Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 11th Apr 2012 23:51 UTC, submitted by bornagainenguin
"Just got off the phone with Google over their Android app store (Market or Google Play to those keeping track of the name changes) about an application that I purchased that can no longer be found. Evidentially their new policy in the Market can be summed up as a head shrug and the words 'I got mine'. They have decided their fifteen minute refund window is not only absolute, but also applies even in cases where the developers are actively screwing over their customers." Yes, it's an angry rant, and yes, if that bother you, you can skip it, but the guy or girl has a point. Google has some major work to do on the Play Store.
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RE: Its the same in the other camp...
by googlegotmine on Thu 12th Apr 2012 01:43
in reply to "Its the same in the other camp..."
Member since:2012-04-12
The author of the post claims they will move to iOS devices because of this, however iOS does nearly the same thing. If a developer stops supporting an app, or stops paying their yearly fee, their app is removed from the app store and paying customers no longer have access to it.
If this is the case, then what reason does anyone have to buy anything from these app stores? I am reminded of the Microsoft Plays for Sure debacle, where all these people paid real money for music that would no longer play after a certain date (when the music DRM servers were turned off) making a mockery out of the services' name. Better to simply pirate the music than find out the purchase you'd just made had become a rental while your back was turned.
RE[2]: Its the same in the other camp...
by yoursecretninja on Thu 12th Apr 2012 04:04
in reply to "RE: Its the same in the other camp..."
Member since:2006-01-02
That is indeed how things work. I developed iPhone apps for two years but did not renew my membership because it was not a profitable endeavor for me. Unfortunately, this had consequences I was not aware of at the time. Upon not renewing my membership, my apps were no longer available on the store. That is expected for new downloads... the kicker was they were no longer available to paying customers. If a paying customer were to have deleted my apps, they can no longer download them. I thought I was selling them and giving Apple a commission on the sale. Apple decided to lease the apps to customers instead.
RE[2]: Its the same in the other camp...
by latreides on Thu 12th Apr 2012 13:10
in reply to "RE: Its the same in the other camp..."
Member since:2011-03-20
I agree entirely. At least you have a choice with Android to not use Googles Market/Play, and use a competitors or none at all, and still install games and apps (without needing to hack the device). While this is no excuse by a long shot, it does provide a way to "vote" with your wallet in a less extreme manner.
I have never had a problem with the Android Market personally, but again I would never buy a digital product for more than a couple dollars anyway so any loss I might suffer costs less than a cheeseburger 
RE: Its the same in the other camp...
by cyrilleberger on Thu 12th Apr 2012 06:11
in reply to "Its the same in the other camp..."
Member since:2006-02-01
You can always backup the apk from Android (http://droidlessons.com/how-to-backup-android-apps-and-save-them-to...). And if I remember correctly you can sort of do the same thing with iOS, except that you have to backup in the cloud (I am not too sure about iOS).
I guess Google Play and iTunes could have such a feature build in, where you could re-download any application you have purchased.
RE[2]: Its the same in the other camp...
by latreides on Thu 12th Apr 2012 13:12
in reply to "RE: Its the same in the other camp..."
Member since:2011-03-20
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:35 UTC
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/11/13 17:07 UTC
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/10/13 23:13 UTC
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/08/13 14:57 UTC
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/07/13 11:40 UTC
This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/04/13 12:45 UTC
Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
Linked by nfeske on 05/31/13 10:12 UTC
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/29/13 16:59 UTC
At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!More Features »
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2011-03-20
The author of the post claims they will move to iOS devices because of this, however iOS does nearly the same thing. If a developer stops supporting an app, or stops paying their yearly fee, their app is removed from the app store and paying customers no longer have access to it. Also updates can remove functionality as well as add it, and companies can do the same thing as these ones did on the Android market. Just because the author hasnt run into this issue personally in the iOS ecosystem (and had to deal with their support people) does not mean it doesnt exist there as well.
That being said, Google does need to take more responsibility for its market.
Edited 2012-04-12 00:59 UTC