Oh for crying out loud. Missed the link: https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong

I used to think exactly like this. Felt the same way as you. But then someone sent me this TED Talk and I've changed my mind.

It's like how Doug Bowser is the president of Nintendo of America.

Truly a great book. I don't know why they haven't made it in to a movie yet. Daniel Suarez's other books Daemon and Freedom are also quite good techno thrillers.

Agreed. One of the new "old" systems I'm looking forward to is the Commander X-16. That looks like a lot of fun to tinker with.

I know everyone loves to hate on Apple, but this is an industry wide thing.

Apple App Store: 30 percent standard commission on in-app purchases of digital goods (15% for "small businesses/indie developers" with less than 1 million in sales); sales of physical products are exempt. Subscription commission falls to 15 percent after one year.

Google Play: 30 percent standard commission on in-app purchases of digital goods (15% on the first 1 million in sales then rate goes up); sales of physical products are exempt. Subscription commission falls to 15 percent after one year.

Galaxy Store: 30 percent standard commission on in-app purchases, but it is reportedly negotiable.

Amazon App Store: 30 percent standard commission on in-app purchases, 20% on streaming video services

Microsoft Store: 30 percent standard commission on all games, in-game purchases, purchases from business and education stores, or purchases on Windows devices; 15 percent on everything else.

Steam: Steam takes 30 percent of all sales made for the first $10 million sold. That cut becomes 25 percent when a developer sells between $10 million and $50 million. For every sale after the first $50 million, Steam only takes a 20 percent cut.

Epic: Epic takes 12 percent of the revenue from all games sold, giving developers 88 percent. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted that of the 12 percent Epic collects, the company nets about 5 percent as profit.

PlayStation: Sony is reported to take a 30 percent cut from games sold in the PlayStation Store, though the split isn’t publicly disclosed.

Xbox: Microsoft takes a 30 percent cut from all games and in-game purchases sold through the console’s store under its standard developer agreement.

Nintendo: Nintendo takes a 30 percent cut from all games and in-game purchases sold through the console’s store under its standard developer agreement.

My first tech job was with Netscape. This hits me in the feels.

>The Apple 30% tax is criminal IMHO.

Please. It's industry standard.

Apple: 30% cut (15% for small businesses, 15% for subscriptions after a year)
Google: 30% cut (15% for subscriptions after a year)
Samsung Galaxy Store: 30%
Microsoft Store: 30%
Amazon app store: 30% (20% on video streaming services)
Xbox Store: 30%
Playstation Store: 30%
Nintendo: 30%
Steam: 20% - 30% depending on annual sales

Sauce: https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/22/apple-digs-in-heels-over-its-app-store-commission-structure-with-release-of-new-study/

This article is good food for thought: https://thecorrespondent.com/100/the-new-dot-com-bubble-is-here-its-called-online-advertising

"Delivery outfits will pretend that they have a deal going with a restaurant, putting up a slick web menu and a phone number that goes to the delivery company, not the restaurant -- all without the restaurant's permission or even knowledge."

This was Grubhub's original business model.

"DIY DoorDash"

If you posted this as a "lifehack" on your instagram, you could probably monetize it :-)

Oh man, I played a ton of Command HQ by 14.4k modem with my best friend in high school. Would love to see an updated version.

I usually love lawfare, but this is seriously the worst tech analogy I've read in a long time:

"In other words, EARN IT will require companies that offer end-to-end encryption to weigh the consequences of that decision for the victims of child sexual abuse. And it may require them to pay for the suffering their new feature enables.

I don’t doubt that this will make the decision to offer end-to-end encryption harder. But how is that different from imposing liability on automakers whose gas tanks explode in rear-end collisions? If the gas tank makes its cars cheaper or more popular, the company will get the benefit; but now it will also have to pay damages to the victims of the explosions. That makes the decision to offer risky gas tanks harder, but no one weeps for the automaker. Imposing liability puts the costs and benefits of the product in the same place, making it more likely that companies will act responsibly when they introduce new features."

Comparing encryption to enabling suffering is irresponsible. Making encryption equal to exploding gas tanks is completely dumb. Saying that offering end to end encryption is cutting corners and being irresponsible shows me that the author has no idea what they are talking about. Encryption makes you more safe online, cheap gas tanks make you less safe.

This is basically the premise of the "HoaxHotel" twitch stream :-)

It's like putting a beer next to an alcoholic. Even if they don't drink it, their mind in completely focused on the temptation and not what's going on around them.