Database Info

Remove ads

Anyone know of a way to remove ads from applications without purchasing them?

I got this from one of the posts here on xda.

Worked pretty good man, thanks I appreciate it.

No problem, I just came across it in one of the threads here so I am not trying to take any credit here.

Put the hosts file in /system/etc

mrinehart93 said:
Put the hosts file in /system/etc
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The zip file has a text file with instructions.

So why do ads in free software really bother people that much?
I mean TV Commercials really get to you that bad?

Kcarpenter said:
So why do ads in free software really bother people that much?
I mean TV Commercials really get to you that bad?
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yes thats why i only watch dvr or hulu

It never ceases to amaze me how people expect others to spend time and money developing apps and products and then just give them away for nothing...........Would you go to work if they decided not to pay you?? So, why would you expect them to work for free?? The people who develop these apps know how cheap people are, so they get companies to pay them to advertise on their apps so we can get them for free.....if you don't like the ads, buy the app!

sdotcarlisle said:
yes thats why i only watch dvr or hulu
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DVR FTW!!!!

sdotcarlisle said:
yes thats why i only watch dvr or hulu
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Hulu has commercials! lol very short ones, but they do!
I just don't get why people comment in the market "Ads, uninstalled"
Do people not realize the ammount of time it takes to write an app? This **** aint simple.

chfields said:
It never ceases to amaze me how people expect others to spend time and money developing apps and products and then just give them away for nothing...........Would you go to work if they decided not to pay you?? So, why would you expect them to work for free?? The people who develop these apps know how cheap people are, so they get companies to pay them to advertise on their apps so we can get them for free.....if you don't like the ads, buy the app!
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Sorry thought we were talking about commercials. I didnt read any posts above KC's. I concur buy the app if you dont want the adds.

I mind the ads less than I do the pompous people who complain about what I should do. This thread was clearly titled so if my blocking ads from MY phone on MY service bothers you so much just stay out of the thread. No reason to start an argument since the OP's question was answered already.
If you really wanted to debate this why not start your own thread? This would allow you to voice your oppinion and for others to avoid reading it. There are plenty of reasons to want to block ads, not just in apps. Is it really worse than running adblock in Firefox? If you take adblocking away from me just take the web away too. If I have to look at ads I would learn to live without the internet.

I bet your on a pirated copy of windows with other pirated software installed as well.
Why start another thread for it, I was just saying somebody might be trying to buy some groceries, and disabling them makes it that much harder to buy the appropriate stuff to do all this. I'm sure you're well aware computers ain't cheap, neither is the education.
I wasn't trying to start any thing, but peoples "give it to me free I don't want to work for it" attitude pisses me off. Especially if it is my work that went into it.
Damn my moral values and ethics, damn my hard working self.
An yeah, I think running Adblock in firefox is pretty bogus too, hosting is expensive crap especially if you have any kind of traffic volume. The ads support the website.
Is it just me or do you apparently not know how this stuff works?
I go to school and pay 60 grand to learn how to write software and want to make a few bucks off an ad click or two to help pay the loan off...hell maybe even buy another phone to dev from... but your too high and mighty to click on an ad link so a company throws me a penny (almost litterally) for something I GAVE you? Pretty cheap dude, I'd hate to see what you get your girl for her birthday.
I guess you really do deserve it free...I don't think your service pays for the dev...but what ever free is free right?
Free beer people, free beer.
OH and incase you don't get the free beer reference here you go, Ill give you this too so you don't have to do any work to figure out what thats about.
And to everyone else, sorry for the rant/thread high jack...well i guess thread reuse since this has been solved...I have a sore spot about this kind of stuff if you didn't notice.

To each his own, to you it is an insult for a person to feel like they have a right to determine how they use their property and the service they pay for. To me it is exactly what this community is about. I'm kinda surprised you have anything to do with the rooting/custom ROM community since the idea of using it the way it is given to me is not exactly what happens here. You also assume incorrectly about my piracy. Windows Vista came with my laptop, Windows XP came with my desktop. I think the majority of internet users would agree that ads ruin the web experience. It is my computer/phone and I pay for my service so if I want to block ads it is not up to someone else to put me down for it.
As for the apps, sure if you want an app and it costs money then by all means pay for it. For me I will buy apps that I deem worthy, however I am not interested in my network and GPS being used every time I open some app. The person who wrote the app is free to stop providing it ad supported but that does not give them the right to decide what traffic I allow over my phone and service. If I wanted someone else to be able to tell me what I can and can't do on my phone I would buy an iPhone.
BTW, I'm not trying to be a jerk here or make enemies or raise the hate even. I guess you take it a little more to heart how others choose to use their phones. For me, it is up to them. I do think it's kind of lame though to accuse someone of piracy just because they block ads.

