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Fear of Apple

elischiff.com

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Re: Fear of Apple

#221

Post by clarky07 »

cozzyd wrote: post #217
threeseed wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Android model i.e. the Google model is now the same as Apple's. Only it has the ability to sideload applications which let's be honest as primarily been used for installing pirated applications.

That sounds highly disingenuous. F-Droid appears to have over 8 million downloads[0]. Amazon's store is probably well patronized too (and they seem to have good deals on paid apps). I'm sure there's some piracy, but I don't think it's that prevalent (at least not in the US). Either way, as a user, I'd rather be on a platform that is open enough that piracy is possible. [0]: https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroiddata/blob/m…

>I'm sure there's some piracy, but I don't think it's that prevalant

ha. that's a good one. I've had apps on both iOS and Android with < 10% of the installs being legit.

Re: Fear of Apple

#223

Post by interpol_p »

engendered wrote: post #194
gbanfalvi wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Computerworld http://www.computerworld.com/article/2866456/marco-arment-sp... Fortune http://fortune.com/2015/01/05/how-bad-are-the-bugs-in-apples... BGR http://bgr.com/2015/01/05/marco-arment-mac-ios-software-qual... Economic times/india times http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/progra... WSJ http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/01/05/programmer-ignites-de... ZDNet http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-so…

Sure, it's not literally "apple is doomed" right in the title, but exactly the same kind of FUD BUT IT ISN'T FUD AT ALL. To make it even more comical, several of those posts are from serious Apple boosters (Philip Elmer-DeWitt might as well wear pom-poms while he writes about Apple). Apple software has had serious quality issues, and it is "FUD" to talk about it? This is just broken thinking. You, in this conversatio…

> that note that software quality has wavered, which is something that is utterly indisputable.

I would dispute this.

Having been a Mac user for over a decade now I don't feel a particular drop in software quality. The highlight of stability for me (and many others I expect) was Snow Leopard. Yosemite isn't bad — it feels about as good as Leopard, and probably in need of it's own "Snow Leopard" soon. But I don't think Apple software quality is worse than back when we used Leopard, or Tiger or Panther, and so on. Lion was probably the "low point" of OS X software for me.

The ratio of good:bad in Apple software doesn't seem to have changed much. There are plenty of examples of both and there always have been.

I still use Apple software every day for most of my day. And I feel like it's the best it has ever been.

Re: Fear of Apple

#224

Post by prawn »

cbd1984 wrote: post #118
Spooky23 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your experience is the price of admission to gain access to a global audience. The low barrier to entry is why you're fighting for pennies. Twenty years ago when I was in high school, I worked at CompUSA. They sold a lot of software in their day... in my region of the country, 40% of software sold passed through our store's door. To sell software at CompUSA or similar retailers, you needed to interface with a publish…

> Your experience is the price of admission to gain access to a global audience. Nothing they said was inherent to the process of getting a global audience. Apple has created all of their problems they mentioned; we know this because Apple could make them all go away.

Why would they bother when another cow will step forward?

The developers' gripes seem to be about actual problems for them, but potential problems for Apple.

Similar things happen with Google and AdSense publishers.

Re: Fear of Apple

#225

Post by clarky07 »

booruguru wrote: post #205
clarky07 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't send them refunds, send them to https://reportaproblem.apple.com/ and tell them you are happy to refund them and here's how to do it. They can then go to Apple and they will process the refund for you. You and your app technically don't matter to Apple. The 30% feels high, but overall it's really a good deal. I've made several hundred thousand dollars on the app store without almost any marketing spend. That's…

Can you share more details? What do you sell? How much time do you spend (and money?) on development? Etc.

I've made most of my money on fitness apps, with a few utilities sprinkled in early on. I've been doing it full time for a few years, with freelance supplementing the income. I've written up yearly reviews on my blog[1] a few times. I've spent a little bit on graphic design, and I've partnered and done a revenue split for some of the graphic design.

That being said, it's far from being all roses. My sales have been down some the last few years despite continuing to update (some of the apps, not all) and making new apps. There is a ton of competition and there are definitely things I'd wish Apple would change.

Mostly though you have to think of it as any other business. It's not Apple's job to sell my apps any more than it's Wal-mart or Lowe's job to sell your products. Being in the store is the only thing any of them promise, and that is a huge boost for lots of products. If you get featured (on the app store, or maybe end cap at walmart) it's gravy. I have to work to make a great product, I have to get the word out as much as possible, and I have to do a good job of ASO (or SEO if you prefer).

[1] http://www.entrelife.com/

Re: Fear of Apple

#226

Post by clarky07 »

bduerst wrote: post #171
bandushrew wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its not lacking. it is easily possible for users to get refunds from apple. I have no idea why the developer isn't just asking them to go to apple for a refund.

