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Apple To Remove Abandoned Apps From The App Store (techcrunch.com) 67

Posted by BeauHD from the ghost-town dept.
Apple has issued an email to its community of developers indicating that it will remove apps that are outdated or no longer work. "We are implementing an ongoing process of evaluating apps, removing apps that no longer function as intended, don't follow current review guidelines, or are outdated," Apple wrote. TechCrunch reports: In addition to search ads and extensions in many different apps in iOS 10, Apple plans to remove all these useless apps that clutter the App Store search pages. And Apple is not going to stop at abandoned apps. The company will also fight spammy app names. For instance, if you search for "Instagram" on the App Store, one of the first results is an app that is called "[app name] Photo Collage, Picture Editor, Pic Grid, F... and then it gets cut off. With this SEO strategy, app developers can trick App Store searches. If you search for "pic collage," chances are you're going to find this app. Apple wants clean names to make App Store searches relevant again. From now on, app names have to be shorter than 50 characters. Apple will start reviewing old apps on September 7. Apps that crash on launch will be removed immediately. Other apps will get a notice from Apple first. And if you don't update over the next 30 days, your app will be removed -- you'll be able to submit your app again though. You can view Apple's FAQ if you have any unanswered questions.
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Apple To Remove Abandoned Apps From The App Store More

Apple To Remove Abandoned Apps From The App Store

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  • Software should be continuously updated, no matter what, else it doesn't deserve to live any more. This is a step in that direction, Apple is doing the right thing here.

    • Re:Update frenzy (Score:4, Insightful)

      by unixisc ( 2429386 ) on Thursday September 01, 2016 @05:10PM (#52810947)
      Why? If a software has a simple functionality that just works the way it was designed, why should it have to keep getting updated? And if an upgrade to the OS has broken compatibility, how is it the fault of the software in question? Yeah, it shouldn't be listed in the app store for the version where it doesn't work, but why should it be removed from the store altogether?

    • Re:Update frenzy (Score:4, Insightful)

      by spire3661 ( 1038968 ) on Thursday September 01, 2016 @05:15PM (#52810971) Journal
      "Software should be continuously updated, no matter what, else it doesn't deserve to live any more. This is a step in that direction, Apple is doing the right thing here."

      I believe in the exact opposite. Software should be built like a hammer. If i drop a hammer on the ground, any other human can come along and use it, no matter how much time has passed. A thousand year old hammer is still useful today. Sure a drop-forged, mass produced tool MIGHT be better, but not necessarily so.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Khyber ( 864651 )

        " If i drop a hammer on the ground, any other human can come along and use it, no matter how much time has passed."

        No matter how much time has passed? I'm pretty sure that hammer will be practically useless after about 200 years of corrosion and UV exposure if it's made of iron.

        Source: I do a lot of metal detecting and have dug up many things, usually tools from miners from the 1800s. Even in the desert, shit erodes and corrodes.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Etcetera ( 14711 )

          " If i drop a hammer on the ground, any other human can come along and use it, no matter how much time has passed."

          No matter how much time has passed? I'm pretty sure that hammer will be practically useless after about 200 years of corrosion and UV exposure if it's made of iron.

          Source: I do a lot of metal detecting and have dug up many things, usually tools from miners from the 1800s. Even in the desert, shit erodes and corrodes.

          Well... then use better alloys. Some cultures built their shit to *last*, and I'm not even just talking about the D'ni.

      • The flat head nails that your hammer interacts with have an interface that is both sufficiently good and sufficiently difficult to reinvent that even the most creative of people and large of firms have been unable to replace it with something incompatible. (I'm sure Apple will eventually move into the carpentry business and invent a new type of nail that requires a special $59.95 Apple hammer and $4.95 a piece Apple nails. But that hasn't happened yet.)

        So in order to make software with longevity you simply

      • Software should be built like a hammer.

        Software isn't a hammer. If we're going to find some sort of analogous fit, let me offer: software is a car. It should be rock-steady reliable, it should perform as expected, but it's still a complex piece of machinery that ultimately is going to require tune-ups, overhauls, and replacements if you want to keep it running like new.

        And the world around it is going to change: new fuel types are going to render old ones obsolete, spare parts are going to become increasingly rare and/or expensive, and structu

    • Why? Change introduces risk, and why have a continuous cycle of risk without reward? Fixing bugs, I get, but introducing them just to keep the upgrade train rolling?

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Not changing also introduces risk, as the environment a thing exists in changes around it.

        Just ask Blackberry.

        If a civil engineer built something out of a big hunk of steel, or concrete, which aren't things that inherently change quickly, its still accepted there needs to be a inspection and maintenance schedule that validates fitness for purpose, adherence to current safety practices etc.

        The key things are :

        - APIs don't necessarily live forever, they sometimes go away, and get replaced. Apps need to be upd

    • Re: Update frenzy (Score:4, Interesting)

      by tysonedwards ( 969693 ) on Thursday September 01, 2016 @05:49PM (#52811157)
      Let's say I bought a piece of software that worked great, the company closes their doors or the developer dies... should I be deprived the use of said application I paid for and still works for what I need because the developer hasn't submitted a bug fix in 12 months?

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        Let's say I bought a piece of software that worked great, the company closes their doors or the developer dies... should I be deprived the use of said application I paid for and still works for what I need because the developer hasn't submitted a bug fix in 12 months?

        Apple would remove the application in that case - every app in the App Store has had its $99/year fee paid - once a developer stops paying, Apple removes it. This is the way it always worked.

        Now, some developers decide they won't pay anymore, s

  • Maybe this week eventually work. Maybe Google could even make it actually work. Mostly just further reasons to but a, real version of GNU/Linux or FreeBSD, on all "intent of things devices" (quotes indicate severe sarcasm).
  • Apple's current marketing statement is:

    With more than 2 million apps available and around 100,000 new and updated apps submitted each week, there's something for everyone.

    After September 7 that will likely change to:

    With more than 100,000 apps available and around 100,000 new and updated apps submitted each week, there's something for everyone.

  • Wish they'd fix the google play store (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward

    There's so much crap in there, it's crazy. They can just call it their crap store, actually jealous of Iphone users today.

  • Wither Slashdot (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Etcetera ( 14711 )

    Look at all the sheep here, meekly accepting this as if OSS didn't exist.

    You want to do something worthwhile? Demand that Apple demand of the App developers that if they stop updating their apps (in accordance to whatever the trendy Silicon Valley app-update timeframe is) Apple releases the source code for it that it will have required to be in escrow.

    Presto... there you go. No more abandonware; OSS for custom user tweaking; healthier world; user/developer rights. RMS would be proud.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by frnic ( 98517 )

      This may come as a shock to you, but there is such a thing as copyright. Apple can not release anyones source code without their permission.

    • Actually, this wouldn't allow GPLv3 apps on the App Store, so I don't think RMS would be pleased.

      There's possible reasons why it could be wrong to release source. The app may have third-party source code that isn't licensed for public release. The developer may have personal problems (illness, for example) that causes the developer to miss the deadline, but may not want the source released. There could be mix-ups causing Apple to release source incorrectly, whereas if there is no mechanism to release

  • ... as long as it doesn't uninstall apps from currently working devices that are running an older version of iOS.

  • So, a 50-character name is not 'spammy'?

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