Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases • Hacker News Board

Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases

#21

Post by yapcguy » Thu, Sep 05, 2013, 12:22 AM UTC

signed0 wrote: post #16

yapcguy wrote: post #2

"We are not allowed to distribute updates through other channels to apps which were purchased from the App Store." The solution is simple. All Mac developers should stop selling through the App Store, regain control of the distribution channel, and leave the Mac App Store barren of quality applications. Until Mac developers have leverage, Apple will continue taking their 30% cut and enforcing rules which suit them an…

You don't have to wait for Mavericks, it has already happened. Apps that are sold through the App Store can not make use of the the media keys on Apple keyboards, which is why VLC can use them and other apps can't. Edit: other than iTunes

Yep, it's a double-edged sword.

The App Store may offer things like the iCloud SDK but will restrict apps from using features that compete with Apples own apps, as well as any cool hacks which apps outside the App Store are free to make use of.

My take is that Apple is herding developers into the App Store, enticing them with SDK features and the promise of riches, and at some point they will change the default gatekeeper setting so that users see great big warning signs and are too scared of running non App Store software.

We're probably still a few years away from this happening, but the writing is on the wall.

Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases

#22

Post by icebraining » Thu, Sep 05, 2013, 12:26 AM UTC

__--__ wrote: post #17

routelastresort wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... or switch back to Linux, and just download everything you need, without encumbrances like this. I recently switched back on all of my OSX and Windows machine, and it feels great. Only through years of contributions to open source projects, and hanging my head in shame can I ever be redeemed. Oh, and Steam is only going to get better!

I still haven't found a linux distro that doesn't eventually resort to me fudging with xrandr for a week trying to get multiple monitors working correctly. Granted, this was 3 years ago. Have any linux distros solved the problem of configuring multiple monitors using a gui yet?

Define correctly. Multi-monitors worked just by plugging them in, and I could configure the mode (clone, extend, etc) using a GUI panel.

I did use xrandr to setup the virtual screen so that I could define the exact position of one screen relative to the other, which enabled objects to continue in an horizontal line across monitors.

Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases

#23

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Sep 05, 2013, 12:26 AM UTC

yapcguy wrote: post #2

"We are not allowed to distribute updates through other channels to apps which were purchased from the App Store." The solution is simple. All Mac developers should stop selling through the App Store, regain control of the distribution channel, and leave the Mac App Store barren of quality applications. Until Mac developers have leverage, Apple will continue taking their 30% cut and enforcing rules which suit them an…

[deleted]

Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases

#24

Post by ngoldbaum » Thu, Sep 05, 2013, 12:27 AM UTC

eropple wrote: post #20

__--__ wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still haven't found a linux distro that doesn't eventually resort to me fudging with xrandr for a week trying to get multiple monitors working correctly. Granted, this was 3 years ago. Have any linux distros solved the problem of configuring multiple monitors using a gui yet?

> Have any linux distros solved the problem of configuring multiple monitors using a gui yet? For two monitors on one video card, things are pretty okay on Ubuntu and derivatives. More than that, especially 3+ with non-uniform geometries, and you will have fun. If you have multiple video cards, you will have even more fun.

"fun"

Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases

#25

Post by timeuser » Thu, Sep 05, 2013, 12:31 AM UTC

gojomo wrote: post #19

It'd be ugly and put other burdens on the pricing strategy and support permutations, but perhaps app-makers so trapped could approximate their desired result via: (1) offer a reduced-functionality "version N" to everyone, but for the desired 'upgrade' price. (Essentially, this might only have the features of the prior N-1 version.) (2) offer an in-app purchase unlocking full/pro features, priced at the delta between…

How do you propose accomplishing (3) that isn't a difficult confusing mess for users and verifies they are indeed an owner of the n-1 version?

Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases

#26

Post by thristian » Thu, Sep 05, 2013, 12:37 AM UTC

__--__ wrote: post #17

routelastresort wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... or switch back to Linux, and just download everything you need, without encumbrances like this. I recently switched back on all of my OSX and Windows machine, and it feels great. Only through years of contributions to open source projects, and hanging my head in shame can I ever be redeemed. Oh, and Steam is only going to get better!

