Alright here's the deal. I have an app idea for a game that I plan on creating that is very simple, and I have a good feeling it will take off. My worries is that developing it will almost be pointless because of the lax android market policy. I am a new programmer, so my worry is I will make the app pretty decent, and some more experienced programmer will be able to duplicate it and make it better. This just doesn't seem right. I know this happens all the time (Fruit Slice, for example, is a Fruit Ninja knockoff and it's free).
Android is a love it/ hate it relationship. Users love being able to download just as good of knockoffs for free, but I'm sure this is a major turn off for developers who worked hard on their original idea's, just to have it undercut by another developer who will offer a similar (or even better app) for free. Part of me wishes I could just develop it for iOS, but I don't have a Mac or iPhone, and don't ever plan on getting one.
My question is, is there anyway to stop it? Like a patent, or something similar? This is my major hesitation to developing for android. I know I'm not going to be the best programmer out there, but it's the idea that make the apps, and that's where I feel like (I'm sure a lot of other people do too) I could do some contributing. Let me know how you guys feel about this
Anybody? 10Char
welcome to programming for any platform. There are (free) alternatives to almost every single program (android-based, windows-based, etc...)
I think you're in a very bad place to ask about that question. Programmers are usually not at all fond of patents since they tend to be overly broad, hard to detect and generally of low quality. (In case you haven't noticed that's also my opinion)
But yes, if that's what you want to do, a patent would be the way to go. Copyright protects your code, but not your idea.
Make it free. Put ads on it. If it takes off make an iOS one
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using XDA App
As far as I can remember, from my Intellectual Property Law class, software (i.e. apps) cannot be the subject of a patent. But of course, this changes from country to country.
Here are some links you might want to read up on:
http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/patents_faq.html#software
http://www.freibrun.com/articles/articl2.htm
Computer-based inventions... yeah, they're not supposed to be patentable: Not in the US and even less in the EU. The key point is how computer-based inventions is defined. The standard way around it is simply to patent "a machine doing XY" instead of "XY"
Basically, the patent clerks don't check for anything but formalities. I used to help out on the peertopatent platform, but it just became ridicolous because the clerks would let everything through no matter what prior art or explanations of obviousness we provided.
Patenting is the worst thing you can do. Don't you read all the patent BS going around lately? Also, spending money on a patent won't be enough, you'll also need to spent money enforcing it, and you won't make any friends by being a litigator.
All you can do is provide the best product you can come up with and hope for the best. If someone makes something similar but better, well, you'll just have to work harder. Or drop the whole thing.
But as others have said, you'll have this problem on *all* platforms. A practical example, when Nero released their burning app for Linux, my thought was "This is kinda cool, but why would I pay for Nero, when there's K3B and other apps that to the job, but are open source and free?"
The trick is to provide something others don't have. In the case of NeroLinux it's familiarity for ex-Windows folks or dual-booters. In your case it could be more features, better graphics, easier to navigate interface, regularly provided additional content... something in that direction.
Related
Ok, I have a great plan (this might have been discussed already) but here's my suggestion:
All Rom developers should charge for their work. I'm thinking maybe 3-5 dollars. and if its still in Work in Progress we can still be charged but don't charge for upgrades. This way the out of work developers can get something for their hard work. I just create images and that takes time. I can't even imagine how much time is spent on the roms.
Believe me I would pay for all you guys roms. Donations are great but not enough to inspire to create more roms or even spend time on them. I don't know if this is possible but you guys deserve a lot more credit.
thats my feelings on this issue.
I agree with you in principle, but it kind of defeats the purpose of open source and XDA, doesn't it?
johnny quest said:
Ok, I have a great plan (this might have been discussed already) but here's my suggestion:
All Rom developers should charge for their work. I'm thinking maybe 3-5 dollars. and if its still in Work in Progress we can still be charged but don't charge for upgrades. This way the out of work developers can get something for their hard work. I just create images and that takes time. I can't even imagine how much time is spent on the roms.
