iPhoto Development for Europe?

[MacRumors]

MacWorld.co.uk reports that Apple is still trying to provide photo-print services for european iPhoto users:

Sources close to Apple suggest the company has been seeking a pan-European deal to enable a photo print-service from within iPhoto here. Indications are that regional efforts to achieve this have been undermined by Apple's need to achieve such a Europe-wide deal.

MacWorld.co.uk points to Kodak's new launch of their Ofoto service in the UK and Europe as the likely provider of this service.

 

[Jerry Spoon]

It's really about time Apple gets this done. I couldn't imaging using iPhoto as much as I do if I couldn't order prints. It's just not as attractive a program without that option.

 

[Stella]

Whoo hooo

Apple are finally realizing that life exists outside the US borders...

 

[Mudbug]

I can see this as being nothing but a good thing for our friends across the pond. One click purchase (or a few clicks) of photos you've taken with very little cash outlay and no waste of print materials is a wonderful way of being able to have and share your photos with folks who don't have a computer.

Kudos, Apple.

(ps) how 'bout that run-on sentence structure?

 

[alia]

What I find odd is that ofoto didn't have this capability previously... I mean, I work for an online digital photofinisher, and we don't have nearly the resources of ofoto, and yet we ship globally... and have shipped globally for at least the last two years.

Alia

 

[P-Worm]

I didn't even know that this feature wasn't available outside of Europe. I guess I'm just an ignorant American.

P-Worm

 

[Freg3000]

Sorry for this rant, but here we go...

Originally posted by Macrumors
MacWorld.co.uk reports that Apple is still trying to provide photo-print services for european iPhoto users:

You know this gets me a little ticked off. Now I don't want to start World War 3 here, but I have heard so much "Apple doesn't care about its international users, Apple is a stupid ignorant American company, Apple does know a world exists outside of the US." People that say things like this make it seem like Apple just doesn't give a damn about the their international customers, but this is simply not true. The article states that Apple is still trying, not that they decided this past weekend to start negotiations to achieve the 1-click photo buying option. While it doesn't give a date, I suspect Apple has been working for this for a long time, and has just had problems trying to get a solution that would work for all European countries.

What do you want Apple to do? They are trying to do it; that is all we can ask for. They were not giving international users the finger this whole time. Stop pretending like they were.

 

[ClimbingTheLog]

They need to work on price

I used iPhoto to order prints recently and the service was very good.

That said, I just needed to order another hundred prints and went with another provider, very well respected and uses the latest laser printers, but they charge 0.29 per print and Apple charges 0.49 (4x6). Yeah, I had to use their less elegant software (OSX native though) but I saved twenty bucks, and I'm sure the other lab isn't loosing money.

Apple would keep my business if they were price competive. There's very little added value to the Apple service, save for two drag & drops.

 

[Stella]

You may rant, but do you know how frustrating it is for us living outside the US?

Originally posted by Freg3000
Sorry for this rant, but here we go...

We pay the same price for an OS as the amercans do (in some cases, more)... but don't get the full benefits.

Sherlock, it looks pretty good, but its next to useless outside the US borders.

IMO, we have a right to be pissed off with Apple for dragging its heels.

Photo processing exists in Europe and elsewhere.. its not unique to the US. Microsoft can sort out similar services, why can't Apple? And please, don't tell me its resources... Apple have local offices around the world, these sorts of negioations can be sorted out locally.

We, outside the US have a reason to be unset by Apple's treatment - we get treated second best.

 

[Freg3000]

Originally posted by Stella
You may rant, but do you know how frustrating it is for us living outside the US?

There really is no way for me to really understand how international customers feel, but I do sympathize. Really I do. I'd be angry if some things weren't available to me.

But, you can't vent that frustration by saying Apple hates the world outside of America. It is obvious to me that they are trying. What's holding them up? I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't. The one thing I am pretty sure about is that Apple is not sitting idly and doing nothing. I mean, if we weren't "in the know" and didn't know how bad Motorola was at making chips, people would blame Apple for not wanting to make fast computers? Or that they thought that computers were fast enough already and didn't need to go faster? No, we know the real answer-that Moto suckls for making fast chips.

Something is holding Apple up, and I don't know what it is. But I do know that they are trying. If that isn't good enough for you, and every other international user, I am sorry.