jlem26 said:
To each his own, to you it is an insult for a person to feel like they have a right to determine how they use their property and the service they pay for. To me it is exactly what this community is about. I'm kinda surprised you have anything to do with the rooting/custom ROM community since the idea of using it the way it is given to me is not exactly what happens here. You also assume incorrectly about my piracy. Windows Vista came with my laptop, Windows XP came with my desktop. I think the majority of internet users would agree that ads ruin the web experience. It is my computer/phone and I pay for my service so if I want to block ads it is not up to someone else to put me down for it.
As for the apps, sure if you want an app and it costs money then by all means pay for it. For me I will buy apps that I deem worthy, however I am not interested in my network and GPS being used every time I open some app. The person who wrote the app is free to stop providing it ad supported but that does not give them the right to decide what traffic I allow over my phone and service. If I wanted someone else to be able to tell me what I can and can't do on my phone I would buy an iPhone.
BTW, I'm not trying to be a jerk here or make enemies or raise the hate even. I guess you take it a little more to heart how others choose to use their phones. For me, it is up to them. I do think it's kind of lame though to accuse someone of piracy just because they block ads.
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Hey, I am all about making something better...its what I do. Hacking this stuff together and making it better than sprint could is top notch. But you aren't defacing the value of someones work here....like I said, your cell service doesn't pay the developer, the ads do. GPS location is a little extreme for any app that isn't geo-centric, but a little data never hurt anybody - expecially anybody with our plans.
Again, I as you, am not trying to get pissed at anyone, but advertising is the only way some companies survive, narrow margins are hell for anyone. Been there, done that.
And the acusation of piracy was stereo typical and short sighted, my appologies, I get heated - quick.

jlem26 said:
T For me I will buy apps that I deem worthy, however I am not interested in my network and GPS being used every time I open some app. The person who wrote the app is free to stop providing it ad supported but that does not give them the right to decide what traffic I allow over my phone and service. If I wanted someone else to be able to tell me what I can and can't do on my phone I would buy an iPhone.
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You know...I was all set to jump all over you until I read the above. While I agree with KCarpenter that application developers should be paid for their work, I cannot disagree with what you said there...each time an ad-enabled application is opened it automatically opens a connected via your mobile network to an external site to load it. This does in fact mean that someone else is controlling what your phone does/doesn't connect to...
The only workaround I can see for it is to either not use ad-aware applications at all, or block the ads from being able to be run at all through a hosts file update. Unfortunately I can't see a way around it. Morally I'm stuck on two fronts. #1. I don't mind ads because they do support further development for some applications (the ones I like I purchase, ad problem goes away). BUT...#2. Having someone else force my phone to a site I didn't send my phone to grates on me.
In a perfect world, all apps would be donate-ware, or function limited until purchased. But this isn't a perfect world and there are way too many scum balls out there who would take someone else's work and freeload off of it. Hence the ads.
Bah. Moral dilemma. I hate moral dilemmas.

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I don't think the ads are so annoying yet that anything would really be worth the trouble of blocking. Rarely do I even notice the ad when I am in it. It's one of those things that you just tune out eventually. It's a shame but some of these apps that run on ads will access GPS to get your location, I am assuming because the ad company is catering ads to your general vicinity. IMO this is overboard on the ads and each time it starts the GPS it is in fact using my battery. The only reason my GPS should come on is if I want it to. This was the tipping point for me and why I started blocking them. The ads alone are not that big of a deal, but just because I am opening up some cheap game or rss reader or something doesn't mean that I should have to give up all my personal rights. They can show me an ad, but stop following me around. Well, that's just my take.
As for the developers of the apps, I love these guys. If I didn't appreciate their work I wouldn't have it on my phone. I have no problem helping them out, I'll feed a hungry wolf in the wild but I won't feed it by hand.

AdFree in the market works pretty well.

1-Star spamming on the android market. Anyone else had the same problem??!

Hey guys,
Just wondering if anyone else has been on the end of a 1-star spamming from a "competing" developer? I say "competing", because my apps are all free!
Here is an example of someone coming along and spamming my rating:
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As you can see, the application doesn't get reviewed very often. I think it must have got above the search ranks for a certain developers app, and then boom, 20 1-star ratings.
Anyone else had the same problem? You would have thought google can see it's the same person/dev and act appropriately. Imagine this is more of a problem for people trying to make money from the marketplace!

I've had 1 star ratings from my competition (I could tell because they used their real names for their comments) but not 20 ratings all in one go like that.
Btw what app are you using to track ratings?

