Reading these messages, I am reminded of computer software throughout the past 30 years.
When you purchase a program on disk in a store, the policy is, and has been for the past 30 years, that if you open the packaging, you cannot return the program. I wasted many dollars purchasing software that turned out to be inaccessible. Very occasionally, I was able to convince the shop to refund my money, but usually I was out of luck. The real question is why has our computer culture been like this for at least the previous 30 years? The answer is, software piracy. In the beginning of computer usage, when disks took the place of punch cards, people figured out how to exactly duplicate software. So, they would purchase the program disk, take it home, open it, copy it, return the disk to the store, say it did not meet their needs, get a refund, and return home to use their now free software. The more enterprising amongst them would share the software, or even sell the software. This is otherwise known as piracy, and it is very big business. Oh, and save for a few business enterprise exceptions, most purchased computer software cannot be returned, even if it is inaccessible. And, it definitely cannot be try-it before you buy-it. So, what about the App Store? Apple ties your software purchase to your account to reduce software piracy. However, any app you purchase immediately and permanently exists on your iOS device and in any external back-up medium. So, when you get a refund from Apple, you still have access to the app. You will not be able to upgrade it without purchasing it again, but the original software may well be in your possession. Unless you agree to allow Apple to make random spot-checks of your iOS device to confirm that you have, indeed, removed any and all incidents of the software, and they can check in several months time to continue verifying that you are not secretly running the software you haven't paid for, well, that is the other side of the argument. If I was an app developer, I would not want to know my apps were being pirated. David Chittenden, MSc, MRCAA Email: dchitten...@gmail.com Mobile: +64 21 2288 288 Sent from my iPhone On 04/08/2013, at 13:45, Aman Singer <aman.sin...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi, alan. > You say >> what happens when a sighted person gets an app and they think it doesn't >> meet their needs. > > With respect, that depends on whether the description accurately told the > sighted user what the application would do. If the textual description and > the screenshots the app store presented gave an accurate description of the > app, then the user has nothing to complain of. If the description was > inaccurate, then the user should get a refund. THe problem, of course, for > the blind user is that the description may or may not be true. The app may > say it can do X, and may in fact do X for a sighted user but not for a user > of VO. For the VO user, the description is simply false unless it says that > VO will not work with the app. It seems plain that the VO user is entitled to > an accurate description, one which says whether the app will actually do what > it says it will. Failing that, the user is entitled to try the product to see > if the description is false. Failing even that, the user is entitled to a > refund if the description turns out to be nonsense. Apple has chosen not to > allow the first or second options, it seems only reasonable, though not fully > satisfactory, for them to allow the third. > Aman > dealer of what it 2013-08-03, at 1:08 PM, "Alan Paganelli" > <alanandsuza...@earthlink.net> wrote: > >> Hi All, >> >> My concern here is this. So what happens when a sighted person gets an app >> and they think it doesn't meet their needs. Do they get a refund? I'd >> guess not. This sounds to me to much like pulling out the blind card. What >> I'm saying here is, if there is a satisfaction guaranteed or your money back >> policy in place then that's one thing but just because it doesn't work well >> with voice over may not fly. >> ------- >> >> Regards, >> >> Alan >> >> Go Chicago Bears in 2013! >> >> Teenagers; Tired of being harassed by your stupid parents? Act now!!!!! >> Move out. Get a job. Pay your bills wile you still know everything. >> >> Please click on: >> http://www.home.earthlink.net/~alanandsuzanne/ >> There, you'll find free files of my arrangements and performances played on >> the Yamaha Tyros 1 keyboard. The albums in Technics format formerly on my >> website are still available upon request. Thanks for listening! >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Sieghard Weitzel >> To: viphone@googlegroups.com >> Sent: Saturday, August 03, 2013 1:49 AM >> Subject: RE: Bad experience with iTunes Store support regarding app refund >> >> Hi Cara, >> >> I agree and think that unless Apple comes up with a better way to do this >> they should be willing to give Voiceover users a refund without the hassle. >> I must say, however, that I really like that 15 minute return policy Google >> apparently offers, but of course trying to get Apple to do something like >> that is not just a completely different ball game, it’s a different sport! >> >> If Apple was really concerned that this would be abused, they could request >> proof that somebody is actually visually impaired or they could limit >> refunds to a certain number per year. I am very sure that given their >> computers they could easily track this on somebody’s Apple Id. >> >> If you are getting involved in this feel free to use my below messages as an >> example, I am pasting the message I sent without the purchase details, i.e. >> order number and all that, as well as the response I received. >> It was obvious that the person who responded somehow seemed to understand >> the situation, but on another level she apparently didn’t. She summarized my >> request by saying I “inadvertently “ purchased some apps which of course is >> not at all the case and not what I said. >> Here is my initial message and her reply which makes me think she really >> didn’t get it despite the fact that she said it was an “appropriate >> exception” and they would refund me the money which still has not >> happened: >> >> From: Sieghard Weitzel [mailto:siegh...