NYT: Apple Moves to Tighten Control of App Store

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by snipenekkid

I he is quoted as saying "entirely web-based reader" and that means nothing, no content is ever stored locally, period.

I doubt that seriously.

[Graham]

The newspaper publishers weigh in:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12391899

Graham

[CleverClothe]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

Snarky? Yes. But that is to be expected.

Some people are attracted to drama... and if no drama is available, they'll manufacture some. The only thing that we can be certain of is that Apple pulled the Sony reader app from the App Store. There have been conflicting reports as to WHY it was pulled.

Apple has already release a statement explaining why the Sony app was rejected. There is no confusion on that point.

Now the question everyone is wonder is, what will Amazon, publishers, etc. do now? There is a chance that Apple could back down, though.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by CleverClothe

Apple has already release a statement explaining why the Sony app was rejected. There is no confusion on that point.

Now the question everyone is wonder is, what will Amazon, publishers, etc. do now? There is a chance that Apple could back down, though.

There is still confusion about what the Apple policy actually is. The reporting states that there's a March 31 compliance deadline (for whatever the policy is), but no Apple source or statement is quoted that I've been able to find. So I don't trust the reporting I've seen. And I've pored through the App Store submission guidelines without becoming enlightened.

It's curious also that none of the supposedly-affected vendors has made any statements of protest or concern or lack thereof. Probably because they are confused, also.

While Apple claims there's been no change of policy, clearly any set of policies is likely to have gaps and contradictions and things not thought of. That seems to be what is going on here.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by tomsem

It's curious also that none of the supposedly-affected vendors has made any statements of protest or concern or lack thereof. Probably because they are confused, also.

I didn't save the link, but I read that Amazon is in negotiations. I'd guess that's why vendors aren't saying much. It also works to Apple's advantage to keep vendors in the dark. Each vendor will have different tipping points as far as money/percentages.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by Graham

The newspaper publishers weigh in:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12391899

Graham

As I said...this is what always happens. The consumers cry, the regulators cry, then Apple makes a move and then we forget what the problem was.

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

As I said...this is what always happens. The consumers cry, the regulators cry, then Apple makes a move and then we forget what the problem was.

ummmm, that article supports the opposite of your assumptions. if is exactly as Maggie, myself and others have described several times over.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

No I think this is perfect timing. They are counting on large sales anyway and a new influx of ipad customers who won't know the rules have changed or at least the enforcement of the rules have changed.

For me, my dad is going into assisted living. I think I'll give him my ipad for playing solitaire and I'll buy him a book from time to time. Me, I think I'm done with ipad and will order a K3.

It isn't perfect timing to do it just before the launch though because while it won't put off a large amount of people it will have a negative effect that you would avoid by doing it a few weeks after the ipad2's launch.

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

No I think this is perfect timing. They are counting on large sales anyway and a new influx of ipad customers who won't know the rules have changed or at least the enforcement of the rules have changed.

For me, my dad is going into assisted living. I think I'll give him my ipad for playing solitaire and I'll buy him a book from time to time. Me, I think I'm done with ipad and will order a K3.

It would be super cool to hand your Dad an iPad for sure, but do get him one of those super duper rugged cases, I forget the brand name. Had my mom and grandma in the same assisted living facility at the same time and trust me, stuff you would never think could break, gets broken.

But I don't know if I would get rid of the iPad now, I would wait until everyone knows for sure what will happen. I think that is not the idea of the thread it's about looking to the potential future and is a person willing to leave their data at the mercy of a company which will hold the threat of access to that data over your head for more cash even if they are doing both indirectly via a 3rd party.

You can always get the Kindle later if you decide the Apple Way is not working for you down the road. For now if you like your iPad and use it, then by all means I would keep doing so. Of course if your dad would really love having that connection to the rest of the world then absolutely hand it over to him, I did the same with my big screen for my mom. I really did not need it and she was legally blind and TV was her only entertainment. Plus she could once again watch her much loved Laker games. That alone was worth giving up the TV.

[karunaji]

Who ever thought that a closed device that allows only apps sold by a device maker is a good idea in the first place? The whole scheme looks so ridiculous. In a sane world such practice would have been found illegal long time ago. If some people accept this control that is their choice but the device makers should be obliged to give a jailbreak code to anyone who asks for it.

Amazon is equally guilty of the dictator disease. Kindle can't read epub files and their updates are actively trying to "fix" the jailbreak for those who have installed FBreader. If there is a hell then there is a special place reserved in it for those bastards.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by karunaji

Who ever thought that a closed device that allows only apps sold by a device maker is a good idea in the first place? The whole scheme looks so ridiculous. In a sane world such practice would have been found illegal long time ago. If some people accept this control that is their choice but the device makers should be obliged to give a jailbreak code to anyone who asks for it.

Amazon is equally guilty of the dictator disease. Kindle can't read epub files and their updates are actively trying to "fix" the jailbreak for those who have installed FBreader. If there is a hell then there is a special place reserved in it for those bastards.

LOL

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

But if we accept Amazon's claim at face value, then the number of kindle books downloaded to iOS devices is less than 20%... perhaps significantly less.

And if that's the case, then I expect Amazon to yank the kindle app from the app store rather than give Apple a cut of kindle book sales. Because after all, with the growing number of non-iOS devices being sold this year, they can easily write off the small percentage of sales generated by iOS devices.

The odds are that ios devices probably count for the vast majority of the 20% that are sold for kindle apps so the sales are not negligble for Amazon, but one solution for them would be to simply stop updating the current app that has already been approved by Apple and it would just mean that the ios version of the app would start to lag behind the playbook, android, etc. versions that didn't have this restriction preventing updates.

Net result, no more revenue for Apple from books and their tablet becomes less appealing than others.

[CyGuy]

Originally Posted by karunaji

Who ever thought that a closed device that allows only apps sold by a device maker is a good idea in the first place? The whole scheme looks so ridiculous. In a sane world such practice would have been found illegal long time ago. If some people accept this control that is their choice but the device makers should be obliged to give a jailbreak code to anyone who asks for it.

Amazon is equally guilty of the dictator disease. Kindle can't read epub files and their updates are actively trying to "fix" the jailbreak for those who have installed FBreader. If there is a hell then there is a special place reserved in it for those bastards.

Thank you for that, I agree completely! Karma for you!

[elcreative]

The choice is simple, buy if you want it and don't buy if you don't... what isn't a choice, is compelling someone to do things your way just because you want it... The argument that everything should be done your way or it's wrong, doesn't hold water any more... you don't like Apple's proprietary systems then don't use them... you can always get one of the "many" Android or other 10" tablets that now provide superior tech... oh wait... that's what we're still doing, waiting

Originally Posted by karunaji

Who ever thought that a closed device that allows only apps sold by a device maker is a good idea in the first place? The whole scheme looks so ridiculous. In a sane world such practice would have been found illegal long time ago. If some people accept this control that is their choice but the device makers should be obliged to give a jailbreak code to anyone who asks for it.

Amazon is equally guilty of the dictator disease. Kindle can't read epub files and their updates are actively trying to "fix" the jailbreak for those who have installed FBreader. If there is a hell then there is a special place reserved in it for those bastards.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by elcreative

The choice is simple, buy if you want it and don't buy if you don't... what isn't a choice, is compelling someone to do things your way just because you want it... The argument that everything should be done your way or it's wrong, doesn't hold water any more... you don't like Apple's proprietary systems then don't use them... you can always get one of the "many" Android or other 10" tablets that now provide superior tech... oh wait... that's what we're still doing, waiting

People are complaining that they have already bought an iPad, but that the ground rules are being changed under their feet.

Graham