The app is Andlytics, it's excellent for tracking like this. They just pushed an update with much more detail as well. Would recommend it.
Still can't believe people would spam a free app like that. It's just sad!

You should name and shame
Also I think you should only be able to rate if you are willing to write a review for it. Would cut down on this a bit..

Coedy said:
You should name and shame
Also I think you should only be able to rate if you are willing to write a review for it. Would cut down on this a bit..
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Well. The app above is a caller id application (NameBuzz). When you searched for "caller id", it briefly came in 3rd place, now it comes in 11th after the rating hit. So I'm assuming it's one of the developers above that... but obviously I have no way of being sure, so I can't name and shame!

Curious, I only see 6 1 stars, and they're all basically saying "it vibrates after answering". So maybe you have a problem with specific phones?
I don't know if it helps, but you might put some text in there about how to contact you and how to contact you and that you can't help people just based on comments alone. I myself didn't realize that a developer can't contact you from a comment until after using the market for a bit.

khaytsus said:
Curious, I only see 6 1 stars, and they're all basically saying "it vibrates after answering". So maybe you have a problem with specific phones?
I don't know if it helps, but you might put some text in there about how to contact you and how to contact you and that you can't help people just based on comments alone. I myself didn't realize that a developer can't contact you from a comment until after using the market for a bit.
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Thanks for feedback. The 20, 1-star ratings, were left WITHOUT a comment. Hence the reason you can't see who it's from (not that the name means much), and you can't see the ratings. All that happens is the app drops rating level drastically. However, from the developer console, you can see that 20 ratings have been made.
The comment about contact details, I guess I should put that in there, but I think the comments you refer to are actually quite old - since around my January release, the issues have been virtually non-existent. I think the issue here is a basic spamming of my application by someone fairly bored, and extremely sad.

hey yo daz: mobilitydigest.com/thats-low

As you can see, the application doesn't get reviewed very often. I think it must have got above the search ranks for a certain developers app, and then boom, 20 1-star ratings.
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Ah well, it´s been reviewed today *****
"Competing" developer - that s.o.b. should be working on his developing skills instead of playing fouls. It would be a great thing, if there would be some form of mechanism/procedere to catch someone like this a......
Good luck and best wishes
germanhoss

d0ugie said:
hey yo daz: mobilitydigest.com/thats-low
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Hey doug,
That's an awesome article! haha. Wasn't expecting that kind of support! It seems like you may have had an impact as well, as my historical rating now looks like this:
Seems as though I've found someone with an non-compatible device though (hence the one star lurking in there), unfortunately, people rarely leave what phone they're using in the comments!
I think the discussion on how to improve the android ratings system is a really interesting one, and something I'm sure Google must have on their TODO list...

I totally wish that Google would fix the rating and comments sections... You can't moderate the comments at all and people spam them with all kinds of bull****. I frequently have users (who must be mentally retarded) leave 1 star ratings and ****ty comments about my apps when a simple search would tell them that the problem is their stupid phone/carrier (an example would be streaming shoutcast on a Sprint EVO which has been broken by HTC since early December). Holy **** I could rant on and on about the comments/ratings for hours... it pisses me off every day!~
EDIT: I wanted to mention that I did get Google to remove one comment but they still left the 1 star rating... some dumbass got his credit card stolen and blamed me for it. On many occasions over the last couple of months I have seriously considered just not making anymore apps for Android because the comments/ratings sections are bull****.

You could try using alternative markets, but none of them have anywhere near the number of users that the official market does.

I can't write an article to support but i downloaded you're app and gave 5*s plus great review, every little helps!

androidworkz said:
I totally wish that Google would fix the rating and comments sections... You can't moderate the comments at all and people spam them with all kinds of bull****. I frequently have users (who must be mentally retarded) leave 1 star ratings and ****ty comments about my apps when a simple search would tell them that the problem is their stupid phone/carrier (an example would be streaming shoutcast on a Sprint EVO which has been broken by HTC since early December). Holy **** I could rant on and on about the comments/ratings for hours... it pisses me off every day!~
EDIT: I wanted to mention that I did get Google to remove one comment but they still left the 1 star rating... some dumbass got his credit card stolen and blamed me for it. On many occasions over the last couple of months I have seriously considered just not making anymore apps for Android because the comments/ratings sections are bull****.
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You should see ratson's twitter. I made a comment if he got yet another "1 star, what is root" review for his killer app and he replied that he was already used to such ratings.

