Rotten Apple

[Guest]

Quote (from PlanetRomeo)

 

Hey Romeos,
Tough news. We received a call from Apple on Friday afternoon. As you may know, they don't allow sexually explicit images in apps for iPhone and iPad. We've always complied by blocking pictures rated XXX from appearing in app profiles, but apparently that's not enough for them. Surprisingly they now say they aren't willing to accept even soft core pictures, and if all nudity is not scrubbed from our app in the next 48 hours it will be taken down. You guys are just too sexy for the censors of Silicon Valley!
As a result we immediately also had to block soft core pictures from appearing on the Apple iOS app. This is frustrating, but please don't flame us in the reviews! We would love to show everything, but Apple just doesn't allow it. Our hands are tied.
These changes have no impact for our Android app. Soft-core photos will continue to appear there. One alternative that allows you to view all photos on a mobile device is to use our mobile browser version at touch.planetromeo.com.
We will continue to support and update our iOS app. We know how annoying it is to see all those "TOO HOT" messages and we will fix it so that they no longer appear in our upcoming update around Easter. We hope for your understanding. It's not easy taking on Goliath.

Thank you.
The PlanetRomeo team.

 

 

Frankly I think Apple's attitude sucks. Are they run by some kind of bible bashers who think it's right to decide what customers can view on their operating systems? 

By all means have some form of parental control, but total censorship like this is an attack on peoples freedom. 

Thankfully we do have the option of purchasing superior Android devices.

 

 

[Guest abang1961]

I seriously think the monopoly of Apple is ending soon.

I have switched from an true-blood Apple user to Samsung Android in 2011 and had never look back.

 

Yes, having an Apple back in 2007/2008 was like a fashion statement.

But now, even my foreign domestic worker aka maid is having one.

It has lost its prestige altogether.

 

Apple can continue to think it is the Number 1 in the world.

It is so troublesome to load songs and videos in iTunes before I can view them.

That is too much work...

 

The way Apple churns out a new model annually reminds me of the swimwear brand, Hom.

Back in the 90s, it was the gay numero uno.

In Singapore, it was the swimwear of choice - sexy with leaves nothing to the imagination.

However after a few short years, its sales nosedived.

Just like mobile phones, how many (pairs of sexy swimwear) do you need?

[Guest thaiworthy]

Not rotten, just a worm in the apple, known as the religious right.

[bkkguy]

Yes, having an Apple back in 2007/2008 was like a fashion statement.

But now, even my foreign domestic worker aka maid is having one.

It has lost its prestige altogether.

 

I can't wait to read your review of the new Nokia with Windows Phone 8 after your maid buys a Samsung!

 

 

The way Apple churns out a new model annually...

 

Refresh my memory - when did Samsung release the Galaxy, Galaxy II and Galaxy III ? and the Galaxy IV release is confirmed for next month yes? just ahead of Apple's next round of updates? And how many other Android phone models has Samsung released in the last few years? I have counted at least 15 ..

 

perhaps it is not surprising that born again Samsung/Android fanbois have the same Apple fanboi prejudices and blind spots and continue to be unable to choose their phones based on features, specifications, performance and usability but rather have to rely on superficial factors like social class of owners and release schedules!

 

bkkguy

[TMax]

Well that is Apple all over, they like to dictate as to what their "customers" can and can't do with "their" products.

[Guest abang1961]

I thought someone had died ....

[TMax]

The dictator did.

[Guest]

Dictatorship is very much the right word for it.  That kind of censorship is like something out of North Korea, not a Californian IT company. 

 

I had been considering moving to Apple for my next PC, however if they like to deny basic freedoms to the customer, I'm more likely to boycott every single product they make.  And urge others to join me with the boycott.

[Guest thaiworthy]

Can anyone please be more specific about the censorship issues, like some examples, perhaps? I do not intend to take Apple's side, I just want to know. There does seem to be some emotional aspect to this, such as the use of the word dictator, which I assume is a reference to Steve Jobs, who is now dead and buried. The rotten apple now lays in his coffin. Or perhaps it is his legacy some are finding objectionable? Any stolid details would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Bob]

Apple is a great company and nobody can deny the business and product genius (that is the appropriate word) of Steve Jobs. 

 

Nevertheless, I've never particularly liked the cult-like attitude of the owners of Apple products beginning with the mac computer and extending to the current versions of the Ipad, Iphone, and Iwhatever.  Somewhat of an "I'm superior" attitude because they owned an "Apple" product.  I can understand part of that as the Apple products were probably the best on the market for some time periods.  But no longer. And maybe the other manufacturers ought to thank Apple and Jobs for forcing them to innovate and make better products (and/or, perhaps in part thank them for letting them pilfer some of their ideas?).