I still haven't found a linux distro that doesn't eventually resort to me fudging with xrandr for a week trying to get multiple monitors working correctly. Granted, this was 3 years ago. Have any linux distros solved the problem of configuring multiple monitors using a gui yet?

My understanding is that the driver-makers that cooperate with Xorg and the kernel implement the official multiple-monitor stuff nicely and everything more or less Just Works. Unfortunately, that's pretty much only Intel. nVidia and AMD like to do everything themselves rather than cooperate, and so things like multiple-monitor support can require driver-specific config tools, or messing with config-files to tell the drivers to emulate the standard interfaces so the standard tools will work.

Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases

#27

Post by rurounijones » Thu, Sep 05, 2013, 12:37 AM UTC

eropple wrote: post #20

__--__ wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still haven't found a linux distro that doesn't eventually resort to me fudging with xrandr for a week trying to get multiple monitors working correctly. Granted, this was 3 years ago. Have any linux distros solved the problem of configuring multiple monitors using a gui yet?

> Have any linux distros solved the problem of configuring multiple monitors using a gui yet? For two monitors on one video card, things are pretty okay on Ubuntu and derivatives. More than that, especially 3+ with non-uniform geometries, and you will have fun. If you have multiple video cards, you will have even more fun.

I have two nVidia cards in SLI powering 3 monitors.

Setup was pretty simple using the binary nVidia drivers on Kubuntu, 0 config file wrangling.

Now, having those three monitors in non-uniform geometries is something I wouldn't even consider tackling

[EDIT]

Kubuntu 12.04

All monitors in a single X Session and automatic application window sizing works as you would expect in KDE

(i.e. Maximising a window maximises to the current monitor only and being able to drag to right side of one monitor causes the window to use up half of the current monitor)

Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases

#28

Post by josephlord » Thu, Sep 05, 2013, 12:37 AM UTC

It is additional work but I believe something should be possible on iOS7 and Mavericks. If I remember correctly you will now be able to get the original purchase receipt including the date of the purchase not just the receipts for the in-app purchases. If you can separate out some or all of the feature upgrades and disable them when the original purchase was before date of upgrade release unless an in-app purchase is made for the upgrade price.

Won't this work? I realise that it doesn't come without effort to set it up and to test the software in two modes but at least bug fixes can go to everyone without two releases.

Up to now I don't think there has been a way to identify when the initial app purchase happened.

Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases

#29

Post by jacalata » Thu, Sep 05, 2013, 12:48 AM UTC

timeuser wrote: post #25

gojomo wrote: post #19

It'd be ugly and put other burdens on the pricing strategy and support permutations, but perhaps app-makers so trapped could approximate their desired result via: (1) offer a reduced-functionality "version N" to everyone, but for the desired 'upgrade' price. (Essentially, this might only have the features of the prior N-1 version.) (2) offer an in-app purchase unlocking full/pro features, priced at the delta between…

How do you propose accomplishing (3) that isn't a difficult confusing mess for users and verifies they are indeed an owner of the n-1 version?

If you planned ahead, you could keep a version log somewhere inside the software showing which versions they'd had installed. Or, you could have each new version installed 'phone home', maybe ask users to 'register now for free/cheap upgrades later!'. All of them have drawbacks, but would get a significant chunk of the desired experience.

Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases

#30

Post by eropple » Thu, Sep 05, 2013, 12:59 AM UTC

rurounijones wrote: post #27

eropple wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Have any linux distros solved the problem of configuring multiple monitors using a gui yet? For two monitors on one video card, things are pretty okay on Ubuntu and derivatives. More than that, especially 3+ with non-uniform geometries, and you will have fun. If you have multiple video cards, you will have even more fun.

I have two nVidia cards in SLI powering 3 monitors. Setup was pretty simple using the binary nVidia drivers on Kubuntu, 0 config file wrangling. Now, having those three monitors in non-uniform geometries is something I wouldn't even consider tackling [EDIT] Kubuntu 12.04 All monitors in a single X Session and automatic application window sizing works as you would expect in KDE (i.e. Maximising a window maximises to t…

Can you get them all in the same X session? I've never tried SLI, I generally just upgrade to a beefier main card and use a second card to drive extra monitors. I have an HD6970 and an HD6450 on 4 monitors that work great under OS X (Hackintosh'd) and Windows and things go extremely sideways under Ubuntu.