Can we get these apps removed?

[CaptSaltyJack]

Yeah I know, sounds spiteful, but I know there are others annoyed by this developer:

(iTunes link)
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtist?id=284921631

Pages and pages of eBooks. Seriously, can they just write a single damned eBook reader app, and then sell books via their web site?? The App Store is cluttered with these things, it's a pain sometimes trying to browse through to get to the REAL apps.

Does anyone else feel this way?

 

[UltimateSyn]

Instead of there being an Application listed for every damn book there is, there should be icons for just browsing those eBooks by Category. I agree, they really do clutter up the pages of good applications.

 

[CaptSaltyJack]

Seriously. I have major, major problems with this.

#1, many of those books are public domain. You can get them for free.
#2, again, why didn't they just write a single damned application?!
#3, they're spamming the hell out of the App Store.

They need their dev key revoked. Is there a petition somewhere? How do we contact Apple about this?

 

[Me1000]

They need their dev key revoked. Is there a petition somewhere? How do we contact Apple about this?

IDK if you can do this in iTunes, but if you go to the app store on your phone or touch then go to view the reviews for the app. At the top right is a "write" button, you are then given an option to "write a review" or "report a problem"

try that

 

[Tara Luvs Apple]

IDK if you can do this in iTunes, but if you go to the app store on your phone or touch then go to view the reviews for the app. At the top right is a "write" button, you are then given an option to "write a review" or "report a problem"

try that

You can do that in iTunes. But I do not see how this would help with the problem of seeing the eBooks when browsing applications. The review feature is not for stating that you do not want to see something. It is to review the application.

 

[mattmccarty]

I just posted this

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/523343/


It looks like that's where all the e-books might go.

 

[CaptSaltyJack]

Yeah but them having their own category won't solve the problem. I'm browsing through ALL apps in order of release date, so I can check out new apps. I'm still going to see their garbage show up.

The AppEngines site:

We share your concerns that our ebook applications are taking up too
much space in the App Store. We have written to Apple, requesting a
that the books can be moved to their own category. We will not submit
any more books until the situation is resolved. Thank you.

See. This won't help the situation. It will help a little, but for those of us browsing through all the newly uploaded apps, it won't do a thing. I'd rather see these guys lose their dev key until they can build a SINGLE app that's free, that lets people purchase ebooks via their app. Makes more sense.

 

[Meyvn]

Honestly, I doubt they have the programming prowess to make such an app as a whole store. Selling eBooks for a dollar isn't exactly a cash cow, even if ALL that has to be done is retyping what's already been written.

I'm sick of the twelve million flashlight programs; there's already a free one, people! We aren't going to buy the pay ones.

 

[Niiro13]

It's not the copying and pasting part.

It's the copyright part...if they put all together...it will be like over $300...then people will laugh or complain (like they do with the MyAccountsToGo).

 

[UltimateSyn]

There is now an official Books section of the App Store, but I don't know if they will stop appearing in the 'View All Applications' section though, probably not, because they are applications.

 

[pagansoul]

You can't start locking people out because you find their apps a pain, what prevents people from doing that to anyone. Many were/are mad at Apple for controling the content but now that they opened it up and all the crap flows in you have to take the good with the bad. I guess the best solution is to have a better sort method to weed out what you are not interested in. A data base that you can say 'does not contain' a particular company or developer.

 

[kis]

just wait until ereader.com starts publishing their books on the app store!

just kidding - but ereader is a standalone app and allows for books to be purchased online - why can't the author of that combined book-reader thingy do the same?

 

[dr_lha]

It's not the copying and pasting part.

It's the copyright part...if they put all together...it will be like over $300...then people will laugh or complain (like they do with the MyAccountsToGo).

Copyright has nothing to do with it. The copyright has expired on all those books, so they are public domain. This company is not paying anyone for the rights to publish these books, remember Charles Dickens is long dead!

 

[pooryou]

Lamest 'apps' ever. The person is charging for things they do not own, I don't care if the copyright expired they shouldn't be charging for the content...they should charge once for their ebook app, if it's worth anything at all, and that's it.