Believe me I would pay for all you guys roms. Donations are great but not enough to inspire to create more roms or even spend time on them. I don't know if this is possible but you guys deserve a lot more credit.
thats my feelings on this issue.
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That's a flattering sentiment but does rather contradict the core principles behind open source in general. If not for its openness and freely available source I doubt you would see the level of progress there has been in the android community.
I'm sure the devs themselves will chime in. Just my two friendly cents
Sent from my CM7 Tazz using XDA App
its not Necessary but its a nice gesture i dont want anyone feeling obligated ,, times are hard for everyone ,, but thank you
i don't know if you've noticed but most devs have a 'buy me a beer' link where you can donate if you wish. i know if i had a job i'd be donating $20 at a time or so depending on how much i was getting paid. until then its nice to know that even though i can't pay, i can still get the best. Google > Apple. it's not always about the money.
ILikeBubbles said:
i don't know if you've noticed but most devs have a 'buy me a beer' link where you can donate if you wish. i know if i had a job i'd be donating $20 at a time or so depending on how much i was getting paid. until then its nice to know that even though i can't pay, i can still get the best. Google > Apple. it's not always about the money.
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In most cases everything always comes down to money. Unless your living with your parents still or your younger then it's one thing but still at the end of the day most things come down to money.
I'll agree with you on Google > Apple
I own a Iphone4 and the Droid Eris and I still like the Eris hands down no matter what even though the Iphone4 runs everything very smooth the concept of android is far better than most apple users can ever be able to dream about.
Cheatman1 said:
In most cases everything always comes down to money. Unless your living with your parents still or your younger then it's one thing but still at the end of the day most things come down to money.
I'll agree with you on Google > Apple
I own a Iphone4 and the Droid Eris and I still like the Eris hands down no matter what even though the Iphone4 runs everything very smooth the concept of android is far better than most apple users can ever be able to dream about.
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dear god that signature quote made my brain hurt just trying to read it.
Haha your signature is great. It made me laugh pretty hard.
And as for this discussion, I don't think they can MANDATE you pay for anything. Like it has been said, its open source and if people want to donate they will. I wish I had a job so I can donate, and as soon as I get one I know I will be. But for now I'm enjoying the work these guys are doing, and hope it continues.
I mean, we're getting Gingerbread on the Eris thanks to the devs here. That's two versions more than what the Eris was thought to get. That to me is incredible.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the open source. the donate link is nice to have and I am guilty of not using that to show appreciation. I will use it more frequently. The Eris is great but I'm stuck not able to load certain apps because it requires a higher than 2.1 version. I'm up for an update and looking into the Thunderbolt most likely. Hopefully there will be a thread on this phone for Roms in the future.
I agree, there should be a way for ROM makers to get paid for their time. Likely, its illegal or a breach of some sort of contract/agreement/gobbledygook somewhere.
The developer for my favorite Eris ROM's, Tazz is having back issues and can't work, so this very issue is very relevant. I make sure and send him donations whenever possible.
For now, just send your favorite ROM devs donations through the links provided.
It's nice idea that you guys want to give back but honestly if deving was a paid gig I don't think you would have as good as results. I do it myself cause I tinker by nature and like to help other people. You will get a better end product if you have a dev that does this cause he likes it and not just cause he want to make money. Look at the number of useless apps on the market cause people just want to make money. Nothing wrong with making money and I myself sell apps but roms are a different ballgame. Plus rom dev's rarely write code of their own except for the cyanogenmod team. We all use the source available to us or other peoples work. Plus if you got paid for your rom you wouldn't want competition so who would share their work. If work was not shared in this community then android would not be what it is....
GPL violation anyone?
You'd have to include the source code with said paid work, and post said paid work's source code publicly, not disallowing anyone from modifying it or redistributing it. Wouldn't last long.
Plus, if the devs charged, then the CM team would charge them, and the google would charge then......... it would end up being way more than 3-5 bucks.
jadesdan said:
Plus, if the devs charged, then the CM team would charge them, and the google would charge then......... it would end up being way more than 3-5 bucks.
