Comments on: Apple Bringing Down the Axe On Aggregators, e-Books and e-Readers

By: Apple Bans a Thousand Apps Over Review Fraud

Apple Bans a Thousand Apps Over Review Fraud — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:23:58 +0000

[...] actions,” though they are not the first company to suffer a mass banning. Content aggregator Perfect Acumen was banned along with 900 plus apps in August for copyright violation and other complaints. Going forward, [...]

By: Laurens

Laurens — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:31:20 +0000

Stanza was updated about 3 weeks ago, actually, so there’s no need to get upset just yet:

http://www.teleread.org/2009/07/19/stanza-19-book-annotations-new-page-turning-animation-wrinkle-and-improved-os3-compatibility/

By: clarkgoble

clarkgoble — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:15:23 +0000

Stanza appears still to be available. As does the Kindle reader.

By: Graham

Graham — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:26:30 +0000

While I would personally welcome the reduction of single “ebooks” in the app store book category I would be extremely upset if general e-book reader apps, such as Stanza, were removed.

I have long felt frustrated by the huge number of so called ebooks in the app store which have just reproduced books as a single app. This is especially frustrating as Apple does not provide categorisation within the books category so you have to go through page after page after page of books by the same developer to find what you are looking for.

My understanding was that OS v3.0 provided a mechanism to create a main app that then allowed the purchaser to purchase additional content. I would like to see Apple work with developers to convert these reams and reams of separate book apps into this format and so reduce the overload in this category.

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:42:30 +0000

What is an app? What is an Iphone? Apple? Hmmm, I’m going for a walk in a meadow and enjoying the sunshine

By: James Dempsey

James Dempsey — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:10:32 +0000

I don’t get it. If it’s an RSS aggregator (reader), then how can they enforce any copyright on the content? If you could, people could sue MS, Apple and Mozilla out of existence simply for offering a Web browser (another type of “reader” software).

If you publish an RSS feed of your content, it’s the same as saying “please, show my content everywhere.”

By: Ashley Grayson

Ashley Grayson — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:48:46 +0000

This bit of not-quite-journalism highlights a problem but brings no clarity to the issue; instead it descends to a typical genY rant with no clear assessment of the issues. Switch to RIM because Apple has no easy fix for a problem caused by others?–get real. The real problem with ebook reader apps is the number of scavenger publishers who try to profit from selling public domain books or who “collect” in-copyright works that no one seems to be paying attention to and publish them; then “graciously” agree to pay royalties if caught. I personally have no problem with paying $0.99 for the convenience of a public domain ebook delivered in an appealing ereader format, but that’s not the issue. Apple isn’t focused on tracking the chain of title on every ebook that might be offered. Look how easily Amazon was duped by an ebook publisher of 1984. The scam publisher didn’t have the rights. This issue of copyright ownership is a solvable problem but at the moment the only people actively involved are all trying to pull a fast one on the authors or estates that own the rights to many works and cut themselves in on the author’s income. Apple’s (and Amazon’s) policies are formed to meet a one-size-fits-all-circumstance and the issue of ebooks is not yet that easy.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:03:23 +0000

The criticism is really mounting on Apple, and quite justifiably. It’s as though they’ve declared war on developers and users of the iPhone/iPod Touch as of late. As one who has owned each iteration of the iPhone, and also a member of a team who is currently working on developing applications, this worries me.

I still prefer my iPhone as a complete package to any other phone on the market. and certainly even with the current limitations and recent crackdowns, the App Store is a profitable endeavor for a developer. However, the competition is coming up fast, and Apple can’t afford to take steps backwards at this point.

By: RK

RK — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:05:02 +0000

Did you reach out to Apple to get comments?

By: Rob Oakes

Rob Oakes — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:09:36 +0000

Khalid is gone, great. But what about the others? And what about the thinning of e-book applications? That tidbit made me sit up straight and take notice. If apps like Stanza and Eucalyptus suddenly disappear from the app store, that’s a direct blow to one of the five major things the device does: 1) E-mail, 2) Internet, 3) Media, 4) Phone, 5) E-books.

And I have no interest in using an Apple approved e-book service. Hell will freeze over before I give them more power to control media and content dissemination.

I’m personally a bit more optimistic about the Stanza delays, though. Since Amazon just bought the company, I am hopeful that they are integrating their services. Amazon now owns Mobipocket, Stanza, and Kindle. They need to do some fat trimming and integrate the services into a single, cohesive whole that can disseminate e-content across computers, iPhone, Kindle and other devices.

My guess is that they are doing so and will probably make announcements as we approach on the holiday season.