PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."

#1

Post by samstokes » Mon, Nov 23, 2009, 1:48 PM UTC

PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."
quirksmode.org

Re: PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."

#2

Post by Tichy » Mon, Nov 23, 2009, 2:19 PM UTC

I flagged this without even looking at the article. Is that bad?

Re: PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."

#3

Post by shykes » Mon, Nov 23, 2009, 2:20 PM UTC

The app store is a huge distribution channel for developers. Making a web app solves the technical aspects of distribution, but then it's up to you to put your app under the nose of several million people.

Re: PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."

#4

Post by patio11 » Mon, Nov 23, 2009, 2:24 PM UTC

Fuck [iPhone developers] those condescending, ignorant, self-important, stupid, blind, fearful pricks. Fuck them real hard. Where it hurts.

And fucking them real hard where it hurts is exactly what Apple is doing right now.

We choose the world we want to live in, and I don't want to live in a world where writing like this is unremarkable. It adds nothing to the overall argument and coarsens us to no purpose.

I am sympathetic to the general gist of "developers would be better off working without a gatekeeper", and have said much the same myself this weekend, but those who Apple chooses to win do benefit enormously from a built-in, captive audience who is exposed to Apple's annointed developers. There is no comparable method of exposure for mobile web application developers.

There is also the non-trivial benefit of actually getting paid money to consider. You can certainly make money on the wide-open Internet, but the tactics you use for it and the apps you make are wholly different from what works on the iPhone. (What I wouldn't give for my customers being able to buy my software in two clicks, but alas...)

Re: PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."

#5

Post by pohl » Mon, Nov 23, 2009, 2:26 PM UTC

Let's say that I want to implement a swipe-to-delete feature like the one in the Mail app. What JavaScript event should I listen for?

Re: PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."

#6

Post by ulf » Mon, Nov 23, 2009, 2:27 PM UTC

While he basically raises some valid points, he ignores two critical ones:

1) With the appstore being the one authority to get apps on your iPhone, you will automatically get much less traction using the web

2) The appstore makes it VERY easy for the devs to actually get paid. If you launch your app web-only, you have to incorporate the whole payment process yourself, which sucks.

Catch 22...

Re: PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."

#7

Post by unalone » Mon, Nov 23, 2009, 2:29 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #4

Fuck [iPhone developers] those condescending, ignorant, self-important, stupid, blind, fearful pricks. Fuck them real hard. Where it hurts. And fucking them real hard where it hurts is exactly what Apple is doing right now. We choose the world we want to live in, and I don't want to live in a world where writing like this is unremarkable. It adds nothing to the overall argument and coarsens us to no purpose. I am sym…

You can charge money for a webapp. You just have to use PayPal rather than Apple's built-in procedure. That's fair, right? It's just as fair as buying any other application would be.

I just installed two webapps on my iPod and they're quickly becoming my most-used icons.

Re: PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."

#8

Post by rmaccloy » Mon, Nov 23, 2009, 2:31 PM UTC

pohl wrote: post #5

Let's say that I want to implement a swipe-to-delete feature like the one in the Mail app. What JavaScript event should I listen for?

touchmove, apparently: http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2008/07/10/touching-and-gesturin...

Re: PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."

#9

Post by edd » Mon, Nov 23, 2009, 2:44 PM UTC

ulf wrote: post #6

While he basically raises some valid points, he ignores two critical ones: 1) With the appstore being the one authority to get apps on your iPhone, you will automatically get much less traction using the web 2) The appstore makes it VERY easy for the devs to actually get paid. If you launch your app web-only, you have to incorporate the whole payment process yourself, which sucks. Catch 22...

Your first point is so valid. Having created a webapp for the iPhone myself there really are few places I can go to put my webapp on a stage that anyone cares about. If someone knows of any I honestly would love to know where they are.

Re: PPK: "Apple is not evil. iPhone developers are stupid."

#10

Post by rodyancy » Mon, Nov 23, 2009, 2:59 PM UTC

ulf wrote: post #6

While he basically raises some valid points, he ignores two critical ones: 1) With the appstore being the one authority to get apps on your iPhone, you will automatically get much less traction using the web 2) The appstore makes it VERY easy for the devs to actually get paid. If you launch your app web-only, you have to incorporate the whole payment process yourself, which sucks. Catch 22...

And, the payment system you end up incorporating will not be as dead simple to use as iTunes.

As bad as Apple is at vetting and distributing software (when compared to the web they are bad a distributing software, at least in terms of speed), they are terrific, although expensive, payment processes.

The fact that every iPhone user necessarily has an iTunes account, and they are only one touch and a password away from paying you for your software, can't be overstated.