Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

itunes.apple.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 123 posts

Re: iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

#41

Post by fpgeek »

ceejayoz wrote: post #34
berkut wrote: post #27

It's getting ridiculous - I'd heard of this happening a lot, and then last week one of my GPL'd Mac apps that's hosted on GitHub appeared on the Mac Store, being sold for €23.99 by some person (obviously Chinese with a really dodgy website). Surely the dodgy website should ring some alarm bells at Apple? Despite going through the process on the store feedback to notify Apple of counterfeit apps, I've had no response.…

If they provide the source code on request or in the credits or something similar, isn't that perfectly legitimate?

My understanding was that the GPL and Apple's app store terms were fundamentally incompatible, but I suppose that might only be true of iOS (because of the development tool issues and such).

Re: iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

#42

Post by franzus »

n9com wrote: post #23
timdorr wrote: post #21

Their other apps: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/super-racing-real-games/id... From the looks of it, they're a total scam developer. How does this stuff get into the store? At least two of their apps use the logos of other apps with some quick filtering to change the colors. I guess Apple isn't doing much more than a cursory check against trademarks when approving apps. That seems really dangerous. Copyright infri…

oh they do check - this is either a total oversight or an inside connection that the developer has.

> inside connection

The app store feels like some corrupt east european kleptocracy. Your only chance to get featured is if you have some inside connections. And if you need "special" functionality in your app - no problem! Inside connections help again.

Re: iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

#43

Post by debacle »

grimoire wrote: post #38
pooriaazimi wrote: post #24

I love these guys. They have tons of other shitty/scammy apps: - Fruit Defense (ripoff of Fruit Ninja): http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fruit-defense/id527599882?mt=... - File Manager (a game!): http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/file-manager/id529097807?mt=8 - Orient Fight (icon is a ripoff of Temple Run's): http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oriental-fight/id527894964?mt... - F1 Birdie Driver (bird looks like an angry bird)…

I also agree that Apple has a right to curate their store. But I disagree that the only store I should be allowed to buy from is Apple's.

Then don't buy an iOS device.

Re: iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

#44

Post by bcl »

smackfu wrote: post #30
timdorr wrote: post #21

Their other apps: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/super-racing-real-games/id... From the looks of it, they're a total scam developer. How does this stuff get into the store? At least two of their apps use the logos of other apps with some quick filtering to change the colors. I guess Apple isn't doing much more than a cursory check against trademarks when approving apps. That seems really dangerous. Copyright infri…

I think Apple's position is "it's not our job to police your trademarks, since you don't tell us when you license them to developers".

Nope. When I first submitted SharePics the logo had a white space at the bottom. They rejected it because they said it looked like a Polaroid. Apple needs to be more consistent, either curate the hell out of it, or don't. Inconsistent application of the rules make it more confusing for naive users.

Re: iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

#45

Post by berkut »

ceejayoz wrote: post #34
berkut wrote: post #27

It's getting ridiculous - I'd heard of this happening a lot, and then last week one of my GPL'd Mac apps that's hosted on GitHub appeared on the Mac Store, being sold for €23.99 by some person (obviously Chinese with a really dodgy website). Surely the dodgy website should ring some alarm bells at Apple? Despite going through the process on the store feedback to notify Apple of counterfeit apps, I've had no response.…

If they provide the source code on request or in the credits or something similar, isn't that perfectly legitimate?

Not according to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_App_Store and people familiar with the issue...

Re: iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

#46

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

aidos wrote: post #37
Samuel_Michon wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but I find that hilarious. Who in their right mind would believe that Apple would let Cydia into their own store? Of course, Apple shouldn't have let the scam app through either, and should remove it ASAP, but consumers do have some responsibility to use their faculties.

That's fairly obvious to us. The problem is that Apple have created an environment where people are encouraged not to use their faculties. Apple insist on acting the way they do with the store, so it falls to them to make sure crap like this never sees the light of day. I mean really, which member of the Apple team allowed Word 2012 through?

Probably near closing time and failing to meet quota...

I mean, with the number of apps they have to check, it must be a sweatshop.

Re: iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

#47

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

vibrunazo wrote: post #7
iamandrus wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The price is pretty ridiculous too. I would have bought it simply for the novelty if it wasn't $10.

I believe that's part of their magic trick. I don't think as many people would rush to think it's the official MS Word if it cost only $1. The price, app size, screenshots. Everything is misleading, except the one thing most people don't even look at, which is the text description.

Yeah, they deliberately made the in-app interface look like a mobile word processor. Which is really, really deceitful.

Re: iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

#48

Post by Bud »

pkulak wrote: post #9

Aren't we handing over all the flexibility of open app development so that Apple can protect us from crapware? What the hell are they doing with my $100 a year?

No. It's so Apple can protect you from malware.

Not choosing and buying crapware is still on you.

Re: iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

#49

Post by [deleted] »

eigenvector wrote: post #14
grecy wrote: post #11

So when Microsoft wants to submit the "real" 'Microsoft Word 2012' to the app store, how does Apple handle the name conflict? Can I go and submit an app under the name of every existing company name I can think of, just like domain parking?

Considering that Microsoft Word is a registered trademark of Microsoft that the author of this app is presumably not licensed to use, I would think that Apple should have no issue removing it.

[deleted]

Re: iOS App Store - Fake Microsoft Word 2012 Approved

#50

Post by saurik »

pooriaazimi wrote: post #31
saurik wrote: post #25

Apple, just a few days ago, also approved (and pulled once there was a lot of online press being caused by it) a fake Cydia. (Cydia is the alternative to the app store that distributes substrate extensions for jailbroken devices.) A bunch of people bought it and then left reviews saying that they had been ripped off. http://cache.saurik.com/tinyimg/cydiascam.png

Was it paid, or free? (I kinda know the answer, just want to make sure!)

I had said "bought it", but I did not indicate the price: $0.99.
Post reply on HN