#i do just fine with a music app of Entirely Legally Purchased music

[rowanthestrange]

I am respectfully asking for whoever is psychically linked with me, to please stop transmitting ABBA’s Take A Chance On Me into my brain.

[yandere-sins]

A (tiny) tutorial on how to download Twisted Wonderland if you are not US/CA for IOS

Because I know some of you also struggled with this, here is how I did it! Before I go into detail, please note these little problems I encountered:

You won’t be able to connect your Paypal account with an Apple ID that is not located in the same country. I am not sure about the credit card option, but gift cards won’t work either since they are country-locked (aka, it will tell you that your gift card can only be used in an Apple store of the same country where you bought the card) That means you will be F2P if you want or not.

Even if you change back to your original Apple ID you won’t be able to charge that one if you want to buy anything in-app. It’ll give you an error message that payments need to be done on the Apple ID that the app was downloaded with, so tough luck with that...

I am not sure about the legality of creating a new Apple ID account. You will need to put in an address before accessing it, and I am not sure if that is actually a bit fraud-ish. Thus, I don’t take responsibility if you decide to do this method and somehing happens! (Though so far I haven’t heard about anything like that. Just don’t try to scam with that ID lol)

Additional Edit 02/16/22:

You can absolutely buy gift cards from those regions to use on your US/CA account if you don’t want to stay F2P. You’ll need to switch back to that account and redeem it there but it should work. However, there might be an additional cost to the gift card instead of just the price you are purchasing! Remember to stay on that account for the purchase before switching back to your regular Apple ID!

Important if you are using Apple Music: Your entire library will be deleted upon switching accounts! If you have a Apple Music backup on your computer, you can just transfer all the music files back onto your device, or alternatively, you need to make one or several playlists with all the songs and enable “Sync Library” in the settings. Apple will delete all songs and albums but it keeps your playlists; with this method, you can quickly redos load everything without manually searching for each and every song.

Those are the only negative points I found so far trying around and testing things, now, here’s how I did it:

You need an US or CA Apple-ID, however, after using it to download the app, you can switch back to your normal one! To get a new one, log out of your old one (make sure you know your login for this one again later!) and when logging in again choose ‘new account’. I had the problem that I couldn’t find this option on my mobiles, so I went to   appleid.apple.com   and in the top corner chose ‘create your apple ID’

Once you followed the creation process (you can choose the same telephone number but different emails as your other ID), take your new ID back to the mobile device of your choosing and log in. It should automatically prompt further inquirement from Apple to add Name & Address. You will absolutely need a postal code from the country you chose, everything else seems to be open for wrong information. Though it will also accept if you use your personal information and then just change the city & postal code to one from the country you chose for your ID.

Once you’re done, you should be able to finally download the game yay! (Please download the game first before changing back to your original ID) You don’t need to worry about updates as they will still work as long as you are connected to the internet, even when you change back to your original Apple ID (and I recommend going back to your normal one for your other apps, payments, music, etc. If you have automatic payments they don’t seem to be cancelled while you are changing around, but it might be better to check them afterwards!)

Enjoy playing! ♥

The thing I was afraid of was having to constantly having to change back and forth between IDs to update the app, however, updates can be done even if your Apple ID is not the same that downloaded an app, so it should be fine! Lmk if you try the same and find more additions so I can add them to the post! I hope you guys can enjoy the game ♥

Also, I just want to say that without the help of my good friend Hime I probably wouldn’t have come this far, so all the credit for helping me and setting me up to Hime! ♥

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Patent troll's IP more powerful than Apple's

I was 12 years into my Locus Magazine column when I published the piece I'm most proud of, "IP," from September 2020. It came after an epiphany, one that has profoundly shaped the way I talk and think about the issues I campaign on.

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

That revelation was about the meaning of the term "IP," which had been the center of this tedious linguistic cold war for decades. People who advocate for free and open technology and culture hate the term "IP" because of its ideological loading and imprecision.

Ideology first: Before "IP" came into wide parlance - when lobbyists for multinational corporations convinced the UN to turn their World Intellectual Property Organization into a specialized agency, we used other terms like "author's monopolies" and "regulatory monopolies."

"Monopoly" is a pejorative. "Property" is sacred to our society. When a corporation seeks help defending its monopoly, it is a grubby corrupter. When it asks for help defending its property, it is enlisting the public to defend the state religion.

Free culture people know allowing "monopolies" to become "property" means losing the battle before it is even joined, but it is frankly unavoidable. How do you rephrase "IP lawyer" without conceding the property point? "Trademark-copyright-patent-and-related-rights lawyer?"

Thus the other half of the objection to "IP": its imprecision. Copyright is not anything like patent. Patent is not anything like trademark. Trade secrets are an entirely different thing again. Don't let's get started on sui generis and neighboring rights.

And this is where my revelation came: as it is used in business circles, "IP" has a specific, precise meaning. "IP" means, "Any law, policy or regulation that allows me to control the conduct of my competitors, critics and customers."

Copyright, patent and trademark all have limitations and exceptions designed to prevent this kind of control, but if you arrange them in overlapping layers around a product, each one covers the exceptions in the others.

Creators don't like having their copyrights called "author's monopolies." Monopolists get to set prices. All the copyright in the world doesn't let an author charge publishers more for their work. The creators have a point.

But when author's monopolies are acquired by corporate monopolists, something magical and terrible happens.

Remember: market-power monopolies are still (theoretically) illegal and when companies do things to maintain or expand their monopolies, they risk legal jeopardy.

But: The corporate monopolist who uses IP to expand their monopoly has no such risk. Monopolistic conduct in defense of IP enjoys wide antitrust forbearance. What's the point of issuing patents or allowing corporations to buy copyrights if you don't let them enforce them?

The IP/market-power monopoly represents a futuristic corporate alloy, a new metal never seen, impervious to democratic control.

Software is "IP" and so any device with software in it is like beskar, a rare metal that can be turned into the ultimate corporate armor.

No company exemplifies this better than Apple, a company that used limitations on IP to secure its market power, then annihilated those limits so that no one could take away its market power.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

In the early 2000s, Apple was in trouble. The convicted monopolist Microsoft ruled the business world, and if you were the sole Mac user in your office, you were screwed.

When a Windows user sent you a Word file, you could (usually) open it in the Mac version of Word, but then if you saved that file again, it often became forever cursed, unopenable by any version of Microsoft Office ever created or ever to be created.

This became a huge liability. Designers started keeping a Windows box next to their dual processor Power Macs, just to open Office docs. Or worse (for Apple), they switched to a PC and bought Windows versions of Adobe and Quark Xpress.

Steve Jobs didn't solve this problem by begging Bill Gates to task more engineers to Office for Mac. Instead, Jobs got Apple techs to reverse-engineer all of the MS Office file formats and release a rival office suite, Iwork, which could read and write MS Office files.

That was an Apple power move, one that turned MS's walled garden into an all-you-can-eat buffet of potential new Mac users. Apple rolled out the Switch ads, whose message was, "Every MS Office file used to be a reason *not* to use a Mac. Now it's a reason to switch *to* a Mac."

More-or-less simultaneously, though, Apple was inventing the hybrid market/IP monopoly tool that would make it the most valuable company in the world, in its design for the Ipod and the accompanying Itunes store.

It had a relatively new legal instrument to use for this purpose: 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act; specifically, Section 1201 of the DMCA, the "anti-circumvention" clause, which bans breaking DRM.

Under DMCA 1201, if a product has a copyrighted work (like an operating system) and it has an "access control" (like a password or a bootloader key), then bypassing the access control is against the law, even if no copyright infringement takes place.

That last part - "even if no copyright infringement takes place" - is the crux of DMCA 1201. The law was intended to support the practices of games console makers and DVD player manufacturers, who wanted to stop competitors from making otherwise legal devices.

With DVD players, that was about "region coding," the part of the DVD file format that specified which countries a DVD could be played back in. If you bought a DVD in London, you couldn't play it in Sydney or New York.

Now, it's not a copyright violation to buy a DVD and play it wherever you happen to be. As a matter of fact, buying a DVD and playing it is the *opposite* of a copyright infringement.

But it *was* a serious challenge to the entertainment cartel's business-model, which involved charging different prices and having different release dates for the same movie depending on where you were.

The same goes for games consoles: companies like Sega and Nintendo made a lot of money charging creators for the right to sell games that ran on the hardware they sold.

If I own a Sega Dreamcast, and you make a game for it, and I buy it and run it on my Sega, that's not a copyright infringement, even if Sega doesn't like it. But if you have to bypass an "access control" to get the game to play without Sega's blessing, it violates DMCA 1201.

