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F.lux for iOS No Longer Available After Apple Says Side-Loading Violates Developer Agreement

DogHouseDub said:
We need a true NIGHT MODE. All text becomes white, backgrounds become black, photos remain as they were.
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Or at least give us dark options. White text on black screens is a pain for night mode, but options to have red or green text would be lovely. There's a star app that has a nightmode option and its really useful.
 
Glassed Silver said:
Well, I was talking about the software, but okay, I'll bite on that:

There's always a way in, that's usually not the problem. You get the tool (probably for a reasonable price too) and that's that.
You're required to have some common sense, maybe a good manual (e.g. unofficial guide iFixit-style) and a fair amount of practice servicing electronics.

What's not so cool is excessive use of adhesives that can be hard to properly reapply / buy as replacement, soldered RAM (yes, SMD work can be done at home, but at much higher costs), batteries are proprietary instead of pushing for some industry standards, but maybe I'll give them a pass on that as long as the device can be operated using the outlet without a battery installed (which, by the way, doesn't go without saying in the tech industry) and of course amongst other things the hard to replace disks in Macs.

Meanwhile, their locked-down iOS is at their discretion, but every time they enforce stuff like this to that extend, it's a great reminder of how iOS just isn't a proper OS.
App Store of open-source is NOT the way forward, it might be more secure, but ultimately it should be up to the user to decide which code to run, it their device after all, granted running licensed software that CAN LEGALLY bind you to the agreements, then again those agreements may not be in full compatible with law and you're free to reign over side-loading and/or jailbreaking however you wish, depending on where you live in this world.

So again, just because Apple CAN do it, doesn't mean they are smart in doing so and certainly there is a difference between me having to buy a special tool to open and service my computer and me having to a) buy a Mac to side-load (because I have to compile, at least a wrapper) and b) if Apple "give the call", a developer will be forced to remove their side-loaded app. (btw, now we're back to square one where you have to jailbreak, in theory, to use f.lux, which as we all know is much less secure than being unjailbroken)

Sorry, I'm just not a fan of all this and as long as this prevails I'll always look at iOS as a toy system with some very good productivity apps happening to be on there as well, but many of which are cruelly limited in what they can do, thanks to Apple's restrictions, for better or worse.

Glassed Silver:mac
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all partially true, but in the end if the dev wanted he can still put his project in github or release it under a different company name. Apple is telling them that if they want to be in business together they have to what they think is fair or else we break the relationship. They never went after his Cydia version.
 
Maybe someone can just write a more simple, open source version that just has a Today View widget for turning it on and off, wouldn't be automatic but would still serve the main purpose for most people. (Wouldn't not annoy Apple, but wouldn't matter- just open source on GitHub).
 
oneMadRssn said:
I think all we can do is flood Apple's feedback page with requests for this. I did my part.

Really, if f.lux's patents issue, Apple should just throw those folks some money and cushy jobs and buy the whole thing. Apple loves to brag about health features and accessibility - and this seems like the perfect feature addition to iOS10.
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I just sent feedback too, and, like you, pointed out the fit with their emphasis on health.
 
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napabar said:
Apple has never endorsed or called this method "Side-Loading".

Stop whining.
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Yep, asking users to "side load" as an end-run around the app store ( and private API's ) was asking for trouble and they had to have known it was against the rules. Apple has never supported this method of distribution and I doubt they ever will.
 
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Bubba Satori said:
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

scargill-walled-garden-2.jpg
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This is so much better...

favelas_foto_USP.jpg
 
Pakaku said:
An admin had to actually go out of their way to lock down that OSX. It didn't suddenly get new locks added to it by the OS devs.
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If it runs a newer OS, you have the App Store. You can accept a developer's app from the web if you click the option in System Preferences. Or you can turn it off (not recommended.) I value security. But hey, root your phone if you don't mind all your data being stolen. 3/4 of Android phones, with all but the most modern completely vulnerable to rooting. But hey, it's your data.
 
Making public API? Dream on. If it's really something people want, they'll just put in in iOS 11 and OS X 10.13 and put them out of business.
 
ErikGrim said:
Hopefully the popularity of this sends a message to Apple and they'll add something similar in an upcoming iOS. This is the kind of low hanging fruit that can be picked off once a platform is mature.
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Or, you know, hopefully this sends a message to f.lux and they’ll open source their software.

However, as you say, I truly hope we’ll see a more open Apple. I’d certainly love to be able to go Settings → App Store → Allow Downloads From: Anywhere.
 
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ErikGrim said:
Hopefully the popularity of this sends a message to Apple and they'll add something similar in an upcoming iOS. This is the kind of low hanging fruit that can be picked off once a platform is mature.
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users have been asking Apple for f.lux-alike for more than three years. nothing has happened. and it's unlikely ever will.
 
F.lux is one of the many reasons I chooses to stay on older versions of jailbroken iOS devices. I am still running iOS 8.1 on both my iPhone 6 and iPad air2 and find both to be more capable and flexible than the newest iOS devices running the most up to date os. I have better multitasking abilities, more control and just a better overall experience.
 
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Personally I think this move was correct. Side loading would open a can or worms with viruses and stuff.
 
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