MyAppleMenu

The Legal-Standards Edition Wednesday, July 15, 2020

A Dozen Years Of App Store: Democritizing Software Under Apple's Rigid Rules, by David Lumb, TechRadar

The biggest obstacle might be one of the App Store’s own making, though developers aren’t shirking their own responsibility: after the software market opened, teams responded to steep competition by dropping prices in a widely-acknowledged ‘race to the bottom.’

[...]

But the effects of this choice – charge upfront or a regular subscription – will run into another problem that is, ironically, enabled by a minor software revolution: once Macs fully integrate Apple-built silicon over the next two years (as announced at WWDC 2020), consumers will expect to pay once for apps that work across the entire Apple ecosystem.

Apple Customers Can Now Submit Claims As Part Of Settlement Over Slowing Down iPhones, by Rishi Iyengar, CNN

Apple customers who purchased certain previous iPhone models can now submit claims for about $25 per phone as part of the company's settlement of a class action lawsuit that accused it of slowing down older devices.

The settlement, announced in March, applies to customers who purchased the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus and or the SE before December 21, 2017 and experienced performance issues, according to a website set up for users to submit claims.

Apple Wins Major Tax Battle Against EU, by Valentina Pop and Sam Schechner, Wall Street Journal

Apple Inc. won a major battle with the European Union, when the bloc’s second-highest court on Wednesday sided with the U.S. company over a €13 billion ($14.8 billion) tax bill that EU antitrust officials had said the company owed to Ireland.

[...]

But in its judgment on Wednesday, the General Court said it annulled the commission’s decision because it had failed to meet the legal standards in showing that Apple was granted an illegal subsidy.

Stuff

Nudget For iPhone Is A New Budgeting App Focused On Easily Tracking Expenses And Insights, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

There are quite a few different approaches to budgeting, and that is certainly not a bad thing. For iPhone users, one of the newest solutions is an app called Nudget, which puts the focus on seamless support for recording and tracking your purchases.

Ulysses 20 Review: New Dashboard Featuring Advanced Grammar And Style Check, Outline, And Much More, by Ryan Christoffel, MacStories

Ulysses 20 is an update all about the quality of its improvements over quantity. On paper there are only two new features, but each of these features represents a major advancement for the app.

Apple Notes Vs Evernote: Which Note-Taking App Is Better, by Parth Shah, Guiding Tech

Apple Notes offer better OS integration, and it is free to use. Evernote is feature-rich, offers better organization and the web clipper is the best in business.

Logitech’s New Mac-specific Mouse And Keyboards Are The New Best Choices For Mac Input Devices, by Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch

These aren’t dramatically different devices from the existing versions that Logitech offers – but that’s a good thing in this case, and it elevates what were already amazing peripherals to no-brainer default choices for Mac users.

NBCUniversal's 'Free' Streaming Service Peacock Launches On iPhone, iPad And Apple TV, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

Peacock is available today in the iOS and tvOS App Store. Peacock includes titles like Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Parks and Recreation, Downton Abbey and will be the home of The Office when it leaves Netflix at the end of 2020. Peacock is offered in three tiers, including a free ad-supported plan.

Develop

You've Only Added Two Lines – Why Did That Take Two Days?, by Matt Lacey

Why did a fix that seems so simple when looking at the changes made take two days to complete?

Notes

Apple Recloses Eight Stores In Maryland, Missouri, Virginia, And Wisconsin, by Tim Hardwick, MacRumors

Apple is re-closing eight more retail stores across the United States, in the states of Maryland, Missouri, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

New EU Regulation Gives Developers More Protection And Transparency In App Store Review, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

[O]ne of the new requirements is that operators of app distribution platforms like Apple provide developers with a minimum of 30 days notice before removing their apps from the ‌App Store‌, with exceptions for illicit or inappropriate content, safety concerns, counterfeiting, fraud, malware, spam, and apps that have suffered a data breach.

As Tech Giants Rally Against Hong Kong Security Law, Apple Holds Out, by Zack Whittaker, TechCrunch

The move by Silicon Valley to cut off Hong Kong authorities from their vast pools of data may be a largely symbolic move, given any overseas data demands are first screened by the Justice Department in a laborious and frequently lengthy legal process. But by holding out, Apple is also sending its own message: Its ardent commitment to human rights — privacy and free speech — stops at the border of Hong Kong.

Bottom of the Page

Get through the day with busyness, and hope to sleep through the night without waking up. Somewhere inside my brain is a tiny voice protesting that these are opposing goals.

~

Thanks for reading.