What's more, DMCA 1201 has major penalties for "trafficking in circumvention devices" and information that could be used to build such a device, such as reports of exploitable flaws in the programming of a DRM system: $500k in fines and a 5 year sentence for a first offense.

Deregionalizing a DVD player or jailbreaking a Dreamcast didn't violate anyone's copyrights, but it still violated copyright law (!). It was pure IP, the right to control the conduct of critics (security researchers), customers and competitors.

In the words of Jay Freeman, it's "Felony contempt of business-model."

And that's where the Ipod came in. Steve Jobs's plan was to augment the one-time revenue from an Ipod with a recurrent revenue stream from the Itunes store.

He exploited the music industry's superstitious dread of piracy and naive belief in the efficacy of DRM to convince the record companies to only sell music with his DRM wrapper on it - a wrapper they themselves could not authorize listeners to remove.

Ever $0.99 Itunes purchase added $0.99 to the switching cost of giving up your Ipod for a rival device, or leaving Itunes and buying DRM music from a rival store. It was control over competitors and customers. It was IP.

If you had any doubt that the purpose of Ipod/Itunes DRM was to fight competitors, not piracy, then just cast your mind back to 2004, when Real Media "hacked" the Ipod so that it would play music locked with Real's DRM as well as Apple's.

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3387871/Apple+RealNetworks+Hacked+iPod.htm

Apple used DMCA 1201 to shut Real down, not to stop copyright infringement, but to prevent Apple customers from buying music from record labels and playing them on their Ipods without paying Apple a commission and locking themselves to Apple's ecosystem, $0.99 at a time.

Pure IP. Now, imagine if Microsoft had been able to avail itself of DMCA 1201 when Iwork was developed - if, for example, its "information rights management" encryption had caught on, creating "access controls" for all Office docs.

There's a very strong chance that would have killed Apple off before it could complete its recovery. Jobs knew the power of interoperating without consent, and he knew the power of invoking the law to block interoperability. He practically invented modern IP.

Apple has since turned IP into a trillion-dollar valuation, largely off its mobile platform, the descendant of the Ipod. This mobile platform uses DRM - and thus DMCA 1201 - to ensure that you can only use apps that come from its app store.

Apple gets a cut of penny you spend buying an app, and every penny you spend within that app: 30% (now 15% for a minority of creators after bad publicity).

IP lets one of the least taxed corporations on Earth extract a 30% tax from everyone else.

https://locusmag.com/2021/03/cory-doctorow-free-markets/

Remember, it's not copyright infringement for me to write an app and you to buy it from me and play it on your Iphone without paying the 30% Apple tax.

That's the exact opposite of copyright infringement: buying a copyrighted work and enjoying it on a device you own.

But it's still an IP violation. It bypasses Apple's ability to control competitors and customers. It's felony contempt of business-model.

It shows that under IP, copyright can't be said to exist as an incentive to creativity - rather, it's a tool for maintaining monopolies.

Which brings me to today's news that Apple was successfully sued by a patent troll over its DRM. A company called Personalized Media Communications whose sole product is patent lawsuits trounced Apple in the notorious East Texas patent-troll court.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-19/apple-told-to-pay-308-5-million-for-infringing-drm-patent

After software patents became widespread - thanks to the efforts of Apple and co - there was a bonanza of "inventors" filing garbage patents with the USPTO whose format was "Here's an incredibly obvious thing...*with a computer*." The Patent Office rubberstamped them by the million.

These patents became IP, a way to extract rent without having to make a product. "Investors" teamed up with "inventors" to buy these and impose a tax on businesses - patent licensing fees that drain money from people who make things and give it to people who buy things.

They found a court - the East Texas court in Marshall, TX - that was hospitable to patent trolls. They rented dusty PO boxes in Marshall and declared them to be their "headquarters" so that they could bring suits there.

Locals thrived - they got jobs as "administrators" (mail forwarders) for the thousands of "businesses" whose "head office" was in Marshall (when you don't make a product, your head office can be a PO box).

Productive companies facing hundreds of millions - billions! - in patent troll liability sought to curry favor with locals (who were also the jury pool) by "donating" things to Marshall, like the skating rink Samsung bought for the town.

https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/why-south-korea-s-samsung-built-the-only-outdoor-skating-rink-in-texas

Patent, like copyright, is supposed to serve a public purpose. There are only two clauses in the US Constitution that come with explanations (the rest being "truths held to be self-evident"): the Second Amendment and the "Progress Clause" that creates patents and copyrights.

Famously, the Second Amendment says you can bear arms as part of a "well-regulated militia."

And the Progress Clause? It extends to Congress the power to create patents and copyrights "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts."

I'm with Apple in its ire over this judgment. Sending $308.5m to a "closely held" patent troll has nothing to do with the "Progress of Science and useful Arts."

But it has *everything* to do with IP.

If copyright law can let Apple criminalize - literally criminalize - you selling me If copyright law can let Apple criminalize - literally criminalize - you selling me your copyrighted work, then there's no reason to hate on patent trolls.

They're just doing what trolls do: blocking the bridge between someone engaged in useful work and the customers for that work, and extracting a toll. It's not even 30%.

There is especial and delicious irony in the fact that the patent in question is a DRM patent: a patent for the very same process that Apple uses to lock down its devices and prevent creators from selling to customers without paying the 30% Apple Tax.

But even without that, it's as good an example of what an IP marketplace looks like: one in which making things becomes a liability. After all, the more you make, the more chances there are for an IP owner to demand tax from you to take it to market.

The only truly perfect IP is the naked IP of a patent troll, the bare right to sue, a weapon made from pure abstract legal energy, untethered from any object, product or service that might be vulnerable to another IP owner's weapons.

A coda: you may recall that Apple doesn't use DRM on its music anymore: you can play Itunes music on any device. That wasn't a decision Apple took voluntarily: it was forced into it by a competitor: Amazon, an unlikely champion of user rights.

In 2007, the record labels had figured out that Apple had lured them into a trap, selling millions of dollars worth of music that locked both listeners and labels into the Itunes ecosystem.

In a desperate bid for freedom, they agreed to help Amazon launch its MP3 store - all the same music, at the same prices...without DRM. Playable on an Ipod, but also on any other device.

Prior to the Amazon MP3 store, the market was all DRM: you could either buy Apple's DRM music and play it on your Ipod, or you could buy other DRM music and play it on a less successful device.

The Amazon MP3 store (whose motto was "DRM: Don't Restrict Me") changed that to "Buy Apple DRM music and play it on your Ipod, or buy Amazon music and play it anywhere." That was the end of Apple music DRM.

So why hasn't anyone done this for the apps that Apple extracts the 30% tax on? IP. If you made a phone that could play Ios apps, Apple would sue you:

https://gizmodo.com/judge-tosses-apple-lawsuit-against-iphone-emulator-in-b-1845967318

And if you made a device that let you load non-App Store apps on an Iphone, Apple would also sue you.

Apple understands IP. It learned the lesson of the Amazon MP3 store, and it is committed to building a world where every creator pays a tax to reach every Apple customer.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #475

(from two days ago, oops)

