Fri, 08 Aug 2008 'IAmRich' removed from App Store

James said on Fri, 08 Aug 2008

Lmao. That is hilarious. I am glad that the developer gets to keep most of the money.

Sparky said on Fri, 08 Aug 2008

No, its really sad ...
People drop a grand for nothing because they can and half the world lives in poverty.

Joey Smallwood said on Fri, 08 Aug 2008

I'd say other than the person who bought it accidentally, the others were members of the media getting it so they could report on it and make a story of it. I agree with James. Kudos to the developer. Really though, how different is this than buying diamond jewelry? They're only good to look at. The bigger the diamond, the more you flaunt your wealth. There's other things that are arguably as (or more) visually appealing than diamonds but it's the draw of the status symbol and the cultural value they've become which brings people to buy them. Think about Louis Vuitton handbags. Are you really dumping money into a quality handbag or buying into the name? What's wrong with there being a digital equivalent of this? Sure, someone would probably eventually create imitation cyber jewels but still people will buy the original for sticker price so they can brag about it. I say if people are stupid enough to buy it, then let them. A fool and his money are easily parted.

krayzie said on Fri, 08 Aug 2008

my humps, my humps my humps my humps...my lovely lady lumps...check it out

if a song like that can make money, why cant a "work of art" such as a fake jewel earn money

Logan said on Fri, 08 Aug 2008

24 hours = $5,600 for the developer?

Good for him. Anyone who has enough money to buy something rediculous like that deserves to be parted with it.

For those who can't afford it, I'm not sure what the problem is. I consider the idea to be really stupid, but I also think the idea of a magic man in the clouds watching over us to be really stupid. Still there is someone out there willing to invest in the idea both financially and emotionally, so I'm not going to begrudge the developer. The only "victim" are the people willingly shelling out the money to get the App.

And the guy who bought it in mistake should get an immediate refund.

dancingbrook said on Fri, 08 Aug 2008

This is not a place for low, loud flames.

[Editor's Note: The message this refers to has been deleted.]

Lachlan Hunt said on Fri, 08 Aug 2008

That guy who bought it by mistake is just a fool. Although I think Apple should still be nice and give him a refund.

However, I think this shows that Apple should add some kind of threshold to the one-click purchasing. Any product over a certain limit (perhaps a user configurable limit) should provide the user with some sort of confirmation dialog with a stern warning before proceeding. Also, it should be possible to try apps before purchasing, especially when they are expensive.

brewster said on Mon, 11 Aug 2008

I'm one of the people who bought it accidentally...

While frantically downloading every (free) app I could find on the iTunes store, I inadvertently downloaded one called "IAmRich"*. It actually does nothing, but shows a red light when you launch it. Whatever. I was app crazy and I wanted them all and it was listed under "FREE APPS". Come to find out (when I got my next iTunes receipt), it was far from free - it cost me $999.99. That is not a decimal error. That is a thousand dollars, minus a penny. Horrified, I went to the iTunes website, only to find that - of course - there is no way to actually have a discussion with the iTunes store about purchase errors or incorrect charges. Any communication is reduced to browser-based, one-way email and when (if) they reply, you can't further explain the situation because their replies are automated, and tagged "DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL."

Farout said on Tue, 12 Aug 2008

That's cos they don't care about anything but your money.