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Comment: Apple is heading into WWDC by insulting developers of free apps – 9to5Mac

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Heading into WWDC, Apple isn’t exactly getting off to the best of starts. While outlining my view of Apple’s overall handling of the antitrust charges leveled against it, I mentioned one of the specific issues the company faces: the nature of its relationship with developers.

Developers should feel that Apple is on their side, but even ones who have had their apps featured by Apple are saying that they don’t feel this way. That Apple is, instead, an entity that can at any time and for any reason decide to kill their business.

Twenty-four hours later, things have gotten worse rather than better. First, Microsoft said that Apple and Google have a bigger antitrust case to answer than the Redmond company did some twenty years ago. But the even more damaging development came from Apple itself …

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Apple doubled-down on its response to the Hey email app controversy. Apple SVP Phil Schiller responded by saying that the company isn’t going to change its mind, or its policies.

The specific controversy here is on Apple’s attitude to apps that require subscriptions in order to work. Some companies are allowed to have apps that don’t offer in-app purchases as a subscription option, while others aren’t. For example, Netflix is allowed, while Hey isn’t.

Schiller acknowledged that the company makes exceptions for certain categories of what it refers to as ‘reader’ apps, but says that email isn’t one of these.

We didn’t extend these exceptions to all software. Email is not and has never been an exception included in this rule.

There are two problems here. First, the list of which categories are and aren’t permitted seems arbitrary.

Magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video, access to professional databases, VOIP, cloud storage, or approved services such as classroom management apps.

Indeed, a cynic might suggest the only reason these exceptions exist is because they cover extremely popular apps from companies that have as much clout as Apple.

But the bigger problem is that the App Store Review Board led by Schiller yesterday said:

We understand that Basecamp has developed a number of apps and many subsequent versions for the App Store for many years, and that the App Store has distributed millions of these apps to iOS users. These apps do not offer in-app purchase — and, consequently, have not contributed any revenue to the App Store over the last eight years. We are happy to continue to support you in your app business and offer you the solutions to provide your services for free — so long as you follow and respect the same App Store Review Guidelines and terms that all developers must follow.

The tone of this message is … unfortunate.

In the best of interpretations, it comes across as churlish. ‘Hey, you’re a freeloader that we kindly allow into our App Store despite the fact that you don’t make any money for us – be grateful.’

In the worst of interpretations, it seems vaguely threatening. ‘Nice Basecamp app you have in our App Store – be a shame if anything happened to it.’ And I’m not the only one to have voiced this exact view.

So, just a few days before heading into WWDC, Apple chooses to effectively tell developers of free apps that they contribute nothing to Apple. That if Apple graciously chooses to let them into its App Store, they should appreciate that fact, and keep any complaints to themselves.

I guess the company at least won’t have to face the glares of unhappy developers this year.

Apple’s hardline stance was already winning it no friends with antitrust regulators; now it seems to be taking the same approach to developer relationships. Implying that free apps are worthless to Apple seems particularly odd. By hosting free apps in the App Store, Apple is not charging developers $99 a year in return for doing them a favor: it is adding value to its own hardware.

Without apps, the iPhone is nothing but a hunk of glass, metal, and silicon – and that’s a fact Apple ought to know better than anyone.

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Model doesn't feel safe wearing designer clothes in Canada's biggest city | Canada – Daily Hive

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A model says she feels like a “sitting duck” wearing designer clothes in downtown Toronto amid a general state of unease in the city in response to an uptick in violent crimes.

Hanya Kizemchuk posted a video on Instagram and TikTok where the local model claimed that she sprinted two blocks to her car after a recent modelling shoot in Toronto after being overcome with the sense that her expensive attire read as “a stop sign screaming ‘rob me.’”

In the video, Kizemchuk describes the scene on a cold, rainy night after finishing a shoot, explaining, “I wrapped my head in my Louis Vuitton wrap. I had my Louis Vuitton duffle bag with all my shoes and makeup and whatever I need for that job. I was wearing my Gucci crossover and I was wearing my black leather Burberry coat.”

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“And as I jumped out onto the street, I have to say that I realized for the first time ever in the city of downtown Toronto, I was truly like a sitting duck and that this is no longer okay to be running around like this, that I need to be a little more downplayed so that I don’t attract attention.”

Kizemchuk says she was “a little unnerved” and felt compelled to run “two blocks to my car and continuously check to see if anyone was popping out from somewhere because I was like a stop sign screaming, ‘Rob me.’”

“And that’s how I felt for the first time ever in this beautiful city of Toronto, which I grew up in and don’t recognize anymore.”

A few chimed in, sharing comments siding with Kizemchuk.