 

[Stella]

>But, you can't vent that frustration by saying Apple hates the
>world outside of America

For some non US person to say that - they'd have to be very bitter indeed!!

It just seems that Apple drags their heels when it comes to issues from outside the US borders.. However, they were very quick to introduce the French noise restrictions in the iPod! (and thus affecting all EU - non French models) ;-) But I shouldn't mention that, because thats also a very touchy subject.

 

[ashish100]

Hmmmm... Well I guess Australia is *never* gonna see any iPhoto or iTMS services, well unless the Mothership sacks most of Apple Australia's decision makers and exports some of its own here. But hey, we're only 20 million, 24 if you add NZ, so would they care?

Interestingly, the Au website and offerings seem to follow Apple Asia pretty closely so I guess you *could* add the populations of Singapore, Hong Kong (and possibly South Korea - though it seems to get updated on a slightly different schedule to us)...

I hope that new CEO is working to change things...

Also, didn't Apple's world (minus US) share used to be 44%... then 42% now 39%? I hope the Ginza Apple Store is a move in the direction of at least one *real* Apple Store in each of the significant world markets where Apple has business. At minimum, 2 stores in Au would serve well.

And sorry for the rant...

 

[Flowbee]

Re: Whoo hooo

Originally posted by Stella
Apple are finally realizing that life exists outside the US borders...

Hmmm... all those other languages in the Mac OS take up a lot of room on my hard drive. I guess they're in there for Americans who don't speak English.

 

[bluedalmatian]

" Hmmm... all those other languages in the Mac OS take up a lot of room on my hard drive. I guess they're in there for Americans who don't speak English."


They might as well not be there seeing as how all software on OS X only seems to use about 5 of them.

It seems strange to me that Apples gone to all that effort to put all those languages in the OS (53 I think) yet its own software, including the Finder and the rest of the OS only uses a handful.

I know the market doesn't exist for some of them to justify it (so why include that language in the first place?) but there's a market for a lot of those languages.

I get p*ssed off about no apps using British English, Canadian English or Aus. English but aside from that, a relative who works for an local education authority in Wales talks about how a lot of Welsh schools won't use computers that insist on using English, make of that what you will, but if thats the case OS X which can display software in different languages on the fly (including Welsh which is in OS X) has a significant advantage over Windows, if only Apple would seize it.

A programmer told me it would take about 2 minutes to implement so I don't think it would cost that much

 

[ashish100]

I agree. And I think a lot more British, Canadian and Australian (mac) users would too.

 

[JLL]

Originally posted by bluedalmatian
It seems strange to me that Apples gone to all that effort to put all those languages in the OS (53 I think) yet its own software, including the Finder and the rest of the OS only uses a handful.

There are 15 languages in Mac OS X and almost every (if not all) included app is localized into those 15 languages.

but if thats the case OS X which can display software in different languages on the fly (including Welsh which is in OS X)

No it's not, but Mac OS X can show apps localized in Welsh if you have enabled Welsh and if the app has Welsh localization files.

The Welsh language itself is not in Mac OS X.

 

[guifa]

Originally posted by ashish100
I agree. And I think a lot more British, Canadian and Australian (mac) users would too.

Interestingly, the Apple-supplied application for software localisation is in British English. I only know that because the program I'm working on is a word game I intend to get into all the languages that will actually work with it (It's hard to do Japanese Hangman ;-) )

 

[madamimadam]

Originally posted by ashish100
Hmmmm... Well I guess Australia is *never* gonna see any iPhoto or iTMS services, well unless the Mothership sacks most of Apple Australia's decision makers and exports some of its own here. But hey, we're only 20 million, 24 if you add NZ, so would they care?

Interestingly, the Au website and offerings seem to follow Apple Asia pretty closely so I guess you *could* add the populations of Singapore, Hong Kong (and possibly South Korea - though it seems to get updated on a slightly different schedule to us)...

I hope that new CEO is working to change things...

Also, didn't Apple's world (minus US) share used to be 44%... then 42% now 39%? I hope the Ginza Apple Store is a move in the direction of at least one *real* Apple Store in each of the significant world markets where Apple has business. At minimum, 2 stores in Au would serve well.

And sorry for the rant...

