On December 10, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) issued its second annual report examining the disclosures and information collection practices in kids’ apps. The FTC Staff aimed to determine whether the parents were able to make informed decisions about whether or not to download an app for their kids based on the privacy collection practices […]
Competition is very fierce in the apps world, as every day sees more than 100 new apps. Likelihood of ever “making it” for the apps developers is slim, and the chances are getting smaller and smaller. Some developers succeed with just one app, but most never do. It even took Rovio, the creators of Angry […]
Recently, Appcelerator and IDC published results of a survey taken by over 5,500 apps developers. You can download the free report here. According to the report, 66% of developers think that it is “likely or very likely” that a mobile-first startup could break Facebook’s dominance in social media. Developers are disappointed with many features of HTML5. Developers […]
Recently, Apple has made certain updates to its process regarding how it deals with claims of copyright infringement of third-party apps that are selling through iTunes. There is now a new form for dispute resolution related specifically to apps. It is found here. After developers enter certain information in the form, Apple will contact […]
On September 5, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission issued the guidance “Marketing Your Mobile App: Get It Right From the Start”. Importantly, the FTC explained that once the developers start distributing their app, they become advertisers, so that anything they tell prospective users must be truthful. There cannot be false or misleading claims or omissions […]
At the end of July, 2012, there appeared an opinion in New York Times titled “Is Algebra Necessary?”. In this opinion, Andrew Hacker tries to understand why the high school students are forced to study mathematics, citing the fact that nationally, one out of four ninth graders fail to finish high school. Dropping algebra from the […]
iPad use in classroom is finally becoming a reality. Not for many, but at least for some schools. In light of this, we would like to share a useful article summarizing the lessons learned after a year-long pilot iPad use program in a 6th grade in a California school. Read their advice to avoid making […]
According to an article “Screen Time” that appeared on page 40 in the June 2012 issue of “Wired”, an organization called One Laptop per Child, together with researchers from Tufts University and the MIT Media Lab, arranged for solar-powered tables to be given to kids in the Ethiopian village of Wolenchite, where there is no […]
We recently came across a great resource that explains to parents and educators the Common Core Standards initiative. According to the information on the site and other sites linked to it, the Common Core Standards are state initiatives to introduce state-wide teaching standards in the fields of math and English. The standards were developed by […]
One out of every five developers of apps listed on the App Store is a solo or works for a company with fewer than 5 employees. Many small apps developers need funds to develop their apps. Recent successes of several games developers on Kickstarter suggest that perhaps apps developers should look at crowdfunding as a […]