Others questioned why she would run away without identifying any specific threats and then make a post online about feeling unsafe.

One user pointed out how this video is another example of wealth inequality and the ever-growing divide between the rich and poor in Toronto.

According to Toronto Police data, major crime indicators have spiked year-to-date in several categories during 2024, including assault (+10.9%) and robbery (+19.7%).

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Forged by friendship, this year's Stampede boots pay tribute to Stoney Nakoda iconography – MSN

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If not for Duane Mark and Lloyd Templeton’s budding friendship, this year’s Calgary Stampede boot design would have never existed.

While the boot was only constructed in recent months, the process began when Templeton, a Calgary-raised artist in his early 20s, approached Mark with a request to use images of the Stoney Nakoda teepee-holder and educator for artwork he was preparing for the Calgary Stampede.

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The two clicked from the get-go. By November, after hours together, Templeton’s piece featuring Mark — dressed in full regalia standing in the foreground of the Calgary Tower among a diverse group of parade participants — was chosen as the 2024 Stampede poster artwork.

On Thursday, Templeton’s art was unveiled as the design for this year’s Stampede boot — now the second product of their friendship that’s been produced for this year’s 10-day rodeo and fair.

“What comes to mind is the growth of a young man named Lloyd,” Mark said, when asked what he sees in this year’s boot design.

The artwork on the exterior reflects key Stoney Nakoda First Nation and Treaty 7 iconography, Templeton said at Thursday’s unveiling. Stitchings of Alberta’s mountain range and the golden eagle flying through a rising sun — two important symbols for the First Nation’s culture — line the outside of the boot.

The boot’s interior has the words Oyadé Gichiyabi, Ahogichopabi Îyûhabith inscribed, which roughly translates in Stoney language to “be empowered to foster peace and respect,” which was selected at Mark’s recommendation.

A recent graduate from the Alberta University of the Arts, Templeton is becoming a household name in Calgary’s arts community at a pace that’s not lost on him.

“Just last year I was making school projects, and a year later, there’s going to be people wearing my art. That’s nuts,” he said.

Working in three dimensions was a new challenge for Templeton. To start, he would tape paper to the back of the boot to get a feel for the shapes he needed to produce. He then drew the designs by pencil, scanned them into his computer and produced it into a special file that allowed it to be etched by laser onto the boots.

“My poster was oil paint, a very traditional process,” he said. “I was kind of making it up on the go to see what worked. I liked the challenge of that.”

Margaret Holloway, the Stampede’s 2024 First Nations Princess who also provided input on the boot design, said she was “breathtaken, speechless” when she first saw the design. Breaking from tradition, this year’s design will be available on five different shades of boot. Alberta Boot normally creates one special boot for each Stampede.

The 22-year-old jingle dancer is the first person from Stoney Nakoda to be named First Nations Princess in more than 20 years.

Holloway’s family teepee at the Elbow River Camp has three large eagles on it, she said.

“Back home, we see the eagles fly and we feel blessed by their presence, and we feel amazed just by their beauty of soaring in the skies. To see that on this year’s Stampede boot was absolutely unbelievable.”

With their latest creation publicly revealed, Templeton and Mark’s friendship will extend far past their artistic collaboration.

“He’s the coolest dude. We have a lot in common — a good sense of humour, listen to the same music and movies. We make a lot of the same jokes,” Templeton said.

Mark said he’s watched the young artist grow and mature in front of his eyes. Over the past year they’ve discussed “deep Indigenous philosophy,” which Templeton has evidently absorbed into his own life, he said.

“We became the best of friends and will continue to be the best of friends,” Mark said.

mscace@postmedia.com

X: @mattscace67

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Huawei's new Kirin 9010 brings minor CPU improvements – GSMArena.com news – GSMArena.com

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Huawei announced the Pura 70 series today, and once again offered no details regarding the chipsets. However, early benchrmarks confirmed they feature a new platform called Kirin 9010, which has an 8-core CPU, identified by apps as 12-core unit due to hyperthreading.

Hyperthreading is nothing new in the chipset industry, as the Taishan cores have been supporting the technology for some time; it has been part of the Kirin 9000s and now is a part of the 9010 as well.

First Geekbench results revealed a minor improvement in raw performance, coming from slightly faster core speeds. The numbers show improvement single digit percentage improvements in both single core and multi core tests.

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Kirin 9000S on Geekbench

Kirin 9010 vs Kirin 9000S on Geekbench

The actual octa-core combination of Kirin 9010 is as follows: one 2.30 GHz Taishan Big, three 2.18 GHz Taishan Mid and four 1.55 GHz Cortex-A510. The GPU remains Maleoon 910 at 750 MHz.

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