Xcode now costs US$ 4.99 • Hacker News Board

Re: Xcode now costs US$ 4.99

#11

Post by randrews » Wed, Mar 09, 2011, 9:04 PM UTC

Xcode 3 appears to still be a free download. Xcode 4 is free if you're a registered developer (which costs $99/year), or $5 from the app store.

gcc is obviously still free, if you get it from anyone other than Apple.

Re: Xcode now costs US$ 4.99

#12

Post by nir » Wed, Mar 09, 2011, 9:04 PM UTC

kylelibra wrote: post #2

For the convenience of being able to download Xcode through the mac store and get the updates automatically, I'll gladly pay $4.99.

Is there a free option for those who don't mind downloading it outside the app store?

Re: Xcode now costs US$ 4.99

#13

Post by kylelibra » Wed, Mar 09, 2011, 9:05 PM UTC

rbanffy wrote: post #3

kylelibra wrote: post #2

For the convenience of being able to download Xcode through the mac store and get the updates automatically, I'll gladly pay $4.99.

While I agree it's still quite cheap, I wonder why Apple suddenly decided to start charging almost nothing for something that used to be free. I don't see the price tag having any impact in the iOS/OSX software ecosystem, so, why are they bothering to charge for it?

One guess would be that they didn't want a 3gb app constantly being downloaded by people who wouldn't use it for more than 30 seconds. I realize bandwidth is incredibly cheap, but we are always hearing talking of Apple trying to offset costs, maybe this factored into the thinking?

Re: Xcode now costs US$ 4.99

#14

Post by rbanffy » Wed, Mar 09, 2011, 9:07 PM UTC

nir wrote: post #12

kylelibra wrote: post #2

For the convenience of being able to download Xcode through the mac store and get the updates automatically, I'll gladly pay $4.99.

Is there a free option for those who don't mind downloading it outside the app store?

Xcode 3. You can grab it from http://developer.apple.com/

Re: Xcode now costs US$ 4.99

#15

Post by ori_b » Wed, Mar 09, 2011, 9:10 PM UTC

This is somewhat strange pricing - it seems ridiculously cheap if they're trying to make significant profits off of it, but pricey enough to prevent tinkerers who don't really know about coding but feel like trying it from getting a start in xcode.

Re: Xcode now costs US$ 4.99

#16

Post by mirkules » Wed, Mar 09, 2011, 9:11 PM UTC

kylelibra wrote: post #2

For the convenience of being able to download Xcode through the mac store and get the updates automatically, I'll gladly pay $4.99.

I would want automatic updates too, but only if they didn't break every existing SDK on your machine. This is currently not the case, so thanks, but no thanks.

Re: Xcode now costs US$ 4.99

#17

Post by jankassens » Wed, Mar 09, 2011, 9:11 PM UTC

I wonder why they charge for the tools to develop on their platform.

Charging for the forums/bug tracker is probably a good way to keep people out who aren't that serious about development, but I don't get why they charge for XCode. It's not like they'd make any relevant amount of money off XCode.

Re: Xcode now costs US$ 4.99

#18

Post by ecuzzillo » Wed, Mar 09, 2011, 9:11 PM UTC

kylelibra wrote: post #13

rbanffy wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I agree it's still quite cheap, I wonder why Apple suddenly decided to start charging almost nothing for something that used to be free. I don't see the price tag having any impact in the iOS/OSX software ecosystem, so, why are they bothering to charge for it?

One guess would be that they didn't want a 3gb app constantly being downloaded by people who wouldn't use it for more than 30 seconds. I realize bandwidth is incredibly cheap, but we are always hearing talking of Apple trying to offset costs, maybe this factored into the thinking?

So make it download by torrent transparently like (IIRC) Starcraft.

Re: Xcode now costs US$ 4.99

#19

Post by georgemcbay » Wed, Mar 09, 2011, 9:12 PM UTC

kylelibra wrote: post #13

rbanffy wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I agree it's still quite cheap, I wonder why Apple suddenly decided to start charging almost nothing for something that used to be free. I don't see the price tag having any impact in the iOS/OSX software ecosystem, so, why are they bothering to charge for it?

One guess would be that they didn't want a 3gb app constantly being downloaded by people who wouldn't use it for more than 30 seconds. I realize bandwidth is incredibly cheap, but we are always hearing talking of Apple trying to offset costs, maybe this factored into the thinking?

Seems like a reasonable guess. However, considering how large the update downloads are for even minor upgrades of Apple software I always assumed Steve secretly owned stock in a CDN.

Re: Xcode now costs US$ 4.99

#20

Post by wtn » Wed, Mar 09, 2011, 9:13 PM UTC

rbanffy wrote: post #3

kylelibra wrote: post #2

For the convenience of being able to download Xcode through the mac store and get the updates automatically, I'll gladly pay $4.99.

While I agree it's still quite cheap, I wonder why Apple suddenly decided to start charging almost nothing for something that used to be free. I don't see the price tag having any impact in the iOS/OSX software ecosystem, so, why are they bothering to charge for it?

They want to shove the Mac App Store in developers' faces.