It is very lacking, and I would not spin it as "easy" - unless you're talking about some other process than the "report a problem" path. I'm not this developer, but if so many users are reaching out to them for refunds, then there is a definitive gap in store functionality.

It's not highly publicized, but it is in fact easy. And if there are lot of users reaching to him for refunds, he needs to improve the app because it's not as advertised. I doubt he's actually getting a ton of refund requests though. It is a thing that happens though, and when it does you inform that user how Apple's refund process goes. No reason to eat $4.50 every time.

Re: Fear of Apple

#227

Post by clarky07 »

elischiff wrote: post #97
kaolinite wrote: post #59

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I was following quite closely when Marco Arment's article was published and the storm erupted around it. Marco's comments have totally been taken out of context here: the reason he regretted publishing the article was not out of fear of Apple primarily but because many publications took it and used it to justify the "Apple is doomed" narrative which Marco personally doesn't agree with. He was quite…

I'm just going to note that the people most frequently mentioning the "Apple is Doomed" narrative are Apple apologists themselves. I discussed this in the previous article: http://www.elischiff.com/blog/2015/3/17/critical-sharks-part... Yes the media distorts things. But that does not mean that it is invalid to say 'this wouldn't have happened under Steve.' Jobs had clear differences from the new leadership. Further,…

There are lots of 'this wouldn't have happened under Steve' things that are good. I think Steve was awesome, and I wish we would have had him for longer and gotten to enjoy more of his creations. That being said, Steve had a way of holding grudges, and being set in his ways when it was obvious things needed to change.

As a shareholder, I think Tim is doing an amazing job, and there are lots things he's improved that are more shareholder friendly than Steve (I know I know capitalism is terrible screw greedy shareholders blah blah, I'm saving for retirement dang it).

As a full time mobile developer, I definitely don't think things are any worse, and I think they've made changes for the better. I know developers aren't #1 by any means, but they aren't being completely ignored.

As a user of most things Apple, I'm happy with my iMac, iPhone, iPad, and even Apple TV (for the most part, could definitely be better. really hoping for App Store this summer and Amazon Prime access). Really though I've been hugely satisfied, and based on the customer satisfaction surveys most everyone else is too, moreso than for pretty much any other company out there.

Re: Fear of Apple

#228

Post by AnthonyMouse »

guelo wrote: post #207

You're a sharecropper. It doesn't matter how much you pour your heart and soul into someone else's platform it's still their platform. They don't owe you anything, they care about one thing, maximizing their profits. People sometimes appeal to the large corporation pleading that helping the "ecosystem" will make more money for everybody. But this is not necessarily true. There are many situations where screwing over…

> We are incredibly lucky that their is one open platform out there: the web.

The web is great, but it isn't a full platform. You can't have a web-based device driver, or VPN, or secure email, or ssh server. You can't replace your web browser with a web-based web browser. There are things that are just not possible on the web, but that people still need to be able to do. And the people who make those things should not be sharecroppers either.

Re: Fear of Apple

#229

Post by kalleboo »

walterbell wrote: post #219
mavdi wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well said. I made the mistake of investing in a closed ecosystem once with Adobe and Flash. They pulled the rug out from under their developers (Flash was dying, they said it wasn't and then it died anyway and they dropped it like a sack of potatoes)and I promised myself not to EVER invest any time on any closed platform. I don't even use PaaS systems as much as possible as we've seen what happens when they go bust.

I can't find the reference at the moment, but apparently Apple's commodization of iOS developers was intended to prevent any iOS ISV gaining the negotiating power that Adobe once had against Apple.

Wouldn't Microsoft be a better example of a developer holding "too much" power over Apple? I'm sure Jobs didn't enjoy having Gates' face leering down on him on stage, promising to keep developing Office for Mac.

Re: Fear of Apple

#230

Post by gkanai »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #228
guelo wrote: post #207

You're a sharecropper. It doesn't matter how much you pour your heart and soul into someone else's platform it's still their platform. They don't owe you anything, they care about one thing, maximizing their profits. People sometimes appeal to the large corporation pleading that helping the "ecosystem" will make more money for everybody. But this is not necessarily true. There are many situations where screwing over…

> We are incredibly lucky that their is one open platform out there: the web. The web is great, but it isn't a full platform. You can't have a web-based device driver, or VPN, or secure email, or ssh server. You can't replace your web browser with a web-based web browser. There are things that are just not possible on the web, but that people still need to be able to do. And the people who make those things should no…

There is a web-based mobile phone: Firefox OS.
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