This week there have been several stories on the blogsphere (here, here, and here, for example) which consist of developers complaining that Apple has rejected an iPhone application that they submitted to be part of the App Store in iTunes, or because they believe that the process for submitting an application is too cumbersome. At least two of these have been because Apple believes the applications would be competitive with a product or feature set that Apple already has in the iPhone. This has, in turn, devolved into a chorus of voices (Ryan Block for example) exclaiming the virtues of openness and transparency, along with opining on the evils of Apple’s terms of service for iPhone developers. To all those who are annoyed at Apple here is what I have to say to you: Get Off Your High Horse.
Apple, like Facebook, Microsoft, and virtually every other major software producer is in the business of platforms. They create the environment that developers want to develop in. Developers need platforms, whether the platform is a distribution channel or operating system. When you create the platform, you set the rules. If Apple wants to restrict iPhone applications to those that do not compete with features built into the iPhone, well, they can go right ahead and do so. It is right in the SDK’s user agreement. Developers will go out and develop for another environment, or make a product that complies with the rules of the road. No one is forcing developers to build for the iPhone. Six months ago, it was not even possible for developers to create programs for the iPhone. So, to all of the developers who are annoyed with Apple, just go out and develop for Android, Blackberry OS, Windows Mobile, Palm OS or S60.
However, lets be honest here. Serious developers, those that really want to distribute and monetize their applications will keep on developing for the iPhone. There are many reasons to believe this. The first is just the hardware. High end software requires high end hardware, and there is no more capable mobile device from a hardware perspective than the iPhone 3G. The competing Android G1’s paltry 1GB of native storage and lack of an onboard 3.5MM headphone jack, let alone its clunky industrial design, puts it at a slight disadvantage.
Then there are the approximately fourteen million iPhones. The size of the installed base alone makes developing for the iPhone a strategically advantageous move for developers. Finally, the ability to distribute applications over the air and to the desktop makes the Apple distribution scheme much more appealing to those who care about actually getting software in the hands of consumers. The fact that more than 100,000,000 applications have been downloaded in the past three months from the App Store is indicative of the strength of the eco-system which Apple has built. If you want access to that eco-system, it means that you need to comply with Apple’s rules not the other way around.
Android is exciting because it is open, but openness does not come without its tradeoffs. From a developer’s perspective this means having a free-for-all distribution system. And don’t forget that Google’s partners have yet to sell one Android phone, though no doubt they will. As more Android based phones come out, with the ability to pick and choose which modules are included, support, stability, and usability—all essential on a mobile device—will likely suffer.
What about the other mobile platforms? S60 just is not robust enough for most developers to build applications for, and it does not have a solid distribution system for mobile apps. Windows mobile devices suffer from the perennial and proverbial blue screen of death, and the next generation Palm OS might very well turn out to be vaporware. The Blackberry could be a real platform if RIM ever comes up with a better way to distribute apps (more in terms of making them easy to find than actually getting them on the phones).
So to developers out there, those who love the App Store and those who loathe it, recall that the power of the platform is to create a system which connects software developers and consumers of that software. But when someone makes a platform, they also control the rules which go along with that platform. And right now the platform to be on is the iPhone platform. To those who are unhappy with the restrictions that Apple places on the App Store, don’t complain. Just keep on coding.
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you forgot to link to mobilecunch which to me has been the most annoying part of reading all the mobile blogstopics from you guys this week.
Well what is the use of a platform that does not allow people to make full use of it, do you think developers have all the time in the world to write useful applications and have them turned down just because they are competitive.
If Apple does not have the balls to compete against a small time developers they should close their shop altogether and start hiding behind rocks, because they live in stone-age where transparency is not a part of etiquette.
I Totally Agree With Your Opinion….
- Anurag R.C.
http://www.pcdrome.com
Latest Post:
http://www.pcdrome.com/2008/09.....your-time/
Q: Well what is the use of a platform that does not allow people to make full use of it
A: The advantage is a secure platform, which confines to standards (rules) for better user experience.
Q: do you think developers have all the time in the world to write useful applications and have them turned down just because they are competitive.
A: Then do not write for it, Apple is not putting a gun to your head to develop for it. That’s your freedom of choice.
Q: If Apple does not have the balls to compete against a small time developers they should close their shop altogether and start hiding behind rocks
A: History would show that Apple has had no problems to take on other developers/markets be it small or big. We do not have to look far, the iPhone for example, Apple entered a market already dominated by others by an order of magnitude.
Q: because they live in stone-age where transparency is not a part of etiquette.
A: This is business, Apple is doing what is best for the company and its platform. Etiquette has noting to do with this.
