Amazon and the core of their counterfeit problem

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Reddit:

Since I started noticing this issue, I’ve gotten counterfeit batteries, counterfeit shampoo, and counterfeit guitar strings, and they were all sold by Amazon.com. It got so bad that I completely stopped using Amazon.

The bigger question is “what the hell is going on?” This didn’t seem to be a problem, say, 5 years ago. I started looking into why this was the case, and I found a pretty clear answer: commingled inventory.

And:

Let’s say I am a third-party seller on Amazon, and I am selling Crest Toothpaste. I send 100 tubes of Crest Toothpaste to Amazon for Amazon fulfillment, and then 100 tubes are listed by me on Amazon. The problem is that my tubes of Crest aren’t entered into the system as “SolitaryEgg’s Storefront Crest Toothpaste,” they are just entered as “Crest Toothpaste” and thrown into a bin with all the other crest toothpaste. Even the main “sold by Amazon.com” stock.

This is a fascinating read. In a nutshell, the logic here is, commingled inventory means a counterfeiter can dump their bad goods into the river of genuine goods and never get caught, since the goods are not validated until the end user receives them.

Not sure this is fixable, since the cost of validating goods on the Amazon side would be enormous, a non-starter. One thing Amazon could do is prevent third party goods from entering the validated goods stream. That way, when you make a purchase, you could choose “validated” goods or “take a chance” goods.

Apple Arcade vs in-app-purchase

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TechRadar, on Apple Arcade’s highly addictive game, Grindstone:

Anyone who’s played Grindstone can attest to its engagement: the novel puzzle game centers around killing like-colored enemies in sequence to rack up big combos, with plenty of items to spare. But anyone versed in free-to-play games can see how easily Grindstone could include in-app monetization: there’s in-game gems and consumable health items that feel tailor-made for players to drop real-life money to buy. It’s so apparent that it seems like the game would have released with in-game purchases had Apple not come calling.

To me, this is a tremendous value point for Apple Arcade. You will never be held up for in-app-purchases that you need to, say, complete a level, or save yourself from an unreasonably, unnecessary grind.

Continuing:

In other words, part of what’s so engaging about Grindstone’s gameplay loop overlaps heavily with addictive loops that free-to-play games deploy to get players spending real money on in-app purchases.

There’s nothing preventing Apple from adding more games to Arcade that use such gameplay loops to keep players subscribed to the service without betraying Arcade’s no-monetization policy.

Interesting take, all the way around. The takeaway I got from this is that Apple Arcade has found its sweet spot. And they are tuning their future game acquisition model to home in on games that keep people engaged.

Tesla and FBI prevented $1 million ransomware hack at Gigafactory Nevada

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Electrek:

The FBI released information this week on the arrest of Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, a 27-year-old Russian citizen, who they claim was part of a group who attempted to extort millions of dollars from a company in Nevada, which has now been identified as Tesla.

This is a pretty solid tale, involving a Tesla employee who turned down a million dollar payday, then wore a wire in an FBI sting. Part of my takeaway from this is all the companies who paid the ransomware rather than fight.

Facebook says Apple rejected its attempt to tell users about App Store fees

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Reuters:

Facebook Inc on Thursday told Reuters that Apple Inc rejected its attempt to tell users the iPhone maker would take a 30% cut of sales in a new online events feature, forcing Facebook to remove the message to get the tool to users.

And:

Facebook said that Apple cited an App Store rule that bars developers from showing “irrelevant” information to users.

“Now more than ever, we should have the option to help people understand where money they intend for small businesses actually goes. Unfortunately Apple rejected our transparency notice around their 30% tax but we are still working to make that information available inside the app experience,” Facebook said in a statement.

Speaking of disingenuous, that last sentence just leaves a bad taste all around. There’s an implication that Facebook is a champion of transparency.

But I digress:

Facebook earlier this month said it planned to roll out a new tool that would let online influencers and other businesses host paid online events as a way to offset revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said it had asked Apple to waive the 30% fee the iPhone maker charges for in-app purchases so Facebook could pass on all of the events revenue to business owners, but that Apple declined.

