Apple Services Censored in China Where Devices Flourished (bloomberg.com) 43
When it comes to many of Apple's latest services, iPhone users in China are missing out. From a report: Podcast choices are paltry. Apple TV+ is off the air. News subscriptions are blocked, and Arcade gaming is nowhere to be found. For years, Apple made huge inroads in the world's most populous nation with hardware that boasted crisp displays, sleek lines and speedy processors. It peddled little of the content that boxed U.S. internet giants Google and Facebook out of the country. But now that Apple is becoming a major digital services provider, it's struggling to avoid the fate of its rivals.
Apple services such as the App Store, digital books, news, video, podcasts and music, put the company in the more precarious position of information provider (or at least overseer), exposing it to a growing online crackdown by China's authoritarian government. While standard iPhone services like iMessage work in China, many paid offerings that help Apple generate recurring revenue from its devices aren't available in the country. That includes four new services that Apple announced this year: TV+ video streaming, the Apple Card, Apple Arcade and the News+ subscription. Other well-known Apple services can't be accessed in the country either, including the iTunes Store, iTunes Movie rentals, Apple Books and the Apple TV and Apple News apps. Over the past year, Apple's Weather app lost its ability to show air quality index, or AQI, data for Chinese cities -- regardless of the user's location, the report adds. (Though this was due to a business dispute with Weather Channel.)
Apple services such as the App Store, digital books, news, video, podcasts and music, put the company in the more precarious position of information provider (or at least overseer), exposing it to a growing online crackdown by China's authoritarian government. While standard iPhone services like iMessage work in China, many paid offerings that help Apple generate recurring revenue from its devices aren't available in the country. That includes four new services that Apple announced this year: TV+ video streaming, the Apple Card, Apple Arcade and the News+ subscription. Other well-known Apple services can't be accessed in the country either, including the iTunes Store, iTunes Movie rentals, Apple Books and the Apple TV and Apple News apps. Over the past year, Apple's Weather app lost its ability to show air quality index, or AQI, data for Chinese cities -- regardless of the user's location, the report adds. (Though this was due to a business dispute with Weather Channel.)
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The governments of the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Norway, and Germany are all "socialist".
They're also more free and democratic than yours.
Re:Vote Democrat Socialist for this future (Score:4, Insightful)
The governments of the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Norway, and Germany are all "socialist".
I don't have personal experience with the others. But say that to a Swede and he may correct you quite vehemently (if he can hold his temper enough not to just punch you out).
As I hear it - oversimplified: They tried socialism. It was a disaster. So they switched back to a more normal market economy and have been undoing the remaining socialist programs since.
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It's pretty obvious you are utterly clueless about how many Americans define "socialist". We could start with universal health care, free (or dirt cheap) post-secondary education, your government monopoly on liquor stores and just keep going.
So yes, by American standards, Swedes are raving loonie socialists far down the road to communist hell.
Enjoy the ride, Comrade.
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It's pretty obvious you are utterly clueless about how many Americans define "socialist".
It's pretty obvious you're clueless about how some native and lifetime resident Americans - including some whose ancestry traces back to several people who fought in and for the revolution - actually use the generally accepted definitions of words.
It was Daniel Webster - an American statesman born not long after that revolution - who was instrumental in starting the movement to standardize the language.
But if you want
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One side of my family comes from Georgia. To use one of their expressions, "quit trying to teach granny how to suck eggs". In other words, I might know more about how a lot of Americans use words than you.
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The governments of the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Norway, and Germany are all "socialist".
I don't have personal experience with the others. But say that to a Swede and he may correct you quite vehemently (if he can hold his temper enough not to just punch you out).
As I hear it - oversimplified: They tried socialism. It was a disaster. So they switched back to a more normal market economy and have been undoing the remaining socialist programs since.
The problem with terms like socialism is that is means different things to different people. It's much more understandable to talk in terms of specific policy decisions. For example, Sweden has a government tax-funded health care system and free university tuition. Yes, the Swedes have in the last few years shifted towards more privatization and less immigrant friendly policies. Some Swedes may say they are turning away from socialism, but that would only be from a traditional Swedish perspective. From
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I'm Canadian and I've played hockey at a pretty high level most of my life (including against Swedes, who could best be described as "dangerous only if your back is turned"). Any Swede who wants to try punching me out is welcome to try. Luckily, he'll have free or cheap dental care to deal with the consequences.
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Re:Vote Democrat Socialist for this future (Score:5, Insightful)
The governments of the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Norway, and Germany are all "socialist".
No. None of these countries are socialist.
They're also more free and democratic than yours.
By many measures, they are also more capitalist. It is easier and quicker to start a business in Denmark than in America. A private corporation runs their post office. They also spend less per capita on government-provided healthcare. Yup. America spends more on VA, Medicare, Medicaid, and ACA subsidies, which combined cover about 30% of Americans, than many other countries spend to cover 100% of their citizens.
These countries are "social democracies", but "social democracy" and "democratic socialism" are TWO COMPLETLY DIFFERENT THINGS despite the textual similarity.
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These countries are "social democracies", but "social democracy" and "democratic socialism" are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS despite the textual similarity.
No need to mod you up as you're at +5 already, and thanks for making this so easily discernible.
Social democracy is a political, social and economic philosophy that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a liberal democratic polity and a capitalist oriented mixed economy.
Democratic socialism is a socialist political philosophy which advocates political democracy alongside a socially owned economy, with an emphasis on workers' self-management and democr
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If you spend even five minutes listening to Fox News and other bastions of right wing opinion, you will find ALL of those countries qualify as socialist according to standards of health care, minimum wage, employee rights, social norms and other factors consistently defined as "socialist" in those venues.