Instead of you tree hugging hippies moaning about the “closed” platform of the iPhone why don’t you just develop for another mobile platform that conforms to your “etiquette”. Guess what? That’s where your freedom of choice comes in. And leave the ones who like the Apple closed platform to our freedom of choice, who freely choose to use a closed platform.
Jesus…show some etiquette to us.
TechCrunch is full of tree hugging wining cry babies who bang of about freedom of choice but want to force their views on everyone else.
Guess what, by doing this Apple is not breaking the law. It it morally wrong from your (tree hugging right to everything) point of view. And it’s ok to have that view, as long as your not trying to force Apple into following your views, just as Apple isn’t trying to force you to develop for their platform.
I would love to get a reply from a TechCrunch hippie on this, ‘cos from what I’ve witnessed on all the other comments before it they don’t seem to replay intelligent arguments. Other then it should be our way ‘cos were right ‘cos we say so.
Holy linkbait.
“don’t complain. Just keep on coding.”
I think you miss the entire point. It’s not until you are done coding and submit your app that you learn what supposed “rules” (if you are denied).
Kind of like if you wrote this entire article and Arrington turned around and refused to publish it.
Which IMHO he probably should have.
Well that’s not the point alot of people are complaining about. Like Dan pointed out there are alot of articles about the “non-openess” of Apple, etc.
But yes the article needs to acknowledge the big flaw of the do’s/don’ts of what is accepted needs to be clearer.
I’m not sure how the process works but are you allowed to submit an overview of what you are trying to build first to see if it can be approved before you build anything?
“Kind of like if you wrote this entire article and Arrington turned around and refused to publish it.”
Ah… news flash. That’s how many books and articles have been written for decades. Even if you write your heart out, your work simply may not be published.
Besides, despite all of the hype one needs to look at the scope of the problem. According to news reports, 5 of the current 1,890 apps on the store have been pulled and or denied. That’s a quarter of one percent.
Your analogy doesn’t hold up. If a publisher refuses to accept your article, you can take it elsewhere, or place it on your own personal site. If Apple refuses your application… you’re up poo creek.
And don’t forget you have to pay for the development kit before you get rejected… don’t take that example so literally, they’re different product lines. It’s like saying you expect to be served food and drinks for free on a bus vs. on a plane.
5 of the current 1,890 apps on the store have been pulled and or denied. That’s a quarter of one percent.
1 of the current 100,000,000+ websites in the world has _not_ been pulled or denied. That’s a quarter of some infinitesimally small part of one percent. Fortunately, Apple did not deny us access to google.com. Yet.
“5 of the current 1,890 apps on the store have been pulled and or denied”
How would anyone other than Apple know how many apps have been denied?
Where on earth are you getting this crap from?
1 of the current 100,000,000+ websites in the world has _not_ been pulled or denied. That’s a quarter of some infinitesimally small part of one percent. Fortunately, Apple did not deny us access to google.com. Yet.
There have beens sites taken down, especially one that break the law.
Really, your try writing about insider information about the Pentagon (you if have the knowledge) and see what happens to your site and you.
A new orange suit for you sir, me thinks.
I agree.
We had a few issues getting our developer account squared away, partially my fault and partially due to the sheer volume of interest. After contacting Apple directly, they promptly processed our paper work and had us on track to publish in 48 hours.
Now it’s just a matter of finalizing development on three apps we’re launching with. Needless to say, we’re super pumped about the AppStore and where the mobile market is headed.
Dan, seems you don’t know too much about software: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/4/0A2/3BA
Mike: another one to fire.
SRW, seems you don’t know too much being a human. D*ck.
jc, seems you didn’t bother to follow the link. If you did, you’d see that the dude knows jack s**t about software, which means I might as well listen to my mother as this guy. Except she’s dead. Well, whatever, point holds.
“At TechCrunch I do a myriad number of things.
First …
Second …
Third…
Fourth…
Sixth…
Finally, I write a weekly column on TechCrunch.com”
The guy cannot even count, not alone know anything about software development.
what a douche. And he is ugly.
He is a douche. Totally.
Amount of Tech industry experience before getting an intership at TC:
NONE!
Why the f*ck is this guy even getting published. He clearly has no idea what he’s talking about.
I agree with the overall point of the article, but I’ve owned at least 8 Windows Mobile/Pocket PC/Smart Phones and I’ve never seen one crash, definitely never evenheard of a blue screen of death that the author claims these devices “suffer” from. Some apps crash/hang for sure, but never the enitre OS. My AT&T Tilt runs for weeks/months without a reboot, the only time it gets restarted is when I forget to charge it and the battery dies.
But overall I agree with the article, if you don’t like the rules, go play someone else’s game or start your own and entice others to come join you.