On the bright side, at least you have to own the app to rate it. I'm not sure if they've changed this, but in the App Store you could rate apps without actually owning them. A friend of mine basically got spammed by competition and they didn't even have to buy his app.

androidworkz said:
Holy **** I could rant on and on about the comments/ratings for hours... it pisses me off every day!~
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Honestly, you should avoid reading the comments every day.
I absolutely agree that it's brutal and stressful to read Market comments. So I don't check them too often. If there's a real bug, I'm not going to be able to debug it from a Market comment anyway, I need someone to email me for that. Emails can be brutal too, but generally if someone takes the time to write an email they're at least a bit more considerate than the Market commenter. Also you can actually reply to an email and most times even a pissed off user feels a lot better if they get a reply, even if it's just saying "Sorry, this sounds like a bug, can you give me some more information?".

androidworkz said:
...I wanted to mention that I did get Google to remove one comment but they still left the 1 star rating... some dumbass got his credit card stolen and blamed me for it. On many occasions over the last couple of months I have seriously considered just not making anymore apps for Android because the comments/ratings sections are bull****.
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Lol, totally familiar with the problem. i get ppl recommending not buying an app because I would charge their credit card four times. Or ppl saying that my keyboard have damaged all other keyboards on their device
Here's a tip. Buy your own app with another account. Create a nickname "support" and react on troll comments. Give them tips, ask them to contact you etc. It helps to ease your mind. And I agree with [email protected] don't read the comments too often, in the end honest comments will dominate.

I give a five to every app I choose and works as promised. those 1-star spammers are losers!

i actually went and got your app and gave you a five star rating
but yeah, looks like we got some shady dev on android. google needs to fix this.

tina333 said:
I can't write an article to support but i downloaded you're app and gave 5*s plus great review, every little helps!
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tincanman said:
i actually went and got your app and gave you a five star rating
but yeah, looks like we got some shady dev on android. google needs to fix this.
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First off, thanks guys, I'll post progress again in the next few days, but this is nice reminder that the community does have more power than one spiteful developer (or his "marketing" team).
The comments section can be infuriating at times. I would like to be able to write a one-time comment (visible to all), which would be emailed to the person leaving the comment. That way issues could actually be resolved.
With the Android fragmentation issues in the state they are in, I have no idea on which devices I can expect namebuzz to actually work. I have two phones to test with, and the emulator provides little help. Hence, to simply be able to ask what devices are causing issues, would be a huge insight into fixing or notifying users of known issues.
I just feel sorry for the developers relying on the Android marketplace for revenue, they must be hugely affected by this, and I'm glad I'm not in their shoes...

[THEFT] Stealing Applications from the android market

There is a person in my area who advertises that he will root a phone and show people how they can use their newly rooted device to get the paid applications from the android market for free.
One of his advertisements HERE
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I sent a couple emails and asked exactly what he was doing.
He told me he is installing Titanium Backup on rooted phones and instructing people
to purchase an applications > backup the application using Titanium Backup > then refund the purchase.
I am aware that this does not work for all applications, but am appalled that this kind of thing not only seems OK for some, and they are profiting from stealing applications from the developers who are making them.
If there is something that can be done to stop people like this i would surely like to help
I also highly recommend that when building an application, a Developer check market license every time the app is started. This does make devices that are WiFi only hinder a bit, but crooks like this are ruining our android experience.
feel free to report him to the BSA
BSA reporting

They won't get asp updates, and you can only refund an asp once...
I'd not go so far as to suggest a licence check on every single launch, legitimate users will hate you and go elsewhere or get a cracked version...
Making legitimate irritating is why people currently pirate music so much... Same with game drm and no-cd patches... Steam addressed that for the pc though
But for this case, he's acting immorally and probably illegally...

Well that's a terrible ad . He stated:
I have worked with hundreds of phones and I have damaged any of them
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"Use Wifi Hotspot for free"
uh, wat? One can already use unlocked wifi without rooting...
Does he think people are stupid, or am I misunderstanding something?
yay, first post!

Without titanium also can steal paid app from market...no need that
|Post from XDA premium app
|BroodRom RC2
|Instanet Free Access (no one believe its free)

This an unfortunate side effect of all the abilities our developers have given us. It's sad to see people taking advantage of the open market of android, and using it for personal gain, but he also has to leave a lot of info out of the process for his "customers" to have the wool draped over their eyes.
Hopefully people will be able to sniff this out as to-good-to-be-true, and not let this guy make money off of products he doesn't own.
People really need to learn ethics these days...
Posted from my CM7'd Fascinate. Please ignore any spelling errors.

