Industry News - Oct. 4, 2021

IN THIS ISSUE: Epic Battle a Mixed Result; Apple Judgement Has Gaps; Google Fined $177M in Antitrust Case; Indie Software Maker Claims Apple Stole its IP; Android Studio Basics; Don't Waste Time on Doomed Tech

Eric Prevails Over Apple, But Ordered to Pay $3.5M

Careful what you wish for. Software developer Epic Games, which sued Apple for unfairly limiting in-app payments to Apple's own system, has been ordered to pay Apple $3.5 million, the sum collected through the Fortnite payment system it implemented in breach of its App Store contract. In a separate judgement, Apple can no longer forbid apps to link to payment systems other than its own. 

Ruling Leaves Wiggle Room for Apple

Precise wording really does matter. A closer look at the language of the injunction handed down in the Epic v. Apple case reveals how the lack of precision of its wording could let the computer giant continue its monopolistic behavior.   

Google Fined $177M in Antitrust Case

Also on the subject of Big-tech tyrants, Google in Sept. was fined $177 million by authorities in South Korea after it was accused of using its dominant market position to impede the efforts of competitors. 

Did Apple Steal This Keyboard? 

What's going on here? An independent software developer is claiming that Apple, after taking its FlickType keyboard app for the Apple Watch off the Play Store, has released a version of the keyboard as its own.  

The Basics of Android Studio

For newbie developers kicking the tires on Android app-dev, here's a non-boring tour of Android Studio that explains the fundamentals of the Android application structure. 

Don't Waste Time Learning Doomed Tech

Before investing heavily into any technology, it's usually a good idea to find out where the tech resides in its lifecycle. This short piece describes one developer's experiences learning once-promising tech that's now (or could soon be) relegated to the dustbin of history. Are you using any of these?