I have no idea what “Windows Mobile” you are running, but on Sprint’s HTC Mogul, 6.1 has to be restarted very morning after sitting with it’s power cable plugged in and then at least once or twice a day, EVERY day. It has nothing on it but stock application, Google Maps and the Opera Mobile Browser (v8.65). My experience is not at all unique, as the Sprint rep in-store confirmed. I understand that including that paragraph in your post had nothing to do with the article above, but I just could not let your bull$hit pass without comment, considering how annoying it is to use Windows Mobile in the real world.
You say you have “no idea” what I’m running but I told you - AT&T Tilt, which is the HTC TyTN II. I’ve used it with both version 6 and 6.1. I sent your comment to a friend who has the Mogul, he says he has no problems at all and loves it. Myabe Google M<aps or Opera is causing the problems, seems easy enough to find out doesn’t it? Average user ratings are decent: http://reviews.cnet.com/smartp.....71386.html
Maybe the 6.1 ROM for your device is buggy, but still you’ve missed the point, the author implied all “Windows mobile devices suffer from the perennial and proverbial blue screen of death” and they don’t. Sure there are some bad ones out there, but most are great.
Typo? “Their are many reasons to believe this.”
Yeah, that’s the point where I stopped reading. Figured there’s no point in reading editorials from someone who writes worse than I do.
nothing dumber than a blog post telling people to stop using first amendment rights to criticize apple because apple has contractual rights to do what it is doing. Was the high horse comment meant to be ironic?
The first amendment ensures that the *government* will not restrict our rights to free speech. Doesn’t say anything about us censoring each other. Don’t worry, it’s a common misconception here on teh interwebs, where everyone seems to think everything should be free and they should be able to say anything they want to anyone with no consequences.
newsflash - the corporations are the government.
not to mention the fact some of us submitted applications before the deadline to make the appstore launch, followed all the rules and still got shafted. was it mentioned that they’re support system is a joke? we couldn’t even figure out a way to pull our app and try again, 3 weeks later when they finally decided to give us the go and screwed up our icon. it’s not a competitive problem, it’s an infrastructure problem.
maybe a developer poll would have helped you think about this topic before you boasted about it. there we go I could write an iphone app for that. oh wait, I’m not supposed to complain.
Dan, don’t be such a god damn tool. You are literally the only person in the world who is on Apple’s side about this.
Your main argument is that we shouldn’t bitch because Apple can do whatever it wants. Technically, yes you are correct - but that doesn’t mean it’s what Apple SHOULD be doing. They should be doing everything in their power to make developers happy and keep them on the iPhone.
Do you want a repeat of what happened with the Mac in the 80’s? It was poised to take over the world and Apple completely fucked it up with all their typical bullshit, and now they have 5% market share. Same thing’s going to happen with the iPhone unless they pull their out of their ass before Android takes them by storm.
I’m a developer and I’m on Dan’s side. Even Google is guilty of restrictions with their limitations on Google App Engine. It happens. If you don’t like, go elsewhere.
I already dread going through all the 1000s of apps on the App Store to find good ones. Imagine going through 100000s of crap-ware on Google marketplace - all on that tiny screen.
He’s not the only one; I’m on Dan’s side, too. If Apple wants to play this their way, they have the right to do so. If the devs decide not to put up with their rules and go develop for someone else, Apple suffers. It’s a no-brainer - stop supporting Apple and they’ll either change or die.
Actually Dan, Apple will go on quite happily no matter what developers do. The App store is a concession for the convenience and delight of customers who purchased an iPhone, many long before the App store existed. The success of the iPhone does not depend on developers. From Apple’s perspective you are either a value enhancing bonus or a royal pain in the ass. The whiners would be doing Apple a favor by developing for Android, Windows Mobile, or tin cans tied together with string.
As I wrote above, 5 of the current 1,890 apps on the store have been pulled and or denied. That’s a quarter of one percent.
Now, it’s also been reported that the part-time developer of Trism has reaped $250,000 in the short time his application’s been on the store.
That’s the carrot. Now, given the odds of being rejected verses the potential size of the carrot, I doubt Apple is going to have much difficulty finding developers…
Unless you actually wrote a piece of software that runs on iPhone platform, please don’t give your opinion whether developer should stop complaining or not!
Do you know how many people had to learn Objective-C before actually start writing their application? Do you know how many people dedicated their own time to study the Cocoa framework and Apple’s guideline on how they want the application to be structured?
Writing software is a difficult tasks and takes skill to get it right! I know because I am a developer myself.
Dan (and also the majority of the people who commented on this article) doesn’t seem to have any software development experience. So why are you telling people to stop whining if their hard work doesn’t get into the App Store? They have every right to be angry and upset if their app got rejected for a STUPID ASS reason.
Not only did they get rejected but now we have people like Dan who just tell developers to “shut up” and “stop whining” about it? Wow…just wow.
