Apple could open up its App Store on iOS to third parties without incurring extra security woes, Harvard professor James Mickens said Friday.
This March 19, 2018, file photo shows Apple’s App Store app in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) Apple exaggerates the security benefits of its App Store model, and its app review process provides only “minimal additional security,” prominent computer scientist and former Microsoft researcher James Mickens said Friday as he took the stand for Fortnite maker Epic Games in its antitrust fight with Apple.
In addition to disputing the relevant market at issue in the case, Apple has hung its hat on the idea that its success depends on its strict policing of the App Store, including a rigorous process for vetting apps to curtail malware, copycats and scam applications.
What, truly, is a game? on May 15, 2021, 9:45
A hot potato: Roblox has rebranded itself as an “experience” creation tool to keep the game out of the legal battle between Apple and Epic, a plot we’re here to foil with this article. The term ‘experience’ is consistent with how we’ve evolved our terminology to reflect our realization of the metaverse, a Roblox spokesperson, who is coincidentally a science fiction fan but who doesn t let that affect their day job, told The Verge. Roblox is an online community where people do things together in virtual worlds, and over the years, we began referring to these worlds as experiences, as they better represent the wide range of 3D impressive places – from obbys to virtual concerts – that people can enjoy together with their friends.
What is a game?
It s a debate that rears its bemusing head every now and then as developers push the boundaries of the medium, and this month it has been brought back to the fore by a group arguably less qualified to give a concrete definition: lawyers.
The Epic Vs Apple trial has seen both sides arguing as to what is and isn t a game, depending on what suits their purposes, with some truly bizarre explanations now officially part of a court record.
To Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, Fortnite is not a game. It is, instead, a metaverse, a phenomenon that transcends gaming. To Apple marketing director Trystan Kosmynka, Roblox is not a game. It is content, because (as we all know) games have a beginning and an end. [with] challenges in place.
How easy would it be for customers to depart the walled garden, legal eagles ask economist
Matthew Hughes Fri 14 May 2021 // 17:18 UTC Share
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Epic Games lawyers had a chance to put Apple s expert witness through the wringer in the latest from its California bench trial.
Counsel for Apple called to the stand Lorin Hitt, an academic from the prestigious Wharton Business School in Pennsylvania.
Hitt – who had been selected as expert witness for Apple – questioned whether iOS was as effective at locking in users as previously claimed, citing a 26 per cent switch rate. He also debated whether users remained loyal to a platform because of switching costs, or because they simply like it.
Apple said Roblox developers don’t make games, and now Roblox agrees
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Roblox is now a massively popular
experience creation tool
Epic v. Apple trial.
Roblox allows a variety of user-created projects on its platform, and until earlier this week, these were all grouped under a tab called “Games” on
Roblox’s website.
Roblox creators could create and manage “games” through an editor, and individual games had a user limit called “max players.”
That’s all changed now. The “Games” tab now reads “Discover” on the web, although it still points to an address of “roblox.com/games.” Developers can create and manage “experiences,” and experiences have “max people” allowed. The word “game” has been replaced by “experience” across nearly the entire