the app, so consumers were not harmed.

As far as I understand, those two things are unrelated. Lack of competition by itself is considered to hurt consumers. Assuming that Apple's choice was based on monopolistic behavior (which is for the courts to decide), whether they got money while doing it is not relevant.

Re: Apple blocked the FlickType Watch keyboard then announced a clone of it

#224

Post by kamkazemoose »

mabbo wrote: post #211

This is the key problem when a market-maker is also a market participant. When the same entity setting the market rules, deciding who is violating them, and collecting the market data is also an active competitor against everyone else in that market. It's not a fair playing field. Apple knows that, but pretends that it is. I say it's a problem, but I don't have a solution. It's hard to say "Apple can't make apps for…

One solution would be to force Apple to break up into seperate firms. So you have Apple App Store, and Apple app maker as seperate firms, and Apple app maker is required to be treated as any other app developer in the app store.

Re: Apple blocked the FlickType Watch keyboard then announced a clone of it

#225

Post by robertoandred »

viktorcode wrote: post #102
Loic wrote: post #10

iBooks was also a rip-off, let us kill the nice work of a developer.

No the app itself, the book collection interface: wooden shelf with books on it.

I think the idea of books sitting on a shelf has been around for quite a while.

Re: Apple blocked the FlickType Watch keyboard then announced a clone of it

#226

Post by Damogran6 »

Sunspark wrote: post #219
lotsofpulp wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like small pickles compared to Android brands damaging themselves by not supporting their own devices with software updates after 18 months. That is what drove me away. I assume this is still true, and my iOS devices will receive software updates for longer than Android devices.

I would rather use an unsupported device that has the ability to do a variety of things than a supported device that doesn't allow various features which is the case with iOS for me. With Apple, it's their way or the highway.

So do the hackers and Zero Day Exploit day traders.

Re: Apple blocked the FlickType Watch keyboard then announced a clone of it

#228

Post by OldHand2018 »

jdavis703 wrote: post #111
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the author stand a chance against the army of ivy league lawyers of a trillion dollar megacorp? I guess it would help if he's also American (don't know where he's from) so he could fight Apple on home turf and use the jury system on his side like "Evil megacorp steals from the little guy" (does it even work like this in the US or did I watch too many movies?), but I'm more curious how a lawsuit would go if he'd…

Legally I’m not sure the small developer has a chance. Not because the courts are unjust, it’s just hard to say whether Apple broke any laws here. It’s not to say they didn’t, it just doesn’t seem like there’s any slam dunk legal argument about wrongdoing (despite who this might feel morally).

A lawsuit will result in the "discovery" process, and very well might show that Apple had wanted to do this thing for a very long time and at some point they realized that a 3rd party had just introduced something similar to what they wanted to do. And people inside Apple proposed buying the company to save time and money. But when he said no, Apple just decided to continue on their plan.

Or the discovery may uncover evidence of poor behavior. You just don't know.

Seriously folks, consumer devices are being used internally for a long time before they become known to the public. UI improvement ideas are being thrown around constantly and are logged, discussed, prioritized, etc. Just because something isn't there on launch day, or v2, v3 or v4 of the software, doesn't mean they didn't think of it or didn't plan to do it.

Re: Apple blocked the FlickType Watch keyboard then announced a clone of it

#229

Post by shawnz »

Terretta wrote: post #157
windexh8er wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I fully support Eleftheriou on this just for the principle, but if I were in his place I would have agreed at a very large sum from Apple (even lower from what I had in mind) just so that we could all be happy right now ;-) Seems like Apple has a very anti-competitive position, no? To me this goes all the way back to the walled garden argument. Apple sat on, what some may consider, a straw man arguing that they cou…

> walled garden argument A watch is now a walled garden? Does Casio have to open its OS? Either these are not general computing devices or there's no line, a fridge or microwave or a console are general computing as well -- and device makers have no rights to make a product from digital parts as well as mechanical parts without having to make it open to digital fiddling, and secure it dragging in that new threat mode…

Why was AT&T forced to allow third party landline telephones on their network? Those aren't general purpose computing devices either, right?

Re: Apple blocked the FlickType Watch keyboard then announced a clone of it

#230

Post by lotsofpulp »

Sunspark wrote: post #219
lotsofpulp wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like small pickles compared to Android brands damaging themselves by not supporting their own devices with software updates after 18 months. That is what drove me away. I assume this is still true, and my iOS devices will receive software updates for longer than Android devices.

I would rather use an unsupported device that has the ability to do a variety of things than a supported device that doesn't allow various features which is the case with iOS for me. With Apple, it's their way or the highway.

I understand, but in terms of mass market appeal, most people just want to be able to safely take pics and share them and participate in group chats and browse the web and play some games.

Granted, most people would not be able to discern security updates and software updates or maybe even care about them nowadays, but back when the ecosystems and reputations were being established in early 2010s, Android vendors really dropped the ball. Everyone could see their relatives continuing to use iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 a couple more years and getting visibly updated for a couple more years than competing Androids (even from Google themselves!).

The resell value of iPhones was more as well, and I assume many or most people figured out that the probability of iOS devices outlasting competing Android devices was high.

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