Man sues Apple for terminating Apple ID with $24K worth of content(appleinsider.com)
appleinsider.com
Man sues Apple for terminating Apple ID with $24K worth of content
https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/04/20/man-sues-apple-for-terminating-apple-id-with-24k-worth-of-content
48 comments
I think that many people are now realising the cost of putting all of your eggs in the same basket, particularly when the company that owns the account offers no recourse that involves human intervention.
I split purchases for books, movies, and audiobooks across Apple, Kindle, Audible (also Amazon), and Google Play. This is a nuisance, but I am spreading the risk of loss due to no fault of my own.
The golden age of "I don't bother pirating anything anymore" is rapidly coming to a close, and tech companies have killed it. Ever-worsening DRM, paying creators amounts asymptotically approaching zero, nuking accounts with thousands of dollars invested into the ecosystem (because the algorithmic gods saw a pattern in clouds), balkanizing content until streaming services just become cable, increasing prices while decreasing quality of service, triple-dipping their customers (why just have them pay for your service when you can get them to pay for your service, serve them ads, and sell profiles of their browsing habits!).
Exactly this! I used to pirate everything because it wasn't available easily. We're rapidly approaching the same scenario. It's not "thieves" not wanting to pay; it's normal folks not wanting to desks with the growing consumer hostility.
For archiving ebooks you have purchased, you might want to check out Kobo's book store instead of Amazon. Some publishers chose not to use DRM at all or use Adobe's. Depending on the jurisdiction you live in, downloading the file with Adobe Digital Editions and stripping DRM with Calibre and the DeDRM plugin[0] can be an option as well.
It take a bit more effort, but prevents the store from pulling an Amazon on your purchased ebooks like they did with 1984 a while back.
[0] https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/
It take a bit more effort, but prevents the store from pulling an Amazon on your purchased ebooks like they did with 1984 a while back.
[0] https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/
When it comes to buying content, I think I'd rather have a 1x chance of losing all of it (and going on a torrent spree) rather than a 3x chance of losing a third of it (and going on a torrent spree).
I try to buy as many books as possible as paperback.
It’s a tradeoff - you’re starting a business. It’s risky and time consuming enough as it is. You go with what’s quickest and where the users are. Thinking of vendor lock in is low on your list of priorities and rightly so. When you grow big enough then it takes higher precedence but till then there’s bigger fish to fry
We need to swing back from Cloud Storage and Services hosting our Data as hostage. ( Time Capsule for iOS )
Or may be we could go back to the simplest form. Physical Media. I think there is something to be learn from the Japanese on how they value something physical.
Or may be we could go back to the simplest form. Physical Media. I think there is something to be learn from the Japanese on how they value something physical.
Imagine if Time Capsule was brought back more as a NAS: it's your home router, so they can automatically deal with port forwarding and dynamic DNS. iCloud could transparently connect you to your home storage wherever you happen to be, and your files could be stored locally instead of on servers Apple has.
This is exactly how I wanted federated auth to work.
Everyone would have their own DNS domain (this was in a science fiction reality where DNSSec was very secure).
That DNS domain would be exposed by their firewall, it would serve a single static domain.
Something like MX records would be setup for simple auth services and one-time payment transactions.
So when I needed to login to a site instead of talking to facebook, the site would talk to the root servers which would hook them up with my domain on my router.
The for a credit card transaction I could authz a transaction between the remote website, my router with my information and the credit card payment provider, so that the website never saw any details.
This would be wrapped with a service so that the home user never hand managed their DNS zone similarly to the way NAS appliances often run linux and NFS without people needing to poke into it.
But it needs to not be written by a FAANG company and needs to piggyback on open standards. Maybe DNS isn't the exact right tool, but it needs to look something very much like that with a hierarchy of open registrars.
OpenID is kind of close to the start of that, but I don't like the way it piggybacks on e-mail addresses and I think it needs to be its own thing and simpler to manage.
Everyone would have their own DNS domain (this was in a science fiction reality where DNSSec was very secure).
That DNS domain would be exposed by their firewall, it would serve a single static domain.
Something like MX records would be setup for simple auth services and one-time payment transactions.