You people don’t need to get angry because this man has no good idea to write about. So, this is the best way to gain attention. I hope you all can give him motivation, so, he can write a better post.
Note to the author: Stop writing nonsense.
Agreed. This article was a pile of trash. Get an actual editor. I love TechCrunch and read it every day, but some articles cry out for some oversight.
You sound like one of those “Love it or leave it” nationalists, Dan. Many of us, not just Americans, live in countries where we can question the status quo and lobby for changes to policies that we feel are unjust (you probably heard something like that during your undergraduate years). Therefore, we can hate it and stick around.
The same is true for developers (and consumers) of iPhone apps. By publicly complaining about the lack of transparency in the process, there is a possibility that those policies can be changed.
You see, Dan, it’s not necessarily about openness. I’m all for a person or organization choosing how their own products will be used; however, I’m also all for letting them know when I disagree with their choices.
Folks, please don’t stop complaining. In fact, recruit others to join in the chorus. Eventually, with the proper motivation, the prophets on high at Apple will get the message.
Wow. This was awful.
Apple fanboi ism at its worst.
I’ve upgraded my WM phone from 5 to 6 to 6.1 and never got one bluescreen no matter which .CAB files I installed.
Know your facts before you start spewing crap.
What if Microsoft developes a new Internet Explorer for the iPhone. Apple does not allow apps in the app store that compete with their own apps and would have to ban Internet explorer.
Microsoft sues do to anti compeditive behavior.
Apple in big mess.
voodoo3 there is nothing wrong with being anti competitive nor being a monopoly, on the contrary its a sign of a good business.
It’s only when you put the two together that it’s against the law.
Someone needs to teach Dan the difference between their and there before they let him hit publish again.
“Their are many reasons to believe this. The first is just the hardware. High end software requires high end hardware, and their is no more”
This is really weak analysis. Your core argument is “the iPhone is really popular, so stop complaining” - but you somehow managed to stretch it out to seven paragraphs. Come on now.
We love to develop for the iPhone. We just want to be sure that we can distribute our apps after months working on it.
You have no right to demand what you want, only a right to ask for it. Apple’s App Store is theirs and they can refuse to sell anything they like. If the commitment of resources to develop your application is significant, perhaps you should either:
A. Sit down and seriously think about whether the App is one Apple would be delighted to place in the App Store for its own selfish reasons.
B. Ask someone at Apple, (and yes if you have significant resources to commit they will talk to you) and ask whether your App is one that requires the ‘prior written consent’ described in the application form.
C. Develop for some other platform.
I suspect, however, that the bulk of the whiners are mental teenagers hacking out cheesy apps in their mother’s basement or weekend coders with dreams of glory and an over-developed sense of their own importance in Apple’s platform plan.
Stop being such a tool, Fake Sean.
A grown-up argument if every there was one. Name calling and ‘Stop having the same name as me!’
Spot on, Sean.
eerr..educated Sean that is not the teenage name calling one.
stop developing it as an app to try and make a buck. make a webapp that you can install, charge on your own site for it, and bypass apple.
simple.
Isn’t what Apple doing with App Store a violation of the Antitrust laws?
No.
If it were do you think Apple would of gotten away breaking the law that easily. People look for any excuse to sue Apple including blaming their own stupidity on Apple.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/.....p;refer=us
…Techcrunch takes a break from bitching about Twitter to bitch about bitching about Apple…
You idiot. Developers are mad because Apple has NO clear guidelines in accepting or rejecting application for App store.
Moron. You have the nerve to defend Apple without knowing what’s really happening.
You clever girl. If ‘Apple has NO clear guidelines’ then by your own admission you are attacking Apple for rejecting Apps ‘without knowing what’s really happening’.
Genius.
Fake Sean is getting on my nerves. Why would you defend Apple in this situation? It’s completely stupid, Apple is not in the right here.
Well, fraudulent Sean, I guess because I dare to disagree with someone who has expropriated all rights to the name ‘Sean’. Oh and Apple is completely within its rights and has good historical and commercial grounds for it decision to play gatekeeper of the software available on its platform.
Fake Sean is right who’s posting intelligent arguments, where Fraudulent Sean seems to be getting frustrated and moaning without any arguments for his cause other then he believes he is right.
Defiantly a teenage tree hugging hippie.
I’m sooo happy that the comments are ripping you apart.
From the users perspective the iPhone is great, but from a developer’s perspective, it’s a nightmare. I have to write my app on a Mac, I have to pay $99 to get it published, Apple can shut me down at any time for any reason. On top of that, iPhones only support one real method of distribution; the app store. If I don’t want to use the public app store, I’m limited to 100 installs. Sorry, but I don’t want to make my app public and I have more than 100 customers.