 

[dr_lha]

Lamest 'apps' ever. The person is charging for things they do not own, I don't care if the copyright expired they shouldn't be charging for the content...they should charge once for their ebook app, if it's worth anything at all, and that's it.

Get over yourself. If you don't like what they're doing, don't buy their apps. However as these published works are public domain there is nothing either legally or morally wrong with selling them in a packaged form for 99cents. The concept of "charging for something they don't own" is simply incorrect, these works are public domain, hence we all own them, and can do whatever we like with them, and that includes charging for them if we want.

 

[CaptSaltyJack]

Get over yourself. If you don't like what they're doing, don't buy their apps.

Strongly disagree. They are cluttering up the App Store. That's the problem, it's not something I can simply ignore, because sometimes I have to flip past whole pages on the App Store because they're filled with their garbage eBooks. It's basically a form of spamming, as far as I'm concerned, not to mention really braindead implementation on their part. It's like if I made a game that had 50 levels, and I released each level individually on the store.. what a ***** mess!

No excuse. The model that AppEngines should've used is this: have users sign up for an account on their site, and put a credit card on file. Download the eBook reader for free on the App Store, then buy books for $0.99 each via the eBook reader app on the iPhone. Your CC is charged, the book is downloaded to your phone, and everyone's happy. Much better implementation than their current model, they probably didn't have the programming knowledge to pull something like this off, that's all.

 

[teiresias]

Out of protest I just downloaded the Stanza app (it may have even been free, can't remember) which is actually a very nice eBook reader and lets you download public domain books directly from the phone.

 

[zen]

Ignoring the public domain stuff, let's talk about the fiction available as an ebook app on the store.

The big thing is that there is no ebook section on the iTunes music store for the ebooks themselves.

Ideally, as you say, you'd grab the ebook reader app for say $2, then you could buy stories as you wish for $2 a pop and read them using the ebook reader app.

But the iTunes store doesn't work like that, so the only way to handle it is to make the app and ebook an all-in-one thing. So you pay $2, and you get your ebook app bundle.

If the app was just the ebook reader with no content, then the logistics and setup required for then hosting your own ebook store that the app can access and download content is huge. I'm sure it can be done, but it would cost a bundle to set up and run.

For the moment, the iTunes app store has a books category, and having each book be its own reader app makes sense. It's not like it's actually hurting the buyer - even if the ebooks were a separate download from the reader, you'd still be paying $2 for each story. The only difference is that you've only got one reader app instead of on app per book.

I'm sure things will change and the app and ebooks will be separated eventually as more content gets on the app store, but I don't think it quite justifies your rather peculiar and vitriolic reviews on the iTunes app store.

 

[hellodon]

I completely agree with all of this being super annoying. Wish we had an "ignore" button for apps that we're never going to want...get this crap out of my face.

We have a phone that has internet access....just go to the website that these idiots copy pasted their "app" text from and read it there if you REALLY want to read books on your phone

 

[pooryou]

Get over yourself. If you don't like what they're doing, don't buy their apps. However as these published works are public domain there is nothing either legally or morally wrong with selling them in a packaged form for 99cents. The concept of "charging for something they don't own" is simply incorrect, these works are public domain, hence we all own them, and can do whatever we like with them, and that includes charging for them if we want.

I love how people say things in anonymity that they would never say in real life because they would get trounced. Pathetic.

 

[CaptSaltyJack]

I love how people say things in anonymity that they would never say in real life because they would get trounced. Pathetic.

Shaddap before I smack you one, pal!!

 

[The General]

If you don't want an application, then don't download it.

 

[CaptSaltyJack]

If you don't want an application, then don't download it.

The AppEngines are essentially spamming/flooding the App Store. Would it be ok if I started posting a bunch of one-liner threads on this forum? Of course not.

Same thing.

 

[The General]

The AppEngines are essentially spamming/flooding the App Store. Would it be ok if I started posting a bunch of one-liner threads on this forum? Of course not.

Same thing.

Hmm, when I first read your post I thought there were only a few, but you're right. We don't need 114 book apps, we need one books app with the ability to download books. Kind of like how Tap Tap Revenge doesn't have individual applications for each song.

My apologies.

 

[CaptSaltyJack]

No worries At least they've stopped putting up books... for now