291–300 of 627 posts
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Or maybe Google should have to pay Oracle for duplicating the layout of standard Java classes.
Indeed, though here we're talking about developers literally including Apple proprietary code in their build process.
When the EU does the same things will turn for real.
and they can, because there's not a single EU company with an app store to harm. App stores are designed for profit, not simply for our convenience. Imagine a government forcing AirBnb to let people pay hand to hand to the owner of the apartment. It's the same issue, right?
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What regulators should mostly do is provide rulings in 2 weeks. Monopoly lawsuits have been threatening for 5 years and are still in limbo, our entire West is in threadlock: Slow justice, slow regulators, slow administrations, fast market grabs…
Slow justice and slow regulation are a feature, not a bug. Premature either is more dangerous than delayed action. In hindsight, the correct time for regulation was probably 2008 for Google (DoubleClick purchase and Android shipping with "Android Market") and Apple (App Store). It should have been a clear line from hardware control -> distribution control. And if regulators hadn't seen it, then Congress should have d…
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How about getting rid of App Stores altogether unless they follow an f-droid like model? (Selection of alternative repos, Published source, declaring potentially unwanted behavior etc.)
You want to explain to your grandma how to get the right repo so she can get WhatsApp?
I am fine with them allowing other payment systems. As long its not OR OR so if apps start to avoid using the built-in payment solution of Apple and Google then I see it as a negative. I can't think of needing to use like Paypal to pay for in-app purchases or something for app X and use stripe for app Y and use iDEAL for app Z. In those cases its better to avoid the app and that's even ignoring app developers getting…
Are you ready to pay 30% premium for using Apple payment system?
That's not to say that I don't think it would be interesting, and maybe it will be better in the long run. Personally I believe it will result in massive amounts of fraud.
Multiple app stores are also going to be terrible, either for the developers or for the customers. Either you'll need five different app stores installed, because Facebook, EPIC, Google, Microsoft and others will be wanting their own store. Or developers need to push their apps to every bloody app store on the planet so they can reach all potential customers. So now you need to pay multiple developer fees to be in the different stores.
Yes, 30% is a ripoff. Not allowing to charge for upgrades is developer hostile. The App Store is a mess of low budget apps and nonsense subscriptions, because Apple created a "race to the buttom" environment where developers can't actual make money. I'd rather see Apple fix their store, then governments forcing Apple to implement solutions that will even worse.
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You want to explain to your grandma how to get the right repo so she can get WhatsApp?
Doesn't F-Droid have quite a big repo configured by default?
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There’s an entire cottage industry of jailbroken app stores. You might argue that those using alternative stores are a minority (1-5%), but the act of jailbreaking a phone is quite challenging and we still have a lot of people doing it. If iPhones were able to run third party stores I think you’d see 30 or 40% of users opting in to that. Is it a usability nightmare? Perhaps. But device makers shouldn’t make that “cho…
It’s way less than 1% Waay less.
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I very much agree that this app stores market abuse thing needs to end, and I am also really glad to see that at least one country is responding like this. > a reasonable (single percentage) fee for facilitating payments. I want to point out, though, that the service Apple provides is not merely payment processing. They offer total customer management. Which, when integrated with their entire developer offering (Test…
Apple very pointedly does _not_ offer total customer management. As an iOS developer, I don’t know who my customers are; I can’t contact them; I can’t offer them a refund, demo, or promo code; I can’t have any kind of relationship with them whatsoever. It’s infuriatingly archaic and useless. Whatever that system is, it certainly isn’t “total customer management”.
Apple has pulled off a really nifty trick of convincing (cough abusively forcing... cough) companies to concede full control of the customer/business relationship to Apple.
From my point of view, you're not really selling anything on the Apple App store - you're giving Apple the right to resell your digital products.
In exchange they keep all analytics data. They keep full control of customer contact and communication. They dictate the terms of the sale, including place and payment method. They control everything.
Your customer is Apple, and they are just as abusive to their "vendors" (app developers) as Walmart is.
Calling it a "Marketplace" is a sham - The core definition of a "Marketplace" is --- arena of competitive or commercial dealings --- And the Apple store is no more a "marketplace" than Walmart.