So when I needed to login to a site instead of talking to facebook, the site would talk to the root servers which would hook them up with my domain on my router.
The for a credit card transaction I could authz a transaction between the remote website, my router with my information and the credit card payment provider, so that the website never saw any details.
This would be wrapped with a service so that the home user never hand managed their DNS zone similarly to the way NAS appliances often run linux and NFS without people needing to poke into it.
But it needs to not be written by a FAANG company and needs to piggyback on open standards. Maybe DNS isn't the exact right tool, but it needs to look something very much like that with a hierarchy of open registrars.
OpenID is kind of close to the start of that, but I don't like the way it piggybacks on e-mail addresses and I think it needs to be its own thing and simpler to manage.
That is exactly what I have been crying for all along close to 10 years. And I am willing to pay. But Apple doesn't like this because it offers no recurring revenue. ( They could still offer Off Site backup as services which i will also pay. )
I'm starting a SAAS where for $15/mo we'll provide you with physical storage for your computer!
Join the movement at https://i-was-up-till-3am-and-this-is-what-passes-for-humor.... !
(/s, obviously)
Join the movement at https://i-was-up-till-3am-and-this-is-what-passes-for-humor.... !
(/s, obviously)
>there is something to be learn from the Japanese on how they value something physical
What's different about the Japanese in this regard?
What's different about the Japanese in this regard?
They still buy cds
That is one reason why I don't want to buy an Oculus for my child...
Me too. I find the business model disgusting, even if it wasn’t Facebook.
But it _is_ Facebook, one of the most profoundly unethical companies of consequence, which has caused harm across the world at immense scale.
I don’t like Apple’s App Store or Nintendo’s region locking or other things like that, but I don’t have literal _moral_ qualms about buying their devices.
I really do, with Facebook. But the Oculus Quest 2 hardware is so incredibly good — so far ahead of anything else available — that I do buy it so my kids (and I) can use it (with my own FB account, which I have specifically for this perfect).
Depriving my kids of the insanely rad tech while it is contemporary and so superior to other competitors, for me presents its own moral dilemma.
So I strike this uneasy balance. But it does make me feel very uncomfortable.
But it _is_ Facebook, one of the most profoundly unethical companies of consequence, which has caused harm across the world at immense scale.
I don’t like Apple’s App Store or Nintendo’s region locking or other things like that, but I don’t have literal _moral_ qualms about buying their devices.
I really do, with Facebook. But the Oculus Quest 2 hardware is so incredibly good — so far ahead of anything else available — that I do buy it so my kids (and I) can use it (with my own FB account, which I have specifically for this perfect).
Depriving my kids of the insanely rad tech while it is contemporary and so superior to other competitors, for me presents its own moral dilemma.
So I strike this uneasy balance. But it does make me feel very uncomfortable.
Just a heads-up, the Valve Index is significantly better in terms of tracking and overall performance compared to the Quest 2. I've had both. Unfortunately the Quest 2 really is a much better value for your money, because of course it is subsidized by Facebook's extremely invasive data collection as well as their attempts to dominate the VR market.
I'm not trying to make any moral judgements for you, but I did for myself. I sold my Quest 2 within weeks of buying it, for a Valve Index instead. I wasn't even using my own Facebook account as I don't have one, but I was literally waking up out of guilt for owning a product I have serious ethical problems with.
You could even buy a used Valve Index to save money if that's a priority!
I'm not trying to make any moral judgements for you, but I did for myself. I sold my Quest 2 within weeks of buying it, for a Valve Index instead. I wasn't even using my own Facebook account as I don't have one, but I was literally waking up out of guilt for owning a product I have serious ethical problems with.
You could even buy a used Valve Index to save money if that's a priority!
It's so weird to see them cling to these fuck-the-customer rules. Like it's so shortsighted. They only see the money they save, but completely forget about how many transactions and purchases just don't happen, because people are scared of getting screwed over.
(Edited to add). So I think that Apple could actually benefit here by losing this suit. It needs to be in court. Such a foundation is more solid than a gesture of goodwill that could be go the other way tomorrow.