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+1
We'd have to throw some cash at the Hero devs too lol, and pretty much everyone that helped them,and on and on
Sent from my GSBv1.2 using XDA App
Good intentions! I am glad some people still think of the devs.
I have donated in the past, and will continue to do so. We are running GB on an Eris now! Without the devs, we would all be on Cupcake and hating it.
I'd like to take a second to thank the devs and the COMMUNITY as well. I have received lots of help here from regular joe's like me that are just looking for the latest and greatest, as well as the devs that make the magic happen.
We should all thank our lucky stars that we have been provided a place to share ideas, get help and help Android and other platforms evolve into new, fascinating and useful apps/OS's.
Thanks to the WHOLE community! I would pay each and every one of you if I could!
If you like something like this enough, why not do it for free? Especially in this kind of work.
There is not a single thing in open source licenses which prohibits people from charging for services rendered; it is a complete misrepresentation - and frankly a disservice to the Open Source community - to state that open source means "no money involved".
Open Source licenses only prohibit distribution of derivative works without also providing source code. As an example, it would be completely legal for someone to set up a paid web site where there is a charge to download the Linux source trees. In this (ridiculous) example, what is being paid for is the service - the license is satisfied because you are providing the source code.
Having said all that, note that "all of android" is not open source; in particular, the Google Apps, (HTC Sense, Motoblur, etc) and certain hardware-specific libraries are proprietary goods - even so-called "Pure AOSP" dev ROMs contain a small number of vendor libraries, which are technically illegal to redistribute.
I suspect that the legitimate owners of those goods turn a blind eye to small amounts of infringement because they can not monetize their legal actions (no blood from a turnip, etc); but also note that when infringement achieves a certain scale (as it did with CM and Google), they will certainly step in - the issue there has little to do with money; it's more about a legal principle of loss of rights due to failure to defend those rights in the face of significant infringement.
Charging people when you are infringing is a pretty sure way to get the attention of the infringed party.
bftb0
I use KaosFroyo on my Eris; I appreciate all of the work that has gone into it, and I have kicked some $$ back to Kaos for his efforts. That said, officially charging for ROMs sounds like a big mess for a bunch of reasons.
First off, how do you actually enforce it? Are we gonna set up some kind of ecommerce website? Do billing and customer service? It'll generate a bunch of tedious work that has nothing to do with actual ROM development, and paying someone else to do it would probably soak up all of the money. And are you going to sue and go after people who pirate it? But if you don't enforce it, then you pretty much have what you have now.
There's also the different expectations for a paid product. Right now, if some newbie can't figure something out and keeps posting stupid questions without reading the FAQ, then people can tell him to STFU/read the FAQ/release the Kraken/etc because it's a free product being developed by guys in their spare time that doesn't earn them much money. Start charging for it and you change that whole equation around - you now have to hold the newbies' hands or they'll scream for a refund and cause all sorts of trouble if they don't get it. Not to mention the liability - we know every now and then phones get bricked and data gets lost doing this stuff. If it's a paid product, then there may be legal liability for that in some markets. Who's gonna sort that out? Expensive lawyers?
Plus the other objections brought up regarding copyright/licensing of the proprietary libraries that are being used to make these ROMs.
Put it all together, and the current system seems like it's the best solution, even though the devs may not be getting as much money as they really deserve. So throw a few more bucks in the bucket for your favorite ROM.
bftb0 said:
There is not a single thing in open source licenses which prohibits people from charging for services rendered; it is a complete misrepresentation - and frankly a disservice to the Open Source community - to state that open source means "no money involved".
Open Source licenses only prohibit distribution of derivative works without also providing source code. As an example, it would be completely legal for someone to set up a paid web site where there is a charge to download the Linux source trees. In this (ridiculous) example, what is being paid for is the service - the license is satisfied because you are providing the source code.
