An open letter to Cupertino about the App Store | Hacker News Reader

An open letter to Cupertino about the App Store

infinite-labs.net

47 pointsst3fan38 comments

An Open Letter To iPhone Developers:

1) Apple doesn't care about you, personally. No one knows you exist. They don't need you to sell iPhones. Even if they needed third-party apps (which is debatable), if you left the platform, there would be a hundred thousand more people scrambling to take your place.

2) You are presumably developing for the iPhone instead of doing, oh, Enterprise Sales because you don't want to do Enterprise Sales or you are not good at doing Enterprise Sales. You are doing Enterprise Sales. The Enterprise doesn't care about the product you're selling enough to devote more than 5 minutes a week from a call center in India to the deal. If you have doubts as to whether this is a good sign, consult with your local Enterprise Sales engineer and ask what stage in the pipeline he thinks you are probably in.

3) If you stopped developing for the iPhone and started developing web applications or desktop applications or, indeed, almost any other type of software, you wouldn't have to ask anyone's permission to sell your software or improve your software.

4) It seems that you're spending an awful lot of engineering time trying to get permission to market your software to people who think it is worth $2, on the outside. Here's a thought: how about spending that time actually marketing software itself, and charge anywhere from 15 to 500,000 times as much.

In my case:

1) That's part of the problem. It doesn't mean it can't be done better for those who are in.

2) The market segment you work in should not override decency.

3) Who says I don't do that too?

4) Because the numbers work out VERY well by selling at $2, too.

If you stopped developing for the iPhone and started developing web applications or desktop applications or, indeed, almost any other type of software, you wouldn't have to ask anyone's permission to sell your software or improve your software.

Not everyone wants to write desktop or web applications.

My choice to work with the iPhone is a technical decision -- the hacker in me will stick with the platform because I love writing code for it -- at least until it's clear that it makes no sense for my business.

I'll continue to voice my concerns because I see the technical value of what Apple has created and the potential for Apple to improve.

If I were writing desktop applications, I would be writing them for the Mac, as well. I don't want to see Apple turn to the darkside, on the iPhone or otherwise.

[Edit] The downvoting to -0 on this comment and others in this thread is, in my opinion, entirely inappropriate. My argument is cogent, and if it doesn't match your worldview I might suggest that you attempt a cogent reply in return, rather than downvoting opinions you disagree into the negatives.

These postings get sadder and sadder every day. It's like this developer is dating a girl who's just not that into him and he doesn't get that yet: You left her 10 messages but she didn't call you back tonight. I'm sure she'll call you tomorrow. She was just busy.

Seriously (though I do think many developers raise valid criticisms and that the gatekeeper model of app development is unsustainable). "Open letter to Apple" yields >25,000 results in Google...I'm tempted to collect a bunch of them into a book, I figure they'd all buy a copy to see if theirs was included.

Good idea. Send it to Steve Jobs, though I doubt he would read it.

He'd respond with something like

  Your app was rejected, it's not that big a deal.

  Steve

  Sent from my iPhone.

I think we've found a new economic perpetuum mobile...I'll just monetize it with adwords and I'll never have to work again.

I bet they'd each buy two copies: one for themselves to see if theirs was included, and one to send to Apple.

If it's unsustainable then let it unsustain itself. Voice your criticism and leave, but don't complain and ask for more. I think that's the attitude people should be taking.

Well, I've got no dog in this fight - I only program for nowadays, and not on the iPhone. It's just that the app store reminds me of the early 80s when software for home computers came on plug-in cartridges (and required the thumbs-up of the manufacturer).

You should dump her.

I'm not even an iPhone developer (though I have been wanting to invest my time and learn). After reading this and the other articles, I'm discouraged, badly. I feel Emenuele's frustration without actually even having gone through the process.

I'm wondering why are people still developing for the iPhone when there are so many horror stories.

That is what I would like to know too.

The answer is in the letter: "I prefer to be a coder — a maker — a builder of things." ... it's a great feeling to build things and know that thousands of people will use it.

The iPhone is a cool platform to develop for & the AppStore is where the audience is ... not to mention that making a little money on the side is always nice.

People are upset because Apple is taking a good chunk of their money and providing a piss-poor service in return. With the current state of said service relying on it as a professional is a bit of a gamble, but as a hobbyist I can live with it.

iPhone isn't the only smart phone. Before iPhone there were tons of Java games and applications for other mobile phones.

Most of which sucked, despite the theoretically vast capability the J2ME libraries have. Having to cater for the lowest common denominator in a market of highly-fragmented hardware configurations is not much fun.

I tried developing for Symbian (S60) and WinMo, but neither was what I would call an enjoyable experience. In contrast, programming for the iPhone was far more fun than programming for the platforms that came before it, in part because the target hardware was similar enough that you had more freedom to push the boundaries. So I can understand why some people are attached to it.

That said, the situation is a bit better now, with Android maturing fast and the other manufacturers starting to raise their game a bit.

Yes, but Apple solved the "I'm too stupid to install apps on my phone" problem. Long-term bets are on Android I guess. I'm an iPhone developer but don't own an iPhone & my main phone is Android-based.

Are you working for someone else's company? I'm trying to figure how can you develop for the iPhone if you don't own one. Even if Bill Gates and Paul Allen managed to write a Basic interpreter (IIRC) without having access to the machine, most people prefer testing their application before offering it :-)

SDK

Yes, you can write the application with the SDK, but _proper_ testing requires a _real_ phone.

In my case, not thousands: a million and a half. And counting.

Because, process aside, most of the rest is a joy.

Potential pot of gold: iPhone users have high disposable income, low novelty threshold, and Apple is a trusted online retailer. It's the equivalent of having your product on sale in a chic department store - you get in front of potential customers who enjoy shopping as much as (or maybe more than) they care about value and utility.

An open letter to iPhone developers: everyone is tired of your fucking sob stories.

We developers are, too.

Then don't read them. I'm tired of the vagaries of Linux on my desktop, but I solve that by not using it.

I'm tired of the vagaries of Linux on my desktop, but I solve that by not using it.

Yeah, because this is definitely the argument this article is about...

Yeah, because this is definitely the argument this article is about...

You're saying that your solution isn't to develop for Free Software platforms?

I apologize for making assumptions based on your comment history. If that's not your solution, then how do you propose we developers resolve our issues instead of voicing our complaints?

Just be sure to send a copy to Steve himself; he read all his personal email (probably answers very little), and his address is no secret.

I believe it, but has he commented publicly that he reads all of his email?

Edit: Apple employee kind of confirming: http://slevit1.blogspot.com/2007/12/apple-called-me.html

He got it long before Hacker News did.

You have to hand it to Jobs, he knows how to market his stuff. Basically the more pressure he places on developers the easier it is for him to posture with "this has never been done before, iPhone is a first, these apps are a first" and it's only going to get better.

With the next product, the next innovation, the next introduction of course.

What's the meaning of "open letter" in this context?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_letter

Germany made this mistake before World War 1. In an effort to enhance their security, they put a lot of effort into developing their military. This frightened all of their neighbors who banded together against Germany and went to war with with. So, in trying to enhance their security, Germany actually made themselves less secure. Apple is doing the same thing today with the App store. Steve, developers, not the customers, are the heart of the App store. Lose them and you'll end up losing it all. Don't be stupid, fix the App store and fix it soon. Our patience is almost gone.

An Open letter is still a letter. At least format it right, then sound whiny!

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