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I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

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Re: I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

#351

Post by antonyh »

hu3 wrote: post #330
antonyh wrote: post #324

Apple News+ is so bad, it's literally unusable. Unfortunately I can't unsubscribe without paying MORE. I use all the other services on a family subscription except this one, but if I remove it the total cost goes up. I hate that I'm supporting something that is this bad, and the quantity of ads is the main factor - not only am I a paying customer, it's still filled with the worst kind of promoted 'content'.

> but if I remove it the total cost goes up. That's because they know that in Apple News+ you are the product and their profit lowers if you block their ads by disabling the app.

Then they are fools. I left a one-star review and uninstalled it.

Re: I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

#352

Post by jorvi »

eigen wrote: post #272
jorvi wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Steve Jobs was all about the customer experience, hence so many of his famous quotes. Two like the most are: - Him saying "Microsoft has no style", not because I care about ribbing on Microsoft but because it indicated that Apple was a company that really cared about the aesthetics of both their hardware and software products - His response to the question why there was no $600 MacBook to compete with Windows plastic…

> Year over year price hikes with minimal improvements did you have a specific example in mind? It seems that the price of the hardware generally stays the same from year to year. for example, from iphone 3g to iphone 6s was $199. and iphone 12 through today's iphone 17 is $799. I think the change in the middle was due dropping carrier subsidies and going to full-screen with face id.

2012-2018 was an insane run for MacBook Pro prices. Doubly so in Europe. Apple loves to adjust (read: gouge) prices when the Euro weakens against the dollar, but they never adjust down when the dollar weakens against the Euro.

Re: I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

#353

Post by tristor »

tgtweak wrote: post #225

Tiktok ads, Youtube Ads, Instagram/Meta ads - there's just a huge influx of scams and obviously fake sites on them. AI generated copy, AI generated landing pages... My honest take on it is that it's the payment companies that are complacent here - they're just allowing payment processing for anyone now up to a certain amount before doing proper diligence. The fact these chinese vendors can spin up a website, get paym…

> Apple's contract likely puts verification on Taboola's plate

The biggest problem started when Apple accepted Taboola as an advertising partner. Taboola is the master of the chumbox/chumvertising, and it's unsurprising that ads are full of scams, that is Taboola's raison d'etre. See https://medium.com/the-awl/a-complete-taxonomy-of-internet-c... from 10 years ago. This isn't new.

Re: I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

#354

Post by Melonai »

ginko wrote: post #283
addicted wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"customer" is a much better term IMO. It indicates this is ultimately a transactional relationship where both sides have certain responsibilities. The customer the responsibility to provide the money, and the provider receiving the money has a responsibility to provide the customer with something, products or services, of value that makes their lives better. "user" is a worse term. It suggests that the "user" is simp…

"user" feels quite descriptive and neutral to me. It's a person that uses the device they own or are given access to. That's it. I'm the (super-)user of my Linux PC. I have total ownership and control over it. Arguably "customer" makes the business relation to the provider of a service/device clearer. The term I hate with a burning passion is "consumer".

Definitely agree on your last point, "consumer" is by far the most passive of the terms, and wholly represents the current idea that companies can simply shovel out anything, because "consumers" will simply consume either way. Of course this isn't magic, a single person won't change just because you call them a user or a consumer, but it reflects your view of them, and will inform your actions towards them.

"customer" represents a two-sided relationship, and I do feel that "user" is kind of one-sided, but gives agency, a user will use a product for their own purposes, presumably to help them achieve some kind of goal. A "consumer" is completely passive, their main goal is to do what the company tells them to do. A customer can walk out of the relationship, a user might complain about problems they have with your product, but the consumer will simply continue consuming whatever you want them to consume.

The worst part though, they seem to be mostly correct in their assessment.

Re: I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

#355

Post by m463 »

speak_plainly wrote: post #54

Apple News and News+ represent everything wrong with modern Apple: a ham-fisted approach to simplicity that ignores the end user. It is their most mediocre service, jarringly jamming cheap clickbait next to serious journalism in a layout that makes no sense. The technical execution is just as lazy. While some magazines are tailored, many are just flat, low-res PDFs that look terrible on the high-end Retina screens Ap…

> a ham-fisted approach to simplicity that ignores the end user.

I think I agree. They have a broad selection of apps... that all end up being shallow.

Every once in a while there are decent things hidden though - I like apple translate. I also like adding "copy text from a graphical image" to the OS.

Re: I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

#356

Post by naravara »

tsunamifury wrote: post #243
naravara wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Old Apple had a productive tension between Jony Ive and Scott Forestall on which direction to go in with design, with Steve Jobs as a tie-breaker. After Jobs passed away Tim Cook failed to manage that tension productively and was put in a position where he had to choose between Ive and Forestall. He chose Ive, which in itself was probably the right choice, but there was nobody with Forestall’s clout to temper Ive’s m…

To Ives credit he tried to do the brand split and focused on Apple Watch as the test bed first with “Edition” then “Hermes” There just wasn’t the demand.

That seemed more like experimenting with interesting industrial design approaches and materials though. It’s not as much like, a very distinct side-hustle to design stuff that’s completely different.

They sort of do this with Beats as a parallel business to their own Apple speakers with products that aim at a totally different market. They need to start doing that with computers too. The entire Mac lineup is designed to be, like, a Honda Accord or Camry. But the Mac Pro is crap, they need a business-line that makes a computing equivalent of a pickup truck but they don’t want to commit.

Re: I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

#357

Post by sometimez »

sammyoos wrote: post #82

I bought a remarkably similar mug (last advert shown) from an add from different site [1]. Everything about it was a fake. Almost every feature they advertised did not exist (including the fact that it did not come in a gift box.) That was from a site I visit a lot and I wanted to show support. BTW the AI generated animation is quite cool, too bad it is not real... Do not buy this!! [1] https://kenmiso.com/products/%…

Can you please share what the actual product looks like?

Re: I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

#358

Post by sinnsro »

StilesCrisis wrote: post #349
ksec wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ever since Apple moved to Services Strategy in 2014 it has been like this. Services were not there so they could provide a better experience for its " customers ". I use the word " customer " here which is what Apple / Steve Jobs used to call their loyal fans, and not user . But to further growth their Revenue pie because they foresee iPhone one day will stagnant. You now have Apple Fitness+, Apple TV, News, Music, A…

They tried to kill _competitors'_ ads. Everyone else gets "Ask Not to Track" while Apple gets "Personalized Ads." It's so glaring once you see it.

Again, another great move sponsored by bean counter boy Tim.

Re: I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

#360

Post by rrrx3 »

As a former adtech guy, as a general rule of thumb, I consider _all ads everywhere_ to be scams.

Apple using Taboola is so hysterical because of their claim to focus on user experience. Taboola ads are a chumbox of the absolute worst bullshit ads on the market. The only thing worse is the zergnet stuff.

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