What is your favorite background noise? (Ex. Water dripping, people talking.) I really like a steady rain tapping on the windows. Do you like taking selfies? Why or why not? No, because I'm ugly. It's annoying because I've been wanting to take pics with Girt considering even as just friends literally none exist of us, but yeah. I fucking hate taking pictures of myself and it takes a billion and two tries to get a picture I deem "acceptable" anyway. Were you named after anyone? No. What was the last comic book you read? I don't and never have read comic books. What is your heritage? German, Irish, and Polish. Describe the worst friend you have ever befriended. All things considered, somehow my former best friend was the worst. She was homophobic, racist, extremely self-centered, drama-driven, excessively bossy, ungrateful... I will never be able to explain how our friendship ever worked. If you found the recipe for immortality, would you sell it or would you burn it? Burn it. With certainty. We just aren't meant to live forever. What is the most embarrassing, cringe-worthy thing you have ever done? 99% of my life has been Cringe. What is the worst thing someone could do on a date? Be distracted/not pay attention to the other, like by constantly using their phone. It's so rude. That would immediately make me lose interest in you. If you could turn one legal thing illegal, what would it be? I dunno. What is something you swore you would never do when you grew up, but you did anyway? I was absolutely going to college as a kid. Fast-forward to the future, I've dropped out three times and am going nowhere. Little me saw me as so, so much more successful. Do you actually iron your clothes? No. Unless it's a formal occasion. Do you rent or own your current home? We rent. Have you ever used cursive after school, aside from your signature? My handwriting is naturally mostly cursive. Do you have your groceries delivered or do you buy them yourself? We order our groceries for pick-up, so we have to go to the store, but not in. Do you have a gym membership? Sigh. I do, but Mom and I have really been neglecting going since my time with my personal trainer ran out... What’s your favorite computer game genre? Horror, of course. Do you have any exes your parents never liked? No. Have you ever been severely mentally ill? I am. What was the last thing you purchased from a small local business? I don't know. Have you ever used chewing tobacco? EW no, that shit grosses me out so much. If someone’s laughing, do you instantly think they’re laughing at you? Suuuure do. How would you react if your parents told you they were having another baby? Well, they're divorced, Mom cannot stand my dad, and she also had a complete hysterectomy when she had ovarian cancer, so like... Have you ever had a garage or yard sale before? How much did you make? Over the course of my life, we've had a few yard sales. I don't remember how much we made at any. Have you ever had to evacuate your home for any reason? No. Which mythological creature is your favorite? DRAGONS. I love dragons. Have you ever been to a butterfly garden before? No, but that sounds amazing. What's the biggest bird you've ever seen up close? Oh my god y'all, when I volunteered once at a wildlife rehab center, I was FEET away from some sort of falcon. Guys, you would not believe JUST how big birds of prey are. I was shocked and in total awe. Have you ever seen a double rainbow before? More than once. Were you ever afraid of the dark as a child? I don't THINK I was? What is the strangest thing you’ve been asked? Something inappropriate that really pissed me off. What was your favorite game as a child? I was obsessed with the original Spryo trilogy and would play all three obsessively. What is the darkest thing you have seen on the internet? I don't know, dark shit. Do you crack your knuckles, neck or toes constantly? No, but ugh Girt does that with his neck and it drives me insane alsdkjfaljdlfkwe. Are you constantly catching colds or other sicknesses? No, my immune system is a legend. Are you afraid of mice? No, they're precious. What type of souvenir do you usually purchase when on vacation? I go on vacations so irregularly that I can't really answer this. I've been on a vacation maybe twice in my entire life. Do you own more than one copy or edition of a book? No. If you could see any musical on Broadway right now, what would it be? I don't like musicals. Will you willingly sing in front of other people besides your family? God no. Do you eat soup when you’re sick? No. I don't like soup. Who can never fail to make you laugh? Absolutely my boyfriend. He's the funniest person I know. Have you ever been on a tour bus? No. Do you prefer listening to things through headphones or speakers? Earplugs. Are you listening to music right now? No; I'm watching Gab play The Evil Within. Have you ever unbuttoned your ex’s pants? Just one of them, but we were together at the time. What are you planning on eating for dinner tonight if you haven’t already? Mom made pizza. What was the worst news you’ve heard this entire week? Girt's mother has Covid. He's vaccinated, but nevertheless, he's still getting a test done just to be safe, and also because if he's contracted it, I might have it. And that means my mother could get it, which just cannot happen, even if she's vaccinated, too. The poor guy is really freaking out about it, but ASTONISHINGLY, I'm not panicking yet. Girt's health has seemed fine, I'm fine, so... We'll just have to wait to see what his test says. Do you have a lot of trees around your house? What about buildings? No; yes. I hate living in the suburbs, it sucks here. Would you say either one of your parents are 'pack-rats?' No. Have you ever disowned anyone in your family? For what reasons? No. Has anyone ever called you a sociopath before? No. Do you have freckles? Do you like/dislike them? Not on my face, no. I have a few randomly on my body though. Would you ever consider getting dreadlocks? No. Have you downloaded extra fonts for your computer? Oh, plenty. Who is the latest great YouTuber you’ve discovered? The latest, uhhhh. I'd probably say John Wolfe as a truly "great" one considering I watch him regularly now. Do you read the Bible regularly? Yeah, no. All the Bible does is piss me off, frankly. Name three patriotic songs you like. I don't know about three, but I do shockingly like this one country song with a name I can't remember. All I know is it has "red, white, and blue" in the title. ... I think. Oh! There's "Deutschland" by Rammstein, even though it's not about my own country. Has it ever snowed on your birthday? Maybe at some point as a kid? Idr. Do you like the way your name is spelled? No, actually. I wish it was "Brittney." It's more true to the pronunciation. Do you believe in astrology? Not in the slightest, and while I really shouldn't care, like believe what you want, it's a genuine pet peeve of mine when others base their fucking lives around what positions some goddamn stars are in in an infinite universe. They make decisions based on bullshit being spat at them that might not be suitable. I know, it's stupid to care, but I can never seem to NOT roll my eyes when I see/hear people blaming their flaws and shit on this stuff. Are you one of those people who has like a hundred apps on their phone? No; I have very few. What’s the band that you love even though you know they’re awful? I can't help but love some Blood on the Dance Floor songs. :x Do you coo over other people’s babies? No, not really. Like I can acknowledge a cute picture and be like "awww," but it's nothing I lose my mind over at all. What is something that makes you very squeamish? VOMIT. If you’re out of high school, have you stayed in touch with your high school friends? If you’re still in school, do you think you will? The only high school friend of mine I'm still actively friends with/is still in my life is Girt, obviously. Like I have HS friends on Facebook that I still very much love and will react to what they post and sometimes comment, but we don't really talk-talk. Do you dye your hair regularly? No. :/ That's not something I can afford to do. Do you have an alter ego? Describe them: No. Do you know both of your biological parents? Which one do you prefer? I do, and I love them both. Do you store a lot of pictures you’ve taken that no one else has seen? I'm a wanna-be photographer, of course I do. If you had to name your kid after an American state, which would you choose? Probably "Dakota" for either gender. What do you use to dry your clothes? (Tumble dryer, radiator, etc) We have your normal dryer. Do you ever play the built-in games on your computer? Which ones? Nah. Do/did you doodle on your books at school? My notebooks and binders, ohhhh yes. Actual school textbooks, absolutely not. Who’d you last see in a tux? The groom and groomsmen of the last wedding I shot. Who’s the bravest person you know? Sara. Have you ever dated someone who was real sportsy? No.

[piccadilly-lilly]

Digital Self-Sufficiency 101

I’ve noticed that the chaos of 2020 has caused many people to notice that commercially available technologies have grown increasingly intrusive, expensive, and restrictive. Therefore, I thought I would put together some easy ways to maintain privacy and self-sufficiency as much as possible in the digital age.

SOFTWARE IN GENERAL

Using incognito mode or private mode in your browser actually does nothing to prevent your internet service provider from watching your activity. The Tor browser is your easiest option for keeping your search history private.

To keep downloads, system updates, and activity from other applications private, consider using a VPN. Personally, I sometimes use ProtonVPN for this, but some people might find it uncomfortably slow. A proxy server will not provide the same layer of protection but suffices for day-to-day use.

Never reuse passwords, but it is usually okay to choose a common theme for them, and choosing long or uncommon phrases is actually safer than using random strings of characters.

Password managers are also relatively safe. KeePass is a good open-source choice that creates an encrypted password database on your device and so keeps your information entirely private.

Consider switching browsers. Chrome (including Chromium) and Edge both send data to Google and Microsoft respectively. Firefox is heavily customizable, open-source, and focused on privacy; Opera is closed-source but does provide useful features such as a built-in browser VPN.

TrackMeNot is an add-on that performs automated random Google searches, making it much harder for Google to determine your search activity. Also, use an adblocker wherever possible - AdBlock Plus is an effective free choice.

Archive.org is an excellent source of ebooks, journals, music, etc. that allows you to borrow materials and download them or read them online without requiring any personal information.

DRM, or digital rights management, is a form of software used to prevent people from copying files or accessing them outside of certain applications (such as iTunes for music, Adobe Reader for ebooks, etc). It is perfectly legal to remove DRM from works you have purchased, so that you actually own the file and not just a license to access it within a certain framework.

There are several plugins available for the Calibre ebook library that get rid of DRM on book files; this is the one I use. I don’t have iTunes or Spotify, but I’ve heard good things about NoteBurner, and I know that plenty of alternatives exist for DRM removal of music files.

Also, youtube-dl is a useful tool for downloading videos from YouTube. Be careful to use this only on open-source or public domain videos.

LINUX

Linux has advanced astronomically in the past decade -- it is definitely the best option for privacy and security, and is now fairly easy to use.

If you’re just beginning, Ubuntu is a great choice with graphics that will make your PC look and feel a bit like a Mac. You can completely opt out of giving any data to the developers, and it’s by far the most commonly used distro in the Linux community, meaning that most support and apps are developed for it.