@live.ca] >> Sent: Saturday, July 20, 2013 9:04 AM >> To: 'itunesstoresupp...@apple.com' >> Subject: Voiceover inaccessible apps >> >> Hello, >> >> My name is Sieghard Weitzel. I recently purchased several apps for tracking >> packages in order to find out which one offered the best features. I tried a >> couple more, but they had free Lite versions which allowed me to try them >> before buying the full version. >> >> I am blind and have been an iPhone/Voiceover user for almost 4 years and >> unfortunately I found that two of the paid and 2 of the free/Lite apps have >> accessibility issues and I was not able to use them with Voiceover. I wrote >> to the developers, but have not received any reply as to whether they might >> consider making improvements so the apps would work with Voiceover. I used >> iTunes credit to pay for the paid apps and was wondering if it was possible >> to receive a refund since I have already deleted the apps from my phone. >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: iTunes Store [mailto:itunesstoresupp...@apple.com] >> Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2013 4:50 PM >> To: siegh...@hotmail.ca >> Subject: Re: Voiceover inaccessible apps; Follow-up: 280679929 >> >> Dear Sieghard, >> >> Greetings from iTunes Store Customer Support. My name is Alishia and I am >> happy to assist you today. >> >> I understand that you inadvertently purchased some apps from the App Store >> and you would like to receive a refund for the purchase. I know how >> important it is to have the issue resolved. I assure you of assistance. >> >> Sieghard, after reviewing the circumstances of your case, we determined that >> issuing you a refund for the purchase of "Apps" is an appropriate exception >> to the iTunes Store Terms and Conditions, which state that all sales are >> final. >> >> You will see 6.70 CAD added to your store credit balance within 48 hours. >> You may need to sign out of the iTunes Store and then sign back in before >> you see the credit in your account. >> >> The iTunes Store provides a warning message that asks if you are sure that >> you want to buy an item. This warning can be turned off. If you would like >> to make sure that this warning is on, you can reset the warnings in the >> iTunes Store by following the instructions in this article: >> >> Resetting iTunes Store warnings >> http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1734 >> >> Additionally, you can make modifications on certain devices that will >> prevent them from making purchases: >> >> iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch: Understanding Restrictions >> http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213 >> >> I hope the information provided would resolve your issue. >> >> Sieghard, if you have any additional questions, please let me know and I >> will be happy to assist you further. Thank you for being a valued member of >> iTunes family. >> >> Have a nice day! >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Alishia >> iTunes Store Customer Support >> http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ww/ >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" >> Google Group. >> >> Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. >> >> Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting >> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. >> >> Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing >> viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. >> >> Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing >> viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> >> More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting >> http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "VIPhone" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google >> Group. >> >> Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. >> >> Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting >> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. >> >> Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing >> viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. >> >> Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing >> viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> >> More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting >> http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "VIPhone" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google > Group. > > Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. > > Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting > http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. > > Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing > viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. > > Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing > viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > > More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting > http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. 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