Having said all that, note that "all of android" is not open source; in particular, the Google Apps, (HTC Sense, Motoblur, etc) and certain hardware-specific libraries are proprietary goods - even so-called "Pure AOSP" dev ROMs contain a small number of vendor libraries, which are technically illegal to redistribute.
I suspect that the legitimate owners of those goods turn a blind eye to small amounts of infringement because they can not monetize their legal actions (no blood from a turnip, etc); but also note that when infringement achieves a certain scale (as it did with CM and Google), they will certainly step in - the issue there has little to do with money; it's more about a legal principle of loss of rights due to failure to defend those rights in the face of significant infringement.
Charging people when you are infringing is a pretty sure way to get the attention of the infringed party.
bftb0
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Conap said:
It's nice idea that you guys want to give back but honestly if deving was a paid gig I don't think you would have as good as results. I do it myself cause I tinker by nature and like to help other people. You will get a better end product if you have a dev that does this cause he likes it and not just cause he want to make money. Look at the number of useless apps on the market cause people just want to make money. Nothing wrong with making money and I myself sell apps but roms are a different ballgame. Plus rom dev's rarely write code of their own except for the cyanogenmod team. We all use the source available to us or other peoples work. Plus if you got paid for your rom you wouldn't want competition so who would share their work. If work was not shared in this community then android would not be what it is....
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Click to collapse
IMHO, though there are many excellent views and points regarding all this posted in this thread, and the original intention was interesting, these two answers are the overall most complete and pertinent.
Way to go, guys!
ufmace said:
I use KaosFroyo on my Eris; I appreciate all of the work that has gone into it, and I have kicked some $$ back to Kaos for his efforts. That said, officially charging for ROMs sounds like a big mess for a bunch of reasons.
First off, how do you actually enforce it? Are we gonna set up some kind of ecommerce website? Do billing and customer service? It'll generate a bunch of tedious work that has nothing to do with actual ROM development, and paying someone else to do it would probably soak up all of the money. And are you going to sue and go after people who pirate it? But if you don't enforce it, then you pretty much have what you have now.
There's also the different expectations for a paid product. Right now, if some newbie can't figure something out and keeps posting stupid questions without reading the FAQ, then people can tell him to STFU/read the FAQ/release the Kraken/etc because it's a free product being developed by guys in their spare time that doesn't earn them much money. Start charging for it and you change that whole equation around - you now have to hold the newbies' hands or they'll scream for a refund and cause all sorts of trouble if they don't get it. Not to mention the liability - we know every now and then phones get bricked and data gets lost doing this stuff. If it's a paid product, then there may be legal liability for that in some markets. Who's gonna sort that out? Expensive lawyers?
Plus the other objections brought up regarding copyright/licensing of the proprietary libraries that are being used to make these ROMs.
Put it all together, and the current system seems like it's the best solution, even though the devs may not be getting as much money as they really deserve. So throw a few more bucks in the bucket for your favorite ROM.
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This was a pretty damn good answer, too, if you don't mind me saying.
I have some ideas for a heavily customized Android tablet for an industrial use. Most of the customizations involve taking things OUT and locking stuff down, durability a plus as well.
I sent a couple emails to Chinese companies but didn't get any response, and am also a bit worried about them stealing my ideas and running with 'em.
Any pointers/advice?
When your idea is greater then great then can you register your idea with patents.
But you need to know that patents are realy expensive and some company's copy all things what they see.
You can better search for a buddy who has knowledge for manufacture in China or an other cheap country.
know that big companies like Foxxcon make only big orders.
Yep, that's pretty much where I'm at right now. Not sure of how to proceed patent-wise and not really wanting to work with Chinese companies either way.
Cheap isn't paramount for this application, if anybody knows of any more local resources for android hardware I could talk to...
Only have time for a real quick reply right now to a very deep topic...
