Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#271

Post by mkr-hn » Wed, May 02, 2012, 11:28 AM UTC

philbarr wrote: post #268

batista wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In the long run the open market always wins. I've never seen an open market in the wild, much less it "always winning". You mean an open market like the "$1 trillion bailout not to collapse the whole economy" open market? Or an open market like "we enforce strict copyright laws to artificially limit each copyrighted product to one maker and it's pricing at his whims"? Or an open market with patents, for the same pu…

That is a fantastic rant about the open market. Do you mind if I use it and claim it as my own someday?

The rant is generic and uncompelling. I'm sure you can do better.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#272

Post by eblackburn » Wed, May 02, 2012, 11:45 AM UTC

I smell and anti-trust suite hurtling towards Apple? Does anyone else?

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#273

Post by ChrisLTD » Wed, May 02, 2012, 11:46 AM UTC

batista wrote: post #263

ChuckMcM wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, Google is probably not capable of exploiting these mini-resentments and I don't think anybody else is either. I'd love to hear more about that. This is my reasoning on why I think there is an opportunity there: Lets say (patent issues not withstanding), you created an exact clone of the iPad and iOS and sold it at the same price but without the 30% 'apple tax' on purchases. It seems reasonable to assum…

>Lets say (patent issues not withstanding), you created an exact clone of the iPad and iOS and sold it at the same price but without the 30% 'apple tax' on purchases. What "Apple tax"? Haven't you noticed that competitors have struggled to offer the same prices for their tablets for example? The iPad/iPhone is one of the cheapest products on their market segment. Just consider that when everybody expected the iPad to…

He's talking about app and in app purchases, not the cost of the device.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#274

Post by ChrisLTD » Wed, May 02, 2012, 11:54 AM UTC

alexhaefner wrote: post #108

thought_alarm wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are rejecting apps that use the v1.0 or greater of the Dropbox SDK, or apps that use the Dropbox OAUTH API. Or, perhaps they're rejects apps that allow you to create a Dropbox account. That would cover all versions of the Dropbox SDK. The specific reasons they gave are: - "This app contains a link that takes the user to Dropbox via Safari". - "The concern with this app is that the user is taken to Dropbox's webs…

I agree with your assertions, and I'd like to bring a bit of rationale to this discussion rather than the "How can Apple be allowed to do this?" and other flamboyant language. This is on Dropbox to fix, not Apple. Imagine you provide a marketplace, and you curate that marketplace. And you say to customers who come to that marketplace "Don't worry, we're going to do everything we can to protect you from bad purchases"…

Dropbox accounts are free to start, and you don't have to give them your credit card.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#275

Post by geon » Wed, May 02, 2012, 11:55 AM UTC

mkr-hn wrote: post #270

batista wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In the long run the open market always wins. I've never seen an open market in the wild, much less it "always winning". You mean an open market like the "$1 trillion bailout not to collapse the whole economy" open market? Or an open market like "we enforce strict copyright laws to artificially limit each copyrighted product to one maker and it's pricing at his whims"? Or an open market with patents, for the same pu…

You might want to hold off on the ideological rant and re-read. I think cageface was talking about application markets. I didn't know Google was using their market to bail people out and wage a secret resource war.

> I think cageface was talking about application markets.

What application market is it that is open and always wins?

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#276

Post by epaga » Wed, May 02, 2012, 12:10 PM UTC

tedivm wrote: post #244

epaga wrote: post #243

Where are all these Apple bashers coming from? If Apple DIDN'T reject the apps using this API, Amazon and many, many devs would have the right to feel pretty angry at the injustice and inconsistency. In-app linking to extra-app purchasing of any kind is explicitly forbidden by the terms. We already had the "debate" about whether those terms are a good idea or not - I believe they're not. But months later it's more a…

No one is saying the problem is that they aren't consistently applying their policies. Consistently applying a draconian policy is exactly the problem here.

But people DO seem to be surprised / disappointed that Apple is enforcing this draconian policy when in fact they have already been enforcing it for months as can be seen in the Kindle app and many others. And this is what I don't understand.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#277

Post by [deleted] » Wed, May 02, 2012, 12:15 PM UTC

geon wrote: post #275

mkr-hn wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might want to hold off on the ideological rant and re-read. I think cageface was talking about application markets. I didn't know Google was using their market to bail people out and wage a secret resource war.

> I think cageface was talking about application markets. What application market is it that is open and always wins?

[deleted]

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#278

Post by mkr-hn » Wed, May 02, 2012, 12:18 PM UTC

geon wrote: post #275

mkr-hn wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might want to hold off on the ideological rant and re-read. I think cageface was talking about application markets. I didn't know Google was using their market to bail people out and wage a secret resource war.

> I think cageface was talking about application markets. What application market is it that is open and always wins?

I can't read minds. You should ask the person who didn't appear to be referring to markets outside of app stores.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#279

Post by shod » Wed, May 02, 2012, 12:25 PM UTC

tomgallard wrote: post #255

iloverobots wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many businesses (especially in the technology space) operate on far lower margins than 30%.

Really? Are you talking gross or net profit? I would be surprised to find many software products where the gross profit margin would be less than 50%.

Dropbox isn't a software product; it's a service. What's more, it's a service that needs to be priced to compete with Apple's own iCloud.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#280

Post by Tsagadai » Wed, May 02, 2012, 12:30 PM UTC

kapowaz wrote: post #259

Isofarro wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not a new thing. Apple have been clamping down on any revenue generating activity linked to from an app for at least a year now. They are forcing developers to pick between giving Apple a 30% slice of revenue, or don't charge for it, or don't link to it. Most developers seem to be opting for the third option. The only one that doesn't impact usability is the one that involves giving Apple 30%.

Whilst I can see the reason why people baulk at giving Apple a cut, what doesn't ever seem to be widely discussed are the reasons why that cut might be justified or even well worth it. The user experience of in-app purchasing on iOS is very good. Compared to the myriad online purchasing systems I've experienced in over a decade of buying things online, it's easily the most reliable and satisfying I've encountered. Ca…

Well we can all see the benefit to Apple. Apple are making a killing with the App Store, this much is easily visible in their earnings reports. However, I think you are way off the mark with the value that 30% generates for users.

What Apple are doing with the App Store is not expensive for Apple. They hire a few people to run some servers and a couple more to filter apps. It's incredibly cheap and as many of us know you can run a content vending business pretty cheaply as it is. Sure, the benefits of using Apple's UI are nice but they are not, in my humble opinion, worth 30% of every purchase.

To put this another way, I read an excellent article about iTunes (http://thetrichordist.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/meet-the-new-...). Apple takes on zero risk in its iTunes business and nets 30% minus trivial operating costs for vending out some files over the internet. What do you call a business model that asks for money without taking risks? Rent seeking. The App Store and iTunes are both examples of rent seeking behaviour.