So, don’t do it. Go develop for another platform. You have that right and that freedom. What do you think would force Apple’s hand faster - a bunch of devs complaining on blogs but that still produce apps that make Apple money or a bunch of devs refusing to stock the App Store? You guys want to make a point, form a coalition of iPhone developers and take a stand.
I agree with you 100%. The things I mention above stopped me from ever even trying to develop for the iPhone. I’m writing my apps for Android. The reason I’m complaining is that I like Apple’s products. I want to use them, but their approach is a slap in the face to developers.
Worst post on TC for a long time now.
There have been so many well-balanced discussions of the implications of Apple’s nasty or incompetent behavior in the app store, and we get this shallow POS in TC?
Why is there stability in platforms? Why is windows a monopoly? Because of historical killer apps that tied people to the platform. Apple is all but preventing killer apps to bloom, given this bullying. OSS may very well replicate in Android all the best apps in iTunes in a year or two.
Who in his sane mind would invest 10man-years in an iPhone app, no matter how promising? Only a lunatic. And who loses most? Apple.
Maybe Steve will kiss you on the cheek. But please stop with the fanboyism and go back to the serious TC we know and love.
Apple can do whatever it wants? No shit.
That article is useless. Nothing valuable here.
Is this the result of Datapresser.
“Developers shouldn’t bitch about their girlfriend cheating on them. I mean, who’s forcing them to go out with her? Nobody. They should just go out with someone else. There’s literally billions of other women out there. Get of your high horses and deal with it. However, lets be honest here. Serious developers will go out with their girlfriends even they’re cheating on them. *Their* are many reasons to believe this. (The first is just the hardware.) The amount of time already spent with the cheating girlfriend makes not breaking up an advantageous move for developers.”
I don’t know what country you may live in Maro, but here in the US your choices in dealing with a cheating girlfriend are exactly the two you listed. Leave your girlfriend, or cultivate a cuckold fetish. Bitching gets you labeled ‘emotionally abusive’, violence gets you, jail, prison, or a restraining order. You just don’t have the right to a faithful girlfriend or to complain in any effective way about your bad choice to get involved with her, except of course to just walk away.
agree that the power of the hardware and the number of units in the market make iPhone a very compelling platform, but two things you missed on about the competition…
*Symbian/S60 is also limited because has a notoriously difficult API to understand and code against.
*Windows Mobile has no BSOD and full device crashes are no more frequent than they are with the iPhone (real, but very rare).
Normally, I’m not one for “piling on” since it usually provides little value past spleen venting, but in this case, I think the more responses that are made, the better it will drive home the fallacy of Dan’s argument of “shut up and code” (at least hopefully to Dan, anyway).
Let’s discuss each of Dan’s points one at a time:
* “developers need platforms”: While developers are well served by having a stable, well-tested, highly adopted platform, truth is platforms need developers much more than developers need platforms, especially in the beginning. To make this point through almost poetic justice, the Mac platform would have been a footnote in technology history had John Scully not opened the platform up to outside developers and Adobe and other developers not stepped in to provide useful application of the mac platform. Imagine Apple killing “illustrator” because it might have competed with “MacPaint”.
* “When you create the platform, you set the rules”. That is indeed true, but in the interest of rationality and fair play, those rules need to be unambiguous, known apriori by all participants, and of course applied consistently and fairly…none of which appear to be the case here.
* “don’t complain. Just keep on coding.”. Reminiscent of Marie Antoinette’s foolish admonishment of “let them eat cake”, this comment exhibits an “above the commoners” mentality that seems to indicate Dan’s belief that coders are simple serfs destined to do the bidding of the rich and powerful, and that they should feel honored to even have their applications capriciously dismissed by the Apple AppStore Junta.
* “Their are many reasons to believe this.”. Spelling errors in this day and age? From a “professional writer”? Really? While not wholly problematic by themselves, they clearly show a lack of detail orientation, professionalism, and respect for one’s reader.
Mike, I read TC for insightful, hard-hitting, balanced, reasoned reporting by knowledgeable industry professionals who actually UNDERSTAND and RESPECT the industry they are reporting on. Do us all a favor and remind your staff of that, and remove those who don’t.
Thanks
-Avi
The common wisdom is often so common.
Let us examine your points one at a time.
*Developers can not exist without platforms to code for. The reverse is not true. The iPhone existed with no official means of installing third party apps for a year, quite happily thank you. As for the historical analogy, it is twisted out of all relation to fact. The Mac was introduced as an open platform for which anyone could write software. Apple heavily promoted the independent developers in expensive multi-page ads. http://www.macmothership.com/g.....k/p015.jpg
(For those that followed the link and read the ad copy, Lotus never developed 1-2-3 for the Mac, PFS software was never ‘as easy to use as the Macintosh’ just reheated DOS dreck, and Microsoft dragged it heels for almost a year before shipping, then used the Mac as a beta test plaform for its Windows Office software). Adobe did not ’step in’ to save anything, it purchased Aldus’ Pagemaker, then systematically marginalized the Mac versions of its software. Illustrator could hardly be confused with MacPaint, but Apple would have been better off selling Illustrator itself, as it is selling Final Cut today. Apple saved itself, then the developers started writing software for it.
