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Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

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Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

#251

Post by TomSwirly »

valuearb wrote: post #147
hmottestad wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hits extra close to home when Apple enforces some arbitrary rule for one app (like Amphetamine) and then doesn't even bother to test other apps.

It tests every app, including this one. Think about what really happened here. Edit: Apparently my downvoters can’t think about what really happened here so I’ll explain it. In App Review this app worked fine. Oh, the keyboard was likely lame and not useful, but the scam screens were no where to be seen. Then the app is approved and placed on the store. Now the scam screens appear. It’s trivial to do, is done all the…

> Then the app is approved and placed on the store. Now the scam screens appear.

This means there's some switch built into the code that changes its behavior, either after a certain date, or on certain known IPs that Apple tests on, or after a certain URL changes value.

At this point, the complaints pour in. People ask for refunds and claim it's not as advertised. The $400 subscription fee has to be mentioned in some complaint.

And at this point, Apple falls flat on its face. It does not investigate any of these serious complaints, which are easily validated.

Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world. If they can't afford to do the right thing, they shouldn't run this fake "walled garden" app store. If 30% of my app dollar goes to them, an app that doesn't try to steal hundreds of dollars from me is a very very reasonable expectation.

Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

#252

Post by parasubvert »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #140
parasubvert wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most students I knew didn’t have their own apartment and car but a few did if they had small children, had social reasons to live alone, or were married (yes some people get pregnant in high school). They usually had a mix of parental help, loans and part time or coop program work, and scholarships. They weren’t super rich, they were from middle class Canadian families 25 years ago. I even have a friend going to scho…

>My point isn’t that some people have it good, it’s that €1-2k a month isn’t exactly glamorous living. It isn't glamorous, you're right but I wasn't talking about inequality here, I was saying that very few students in Europe have 2K per month at their disposal. >If you’re coming out of university and making £2k a month that is a bit low. AFAIK, 2K Euros per month, after taxes, is your typical starting wage for a ful…

Before you go MBA, median software engineer salary in Germany these days is €80k:

https://www.levels.fyi/Salaries/Software-Engineer/Germany/

SAP, not exactly known to be a top player, pays entry level jobs in Germany at around €50k: https://www.levels.fyi/comp.html?track=Software%20Engineer&s...

This grows €5k or so per year of experience with promotions.

Though if you leave Germany you’ll notice that your pay will nearly double. That said, job security in Germany is best in the world, so...

Some recent MBA surveys:

Economist: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/10/27/full-tim...

Harvard Business School: https://www.hbs.edu/recruiting/data/Pages/location-details.a...

Cambridge business school:

https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/mba/careers/employment-...

Germany MBAs tend to be a bit lower than average at €65k though I assume that’s due to labor protections etc. I am not an expert in German labor laws just going on information I have researched in the past. https://www.payscale.com/research/DE/Degree=Master_of_Busine...

Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

#253

Post by TomSwirly »

Hamuko wrote: post #23
hmottestad wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hits extra close to home when Apple enforces some arbitrary rule for one app (like Amphetamine) and then doesn't even bother to test other apps.

It's just bike-shedding. Enforcing names or the fact that you mention subscribing to the app on a website is easy whereas testing every app that comes in is hard.

Apple takes 30% off the top. 30%!

The other 70% goes to programming the app, doing design, QA, advertising, customer support. That's a lot to do.

For its 30% Apple only has to validate that the App is as advertised, and isn't trying to cheat you.

If they can't even do that, why do they exist except as a way to steal 30% from everyone off the top?

Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

#254

Post by parasubvert »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #170
tallanvor wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>2k/month is a starter salary in the nordics. Definitely not true in Norway, it's closer to twice that.

Since the conversation started about students needing 2k Euros to live, the 2k we're talking about is net or after taxes. I know Norway has high wages and prices but I can't imagine new-grads there making 4k after taxes.

New grads make a lot these days. Here’s the Netherlands for example: https://www.levels.fyi/Salaries/Software-Engineer/Netherland...

Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

#255

Post by TomSwirly »

valuearb wrote: post #207
m45t3r wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least I don't need to pay 99 USD a year for some "review" that clearly only works in favor of Apple (they mostly seems to approve anything from smaller developers like shown in this post, while using draconian and arbitrary rules for competitor apps like Spotify).

This app clearly scammed the App Reviewers. How would you prevent that?

Responding to the hundreds of complaints?

Periodically testing apps to see they haven't become a scam.

Apple takes 30% - one dollar in three goes to them, and the remaining 2 has to go to writing and testing software, design, customer support, advertising.

It's ridiculous that so many people think Apple can just take this huge cut and then allow people to be literally robbed by scam apps and just shrug.

Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

#256

Post by webmobdev »

staticman2 wrote: post #139
bluGill wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At that price any copyright lawyer will be happy to deal with the paperwork. You were making 2000/month, so the infringement is taking money away. For a share of that it is easy to register the copyright and then send the proper letters. Probably this will settle out of court where apple pays your lawyer from fund the developer would have got and then removes the app. you get nothing directly from the lawyer except t…

If the infringing App is in a foreign country the scenario is much more complicated than you are suggesting.

Maybe it is better to sue Apple instead, for allowing such apps - they claim they have "strict guidelines" and review all apps before accepting them .... If many developers around the world start doing this, it becomes a PR issue and costs them money too in legal fees ... may even force them to fix the issue.

Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

#257

Post by parasubvert »

yoz-y wrote: post #188
parasubvert wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most students I knew didn’t have their own apartment and car but a few did if they had small children, had social reasons to live alone, or were married (yes some people get pregnant in high school). They usually had a mix of parental help, loans and part time or coop program work, and scholarships. They weren’t super rich, they were from middle class Canadian families 25 years ago. I even have a friend going to scho…

Where I studied (france) a 2000€/month would leave me with about 1400€ after discouting housing, 3 meals a day and tuition fees. It's a ginormous amount of money for a student. Dunno about MBA out of school salaries but in tech in most of europe they are quite a lot lower than €90k. In France it's around 38-45k (pre-tax) depending on location (it can go upwards a bit if you are one of the chosen ones coming out of to…

Tuition in France is relatively low if you’re native, (which is one awesome feature of the French state)... if you’re an international student it’s a lot more, and other countries also are a lot more.

University of Cambridge in the UK for example estimates on their webpage £22k tuition for an undergraduate arts degree (double for medicine!) and £11k living expenses annually. With GBP/WUR exchange rate that’s €1550 on living expenses alone, and not “glam”.

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international-stud...

INSEAD costs in France is almost double in living costs in Fontainebleau , and 3x in tuition... now admittedly a far more exclusive graduate school, but I have acquaintances in Canada that weren’t rich but really good students that got in and took out loans... the point is more about the living expense estimates :

https://www.insead.edu/master-programmes/mba/financing

For locals i am sure tuition is far lower but if you’re living away from home the living estimates above don’t seem too far off what I’ve seen.. though I’m sure many can scrape by on less.

Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

#258

Post by molszanski »

I have a very strong opinion, that the only way to fix this problem systemically is to have an open system, at least in part.

Not some radar or any other closed system, but public lists of sham & shame.

If we want to get rid of mold we should shine a light on it

Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

#259

Post by zepto »

ulrikrasmussen wrote: post #245
zepto wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the alternative is a free for all?

Or multiple markets with actual human curation that can compete for quality.

Most markets compete on price, not quality.

You’ll see most people flock to where they can get stuff for free or very little, exactly as it is on the web.

We already see a race to the bottom and massive duplication of apps.

It will only get worse if there are more stores, and then nobody will be in a position to fix it.

Apple should be being pressured to do something about this, but forcing the store open will have the exact opposite effect of what is desired.

Re: Apple watch keyboard developer put off by app store scammers

#260

Post by drtz »

desmap wrote: post #86

OT: Most (including me) confuse good products with good business models. Only because a product has killer potential doesn't mean it's based on a good business model and checks all boxes such as defensibility, distribution, lock-ins, dependencies, etc.

A good business model will always have a hard time competing with a fraudulent business model.
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