Little Things That Irk You VI: The Rage Awakens

[Darwock]

About that, we use iPads heavily at work (each classroom teacher has one with all the music and stuff we need, they record their piano playing for practise with the kids etc).

Recently one of the iPads apps froze up. It had the teachers important piano music in it. I backed up the iPad in iTunes, deleted and reinstalled the app, which fixed it but erased the data, and then went to restore the backup to get the data back on there. As soon as I connected to iTunes it backed up again, overwriting the usable backup I made on purpose.

I could see it about to happen but there was no way to stop it, and the settings for autosyncing that iPad couldn't be changed until it was connected (at which point it would backup anyway).

Did I miss something obvious or is this just a huge design flaw?

After that, we upgraded the app to allow iCloud syncing for backups. 7 out of 10 iPads were fine with that. Three just reported 'can't use the cloud!' In an error message. Those three were the ones that had been upgraded to iOS9. I had recommended nobody upgrade until the end of the year in anticipation of broken functionality if we did. Hey presto.

I don't know how Apple get away with this business model. Changing your OS on a yearly basis so that all apps basically break and have to be fixed, so if you have a lazy developer or one that lacks resources you're out of luck. Software has a one year lifespan. On top of that, they continue to sell it even if it doesn't work. It's shocking.

It could be such a useful device, but lack of stability means it's only fit for being a hi-tech toy.

[Asura]

I recently returned my iPad to factory settings and when I went to re-download my games off the App Store, not all were available. And 'No longer available on the App Store' means not possible to download again, even if you already bought it (unlike Microsoft, who will allow you to re-download titles, even when they have been removed).

I think this is because they won't let you download a version of the app which is incompatible with your current version of iOS.

An app made back in the iOS6 era might simply not work now, under iOS9 - so even if you bought it, you can't download it now if you upgraded your version of the OS (I mean, it wouldn't work even if you did).

This is the thing; Apple's applications will run on future devices, but only if the developer supports them. Fine for Skype, not so fine for smaller-scale stuff.

It could be such a useful device, but lack of stability means it's only fit for being a hi-tech toy.

I recommend popping into PC World. You'll see their "computer" aisles are bustling again as of late 2015-now. The masses have realised that they threw their computers away in 2012 and bought iPads, only to discover that they iPad isn't a proper computer and are now flocking to buy new laptops.

Even as someone who works with them every day, I dread the thought of schools that have invested in them. They're toys.

[randombs]

[MENTION=2357]Darwock[/MENTION]: That's strange. How much space is on the PC's hard drive? Mine usually has around 2-3 previous backups saved for my iPhone and iPad but only if I have enough room for them. Mind you, if you're backing up many iPads to one PC then I guess it's possible iTunes will just keep the latest backup for each one.

I find iTunes on my MacBook deletes apps from the music folder quite randomly, too. I guess I'll have to manually back them up every now and then but the ones I've lost are all quite throwaway apps so I don't care.
[MENTION=4034]Atticus[/MENTION]: Apps get removed from the App Store for all kinds of reasons including ToS violations, although we customers aren't to blame for that. It's like P.T. on the PlayStation Store. I think you can't download that any more even if you 'bought' it while it was available.

[Atticus]

I think this is because they won't let you download a version of the app which is incompatible with your current version of iOS.

An app made back in the iOS6 era might simply not work now, under iOS9 - so even if you bought it, you can't download it now if you upgraded your version of the OS (I mean, it wouldn't work even if you did).

This is the thing; Apple's applications will run on future devices, but only if the developer supports them. Fine for Skype, not so fine for smaller-scale stuff.

They didn't give a reason but I suspect there are some kind of licensing/legalities going on.

All four Llamasoft games (no longer available on the App Store) transferred from iTunes on to my bang up to date iPad and work perfectly.

@Atticus: Apps get removed from the App Store for all kinds of reasons including ToS violations, although we customers aren't to blame for that. It's like P.T. on the PlayStation Store. I think you can't download that any more even if you 'bought' it while it was available.

In P.T.s case at least that's not paid for content. This experience with Apple has made me think about all the digital games I've bought in recent years and my access to them in the future. I do have more faith in Sony and Microsoft though.

[randombs]

True, P.T. was free. Maybe that's why it's no longer available?

I believe you can still re-download Outrun from XBLA/PSN if you bought it already even though it's no longer licensed so agreed, kudos to Sony/MS if that's because that game would have been paid for by the users.

Actually, you bring up another interesting point - if you backup your device to iCloud, it doesn't backup the apps themselves so when you do a restore it downloads the latest versions from the App Store and, I imagine, ignores any that are no longer on the store. Of course, if you updated all your apps after making the backup(and emptied your trash/recycle bin) then it will restore those updated versions but if you're like me they won't be updated!

One thing, though, is that I believe it's possible to copy apps from other people as long as you bought/downloaded them yourself as well.