*Making the rules means making the rules. The formulation ‘I accept your right to make the rules as long as those rules are acceptable to me.’ is a contradiction.
*Context Switching is a logical fallacy. Marie Antionette did not say, ‘I will let them come into the Palace and eat my cake, if they do something that deserves such treatment.’ Apple is offering a big slice of pie to those who want to play by its rules and produce a product useful and appealing to Apple’s customers, without undermining Apple’s business. A Junta is a military government that seizes power over others by force, and would be a more accurate analogy to the behavior of those claiming a right to determine Apple’s business practices.
*Was a spelling/grammar error really the best fourth argument you could come up with? By the way, the double period in the first sentence is a punctuation error, glass houses and all that.
Gosh, ‘fire that awful man I don’t agree with’ and ‘Apple violates my free speech rights’ in the same comment, wow, hubris thy name is Avi.
Wow!! You managed to misinterpret and misquote all in the same paragraph.
Bleh.
Thats right people stop voicing opinions. Apple is perfect and you have no right to expect anything other then what you get.
Or move to North Korea!
I hear they have an open grave policy.
The only mention of Windows Mobile is that it “suffers from the bluescreen of death”??? Really? I’ve used Windows Mobile phones for the past 4 years and never seen a “blue screen of death”. My Tilt runs Windows Mobile 6, and the only time it’s been flakey has been when I’ve installed really crappy programs on it.
The problem with Windows Mobile - and the reason anyone who wants to make money building phone apps is working on iPhone flashlight apps - is that Windows Mobile apps are so painful to distribute and install. Rory Blythe sums it up pretty well here:
http://www.neopoleon.com/home/.....31739.aspx
I am gonna call BS on this statement “What about the other mobile platforms? S60 just is not robust enough for most developers to build applications for, and it does not have a solid distribution system for mobile apps. Windows mobile devices suffer from the perennial and proverbial blue screen of death, and the next generation Palm OS might very well turn out to be vaporware.”
would of been a reasonable argument that yes put up or shut up etc but saying other platforms are shit because they are NOT the iphone is silly.
What would happen if Nokia were to put an appstore out for s60?
MS are romoured to be doing an app store, I would love all platforms to do them.
IMHO, not complaining about rejection, but uclear terms. They should know from start what they can, or can’t develop. And ten decide to code. Or not begin developing application, when its features are violating Apple iPhone SDK terms.
How in the world did TC go from great writers like Mike and Erick to this guy? The only reason I could see your bosses not caring about this kind of joke of a post is because it might generate controversy(hits). The only problem is, the controversy it creates is the perfect kind to turn off prime TC users. Think about it.
Apple mistreats developers - period. They go back on their word regarding the app store, provide a level of customer service you might expect with Comcast (circa 2003), and almost go out of their way to make developers feel insignificant.
I could sit and write a thesis, BASED ON EXPERIENCE, as to why this post is ridden with bad facts but the people above have done such a good job at pointing out everything I would just be repeating what’s said. So with that said, I hope for TC’s sake, TC doesn’t continue down this path.
didn’t live up to expectations
http://cashtutor.blogspot.com
This article is complete bullshit. Why don’t you stop complaining about people complaining? Moron.
I’m disappointed, Tee See! Any more like this and I’m sure to remove you from my feeds. You are a powerful voice in the tech world. You must promote solid values that move us to a more perfect tomorrow.
Teasing and chastising those with legitimate concerns about Apple’s unilateral decision making regarding 3rd party software running on their phone cannot shall not be tolerated. What if they did the same thing to developers of programs for their main OS? We’d all be in uproar!
So, fold up your skinny little Mac and wake up author of this obligatory and insulting article. We need you now more than ever.
Dan, have ever been involved any with software development? Have you developed software for any of Apple’s platforms before? Have you developed any apps for the mobile space before?
You have no idea what the fuck you are talking about. Reading about development does not give you the prerequisite insights to make the above analysis. If you *have* actually had a hand in software development then you are really pathetic.
“No one is forcing developers to build for the iPhone”. So, Microsoft is the worst company because forces you to use Internet Explorer. It also forces you to buy their products. But in the case of Apple, you just can choose another platform… Seriously, there’s something about this “We all hate Mircrosoft” that it’s really annoying.
The only comment for windows mobile is: “Windows mobile devices suffer from the perennial and proverbial blue screen of death”. That really makes me think that TechChrunch does not have a good professionals that have enough knowledge to publish opinions.