Facebook had aimed to provide a notice of Apple’s cut to users, according to mock-ups it released at the time, but Reuters found on Thursday that the promised message was not present on the new events feature.

On the surface, this does look bad for Apple. Did Apple actually prevent Facebook from transparently laying out the fee structure for in-app purchase? Or is there more to this story?

Hoping for a response from Apple telling its side of this story.

Epic Games sends emails to Fortnite players blaming Apple for new season’s unavailability

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From the email:

Apple is blocking Fortnite updates and new installs on the ‌App Store‌, and has said they will terminate our ability to develop Fortnite for Apple devices. As a result, the Chapter 2 – Season 4 update (v14.00), did not release on iOS and macOS on August 27.

Apple limits competition so they can collect 30% of consumer payments made in apps like Fortnite, raising the prices you pay. Epic lowered prices through a direct payment option, but Apple is blocking Fortnite in order to prevent Epic from passing on the savings from direct payments to players. Epic has taken legal action to end Apple’s anti-competitive restrictions on mobile device marketplaces. Papers are available for our August 13, August 17, and August 23 filings. In retaliation for this action, Apple blocked your access to Fortnite updates and new installs on all iOS devices.

Apple gave Epic the chance to fix the situation, Epic made the choice to take a stand.

Both sides made choices. Epic is painting a picture of Apple is bully and Epic as choice-less victim. To me, this is just ugly. And disingenuous.

Apple employees who completed this year’s ‘Close Your Rings’ Challenge receive shirt and congratulatory card

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Juli Clover, MacRumors:

Apple each year hosts a company wide fitness challenge for its employees at corporate offices and retail stores around the world, tasking participants to close all three of their Apple Watch Activity Rings every day of the month.

Normally runs in February, but COVID. So they ran it mid-July to mid-August. Follow the headline link to see a pic of this year’s shirt and card.

Just a shirt, but one I think will have special meaning, given all everyone’s going through this year.

Hidden iOS 14 features

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[VIDEO] Follow the headline link to read a roll-up of important and, perhaps, less obvious features brought to you in iOS 14 so far.

Or watch the video embedded in the main Loop post to see them in action. Really well presented.

iPadOS 14 now lets you interact with Siri and apps at the same time

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Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac:

One of the big improvements in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 is that Siri no longer takes over the whole screen. However, in the early betas you couldn’t interact with Siri and apps at the same time – doing anything with an app, even scrolling, would dismiss Siri.

A Redditor noticed that this is no longer the case on the iPad as of iPadOS 14 beta 5.

Here’s a link to the video showing this off.

Note that this works on iPadOS but not iOS. Not clear if that will change over time. Definitely a feature worth checking out. Siri working in parallel with the rest of the interface, rather than completely taking over, is a big step forward.

Facebook apologizes to users, businesses for Apple’s monstrous efforts to protect its customers’ privacy

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The Register:

Facebook has apologized to its users and advertisers for being forced to respect people’s privacy in an upcoming update to Apple’s mobile operating system – and promised it will do its best to invade their privacy on other platforms.

The antisocial network that makes almost all of its revenue from building a vast, constantly updated database of netizens that it then sells access to, is upset that iOS 14, due out next month, will require apps to ask users for permission before Facebook grabs data from their phones.

I’m a sucker for a well-written headline. Monstrous. Onion-worthy.

Epic confirms Fortnite’s new season won’t be on iOS or macOS

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[VIDEO] Epic:

Apple is blocking Fortnite updates and new installs on the App Store, and has said they will terminate our ability to develop Fortnite for Apple devices. As a result, Fortnite’s newly released Chapter 2 – Season 4 update (v14.00), will not release on iOS and macOS on August 27.

This whole situation makes me sad. Seems like only yesterday Epic excitedly showed off their upcoming Fortnite title at the 2015 WWDC keynote.

That video is embedded in the main Loop post.

