4 ms·

Microsoft subsidized development of some popular apps for Windows Phone (e.g., Angry Birds). They paid for these. They were necessary to claw away at some marke

by kabdib 12y ago

Microsoft subsidized development of some popular apps for Windows Phone (e.g., Angry Birds). They paid for these. They were necessary to claw away at some market share. Chen seems to think he's entitled . . . and this is one reason why BlackBerry is utterly doomed. Now I wouldn't develop a BB app even if he paid me :-) But while we're at it, maybe we do need some regulation, so we can hold app developers at gunpoint (because that's what laws do, in the final argument) and force them to cough up the goods. In fact, I have an old Palm Pilot VII in a box somewhere that is being discriminated against and would be perfectly useful if only it had some apps... </snark>

GrinningFool 12y ago
They did subsidize a number of major apps that come over to BlackBerry.
- kabdib 12y ago
  On the other hand, it's probably cheaper to buy a congressman or senator than it is to pay a developer to port an app.
  - declan 12y ago
    Exactly right. I noticed this many times when living in DC. There's even a study that puts numbers on the ROI for politician-purchasing: "In a recent study, researchers Raquel Alexander and Susan Scholz calculated the total amount the corporations saved from the lower tax rate. They compared the taxes saved to the amount the firms spent lobbying for the law. Their research showed the return on lobbying for those multinational corporations was 22,000 percent. That means for every dollar spent on lobbying, the companies got $220 in tax benefits." http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/01/06/144737864/forget-stocks-or-bonds-invest-in-a-lobbyist http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/01/06/144737864/forget-s...
    - droope 12y ago
      holy shit
- noarchy 12y ago
  >They did subsidize a number of major apps that come over to BlackBerry. Subsidized, and even subsequently outsourced development to other companies, though I realize this isn't necessarily unusual. It just isn't made public.

by kabdib 12y ago

GrinningFool 12y ago

They did subsidize a number of major apps that come over to BlackBerry.

kabdib 12y ago
On the other hand, it's probably cheaper to buy a congressman or senator than it is to pay a developer to port an app.
- declan 12y ago
  Exactly right. I noticed this many times when living in DC. There's even a study that puts numbers on the ROI for politician-purchasing: "In a recent study, researchers Raquel Alexander and Susan Scholz calculated the total amount the corporations saved from the lower tax rate. They compared the taxes saved to the amount the firms spent lobbying for the law. Their research showed the return on lobbying for those multinational corporations was 22,000 percent. That means for every dollar spent on lobbying, the companies got $220 in tax benefits." http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/01/06/144737864/forget-stocks-or-bonds-invest-in-a-lobbyist http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/01/06/144737864/forget-s...
  - droope 12y ago
    holy shit
noarchy 12y ago
>They did subsidize a number of major apps that come over to BlackBerry. Subsidized, and even subsequently outsourced development to other companies, though I realize this isn't necessarily unusual. It just isn't made public.