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User: Orphis

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  1. Re:Not Netflix's fault on Netflix Axes Apple AirPlay Support (cnet.com) · · Score: 1

    I worked in the music industry. Similar constraints there which were severely limiting too.

    Like the one where we had to protect our binaries with an obfuscating compiler on desktop. One that would create bad code from time to time, crash on some constructs and not support "modern" (aka C++11) standards. It took a while to get that changed. But on iOS? Everything was fine and dandy.

  2. You didn't read the article.

    The problem isn't doing a website and host your own payment platform for your service, but it is that Apple prevents any company from contacting their own customers about payment options that are not linked to Apple.

    Even if you create a Free Spotify account, on another platform, use it on your iDevice, then Apple can tell you that you have breached the developer terms of service if you contact them with an email saying they could upgrade to premium on your website.

    The margins in this business are thin, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple made more money from the 30% tax (all expenses accounted for) than Spotify providing the actual service. And that's with Apple providing their own competing service too which isn't limited to those ridiculous rules (and honestly would be surprising if they made a profit too, but that's not an issue for Apple to operate this at loss anyway).

  3. Re:Cashless comes with an additional 5% Bank TAX on USA Today Tech Columnist: Millennials Will Live To See a Cashless World (usatoday.com) · · Score: 1

    If a merchant is paying 5%, then they should change payment processor.
    I help some small association from time to time, we have a card reader and the entry level fee is only 1.85%. It's probably lowered if you have high volumes of payments too.

    And that's 1.85% to get all the services, including getting a certified "cash" register for the tax agencies in the country. No real cash in there, but that's the terminology of payment devices, even if it's just a small add-on to a phone.

  4. Cash is still useful in Sweden!

    Have you ever lost or had your wallet stolen? You need to save a little bit of cash for expenses just in case.
    Happened to me a couple years ago, I had my card skimmed just before Midsommar. The new one obviously didn't arrive in 2 working days and I needed to buy all the celebration necessities.

  5. More forced royalties makes the services more expensive to run, which in turn is making the subscription more expensive.

    A more expensive subscription means lots of users will drop out and go back to pirating, meaning absolutely no revenue from them for copyright owners. Models probably predict that more people would leave than is offset by the increased revenue.

    The notable difference between Apple Music and the other services is that Apple never cared for it and can afford to run it at a loss.

  6. There are file managers with recent Android.
    Maybe older ones as well, it probably depends on the phone maker too (my Galaxy S4 had one bundled from Samsung for example).

    Admittedly, the issue with large APKs is that you need double the space. First to download and then to install the files. That's why so many games are using installers (though usually done downloading private files in the main game, not as a separate app).

  7. Re:Another new standard on Vulkan Graphics is Coming To macOS and iOS, Will Enable Faster Games and Apps (anandtech.com) · · Score: 1, Informative

    There's absolutely nothing new about Vulkan though.

  8. We have something similar in France on MoviePass Adds a Million Subscribers, Even if Theaters Aren't Sold on It (nytimes.com) · · Score: 2

    We have something similar in France. It's about 20 euros per month to get a card that let's you go to the cinema as many times as you want. There's also a 30 euros one for the card holder and a friend (works great for couples).

    Since they started doing that, they fill all the screenings, sell so much more popcorn that they never really considered removing them. It is worth it for them!

    I'm surprised by the low price though, how do they manage with less than $10 per month? From experience, going to the theater once always costed more!

  9. Re:Background app? on Google Launches App That Can Help You Track and Conserve Mobile Data (venturebeat.com) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm guessing that it's easier to update an "external" app than getting all the phone providers to update their OS in time when making changes.

    Pretty much why Chrome on Android is a separate app too.

  10. Re:Sorry, not in stock on 'Google Just Made Gmail the Most Secure Email Provider on the Planet' (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    You can also use NFC enabled Yubikeys, which are available.

  11. Re:It's the same tool my identity theft plan uses on 'Google Just Made Gmail the Most Secure Email Provider on the Planet' (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    TOTP can be defeated by man in the middle attacks too.

    Those U2F modules will check the certificates of the place you're connecting to and negotiate directly your auth request.

  12. Don't forget that Netflix is not re-encoding their content on the fly, it's prepared with fine tuned encoder and maybe 2 or more passes to get good quality for all the devices and formats.

    On the other hand, what do you think your ISP will do if it starts re-encoding videos on the fly? It will output crap quality and that is very noticeable! It's not comparable at all.