There is a reason why I put "socialist" in quotation marks. According to the loudest voices in America right now, any country not enthusiastically practicing Social Darwinism is socialist.
Re:Vote Democrat Socialist for this future (Score:4, Insightful)
Really? They are socialist? At least the Danish are quite vocal [thelocal.dk] about not being socialist, and Norway consistently rejects socialism [washingtonexaminer.com].
The Nordic Model [wikipedia.org] is "based on the economic foundations of free market capitalism." and "is underpinned by a free market capitalist economic system that features high degrees of private ownership". It's not even CLOSE to socialist - it's full-on capitalist with a Government focused on a social safety net.
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They're also more free and democratic than yours.
Is that supposed to be a joke? You should really add /s to that for sarcasm.
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You must not have heard the deafening chorus of all the Americans who call them socialist. Also, you must not have noticed that I put "socialist" in quotation marks for this exact reason.
This is why you don't understand why my comment is at +4. You're too stupid to read and understand simple English.
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When you can't accurately read what's clearly expressed, that's not my problem. As patiently explained, Denmark absolutely IS socialist by the standards of the US centre and right. High taxes...check. Extensive social safety net...check. Free university education for Danes, EU members and Swiss citizens...check. Universal health care...check. High unemployment and welfare benefits...check. High tax on oil corporations funding social programs...check.
There's more, of course, but I'm out of patience.
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So what? In the run-up to Bush Junior's Iraq invasion, 300 "experts" were interviewed by all the major US networks plus PBS. Only 3 of the 300 opposed the invasion. Any American who wags his finger at other countries for censorship laws is either too stupid or too willfully ignorant to be left running around with car keys. :)
Vote Republican Facisist for this future (Score:1)
"Respect our president"
"Rule of Law"
"National Security"
Is really trying to create a government where the GOP has control, with as many mechanisms to keep them in control. Making people who protest or have issues with their Point of Views as Un-American.
The problem with Communism is the fact that it was implemented with the idea of one party, and all support goes to that party who you trust is working for your nations best interest. Where in practice they are designed t
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few decades the GOP has been setting up a system to erode our democratic abilities, Gerrymandering districts, Tougher voter laws
And democrats have been importing voters, relaxing voting rules to allow illegal immigrant voters, buying votes with hand outs and replace demographics to more sympathetic voting bloc.
Do you think the democratic party would be so fixated on illegal immigration if the voting trend would be different for that particular bloc?
Here is the difference I see. Democrat super majorities are failing at simple governance and look more like 3rd world countries than a functioning state in the US.
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> m a moderate, and normally my political views are right of center. But the GOP has gone just evil, and have been working only for the Party not for the people
Funny, that is how I see the democrats. I see everything they are doing as overt power grabs. Can't win elections so change the rules. Can't win arguments replace the people. Can't change laws so use the courts. Can't get judges so stack the courts. Can't get state and local laws to work so abuse the federal government. Can't compromise for issues
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Funny, that is how I see the democrats.
That is how I see both parties. There is also nothing new about it. Politicians have put their own interests above that of the people for as long as there have been politicians.
One (partial) fix is to have a single open non-partisan primary. Then the top two compete in the general election. We should be voting for people not for parties.
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> One (partial) fix is to have a single open non-partisan primary. Then the top two compete in the general election
Elections are managed by the State. If you think this is a good idea or something like removing first past the post then implement it in your State first and prove it's a good idea without forcing it on others.
>We should be voting for people not for parties.
3rd parties died in the US in 1912 with the election of Wilson because Roosevelt ran 3rd party and split the Republican vote. Conside
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implement it in your State first
Already done [wikipedia.org].
and prove it's a good idea
We are working on that. California has open primaries for state and local elections, and we have already gone from a very dysfunctional government to an only moderately dysfunctional government.
3rd parties died in the US in 1912
3rd parties don't work in a FPTP system. They do work in an open primary system.
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Wasn't free market capitalism (Score:2)
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Isn't that one of the ways Nixon sold us on opening up China?
No. Nixon wanted China as a military counterbalance to the Soviet Union.
The transition to capitalism and open trade came years later after both Mao and Nixon were gone.
sideload store fixes it and gives apple an out (Score:2, Insightful)
sideload store fixes it and gives apple an out
Sorry... (Score:1)
This is news how? Less than 20 percent of the mobile devices in China run iOS. Without sidling up to the party, did they think that they could provide content from the other side of the great firewall and expect it to be available to users?
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Now full Communist censorship can be talked?
About how a US company invests in and supports a Communist nation?
That a US brand wants to support and invest in Communist China..
In free nations people can read all about that support for a Communist nation.
Talk and comment on such support by a US brand for Communism and consider their own support for that US brand
The freedom to comment is the freedom to consider what to buy, support and use
Understandable (Score:2)
After all, there are obvious parallels in See between the blind majority (the Chinese population) and the new children born with sight (Hong Kong's young protesters).
Plus there was an unfortunate "Winnie the Pooh" reference in episode 2...
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Plus there was an unfortunate "Winnie the Pooh" reference in episode 2...
Wing-Xi the Pu
China censors (Score:2)
China censors. Companies that want to do business in China must comply with local law.
There is nothing new or surprising about this. It has been going on for a long, long time. It's not news. I wish the editors at Slashdot would stop posting these stupid China censorship stories.
If the people of China want to put an end to govt censorship, then the people of China need to start killing off members of the government - and the rest of the world needs to stay out of it.