I would say your best bet is to look into various 'open source' models. Look at the the DIYdrone community. You can get Android running on a little ARM processor. Or for a turnkey dev solution:
liquidware.com/shop/show/BB-AND-DEV/Android+Hardware+Development+Kit
Throw it in a Pelican case and you've got yourself a proof-of-concept. Which is what you're gonna need to raise any venture capitol if you pick that route...
As far as patents... this can also get you some credibility with venture capitalists... you can file a patent yourself for pretty cheap but don't expect it to hold against any big boys though...
Good luck, there's a lot to learn, making a bunch of Engineering/Programming/Business friends and having your girl pick the outfit before the big pitch!
Cheers
Android on a chip
Hi koob,
Thanks for the useful reply. Do you have any additional tips on getting Android running on the simplest circuit possible?
Using phones for development is possible but not ideal as we're using some of the newer features of the OS (e.g. ADK), and unlocked phones supporting it are somewhat expensive.
I'm interested in two stages, prototyping (I couldn't find much in the DIYDrones community on this), and manufacturing (maybe companies like Shenzhen Xinkenmingteng Industry Technology on Alibaba could take a functional spec or a PCB design?).
Many thanks for your help.
Bump! I would also be interested in hearing more about this, as we want to develop a custom mobile monitoring device, using Android so as to save us the effort of writing firmware for the wireless communications, display, touchscreen, etc. Like TheCritic, we're interested in locking it down - replacing the OS's main functionality with some skin or app we write ourselves.
The Liquidware Android Hardware Development Kit is interesting, but has many things we don't need and misses a few things we do. We're just not sure where to begin choosing the hardware and working with the kernel, device drivers, etc. Any pointers would be very appreciated.
Any progress here?
I have a pretty similar situation. Having a cool idea that would need only a few features from android. Did you develop your platform? Or found someone who did it for you?
Nothing other than what's seen here, though there were more useful replies than I'd remembered to this thread!
Hey guys,
Recently there's been talks about piracy on Android and how developers seem to shy away from it and produce games for iOS. That's actually the reason why developers of Infinite Blade refuses to port the game to Android. I've recently gotten the chance to speak with the creative director Matt Small of Vector Unit (Riptide GP). In this interview he talks about piracy and how its equal on both sides of the os. You guys really think its that bad? In truth when GTA 3 came out today someone already posted the apk on this forums mere hours it showed up in the market.
Anyway check it out:
http://droidgamers.com/index.php/ga...-unit-talks-piracy-tegra-and-of-course-games-
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Piracy is always present in some form and amount on all devices. Windows Phone for example is pretty much closed platform, thus very unsuccessful to make bigger impact on the market. There is always "awareness" in big % of the consumers that think that piracy is bad and illegal, so software market is never that hurt. Some polls says that no platform has piracy more than a 10% (except PC of course), so it is not an issue and reason for someone not to port a good game on all the platforms. PC market is the biggest on the planet, so bigger amount of piracy is actually lower in numbers comparing to the others (more than 1.3 Bilion people are using Windows).
Piracy happens on iOS too. It just takes slightly longer, but every paid app that's worth getting gets pirated sooner or later.
The attitudes towards piracy on iOS versus Android are what I find most interesting though. When I was on iOS, pirating expensive apps was almost chic. It was talked about openly on some sites and seriously everyone I knew with an iPhone had stuff like sinful and hackulous in their Cydia repos. Now that I'm on Android, the online community is all about supporting the devs and pirating is looked down upon (at least openly).
Oh yes there is plenty of piracy going around in the android community. I've been doing some "research" on this topic and have discovered sites like Applanet, Blapkmarket, Snappzmarket, etc. Thrive in third party distribution of both free and paid apps. Though it is frowned upon in the general android population, i understand the people that use these sites when it comes down to not being able to spend hard earned money on overpriced apps in this ridiculous economy. (Not saying i support them, i just understand). Maybe we can make a compromise one day, who knows?
Sent from my SPH-M920 using xda premium
Pirated apps arenpirated for one main reason. To install some sort malware or keylogger onto your phone. Use a pirated app and enjoy what it brings.