Someone should report him to his domain holder so he can be prosecuted. What he's doing is violating all wireless companies TOS and Google's TOS for the market and intellectual property.
Sent from my SkyRaider Bolt using Tapatalk

I hate this guy. I just don't understand people who are just stealing apps and thinks that it will have no consequences. Today, every phone and app have internet access and developers are able to find out how many their apps were stolen and how many were purchased. So then, if everybody will be just stealing apps, they will stop development and we will have no apps and games and it will kill Android like it did to Windows mobile (there on the other hand was easier to download cracked apps then to buy it).

This dude is unbelivable, as are the customers who do business with hm. I really hope that this is microscopic part of consumers. It really wrong and dumb to steal something costing 1 or 10 euros or usd and takng a risk that it does not work at all. Do peopole actually count any value for their time and effort? Taking one hour or so to mess up your phone and steal what, 5 euros from devs who have written Better guides online with video tutorials, then many network operators ever boder... this is low.
Report him asap.
Sent from my Dell Streak using xda premium

He is not doing anything illegal. He is just showing you how to steal apps. Now it is down to you to steal or not to steal.

Calyxim is right, although he is participating in the crime kinda.

He may not be doing the illegal acts but he is aiding people who are willing to steal them. Which technically makes him an accomplice to theft, therefore making it illegal.
Sent from my SkyRaider Bolt using Tapatalk

I have worked with hundreds of phones and I have damaged any of them.
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I also found that funny. Outside of the obvious legal and moral implications of stealing, I find it more than annoying that he is providing a service that should never be done for profit, but rather out of interest and love for hacking in whatever form one is able. Call me an elitist, but I think that I you are not able to root your phone and or don't have the drive to ask someone for help like about a million people on this forum, then you have no business rooting. Getting a rooted device without so much as a basic understanding for the process is the equivalent of script kiddying in my estimation.

Ugh!! I hate people who male up businesses in hacking!! Especially iPhone ones!! When I tell people I root androids, I dumb it down and say I hack them, and they always say, " so does that mean I can download free apps" ahhhhhhh
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda premium

Android has this problem due to other software and methods already it is something that cant be stopped in todays world the way i see it :/
Sent from my Blade using xda premium

dude found the way to make easy money

Not to mention making money off if the work of others here. It has not gone unnoticed for sure.

call da police!

I don't get it. I'm pretty new to Android, but most of these apps cost less than a dollar. Really? You'd steal a dollar? Not that I'd steal anything.

I agree it is theft but at the exact same time my view is on this is the guy is wrong for charging for a service like this. Personally I think it is pointless to get worked up over theft of a mobile application like tons of people crack software for computers it happens. But has anyone ever considered Android's kernel? It is Linux which means it relates to the Free Software philosophy which gets me why charge for apps why make a profit I personally believe in coding for learning,fun, collaboration and the benefit for others. But if someone wants to make a profit then sure go ahead. But you know people are just going to pirate it so how much of a profit will you truly make off a app? But to go as far as charging someone for that kind of service is even lower.

[Q] Sidekick 4g dock bar

Here is a Noob question for you. Is it possible to add an item to the stock SK4G dock bar? I want to add web in between apps and contacts cause I use it so much. I have searched the forums and can't come up with anything. Thanks.

Unfortunatly no :'( I tried doing it before and got tired of trying to figure out how to do it so I just got launcher pro than the cracked version of launcher pro plus xD
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium

l1f3h4cker said:
Unfortunatly no :'( I tried doing it before and got tired of trying to figure out how to do it so I just got launcher pro than the cracked version of launcher pro plus xD
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium
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shame on you. the developers work hard on those apps. you are one of many reasons why I wont develop apps cause it will just end up on some torrent or pirate site so cheap bastards such as your self can steal it.
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I know that developer and that is the reason hes not updating his launcher to work with ICS. Hes sick of his work being stolen from him.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

ReActiveDisorder said:
shame on you. the developers work hard on those apps. you are one of many reasons why I wont develop apps cause it will just end up on some torrent or pirate site so cheap bastards such as your self can steal it.
I know that developer and that is the reason hes not updating his launcher to work with ICS. Hes sick of his work being stolen from him.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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yeah thats poopy, but its the way of the world. people shouldnt do things they love for the hope of money, and if they dont love doing it they shouldnt do it at all.

i agree that the developer should be supported, but, if you like me and cant even afford a 1$ app, using their app and telling people how great it is is the next best thing.

