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Apple's Mistake

paulgraham.com

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Re: Apple's Mistake

#151

Post by tsetse-fly »

bkudria wrote: post #39
kylec wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since the "1984 incident" I trust Amazon even less than I trust Apple. At least Apple doesn't yank music/apps/whatever off their customers' devices.

I suspect because it's difficult for them to technically do so. They would have pulled the GV Mobile app in an instant, if they could have, but the iPhone OS doesn't have this capability. The Kindle does.

Why would it be technically difficult for Apple to remove apps from your phone? Implementing a backdoor in your own software is fairly trivial.

Re: Apple's Mistake

#152

Post by netcan »

Genuine question about the RFS:

Why so specific? If the idea is get iphone-replacements into developers hands, why not just say that. 'Development on handhelds' sounds like a reasonable idea, but maybe it's impossible. Maybe it's just one of several possibilities.

'Get developers using something other then an iphone' seems like something that could at least yield some good ideas. Is there any reason the RFS is so granular?

Re: Apple's Mistake

#153

Post by tumult »

Thanks pg, this one was great. I was just ranting about software here in HN comments the last couple of days, so it feels even more timely.

Re: Apple's Mistake

#154

Post by dejb »

fhars wrote: post #96
allenp wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep seeing this notion of opening the platform brought up here. I'm having a hard time visualizing how this works out. Does Apple continue the overhead/cost of the app store? Do they have a giant disclaimer that they do not support or condone the applications, take no responsibility for any damages, etc? Do they still act as the payment gateway? How does this impact Apple's brand and the consumer trust of the prod…

Before Android, there was no phone platform with open app development, JavaME and Symbian require a code signing certifiate (at about $300 per year) just for running your own code on your own phone in an acceptable manner. Symbian seems to have opened up a little bit in the last few months with free online signing for your own IMEI, but it is still very little, very late.

Not True. Windows CE/PocketPC/Mobile has always allowed you to get Apps from anywhere.

Re: Apple's Mistake

#155

Post by dasil003 »

jcl wrote: post #98
dasil003 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, PG makes the point very well. Apple thinks of themselves as ensuring quality, when in reality they are having the exact opposite effect. What they need to do is just let all apps through, and make it easy for customers to report problems, and then Apple can proactively pull apps that have too many problems. They could do that at half the cost and have much better overall quality, to say nothing of the developer…

Of course, then Apple couldn't screen for the things that they care about but that users won't report. For example, applications that use Apple/iPhone imagery wouldn't get reported because users don't care about the dilution of Apple's brand. Likewise, applications that encourage the user to do things that might damage the device (swinging, throwing, or dropping) wouldn't be reported because the device is broken -- a…

Fair point, but they can do that anyway. Also, it would give them an incentive to actually review things in a timely manner.

The other thing is they could keep the existing process for everyone's first app, but once you are a trusted developer things should be smoother. That would eliminate most of the pain.

Re: Apple's Mistake

#156

Post by gcheong »

allenp wrote: post #25
jgrahamc wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree with your conclusion. Both smack of 'religious' thinking. Your point 1 is essentially 'be thankful to the merciful god who has ended the drought'. Your point 2 doesn't solve the problem, it just throws more priests at it. The solution is to open the platform to all developers. Imagine if Microsoft had vetted every DOS and Windows app, or if we had to submit Linux apps to Linus for review.

I keep seeing this notion of opening the platform brought up here. I'm having a hard time visualizing how this works out. Does Apple continue the overhead/cost of the app store? Do they have a giant disclaimer that they do not support or condone the applications, take no responsibility for any damages, etc? Do they still act as the payment gateway? How does this impact Apple's brand and the consumer trust of the prod…

"Do they have a giant disclaimer that they do not support or condone the applications, take no responsibility for any damages, etc?"

Read your iTunes agreement. I think you will find that they already have this.

Re: Apple's Mistake

#157

Post by mid »

I disagree. Apple understands software extremely well. What they don't understand is 3rd party software. The same mentality that eventually killed DEC.

Re: Apple's Mistake

#158

Post by cpr »

I think a lot of the problem stems from the fact that Jobs hates third party apps (because he can't control them), and he always has, and always will.

He just realizes he can't build a successful product, long-term, without them.

But his main internal smart software guys know better, and build a great software ecosystem.

Thus Apple is now projecting a seriously schizoid personality.

Re: Apple's Mistake

#159

Post by hristov »

jorgem wrote: post #145
joecode wrote: post #126

Talk about it. I just got a rejection today for a major bugfix on my last update. The only change in the update is to use utf-8 encoding---one tiny change on one line of code. After 2 weeks, they tell me they can't approve the update because I'm using undocumented APIs in a couple places. Sure, OK, looks like I was using some methods that went from deprecated to undocumented... but that's exactly what's in the store…

I had similar one line fix... I have a simple "free" app in the iPhone App Store. It lets users browse "available" Web domains. One feature is a BUY button that forwards them to Godaddy.com, if they want to buy the domain. I don't make any money from Godaddy. The app has been approved for a while, but I wanted to patch one little bug, so I submitted a patch. ... And waited two weeks. Apple's testers found a bug that…

What they really want is to figure out if there is a way for them to make money off of it. Even if you personally are not getting kickbacks from godaddy, there is a lot of money in selling domains. There is got to be, somebody has to pay for those awful superball ads.

Re: Apple's Mistake

#160

Post by cpr »

crayz wrote: post #14

As Moore's law marches on, it's inevitable that the computing power needed by Joe Sixpack will fit into smaller and smaller packages. The rise of the desktop, then laptop, now netbook. Each iteration takes less time than the previous one. That asymptote will soon - a few years at the outside - hit the iPhone/PDA form factor Apple must understand this, and they can't possibly believe they'll be allowed to maintain thi…

Why not? They're certainly going to try, and they're winning so far.

Maybe our generally-accepted notions of what should succeed in the market is wrong.

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