I think it’s a pitty that TechCrunch (I really enjoy reading it everey day) lacks from professional and independent opinions about software industry.
There isn’t a “Blue Screen of Death” on Windows Mobile you mentioned…
Independent and massive developers alike don’t invest thousands to millions of dollars on applications when the approval process is a black box with no clarity as to what causes crushing death and what leads to approval. No company will put a million dollars into development and *hope* Apple approves their app. Which means that it’s all flashlights and calculators for us, folks.
Gee, apparently they do, Sega, Atari, etc. seem quite content. Its not the companies with ‘millions of dollars’ who are whining all over the blogosphere. Its teenage geeks, deluded code warriors, and trolls (yes, including professional hit whores).
That’s because it’s obvious these huge companies would never be turned down by Apple. That would make Apple look even worse than it already does, which is kind of hard to imagine.
Those huge companies develop software people want, but plenty of smaller companies, Freeverse, Pangea (one guy), seem to do very well on the App Store. Apple is only made to look bad to the marginal developers who troll blogs with complaints, the phenomenal success of the App Store and those who sell there successfully tell a different story.
Does everything new need to be open? Apple delivers great products partly because it keeps its systems closed. If they want to pick and choose apps so be it. I trust that it will make the app store better - and you don’t need to be a dev to get this. Some devs are on this stupid open lets-all-be-friends-and-hug high horse they forgot about competition and that your code’s true value is measured in the dollars people trade for it. Seriously, go write android apps and stay in your world of mediocre achievements.
And why does everyone feel they are entitled to so many things? If I had the opportunity I would take every last penny I could from your cheap whining pockets and leave you out in the cold. You’re just a bunch of babies not being fed what they want. Likewise for the iphone dev whiners. Grow up you pathetic bottom feeders.
Really really? Open source is stupid? You mean Apple based it’s OSX on that stupid Open Source BSD operating system?
While it is based on, it is by no means an Open Source OS. Thankfully so.
The world needs rules, if we followed your tree hugging hippie values of freedom and right to everything mankind would be dead with people killing each other with now ramifications.
pwned
In addition, if you can’t port your code from system to system then your dev team is in a pretty sad state and you were doomed to fail anyway.
Well, if you ever developed software before then you would know that it not only costs money and time but the transition is not easy because your application relies on the framework and libraries of that platform. Please just shut your mouth. You make no sense.
You mean your libraries are *coupled* with system libraries? So sad.
All these stagnant mediocre programmers like to say is “you’ve never developed software so you don’t know” and “shut your mouth”. Boo hoo. You just can’t port your RoR code anywhere because your so called agile methods have trapped you in a framework that has killed your chances at agility.
Don’t be so lazy. Do some real work. Wouldn’t you rather take a risk at building an iphone app and having people actually want to pay for it than contributing another spammy app to the facebook platform?
This article is beyond stupid. It’s ok for people to complain about Microsoft and other companies but when it comes to Apple and their products we should just shush up like little drones and follow orders?
Like srw pointed out, this kid not only links credibility (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/4/0A2/3BA), but probably uses his iphone as a vibrator at night (use your imagination, or maybe not).
Apple has a good phone which people don’t want to keep as a shiny toy but actually use it. Openness only gives users and developers the opportunity to do just that, come on… we payed the buck, now let us use our device to their maximum potential. Most of all, this absurd control over what we can use and what we can’t is just contrary to most Mac and PC commercials, where’s the creativity and where’s the fun factor in that?
This, by far, is the worst article I’ve read on TechCrunch in the last few months. My message to Apple on the whole shebang are the words of Ben Franklin:
“Our critics are our friends, they only show us our faults.”
There is a problem here and it’s worth complaining about.
The world needs rules, if we followed your tree hugging hippie values of freedom and right to everything mankind would be dead with people killing each other with no ramifications.
Please I don’t want no virus killing my iPhone, I want to abe able to practice my freedom of choice to be able to use “closed platform”/a platform with rules.
I love how you think systematically repeating the same argument will make your point more valid.
Civil rights protesters had no right to question the rules that held them down?
Rules make sense for those in power, questioning rules is the only way to bring about change. The vocal questioning of policy and rules is how you get to shape the world around you. I think McCarthy is finding voice here in you.
Now I am certainly not trying to make light of the two analogies I pulled, but I hope you see the connection to your insistence that we, or anybody for that matter, question rules. Aside from invoking the specter of “virus” and trying to associate it with open development, I have not heard a pro come out of your for the closed platform. Tearing down the opposition and floating the possibility that changing the rules would destabilize the platform is not equal to a rational discussion. So realizing rational discussion is not your purpose here, what is it that makes the close system so valuable to you?
@Convictus
I am making my (similar) arguments to different commenters.