Apple losing wireless earbuds market share even as AirPods sales grow

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Bloomberg:

AirPods have come to define the true wireless (TWS) earphones category, with Apple accounting for nearly half of all sales in 2019 and expected to grow to 82 million units this year, according to Counterpoint Research data. More affordable alternatives from Chinese rivals, however, have eroded Apple’s lead and the Silicon Valley company now finds itself with just over a third of the market, at 35%, followed by Xiaomi Corp. with 10% and Samsung Electronics Co. on 6%, according to the researchers.

Follow the link, check the pie chart to see how splintered the earbuds market has become. It’d be interesting to see a pie chart based purely on iPhone users. It’d also be interesting to see a pie chart based on revenue, rather than units sold.

Apple made the market, showed the world how much money there was in making/selling earbuds. The market matured and the lower end of the market was underserved, the other makers filled the vacuum.

Also interesting that this same market phenomenon does not seem to apply to the Apple Watch. This tech is just harder to master, for one thing. But earbuds are also easier to divorce from an ecosystem designed to include it.

Can thieves crack 6-digit iPhone passcodes?

Written by

John Gruber:

Months ago, when I first started grocery shopping while wearing a mask, I switched my iPhone from an alphanumeric passphrase back to a 6-digit passcode for convenience. I did so thinking, basically, that even though a 6-digit passcode is less secure, anything truly dangerous like disabling Find My iPhone requires my iCloud password as well.

It simply never occurred to me that if a thief (or law enforcement, or any adversary) has the device passcode, and your iCloud password is in your keychain, they can get your iCloud password from your keychain. All you need is the device passcode to access all of the passwords in iCloud keychain. Try it — you can.

Go read the linked Daring Fireball post. Imagine if someone had your passcode, not just access to your unlocked phone, but the passcode itself, then had access to all the passwords in your iCloud Keychain. That is one helluva security nightmare.

Anyone disagree with this assessment? Is there a missing element here?

On whether or not to buy nano-textured glass for the 2020 iMac

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[VIDEO] This is a great video from Jeff Benjamin, 9to5Mac, all about the nano-textured glass offered as a $500 upgrade to Apple’s 2020 iMac.

Watch the whole video (embedded in the main Loop post), but pay specific attention at about 1:28 in, where you see the direct comparison between regular and nano-textured glass, when it comes to reflection. If that matters to you, at least $500 worth, get the nano-textured glass. And be sure to clean it with the provided cloth.

Epic judge will protect Unreal Engine — but not Fortnite, an issue of “irreparable harm”

Written by

The Verge:

Epic Games just won a temporary restraining order against Apple — at least in part. Effective immediately, Apple can’t retaliate against Epic Games by terminating the company’s Apple developer accounts or restricting use of Epic’s Unreal Engine by developers on Apple platforms.

That’s half of what was at issue. And, to the massive community of developers who depend on Unreal Engine, a critical ruling.

But in the same ruling, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers decided that Apple will not be required to bring Fortnite — which it had banned after Epic added an in-app payment system in violation of Apple’s rules — back to the App Store.

And that’s the other half. Impacting Fortnite fans, perhaps, but not much more than a tiny ripple in the ocean of iOS apps.

This battle is just beginning. A few more things to read:

  • The New York Times: To Fight Apple and Google’s Grip, Fortnite Creator Mounts a Crusade, a profile on Epic CEO Tim Sweeney (thus the “Battle of the Tims” tag you might encounter).

  • The legal order itself. Scroll down to the Analysis section on page 4. Key to the whole thing is the issue of “irreparable harm”. In a nutshell, the judge ruled that Fortnite would not suffer irreparable harm if it was blocked from the App Store. At the same time, the judge ruled that Unreal Engine would suffer irreparable harm if Epic’s developer account was terminated.

More to come. Much more.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is fulfilling another Steve Jobs vision

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Associated Press:

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, was a tough act to follow. But Tim Cook seems to be doing so well at it that his eventual successor may also have big shoes to fill.

Yesterday was the 9th anniversary of Tim taking over for Steve. This AP article is a short recap of Tim’s time at the helm.

One particular highlight that stands out:

Asked what the company might look like under his management, Cook said that Apple needs “to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.” It has doubled down on that commitment, becoming a major chip producer in order to supply both iPhones and Macs. He added that Apple would resist exploring most projects “so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.”

