111–120 of 222 posts
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One issue with these permissions is that I don't have a clue what they mean. Does the list of permissions I posted give that app the right to read all my personal data and upload it to one of their servers? Can it delete all my contacts or pictures? Can it make phone calls on my behalf or record my phone calls and upload the audio file to a server?
I know it's not answering your actual point, but I'll answer your specific questions. No, it can't record audio, or make phone calls on your behalf -- both require specific permissions that aren't listed here. It can't access your contacts at all, either, as that requires a specific permission. Pictures are stored on the SD card, so the app could read all your pictures, upload them, then delete them. Newer devices ha…
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It helps the consumer because if it's a good app, it allows you to better focus on that one task you're after. Reading the news, for example. I haven't had any of the problems he discusses with the NYTimes app, for example. For the organization, the benefits of longer engagement are pretty obvious as well. He's right about a lot of bad developers (and clueless execs) producing really crappy apps. He's wrong if he thi…
I am yet to see an improved "reading" experience in an app. It's words on a screen. The ability to innovate is very limited. Want swipe page turns ? That can be done in web. Scrolling? Zooming? Etc etc can all be done with a website. Apps have there place, but I don't think news readers are it.
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> Another role they have is to prevent copying of content or links from one fiefdom to another. I have a hard time believing that considering the prevalence of the "share" button in apps. There is certainly a "walled garden" problem on iOS, with all the jailbroken nonsense linked to it, but on Android (don't know about MS phones) I can run whatever I want. The app store is just curation, not limitating. Granted there…
>> Another role they have is to prevent copying of content or links from one fiefdom to another. > I have a hard time believing that considering the prevalence of the "share" button in apps. But a "share" button in a dedicated app isn't remotely a hyperlink. A hyperlink only tells the reader about the destination, but a "share" button also tells the recipient about the source. >> I think this idea works best with rel…
Great example. I used to think of paywalls a good thing (in exchange for less ad bullshit), but now it seems a bit dangerous.
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> It's a strategy to dismantle the Web Dismantling the Web isn't anybody's strategy (making money is), but in any case, it's a poor strategy nonetheless. One of the most important things I've learned is that all other things being equal, convenience always wins. A strategy that makes things less convenient for consumers is a losing strategy.
So this is just splitting hairs between proximate and ultimate causes. We could say the the prime motivation is profit - a specialized case of making money. In order to turn a profit one must make more money than one spends. It is thought that by monetizing the content and sealing it off one can maximize one's revenue stream. The end result is dismantling the web. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximate_and_ultimate_c…
I'm also getting fed up of being asked if I want to install Tapatalk every time I visit a popular forum.
- Failing to deliver news to your website (for whatever reason): Just a failure, as in, you failed, period.
- News App: not a substitute for doing your job (delivering news to your website), nice for people who want it, don't force it on anybody else.
Ok, so don't! Just because you have no use for an app doesn't mean it's useless to others, or "bullshit" as you so eloquently put it.
I have the NPR app on my iPhone and iPad. Wake up in the morning, feel like listening to the radio and don't want to start the day browsing the web? Turn on Morning Edition on the iPad. Listening to a really interesting Fresh Air interview on the car radio but now have to get out of the car and go grocery shopping? Switch to the live broadcast on the iPhone, pop in my earphones, get out, keep listening.
The BBC and NYTimes apps are less useful to me but I get news alerts on my mobile from the NYTimes and the AP. And I can quickly check world news headlines or start a BBC live radio stream on my iPhone in a matter of seconds.
NPR and the BBC are both free of ads and, in my opinion, are just trying to serve their listeners and readers as best as they can. If you think smart phones and tablets are just smaller versions of your laptop or desktop computer, fine, continue consuming your media just as you did in the 90s, you're not the target audience any way.
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>> It's a strategy to dismantle the Web > Dismantling the Web isn't anybody's strategy ... By "web" I mean the public forum that anyone can access with a standards-compliant browser. And yes, there is such a strategy, and making money is the underlying motive. > A strategy that makes things less convenient for consumers is a losing strategy. Yes, unless consumers have no choice. Consider the present cell phone system…
From the article >For those who may not have understood or thought to ask, “unlocking” is not the same as “jailbreaking.” In a nutshell, jailbreaking involves making it possible for a device to run code either from sources the manufacturer did not intend the device to be able to use or to run code the manufacturer did not intend it to be able to run (though most people talk about Apple IOS devices, Sony, for example,…
Secondly, given your model of what you believe the future of trust looks like - what do I do if I lose my phone? How do I 'get back in' to the Platform if my primary key gets lost?
In my view, authentication requires a third-party - one which provides the 'yay or nay' that somebody is who they say they are. If you don't have that, then your relationship with any client is one which cannot be verified: it's the equivalent of asking for an ID card without checking that it's real.