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cardistry master Special user 759 Posts |
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On Nov 15, 2020, pegasus wrote: Because it uses screenshots to make it look right. |
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pegasus Eternal Order United Kingdom 10537 Posts |
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On Nov 16, 2020, cardistry master wrote: So there you are. There’s an obvious work around. I’m convinced it’s all to do with profit margin. |
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reignofsound Inner circle Glasgow, UK 2199 Posts |
This app was good as well.
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reignofsound Inner circle Glasgow, UK 2199 Posts |
Seems Ellusionist have listened.
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cardistry master Special user 759 Posts |
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On Nov 16, 2020, pegasus wrote: I think it is too. I have no problem with webapps since there are some very good ones I use a lot but my issue is when they are unsupported. Since it is a lot easier to take access to them away. They also demoted the person who sent out that email apparently |
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owengarfield New user 2 Posts |
I'm going to be absolutely frank here because I can see there's speculation about why it's a web app...
When I developed the prototype of Predictagram, I did it for fun and to fool Lloyd Barnes. I never believed people would buy it. It was Lloyd's enthusiasm and confidence in it that meant I sold it to Ellusionist. I coded it as a web app to work purely for me (i.e. my photos and bio etc.). If I felt confident it would... a) make it through the app store process b) survive there c) not be picked up by Instagram/Facebook and ripped into for copyright/trademark issues... ..I would have wanted to make it a native app. For one thing, my revenue split would have been higher that way! We talked about it and decided that the safest way for it to be sustained was as a web app. E's developer helped turn it from a functioning and visually accurate UI prototype into a product with licensing and image upload capabilities. A 'skin' workaround may work well with other apps, it would have been a gamble with this one. Apple are known to be very stringent. Both myself and Ellusionist would have been happier with it being a native app too. There are pros and cons to either option but profit margin wasn't it. I'm happy to have read on social media that Ellusionist have listened to people's complaints an are going to bring it back. As I said before, the functionality is all there; it's just a matter of maintaining the UI as Instagram make incremental changes over time. Even as I was coding the prototype there were subtle UI/UX changes (e.g. how there used to be a grid and feed option and now there's just a grid and you tap a photo to get into the scroll feed). It's paramount that the app be as close to the real Instagram as feasibly possible. Web app or native app, there'd still need to be ongoing work done on the app for it to be 'evergreen'. This is my first ever dabbling with magic as a layman who just had an idea to fool his magician friend in the pub. I've performed this trick so many times to strangers at bars and loved the reactions. Seeing performances of it going down so well was like seeing your firstborn succeed in the world. I was immensely proud and feel strongly about it being treated with care so it can continue to be enjoyed and used. |
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bpearce Regular user 141 Posts |
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On Nov 16, 2020, pegasus wrote: It’s definitely about profit margin. Ellusionist is not great about keeping their apps updated even before all of this. As soon as some new and shiny app comes along, any previous app upkeep falls by the wayside.
There will always be someone better at some things than you are. There will always be someone worse at some things than you are. All you can really do in the end, is aim to be better than you were yesterday.
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mrbungle Regular user 149 Posts |
Hello all! It advertises that you can automatically copy your instagram…
Does anyone know how? I have looked in every corner.. Thanks! Marco
Grandia Enterprises inc. 1974
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Ellusionist_Official New user Cool, CA 19 Posts |
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On Dec 29, 2020, bpearce wrote: We've updated predictagram many many times over the last few years. It's cost us tens of thousands of dollars in re-coding fees. But we have learned a valuable lesson. It's impossible to offer lifetime support on apps. No company on earth offers continued support on a non-subscription product, as technology always moves ahead - and it costs a fortune to maintain. Insta keeps changing the way it looks and apple/google keeps changing the way their OS functions. It's our fault. We charged customers once ($20-$25) and didn't know how expensive it would be to maintain moving forward. It's definitely a loss for our company now, as it would be with any company. It eats away profit to keep incurring costs/bug fixes. We now batch bugs and improvements and our developer (Shameer) goes from app to app in a loop. He fixed Picasso Pro Then made Cipher Pro Then moved onto Hydra After that he'll be onto predictagram. Then he'll start the cycle again. However, one day, we'll be forced to move away from web-apps and to an official app store subscription model, if they'll allow predictagram. In the same way that Apple won't support iPhone 6's or prior models anymore. I hope that shines more light on it. @Ellusionist |
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pegasus Eternal Order United Kingdom 10537 Posts |
I’m happy to pay for updates personally. I’d rather that than an app that no longer works, or looks odd after updates.
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DevGuy New user 20 Posts |
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On Jun 21, 2022, Ellusionist_Official wrote: It's impossible to offer lifetime support on apps. No company on earth offers continued support on a non-subscription product, as technology always moves ahead - and it costs a fortune to maintain. Two words. Marc Kerstein. |
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ablanathanalba Loyal user Can't really boast with only 288 Posts |
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On Jun 21, 2022, Ellusionist_Official wrote: I really appreciate Ellusionist for taking the time to explain this. Now that I understand what the limitations are and what the future might bring, I am going to buy this, use it and enjoy it for as long as it works. Dollar for dollar, it's worth it to me if I get even 50 performances out of it. I've paid much more for finite effects. |
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peirceman Regular user 114 Posts |
So, the question is, is two years an acceptable amount of time to support an app that someone paid for? I get the whole can't support it forever, but two years?
Why am I reviving it. Well, I got a new phone, an iPhone 13. Since predictagram is a web based app, it doesn't account for the notch and Safari puts the navigation buttons where the clock and battery display is. I can use it, but if the spectator pays attention, it will be obvious. Ugh |
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Holden New user 81 Posts |
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On May 17, 2023, peirceman wrote: It's not "can't" it's "can't be arsed". I bought Wikitest when it first came out. Never paid a penny since. It's still up-to-date and has any cosmetic iOS changes done day and date of release. |
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peirceman Regular user 114 Posts |
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On May 18, 2023, Holden wrote: You're right. I guess I was just trying to be polite. |
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videoman Inner circle 6732 Posts |
Probably unfair to compare it to Wikitest because Wikitest has probably outsold Predictagram 10 to 1 (or maybe much more) and Wikitest continues to sell well. Plus Marc Kerstein has developed many other apps and they can all supplement each other in terms of profit to provide ongoing support.
Nothing lasts forever and this is especially true when it comes to any type of software. When you buy any app that has no long term track record it is a bit like backing a Kickstarter project. There are no guarantees it will sell well on an ongoing basis and once sales slow there is a good chance it will discontinue being supported. So you are always taking a gamble and need to be aware of that when purchasing any product that will require ongoing support. I don't know how much Predictagram cost but I doubt it was all that expensive so IMO 2 years of use is not unreasonable. You must be aware that there is always a chance of things like this happening when you upgrade your phone. I agree it can be quite aggravating but it's just simple economics and any individual or company would do the same thing. |
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