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I think his point, and one I agree with, is that the tool chain is incredibly expensive, obsoleted frequently, and requires lots of maintenance. If you used Mi

I think his point, and one I agree with, is that the tool chain is incredibly expensive, obsoleted frequently, and requires lots of maintenance. If you used Microsoft's tool chain to build Windows apps, you can do so with a VM under the Dream Spark license for free. The barrier to entry for OSX/iOS development is hundreds to thousands of dollars.

msie 10y ago
Well, Xcode is free. Apple Dev membership is free. You need a computer to develop software on. Windows machines aren't free. A legit Windows OS license is more expensive than OSX.
- smt88 10y ago
  Is a Dev membership free, or is it $99/year?
  - bitserf 10y ago
    $99 is when you want to distribute via App Store. You don't need that to do the development or use the tools.
  - JimDabell 10y ago
    A developer account is free, the $99 is to publish in the App Store, receive technical support, and receive free versions of various things (e.g. OS X Server).
- cptskippy 10y ago
  Oh so you can buy the OSX upgrade and install it on any x86 hardware? No? Then it's not comparable to the retail Windows License. You can pickup a Windows PC and an Android phone for half the cost of just a Mac Mini that still requires a display.
JimDabell 10y ago
> the tool chain is incredibly expensive, obsoleted frequently, and requires lots of maintenance. The toolchain isn't expensive or obsoleted frequently. A new Mac mini is $499 and can last more than five years. When you consider a professional iOS developer can easily make $100/hr, a cost of $100/yr for equipment is beyond negligible. Not sure where you get "requires lots of maintenance" from – he doesn't seem to have said anything about that? Obviously in rich Western country terms.
- cptskippy 10y ago
  $499 is a big investment for the majority of the population and assumes you have a monitor and an iOS device already. It's not a sum many people will drop just to try it out. For a lot of people it means completely adopting the platform. A new Apple device could potentially last you 5 years but Apple has also been known to obsolete hardware in as little as a year. The majority of developers making iOS apps do not make $100 and that's not assured income, its potential. If you happen to work for a professional shop with a team, chances are you want to do CI or automation. It's a pain. If your IT department manages your machines then they need someone dedicated to maintaining enterprise security policies on your Macs, it's a pain for the user and the admin.
  - JimDabell 10y ago
    > $499 is a big investment for the majority of the population I think labelling a $499 computer as "incredibly expensive" isn't accurate when you're talking about typical Western countries. That's a pretty normal cost for a computer. > and assumes you have a monitor and an iOS device already. Most platforms require you to have an instance of the platform available to you. Yes, people who want to develop for iOS should reasonably be expected to have an iOS device, just like people who want to develop for Android should reasonably be expected to have an Android device, and people who want to develop for BlackBerry should reasonably be expected to have a BlackBerry device. Apple are not unusual in this respect – you appear to be holding them to a different standard to other platforms here. > Apple has also been known to obsolete hardware in as little as a year. I can't think of a case where this has happened – can you give an example? > The majority of developers making iOS apps do not make $100 and that's not assured income, its potential. I'm trying to put the cost/benefit into perspective. The cost of iOS development is minuscule in context. > If you happen to work for a professional shop with a team, chances are you want to do CI or automation. It's a pain. If your IT department manages your machines then they need someone dedicated to maintaining enterprise security policies on your Macs, it's a pain for the user and the admin. Again, you seem to be holding Apple to different standards than other platforms. If you have employees using computers, then IT needs to manage them. Yes, of course – but this is true for Windows developers, Android developers, and all other developers as well.

msie 10y ago

Well, Xcode is free. Apple Dev membership is free. You need a computer to develop software on. Windows machines aren't free. A legit Windows OS license is more expensive than OSX.

smt88 10y ago
Is a Dev membership free, or is it $99/year?
- bitserf 10y ago
  $99 is when you want to distribute via App Store. You don't need that to do the development or use the tools.
- JimDabell 10y ago
  A developer account is free, the $99 is to publish in the App Store, receive technical support, and receive free versions of various things (e.g. OS X Server).
cptskippy 10y ago
Oh so you can buy the OSX upgrade and install it on any x86 hardware? No? Then it's not comparable to the retail Windows License. You can pickup a Windows PC and an Android phone for half the cost of just a Mac Mini that still requires a display.

JimDabell 10y ago

> the tool chain is incredibly expensive, obsoleted frequently, and requires lots of maintenance. The toolchain isn't expensive or obsoleted frequently. A new Mac mini is $499 and can last more than five years. When you consider a professional iOS developer can easily make $100/hr, a cost of $100/yr for equipment is beyond negligible. Not sure where you get "requires lots of maintenance" from – he doesn't seem to have said anything about that? Obviously in rich Western country terms.

cptskippy 10y ago
$499 is a big investment for the majority of the population and assumes you have a monitor and an iOS device already. It's not a sum many people will drop just to try it out. For a lot of people it means completely adopting the platform. A new Apple device could potentially last you 5 years but Apple has also been known to obsolete hardware in as little as a year. The majority of developers making iOS apps do not make $100 and that's not assured income, its potential. If you happen to work for a professional shop with a team, chances are you want to do CI or automation. It's a pain. If your IT department manages your machines then they need someone dedicated to maintaining enterprise security policies on your Macs, it's a pain for the user and the admin.
- JimDabell 10y ago
  > $499 is a big investment for the majority of the population I think labelling a $499 computer as "incredibly expensive" isn't accurate when you're talking about typical Western countries. That's a pretty normal cost for a computer. > and assumes you have a monitor and an iOS device already. Most platforms require you to have an instance of the platform available to you. Yes, people who want to develop for iOS should reasonably be expected to have an iOS device, just like people who want to develop for Android should reasonably be expected to have an Android device, and people who want to develop for BlackBerry should reasonably be expected to have a BlackBerry device. Apple are not unusual in this respect – you appear to be holding them to a different standard to other platforms here. > Apple has also been known to obsolete hardware in as little as a year. I can't think of a case where this has happened – can you give an example? > The majority of developers making iOS apps do not make $100 and that's not assured income, its potential. I'm trying to put the cost/benefit into perspective. The cost of iOS development is minuscule in context. > If you happen to work for a professional shop with a team, chances are you want to do CI or automation. It's a pain. If your IT department manages your machines then they need someone dedicated to maintaining enterprise security policies on your Macs, it's a pain for the user and the admin. Again, you seem to be holding Apple to different standards than other platforms. If you have employees using computers, then IT needs to manage them. Yes, of course – but this is true for Windows developers, Android developers, and all other developers as well.