I copied the IPA file for one of my company's free apps from my iPhone to my PC using iFunbox. I then copied that app to a random iPod. When I opened the app it asked for an Apple ID so I tried one I knew didn't have that app in its purchase history and it didn't work. I then entered an ID(not mine) that had downloaded that app before and it worked fine. No problems since and no pop-ups asking for the Apple ID to be entered again. If you don't enter anything, the app will be unusable. I guess it's similar to borrowing a friend's Windows DVD to re-install using your legal key.

Of course, I'm not keen on downloading IPAs from the internet to keep as backups but I guess one possibility to restore something you've lost is to try getting the IPA from someone you trust.

I've no idea if that would work for apps that are no longer available on the App Store and have been removed from your download history.

Oh, it gets worse by the way. Now Apple employs app 'thinning' which means if you download an app on your iPad, it won't contain the iPhone-compatible version. When you connect it to your PC, it will back up the iPad version. That one won't work on your iPhone. I think if you download the app on the PC itself instead of a particular device then it will be the full universal app.

[Dogg Thang]

Yep, this is going to prove to be an ongoing issue and one that gets worse over time. Companies will pull games for a large number of reasons and other companies will cease to exist and their games will get pulled and many more will simply cease to work as updates to OS are applied - you can choose not to update, of course, and then newer apps will eventually not work for you.

Our modern systems (and it isn't just games) have no sense of permanence. We rent everything and we don't get to know how long the rental period is.

[randombs]

Where I have the choice, I physically buy stuff I'd like to play in the future and go digital for throwaway or cheap stuff(around a fiver max).

My attitude is along the lines of "I'm sure it'll be playable again at some point with an emulator" but when it comes down to it I just don't really care about losing my access that much. I'm pretty sure a few apps I bought are no longer available - and I highly doubt I'd use them now even if they were - but I do feel sad that my contributing to this rental culture isn't helping the fight against it.

I guess I'm foolishly assuming parts of the Internet will always be around to provide for me when the companies move on.

[Dogg Thang]

Where it has already affected me is a pixel art app that I used to use that broke after an iOS update. The dev never updated the app and there are images on the app I was never able to get from it. I mailed them but there is nothing I can do. It's now unsupported, the app has been pulled and me still having it on my device is useless.

[wakka]

The same thing happens with Android. I have Dodonpachi Resurrection sitting uselessly on my phone - it won't work on Android 6, and I don't think it even worked on Android 5.

[Brad]

Following on form some of the recent comment I spend a year trying to use a 12.1 inch Samsung tablet as a laptop before realising what I really needed was a laptop. I doubt I'm alone!

[Dogg Thang]

And I have just gone from using a laptop as my primary computer for the last 5 years to a big ol' clunky desktop. Not regretting it!

[Asura]

Following on form some of the recent comment I spend a year trying to use a 12.1 inch Samsung tablet as a laptop before realising what I really needed was a laptop. I doubt I'm alone!

And I have just gone from using a laptop as my primary computer for the last 5 years to a big ol' clunky desktop. Not regretting it!

It makes a HUGE difference.

Now, I have a Windows 10 laptop/tablet hybrid, which pretty much does everything - only exception is there aren't many games/apps on the Windows store, but that doesn't matter as it browses, runs Netflix, plays music and runs MS Office. That's what I needed. Despite that, though, I wouldn't get rid of my desktop.

[randombs]

Where it has already affected me is a pixel art app that I used to use that broke after an iOS update. The dev never updated the app and there are images on the app I was never able to get from it. I mailed them but there is nothing I can do. It's now unsupported, the app has been pulled and me still having it on my device is useless.

Aw that's a shame, especially considering your output in the artwork thread! Is it really a lost cause? Is there no way for you to view the files and take what you need? I had a similar issue and I used a backup extractor on my Mac to pull out single files from my recent backup.

[MENTION=5490]wakka[/MENTION]: luckily you can put an older android version on if you're really dying to play it whereas iPhone doesn't have that luxury. I'm sure there are formalities involved due to manufacturers and hardware support but they don't outright stop you, do they?

[Dogg Thang]

There were just a few pics I wanted to get from it. I was able to open the app and use the screenshot function to get pics of them but the unfinished one can't really be worked on. It's not a major thing but it was frustrating.

[wakka]

Aw that's a shame, especially considering your output in the artwork thread! Is it really a lost cause? Is there no way for you to view the files and take what you need? I had a similar issue and I used a backup extractor on my Mac to pull out single files from my recent backup.

@wakka: luckily you can put an older android version on if you're really dying to play it whereas iPhone doesn't have that luxury. I'm sure there are formalities involved due to manufacturers and hardware support but they don't outright stop you, do they?

I don't know to be honest - I probably can if I root, but that's a pretty inadequate solution! I wouldn't root/downgrade the firmware of my phone - it is 95% a tool, 5% an entertainment device for me. It's just a bit annoying really.