As for apps not being ported because of it is just a cop out. It is everywhere no matter what OS it is.
There is one additional unpleasant thing in market. In some stores (not android market) people steal applications, changes its name (without changing application itself), after that they sell it from their name.
it exist in every OS you can imagine, even something ancient like Atari, or as new as Windows 8
as long as there are humans, you can never get away from it
just like the recent SOPA bill even if it passes, it means nothing as people already have work around and anti SOPA internet ready to deploy the moment it hits
that's why the best way to prevent piracy is to offer the App for free, and make them pay as they use it for additional features
this is becoming a very common practice in a lot of games, even Gameloft has joined the play
they all learned that from the MMO free to play, but pay to upgrade schemes
it's a very "honest" movement, and people will certainly pay to get what they want, as there is no way to dupe, hack, crack, stuff that is only available on the server side.
else they get banned
AllGamer said:
it exist in every OS you can imagine, even something ancient like Atari, or as new as Windows 8
as long as there are humans, you can never get away from it
just like the recent SOPA bill even if it passes, it means nothing as people already have work around and anti SOPA internet ready to deploy the moment it hits
that's why the best way to prevent piracy is to offer the App for free, and make them pay as they use it for additional features
this is becoming a very common practice in a lot of games, even Gameloft has joined the play
they all learned that from the MMO free to play, but pay to upgrade schemes
it's a very "honest" movement, and people will certainly pay to get what they want, as there is no way to dupe, hack, crack, stuff that is only available on the server side.
else they get banned
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''Freemium" or pay to play games is a great alternatives, but is in the brink of oversaturation. Its great that we receive games for free, but the micro transaction will only hurt if every single developer jumps in. I'm sure most will charge you for small ridiculous trinkets.
Take a look at Blood and Glory for example. Great gameplay and graphics. But almost impossible to play without purchasing something. I'd rather pay full price just to have everything available. Its breaks immersion when your trying to play and a box pops out asking you a dollar to unlock a level. Game developers should give us an option for a full game.Sad to see vector unit thinking of going that route.
Sent from my T959 using Tapatalk
Isn't piracy even worse on iOS with stuff like Installous? I think developers should just jump on on board - by joining android they're going to make more money anyway aren't they?
Im not saying piracy isn't a problem on Android, but it's much more of a problem on iOS. Google have license checks with the market, which I don't believe exist on iOS. Saying you wont make an app for Android because of piracy is complete ********
I don't get it. Why not just install the free versions and deal with the ads? It's not that expensive to pay for the full app, not most apps anyways? I think pirating apps is more of an "because I can" and less of an "I can't afford it."
The worst is buying an app that receives no updates , becomes obselete and then just sits in your app list forever.....
Sent from my HTC EVO 3D X515a using XDA App
But equally, when you put the word "open" in open source, this is something google should have been prepared for. They even give the tools for piraters to pirate files. For example, if I'm rooted and know a package name of an APK, then all I have to do is adb pull the file, and upload it. It is sad that people go out and pirate games because it does discourage devs, but they know the wolves are in the den ahead before they walk into the forest. Apple is jailbreakable, but that takes for-freaking-ever, webOS is now open source, so its gonna have some miiiinor issues, and Windows basically hits the idea of open source with a giant middle finger, so it is horrible, but its one of those things you don't have a choice to do but accept.!
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
just make all games pay as you go like sleepy jack and cordy or the many many many MMO "free" to play, but pay to be elite
robotapocalypse said:
I don't get it. Why not just install the free versions and deal with the ads? It's not that expensive to pay for the full app, not most apps anyways? I think pirating apps is more of an "because I can" and less of an "I can't afford it."
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Because not every application has a free ad-supported version
Simple reason google checkout not supported by all banks, the transfer is declined,in india hence we cant buy any app...
