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"My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

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Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#61

Post by rimantas »

adolph wrote: post #42
ansy wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if it works anymore. But with the App Store you can download on anyone's device after you pay for it once. For example, I buy Angry Birds, and then I log in on your phone and install Angry Birds on it as a free update. Then I log out of your phone, and Angry Birds is still installed. I didn't even know it was possible and I did iOS development. Then I saw someone do it and had a WTF moment. He just said…

The trick is that a particular iPhone can't run around to different people's computers slurping the apps they bought on different iTunes accounts. It can only sync with one computer/iTunes account. For example, my spouse and I could use the same purchased apps (if we used the same stuff) since we share a single iTunes account and library. I could not sync with my next door neighbor and use all their apps at the same…

No need for single iTunes account and library. There is home sharing feature in iTunes and it allows to share apps simply by dragging and dropping.

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#63

Post by bad_user »

aneth wrote: post #43
patio11 wrote: post #27

Let me condense the conversation for you: Blah blah blah, free marketing, blah blah blah, wouldn't have bought it anyway, blah blah blah, DRM never works. Then you move your code to the server and this never bothers you again. This defeats piracy so well it works in China .

I agree. Piracy is the best thing that ever happened to Microsoft. If DRM worked, China - unable to afford Windows- would be a massive base of innovation for Linux desktops, and ultimately undermine Microsoft. If copyright were strongly enforced, nobody there would know what Louis Vitton is - instead it is now home to their most profitable store. Piracy is great marketing. Better even than free. You have distribution…

Yeah, but small software companies and freelancers are NOT Microsoft.

Windows and MS Office are software packages that you just use for years and years, probably for a lifetime. Once you're hooked, it's hard to switch. You cannot really compare Windows and MS Office with a game for which you lose interest in 2 weeks. Your business or other endeavors are not really depending on that game.

Also, Microsoft has enough power to lobby local governments to tighten anti-piracy laws and do so in their favor with special emphasis on their products.

Small indie developers can't really compare themselves with Microsoft. Piracy works for you as long as you've got room to convert pirated versions to non-pirated, or to increase the number of paying customers by using piracy for marketing, but again that really depends on the type of product you're selling ... for example, would paying customers gain any advantages, like fresh levels every 2 weeks?

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#64

Post by earl »

asdkfj9876 wrote: post #44
patio11 wrote: post #27

Let me condense the conversation for you: Blah blah blah, free marketing, blah blah blah, wouldn't have bought it anyway, blah blah blah, DRM never works. Then you move your code to the server and this never bothers you again. This defeats piracy so well it works in China .

when did you turn into such a know-it-all patio? All I see from you is arrogant one liners for the last few months. It's been interesting seeing how your (modest) success has turned you into an asshole - shame really.

  It's been interesting seeing how your (modest) success has turned you into an asshole - shame really.
Perhaps when accusing patio11 of being an asshole -- which I don't believe to be the case -- you could try not being a snide asshole yourself with your "(modest)" remark? Plus, even a cursory scan of his comment stream ( http://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=patio11 ) disproves your assertion.

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#65

Post by patio11 »

nupark2 wrote: post #51
asdkfj9876 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

when did you turn into such a know-it-all patio? All I see from you is arrogant one liners for the last few months. It's been interesting seeing how your (modest) success has turned you into an asshole - shame really.

I agree with this sentiment, but not the expression of it.

An open invitation: If you see me being glib and handwavy, please, ask for an elaboration. I have many faults. Insufficient desire to talk is not usually one of them.

I'll happily write up 800 words on why SaaS means piracy vanishes overnight, but the short version is just as informative: pirating the client means you can pirate the service like "pirating" Firefox lets you pirate Basecamp. Do you want me to talk about the China angle and how essentially all games in China (and Korea before it) are currently "free to play" with property/boosts/etc maintained on the server? And how that model is going to become dominant in the US, too, because gamers are voting for it with their wallets?

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#68

Post by asdkfj9876 »

earl wrote: post #64
asdkfj9876 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

when did you turn into such a know-it-all patio? All I see from you is arrogant one liners for the last few months. It's been interesting seeing how your (modest) success has turned you into an asshole - shame really.

It's been interesting seeing how your (modest) success has turned you into an asshole - shame really. Perhaps when accusing patio11 of being an asshole -- which I don't believe to be the case -- you could try not being a snide asshole yourself with your "(modest)" remark? Plus, even a cursory scan of his comment stream ( http://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=patio11 ) disproves your assertion.

I think in the grand scheme of things his success has been modest. Given this he should refrain from such cut-and-dried statements of fact. IMHO his opinion is valuable, but (by definition) restricted to his own experiences and doesn't constitute the be all and end all.

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#69

Post by _3u10 »

bad_user wrote: post #63
aneth wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. Piracy is the best thing that ever happened to Microsoft. If DRM worked, China - unable to afford Windows- would be a massive base of innovation for Linux desktops, and ultimately undermine Microsoft. If copyright were strongly enforced, nobody there would know what Louis Vitton is - instead it is now home to their most profitable store. Piracy is great marketing. Better even than free. You have distribution…

Yeah, but small software companies and freelancers are NOT Microsoft. Windows and MS Office are software packages that you just use for years and years, probably for a lifetime. Once you're hooked, it's hard to switch. You cannot really compare Windows and MS Office with a game for which you lose interest in 2 weeks. Your business or other endeavors are not really depending on that game. Also, Microsoft has enough po…

I guess you've never read the Open Letter to Hobbyists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Letter_to_Hobbyists

The best thing to do is estimate the number of users and use it in the marketing. (eg. instead of 200 copies sold, say 2000 users, etc)

Re: "My iOS app is being pirated. Over 90% haven't paid for it. What can I do?"

#70

Post by w1ntermute »

sandGorgon wrote: post #58
aneth wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. Piracy is the best thing that ever happened to Microsoft. If DRM worked, China - unable to afford Windows- would be a massive base of innovation for Linux desktops, and ultimately undermine Microsoft. If copyright were strongly enforced, nobody there would know what Louis Vitton is - instead it is now home to their most profitable store. Piracy is great marketing. Better even than free. You have distribution…

One of the big reasons that China or India (which might be linguistically closer) is not a hotbed for Linux innovation is because of the linux leadership. Hold more conferences here, incorporate features required for a non-Roman script market and see it explode. FYI - every known computer maker sells OS-free machines: both because the local piracy driven market demands it and that a lot of people use Linux as an alte…

> incorporate features required for a non-Roman script market

Nobody in India uses computers in Indian languages. Everything's in English, and when people do write in an Indian language, it's using a bastardized, improvised romanization. So non-Roman script support is a non-issue.

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