Take a test drive! Here is an easy tutorial for how to put Ubuntu on a USB stick and run it on your computer without affecting your Windows system or changing any of your files.

On most hardware, an out of the box Ubuntu installation works fine for browsing the web, watching movies, studying, and day-to-day use -- do test it using a USB before installing it, though.

The best thing about Linux is that you are the absolute dictator of your own computer. The appearance, functionality, and resource management of your system is all up to you. Also, there are hundreds of different operating systems and configurations under the Linux umbrella.

The fact that most viruses and malware are designed to run on Windows offers a degree of protection to Linux users, and those running more obscure distributions are less vulnerable, but security consciousness is still very important. ClamAV is a good open-source antivirus specifically designed to scan for malware targeted at Linux systems, and chkrootkit can detect any rootkits that may be installed on your system.

If you use Linux exclusively, the WINE toolkit can allow you to run programs designed for Windows. It does require some setup but eliminates a lot of compatibility issues (*pointed glance at my online classes*).

WINDOWS

A computer with standard Windows installed will never be all that private or independent, given the limitations hard-coded into the system, but there are still plenty of things you can do.

Don’t use a Microsoft account on your personal computer -- this enables Microsoft to combine data sent from your computer with your personal information. To turn this off, go into Settings, select Accounts, find your own account, and click the “Delete” option.

If you are installing Windows on a computer, don’t connect to the Internet during the setup process. When it asks you to connect to WiFi, click the “I don’t have Internet” option in the bottom left corner -- this will allow you to set up Windows using a local account, bypassing the requirement to create a Microsoft account.

When it comes to protecting your PC from hackers, choose strong passwords and be careful what you click on, and after that Microsoft Defender should do the trick. For the most part, commercial antivirus software is not necessary; any malicious actor worth their salt will be able to circumvent common choices like McAfee or Norton.

The Windows updater includes many invasive features without a way to opt out, and can be disabled. Hit the Windows key + R to bring up the Run menu, type “services.msc” in the text box, and press Enter to open the Services Manager. Find Windows Updates and Windows Update Medic, right-click on both of those, and select “Disable.”

Use caution when electing not to update Windows; oftentimes patches for important security vulnerabilities are incorporated into the updates, and Microsoft doesn’t allow users to select which updates to install.

OS X / iOS

The entire Apple business model is based on hardware that’s far below the industry standard for the price range and software that’s obsolescent from the moment you purchase it. These products are pure fashion over function and are pretty much inseparable from their surveillance software and use restrictions.

HARDWARE

Don’t get a new laptop simply because yours is getting older or slower. Hardware available to the average consumer hasn’t changed significantly in the past decade. If your computer is getting older and feels slower, that’s probably because Windows has grown heavier and less efficient with every update.

Self-sufficiency and durability go together in technology as in all other facets of manufacturing.

SSDs may be slightly faster than conventional hard disk drives, but they don’t have as much storage capacity and will fail more quickly, so for most uses an HDD is probably more practical. Anything that has “flash memory” as its sole form of storage should be avoided.

Entry-level laptops in 2020 are usually worse in terms of design and specifications than they were in 2015. Second-hand options can be a good idea, especially workstations designed for business use (my PC was made in 2012 and is still humming along with no problems).

Swappable batteries are increasingly rare but go a long way to increase the usefulness of a PC while traveling or offline. Also, touchscreens always shorten battery life by at least an hour or two. 

Intel Atom processors are common on lower-cost laptops but are very slow and prone to overheating unpredictably.

Also, anything without a fan (look for a visible vent on the underside) can overheat in the summer and is probably indicative of lower processing power.

The vast majority of two-in-one laptops and tablet hybrids are severely underpowered -- the extremely small size prevents the use of proper computer hardware.

Source: am a Linux user and hobbyist programmer who learned most of this using the time-honored Mess Around and Find Out methodology.

[rootofallgreevil]

Moving Day (Story)

Greevil sighed, packing up the last box of things they would be taking to their new base-slash-home, setting it in the small trailer they had gotten from the local junkyard. Agent Fowler had given them the coordinates to the abandoned bunker they’d be living at during their most recent meetup, when the insecticon had informed him of what had happened during and after Skyfall’s rescue. It had caused a little more paperwork for the portly agent, but nothing too drastic from what they could tell.

The messenger icon in the corner of their vision lit up with a notification, they did have to thank Echo again for doing up that bluetooth link for them, though the spot she had messed with on their head still felt strange all this time after... Focusing on the icon without looking at it had been a trick to learn but it was helpful as the overlay for the app filled the corner of their view.

[ From Agent Duck: Ready whenever you are, Greevil. ]

Chuckling, Greevil couldn’t help responding with their usual sense of humor.

[ You: Thanks Dad. Be there in a minute. xoxo  ]

The response came after a few seconds

[ From Agent Duck: I thought I told you to stop that. ]

Smiling and shaking his head, Greevil activated his holoform, wheeling the trailer over to the bridge before heading up to the control deck, inputting the coordinates and throwing the switch. The portal swirled to life as he hopped down, landing by the trailer and lifting the hitch.

On the other side of the portal was Fowler and about a half dozen armed guards. Arching a brow Greevil couldn’t help but laugh at the situation.

“Honestly guys? We’ve known each other almost a month. Is all the pomp and circumstance necessary?” They asked, setting down the hitch as the portal closed behind them.

“Sorry, Greevil. You know how it is. Protocol and all that.” Fowler apologized, shaking his head. “Most of these folks will be living on base as well. I know you like your privacy but Uncle-”

“Uncle Sam wants to keep an eye on me. Yeah, I know. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been in hiding for fifty years.” Greevil interrupted, an exasperated look crossing their face. “I don’t want trouble. I’ve said that. Look, I even brought rent.” Greevil turned and reached into the trailer, causing one of the guards to twitch, his rifle moving upwards slightly. “Whoa there, John. I’m not armed.” 

“I told you before, you don’t need to pay us.” Fowler signed, rubbing his forehead. “And he’s right Wickowski... Hold on, how’d you know it was him?” The agent arched a brow.

“I can see the chain from his wallet.” Greevil pointed lazily over his shoulder before withdrawing a briefcase, turning back. “Speaking of my babysitters, I noticed Mac isn’t here. Did his wife go into labor while I was gone?” They moved forwards, opening the case and turning it towards their new handler.

“Yeah. Just the other day actually. I’m amazed you can tell the difference between them th- Sweet apple pie how much is that?” Fowler’s eyes bulged as he looked into the case at the rows of neatly stacked bills.

“100k.” The insecticon said, closing the case and handing it over, “All legally obtained. Like I said before, I’m technically an American citizen everywhere but on paper. You think I don’t have a bank account?” They laughed, turning back to grab the hitch to their trailer. “Oh, and remind me to send flowers. Can’t wait to meet the little bean... in disguise of course.”

Agent Fowler was still shocked by the briefcase of money handed to him by the person before him. The fact that this bot had been living on earth for years without anyone knowing was already a shock, but the fact that he had access to money enough to casually hand this over? That was something he’d have to report... 

Wonderful. 

Sighing and letting the case fall to his hip he nodded and turned. “Alright then, bug. Let’s get this tour underway.”

“Aww, you called me bug! You do care!” Greevil laughed, smiling and moving up alongside the agent as the soldiers relaxed slightly, moving alongside the two.

It turned out this had been the bunker that Team Prime had stayed in during their stay on earth, and as such was already set up for cybertronian inhabitants. Full sized ones at least, so others such as Night Glide or echo would have somewhere to rest if they visited, making Greevil’s job a lot easier. And there were still human-sized amenities throughout as well. A TV area (with a screen larger than the one he had been able to purchase during Skyfall’s week long visit before the incident) and a few couches, a fridge and kitchenette, even a few assorted beds, all in the main control room.

“Huh... It’s not a bad place. Plenty of room... even a lounge for movie nights... Though I have the sneaking suspicion that my babysitters won’t be joining in?” They asked, munching on a circuit board they had withdrawn from their bag. Fowler merely shrugged.

“I may as well say it here. My boss wanted to keep an eye on you, keep you under tight lock and key. But I’m putting faith in Skyfall and Team Prime’s judgement. Outside my particular department, on paper these fine folks are here maintaining this base and guarding government property. That’s all... What they do with their time is entirely up to them from this point out.” He was met with shocked expressions from the gathered soldiers. 

