Apple Owns You (Developers)

[Bob Maxey]

Discuss this perhaps:

UPDATED: All Your Apps Are Belong to Apple: The iPhone Developer Program License Agreement | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Cheers

 

[karandpr]

Wow . Amusing . .

 

[cds0699]

Wow, that's pretty puke.

 

[Vihzel]

Wow, that's pretty puke.

Spoiler

Googled "pretty puke":

 

[Hrethgir]

I like the part where even if Apple decides to reject your app from the App Store, even if it meets all the requirements, you still can't put it in any other store like Cydia or Rock. But really, if Apple decides to reject it, what are they going to do if you do put it on Cydia? Such a punk-ass move.

Spoiler

Googled "pretty puke":

Tele Chubby?

 

[quest7]

Spoiler

Googled "pretty puke":

I don't think I will ever be the same, lol.

 

[cds0699]

Spoiler

Googled "pretty puke":

What has been seen, cannot be unseen!

 

[zuben el genub]

This:
AppleInsider | Apple staffer allegedly posing as police searched home for missing iPhone prototype

If they can do the above, someone from Apple might pose as a fake official or a lawyer from one of the copyright groups to harass you.
(TIC)

 

[Drhyde]

$50 is all their liable for eh? What do they do, send you an Apple iTunes card?

 

[9to5cynic]

Apple is actually a scary company.

Remember with the iphone4 and gizmodo or endgadget or who ever bought the stolen one. They sent their goons to kick down his door and ransacked his house.

 

[Stuntman]

I understand the intent is to control every aspect of their products so it works well for the customer. By closing things off, the pretty much reduce the number of "moving parts" in a way and to ensure their devices function well. For most people they either don't know or don't care that their device is hindered in some ways because it already can do so many things.

I'm wondering if any anti-trust laws may be violated. Since they cannot go to any competing distribution system if they are unhappy with Apple's.

I wonder what penalties a developer faces if they violate the agreement. I would also imagine that many developers make enough money developing for iOS that it is not worth challenging Apple. Developers can also develop for other platforms, but I'm not sure how much they make of Android or any other platform compared to Apple.

Anyone know what type of agreement if any that developers have to agree to in order to develop on Android? I would be interested to compare. Android also has competing stores for apps in Amazon. I would imagine Amazon may have something similar.

 

[Luke Kellett]

I've seen snippets of the Amazon agreement, and they seem even worse than Apple. Their free app of the day is not what it's cracked up to be, especially considering in the Amazon agreement developers are meant to get paid for their apps even if Amazon do not.

The article explains it in great detail. Definately a store I would steer clear from as a developer.

At least with Android you have choices with the app stores, the Android Market being the best if you ask me

 

[Frisco]

Spoiler

Googled "pretty puke":

She seems to be getting great reception.

 

[9to5cynic]

She seems to be getting great reception.

 

[Bob Maxey]

This:
AppleInsider | Apple staffer allegedly posing as police searched home for missing iPhone prototype

If they can do the above, someone from Apple might pose as a fake official or a lawyer from one of the copyright groups to harass you.
(TIC)

Don't they, the police, still need a warrant to search private property? No corporation can get a warrant to search. Sans a warrant, they ain't searching me, that is a certainty. I think if the article is true, those fake police are going to iJail.

Say . . . anyone want to buy the iPhone 6.245 running iOS 7? I think I found it in a massage parlor.

 

[Bob Maxey]

I've seen snippets of the Amazon agreement, and they seem even worse than Apple. Their free app of the day is not what it's cracked up to be, especially considering in the Amazon agreement developers are meant to get paid for their apps even if Amazon do not.

The article explains it in great detail. Definately a store I would steer clear from as a developer.

At least with Android you have choices with the app stores, the Android Market being the best if you ask me

I see this as the beginning of a sea change that will sweep the net. Society will fail, the aliens will arrive, we will have 106% unemployment, we start apologizin to the tinfoil hat crowd becauee they were right, and anarchy will rule the day, I tell ya.

I see agreements changing for the worse (or for the better depending on one's POV) and it will not be pretty. Apple/Amazon needs developers, artists, musicians, and writers and I think we/they will be spat upon until something changes.

Fortunately, as the big players gain power and exercize their right to crush you, 'you silly damn artist how dare you ask to be paid,' other web sites arrive that are more friendly. Then they grow, get too full of themselves, and they, too, become soul sucking Batard-os and they, too, are replaced. The cycle of life, I suppose.

Fewer consumer dollars to spend and large corporations like Apple and Amazon are fighting for every one of them. I would love to see iOS Jailbreaking go mainstream and iPad users flocking towards a "better" alternative like Cydia.

As it is now, you can't sell iDevice apps to most users unless blessed by Apple. You buy a Mac, install the software, pay the Apple Dev charges, purchase a prayer mat that faces Cupertino so daily Apple prayers are less damaging to your knees; write the code, debug, debug, and debug. You create the HQ art, write the script, record, assemble, package, throw a party, and bust your arse to create 'Angry Fanboys,' and Apple says no, sorry. That is it, you are screwed and you have wasted your time and effort.