No rules do not make sense to just those in power, in makes sense to all. I never said I had a problem with people questioning rules, far from it. My point was anyone is free to disagree with Apple’s policy and if you do, show your disagreement and discontinue your development for the App Store. It’s all the wining and moaning in trying to force your “right to everything” view on others by trying to open the App Store I have a problem with. If you like your “openness” you have Android amongst others, so leave the App Store alone to those who freely choose to use a “closed” system.
Vote with your feet (Apps) by developing on other platforms and if you are right then Apple and all those who choose to use the “closed” system will suffer, and concede to your system or vise versa. That is how freedom does and should work. Not by a bunch of tree hugging TechCrunch hippies trying to force every technology out there to their way of thinking, read all my posts and you will find evidence this.
Nor do I agree with the argument of it costs developer time/money to develop and only to find out they cannot sell it. Well guess what that how its always been in business, 90% of businesses/ideas and products fail with wasted time and money, welcome to the real world. People who start their business know and accept that why can’t the (some) development community.
With an Apple “closed” and approval (and kill switch) process it completely eradicates the possibility of a iPhone virus academic. A process you TechCrunch hippies would love to abolish.
I am not going to go into your McCarthy comment, other then a quick google search I do not know anything about him as I am not American nor will I ever be or attempt to be. Though I respect Americans to practice and participate in their own laws I personally do not agree with a lot of American laws. Thus I freely/choose/vote with my feet and do not reside there.
I hope this is rational enough for you, ironic as most of the against App Store camp seem to be comments from teenagers who a posting their view without reasoning. Most seem to be it’s wrong or immoral, well thats just your own ideology and doesn’t hold in an argument.
The shame is that Apple is repeating mistakes it made against Windows. It offers a superior platform, but are suffocating it by not fully supporting its openness. Microsoft opened its OS to any manufacturer or software maker that wanted to contribute to it, thus driving hardware prices down and diversifying its software options. This is the model that Google’s Android will follow, and yet Apple still shows they haven’t learned from the past.
Developers are upset because they love the iPhone and its potential and they’d like to see it succeed. Sure, we could all just develop apps for other platforms (and likely will), but it’s a terrible waste if the iPhone fails to reach its potential because of Apple’s own stubbornness.
This writer is one one of those “creative types” that is so brainwashed by Apple garbage…it will refuse to admit that Apple is doing something wrong even if the truth was tattooed on his face. I will never understand this people… does Apple pays this good???? What happen to standards and being natural! People read your article because they think that they will find out something useful… if I want advertisement I can just go to Apple site. Please raise your standards! You are trying to tell people that “black is white”…some of us happen to have college degree and can separate truth from pure garbage regardless who is writing it!
This article really shows the author doesn’t know much about what he writes about.
“What about the other mobile platforms? S60 just is not robust enough for most developers to build applications for, and it does not have a solid distribution system for mobile apps.”
1, it IS robust. It’s just that the 1, API is vastly different from that of Windows, which makes porting much harder than to, say, WinMo 2, its market penetration is very low in the US.
2, Nokia is working on and already runs a beta of an appstore; see for example the AAS discussions at http://www.allaboutsymbian.com....._Downl.php . Yes, it’s currently far from perfect but, one day, it might turn out to be usable.
“Windows mobile devices suffer from the perennial and proverbial blue screen of death”
This is complete BS. Sorry guys - at least do you homework before embarking on writing about operating systems you don’t have a clue about…
“The Blackberry could be a real platform if RIM ever comes up with a better way to distribute apps (more in terms of making them easy to find than actually getting them on the phones).”
This is, to some degree, right. However, for example CrackBerry already has a pretty decent on-device appstore. See http://crackberry.com/mobilehe.....-only-9-95
At least he knows how to use keyboard.
Their you go!
It is a pity his computer didn’t give him the Blue Screen of Death…..
Don’t expect any competing VOIP, competing video-streaming, competing mp3 stores, competing streaming music services, competing unlimited add supported on-demand music services, competing music of video download services, don’t expect competing DRM, even flash support would be competing with Apple’s intention of what users should do with the phone (since websites are pre-rendered by a server, flash anyways it out of the question). Don’t expect much IM to be tolerated.
Apple has certain plans for how to make money on the iPhone, don’t expect anyone else being allowed to try to make money doing the same kind of software or service.
If you want an open and free system use Android.
Apple, like Facebook and Microsoft is a crappy and evil company.
People complain because they want change, they want apple to change.
So what does you telling people to stop complaining do? Nothing useful.
What a joke. Tech Crunch, why would you let such a whiny and incompetent writer publish crap like this on such a brilliant website? This guy quite clearly has no experience developing software (see the Linkedin link above) and needs to keep his ignorant opinions to himself.
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