(Edited to add). So I think that Apple could actually benefit here by losing this suit. It needs to be in court. Such a foundation is more solid than a gesture of goodwill that could be go the other way tomorrow.
> but completely forget about how many transactions and purchases just don't happen, because people are scared of getting screwed over
I'll bet you all my broken iPod Touches that they absolutely didn't, but even did an analysis on how many people are scared by this. The answer was "basically nobody". It's not the companies offering these models who are short sighted, it's the people taking them up.
I'll bet you all my broken iPod Touches that they absolutely didn't, but even did an analysis on how many people are scared by this. The answer was "basically nobody". It's not the companies offering these models who are short sighted, it's the people taking them up.
I wonder if anyone else tried to sue a Big Corp. for terminating their account and everything associated with it.
I am thinking about other threads here on HN about YouTube terminating someone's channel and then also their associated Gmail account, incl. Google Drive.
It's scary to think that if you do something wrong (willingly or unwillingly) you could lose EVERYTHING tied to that account.
I can't imagine what nightmare it might be to try to reset your other accounts such as bills, banking, gov accounts tied to your Gmail. On top of everything else you might have tied to it, email and file wise.
Backup on cloud, backup on hardware, mirror the backups!
It's scary to think that if you do something wrong (willingly or unwillingly) you could lose EVERYTHING tied to that account.
I can't imagine what nightmare it might be to try to reset your other accounts such as bills, banking, gov accounts tied to your Gmail. On top of everything else you might have tied to it, email and file wise.
Backup on cloud, backup on hardware, mirror the backups!
Not exactly this, but Google was recently fined in Ukraine for not providing information on why did they ban a "Google My Business" account. [0]
> The Committee is investigating the application of an individual entrepreneur to block his account in the Google My Business application. In this case, Google did not provide the Committee with the requested information for more than a year, which is an aggravating circumstance.
[0] https://112.international/ukraine-top-news/ukraines-antimono...
> The Committee is investigating the application of an individual entrepreneur to block his account in the Google My Business application. In this case, Google did not provide the Committee with the requested information for more than a year, which is an aggravating circumstance.
[0] https://112.international/ukraine-top-news/ukraines-antimono...
Many years ago I spent a few years working at Comcast
One of the more bizarre things I learned is they were somehow one of the most reasonable players as far as "digital content" went
If you purchased (not rented) a movie through your cable box, but then left Comcast as a customer. You would be sent your entire library of purchases on either DVD or Blu Ray (for SD and HD respectively) at no charge
One of the more bizarre things I learned is they were somehow one of the most reasonable players as far as "digital content" went
If you purchased (not rented) a movie through your cable box, but then left Comcast as a customer. You would be sent your entire library of purchases on either DVD or Blu Ray (for SD and HD respectively) at no charge
This is precisely the reason I never buy DRM-laded content.
Where do you like to go for your media?
More DRM-free sources, if anyone is interested:
https://www.springer.com
https://www.informit.com
https://pragprog.com
https://www.manning.com
https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals
https://nostarch.com
https://www.springer.com
https://www.informit.com
https://pragprog.com
https://www.manning.com
https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals
https://nostarch.com
I use amazon to buy DRM-free music, and I also buy used CDs on ebay.
Baen and Tor publish all their books without DRM, on whatever platform you care to buy them on. Baen has their own ebook shop where you can frequently get good deals on bundles.
Music is easy to buy DRM free.
Movies and TV shows... not so much.
Music is easy to buy DRM free.
Movies and TV shows... not so much.
PC Games: gog.com
Music: Bandcamp
For movies the only viable option I haveis the grey area of buying the physical media and strip the DRM for your personal use.
Music: Bandcamp
For movies the only viable option I haveis the grey area of buying the physical media and strip the DRM for your personal use.
I believe that you are morally (if not legally) within your rights to acquire DRM free versions of content that you've lawfully purchased, including by downloading unencumbered copies or removing DRM yourself.
I buy all my movies and TV shows through iTunes because it gives you actual MP4 files. And then I immediately strip the DRM and load them into Plex. The day that stops working is the day I stop buying movies.
Any suggestion as to the best method to remove DRM?