Thanks for the heads up. Its a shame it can't be done but I guess that's what ROMS are for. Maybe Reactive Disorder will see this and kung fu it into one of his. I've been looking at his work and I swear he is half computer with the stuff he does. But anyway I don't agree with swiping peoples work. If they put it out there for free or just want donations then its fine to get it, otherwise PAY THEM FOR THEIR WORK! I am a chef and a musician. I HATE when people rip me off and can't tolerate seing it done to someone else. Nothing worse than spending days/weeks poring everything into something just to have someone else come in and snatch it without even a thought about what you went through. At least in my circles if you get ahold of my recipes or sheet music I can come and punch you in the face when I catch you.
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-Nomad- said:
Thanks for the heads up. Its a shame it can't be done but I guess that's what ROMS are for. Maybe Reactive Disorder will see this and kung fu it into one of his. I've been looking at his work and I swear he is half computer with the stuff he does. But anyway I don't agree with swiping peoples work. If they put it out there for free or just want donations then its fine to get it, otherwise PAY THEM FOR THEIR WORK! I am a chef and a musician. I HATE when people rip me off and can't tolerate seing it done to someone else. Nothing worse than spending days/weeks poring everything into something just to have someone else come in and snatch it without even a thought about what you went through. At least in my circles if you get ahold of my recipes or sheet music I can come and punch you in the face when I catch you.
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i agree to a degree, but honestly if that person cant afford your music and there was no way to get it free, you wouldnt have gotten that money anyway.

yoyowhatup22 said:
i agree to a degree, but honestly if that person cant afford your music and there was no way to get it free, you wouldnt have gotten that money anyway.
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I can see where your coming from but its a little different in the music world. At my shows there is the expensive seats up front, cheap seats in the back and free out in the field. I am not saying that I am after everyone's money just give me credit for my work. I have had people steal my sheet music and claim it as their own before. That doesn't mean I won't make money at all but I put a lot of work into that and to have someone else say they did it is what pissed me off. He could have had it if he just asked but that was weeks of my time lost and I have nothing to show for it. When it comes to apps I agree that there should be a free trial for all of them, but if its not and you can only get it by paying then if you want it bad enough you will buy it. If making apps was my only source of income and someone leaked it and everyone gets it for free without at least donating then I would starve. That's what gets me so riled up.

It's like every thread on here, ReActive butts in and it goes way off-topic (or he just insults someone for posting about a dream), but I can't stay away from this one as it speaks to the core of my principals.
-Nomad- said:
He could have had it if he just asked but that was weeks of my time lost and I have nothing to show for it.
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...so how does that change if he asked? What do you have to show for it then that you lost by him not asking? Even if he doesn't ask, you can still say: Hey, I made that, and people are benefiting from it. Isn't that why you create art, so people can enjoy it? Does it really matter if they know who the artist is or not (if you are not trying to make money off it)?
-Nomad- said:
If making apps was my only source of income and someone leaked it and everyone gets it for free without at least donating then I would starve. That's what gets me so riled up.
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Back to money again. Money is a false construct and has nothing to do with art, skill, or creativity. If your only source of income is payment from individuals for something you can copy and reproduce without costing you any money or time, then you are in the wrong business. If I can't hold it in my hand, it is not a commodity, it is simply knowledge/information/directions/instructions. All of those things should be free to the entire globe.
If I can see it, if I can hear it, if I can learn how to build it... then I have an undeniable human right to record it, copy it, modify it, and redistributed it to anyone and everyone. Not sharing your recipes/sheet-music with who ever is interested (for free) is a crime to my sense of morality/values. It is all just information, and the collection of all the worlds information should be freely available to every human on the planet.
"If I give you a pfennig, you will be one pfennig richer and I'll be one pfennif poorer. But if I give you an idea, you will have a new idea, but I shall still have it too" - Albert Einstein

You can't "build" it, pal.
Stealing my software (or anybody else's) is a crime.
Furthermore, it's not about the love and it's not about the people; it's about the money.
Anytime you publish any kind of IP, you know that there will be theft, but that doesn't mean I have to like it--or endorse it.
Furthermore, this site forbids piracy and if you go around proudly saying otherwise, you will proudly join Jin out there in the wild blue yonder.
If you can "build" all this great software, just make your own. No need to steal it if it's so trivial and easy for you.