“While they are expected to be fully ready in an emergency should the need arise, they’re under no orders to detain or follow you, especially if you’re on assignment from me... We did talk about that after all.” He continued, chuckling and leaning against a wall. “Think of it as a paid vacation, with an alien roommate. Though I will give you as much of a heads up as I can for any inspections I might be forced to agree to, especially in the first few months.”

The minicon blinked, lowering their snack slightly before laughing and nodding. “Yeah, all right. Hey, just let me know if my music’s too loud. Also, avoid the franken-fridge. That’s all energon mixes I’ve been working on. Not exactly palatable.” They offered to the soldiers before flopping down on a couch, receiving nods from the assembled soldiers.

“Well, c’mon, you’re on vacation! It’s party time!” Greevil cheered, pumping a fist in the air. “You too, big guy. If your bosses ask say something about how you were doing ‘peace negotiations’ or ‘gaining the asset’s trust’. Beer and food are on me, I know this great little Pizza joint, real mom-and-pop place. Anyone have any preferences?”

Between Greevil’s insistence, the soldier’s excited cheer, and the idea of free food the agent found he wasn’t exactly in a place to resist, especially with that charitable donation their new tenant had made.

“Have they got Black olives and mushrooms?” He asked, shaking his head and moving to sit on the couch across from his newest charge. This was by far going to be a stranger situation than Team Prime... but at least this time the one he was looking after knew about earth to begin with.

[indiacomputeblog]

Cloud Marketplaces – The New Digital Way to Procure Software

Indiacompute is currently main stream. It facilitated the rapid ascent from start up to people company to famous brands drop-box, Uber and Breeze. To day, the Fortune 500 have embraced the cloud to use their own digital organizations.

Every industry perpendicular has used that the cloud to establish digital goods, and make tremendous stock price appreciation from your approach. Star bucks, adidas, Allianz, homedepot -- merely several samples of businesses that reinvented their business units with the cloud and also generated massive customer value.

The genuine motorist supporting"digital transformation" may be the rate of which these businesses may experimentation and establish new services. If folks discuss this"elasticity of their cloud" -- it has the capability to spinup and spin-down new tools ondemand, to power such digital providers. Elastic provisioning of fresh tools happens really at the click of a switch, at a console.

The cloud success-stories that you read give attention to the utilization cases. For several businesses -- Comfort is a game-changer on peak-usage days. Blackfriday in retailstores. Legislation afternoon in fund. Super-bowl to get Sportsbetting.

However, a much less mentioned success variable of digital durability and transformation is procurement. Procurement had to correct -- from short buying cycles, by the pretty inactive entire world of on-prem IT into the energetic world of their cloud.

Cloud procurement shifted to encourage new usage instances A standard venture has a huge selection of software in the portfolio, so roughly 1 / 2 of these developed inhouse. Cloud pay on software comprises roughly fifty per cent a organization's IT spend. And a lot of the buying and use of cloud computing services for anyone programs is decentralized.

It needs to be.

Product and technology types are moving fast. When traffic travels through the roofthey can not watch for some fundamental purchasing department to provide the most"fine" to twist another server up. Whoever is on telephone enters the games console and adds more funds as needed.

At an uncharted, auto-scaling cloud circumstance, the"older" procurement version with concentrated bookkeeping, budgeting and weeks of leadtime simply will not work any longer. When DevOps, CI/CD and containers imply that engineering and product think in days and hours for shipping applications, fund and procurement cannot think in financial quarters and years of buying it.

But fund and procurement ofcourse still need you variation of this financial facts, to organize, funding, finance and manage operations. As opposed to standing -- procurement corrected to the requirements of both the business and also changed the way in which that they're buying.

A common frame for businesses to secure cloud solutions On the other hand, the cloud sellers place infrastructure in place to encourage buying for a distributed environment. They assembled everything procurement required to adhere to the business enterprise. There are 3 fundamental types of service.

Identity and user friendly access direction ("I am") enables secure usage of cloud computing resources and services. They comprise theories for groups and users, together with permissions to permit or refuse access to some certain provider, including coordinated parameters like time daily and internet protocol address. The corresponding services and products on each cloud usually are only referred to as that --"I am". Deployment and direction services define and subtract the tools required to conduct a application, using alleged"templates". Programs are settings files written in text or perhaps a programming language. Platforms automate the method to spinup the tools to get an program, and will be replicated again and again together with consistent, predictable outcomes. Utilities additionally standardize components across a business, this means that they empower compliance and reflect the sole source of precision for each resources. Billing and cost control applications provide visibility to pay, intelligence about exactly what components will be driving cost, not to mention repayment choices. Much of this data is absorbed via dashboards, nevertheless the clouds also supply raw cost and usage reports for downloading. They truly are simple csv records -- together with varying ingestion data. Near the conclusion of monthly, those reports may comprise countless dollars, and lots of businesses are utilizing those reports to conduct habit daily analytics on usage, and also comprehend spend byproduct, section, etc.. Most this at a frequent security, legal and compliance frame which the cloud providers have now grown for more than 10 years today.

Together, these providers mean allocation may track ingestion at a top notch application and user-level. They could subjective price, charging and usage a way from the real solutions and users, yet still be in control having a realtime heartbeat on ingestion.

Successful Cloud procurement approaches

They established cloud procurement plans that exude invention, vs. dictating exactly what components teams may utilize. They follow three different fundamentals:

Align spend with firm outcomes, not special technologies. Track and also re allocate costs to business components and digital services and products predicated on usage in-demand demand across industry units and negotiate favorite pricing in market for longer-term obligations. With all these 3 fundamentals, everyone is happy. The company may perform exactly what they will need to complete, and procurement continues to be in control and produces financial economies.

Not too quickly...

The older Method of Purchasing out of ISVs Now consider alongside that for every single cloud assistance, you'll find other 3rd party services attached. Software require encouraging applications to conduct -- for testing, development, security, Analytics, tracking, etc.. Instana is a good illustration for an organization in the"tracking bucket".

Instana and also other third party applications is really as business-critical whilst the software themselves. As third party software, we improve the heart cloud encounter, and run in ourselves. It isn't strange for businesses with over 1000 employees to possess 200 400 SaaS software out of many sellers conducting, and this number is just growing.

Each of the vendors has to experience a procedure to examine and negotiate provisions, pricing, licensing, security, seller setup, obligations, etc.. It's really a timeconsuming procedure, of course when oftens takes weeks to on-board a brand new seller, or maybe simply to renew an present contract.

As soon as we use your clients during a trial, then they often do not want two or more weeks for at a"yes / no" decision. They have been prepared to get started using the applications -- yet they are waiting to the formal procedure for on-boarding Instana -- and which pertains to additional vendors too. All of us are comfortable with the backandforth of mails, calls and redlines. I have seen accounts execs setting-up whats app groups with an individual, procurement and legal.

Marketplaces into the rescue -- a brand new way of buying applications This really is the area where cloud computing market places arrive in. They ease a purchasing adventure for ISV products and solutions that is identical to investing in an indigenous cloud service just like a calculate case or storage via the cloud console.

The market place concept it self isn't new -- from the user realm, Apples posseses an app-store for programs, iTunes for movies and music. From the venture world, sales force gets got the AppExchange.

Cloud computing market places was quite a very simple directory of thirdparty programs. They will have now evolved into complex distribution programs with a whole lot of functionality to allow users to find, secure and deploy applications that are applicable. Now they feature flexibility around installation options (e.g. SaaS, APis( containers), ingestion models (e.g. per summertime ( annual contracts, completely free trials), together with incorporated charging via the regular monthly chip statement.

Market places additionally arrive with rigorous processes for a record, for example clauses for privacy and security. The very same guard rails that make an application for cloud computing services -- both user direction, charging and deployment -- additionally connect with using applications sold via the market places. Additionally they apply additional certificates necessary for several businesses (e.g. fund ) or even government.

With all these new attributes, the adoption of market places among buyers has jumped. By way of instance, AWS aloned acquired over $1B in purchases in 20-19 throughout the AWS market place. Obviously, that benefits their own enterprise. It pushes the trade volume in the platform.which is the reason all of the clouds now are actively boosting their market places, and maintain building outside features.

Quicker purchase: market places compress the conventional purchasing bicycle, from months down to moments. Like a purchaser, if working with one seller, you are able to purchase applications with terms established with the cloud seller, and skip private, procurement and vendor management. Payment is incorporated with the current cloud bill. In case you ask any procurement section, they'll inform you they desire less vendors. However, SaaS is driving that trend to the alternative direction. Buying computer software by means of a market place reduces their workload to buying services and products from each vendor, one at one time. Tug Back on dedicated spend. Purchases by means of a market place rely on a organization's cloud pay. Most businesses now have longterm, 3 5 years venture agreements in position, together with pre-committed spend in trade for discounts at the 40-60percent range. In Instanawe observe the way the increasing share of the existing clients make use of these advantages. Notably for bigger ventures, market places provide our clients the flexibility to quicken purchasing Instana, while still staying economical and compliant.