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Ok, here I go....I'm sure I'll get mega-flamed for this but..I don't care. I pirate. Alot. Why? Because I'm poor. Seriously. I feel like, its not fair that only those that have money get to enjoy everything. Typically, if an app is good and really proves itself useful, I will eventually buy it when I'm able. Same goes for PC software, movies, music, etc. Why the hell would I wanna waste money I don't have on something that turns out to be worthless crap. And furthermore, the rights holders that seem to ***** the most tend to be (typically but not always) those that are most well off. I'm sorry, but I don't feel bad because I didn't put another dollar in some rich [email protected]%k's pocket. Like I said, if its worthy, I'll eventually buy it. I have paid for all the must have paid apps that I use for rooting my phone and tweaking it etc. Which brings me to another point, the fact that so many seem to believe that the rooting community as a whole only root so we can pirate...pure BS. As someone who admits to pirating, I root my phone for the pure and simple reason of installing custom ROMS and tweaking my phone. I can do all the pirating I want on my PC, I don't need my phone for that. I do try to support devs that provide quality and useful apps, because I know they are working hard to try and earn a buck, just like me...but all the rich conglomerates can kiss my @ss. If I had plenty of money, I wouldn't pirate...honestly, what would be the point? But I don't. So for now I'm just a little dog trying to enjoy myself in world made for big dogs. And that's considered a crime...that's a crying shame.
And on a side note, I'm really not trying to be offensive, just being honest...
I can get any app i want on my iphone for free if I were so inclinded.
reality is app makers make more with ios apps. end of story
Hi Everyone,
I have a short question on copyright. I have seen a lot of apps that are clones of other apps and some even basically copy the name of popular apps. How far can you go with this? I have two concerns about this. I am creating an app based on a popular word board game, but with different scope, rules and graphics. I don't want to get sued for doing it. Second, I have to come up with a name for the app and I want it to be something that people can easily recognize, but without blatantly copying someone else's name.
I also have made a first app that is a remake of a C64 game. Can I market my game by saying: "This game is a remake of "INSERT GAME""?
Is the app market a free for all, or do you just have to steer clear of copying the big players?
Copyright is not normally legally enforced, patents on the other hand are. You will not get sued for creating a variation on an existing game. I would however recommend to steer clear from the major companies (look at whatsapp+ for example), as your hard work might be for nothing in the end.
Fair enough, but what about comparing your game to other games when marketing it?
It's just a question of how far you are willing to go. Look at all the big phone makers, they are ripping each other apart with some ads. Again, a matter of how far you want to go.
It's more to do with healthy competition than slagging off another game. If your game is a twist on a classic, say a variant of monopoly with Star Wars elements, then it will market itself without having to compare it really, obviously you will not be able to use the same name to prevent yourself from getting into a legal battle.
Look at threes! and 2048 and 1024 for example. They are all variations of one another. Heck, there are 20 odd 2048 games on the Windows Phone store. Do whatever you please, but if you want to be a respected developer, try not to blatantly copy a game/name etc. A twist on any game is always welcomed though - only, be prepared for some negative comments.
I'm a bit of a programmer, but I programmed before the age of smartphones, so I've not really tried it myself. I've made an attempt at apps, but got bored and developing a game would be way over my head as I've only ever made text based games in PHP lol.
I do however have some ideas for an app (not a game) if you would be interested in working on it with me? - I'd appreciate it if you could PM me about it, or alternatively use BBM, which might be easier. PM me for my pin
Thanks for the advice. I am not making a copy, but something that is based of the original. I hope to present it here soon.
As for helping you develop, I am currently swamped with work unfortunately/fortunately with our own game app. Good luck though!
Hello, I am currently a privacy novice trying to learn about different avenues of where I can get help to better protect myself. I see apple devices and I like the fact that they have a closed ecosystem per device, but I don’t like the fact that they are all interconnected with each other; it freaks me out that someone else with an Apple device could very easily connect to mine. That’s why CalyxOS stood out to me, because what it looks like from the outside-in is a decentralized form of android device, without all of the Google strings attached. I’d honestly rather use it than Graphene, because the people over on the graphene forums are kinda toxic to be honest. I have no knowledge of how to install operating systems, however, and I’m afraid that I could easily screw it up. Does Calyx sell any Pixel 6/Pixel 6 Pro models that I could buy to get started?
