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I think there is also another dynamic at play: Apple makes high-end, high-margin 'lifestyle' computing devices. Every time Steve Jobs gets up and announces a ne

by davi 17y ago

I think there is also another dynamic at play: Apple makes high-end, high-margin 'lifestyle' computing devices. Every time Steve Jobs gets up and announces a new whiz-bang hardware or software capability in one of these devices, that whiz-bang capability needs to be deployed as widely and quickly as possible into the consumer ecosystem. This rapid deployment lets Apple keep ahead of the Joneses and continue to own the high-end space. If there is a lag while least-common-denominator, cross-platform tools incorporate the new whiz-bang features, Apple loses its temporal edge and gives time to competitors to catch up. The last decade has built up the "Apple == newest" identity in consumers' minds, and they don't want to lose that, it is one of the keys to their hold on the high end (another being incredible design and polish, at scale). If everyone is writing in Cocoa on XCode, Apple's latest & greatest will be deployed that much more quickly. I think this interpretation is consistent with Jobs' terse emails here, particularly the line, "intermediate layers between the platform and the developer ultimately produces sub-standard apps and hinders the progress of the platform" (emphasis mine).

stevenwei 17y ago
I'm not sure how valid this point is...there is already going to be a lag since all of the current app developers are going to have to update their apps to support the new APIs anyway. At best you could say that there won't be an intermediary platform delaying the process...but I'm not sure if that really is a compelling reason to justify this decision.
- davi 17y ago
  there is already going to be a lag Without cross-compilers, the lag is as you say: developers update their apps. With cross-compilers, the lag balloons: the makers of the cross-compiler toolset need to incorporate the latest Apple features (if they choose to do so given the rest of their market), roll out their tools to developers, then developers have to use the new tools to update their apps. Slow!
reitzensteinm 17y ago
After some reflection, I think you're definitely right that it's a factor. But I'd still be surprised if it were the primary one, despite what they claim. The developer base is just so huge, any new platform feature is going to have dozens of apps to show it off right away. Saying that they're doing it to further their platform sounds a hell of a lot better than saying that they're doing it to hurt their competition!
- davi 17y ago
  I agree this temporal aspect isn't the only dynamic, but I don't see people talking about it much (at all?). I think it's worth thinking about as an angle on the whole thing. Market tempo matters. Doesn't make what they're doing any more palatable, mind you -- but it does make it more comprehensible (to me, anyway).
blasdel 17y ago
At first I was thinking that Apple wasn't targeting the game engines with this, but they're releasing a social "Game Center" API to compete with Xbox live and Facebook. Suddenly it matters very much indeed that lots of games start calling new platform-native APIs, right fucking now.
davidedicillo 17y ago
I completely agree. Also this push more people to learn and write Cocoa, that will ultimately push those developers to build awesome desktop apps as well, increasing the value of the OS X platform.

by davi 17y ago

stevenwei 17y ago

I'm not sure how valid this point is...there is already going to be a lag since all of the current app developers are going to have to update their apps to support the new APIs anyway. At best you could say that there won't be an intermediary platform delaying the process...but I'm not sure if that really is a compelling reason to justify this decision.

davi 17y ago
there is already going to be a lag Without cross-compilers, the lag is as you say: developers update their apps. With cross-compilers, the lag balloons: the makers of the cross-compiler toolset need to incorporate the latest Apple features (if they choose to do so given the rest of their market), roll out their tools to developers, then developers have to use the new tools to update their apps. Slow!

reitzensteinm 17y ago

After some reflection, I think you're definitely right that it's a factor. But I'd still be surprised if it were the primary one, despite what they claim. The developer base is just so huge, any new platform feature is going to have dozens of apps to show it off right away. Saying that they're doing it to further their platform sounds a hell of a lot better than saying that they're doing it to hurt their competition!

davi 17y ago
I agree this temporal aspect isn't the only dynamic, but I don't see people talking about it much (at all?). I think it's worth thinking about as an angle on the whole thing. Market tempo matters. Doesn't make what they're doing any more palatable, mind you -- but it does make it more comprehensible (to me, anyway).

blasdel 17y ago

At first I was thinking that Apple wasn't targeting the game engines with this, but they're releasing a social "Game Center" API to compete with Xbox live and Facebook. Suddenly it matters very much indeed that lots of games start calling new platform-native APIs, right fucking now.

davidedicillo 17y ago

I completely agree. Also this push more people to learn and write Cocoa, that will ultimately push those developers to build awesome desktop apps as well, increasing the value of the OS X platform.