[john2983miller-blog]

A Couple of Concerns You Need To Ask Prior To Working With An App Developer

In today's rapidly expanding IT world, practically every programmer or programmer insurance claims to be an app developer. But when a business or a private demands to work with one, the goal must be to work with knowledgeable as well as trustworthy Mobile App Developers that can supply quality job quickly. The factor people watch out for an app developer is that app development procedure involves an intricate coding structure which can not be executed by somebody that does not have any kind of expertise of programs.

Before you employ a person for your app development task, it will be good that you chalk out a set of inquiries for the developer. Ensure you examine their previous projects and customers before hiring them for your work. It's evident that you recognize what you want the item to do, so it will certainly be good that you share your concepts with the app developer to ensure that he can give you with the best costs associated with the growth process.

http://www.ronalsanchez.com/

 There are plenty of apps that have a quite interface or an awesome layout, but that doesn't indicate the product will work fine or is stable. To make your app a significant success, ensure your app consists of quality codes which must be error-free. Besides this, the Mobile Application Growth Business New York should likewise follow the standards laid down by the different mobile operating systems. As well as ensure that the app works within these criteria.

Nowadays, almost all the firms are outsourcing their app growth tasks. It is a cost-efficient technique of obtaining a top quality & fully-functional mobile application. Well, contracting out these app creating jobs has its benefits yet in this post, you will certainly review some steps and also inquiries you must be asking to the Mobile Apps Developer New York for hire.

Which framework is made use of by them for app development?

If the app developer says that they count on an open-source quite greatly, then you should reconsider prior to working with that company or designer. It's not that using open-source will cause any type of problem, but it must be only used for certain objectives and if utilized then it should be eliminated from the coding structure later on.

When the whole app is made on an open-source framework, it becomes both complicated as well as fragile. Xcode & Swift are one of the most commonly utilized open-source app style software application for constructing iOS applications whereas Live Code 6.0 is used for the Android app development process. In case, you do not have any kind of expertise about these then you can take aid of someone who has excellent experience in coding mobile apps.

Request recommendations

To determine whether the app developer is truthful concerning its previous projects it will certainly be a good that you ask for the referrals of their previous clients or employers. To a get feel concerning the sort of work they do you can contact their previous customers and inquire about the developer's efficiency. It will certainly give you a complete suggestion regarding the capacities of the developer which you will be employing for your project.

Exactly how will they be testing the app?

Generally, the freelance developers go with software application like TestFlight to find any insects and mistakes in the app. Whereas, the development companies have software like GitHub which is a highly professional software program made use of for app screening. Additionally, it will be totally worth it to opt for QA services prior to launching the app on the app stores, so inquire whether your advancement group has the competence in that also.

What all do they know about IDE Devices?

There are several IDE (Integrated Growth Atmosphere) devices that all the developers are familiar with and will certainly be making use of too. The developer which you will certainly hire need to be able to discuss the benefits of using these devices in the app development process. Recognize the programmers who are not using these tools, because without these tools, you can not detect the security problems as well as insects which will hinder the performance of your application. Sees to it your developer is making use of these devices since locating vulnerabilities & pests at the end of the process will elongate the entire app growth process.

Do they have any concept regarding earning money from the app?

If your goal is to generate income with the app, then it is important that you have to employ somebody that has actual experience in infusing money making functions in the app. You can select pay-per-download profits, or you can offer a complimentary app that features an assimilation of subscription solutions, present ads, or in-app purchases. Be certain that the developer appropriately discusses to you just how they will mosting likely to construct these features into an app.

Will they add any type of unique functions in the app?

Applications that contain unique functions order even more interest and also buzz. So before you begin with app development procedure, it will certainly be excellent that you have a clear picture regarding the one-of-a-kind features which you will certainly be going to include your app. Points like social media sharing, GPS based check-ins, promo codes or some 3D enhanced truth functions which will certainly give a boost to the appeal of your app. Look out for the programmers who have proficiency in adding ingenious features in the app.

Just how to manage the possession or agreement?

If you are hiring somebody for an app development New York, this indicates that you will certainly be the rightful owner of the ended up item, the app design, the resource code and the whole material mentioned in the app. Bank on the possession matter. It will be excellent that you have actually a created contract about the ownership details, target date criteria as well as the cost charges if the target dates will certainly not be fulfilled. You can also look for solutions of a legal representative while jotting down the contract.

So what will be the overall expenses?

There are so many variables involved in the hiring of an app developer. If you are planning to contract out the app growth task, after that you can quickly get this task done at affordable rates. And if you are working with a person from the country of origin after that this job might cost you a little over your budget. You can take aid of internet in discovering the budget friendly app developer for your task.

 An app represents application and is an item of software application that is made to work on a mobile platform. There are 2 primary platforms for app development that presently have a high earning capacity. These are Apple's iOS as well as Google's Android. As of June 2011 Apple iOS hosts over 511,000 published apps with Google Android holding over 206,000 released apps. Various other systems for app advancement consist of the Blackberry OS by research study moving (EDGE) as well as Windows Mobile by Microsoft. However, these systems are lagging behind both major rivals.

The two types of applications you will certainly see in most app shops are FREE apps and PAID applications. Several applications available for download come absolutely free which raises the evident question of just how do I make money if my app is complimentary? There are 2 major streams of income for providing your applications free of charge. The first is advertising which counts on targeted advertisements such as Google AdSense or associate links which are placed into the apps material. Nobody wants to have ads jumbling the material so it is necessary to position them in a location that will be seen, but not so much to make sure that they obstruct. One more alternative is to provide your app completely free however hold back certain features or features which would certainly interest the customer as well as lure them to take into consideration acquiring the complete version. If decreasing this course it is necessary not to place all your eggs into one basket so to speak. If you use too much in the cost-free variation individuals will certainly have no requirement to purchase. Although there is no policy to say you can not utilize both alternatives at the same time. If you want to bill outright for your app make sure you set a sensible cost that is reasonable. Charge excessive as well as you price on your own out of the market. Charge too little as well as you run the risk of cheapening your app.

Do I have to be a qualified developer to make apps? Well, this is not entirely the case as Google have actually launched App Innovator which enables almost any person to produce an Andoid app with little to no programming knowledge. It is terrific for making things such as standard games nonetheless, there are numerous restrictions to what you can in fact complete using this software. In order to create something a little bit extra complicated some experience of coding is required.

What sources do I need in order to learn just how to develop app? There are literally thousands of publications, digital books, YouTube videos as well as online write-ups that teach and also share details on this subject. Several Institution of higher learnings programs cover the subject in detail but you do not necessarily require to decrease the official path to be an effective developer.

What is involved in creating an app? Firstly you have the front end which is all the aesthetic and audio components such as pictures, motion pictures, buttons, text, appears and also music. This is what users will see when the app is running.

Why not just work with another person to develop an app for me? If you have conceptualized as well as have a concept with a possible gap in the marketplace after that this is likewise a choice. Lots of independent design as well as programmers promote their solutions online yet bare in mind that paying someone else to design as well as create an app is never ever mosting likely to be cheap so be prepared to purchase order to obtain outcomes.

Exactly how to I examine my app before posting? Put in the time to go and evaluate the back-end coding and also test the front end features. One of the best method to do this is to launch a beta duplicate. You will wish to ensure your app is functioning correctly and operational with all recognized problems as well as errors dealt with prior to basic launch. This brings me to the following step of obtaining your app vetted for approval. There is virtually constantly a requirements established for approval and being rejected for apps submitted. The vetting regulations and also standards vary depending on the platform.

Is my app beneficial and also does it accomplish a demand or function? This is a key concern to ask because if individuals see no benefit investing in and downloading your app then nine breaks of ten they just will not bother. It is similarly essential for your app to look attractive and preferable or else users will become promptly put off and lose interest. Then you have the back-end which involves all the coding and functionality. See to it the code is clean, succinct and also most importantly else WORKS.

Just how do I market my app? The majority of platforms handle a lot of the advertising side for you but it is very important to obtain your key phrases as well as description right as his can make or damage your applications success.

What coding language are applications written in? Android, Blackberry OS, Windows Mobile and various other platforms such as Bada as well as Symbian are mostly written in JAVA code. C++ is typically utilized for Apple's iOS. It is very important to remember that Apple's iphone does not sustain Flash. One constraint to creating apps for iphone is the fact the developer need to possess a MAC to do so unlike many other platforms.

