Linked List: November 26, 2018

Monday, 26 November 2018

SQLPro — Database Management Apps for Mac and iOS ★

My thanks to Hankinsoft Development for sponsoring last week at DF to promote SQLPro Studio. SQLPro Studio is the premiere database client for MacOS, and is now available for iOS. SQLPro supports MySQL, Postgres, and Microsoft SQL Server, and allows you to quickly and easily access tables, views, and other database necessities from the palm of your hand, with an intuitive interface. With must-have features such as full syntax highlighting, autocomplete, support for the iPad’s Smart Keyboard, and more, SQLPro is a must-have app for developers. These are great truly native Mac and iOS apps, which have been in development with terrific customer support for years.

Download SQLPro for iOS devices today for a free trial.

You can also save 20 percent on any SQLPro app for the Mac using the promo code “gruber”.

Open Daring Fireball Sponsorships for Remainder of 2018 ★

Open weeks on the DF sponsorship schedule:

Nov 26 (this week)
Dec 10
Dec 17
Dec 24

If you’ve got a product or service you want to promote to DF’s audience, get in touch. Great opportunities in the coming weeks for holiday gift items.

Android Apps With More Than 2 Billion Total Downloads Are Committing Ad Fraud ★

Craig Silverman, reporting for BuzzFeed News:

Along with raising serious questions about the business practices of two prominent Chinese app developers, this highlights the security, privacy, and ad fraud issues in the Android app ecosystem and Google Play store. BuzzFeed News provided Google with videos of the Cheetah and Kika apps captured by Kochava, as well as with screenshots of relevant app code identified by Method Media Intelligence. Google initially said it had not confirmed the presence of fraudulent tactics in the apps, and that it has asked for additional information from Kika and Cheetah. It told BuzzFeed News it continues to investigate.

“Google is the curated owner of the Google Play store and the owner of one of the largest monetization mechanisms for apps. If there is confusion on where ad fraud and attribution fraud is taking place in this ecosystem, we’d be happy to help Google in their efforts,” Simmons said.

Richard Kramer, a senior analyst with Arete, an independent research firm that covers mobile and technology companies, said Google needs to remove the affected apps from its Play store.

“Why isn’t Google immediately dropping such apps from the Play store and advising users to uninstall them?” he told BuzzFeed News. “It may reduce [ad] inventory in their Network, but I would expect [Google] to be more sensitive to quality of impressions.”

You would expect that.

(Ticky-tacky art direction complaint: why does the hero shot animation atop this story show an iPhone X, when the story is entirely about Android?)

Amy Howe: ‘Justices Poised to Allow Antitrust Dispute Against Apple Over Apps to Go Forward’ ★

Amy L. Howe:

The Supreme Court heard oral argument this morning in a dispute between technology giant Apple and a group of iPhone users over the sale of apps from Apple’s App Store. The iPhone users are seeking massive damages from Apple, complaining that the company is violating federal antitrust laws by requiring the users to buy apps exclusively from the App Store. But as it comes to the justices, the case is about whether the iPhone users can bring their lawsuit at all: Apple contends that they cannot, because it is only selling the apps at the prices set by app developers. After 60 minutes of debate, there seemed to be at least five votes to allow the case to move forward, with only Chief Justice John Roberts appearing to be a clear vote for Apple.

Good analysis of today’s argument.