Apple’s WWDC-Closing ‘Fuck You’ to iPhone Developers • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple’s WWDC-Closing ‘Fuck You’ to iPhone Developers

#141

Post by TeHCrAzY » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 7:00 AM UTC

djehuty wrote: post #98

cubicle67 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Possibly, but that's because Optus has a pretty sucky network for everyone. I understand (from reading whirlpool) that their new 3G network is not iPhone compatible as it's 900MHz

I think your information's out of date. I use Optus 3G on an iPhone in an area which was in exactly that position, but they upgraded a week before the iPhone came out. I think that upgrade happened nationwide. (Not that it's relevant to this thread, I know, but...)

I think your response was perfectly relevant to the conversation. It's all about discussion here!

Re: Apple’s WWDC-Closing ‘Fuck You’ to iPhone Developers

#142

Post by TeHCrAzY » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 7:06 AM UTC

lacker wrote: post #77

bluefish wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Frankly, it's what you would expect from them. An abuser doesn't stop beating when you confront him; he stops beating you when you leave. I'm not an iPhone developer, nor have I ever developed anything for the Mac platform specifically. Based on the stories I've read online it does sound like Apple isn't handling their iPhone app store well, but I do take issue with the part of your comment I've quoted. I'd like some…

Based on the stories I've read online it does sound like Apple isn't handling their iPhone app store well. Those stories are the worst experiences and are not representative of the majority of iPhone development. The Apple app store is handled worlds better than any other phone. No other platform is even usable to the extent that you see people complain about it.

Just because you're only hitting me softly, when the other guys are hitting me hard, doesn't mean I shouldn't ask you to stop.

Re: Apple’s WWDC-Closing ‘Fuck You’ to iPhone Developers

#143

Post by stse » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 8:39 AM UTC

The consumer has been screwed so long, regarding mobile phones, that we think it's normal by now. I mean, overlapping networks when wifi is widely available, roaming charges, paying extreme prices per megabyte when sending a text message. If intel would start restricting which OS you could run on there processors, people would go crazy. Microsoft must even provide a IE free version of windows in Europe.

Re: Apple’s WWDC-Closing ‘Fuck You’ to iPhone Developers

#144

Post by kaiser » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 9:40 AM UTC

darshan wrote: post #89

dca wrote: post #36

The iPhone is slick. Its got an amazing UI for a mobile device. The input is clever. Its very shiny. But having had one for about 2 years, 1 year of which it was only about 60% functional due to an "insensitive" touch screen, and having lived with the less than friendly support staff, I'm pretty confident in saying that's about as deep as it goes. Its very shiny. Its designed to look pretty in Walmart and in AT&T sto…

It would seem to me there's a huge opportunity here for someone else to come in and blow the doors off of them, in terms of developer friendliness, openness, support, price, etc... but in searching for a new phone I didn't see anyone clearly better. Have you not heard of Android? Developer friendliness? Check. Openness? Check. Support? Check. Price? Check. Google is spectacular in all of these regards. Android is ope…

Developer friendliness/ support? I only played with the first Android release so far. Yet, honestly, for me the Iphone developer documentation and support seem by far better.

Openness? Why do I still have to jailbreak and unlock an Android phone, when it is so open? (Rhetorical Question)

Price? Yes, check if you want phones with really bad battery lifetime (so far, let's see when a decent phone comes out, I might reconsider).

Btw, is it true that you can only use the phones if you have a google account and that there are several phone home features in the phone?

Re: Apple’s WWDC-Closing ‘Fuck You’ to iPhone Developers

#145

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 11:55 AM UTC

jodrellblank wrote: post #8

zacharypinter wrote: post #6

I have no objection to Apple running an official App Store with strict rules for compliance. I don't even mind that they take a cut of the profits. However, I find it utterly reprehensible that Apple doesn't allow developers to distribute their applications on their own. iPhone owners should be able to install whatever they want on the device they purchased.

iPhone owners should be able to install whatever they want on the device they purchased. Why? It's such an entrenched idea, but you don't get to rewrite paragraphs of books, or scenes in films, or suits in a pack of playing cards or the firmware in your alarm clock. The iPhone is sold as is, why should we expect to use it any differently?

[deleted]

Re: Apple’s WWDC-Closing ‘Fuck You’ to iPhone Developers

#146

Post by darshan » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 12:46 PM UTC

dca wrote: post #135

darshan wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would seem to me there's a huge opportunity here for someone else to come in and blow the doors off of them, in terms of developer friendliness, openness, support, price, etc... but in searching for a new phone I didn't see anyone clearly better. Have you not heard of Android? Developer friendliness? Check. Openness? Check. Support? Check. Price? Check. Google is spectacular in all of these regards. Android is ope…

You're absolutely right - for the points I explicitly listed Android is probably fine. My problem with the Android was different - I couldn't seem to get my hands on one. Plus I wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of switching to T-Mobile anyway. Also, I merged a bunch of ideas together and probably rushed that reply. I'm horrible at posting to forums like this because I almost never get up the nerve to do it. Anyw…

Yeah, lack of options is currently a problem — but not for much longer: there are around 20 new Android phones expected by the end of the year. http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/05/28/google-expects-18-20-an... >

I'm guessing at least half will be available in the U.S. I'd also wager that, if not by the end of the year, then at least by next summer, all major carriers in the States will have multiple Android phones to choose from. So things are moving in the right direction; when you're ready for your next phone, I think you'll be very pleased with your options.

Re: Apple’s WWDC-Closing ‘Fuck You’ to iPhone Developers

#147

Post by cstejerean » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 2:49 PM UTC

Andys wrote: post #136

cstejerean wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" And some of the apps I've downloaded have had multiple new versions available in a single week" Not sure if having to update the same app multiple times in one week is something I'd like to do as a consumer. I like the release early, release often strategy for development, but when the app is running on someone else's device I'd like to see people put a little more attention into the quality of the software they sh…

Are you joking? I can't tell. This is the age of web applications and permanently net-connected smart phones. Who are you to tell me I can't fix a typo or push a bugfix more than once a week?

No, not joking. I understand that you can fix a website instantly and as often as you like, but these are not websites we're talking about, they are applications that users have to download and install. If any desktop application I ran had multiple bug fix updates per week every week I would be pretty worried about the overall quality of the application and of their development process.

Re: Apple’s WWDC-Closing ‘Fuck You’ to iPhone Developers

#148

Post by joezydeco » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 8:44 PM UTC

kevbin wrote: post #10

"The content of sessions is under NDA, so I can’t tell you what it was about." Without knowing the content, I'm reluctant to criticize the decision not to take questions since I remember one WWDC session where one developer (let's call him "dw") destroyed an AppleScript session with his Q&A ranting.

I asked a coworker who went to WWDC about this incident, and it went down nothing like Marco said.

Yes, Apple engineers skipped the Q&A, but were all available at the foot of the stage after the presentation to take individual (and off-the-record) questions.