You should always think of Australia as part of Asia-Pacific in Apple terms. Saying this, they are all under the thumb of Apple Inc. anyway, they don't make their own decisions except about what they are going to eat for lunch.

 

[ashish100]

Righto.

A store in Singapore, HK, Sydney and Melbourne each please.

Early mornings are horrible.

 

[ssamani]

Originally posted by Freg3000
Sorry for this rant, but here we go...



You know this gets me a little ticked off. Now I don't want to start World War 3 here, but I have heard so much "Apple doesn't care about its international users, Apple is a stupid ignorant American company, Apple does know a world exists outside of the US." People that say things like this make it seem like Apple just doesn't give a damn about the their international customers, but this is simply not true. The article states that Apple is still trying, not that they decided this past weekend to start negotiations to achieve the 1-click photo buying option. While it doesn't give a date, I suspect Apple has been working for this for a long time, and has just had problems trying to get a solution that would work for all European countries.

What do you want Apple to do? They are trying to do it; that is all we can ask for. They were not giving international users the finger this whole time. Stop pretending like they were.

WWIII - bring it on.

The reason we're annoyed is that there is no reason why this should have taken so long, not that we think they are only just getting round to it.

Couple of examples (out of many):
.Mac early adopters in the US got 100 free iPhoto prints, value around $50 with several months to use them. UK early adopters got a £30 ($50) voucher to use at the UK Apple Store - and here's the kicker - on purchases of £300 or more. And only a few weeks during which the voucher was valid. I told them to go shove it.

My old favourite. Look at the price of any product on the Apple Store UK, deduct VAT (sales tax), convert into USD using tourist FX rates, compare with US prices and see that Apple makes 10% extra on the FX rate. I've actually priced up some Dell's in the same way and discovered that Dell don't fleece their customers in this way.

I am a Mac advocate and I keep trying to get people to buy Macs, but when people say that Mac's are more expensive, I can't argue that that's not the case - unless you buy the machine in the US. It would be cheaper for me to buy a Mac in the US when visiting and pay the import duty / VAT than it would be to buy the machine here, so you can't tell me that it somehow costs Apple lots more to ship the machine here from the Far East than it does to East Coast US.

Sanjay

 

[ashish100]

Speaking of shipping from Asia, we are part of Asia Pacific, and the closest nation outside asia proper to the region.

We get stuff ages after release, and we get fleeced as well. .Mac shouldn't be around AUD $190 but more like $150... and thats just a start... where's our incentive .Mac Apple Store voucher? Last year the .Mac site actually said Australians purchasing .Mac would get a $100 AUD voucher. Until I rang Apple, nothing was sent out way past the expected date. It was fairly well reported by otheres here too.

Fair enuff that we're a small nation, but our proximity to the manifacturing base should count for something cost wise, no?

 

[tizza]

Originally posted by ashish100
Hmmmm... Well I guess Australia is *never* gonna see any iPhoto or iTMS services [snip]

I agree it was bad enough not getting U2 Elevation in Oz, but no iTMS too!!! What's wrong with us Aussies Steve???

 

[madamimadam]

Originally posted by ashish100
Speaking of shipping from Asia, we are part of Asia Pacific, and the closest nation outside asia proper to the region.

We get stuff ages after release, and we get fleeced as well. .Mac shouldn't be around AUD $190 but more like $150... and thats just a start... where's our incentive .Mac Apple Store voucher? Last year the .Mac site actually said Australians purchasing .Mac would get a $100 AUD voucher. Until I rang Apple, nothing was sent out way past the expected date. It was fairly well reported by otheres here too.

Fair enuff that we're a small nation, but our proximity to the manifacturing base should count for something cost wise, no?

I think we are stuff in a cliché catch. The US don't care because we're not big enough but we are not big enough in the Apple market because the US don't care.

 

[capitalhood]

i wanna bring up some real stupid apple planning

everyone be so kind as to check out the apple online store for Italy, you will notice that they charge more in Euro's than in dollars. Now take in that the Euro is more valuable than the dollar and youll see how dumb apple is being. Europe is rich and to charge 20 percent more over there is just stupid (sorry i know were not supposed to use hurtful language but it had to be said) you get the sense apple's purposefully shooting itself in the foot. (I know i'm off topic but it had to be said also)