Looks like it's finally resolved. TLDR: don't use the @Apple developer website to enrol with the Apple developer program. Use the Apple developer app on an Apple device, or be prepared to waste 10 hours of your life!.

🧵End - Can Anyone Help Me Resolve This Puzzle?. I feel like I am part of some YouTube prank show, except its not funny, and I need to ship a product. How can a multi-billion $ company like Apple get this so wrong?!. Maybe one of you clever internet folk can help me?! 🙏.

🧵11/12 - The Apple Paradox!. 1) I signed up with developer account approved on a Windows machine. I just need to pay. 2) I cannot use a Windows machine to pay, and I'm told must use the same machine as I signed up with. I'm now trapped in a sick Apple technology paradox.

🧵10/12 - You Must Use An Apple Device To Sign-Up With A Developer Account 💡. I ring back @AppleSupport, but developer support can't help, as I don't have a developer account. They tell me I must sign-up with an Apple device. But I must use the same device for both steps. .

🧵9/12 - The Bank Authorised Payment, But Apple Didn't Take It. So I phone my bank, and listen to 30 mins of Mozart, only for the bank to tell me the payment was authorised, but Apple didn't take the payment. By this time @AppleSupport who were on hold had hung up😩.

🧵8/12 - All 5 Of Your Bank Cards Must Not Be Working. The support guy was trying to help, but my payment cards were all still being declined. He said it must be my bank cards rejecting the payment, because all the account issues are resolved 🤥. So I ring the bank. 🏦.

🧵7/12 - To Fix My Account I Must Sign-Up To iTunes?!. Apparently my account hadn't agreed to Apples T&Cs. The only way to do this was to log-in with my Apple account to iTunes, and to manually add my payment card and phone number to the account. Seems logical. .

🧵6/12 - To Get Apple Developer Support For Creating A Developer Account, You Need A Developer Account. No, I'm not joking. Even @AppleSupport's customer service agent laughed at my misfortune! But he tried his best to help me, albeit with some rather weird requests. .

🧵5/12 - Apple Don't Want My Money 💵. Unlike @Windows , @Apple charges a £79 annual fee to enable their users to install your app on their products. I agree to T&Cs and input card details. Payment is declined. I try 4 other cards, all declined!. Time to call support. again!

🧵4/12 - Application For A Developer Account Goes Smoothly, Until. I login and complete Apple's developer account form. Relatively straightforward. They say they will get back to me in a few days. Later that day, I receive an email: ."Success!" . That was easy (premature)

🧵3/12 - Phone Support Is Required for Creating an Apple Account. So I call up @AppleSupport's phone line (15 mins wait), give them my details, and they fiddle with their system, and tell me to try again. Hey Presto, it works! . The issue: "Dunno, we had to reset something" 😬.

🧵2/12 - Your Account Cannot Be Created At This Time. To create a developer account, you need an apple account. I'm using a Windows machine, and I'm the one with the company debit card. Sign-up process goes smoothly, until the final screen. What a helpful error message!

🧵Signing Up With An @Apple Developer Account Is A Joke. Warning, this thread may cause you to violently burst out with laughter. If I didn't need to ship a product, I would probably find it funny too 😬. How could Apple get something so wrong? Trust me, you need to read this!.

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Busy day today in Cannes, EthCC. AI hacking, libp2p and more. Reach out if you are in town and want to meet up 📩.

11/11 - End/ Thanks for reading this thread. If you are interested in what we're building, or interested in facilitators for payments, or for DePIN and AI orchestration, feel free to get in touch via PM or via our website:. Happy building!.

10/11 Facilitators will create a surge in DePIN traction. Whilst getting the benefits of p2p, users will no longer need to touch crypto, and can instead engage using their bank card via a facilitator. Crypto users can still interact with the Blockchain as usual, ensuring agency.

9/11 So how do facilitators help grow DePIN traction?. Now DePINs can offer truly p2p services, offering a range of USPs to outcompete web2 and CePIN networks - latency, sovereignty, privacy, interoperability, provenance, reliability, and variety.

8/11 Where does this leave Blockchains?. In the world of facilitators, blockchains are the single point of truth, and facilitators use them as clearing houses (for facilitator synchronisation). Double spend is resolved in the same way non-payment is achieved in regular business.

7/11 Facilitators are the orchestration layer for p2p DePINs. Facilitators can also be used to query on-chain data, process data transactions and payments, handle layer-1 tx fees, and many other important services needed by web2 companies.