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Apple Balks, Finally Relents, At Possible User Queries of Dictionary App
Geoffrey.landis writes with a snippet from CNET reporting another example of offputting treatment at Apple's App Store: "'In this case, it's a dictionary app called Ninjawords (so called because ninjas are 'smart, accurate, and really fast') that was rejected three times over the course of two months, mostly because 'objectionable' words could be looked up and found in the dictionary's search function, Gruber reported.' PCWorld also reports the story." Note that the app was eventually approved, but only after a few go-rounds and changes.
the iPhone **has** parental controls for applications, Apple is just playing nanny for the parents that don't care to use the tools available to assist with their parenting.
There are task forces underway to not only do that, but ensure every home has a large print bible with big pictures of a non-Jewish Jesus. They'll also take any footwear the females may have and ensure all stoves have clocks over them.
"Common sense will be the death of us all"
After bricking unlocked iPhones, kicking applications off the iPhone store that might even slightly compete with iTunes in the far future and charging developers for the privilege and filing a wave of patents on basic well-known computer science, Apple Inc. today filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission declaring that it was openly adopting Evil(tm) as a corporate policy.
"F*** it," said Steve Jobs to an audience of soul-mortgaged thralls, "we're evil. But our stuff is sooo good. You'll keep taking our abuse. You love it, you worm. Because our stuff is great. It's shiny and it's pretty and it's cool and it works. It's not like you'll go back to a Windows Mobile phone. Ha! Ha!"
Steve Ballmer of Microsoft was incensed at the news. "Our evil is better than anyone's evil! No-one sweats the details of evil like Microsoft! Where's your antitrust trial, you polo-necked bozo? We've worked hard on our evil! Our Zune's as evil as an iPod any day! I won't let my kids use a lesser evil! We're going to do an ad about that! I'll be in it! With Jerry Seinfeld! Beat that! A**hole."
"Of course, we're still not evil, we said so," said Sergey Brin of Google. "You can trust us on this. Every bit of data about you, your life and the house you live in is strictly a secret between you and our marketing department. But, hypothetically, if we were evil, it's not like you're going to use Windows Live Search. I mean, 'Bing.' Ha! Ha! I'm sorry, that's my 'spreading good cheer' laugh. Really."
http://rocknerd.co.uk
I am the author of the until recently reasonably successful application Dictionary. Apple required censorship to allow Dictionary to be posted. This was back in December 2008. The full text of the rejection notice was:
"Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple's reasonable judgement may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users."
The screenshot provided with the rejection notice should the same type of words as in the OP. Again, words you had to search for to find.
More recently, Apple decided that because Dictionary provides uncensored access to Wikipedia, it must carry a 17+ rating. The text in this case was:
"Dictionary allows unfiltered access to Wikipedia, which includes frequent mature or suggestive themes. Applications must be rated accordingly for the highest level of content that the user is able to access."
As an app developer, this kind of behavior on Apple's part is very frustrating. Apple have fallen off their rocker, IMO.
Read every banned book? What a terrible idea, I'm sure lots of them were awful (in the sense that they were marginally readable pablum, not in the sense that they are naughty or heretical).
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
I'm far from an Apple defender (just modded in an MS thread because I likened Apple to Microsoft and I cant figure out which type of fanboy I pissed off more) but...
If you information does not match the payment information this throws up a whole bunch of red flags about credit card usage. They have to determine that you are, well who you say you are. Look at it from their perspective. This is something all banks enforce so it's not limited to Apple.
I mean this in the nicest way but why would Apple care about little developers like you when it can enforce its rules on large development houses like EA with far more efficiency. Yes Apple may very well want to drive away independent developers and this would be suicide because most apple sales are cheap, disposable US$1 programs, most Iphone owners don't want to pay US$10 per program (I wouldn't either so I dont blame them) but why wouldn't apple, control is more important to them then profit or market share.
Apple is control focused and that really really isn't great.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Hey when they first came out I really wanted one to like a bunch of other people I knew, then I started learning about the draw back to having one, some of which may seem petty to you but aren't to me, I have lots of people send me picture messages and whatever, nope can't do that they have to 'email' them, well thats a fucking waste of time trying to tell everyone that, I had asked my mom who has one if she got my mms she said no I had to email it, I was like wtf? Pass. Can only use bluetooth with headsets? Pass. Draconian app store? Pass. 500 'updates' a month? Pass. Lastly but not leastly you can't get insurance on them through your provider... Big pass, I mean the entire screen is breakable which can ruin the phone, best policy is better safe than sorry...
There are others but why bore you any longer.
Why is common sense called that if it's not common?
http://daringfireball.net/2009/08/phil_schiller_app_store
It wouldn't be the first time Apple rejected an app that did not feature "objectionable content" but which pulled it from the web.