 

What I thought was the funniest or most pathetic part of it was how Apple and Jobs would create some big production in a big arena of Apple afficianados to roll out a new product.  Sounded and looked like an old-fashioned Amway meeting to me! 

[Guest fountainhall]

What I thought was the funniest or most pathetic part of it was how Apple and Jobs would create some big production in a big arena of Apple afficianados to roll out a new product.

 

It takes all sorts! I thought that was terrific marketing. I'm sure those junkets cost peanuts to organise; yet with all the advance hype and the resultant media coverage, they were vastly more effective than almost any other form of product launch.

 

I do own an Apple desktop, laptop and one of the early iPod Touch devices. I don't have a smartphone or a tablet - yet. Most likely, I'll get Samsungs. Not because I want to be trendy or anything like that. Only because from what I have read and having compared products in stores, I don't want a phone as large as the iPhone or latest Galaxy models. I want a smaller model that fits better into my pocket, and I don't need all the bells and whistles the latest models have.

 

For tablet, I'll eventually get the Samsung 8'0 once it becomes available as again I like what I have been reading about it.

 

As for my desktop, I vastly prefer the Apple to the PC. But as for the company, the tide does seem to be flowing against it. On Friday the stock was down 2.84%. Last night it was another 2.42%. If its rise to $705 six months ago was a bit of a bubble, that is clearly in the process of bursting as it’s now down over 40%.

 

The damaging news stories which used to be like water off a duck’s back to Apple now seem to be taking on a more damaging aspect. January stories in the Wall Street Journal about slashed orders for iPhone parts with Sharp and LG seeing orders cut by roughly half saw the share price fall under $500.

 

http://www.whiteboardmag.com/saturation-point-reached-the-iphone-5-is-not-selling-as-expectedhoped/

 

Then, after the disaster with Apple’s own Map app which plain did not work, there was the bug included in the latest February upgrade which –

 

 

lets anyone bypass your iPhone password lock and access your phone app, view or modify contacts, check your voicemail, and look through your photos (by attempting to add a photo to a contact).

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ios-61-lock-screen-bug-2013-2

 

The latest not so good news for Apple is the announcement just days ago from Leap Wireless International Inc. that it could end up with an unsold backlog of iPhones costing them $100 million by June. For in order to get access to iPhones, smaller companies like Leak have to agree to purchase vast quantities of the product before Apple will do business with them. Another example, perhaps, of Apple’s strong arm business practices?

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323293704578330850401133588.html?mod=rss_Technology

[Guest thaiworthy]

If Apple offered brazilions of frequent flyer miles, all you guys would be instant Apple evangelists. 

[Guest fountainhall]

Well, that sure would be one way of giving Apple customers a chunk of its monstrous cash pile estimated at around US$137 billion!! If I got enough miles for a business class ticket to the South America when purchasing an iPhone, Samsung - bye bye!  

[Bob]

If Apple offered brazilions of frequent flyer miles, all you guys would be instant Apple evangelists. 

 

I'd sooner drive a pink cadillac to a Mary Kay Cosmetics orgy! 

[Guest thaiworthy]

A lawyer that can't be bribed?! What is the world coming to?! 555

[Bob]

A lawyer that can't be bribed?! What is the world coming to?! 555

There's the old story about the woman agreeing to have sex with an old man for a million dollars.  When he then suggested he'd pay her only 20 dollars, she said:  "What do the hell you think I am?"  The guy responded: "Well, we've already established that, we're just negotiating the price."

 

I suppose we all have our price.  Would you throw in a case of Coke Zero with the frequent flyer miles? 

[Guest thaiworthy]

No, you and Michael are disqualified. Michael is already an Apple evangelist and you already have more money than the Catholic Church. Although after settling all these lawsuits that would amount to much less than a case of diet coke. However your offer can be transferred to Khor Tose. Or does he want to drive a pink Cadillac, too?

[Guest fountainhall]

A lawyer that can't be bribed?

 

Of course they can't be bribed! They only do what comes naturally!!

[Guest anonone]

If Apple offered brazilions of frequent flyer miles, all you guys would be instant Apple evangelists. 

I would need to know how many a "brazillion" miles actually is....but I could be on board with this.

 

I would guess they would be Delta SkyPesos...maybe enough for a trip from New York to Boston...(just for you, Michael. LOL).

