Skydrive...Why is this news?

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There are news reports out today that Apple is app blocking Microsoft's update to their SkyDrive iOS app. I am not really sure why this is even news, but I will play along and give attention to it. However I will do so to prove that it shouldn't be news. Jared Newman over at PCWorld Writes:

Apple's policy on subscription revenues isn't a new revelation. The company first announced these rules in February 2011, and began enforcing them the following summer. In short, any app that offers a subscription plan must give a 30 percent cut to Apple in perpetuity, even if the subscriber stops using iOS devices. Apps aren't allowed to send users to the Web to subscribe, where they would be able to avoid the fee, nor are they allowed to set higher prices through the app to offset Apple's cut.

So nearing in on two years after the policy change Microsoft tries to submit an update to their app that allows people to make a subscription purchase and it seems to be their belief that they shouldn't have to give up 30% to Apple? It really is unbelievable that people are siding with Microsoft on this issue when all of this was huge news back in 2011 when Apple instituted the policy change. Microsoft should have known that Apple was going to push back.

Also Mr. Newman, about this line

It's hard not to draw a comparison between this disagreement and the recent Instagram-Twitter spat, in which Instagram removed direct Twitter photo integration in favor of sending users to its own website via links.

That is a stretch. It really isn't the same. Maybe if this were February 2011 when they initially instituted the policy change I would agree, but it has been well known if you offer a subscription service you have to allow that subscription to be purchased through the app and Apple gets 30%.

 

The Surface Pro Release Announced

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Hard to believe that people are going to buy these things up. One excuse from Windows users that I constantly hear as to why they won't buy a Mac is because they are so expensive. Here you have a tablet that costs in most cases twice as much as what people will pay for an entry level HP (or insert PC competitor here) laptop. The Verge:

The company says that the Surface Pro will be bundled with a Surface pen and is compatible with the Touch Cover or Type Cover for keyboard input, though neither keyboard options are bundled with the tablet. A 64GB model will cost $899, while a 128GB edition will be available for $999. The tablet includes a USB 3.0 port and a Mini DisplayPort, which can drive a screen of up to 2560 x 1440 resolution. The Pro version is a little heavier and thicker than the RT model, but Microsoft notes that it is still under two pounds and less than 14mm thick.

Hey it comes with a stylus, that's cool...right? Oh yeah and the advertised space is not quite what you get after the operating system and applications are installed, but hey you didn't want all that space anyhow. I wonder how much more space the full version of Windows 8 takes up of the tablet's overall storage compared to the RT version?