"Sources familiar with the ongoing negotiations between Apple and Microsoft tell AllThingsD that the companies are at loggerheads not over the 30 percent commission Apple asks of storage upgrade sales made through SkyDrive, but over applying that same commission to Office 365 subscriptions sold through Microsoft Office for iOS, which is expected to launch sometime next year." iOS could end up being the only mobile platform without Office.
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Member since:2011-05-12
Yes, it also includes subscriptions, add-ons, plugins.
You can get free apps or paid apps, that allow you to extend them with more functions at a price, which Apple takes a 30% cut in.
eBay doesn't extend the app or offers subscriptions, but you can buy/sell stuff using it and Apple takes no cut.
In the case of subscriptions, if there are any Apple demands they can be made using the app and they get a 30% cut. So you can't offer a link to your website and have people subscribe there.
In the case of Office 365 subscriptions it seems to me Apple is taking 30% of the price without doing anything for it or giving anything back. Then again if they make an exception for Microsoft others will demand the same treatment.
Microsoft do have costs and the need your money to make it work, which makes it difficult if Apple takes a 30% bite out of it.
I think Apple should, if they really want a cut, limit it to 1% or some small symbolic amount. It's not where the real money is for them and I think they win more goodwill and even make more money if they dropped this.
Member since:2009-01-22
"Microsoft do have costs and the need your money to make it work, which makes it difficult if Apple takes a 30% bite out of it. "
Well, in this case, Apple just refuse to make an exception for MS: 30% is for everybody, big or small player.
One can argue whether 30% is fair or not, but I don't see how to blame Apple to treat MS as any other developer.
Member since:2011-01-28
MOS6510,
"eBay doesn't extend the app or offers subscriptions, but you can buy/sell stuff using it and Apple takes no cut."
Isn't that because of how ebay charges venders rather than user directly for the service, which is not ad supported either? If either of these conditions didn't hold, I suspect apple would be demanding a cut.
If OSNews had an IOS app, as I understand it they'd owe 40% of advertising proceeds to apple even if the ads were only shown after a user clicked out of the app onto the website.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2010/sep/16/apps-newspap.........
"In the case of subscriptions, if there are any Apple demands they can be made using the app and they get a 30% cut. So you can't offer a link to your website and have people subscribe there."
It goes beyond that unfortunately. Apple want a cut on external subscriptions as well.
http://mashable.com/2011/01/14/apple-no-free-ipad-newspapers/
I suppose some people might be fine with apple getting a cut of everything. You suggest having a 1% "symbolic" amount, but it's certainly a slippery slope and it symbolises apple's entitlements. Apple seems to want cuts on everything whether they've earned it or not. I feel the consumer would be better served if apple's store would compete on merit with independent app stores.
Edited 2012-12-13 15:44 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.
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.
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).
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?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.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.
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.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.
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.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!
Member since:
2006-08-18
Well, apparently, this is not limited to the "use of the software", or this definition extends so broadly that it does, indeed, extend to purchases done with the software (which i think is the case).
Take the example of newspaper : they have to give up a 30% cut on the content price. New article, new content, same software, but 30% cut by Apple (+ : they actually hide who the customers are, to stay in charge, therefore the newspaper does not know who its customers are !)
But well, since Apple can kill any app off its appstore, they are entitled to enforce any decision they want. The other side either abide, or die.