 Like all software program jobs, app development experiences outsourcing. There are business overseas that deal services for a fraction of the rate, attracting a large section of the marketplace to send their money overseas.

Nevertheless, the deal may undoubtedly be also good to be true. Companies looking to boost their setting may be encouraged by reduced, low cost, yet it is very important to bear in mind that you get what you pay for.

Low-cost designers in developing countries supply app growth solutions, however do they offer the very same solution as those inexpensive application designers at home?

Outsourcing might lower the costs, yet you are paying for a far substandard item. Overseas programmers are cheaper than even Cheap App Developers NYC on home dirt, however there is a reason.

You will not be provided the opportunity to locate this out, as jobs which reduced edges unavoidably fail. The concurred distribution date will certainly come and go, leaving you chasing after up the developer to review the project. The many problems will certainly take time and also cash to fix, leaving you in the lurch.

At some point, you might receive an item. But is worth it? You've paid the developer to deal with the problems they produced, to reword their own negative code. Several of the features don't function or are not the ones you specified. Overall, this is not an app you would desire your name on.

It's a horrible feeling to realise that you've hung out and cash on something you want to mothball. It may end up that you go to the ₤ 5000 developer to repair it, when you ought to have gone to them to begin with. You'll realise then that the decision wasn't in between an inexpensive app developer overseas and also an expensive one at home, yet in between a low-cost app developer at home and a poor app developer that will simply drain your spending plan.

 An internet site can only be considered to be ideal when its layout and also growth suits well with the product or services supplied by the website. This is just one of the best means to attract the target consumers right into the site and perform transaction. As a result, it is very crucial to provide enough focus to the structure as well as advancement of the site. In addition, because the competition of ecommerce sites is huge, it is additionally extremely important to employ professionals that can aid in developing a superior as well as unique website. In this feeling, it is best to hire Magento ecommerce development.

The Magento Developer is very experienced, and also they have a team of professionals proficient in various services. An ecommerce website needs various solutions for its entire development in one of the most effective procedure. One can always work with Magento eCommerce advancement in order to get all the features and services that are necessary for the effective advancement of the ecommerce sites. In the marketplace of competition, it is very important to create one-of-a-kind websites, so that the website owner can stand away from the group, as well as easily attract the clients. This is one firm that can cater to the requirements and also help the website owner to differ from the remainder.

The ecommerce site ought to have one-of-a-kind attributes, to ensure that clients are quickly brought in to the website. Nonetheless, the layout of the site is the most crucial factor that would appeal the consumers and also bring them to the site. Adhering to that, is the value of the functions on the basis of which the customers will decide whether this is the excellent alternative for them! Consequently, every ecommerce website should focus on all these aspects while establishing a website, as well as professionals like Magento can definitely assist in meeting the requirements.

Only expert designers of Magento have the essential abilities through which they can conveniently include the unique attributes right into the site. This subsequently, can mostly boost the success prices of the website. In training course of supplying the services to those who work with Magento ecommerce growth, they give significance to the value of cost-effectiveness, high quality, along with dependability. Therefore, any type of site proprietor can rely solely on these designers to develop their entire sites without needing to deal with any type of responsibility or headache. Along with that, these professionals are likewise knowledgeable in customizing the requirements of the website owners, as well as build the sire in accordance to the requirements.

Once the website is developed, the target consumers can easily access the site, since navigating of the site is made to be definitely clean and also basic. Any type of sort of difficulty is constantly avoided in case of site growth, to ensure that it does not result in disappointment of the individuals. Therefore, the demand to hire Magento ecommerce development has actually enhanced in the recent days, due to the fact that an increasing number of people are getting complete satisfaction with the services of these experts. Consequently, with the help of one website, large numbers of stores can be operated for the benefit of the customers.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Zuck calls Apple a monopolist

The copyright scholar James Boyle has a transformative way to think about political change. He tells a story about how the word "ecology" welded together a bunch of disparate issues into a movement.

Prior to "ecology," there were people who cared about owls, or air pollution, or acid rain, or whales, and while none of these people thought the others were misguided, they also didn't see them as being as part of the same cause.

Whales aren't anything like owls and acid rain isn't anything like ozone depletion. But the rise of the term "ecology," turned issues into a movement. Instead of being 1,000 causes, it was a single movement with 1,000 on-ramps.

Movements can strike at the root, look to the underlying  economic and philosophical problems that underpin all the different causes that brought the movement's adherents together. Movements get shit done.

Which brings me to monopolies. This week, Mark Zuckerberg, one of the world's most egregious, flagrant, wicked monopolists, made a bunch of public denunciations of Apple for...monopolistic conduct.

Or, at least, he tried to. Apple stopped him. Because they actually do have a monopoly (and a monoposony) (in legal-economic parlance, these terms don't refer to a single buyer or seller, they refer to a firm with "market power" - the power to dictate pricing).

Facebook is launching a ticket-sales app and the Ios version was rejected because it included a notice to users that included in their price was a 30% vig that Apple was creaming off of Facebook's take.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/28/21405140/apple-rejects-facebook-update-30-percent-cut

Apple blocked the app because this was "irrelevant" information, and their Terms of Service bans "showing irrelevant" information.

This so enraged Zuck that he gave a companywide address - of the sort that routinely leaks - calling Apple a monopolist (they are), accused them of extracting monopoly rents (they do), and of blocking "innovation" and "competition" (also true).

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/pranavdixit/zuckerberg-apple-monopoly

Now, there are a bunch of Apple customers who consider themselves members of an oppressed religious minority who'll probably stop here (perhaps after an angry reply), and that's OK. You do you. But I have more to say.

Apple is a monopolist, sure, but more importantly, they are monoposonists - these are firms with "excessive buying power," gatekeepers who control access to purchasers. Monoposony power is MUCH easier to accumulate than monopoly power.

In the econ literature, we see how control over as little as 10% of the market can cement a firm's position, giving it pricing power over suppliers. Monopsony is the source of "chickenization," named for the practices of America's chicken-processing giants.

Chickenized poultry farmers have to buy all their chicks from Big Chicken; the packers tell them what to feed their birds, which vets to use, and spec out their chicken coops. They set the timing on the lights in the coops, and dictate feeding schedules.

The chickens can only be sold to the packer that does all this control-freaky specifying, and the farmer doesn't find out how much they'll get paid until the day they sell their birds.

Big Chicken has data on all the farmers they've entrapped and they tune the payments so that the farmers can just barely scratch out a living, teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and dependent on the packer for next year's debt payments.

Farmers who complain in public are cut off and blackballed - like the farmer who lost his contract and switched to maintaining chicken coops, until the packer he'd angered informed all their farmers that if they hired him, they would also get cancelled.

Monopsony chickenizes whose groups of workers, even whole industries. Amazon has chickenized publishers. Uber has chickenized drivers. Facebook and Google have chickenized advertisers. Apple has chickenized app creators.

Apple is a monopsony. So is Facebook.

Market concentration is like the Age of Colonization: at first, the Great Powers could steer clear of one another's claims. If your rival conquered a land you had your eye on, you could pillage the one next door.

Why squander your energies fighting each other when you could focus on extracting wealth from immiserated people no one else had yet ground underfoot?

But eventually, you run out of new lands to conquer, and your growth imperative turns into direct competition.

We called that "World War One." During WWI, there were plenty of people who rooted for their countries and cast the fighting as a just war of good vs evil. But there was also a sizable anti-war movement.

This movement saw the fight as a proxy war between aristocrats, feuding cousins who were so rich that they didn't fight over who got grandma's china hutch - they fought over who got China itself.

The elites who started the Great War had to walk a fine line. If they told their side that Kaiser Bill is only in the fight to enrich undeserving German aristos, they risked their audience making the leap to asking whether their aristos were any more deserving.

GAFAM had divided up cyberspace like the Pope dividing the New World: ads were Goog, social is FB, phones are Apple, enterprise is Msft, ecommerce belongs to Amazon. There was blurriness at the edges, but they mostly steered clear of one another's turf.

But once they'd chickenized all the suppliers and corralled all the customers, they started to challenge one another's territorial claims, and to demand that we all take a side, to fight for Google's right to challege FB's social dominance, or to side with FB over Apple.

And they run a risk when they ask us to take a side, the risk that we'll start to ask ourselves whether ANY of these (tax-dodging, DRM-locking, privacy invading, dictator-abetting, workforce abusing) companies deserve our loyalty.