  13. Re:Negative agreements aren't legal in some places on Online Critics Decry Even More Wells Fargo Fraud Scandals (boingboing.net) · · Score: 4, Funny

    Where is it legal? Asking for a friend and his company with the amazing monthly paper clip delivery service that's just $999 a month.

  14. Re:Not surprised on Where's All My CPU and Memory Gone? The Answer: $5B Worth Slack App (medium.com) · · Score: 2

    I just used the IRC bridge at work instead, it worked alright, but I don't remember using the group chat feature at all, we just had regular channels.

  15. Re:My bazel BUILD file on Announcing 'build', Auto-Configuration In 1000 Lines Of Makefile (github.com) · · Score: 1

    When you hardcode paths local to your machine and compiler options specific to your compiler, you can use build tool, it doesn't really matter.

  16. Re:Because... on Why Does Microsoft Still Offer a 32-bit OS? (backblaze.com) · · Score: 1

    But you can't really use 4GiB of RAM on a 32bit PC. A lot of the address space is reserved for devices and realistically, you're talking about 1GiB unused (unless you enable PAE, which will crash a lot of apps and drivers...).

  17. Re:Will you finally get to work already? on Security Analyst Concludes Windows 10 Enterprise 'Tracks Too Much' (xato.net) · · Score: 1

    It works so well that I'm currently bisecting my kernel to find a regression for sound over HDMI on my HTPC that broken some versions ago.
    I'm currently down to some long list of 200 changes from some "drm-next" branch. Yay, so fun!

    Linux (the kernel) works like just any other kernel. The problems are usually in the userspace though.

  18. Re:So pirate? on Netflix Says No To Unlocked Android Smartphones (androidpolice.com) · · Score: 2

    Exactly, from experience, the tech company doesn't always have a say in the technology they use if they want to have access to content from large distributors.

  19. Re:How come no one thought of this before? on Inside Germany's Plan To Kill Online Registrations (cnn.com) · · Score: 1

    It doesn't have to be done this way.

    In Sweden, we basically have that. We put our "person number" in the website and then it opens an identification request on our mobile phone (you can also use a desktop plugin). Proper 2FA, no stupid password to put on the website.

    That's what I use to declare my taxes, use the local eBay, apply for a customer credit when buying something expensive online, connect to my bankS websites and also approve direct money transfers to friends through their phone number (so one pays at a restaurant and everyone pays their share).
    It also works over the phone to identify yourself with a customer service.

    It's *secure* and it just works.

  20. Yeah about Stockholm... on The Best and Worst Cities To Live in For Tech Workers, Based on Rent and Commute (qz.com) · · Score: 2

    It's all great that it takes 24 minutes, but in general, it's quite hard to find a place to rent long term. So if you're a foreign worker, good luck competing with the locals who have been in queues to get a 1st hand contract rental for many years already...

    So well, if you can't move there, you're not part of the statistics of course!

  21. Re:Does the streaming market go there? on Pandora Debuts Premium On-Demand Music Tier (usatoday.com) · · Score: 1

    Probably a lot! Spotify 50M paying subscribers reported early this month, that's without all the ad-based users that are just potential subscribers too (over 100M total). Apple Music reported 20M subscribers too. Deezer is probably at 7M now. Tidal 3M.

    So yes, users are using those more and more as they are so convenient and the market growth isn't slowing at all. It should be good for some musicians eventually has revenue that went down year after year in most markets is finally growing too.

  22. Re:How to find them? on Debian Update: Stretch Frozen, Bug-Squashing Parties Planned (phoronix.com) · · Score: 1

    Nice troll there. Don't be a party pooper please.

    They actually say they want to be beginner friendly. Even if you are not a Debian maintainer, you can still participate in QA effort.
    That said, I used to maintain the Debian packaging of a lot of software myself, I don't think that I would be a hindrance in any way.

  23. How to find them? on Debian Update: Stretch Frozen, Bug-Squashing Parties Planned (phoronix.com) · · Score: 1

    Is there a central place with all the BSP listed?

    I've had a look at https://wiki.debian.org/BSPPla... and only the upcoming one in Paris is mentioned, not the other one in Zurich or previous ones in Germany or Brazil.

  24. Re:Pray I don't change it again on Apple Begins Rejecting Apps With 'Hot Code Push' Feature (apple.com) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How much is an Apple computer? You can't compare the cost of the license without taking into account the hardware required.

  25. Re:So True. on Why Your Boss Will Crush Your Innovative Ideas (bbc.com) · · Score: 1

    That's assuming that a promotion means that you have to become a manager from a skilled technician, which isn't true.
    Sure, maybe companies do it this way, but that's in reality a totally different job and skill set.