orange808 said:
Stealing my software (or anybody else's) is a crime.
Anytime you publish any kind of IP, you know that there will be theft, but that doesn't mean I have to like it--or endorse it.
If you can "build" all this great software, just make your own. No need to steal it if it's so trivial and easy for you.
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I had a huge event to get ready for so getting back into the forums here to post has been challenging. Thank you Orange808. I was upset I couldn't get on to tell the other guy about how stealing from me hurt me, but you got to them first. I say that at the end of the day, no mater how you try to justify it, if you take something that's not yours without going through the proper channels you are a thief. I don't care what kind of Robin Hood complex you have, if you didn't compensate or do whatever else is asked of you to obtain the product, and even ideas can be products, you stole it. I am not ok with that at all. If you are ok with being a thief that's your problem, don't try to make me thank you for it. But with that all said we are way off topic. I started this thread to ask a question. It has been answered. I don't know how to close a thread on this forum, but it needs to be closed. If you want to argue about morality, START YOUR OWN THREAD! Please stop doing it on mine. Thank you.
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Ok. I'm quite respectful, and will leave this thread alone as requested. Just know that I would never steal anything from anyone (which requires taking something physical away from them).

rpmccormick said:
Ok. I'm quite respectful, and will leave this thread alone as requested. Just know that I would never steal anything from anyone (which requires taking something physical away from them).
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I don't have the time/patience to look up and post all of the links , but go to wikipedia and look up Intellectual property and you will see that it is protected and treated as real property with all of the same rights. That means that taking someones music, app, program or any other IP without their permission is still theft. Don't believe me ask a lawyer. As I said before. The original topic this thread was started for has been answered and this thread is closed. Start your own thread if you really want to hash this one out.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA

rpmccormick said:
Ok. I'm quite respectful, and will leave this thread alone as requested. Just know that I would never steal anything from anyone (which requires taking something physical away from them).
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jeez, cmon. just because you arnt physically taking it away doesnt mean you didnt steal it, i steal. i can admit that, no im not proud of it but i cant afford any of it anyway. but having your moral compass pointed so far south like that is just wrong.

rpmccormick said:
Ok. I'm quite respectful, and will leave this thread alone as requested. Just know that I would never steal anything from anyone (which requires taking something physical away from them).
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I did stay away for a while. Not trolling. Will stay away again... but I saw this today and felt I had to picture-post back to ReActive. Many other people share my morals. To us, "having your moral compass pointed so far [north] like that is just wrong."
Click here for Other Pic

rpmccormick said:
I did stay away for a while. Not trolling. Will stay away again... but I saw this today and felt I had to picture-post back to ReActive. Many other people share my morals. To us, "having your moral compass pointed so far [north] like that is just wrong."
Click here for Other Pic
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Android Piracy - Real numbers

Hi
few days ago i have released my game on android. I have spend almost a year on development.
There are two option available lite and full ( paid ) full - with full content, and lite with truncated content. Implemented market licensing library. And two separate analytics to track lite and full version separately.
After an hour from release there was first payment, and of course user canceled within 15 minutes transaction.
After 3 hours - i have noticed that google is indexing illegal APKs . What the **** !
They tells that are for developers , and in other side they indexing pirated content ;/
So far there were total 7 full purchases in 3 days
So here is analytics from full version ( from 3 days )
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
What should i think about this ? 7 purchases and 2600 UU ????
ps. i dont publish title in case of removal ( some may think it is promotion )

There is a lot of piracy on android, its very easy to find pirated apps and there's only one solution I could think of although not sure it is a perfect solution.
That would be to have the app check for licence validation and if none found over a long period of say a month have the app refuse to run until it can check with google but it might annoy a lot of potential users.
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk

mistermentality said:
That would be to have the app check for licence validation and if none found over a long period of say a month have the app refuse to run until it can check with google but it might annoy a lot of potential users.
Dave
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There is license validation - but already cracked ;/

hi tajniacki
I think that you are little bit on lost position. I think thats why some devs release only free apps with advertisements inside - but this have also some disadvantages:
I had app for kid - about learning letters. - After some realease dev add ads inside app thats ok for me - but how can i explain 2yo kid to not click on color bars that appear on bottom of screen?

^ haha good point. I think developers will have to go the extra mile in android. I think devs should use some type of Internet based verification (this would actually be a really good startup idea i think). Similar to windows except nothing works if the app is unable to connect to the internet every so often.
Sent from my Kindle Fire using XDA

As Blizzard ? Keep most of the stuff on remote servers and play only after logging in ? It will be very hard for small devs , and startup idea is good
Everything can be cracked but this is madness :0 A lot of companies tried to have better DRM protection without luck. So we are on the lost position which is very sad.