And that risk is heightened because the energy to reject monopolies (and monoposonies) needn't start with tech - the contagion may incubate in an entirely different sector and make the leap to tech.

Like, maybe you're a wrestling fan, devastated to see your heroes begging on Gofundme to pay their medical bills and die with dignity in their 50s from their work injuries, now there's only one major league whose owner has chickenized his workers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8UQ4O7UiDs&list=FLM6hLIAIO-KfsNFn8ENnftw&index=767

Maybe you wear glasses and just realized that a single Italian company, Luxottica, owns every major brand, retailer, lab and insurer and has jacked up prices 1,000%.

https://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-glasses-lenscrafters-luxottica-monopoly-20190305-story.html

Or maybe the market concentration you care about it in healthcare, cable, finance, pharma, ed-tech, publishing, film, music, news, oil, mining, aviation, hotels, automotive, rail, ag-tech, biotech, lumber, telcoms, or a hundred other sectors.

That is, maybe you just figured out that the people who care about owls are on the same side as the people who care about the ozone layer. All our markets have become hourglass shaped, with monop(olists/sonists) sitting at the pinch-point, collecting rents from both sides, and they've run out of peons to shake down, so they're turning on each other.

They won't go gently. Every Big Tech company is convinced that they have the right to be the pinchpoint in the hour-glass, and is absolutely, 100% certain that they don't want to be trapped in the bulbs on either side of the pinch.

They know how miserable life is for people in the bulbs, because they are the beneficiaries of other peoples' misery. Misery is for other people.

But they're in a trap. Monopolies and monopsonies are obviously unjust, and the more they point out the injustices they are EXPERIENCING, the greater the likelihood that we'll start paying attention to the injusticies they are INFLICTING.

Much of the energy to break up Big Tech is undoubtedly coming from the cable and phone industry. This is a darkly hilarious fact that many tech lobbyists have pointed out, squawking in affront: "How can you side with COMCAST and AT&T to fight MONOPOLIES?!"

They have a point. Telcoms is indescribably, horrifically dirty and terrible and every major company in the sector should be shattered, their execs pilloried and their logomarks cast into a pit for 1,000 years.

Their names should be curses upon our lips: "Dude, what are you, some kind of TIME WARNER?"

But this just shows how lazy and stupid and arrogant monopolies are. Telcoms think that if they give us an appetite for trustbusting Big Tech, that breaking up GAFAM will satiate us.

They could not be more wrong. There is no difference in the moral case for trustbusting Big Tech and busting up Big Telco. If Big Tech goes first, it'll be the amuse-bouche. There's a 37-course Vegas buffet of trustbustable industries we'll fill our plates with afterward.

Likewise, if you needed proof that Zuck is no supergenius - that he is merely a mediocre sociopath who has waxed powerful because he was given a license to cheat by regulators who looked the other way while he violated antitrust law - just look at his Apple complaints.

Everything he says about Apple is 100% true.

Everything he says about Apple is also 100% true OF FACEBOOK.

Can Zuck really not understand this? If not, there are plenty of people in the bulbs to either side of his pinch who'd be glad to explain it to him.

The monopolized world is all around us. That's the bad news.

The good news is that means that everyone who lives in the bulbs - everyone except the tiny minority who operate the pinch - is on the same side.

There are 1,000 reasons to hate monopolies, which means that there are 1,000 on-ramps to a movement aimed at destroying them. A movement for pluralism, fairness and solidarity, rather than extraction and oligarchy.

And just like you can express your support for "ecology" by campaigning for the ozone layer while your comrade campaigns for owls, you can fight oligarchy by fighting against Apple, or Facebook, or Google, or Comcast, or Purdue Poultry...or Purdue Pharma.

You are on the same side as the wrestling fan who just gofundemed a beloved wrestler, and the optician who's been chickenized by Luxottica, and the Uber driver whose just had their wages cut by an app.

[apkjunkyy]

VidMate – Download YouTube Music and HD Videos Easily

YouTube is the default destination for most of the people looking to stream videos. No other website pops up when you think of watching videos on your phone. But it doesn’t let you download videos and save them on your phone. Well, we have an app for you that’ll let you do just that. Vidmate for Android is a great app that lets you download videos not only from YouTube but also from other websites.

Vidmate has a lot of amazing features for the Android platform and we’ll get to that in a moment. Apart from being a video downloader, it also lets you browse websites. So it also doubles as a web browser. It is a free-to-use app without any hidden costs or in-app purchases.

On top of videos, users can watch Movies and Shows, listen to Music, view and create memes. Vidmate shows personalized suggestions based on what you watch. Let us take a look at what the app has in store for you.

Features of Vidmate

Vidmate is primarily famous for its feature of downloading videos. Throw any video at it and it can download it without even breaking a sweat. Or if you want to download the video from another website, you just have to paste the link of the video and the app will show you the download option.

Specifications “VidMate” Latest Version 3.47 Download Now APK [New Version] APK Size 7.9 MB Last Updated 15 June 2018 Support Android Version Android 4.0.0+ Status Publish

Download YouTube Videos

The first step us is getting the Vidmate app on your Android device. Whether it is a smartphone or a tablet, the app will work on all Android devices. Open the app to see the homepage which has popular and trending videos. Below the first line of suggestions, there is a list of popular websites. Tap on YouTube which is the first in the list. It will take you to its official website.

Now, you can simply browse for videos or directly search for the video you want to download. Tap on the video and you will see a red button in the bottom right corner of the screen. Vidmate will show a list of resolutions the video is available in. Select one and then tap on the Download button. It will download and save the video on your phone.

Movies and TV Shows

This is one of the new features of the Vidmate App. It has an entirely different category for Movies and TV Shows. The app has Movies from Hollywood, Bollywood, and also from Kollywood. TV Shows are available only from India and you can filter out the shows according to their genres. All of the popular shows are available on this app. Moreover, Vidmate lets you watch every episode for free without charging you any fees.

Music

Vidmate serves as kind of an all-in-one app that also hosts some of the best and evergreen songs for Indian Audiences. Music from all languages is available such as Hindi, English, Gujarati, Telugu, and a lot more. Just select the language from a small tab below the suggestions and then you can select your preferred language. Note that you can’t select more than one language from the list as you can do in other Music streaming apps. Of course, you can also download the Songs in different qualities.

Other than that, users can wish to download only the audio from a video using Vidmate. The app also has a feature called multiple connections with the help of which the downloads are made faster. Now that you know most of the features of the app, let’s see how to download and install it.

How to Download Vidmate from Official Links

Vidmate is a legitimate app and it is safe to use on Android devices. It is also available for free and it doesn’t charge anything for its services. Android users can easily download it without any major obstacles but one. Vidmate is not available on the official Google Play Store. But there is a workaround way for installing this app on your Android device.

For this method to work, you need to enable Unknown Sources from Settings. This will allow third-party app installations which the Android OS doesn’t allow by default. The process is rather easy and we have explained it here in this section.

Open Settings and go to Security.

Scroll down and enable Unknown Sources.

Now, tap on this link to go to the download page.

It will redirect you to the download page in a new tab.

Tap on the download button to get the Vidmate APK file.

Once the download is complete, transfer the APK to your phone.

Open the file manager and then tap on the APK.

It will trigger the installation process.

Allow the permissions and then tap on Install.

The app will be installed in a couple of seconds.

After the installation is complete, you can open the app directly from the installation screen. Or you can find it in the app drawer or on the home screen. This is it for the Vidmate APK Download procedure.

Vidmate APK: Will it Work after Download & Install

As you know, Vidmate is not available in the Google Play Store. A third-party source is all you can rely on. Third-party sources can often be unreliable. And as a result, there can be a problem with the APK file. This, in turn, may hinder the working of an app and it might not work according to your expectations.

But we have found a proper and reliable source for you to download the Vidmate APK from. So as long as you stick to it, the app will work perfectly fine. One more thing, your Android version should be more than 4.1 and above for the app to work at all. Other than that, there is nothing you should worry about when installing the app.

Is it safe to use Vidmate?

Yes, it is certainly safe to use the Vidmate App. There is nothing wrong with downloading YouTube videos. But you can get in trouble if you share copyrighted content without the permission of the owner. So you should only download a video from YouTube or any other site only for recreational purposes.

There is also another problem that Vidmate may give you links from torrent sources. And you all know how legal torrenting is. So you should be aware of the links that you follow to download Movies or Shows on the Vidmate app.

This brings us to the part where we conclude this article on Vidmate for Android. I think that it is now safe to assume that you most things about the app. You can install the app on your device using the guide we have provided. If you have any doubts, get in touch with us at APKJunky.

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