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Still not entirely sure what kind of apps this guy is making, are they legitimate? Otherwise, it looks like a reoccurring HN thing, where people plea for help w

Still not entirely sure what kind of apps this guy is making, are they legitimate? Otherwise, it looks like a reoccurring HN thing, where people plea for help while they're actually involved in some shady stuff. Not trying to accuse the author, of course. At the same time, it drives me nuts to see these kinds of flaws in the system. People get invested in a platform, and then one day that platform kicks you in the nuts, and slams the door as you fall out on the pavement.

komali2 8y ago
I don't think we have any way of answering this question without the social media frenzy that will inevitably follow from this playing out start to finish. Your point, to me, is just another indication of how transparency is a win.
dna_polymerase 8y ago
> Still not entirely sure what kind of apps this guy is making Yeah so you decided to post this bullshit comment and spread FUD instead of reading a few paragraphs into the actual article.
- skilled 8y ago
  Did he edit the article to mention what his apps are about? Let me check. /s
  - dna_polymerase 8y ago
    The name of his company was linked all the time.
mirekrusin 8y ago
Hey, where are Blockchain solutions for skipping this single authority problem?
mpeg 8y ago
From their website [0] they seem to make city lifestyle apps. Apps for public transport in Spanish cities, a price comparison app for utilities, a pollution level map. I would guess they supplement their own app income with contracting. [0]: https://www.greenlionsoft.com/ https://www.greenlionsoft.com/
Illniyar 8y ago
These, as far as I can tell: https://web.archive.org/web/20170428152946/https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=5839227326909135542 https://web.archive.org/web/20170428152946/https://play.goog... https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:lx9XkectdGgJ:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details%3Fid%3Dcom.greenlionsoft.free.madrid%26hl%3Den_US+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=il&client=firefox-b https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:lx9Xke... At first glance doesn't seem to be scummy, but you never know.
usrusr 8y ago
The showcase pieces in their portfolio are urban mobility apps. Doesn't get much less shady than that. But the ad and in-app revenue streams mentioned in the article suggest that they have also been active in other fields. In-app purchases that still go on after account termination might be a hint in the right direction though: would IAPs via Play still be going on? External ("untaxed") IAPs are the biggest sin from the app-store's point of view. External purchases are allowed to be handled externally (e.g. paying for physical goods in the Amazon app), but definitions are not always clear and then it's all arbitrary judge-and-executioner.
- saalweachter 8y ago
  Nitpicking, there've been shady "urban mobility" apps before. Remember that one which told you which platform your train at eg Penn Station was likely to come in on, so you could wait on your track instead of in the designated waiting area? To put it in clickbait terms, "station operators HATE this", because there are a variety of safety and efficiency problens with people waiting on the platform, even when it helped the user be the first on the train. (I have no idea what is going on in this case.)
  - Quanttek 8y ago
    Your apps/schedules don't tell you the platform? Here (GER & NL), they always tell you the track - be it official apps or the paper schedules - and all waiting areas are on the platforms themselves. Utrecht is the only exception I know, where there are still larger designated waiting areas outside the platform (tho the building is on top of the platforms, so you basically wait next to the escalator)
    - gergles 8y ago
      At Penn, the track is not announced until just a few moments before the train begins to board. This is ostensibly because the platforms are too small for people to wait on them, but it also has the side effect of keeping crowds up in the waiting area with all the shops. The waiting area is on top of the escalators at Penn as well, but since you don't know which track you need to wait for, it is always a mad dash down the corridor for your train once the track number has been posted. This is made even worse by the fact that by the time the track number appears, there is only 3-5 minutes before departure of the train, so there is a sense of urgency required to get to the right place before the train leaves. It is pretty terrible, but so is everything else about Penn.
Santosh83 8y ago
Shouldn't be up to the app store owners to provide evidence against an app and then remove it? Where is the transparency here? These are huge corps. They can well afford to at the very least state why they're blocking a certain app, not just to the dev themselves, but to the public as well. There's a power imbalance here and the onus is on Google/Apple/etc to do the right thing, the way I see it.

komali2 8y ago

I don't think we have any way of answering this question without the social media frenzy that will inevitably follow from this playing out start to finish. Your point, to me, is just another indication of how transparency is a win.

dna_polymerase 8y ago

> Still not entirely sure what kind of apps this guy is making Yeah so you decided to post this bullshit comment and spread FUD instead of reading a few paragraphs into the actual article.

skilled 8y ago
Did he edit the article to mention what his apps are about? Let me check. /s
- dna_polymerase 8y ago
  The name of his company was linked all the time.

mirekrusin 8y ago

Hey, where are Blockchain solutions for skipping this single authority problem?

mpeg 8y ago

From their website [0] they seem to make city lifestyle apps. Apps for public transport in Spanish cities, a price comparison app for utilities, a pollution level map. I would guess they supplement their own app income with contracting. [0]: https://www.greenlionsoft.com/ https://www.greenlionsoft.com/

Illniyar 8y ago

These, as far as I can tell: https://web.archive.org/web/20170428152946/https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=5839227326909135542 https://web.archive.org/web/20170428152946/https://play.goog... https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:lx9XkectdGgJ:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details%3Fid%3Dcom.greenlionsoft.free.madrid%26hl%3Den_US+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=il&client=firefox-b https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:lx9Xke... At first glance doesn't seem to be scummy, but you never know.

usrusr 8y ago

The showcase pieces in their portfolio are urban mobility apps. Doesn't get much less shady than that. But the ad and in-app revenue streams mentioned in the article suggest that they have also been active in other fields. In-app purchases that still go on after account termination might be a hint in the right direction though: would IAPs via Play still be going on? External ("untaxed") IAPs are the biggest sin from the app-store's point of view. External purchases are allowed to be handled externally (e.g. paying for physical goods in the Amazon app), but definitions are not always clear and then it's all arbitrary judge-and-executioner.

saalweachter 8y ago
Nitpicking, there've been shady "urban mobility" apps before. Remember that one which told you which platform your train at eg Penn Station was likely to come in on, so you could wait on your track instead of in the designated waiting area? To put it in clickbait terms, "station operators HATE this", because there are a variety of safety and efficiency problens with people waiting on the platform, even when it helped the user be the first on the train. (I have no idea what is going on in this case.)
- Quanttek 8y ago
  Your apps/schedules don't tell you the platform? Here (GER & NL), they always tell you the track - be it official apps or the paper schedules - and all waiting areas are on the platforms themselves. Utrecht is the only exception I know, where there are still larger designated waiting areas outside the platform (tho the building is on top of the platforms, so you basically wait next to the escalator)
  - gergles 8y ago
    At Penn, the track is not announced until just a few moments before the train begins to board. This is ostensibly because the platforms are too small for people to wait on them, but it also has the side effect of keeping crowds up in the waiting area with all the shops. The waiting area is on top of the escalators at Penn as well, but since you don't know which track you need to wait for, it is always a mad dash down the corridor for your train once the track number has been posted. This is made even worse by the fact that by the time the track number appears, there is only 3-5 minutes before departure of the train, so there is a sense of urgency required to get to the right place before the train leaves. It is pretty terrible, but so is everything else about Penn.

Santosh83 8y ago

Shouldn't be up to the app store owners to provide evidence against an app and then remove it? Where is the transparency here? These are huge corps. They can well afford to at the very least state why they're blocking a certain app, not just to the dev themselves, but to the public as well. There's a power imbalance here and the onus is on Google/Apple/etc to do the right thing, the way I see it.