Now if they were MileagePlus miles, I would consider carrying any phone offered....

 

[NIrishGuy]

Not rotten, just a worm in the apple, known as the religious right

 

 

 

Personally I find the religous right very seldom are and if that's the reasoning behind apples decisions they should really keep their own personal beliefs out of business - or maybe I should just stop buying Apple products, I guess that can work either way perhaps ! 

 

On the other hand and to show some balance I already happily use away at my Iphone and after being a PC man all my life i've just bought a MAC a few months ago and I have to say i absolutely LOVE it and ane sorry i didn't make the switch years ago as it simply "works", doesn't crash, has no virus issues ( yet ) and usually knows what I want to do before I do !  - oh and it seems to madly piss off PC users every time I mention it which is just an added bonus I guess he he  

[Guest]

Principles must come first.  If Apple think they can impose their christian views, then their products should be boycotted.

Or stand by and watch the rights of the individual be eroded.

[Guest thaiworthy]

Personally I find the religous right very seldom are and if that's the reasoning behind apples decisions they should really keep their own personal beliefs out of business - or maybe I should just stop buying Apple products, I guess that can work either way perhaps ! 

 

On the other hand and to show some balance I already happily use away at my Iphone and after being a PC man all my life i've just bought a MAC a few months ago and I have to say i absolutely LOVE it and ane sorry i didn't make the switch years ago as it simply "works", doesn't crash, has no virus issues ( yet ) and usually knows what I want to do before I do !  - oh and it seems to madly piss off PC users every time I mention it which is just an added bonus I guess he he

 

I use "religious right" as a way of expressing the attitude of all the moral provocateurs in society. I guess you can have a stricter standard than some of us without being religious. Apple doesn't censor its own Safari browser, so I am not even sure its really religion that is dictating policy. The app in question can enable sexual depictions to facilitate convenience while dating on-the-go, I assume. At least, that's the way it looks to me. I also assume you can still use gayRomeo on your computer at home, but as Z909 said, it is the principle of the thing. Well, we all have our own standards, and I do believe that sooner or later, the app will be tweaked so that adults can use it any way they want. Many things come in small steps, and in a free world, patience is a small price to pay. It's just the nature of things.

 

NIrishguy, you, me and Michael seem to be the only ones in this Club. Thank you. I stood for 3 hours in a line for the very first iPhone. I had a career for 25 years with Apple computers and I am very grateful. They gave me the tools to make my living. So pardon me you all for not complaining about these things. I can't help but be loyal to something that has given me so much pleasure, so much education, so much financial support over these years. It helped put my life in perspective and it is something I do not take for granted. I respect the Android and pc users also for the same reason.

 

I think it is counter-productive to resound these trite epithets like little LMTU chants every which way about a computer manufacturer. Apples aren't ladyboys and pcs aren't man-boys. Our tools should be kept in our pants, except when we need to use them for our own private reasons. You use it your way, and I'll use it mine.

 

No one's rights can be eroded in such a short time. It's not the end of the world. Boycotting is a nasty way of implying death to a product line all for the sake of mere retribution.

 

The Apple isn't rotten, but the attitude sure is.

[ChristianPFC]

Well that is Apple all over, they like to dictate as to what their "customers" can and can't do with "their" products.

 

Well, for me, Apple can keep all their products to themselves!

 

I never owned an Apple product, I think they might be equivalent to other brands. But from a short experience with an Apple computer instead of a PC, I think it's like being right-handed or left-handed (or driving on different sides of the road): it does exactly the same thing, but it's difficult to change from one side to the other.

 

Now they give me one more reason not to buy their products!

 

 

There's the old story about the woman agreeing to have sex with an old man for a million dollars.  When he then suggested he'd pay her only 20 dollars, she said:  "What do the hell you think I am?"  The guy responded: "Well, we've already established that, we're just negotiating the price."

 

This quote is linked to Winston Churchill (and others):

ttp://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/03/07/haggling/

[Guest]

I suppose Safari had to be configured to compete with existing browsers, hence no censorship.

 

When it comes to Apps, Apple were taking more of a lead in the area of mobile phone technology. So perhaps they didn't perceive a need to be competitive.

 

Considering Samsung now have some outstanding products, I think it's fairly easy to stick by principles and boycott all Apple products.

[TMax]

I'd sooner drive a pink cadillac to a Mary Kay Cosmetics orgy!

And I'd rather be there applying the the cosmetics to everyone for free.