Good read.

A mashup to explode your brain

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[VIDEO] This is Donna Summer and Danzig, mashed together so seamlessly. My brain is exploding, but in a good way. Video embedded in main Loop post.

Apple Music “Worldwide” ad

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[VIDEO] I find this ad amazing, a sign of how much energy Apple can put into a promo. A wild collision of styles, reminiscent of the early days of MTV. Video embedded in main Loop post.

The Ringer: How on Earth Is ‘Ted Lasso’ actually good?

Written by

The Ringer:

The Apple TV+ series, which is based on a character from an old NBC Premier League ad campaign, is somehow one of the most touching shows of 2020

And:

It was hard not to be skeptical when AppleTV+ first announced Ted Lasso. Even with the pedigree of veteran showrunner Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Cougar Town, the tragically short-lived Whiskey Cavalier), there didn’t seem to be much there in terms of a series. The “character” of Ted Lasso, as one-dimensional as it was, originated from a couple of NBC promos when it acquired the television rights to the English Premier League. The idea was that an American football coach, played by Jason Sudeikis, was hired as the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur. Most of the jokes stemmed from Lasso being out of his depth, from one sport called football to another. (Ted Lasso is unaware that you can end a soccer match with a draw, among many other things.)

Let me just step in here and say, I absolutely felt the same way when I first saw this show premise. The problem, I think, was that the trailers highlighted the dumb, without the warmth, without the charm.

Ted Lasso the sitcom … seriously rules. The series has no right to be as good, funny, and moving as it is. And yet I devoured all 10 episodes in a single day while frantically messaging my editor in disbelief that this is one of my favorite new shows. As far as TV productions go, this might as well be Leicester City winning the Premier League.

I’m telling you, this might be the best Apple TV+ series. Absolutely worth your time. A bit like Scrubs, but more long arcs, less slapstick. And ignore the trailers. This is not a jokey show, this is all about character, driven by Jason Sudeikis and his pitch perfect take.

Side note to Bill Lawrence: Consider a trailer based on the box of treats Ted brings to his boss every morning. That’s a perfect example of the heart of this show. Why does this work? I don’t know. Heartstrings mixed with a bit of mystery? Whatever it is, the trailers are missing the magic part that makes this show so great.

Apple Korea posts Mac ad

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[VIDEO] 16 million views and counting. Video embedded in main Loop post.

Hundreds of iPhones with Fortnite installed flood eBay

Written by

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

Enterprising eBay sellers are hoping people who are desperate to play Fortnite will pay high prices for iPhones with the game installed, and there are currently hundreds of iPhone listings on eBay advertising the Fortnite app as a purchase perk.

This seems crazy to me. Can’t imagine anyone actually paying money for this. Puzzled as to what people hope to gain by putting up such outrageous asks. Hoping someone accidentally gets sucked in? Yeesh.

Chrome has owned the web for years. The next version of macOS could change that

Written by

Inc:

Google Chrome has been the most popular web browser on both Macs and PCs for a long time. There’s really no question that compared to what came before, it was a huge step forward and made web browsing a noticeably better experience.

But, and let’s be honest here, Chrome has its problems. It sucks battery life and processing power out of your laptop and it’s definitely not the fastest web browser anymore. It also does far less than other browsers to protect your privacy and keep your data secure.

I know a lot of people who stuck with Chrome, partly for the extensions, partly for the 4K, and in spite of the battery suck.

Which brings us back to macOS 11, and the latest version of Safari, which comes with a bunch of updates that not only make browsing the web faster and safer, but more productive as well.

Make no mistake, all of these changes are a direct assault on Google’s dominance the web. There are very few things you can do online that don’t touch at least one of Google’s services, and Apple would very much like to change that.

Interesting take. Wonder if these new Safari features and efficiencies will be enough do sway users from Chrome back to Safari.

Can’t you just right click?

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Nice write-up (with lots of clarifying screenshots) from Jeff Johnson on where Apple is going with Gatekeeper and signing on the Mac, especially with the coming of Apple silicon-based Macs.

