On Jan 16, 2:46 pm, Mark Murphy <mmur...@commonsware.com> wrote: > MakeMobile wrote: > > I believe I've already answered the question of why Google would do > > something about this, but I'll say it again. Piracy damages the > > platform as a whole. Google cares about this kind of thing because it > > slows the progress of the platform as a whole. > > That is debatable. For every force (developers electing to abandon one > platform with piracy for another platform with piracy) there can be a > countervailing force (more consumer interest because of wider free app > availability).
While I agree with your overall point that there are dualities to perceived problems with something as complex as a platform or OS, I do not agree with your idea that there would be more consumer interest because of the increased availability of pirated apps. I hardly believe that the majority of consumers consider the availability of pirated apps among the important things to consider when looking to migrate to a new device. > > > But my > > specific inquiry is who can I talk to about this? who or where do I > > report this? > > If you have an app on the Android Market, and you are using their copy > protection, and you find your app is pirated, complain to the Android > Market (via their support forums) that their copy protection did not > help you. I suspect you'll find a few posts to that effect out there > already, though I haven't looked. > I'll certainly do that, but I was wondering if there is a more formal system for reporting such abuses. > > On another note, I think the common attitude of apathy surrounding > > this issue is shocking. > > I think an attitude of not *worrying* much about this issue is decidedly > healthy. > It's not a matter of worrying too much, but a matter of keeping it in check. I think there are ways to improve what we have. Certainly Market could do a better job. > For those who have been living under a rock for the past two decades, > digital goods get pirated, plain and simple... > IMHO, developers for all platforms can take three possible approaches to > piracy: > > 1. Embrace piracy, by coming up with business strategies that do not > require payment for individual copies of apps. > > 2. Ignore piracy, treating it as a manageable loss (akin to "breakage" > in a retail store), and focusing on serving those customers that do pay. > > 3. Have their blood pressure climb to unsafe levels. Again, I think ignoring such problems is not a feasible approach. When we sit up and take notice, it leads to discussion, and then implementation of better solutions. To be clear, I expect piracy to exist. In fact, I think any developer who has not considered piracy as they build out their product is just not being realistic. However, burying your head in the sand does not make a problem go away. > If you are truly serious about app development, get truly serious about > choosing a business model you'll be happy with. With luck, you'll settle > on one for which piracy is not an issue. Agreed. But some of us do not have the option to implement a business model less susceptible to piracy. Some applications are just not conducive to the models which do well to avoid piracy. There are strategies which a developer can employ to make piracy more difficult. The most common of which might be some form of "call home" functionality. But this wont work for my application (and many others). Asking for internet access on a stand-alone app would be silly. I believe it would provide an additional barrier to acceptance that I am not willing to construct. Mr Benjamin made a good post on this point, so I wont bother repeating it. As the platform moves forward, this will become a much lager and more serious issue. If we want to continue to attract great developers who make great apps -- and the platform to continue to be competitive -- we must think proactively about such problems.
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