I've only bought exactly 1 episode of a TV show from Apple. Because of DRM. If I knew I could remove it easily, I would buy many many shows and episodes.
I'm not against paying for content, I'm against DRM.
I presume it's all out there DRM free, on The Pirate Bay or whatever. I have no interest in that, I'm more than willing to pay for content.
I've only bought exactly 1 episode of a TV show from Apple. Because of DRM. If I knew I could remove it easily, I would buy many many shows and episodes.
I'm not against paying for content, I'm against DRM.
I presume it's all out there DRM free, on The Pirate Bay or whatever. I have no interest in that, I'm more than willing to pay for content.
I use TunesKit[0] on Windows. It’s $45 but works extremely well. Which is good, because as far as I know it’s the only working method of stripping iTunes DRM right now. Unfortunately, Apple managed to partially break it with iTunes 12.10 so you have to downgrade to 12.9 (they provide a download link in their FAQ).
[0] https://www.tuneskit.com/m4v-converter/
[0] https://www.tuneskit.com/m4v-converter/
I believe that it's immoral to pay for, and thus support, DRM-infested content to begin with. Just pirate it.
I sincerely hope he wins. I am not even sure how would this be legal.
I don't have a strong feeling on the banning of the account. I know companies typically can't comment for legal reasons, but there may be good reasons for this, sometimes there may not be.
The problem is that people invest in these accounts. They buy the right to some content and that is taken away from them. In some cases they also invest socially in the account, like an email address.
I don't think companies can have it both ways. They can either not ban accounts like this, or they can ban accounts and refund any purchased licences, and provide the ability to transfer data out and set up redirections as necessary (an auto-responder for email perhaps?).
The problem is that people invest in these accounts. They buy the right to some content and that is taken away from them. In some cases they also invest socially in the account, like an email address.
I don't think companies can have it both ways. They can either not ban accounts like this, or they can ban accounts and refund any purchased licences, and provide the ability to transfer data out and set up redirections as necessary (an auto-responder for email perhaps?).
> I know companies typically can't comment for legal reasons
Funny how they never actually say "we can't comment due to law X paragraph Y/contract clause Z" - they just say nothing, and let us assume they have a legitimate reason.
Funny how they never actually say "we can't comment due to law X paragraph Y/contract clause Z" - they just say nothing, and let us assume they have a legitimate reason.
This is unsettling if you’re locked into the Apple ID ecosystem does anyone know if you lose all your iCloud backups and photos if your Apple ID is terminated?
You can setup iCloud on a PC to download content to it to keep a physical backup in your possession. I do that and also have it sync to OneDrive so its 3 backups of my photos.
How, exactly, do you force content to download from iCloud?
Isn't it "lazy", in the sense that you must attempt to access on the local computer before it downloads?
Isn't it "lazy", in the sense that you must attempt to access on the local computer before it downloads?
There's an icloud photo downloader on github. It works well. Apple also has a service to export to Google photos I think...
I guess not.
I rely on iCloud for nightly backups, but have iTunes backups here and there whenever I upgrade.
I think it's high time I looked at a non-Apple backup for my iCloud Photo Library though.
I rely on iCloud for nightly backups, but have iTunes backups here and there whenever I upgrade.
I think it's high time I looked at a non-Apple backup for my iCloud Photo Library though.
It definitely is a good idea to have a backup of your photo library at a provider that does not scan your photos.
Many providers perform some kind of scan and if the AI thinks you are storing forbidden content your account is banned without recourse and you have no access to your photos.
Many providers perform some kind of scan and if the AI thinks you are storing forbidden content your account is banned without recourse and you have no access to your photos.
I hope he wins for the precedent. It's a borderline scam that Apple can sell you something and then change or take that purchase away later.
It's a farce to say that DRM is there to prevent piracy when it's also used for stuff like this.
Whether it's Facebook nuking all your Oculus Quest content because you were at a pro-democracy Hong Kong protest, or Apple remotely deleting all your music and apps because their fuzzy-logic automation incorrectly correlated the pattern of your network traffic with illegal activity, there has to be some recourse — and in the US, that recourse should obviously be the courts.