If you are not a developer, this is still worth a look. Think about the current experience of running an app you downloaded from the internet, as opposed to from the Mac App Store. Apple is slowly tightening the screws, from the olden days of “run whatever you want” to “we highly discourage this practice”.

The sequence of pictures really tells this story.

Porsche integrates Apple Music into its first fully-electric vehicle

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Porsche:

From the touchscreen display in the Porsche Advanced Cockpit, Apple Music subscribers can stream over 60 million songs ad-free, thousands of curated playlists, and the Beats 1 global livestream with three-year complimentary in-car music streaming in the Taycan. This is the first-ever full integration of Apple Music in any vehicle.

That Beats 1 reference is now dated. But I digress.

Highlights of the collaboration:

  • Porsche Voice Assistant: Use custom Porsche voice control to request songs, albums, playlists, or radio stations on Apple Music.
  • Discover on Broadcast Radio, Listen on Apple Music: Create your own custom station on Apple Music from any song you find while listening to broadcast radio.
  • Exclusive Playlists: Listen to curated playlists from Porsche, only on Apple Music.
  • In-Car Streaming Data: Complimentary in-car music streaming for 3 years.
  • Up to Six Months Included: New and existing Porsche owners get up to 6 months free of Apple Music.

Also:

Taycan drivers can pair a Burmester High-End Surround Sound System with Apple Digital Masters and enjoy studio-quality sound for an unparalleled listening experience in every journey. Apple Digital Masters delivers music as artists and sound engineers intend it to be heard.

Here’s the details on Apple Digital Masters.

How to get SHOWTIME free with Apple TV+ and existing CBS All Access subscription

Written by

MacObserver:

If you are currently an Apple TV+ and CBS All Access (CBSAA) subscriber, you can get SHOWTIME free. Your subscription status will automatically reflect the new bundle. However, there’s a slight trick involved.

Read the post for the details, one of those things that’s good to know, even if it doesn’t apply to you, on the off chance you know someone it’d help.

From the fine print:

With Apple TV+, add SHOWTIME to CBS All Access at no cost. Without Apple TV+, it’s $20.98/mo.

That’s a pretty penny. Check out the Showtime web site to see what they have to offer.

Check out Apple’s watchOS 7 Preview page

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Some beautiful design here. Heads up, there’s a lot of motion on the page, so keep in mind if that’s an issue for you.

I particularly love the ease-in animation as you move from day to night. Watch the menu bar disappear as you hit that midpoint. Lovely stuff.

Apple is the Navy, not the pirates

Written by

Ben Evans:

Apple changed how software development worked, and by doing so expanded the number of people who could comfortably, safely use a computer from a few hundred million to a few billion.

And, three problems Apple took on:

  • Putting apps in a sandbox, where they can only do things that Apple allows and cannot ask (or persuade, or trick) the user for permission to do ‘dangerous’ things, means that apps become completely safe. A horoscope app can’t break your computer, or silt it up, or run your battery down, or watch your web browser and steal your bank details.

  • An app store is a much better way to distribute software. Users don’t have to mess around with installers and file management to put a program onto their computer – they just press ‘Get’. If you (or your customers) were technical this didn’t seem like a problem, but for everyone else with 15 copies of the installer in their download folder, baffled at what to do next, this was a huge step forward.

  • Asking for a credit card to buy an app online created both a friction barrier and a safety barrier – ‘can I trust this company with my card?’ Apple added frictionless, safe payment.

And:

All of this levelled the playing field. You knew you could trust Adobe or EA with your credit card, and you knew you could trust them not to abuse your PC too much. Panic, Rogue Amoeba or Basecamp have accumulated reputations that mean they get trust too, for tech insiders who’ve known about them for years. But what about a random Vietnamese developer who’s made a fun little game about a bird that flaps? The iOS software model removed trust as a problem, and as an advantage for big companies.

And:

When your product has a few points of market share you can make whatever choices you like, but when you dominate the market, other rules start applying. Apple isn’t the pirates anymore – it’s the navy, the port and the customs house. In the last few weeks, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Epic have been stopped at customs.

Fascinating perspective. Great read.