Apple sucks

[Troy]

Evidence of anticompetitive behaviors

I thought for sure I would get to work on this case. We pitched it, had all the contacts and even some random ins from other internal groups. Went with a competitor at the last minute, BOOO.

Thankfully I was just the "service-as-a-product" being sold and it wasn't my engagement and I didn't have a ton of time invested.

[Leisher]

I always think it'd be cool if you got a case like that, but then I remember you probably wouldn't be able to tell us much about it.

[TheCatt]

I always think it'd be cool if you got a case like that, but then I remember you probably wouldn't be able to tell us much about it.

Of course he'd tell us stuff, we're his, uh... unpaid consultants.

[Troy]

I always think it'd be cool if you got a case like that, but then I remember you probably wouldn't be able to tell us much about it.

I have signed my life away to numerous tech companies to be able to look at their trade secrets. I assume they all monitor all my communications and have a drone on standby if I start acting erratically.

[Troy]

Tech company cases are interesting but sometimes the nuts and bolts of the technology is boring.

The most interesting cases by FAR come from wealthy families or individuals in personal vendettas for various business or inheritance reasons. The gold plated dirt they throw around is always exciting.

[TheCatt]

Leverages market power for record profits.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/28/apple-a ... -2021.html

[TheCatt]

EU says they are basically a monopoly in dispute with Spotify. Which really mirrors the US dispute with Fortnite.

[Leisher]

I am still very torn on this issue.

I hate Apple, but I see their argument.

I hate Epic, but I see their argument.

Side note: Fuck Epic for trying to kill Apple's distribution strategy, while also running their own unethical methods to try and establish a monopoly. Notice their exclusives have disappeared since this case started?

[TheCatt]

Overall, I lean more towards Epic’s argument than Apple’s. There’s no way 30% fees are needed to sustain their store. If it were 15% or 20%, I wouldn’t care much.

I did sell half my AAPL shares today, as I think their size will be a growing issues in the US + EU and elsewhere.

[TheCatt]

Your privacy matters to Apple, but maybe not to everyone it employs or contracts out to

[Leisher]

I'm always reminded that this thread's title isn't just a name, it's a fact.

[TheCatt]

Apple really cares about user privacy

[TheCatt]

Apple was briefly worth $2.5T today (and may be again already). What have you done with your life?

[Leisher]

Apple was briefly worth $2.5T today (and may be again already).

Scientology is totally jealous.

[TheCatt]

Apple knows Catt was right along, partially caves.

Apple Inc. AAPL 0.45% said it would allow media apps to create in-app links to sign-up pages on those companies’ websites, allowing the likes of Spotify Technology SA SPOT 1.72% and Netflix Inc. NFLX 2.26% to bypass the iPhone maker’s cut of subscriptions.

Spotify and other technology companies for years have said Apple’s restrictions were unfair and anticompetitive. The Cupertino, Calif., company previously prohibited Spotify and others from directing their users to sign-up options outside the App Store.

Apple revealed the change Wednesday, saying it was among adjustments made to close an investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission and will apply globally to so-called reader apps available through Apple’s App Store.

The changes go into effect early next year, Apple said, as governments have questioned the power the company holds over third-party software developers that distribute their digital goods and services through the iPhone and iPad tablet.

[Leisher]

This is not an area we disagreed about. Apple has no right to take money from subscriptions.

[TheCatt]

This is not an area we disagreed about. Apple has no right to take money from subscriptions.

I think they have a small right, but not a 30% right.

[Leisher]

This is not an area we disagreed about. Apple has no right to take money from subscriptions.

I think they have a small right, but not a 30% right.

If they are actively processing the subscription and payment, then yes give them a cut. However, 30% is insanity. It should be more like 5% to pay for their costs and give them a little taste.

App purchases are a different story, and Apple should get more. 30% is still insane, but that's the market standard. If that gets changed between the Epic-Apple case, Valve, etc. then let's see if the consumer sees a discount, no change, or if prices rise so the distributor can make some of their lost money back.

[TheCatt]

Judge says Catt was right all along; Apple gets a big loss on payments

The federal judge overseeing the antitrust lawsuit brought by Epic Games against Apple, United States District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, has issued a permanent injunction that will serve as a massive blow to the walled-garden business model of Apple’s App Store.

At issue was Apple’s practice of forcing iOS app developers to give the tech giant a 30% cut of the revenue from each and every subscription or purchase and its prohibition on apps linking to third-party payment services. In the injunction, the court found that Apple will now be required to allow developers to direct users to third-party payment processors, meaning developers can now collect revenue directly, and can no longer disallow developers from using account registration data to contact users outside the app. Per the injunction:

[Apple will be] ... permanently restrained and enjoined from prohibiting developers from including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to In-App Purchasing and (ii) communicating with customers through points of contact obtained voluntarily from customers through account registration within the app.

Apple and Epic have been locked in a bitter, years-long feud over the App Store model, which Epic claimed was an anti-competitive abuse of Apple’s monopoly on iOS devices. Epic, the developer of the wildly popular Fortnite, tried to break out of Apple’s control by installing a third-party payment option in the game in August 2020. Apple subsequently responded by blacklisting Fortnite from the App Store, triggering the massive legal battle that blew up in its face today.

Stock is down 2.5% on the news.

[Leisher]

They lose on the subscription stuff, but they should still be allowed to block people from downloading programs outside of the store. Free or not. The world doesn't need iPhones becoming a free play for virus like droids.