Lemonrock Editor

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Got an iPhone? Read this, you're missing out big time.

9 Nov 2020Got an iPhone? Read this, you're missing out big time.

I've just signed an online petition, asking Apple to sort themselves out.

You can see the petition on change.org.

It's rather technical, but the upshot is: if you use an iPhone or iPad instead of a PC or an Android phone, then you are going to lose out on new Lemonrock features.

But it's not just Lemonrock - thousands of smaller companies worldwide will be affected.

https://www.change.org/p/tim-cook-apple-inc-implement-web-push-notifications-on-ios-devices

Here's my post to Apple's developer website.

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Dear Apple,

I just signed the petition on change.org to get you to implement Web Push. Just search "web push".

You are going to lose support from your loyal customers over this glaring omission.

Apple, you don't appreciate that writing an App for your devices takes a lot of time, money and expertise that smaller companies simply don't have. Most Apps can now be written as PWA (progressive web application) websites instead. PWAs are just regular websites with a few modern additions written in standard JavaScript. Just imagine - your users could have access to thousands more App-like websites, but you are preventing this from happening.

Because of this omission, Apple are effectively bullying smaller companies into writing expensive Apps, and denying their own phone users to be contacted by their favourite websites, whereas users on desktop PCs and on Android mobile phones can be contacted easily. Web Push enables instantaneous messaging from a website to a phone user. It's a brilliant new component in global web technology, and everybody except Apple has implemented it.

Apple, it won't take long for your phone users to realise that their favourite sites, written as modern PWAs, work great on other devices, but not on yours. If you want to keep your loyal customers, please give them access to the amazing websites being enjoyed by Android users, using this easy-to-deploy International Standard called Web Push.

Mac MacLaren

Editor, Lemonrock Gig Guide

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You can see my post at https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/114503.

If you are worried about Apple's attitude, and are concerned that you will lose out as a member of Lemonrock, why not sign the petition too?

https://www.change.org/p/tim-cook-apple-inc-implement-web-push-notifications-on-ios-devices

** Lockdown Bonus **

Anyone who has extra Lockdown time on their hands should head over to Wikipedia to read more about Apple's more, er, unsavoury side:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Apple_Inc.

Mac

Lemonrock Editor

Lemonrock Update

4 Nov 2020Lemonrock Update

Here is a summary of the most recent changes to Lemonrock since the Coronavirus pandemic has affected live music.

1. Gigs automatically marked as TBA

Following the UK government's announcement on 31 October 2020 of a second lockdown, all gigs that were listed as confirmed between Thursday 5 November and Monday 1 December have been set to 'TBA'. These gigs are still shown on band and venue pages, but are excluded from the public gig guide listings.

2. Automatic clean-up temporarily suspended

To minimise the inconvenience to bands and venues who are unable to renew their memberships, Lemonrock has suspended its automatic page clean-up system. If your membership expires, Lemonrock will not delete any of your pages.

3. Past gig sections extended to 2 years

Because so few gigs have been performed this year, the 'past gig' sections on band and venue pages were looking much sparser than usual. To correct this, we now list gigs up to 2 years ago on your band or venue 'past gig' sections.

4. Rules on creating and editing content relaxed

Previously, bands and venues were unable to edit, create or delete certain information, if their memberships had expired. We have removed nearly all such restrictions, so that members can still access their photos, blogs and diaries. Bands can still create and edit MP3 tracks and song lists.

5. New entrance type for 'Reservation only' gigs

Some venues have introduced booking systems for gigs, where people must reserve a table. To make this clear in our listings, we have created a new type of entrance fee, so that bands and venues can mark gigs as 'Reservation Only'.

6. Continued stability

Our server is still running normally, and Lemonrock software is being maintained, updated and bug-fixed as usual. We will continue to offer our services, including free customer support, during the lockdown period and beyond. We know how difficult this situation is for so many of you.

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Mac, Lemonrock Editor

Oh Happy Day

29 Oct 2020Oh Happy Day

I'm so sorry that I missed National Badger Day on October 6. Where on earth was my mind?

But, I am delighted to announce that today, October 29, is National Cat Day.

It is also Internet Day.

"But, what do cats have to do with the Internet?" I hear you ask.

Well, quite a lot, actually.

The first known use of a cat on the Internet was in 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee (the inventor of the web) left his computer on all night (deliberately) and had to guard it against being switched off, which would have ruined his experiment. He used the office cat, apparently called Boris, to guard his PC while he went home to sleep (Boris wore a little sign on his collar that said "Do Not Switch Off"). Unfortunately, Boris, tied to the desk, ate the mouse and caused a short-circuit on the PS2 connector, which in turn caused a fault on the internal PC bus. The upshot was that bulletin boards everywhere were later that night swamped with messages about an alien with long whiskers breaking in to CERN and (apparently) deliberately phishing for mice and phish. It was only after Mark Zuckerberg had reached maturity (many decades later) that he realised this was the ideal platform for launching fake profiles about people (and cats) he had never met. And he never looked back. And Tim never looked Boris in the eye ever again. And Boris wondered why he was demoted to hunting badgers.

Told you it was interesting.

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Professor Mac

Fruit Wars

14 Oct 2020Fruit Wars

I'm sorry, I just can't stop thinking about it.

A picture of an apple, and a picture of a pear, are, according to Apple, "highly similar", prompting the Insanely Rich American Giant to issue legal proceedings against a small recipe website called Prepear.

"Apple said the [pear] image was too similar to its own logo and would hurt its brand."

So, folks.... here's a new fruit, fresh as a zesty summer fruit salad, shaping up in the (pineapple) ring.

It's a lemon. Just a plain old lemon with a little green leaf that looks suspiciously like an apple. It's a confused little logo, and you shouldn't blame it; this poor fruit grew up with an identity crisis when its cross-father (a rather rotten apple) left the family fruit bowl to ensure that all orphaned typefaces could be comforted by a family of Serifs. It was a huge success for Daddy Pip; he managed to deregulate 4 species of Rubus, make Blackcurrants change their political views, and liberate an entire sub-species of Avocados, who, up until then, had mistakenly thought of themselves as vegetables. Well, I'm glad this has all been resolved since Daddy abandoned his bitter Lemon family.

It's not over yet, Apple. Lemons await in the bush, ready to squirt acid into your seedy core.

For those of you with time on your hands, look up "Apfelkind" on Google, and prepare to be, well, appalled at Apple's bullying.

#applebullies #fruithasfeelings #prepearforwar #growaleaf

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