Looking for relevant apps in the Apple App Store is a growing problem. This should be a feature built within the App Store. Why can't Apple do the same? Why do they need another application/service to do the "app discovery" for them?
Worse. There have been startups working on the discovery problem. Better filtering, (social) recommendations, social network around app reviews. Apple banned those apps in 2013 but at the same time hasn't provided any alternative. One example:
"Applications that include filtering, bookmarking, searching or sharing recommendations are not considered significantly different from the App Store, therefore they cannot be approved by Apple." http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/11/appidemia-shutting-down-aft...
The App Store search is ( and has ) always been a farce. I don't think I've ever not not used Google to search for the relevant app and then jump to the Store to "Get" it.
I never see analysts charging Apple with sheer negligence in these things.
It's not for the lack of resources. They have warchests both here and offshore. Why they don't get behind these pesky problems beats me. I mean these are elementary things. Using your competitor to search for apps in your store has to be downright cringe-worthy.
The only explanation for this has to be that Apple is shoring up every last nickel for something much much larger. In the years to come we shall likely see Apple heading into complete virgin product territories.
Apps, phones and tablets must seem like a distraction - a sideshow if you will - to the people in the know at Apple. A distraction from the real mother lode of things they have been working on.
If proven true, this has to be the greatest execution of strategy secrecy and misleading of onlookers and industry watchers alike, every seen at a corporation.
Nothing else explains why such scant attention is paid to basic things like search, voice recognition (Siri which is again a laggard compared to Google Now / Cortana) or maps or any other facets of the Apple ecosytem.
Nothing else explains ... what about "culture"? "Services" is a bit of a curse-word at Apple. The cool kids at Apple are in product design & UI. If you are top-notch backend/services talent, who you gonna join? Google? Or Apple?
If all you're doing is working all of the time, then you're not as effective as you could be. By choosing to work within certain time constraints, you could be more productive, while having the time for guilt-free play, which is essential. Look up "Stuart Brown and Play". You'll know what I mean. The important thing is to set boundaries between work and play. Look up Cal Newport fixed-schedule productivity.
I think these phones should be unlocked the day you sign up for a contract. What's the point in keeping them unlocked? You can't violate your contract. I can think of one downside for them carriers: they won't be able to charge you extra when you travel abroad, but then you have to ask if that's really in the best interest of the customers? Perhaps not.
Prosecuting a violated contract takes money itself. You have to do the cost/benefit of prosecuting users and losing subsidized phones vs. paying to develop locks and maintaining an unlock process.
You definitely can violate your contract. Just stop paying your bill. Or declare bankruptcy. The carrier will try to collect, but even if they do they'll end up with a fraction of the value.
Most phones can be unlocked. For an iPhone, the difficult part is to jailbreak it and doing it yourself can be a little painful, but that hasn't been a problem for many people. So somebody stops paying their bill, or declares bankruptcy. Do you think there's anything stopping them from unlocking their phones for pennies?
As an anecdote, I once stopped paying my bills to Vodafone and gave up on my contract obligations. At that time Vodafone demanded a 250 EUR interruption fee, which in the meantime became illegal in my country. Well, I told them to dare and sue me, because I have proof of unjust treatment and service disruption on their part and I did have that evidence. Basically they were assholes, they knew it and they gave up on any claims. I also unlocked my iPhone 3GS by myself and moved my business somewhere else.
Just like DRM, there is absolutely no valid reason for selling locked phones, other than lock-in, i.e. to prevent you from using other carriers while in roaming and thus suffer roaming charges. But even that is just annoying, because you can get unlocked feature phones for $30 without a contract, with a battery that lasts for a whole week and just use that.
Yes, I think this is more important than your "earning potential". Even someone who starts out in the job market early in the 20s with a low salary has the potential to make it big, because you've got time on your side.
Yes. Couldn't agree more. There're other bloggers in the tech/culture space like Jason Kottke of kottke.org, and Jim Dalrymple of The Loop, who make far less from advertising/sponsorships than Daring Fireball.