Most users can get iOS apps via email or a DL, but they cannot install them. It's Apple or nothing. If you complain, it matters very little. Apple can destroy all that hard work in a few seconds by simply denying your app; if they decide later that your app is bad, they can remove it from the store.

They, Apple, are the only possible source for iDevice apps, period. Well, except for Cydia, period.

What I like about Cydia is it avoids Apple and it gives a developer a chance to make a few dollars; a few is the operative term because they are a very small player and nobody outside of a forum like this knows about Cydia or Jailbreaking. They hear Greenpois0n, Jailbreaking, hacking, stealing apps from iTunes and to some, a Jailbreaker must be a horrible person. They do not, however, know how Apple treats developers.

Fortunately, the Legion of JB is growing, take that Apple.

Alternatives are fine, until someone on the net makes paid Android apps available for free, just like that one site I dare not mention that allows people to find thousands of iOS apps for free.

To be fair, is Amazon's irksome behavior covered in the agreement a dev signs? I am just asking, I do not know. If these odd terms are covered by the agreement, well, that is another thread perhaps.

 

[Luke Kellett]

Well put Bob.

On the topic of iTunes App Store alternatives, I doubt we will ever see a true compeditor. People want something that just works and integrates with the rest of their iDevice eco system. Until Apple actually allows (see never) another store to operate in the light, I can't see this happening :-(

On the topic of Android I think it would be an interesting thread to discus Amazon's app store along with a number of others such as B&N's store and some of the Korean gaming stores for instance to see how much developers are making compared to the actual Google Android Market.

And what sort of things do these stores allow developers to do, like in app purchases, piracy protection etc.

 

[Stuntman]

The smartphone ecosystem as defined since the introduction of the iPhone is still in its infancy. Such devices are new and cool enough and provide enough functionality that many people are not overly concerned about competing marketplaces so far. As I recall, when the automobile was in its infancy, Ford at one point only made black cars. It will probably take some time before more and more users demand more than just one source for their apps and other downloads.

It is happening on Android with Amazon having a competing source of apps. Right now, I don't really need or have the desire to look at multiple sources for apps. I just stick with the Android Marketplace. I did attempt to check out Amazon, but as I am not in the US, I am unable to really take advantage of it.

 

[Bob Maxey]

The smartphone ecosystem as defined since the introduction of the iPhone is still in its infancy. Such devices are new and cool enough and provide enough functionality that many people are not overly concerned about competing marketplaces so far. As I recall, when the automobile was in its infancy, Ford at one point only made black cars. It will probably take some time before more and more users demand more than just one source for their apps and other downloads.

It is happening on Android with Amazon having a competing source of apps. Right now, I don't really need or have the desire to look at multiple sources for apps. I just stick with the Android Marketplace. I did attempt to check out Amazon, but as I am not in the US, I am unable to really take advantage of it.

The differences depend upon your POV. If you are a consumer, you want apps. Some are free and some cost you. It might not matter which store you use because I'll bet most developers are selling applications on both markets. Give devs more markets and they will likely use them all, depending on the terms of service.

The developers see it differently. The TOS/Terms and Conditions between the Android Market and Amazon, for example, might be so different that it makes no sense to distribute applications on Amazon. Like a 100.00 listing fee on Amazon (just an example) might cause developers to avoid Amazon.

From a seller's (not a developer's) POV, I would love to have lots of markets because it increases my bottom line. Or not, it requires carefully evaluation and ploughing through the boilerplate.

 

[Bob Maxey]

She seems to be getting great reception.

Holy Cats and Rats with Tats . . . I just clicked the "show" button and what can I say. That is quite a vision.

 

[Frisco]

That was just the forerunner of

Spoiler

 

[Luke Kellett]

From a seller's (not a developer's) POV, I would love to have lots of markets because it increases my bottom line. Or not, it requires carefully evaluation and ploughing through the boilerplate.

But how many consumers are going to look for other market apps when you've already got Android Market on your phone?

Sure, some telco's put up their own stores with limited choices. I don't however see the average user going to look for another store.

 

[Bob Maxey]

But how many consumers are going to look for other market apps when you've already got Android Market on your phone?

Sure, some telco's put up their own stores with limited choices. I don't however see the average user going to look for another store.

Good question. Apple ties us to iTunes and for all intents and purposes, Android ties us to their market. Word of mouth can help, but some people resist change and so they simply use the market they are familiar with.

 

[9to5cynic]

^ And I think it helps when its a market from a larger company (read Amazon). I heard about that right after it came out.

Spoiler

I'm not a fan of having to sign up with an address to use it though, so I'll stick with Market.

 

[Luke Kellett]

I'm not a fan of the address thing either, I wonder if that turns many consumers off?

If you were asked for your address every time you bought a book in a bookshop for instance, would you go back to that bookshop or find another?