For what it's worth, the piracy issue was a real eye-opener for me when I released my first iPhone app. The app included a web service which simply logged an anonymous user ID on my site so I could distinguish between users. The ratio of paying to pirated users was staggering. After awhile I also adopted the approach Mark Murphy stated a few posts above. Don't worry about the piracy too much, they probably wouldn't have paid for your app anyway. Try to find a different model which doesn't depend on the up-front sale of the app to support yourself.
That being said, I agree that some pressure should be kept on sites distributing pirated copies so it doesn't get completely out of control. Good luck all. On Jan 16, 2:58 pm, MakeMobile <makemobileinnovati...@gmail.com> wrote: > 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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