Podcast Addict Play Store ban: Android chief says soz for incorrect removal, developers aren't impressed

Google's senior veep for Android, Chrome OS and Play Store, Hiroshi Lockheimer, has apologised for suspending the popular Podcast Addict app, but he might not have expected the outpouring of frustration from other developers with their own tales to tell. The exec said on Twitter this morning: "Apologies to Podcast Addict fans …

[Paul Herber]

"our app Pinreel, a complex video maker App"

COmplex VIDeo

I think I can see what has happened here!

[Youngone]

Good lord! What weird patterns people's brains see.

This is why I come to El Reg every day.

[Paul Herber]

Do you mean that everyone hasn't got a built-in regular expression processor? You'll be telling me next your eyes don't a zoom function!

[dajames]

You'll be telling me next your eyes don't a zoom function!

I'm waiting for the Zeiss Ikons ...

[James 139]

What about split screen, slow motion and Quantel?

[Sgt_Oddball]

Hey Siri..

Enhance 224 to 176.

Enhance. Stop.

Move in. Stop.

Pull out, track right. Stop.

Center and pull back. Stop.

Track 45 right. Stop. Center and stop.

Enhance 34 to 36.

Pan right or-and pull back. Stop.

Enhance 34 to 46.

Pull back. Wait a minute. Go right. Stop.

Enhance 57 to 19. Track 45 left. Stop.

Enhance 15 to 23.

Gimme a hard copy right there.

Mines the dirty raincoat with the copy of 'Do androids dream of electronic sleep?' in the pocket...

[Kane]

"What about split screen, slow motion and Quantel?"

Just the zoom? Hmm. Well, no, that's fine, that's great, no, no, that's really great, that's great. Now then, my nipples don't work.

[2+2=5]

> COmplex VIDeo

> I think I can see what has happened here!

Does that mean my new app for the Witchfinder General – COVen IDentifer – will get rejected?

[Anonymous Coward]

I posted that in the other thread. Co vid 1-20 variable and pow you hit an automatic ai attack because you are the paperclip it wants at any cost.

[murrayworks]

what about my app

I had the same thing happen when I submitted an app to the Store a couple of months ago. As with these, nothing medical or claiming to give answers - just sharing info on local businesses operating deliveries etc. - but as the release was brought forward due to current events, these were mentioned in the app description.

Caught by the filter and got a very scary email threatening to deactivate my Google account and any related accounts, but I put in an appeal and it was overturned within a couple of days; just had to remove the references from the store listing.

[Pascal Monett]

"We are still sorting out kinks in our process"

The kinks in your process is that you have one guy to review everything.

Take a million out of all your billions and hire a few dozen more guys to review the issues. That will help.

AI won't.

[lglethal]

Re: "We are still sorting out kinks in our process"

But then our Bonuses will be a million less! No sorry, we cant have that...

[jmch]

Re: "We are still sorting out kinks in our process"

"The kinks in your process is that you have one guy to review everything."

In spite of the 'long tail' model, Google etc still get most of their revenues from a limited number of customers, none of whom will ever get an app rejected or account suspended. Everyone else, to Google, is a PITA to be tolerated, not a customer to be supported, hence much less dedicated manpower

[Anonymous Coward]

welcome to the future world with Google as the censor :(

[jonnycando]

One has to consider the possibility that Google has turned into just another Microsoft......oh how history repeats!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What about auto-updates?

I wonder if these are early signs of issues when machine learning based technologies are widely deployed.

Once you bless it as trained, whatever output is the verdict - how and why it got there is elusive. No body can tell why machine learning systems comes out with an specific outcome - it is an art of statistics and probabilities after all.

I guess the emails and Google developer relations don't respond is because they don't know why either.

Computer says no.....

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: What about auto-updates?

For a laugh see ai dungeon 2. The new model being even worse than the current and you can instantly switch between them to compare.

[Cynic_999]

Self censorship

This is the problem with any type of censorship that does not have oversight or accountability. At least if a commercial site gets too ban-happy it will result in an opportunity for the competition and consequent loss of customers. Non-commercial organisations (e.g. the IWF) can secretly ban whatever they like with no consequences.