Just today I was planning on using Titanium to build an iPhone App for live blogging – then I read the new iPhone SDK Terms and Conditions. I’m now officially looking to replace my iPhone with the Nexus One – and developing purely for the Android Platform. I can’t believe you forced me to do this, after all the things we have been through – I would have expected more. Steve, you broke my heart.
I’ve been a loyal subject since 1984 when my father’s printshop bought their first Mac, and I have been hooked ever since. I own virtually every iPod made, every version of the iPhone, and a slew of Macs (both desktops and laptops). Needless to say, I have been a huge fan and supporter for over 26 years and have been a vocal Apple evangelist to anyone who would listen.
For the first time in our long relationship together, I experienced something that I never would’ve thought possible – pure disgust. No, I’m not talking about locking down the iPhone or iPad, or even the AppStore approval process – since I can appreciate these tactics to ensure the very best user experience possible. But today you simply went to far.
Your new Terms and Conditions for the iPhone 4.0 SDK is a straight kick to the nuts of every developer – the very same people who made the iPhone the juggernaut that it is today – with 140,000 apps. We all know that the handheld with the best apps will win the market that you currently dominate. But after today’s blow, I can now see those tides changing direction.
Not allowing 3rd party applications to create iPhone Apps (in your own proprietary language none-the-less) is the most asinine move in your company’s history (besides the whole IBM Pink debacle). Of course you realize that this cripples amazing products like Titanium, TabLynx and the thousands of developers who have spent months building iPhone specific application using these frameworks. But why? Why if these applications used your own Software Development Kit, would you block them? Why can’t you just build great hardware, approve good software and get the fuck out-of-the-way?
Steve, I beg of you – please reconsider this move! We both know that your obsessive control disorder works great for the short-term, but will damn near destroy your company in the long-term (we don’t want to repeat history do we?). Android is nipping at your toes, and is only a few usability steps away from being a viable competitor for the masses. Wake up, if you keep stepping on the throats of developers, we will leave.
Sincerely,
Brandon
No related posts.
A) Blame Flash. That shit sucks, killed the web, and never worked right on Macs.
B) When you start letting half-assed frameworks in you are inevitably going to compromise stability and the experience that is core to the iPhone. I know many resist this, but I have embraced it, ‘cuz it’s better… just like my Mac is better than a PC. I don’t have to think about it. With Android, Windows, etc. I may be able to “do” more but I have to think about it. I don’t want to think about the computer, I want to DO what I want to do.
C) Apple needs a cut. Flash is a good illustration here as well. You support Flash, people build buggy, shitty apps, but they also can cut Apple out of the $ cycle.
D) The NexusOne is a NICE phone, but the experience suffers greatly from not having that whole closed system. It doesn’t have the joy or the connection you get with an iPhone… or an iPad.
E) What broke my heart is that iAd bullshit. 1… dumbass name sounds like an APril Fool’s gag. 2… So I pay hundreds for the device and thousands for the service and you make money feeding me ads? That is total bullshit. Apple – because of Steve – has stood against crap like this in the past. (Note: I will upgrade to 4.0, and purchase the next gen hardware despite this.)
Suck it up, sleep on it, and then get back to doing something amazing with the tools god, I mean Steve, gave you. FOR FREE.
Brock,
A) Agreed, Flash sucks – and I think we are finally seeing the balance of power leaving adobes hands .
B) You’re assuming that the frameworks are half-assed, Titanium isn’t, as are many others (sure the cloned pump and dumps blow, but let the market decide their success or failure)
C) I don’t care about Flash – but people will always build buggy software, isn’t that what the AppStore process is for?
D) Agreed – Android is more about potential, once (and if) they get their ux solidified – I think it could destroy Apple’s death grip on the market.
E). I think the iAds method is a good way to help developers monazite their work, but agree that it’s hollow.
Rock it!