When i purchase something online using Amazon it asks me to re-enter my credit card number. I dont use amazon to do in-app purchase, but i suspect this "anti-fraud" requirement is not present?

If they required you to re-enter the credit-card at purchase time it would address a lot of this.

Are you serious? They used Amazons own controls to reduce the risk, and you still claim "lazy bad parent reasons"?

Perhaps you can explain why a game rated at age 8 allows in-app purchases? DO a lot of adults play Smurf world or such? So the app developers target children intentionally for in-app purchases?

As i posted elsewhere here, you know a child can invalidate any contract they have entered into right?

Read that again, children have a LEGAL RIGHT to void any contract they enter into. So asking for a refund for in-app purchases made by a minor should be legal, they are simply voiding their purchase.

And when should the company take responsibility for entering into a contract with a minor which can not be enforced?

So, they were raised to know the difference between right and wrong and also can think on their own?

What if they think that something you told them was "wrong" is in fact "right"?

I have three kids, and for reference i am strongly against these "in app" purchases which target kids because of this exact problem. My kids have androids and use their own account which doesnt have a CC card so they cant buy anything. Flip side, it is somewhat annoying when they get a game advertised as "free" only to be constantly hounded for "in app" purchases. More annoying when said "in app" purchase bait-n-switch game stated it was age appropriate when clearly it is not.

Not sure about your country, but this probably holds true in yours as well....

"Generally, minors cannot be bound to contracts because they are not old enough to enter them. In many cases, if someone does enter a contract with a minor, the minor has the ability to have the contract deemed void. On the other hand, if an adult breaches a contract with a minor, the minor can hold him liable."

How does a child agree to make an in-app purchase when they have a legal right to have it become void? Heck, even the "agreement" they "signed" to use the device is probably not legally binding in the first place. (NOTE: IANAL)

This smells of false advertising, and i suspect if a bricks and mortar company did this they would be in court facing "bait and switch" charges.

"Not only do you grossly overestimate your intelligence, you don't even pass the self-awareness test."
Well put.
the part where they write "I'm right. Period...." seemed pretty arrogant.

If you are hitting slashdot's required time between posts, it might be a hint that you are posting too much?

Look up the meaning of the word "argument"...
"a reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong."

So you were not trying to persuade others?

Oh boy, you resorted to name calling so you clearly won the argument.

So you honestly don't think this process is intentionally deceptive? If so, why do the games all have some sort of "abstraction mechanism" for money (money becomes Smurfberries, coins, tokens, balloons, etc) "Smurfs' Village" has an age rating of 8. Does someone who is only 8 understand that when they are spending what are now "Smurfberries" are actually real money?

If this is the case, why does almost every country in the world have special laws around children and their inability to enter into contracts? I think there is some truth to the fact the parents are not careful, but the game makers and "stores" also do what they can to help facilitate this sort of thing.

How hard is it to open an account on some platforms without entering in your CC number? If the game is "free" why do you need a CC at all?

PS. Agree with you on the lack of accepting responsibility. Ever since the 1990's the world has moved to a "its not my fault because" stance. This is not just about not accepting responsibility, it is about targeting kids with "in-app" purchases.

As I read your post it confuses me.
So while many in the US do not have healthcare, their tax dollars was used to fund a "carrier group" (sounds costly?) to provide healthcare to foreign nationals?

In return for this, you got a "maybe" for building a base (doesn't sound like you are after "soft power") but yet you also state the constitution prohibits this? This makes me think of the classic "the check is in the mail" line. Hey, thanks for the help, we will consider letting you open a base even though it is prohibited by our constitution?

Are you saying funding a "carrier group" full of staff, and providing medical care was less then "a couple of million dollars in tents"?

If this is the case, why not spend "just a few million" to provide medical care to your own citizens who also need it?

Perhaps when the Philippines was hit by a typhoon China had their own problems to deal with and focused on those instead They later decided (pressured?) to give tents and such to try to be helpful without really expecting something in return (reopen military bases)?

Apple updates are available to all compatible devices on the day of release.
So just make some devices incompatible right?

Why doesn't IOS 7 work on an iPhone 3GS?
https://discussions.apple.com/...

When apple does it, it is fine because the hardware is "too old for the new OS" but when android does the same thing for similar reasons "Few Android phones get more then one update". There is a huge difference between Android and IOS. Apple makes both the hardware and software. It is not a function of "android" when hardware manufacturers don't release new updates for their devices, that is the manufacturers doing that.

BTW, How many updates did the 3GS get before it was EOL?

You said "Apple OS updates are free of charge". OSX updates were not always free of charge.

PS, Apple did a similar "EOL" for Mavericks, two models, released fairly close together, one gets the update the other doesn't.

"Quite possibly. Neither of us have Apple TV, and it's not what we were talking about."

Really, so because this device does 'auto updates' it is OK because here are no third party risks? isn't the same true for all IOS devices since they all use the app store?

Man, you work for Apple's PR department or what?

1) The updates are actually made available, and promptly, unlike Android.
What exactly does this mean? Android has updates as well. (FUD on your part)?

2) The users are all informed that they are available, and the installation made simple.
Yeah, because clicking on the "update" box in android is challenging?

3) All OS updates are free of charge.
Perhaps true now, but in the past apple charged a fee for its updates.

4) There's a buzz around new versions. Not just amongst enthusiasts and tech media, but in the mainstream media.
Some call it buzz, others call it hype.

Apple TV doesn't just download them, it installs as well, unless Apple's website is incorrect in which case you can have them update it with the correct info.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht...
Keep your Apple TV always up to date by automatically installing software updates when available.

I dont own a lot of Apple products so take this with a grain of salt...

My OSX desktop does the same thing as windows, and tries to download updates nightly, as does my Apple-TV. I guess they are not "forced" as i can turn those options off, but the default was to have them ON.

I notice you neglected to address the extent to which Apple makes it hard to "roll back" an update, instead focusing on the "forced update" angle?

1. If iOS 7 was so bad, why was the adoption rate so high so fast?
Forced updates and no way to go back to the previous version thanks to encrypted downloads?

Obviously the bar to use the word "hacked" is really low. Attracts more page clicks then "teens read manual and found default password to ATMs"

Not an american, but this is among the things i find more troubling. Many tend to be very patriotic and proudly wave the flag everywhere. Said flag bearing item is almost always "made in China".
Open challenge to anyone living in the US, can you find something with the flag on it and was actually made in the USA (not "finally assembly in the US" or "printed in the US").
Why on earth would you patriotically wear something "Made in China"?

" it is the over-zealous DRM that is killing the format."

See my post above on he minidisc...

Welcome to Sony, where DRM comes first and customers a distant second.

Just because they sold the bluray player, and made the new disks in some "version X" format doesn't mean one should expect them to release a firmware which allows you to the newer disks. They just abandon the player and move on to the next big thing.