Hockenberry: App Store Policies 'Killing Our Enthusiasm'
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 29th Sep 2008 12:29 UTC
Apple The saga surrounding Apple's policies concerning the App Store hasn't reached its climax just yet. After several seemingly arbitrary application rejections, high profile developers quitting iPhone development, and Apple adding a non-disclosure clause to its App Store rejection emails, we now have another high-profile Mac developer contemplating giving up iPhone development. Craig Hockenberry, of The Iconfactory, has written a public letter to Steve Jobs, detailing his worries that Apple's restrictive App Store policies are detrimental to the young platform.
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darknexus
Member since:
2008-07-15

Agreed. As much of a Mac person as I am--and I must say that the Mac platform is very developer friendly--this whole iPhone ridiculousness leaves me shaking my head. It would be one thing if Apple was specific about what apps will or won't be accepted and held to those policies. I'm not sure what they think they'll accomplish with this current state of affairs except to piss people off, though. I do think that developers having to pay a bit to release their apps via the app store makes sense, as Apple has to keep the app store up and running and the funds for that have to come from somewhere. What is ridiculous is that, short of jailbreaking, the app store is the *only* way to get apps on the iPhone and that's what get me. It would be different if you could just download any app like you can on a computer, or just about every other mobile platform out there. This latest episode with having rejections covered under NDA is just beyond insane. I just hope they learn their lesson from it all--the hard way, if that's how it ends up turning out. Sometimes I think that Apple is a bipolar company, having rapid swings from brilliance to insanity and back again faster than you can blink an eye. On one hand we have OS X, on the other we have the iPhone app store. It's certainly entertaining and maddening at the same time.

Reply Parent Score: 3

sbergman27 Member since:
2005-07-24

I do think that developers having to pay a bit to release their apps via the app store makes sense, as Apple has to keep the app store up and running and the funds for that have to come from somewhere.

Let's see... Where could Apple possibly come up with a revenue stream to maintain the iPhone App Store functioning well enough to effectively provide iPhone apps for the iPhone to owners of iPhones? An iBake Sale, maybe?

Edited 2008-09-29 23:32 UTC

Reply Parent Score: 5

DrillSgt Member since:
2005-12-02

"Let's see... Where could Apple possibly come up with a revenue stream to maintain the iPhone App Store functioning well enough to effectively provide iPhone apps for the iPhone to owners of iPhones? An iBake Sale, maybe?"

Good idea! Maybe they will have iCookies for the iPhone...

Reply Parent Score: 3

jayson.knight Member since:
2005-07-06

I do think that developers having to pay a bit to release their apps via the app store makes sense, as Apple has to keep the app store up and running and the funds for that have to come from somewhere.


This needs to be a cost that is absorbed by them, plain and simple. This is a textbook definition of bilking: Apple says "you can only use our platform to distribute your apps, and on top of that, you have to pay for it." That would be like Adobe having to pay Microsoft to use a Microsoft sanctioned distribution channel so that they can sell Photoshop.

Apple's control freakishness nature is outlandish. Their stock is through the roof lately. To basically haggle over what amounts to pennies to them is insanity at its best.

Reply Parent Score: 4

darknexus Member since:
2008-07-15

This needs to be a cost that is absorbed by them, plain and simple. This is a textbook definition of bilking: Apple says "you can only use our platform to distribute your apps, and on top of that, you have to pay for it." That would be like Adobe having to pay Microsoft to use a Microsoft sanctioned distribution channel so that they can sell Photoshop.

Apple's control freakishness nature is outlandish. Their stock is through the roof lately. To basically haggle over what amounts to pennies to them is insanity at its best.

In the current situation, I actually agree with you. I said that I believe it makes sense for developers to pay for distributing through the app store, but not if the app store is the _only_ method of getting apps to the platform. That is indeed insanity and I'd go so far as to describe it as blackmail (you do what we want, or you get nothing). That's why I believe that in regards to the iPhone Apple needs to learn a very valuable lesson. The fact is, though, that Apple wouldn't be able to do this if the vast majority of people didn't bend over and take it. Unfortunately they do.
These dictatorial policies leave me rolling my eyes. It just doesn't make sense from a business standpoint when every other mobile platform is open, but who knows what their motivations really are. I'd like to know, but I suppose that's about as likely as Linux becoming a unified platform--i.e. close to absolute zero.

Reply Parent Score: 2