Welcome. I'm probably a terrible example but oh well. I had time to kill and been stuck on this topic myself since the early 90s.
If you're serious about privacy to the point that you are worried about other devices as you mentioned, I highly suggest (seriously, not trying to be a ****) you take some online courses on the fundamentals of telecommunications, and do some "light" reading on topics likeLinux Kernel, enterprise networking, Signals Intelligence, and Section 215 metadata collection. thats a decent starting point to the state of things. Though it's just a shinny coin on a string to distract while the real work continues. It must always continue. It will never stop.
I'm sorry to tell you.
It's too late. In any practical sense short of finding somewhere to go love in a cave until you starve or die from a infection a 99¢ tube of cream could have prevented.
You can have a privacy focused phone. It can keep certain things safe. Stop some people from doing things. Delay an outcome. You're gonna need to learn about installing an OS though. It gets pretty complex rather quickly.
Nothing is safe. Every lock can be picked or bypassed. There is no such thing as a door only you can use. The last place anything is truly a secret is in your head. When you are the only person in the entire world with the right permissions.
There was a window when we could have made meaningful and lasting choices in how protocols, standards, regulations, and laws were adopted. Back when it was all just a few hundred trunk lines, IXPs and NOC with good intentions, and tragically short sight. Lots of people screaming at the top of their lungs about the potential outcomes. Tinfoil hats were worn. Turns out we were right.
When you wrap your brain around what the "internet" really is...it's similar to getting a small sliver of understanding; grasping ever so lightly; the brain breaking inconceivable scale of the infinite universe and how infinitesimally small we are. The remnants of a dead stars clumped together pondering its own own existence. Connecting wires together and making things beyond our capabilities. The amount of data being exchanged right now ain't ****. It's bonkers, but it won't be next year, or next or the next.
The rate at which machine learning and the race to general AI is going, watch for the casualties along the way. one example is encryption as we know it. Gone. It'll be rendered trivial by 2040 MAYBE. Honestly that's a really high estimate. Likely before.
Post quantum encryption is just about as experimentally verifiable as string theory. Won't be long though before we get a chance to see if itll hold up. The Xbox is older than the time we have left. The Patriot Act as well.
Practice basic OPsec. Best Practices. Trust few, tell fewer. Read. Read some more. Then read the book. Every question you could ever think of likely has a 12 year old thread at a slackexchange site and no shortage of users ready to remind you how tired they are of duplicates. The community at grapheneOS is similar. On that though. Best to just go to the source. He tries to explain things without just speaking in jargon. Daniel Micay himself on the matter of android security.
https://www.reddit.com/r/GrapheneOS/comments/bddq5u
and
https://www.reddit.com/r/GrapheneOS/comments/du23la
There is no shortage of people currently who disagree with him even though they have little to no grasp on the complexity of what it is he actually intended. Ran into one of them myself, on this site, just the other day. Sure, It's hardneded, but what that means from user to user is drastically different.
It's more than some. It'll fit some use cases. But it's just a speck in a cloud. If you attract the attention of a human being with skills and motivation...good luck my dude. Godspeed.
The real thought experiment and one of my favorites to fall asleep to on nights I actually sleep is "what are they going to do with all the encrypted data they hoovered up and have been storing for the last 30-40 years? Once AI turns the encryption algorithms that humanity runs on into a half finished cheap dollar store sudoku." How long does any one reckon that'll be the case before us plebs hear about it. We got a good track record, as a collective species in doing the right thing, right? No way they will actually use what is functionally a rewind button on...well everything. Nah, it'll be fine.
Oh look, Lapsus$ group woke up, posted a new dump... Wonder how much Globant spend on securing their stuff. Probably more than me.
--just a jaded old man