This is ZX81.org.uk

If you look at the sales reports from iTunes Connect, it seems that Apple are taking nearly 40% of the sale price for downloads made in Europe. Of course they claim to take 30% and, indeed, that’s exactly what you see in the US store.

So what’s going on?

The good news is that Apple are not screwing you over. The numbers do add up. The difference is that prices in the US App Store do not include sales tax (VAT) but those in Europe do. This means that before Apple take their 30% cut, they first take off the tax that needs to be paid. If that’s not clear, let’s work through an example.

• The Rise and Fall of the Independent Developer – “My fear is that It’s only a matter of time before developers find the risks and expenses prohibitive and retreat to the safety of a larger organization. We’ll be going back to square one.”
• The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s choice is beyond belief – “But what these cases illustrate is that in certain areas compromise is not possible because the rights of different minorities are mutually exclusive. When one group refuses to fulfil its job description because it disapproves of another group, there is no middle ground, no give and take.”

• Turnabout is fair play – “This is so wonderfully, evilly devious. Superficially, it seems to support creationist methods—but what it actually is is a grand reductio ad absurdam.”
• Google’s Business Model – Who is the customer and what is the product? (via @daringfireball)
• Björk: ‘Manchester is the prototype’ – “Biophilia is the Icelandic singer’s new project – the word means ’love of living things’ – and promises to push the envelope so far you’ll need the Hubble telescope to see it.”

Rumour has it that Yahoo! are looking for a new CEO. Some people have been putting their name forward for the role, or at least offering suggestions for Carol Bartz’s successor. This post is in response to Joe Stumps list of ideas.

To be clear, I know that list is not completely serious. I know that he’s not really angling for the CEO role and I understand that many of the options would not be achievable even if they were the best thing for Yahoo! That’s not the point I’m trying to make.

Welcome to the British Summer. Taken on my iPhone on Regent Street, just outside the Apple Store, this morning on my way to work.

• Apple Engineer Fashions Computer Out of Legos – I never quite got this advanced with technical lego…
• United Kingdom and Ireland as seen from ISS – Wow.

• Enough Is Enough – “The whole [Lodsys] thing is nuts. I can’t understand why our goverment allows this shit to go on. "
• Android App Removals Cast Doubt on Google’s ‘Openness’ – “It’s certainly more open than Apple’s platform. But really, that’s like being a taller midget.”

The cartoon¹ for today’s Dilbert Day to Day Desk Calendar seemed appropriate for some things that are happening in the mobile software industry at the moment.

If you’ve not been following events — shame on you — then you can read all about it here. In summary, a number of small developers have been sued by a “patent troll,” that is a company that does not develop or make anything but demands royalties for the use of “intellectual property” it bought.

I’ve photographed a few weddings before, but this one was different. The others have all been for friends. This one was for a friend of a friend, someone I’d never met before. In the end I don’t think that made any difference, but I was much more conscious that I mustn’t get in the way.

• iCloud’s real purpose is to kill Windows – “What this requires from Apple is a bold move that Microsoft would never make: Jobs is going to sacrifice the Macintosh in order to kill Windows. He isn’t beating Windows, he’s making Windows inconsequential.”
• Microsoft joins pre-emptive patent protection program – Software patents are not really popular, even with companies that (in theory) should benefit from them…