BorrowADolla said:
^ haha good point. I think developers will have to go the extra mile in android. I think devs should use some type of Internet based verification (this would actually be a really good startup idea i think). Similar to windows except nothing works if the app is unable to connect to the internet every so often.
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That's a big problem for people like myself who live in areas where they can't always get reception for a licence check or who don't have a data connection.
I bought a panorama camera app then found it only works when connected to internet....bit pointless if you are trying to take pic of a place that has no reception though.
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk

tajniacki said:
As Blizzard ? Keep most of the stuff on remote servers and play only after logging in ? It will be very hard for small devs , and startup idea is good
Everything can be cracked but this is madness :0 A lot of companies tried to have better DRM protection without luck. So we are on the lost position which is very sad.
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Click to collapse
It is sad. Especially for small developers that spend tons of time and don't necessarily have the resources to implement insane drm and licensing/validation structures.
I think like much pirated content, we just have to hope there are enough decent people still willing to pay for things. And realize not every pirated copy is a lost sale. Pretty lame that they are readily indexing that stuff, but I'm guessing it'd be hard not to.
I'd hate to add up how much I spend on apps. I've probably only refunded a couple times when I felt the app wasn't what I needed or if I already had a competing paid app I felt was still stronger.
Good luck!
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Yes, it would be expensive and impractical for small devs. But on the flipside, only the more expensive apps are readily available as pirated copies.
Im not saying u need Internet every time. But u will need internet for installation and u will need it like every other time u use the app. Obviously not the way to go for many types of apps.
Sent from my Kindle Fire using XDA

Wow, I knew Android piracy was bad, but I didn't realise it was that bad. The worst part is that whatever DRM or whatever you add, they'll crack it in days Tools like apktool or apk-manager or whatever, while designed to create mods and themes etc. for apps, make it all to easy to reverse engineer apps. Sucks, but I guess that's "how it is"
EDIT: It's not hard to see why many devs turn to putting ads in their apps and releasing for free.

I think the best way to look at piracy as a content creator is to look at the people that illegaly download your content as a group that isn't a part of your potential customers. These people always justify their ways by saying they "wouldn't buy it anyway". But then if you wouldn't buy it anyway, why the hell do you want to pirate it?
It sucks but that's the way it is! I think you should just try and look at the positive side that your work was that good that it got pirated

The_R said:
I think the best way to look at piracy as a content creator is to look at the people that illegaly download your content as a group that isn't a part of your potential customers. These people always justify their ways by saying they "wouldn't buy it anyway". But then if you wouldn't buy it anyway, why the hell do you want to pirate it?
It sucks but that's the way it is! I think you should just try and look at the positive side that your work was that good that it got pirated
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That's easy to say, but when 7 out of ~3000 customers are paying, it's not so practical any more.

Most pirates are the younger generation, imagine, they have no options for paying the app, therefore they become pirates and unfortunately they stick to it.
If there were young people-friendly payment methods then maybe 15-30% more would pay.
So this is the sad reality we're living in.
Sent from my HTC Optimus Ray S

To be honest, most piracy occurs with apps the user would not purchase but if they can get it for free they would try it. I am not defending the act I do not pirate and have only purchased 4 apps. It is a catch 22, I do not want to waste money on crap, and the developer deserves their due for there efforts. If piracy did not exist, I guess my point is that you would not have nearly the number of downloads
Flyer

iok1 said:
Most pirates are the younger generation, imagine, they have no options for paying the app, therefore they become pirates and unfortunately they stick to it.
If there were young people-friendly payment methods then maybe 15-30% more would pay.
So this is the sad reality we're living in.
Sent from my HTC Optimus Ray S
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This is very true, as a young teenager I had no choice, as I had no income source, no cc to validate when I did get money, and it just stuck. Only recently have I realized that it's not a good practice. I still pirate all of my media initially, but many things I buy, especially if the dev or artist is struggling or new (Sarah donner and her music) or if the product is absolutely amazing (minecraft, the binding of isaac)
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SifJar said:
That's easy to say, but when 7 out of ~3000 customers are paying, it's not so practical any more.
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Maybe put a version of your app out there with a few features disabled but use adverts in it and perhaps it would earn more income as people will click ads at some point and each click is money you might not have from the app if only selling one version?
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk

You guys are forgetting about adblock on android. But yes, I have pirated some apps, but if I like it, I'll support the developer. If the Dev gets no money, that means no app.

You can easily filter the illegal downloads with email address verification. Very effective and low cost.
App: Public Key + Email Address
Server: Private Key + Verification Algorithm

This is extremely sad, and I think we need to set a fire under Google to do something about it. The problem is it is hard to do anything without closing the system, which would be to much like apple (evil)! So here is an idea; when someone is sideloading an app, the installer checks the market, and if it finds that is a paid app, it refuses to install it! Only problem would be with things like the amazon app store, where they both have the same app. They could at least make the app produce a sort of license before it installs. I know nothing of drm, so don't listen to me if this is dumb.
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Wow, I would never expect it to be that bad for a phone.