5 ms·

Yes, the more I think about it the less sense it makes. Putting it on the App Store seems perfectly normal, but charging money for something that used to be fre

Yes, the more I think about it the less sense it makes. Putting it on the App Store seems perfectly normal, but charging money for something that used to be free, even a token amount, is a really stupid thing to do. $5 is nearly as bad as $50: the difference between charging nothing and something is way higher than the difference between charging something and something higher. Is it to defray hosting costs for a 4 gig app on the App Store? Then why host it for free before on their site?

taylorbuley 16y ago
My opinion is that it's just another "hidden fee" for OS X development. (A fee I'm happy to pay, for what it's worth.) For me, I actually had to get a Mac before I could even think about writing my first iPhone app. Then I found out my 10.5 Mac Mini wasn't compatible with XCode, so I had to fork over a bit to pick up Leopard. Then comes the $100 or whatever for a developer license so you can build on phone. After all that, $5 doesn't sound so bad.
- Tichy 16y ago
  Seems the conditioning they put you through worked well. In fact seen in that light, the new fee makes sense. They just want to dull your resistance against paying through the nose.
  - taylorbuley 16y ago
    Must.. pay.. another... $100 http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5092/5513444433_fd70db527e.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5092/5513444433_fd70db527e.jp...
- SiVal 16y ago
  I had to pay zero for Python and Java and Perl development (a fee I've been happy to pay, for what it's worth). I actually had to get a computer before writing my first apps, but I could get whatever computer I liked. I never had one that was incompatible with these tools. Then came the $0 for a Python/Java/Perl developer license, so I could build on any server I liked. After all that, $5 plus hooking myself up to Apple's death by a thousand cuts slow drip sounds pretty bad.
tensor 16y ago
The cynic in me thinks that it's $10 this year, $15 the next, and pretty soon Apple will be doing what Microsoft used to do. If so, it's a real shame. I remember when I first switched to OS X as a student. The free developer tools were very impressive to me. I remember telling people "See, this is how it should be done. You shouldn't charge people to develop for your operating system. More applications for your system only helps you sell!" I'm sure the free developer tools were also a factor in Microsoft offering a free version of VS. Now, it seems, as Apple is becoming more and more popular, they are moving more and more in the direction that MS did in their hay day. It appears that a once fairly open system is becoming slowly more and more closed. I sincerely hope that the cynic in me is wrong.
- rbarooah 16y ago
  Except that the price of their other software (iWork, Aperture, OSX) has even falling dramatically.

taylorbuley 16y ago

My opinion is that it's just another "hidden fee" for OS X development. (A fee I'm happy to pay, for what it's worth.) For me, I actually had to get a Mac before I could even think about writing my first iPhone app. Then I found out my 10.5 Mac Mini wasn't compatible with XCode, so I had to fork over a bit to pick up Leopard. Then comes the $100 or whatever for a developer license so you can build on phone. After all that, $5 doesn't sound so bad.

Tichy 16y ago
Seems the conditioning they put you through worked well. In fact seen in that light, the new fee makes sense. They just want to dull your resistance against paying through the nose.
- taylorbuley 16y ago
  Must.. pay.. another... $100 http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5092/5513444433_fd70db527e.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5092/5513444433_fd70db527e.jp...
SiVal 16y ago
I had to pay zero for Python and Java and Perl development (a fee I've been happy to pay, for what it's worth). I actually had to get a computer before writing my first apps, but I could get whatever computer I liked. I never had one that was incompatible with these tools. Then came the $0 for a Python/Java/Perl developer license, so I could build on any server I liked. After all that, $5 plus hooking myself up to Apple's death by a thousand cuts slow drip sounds pretty bad.

tensor 16y ago

The cynic in me thinks that it's $10 this year, $15 the next, and pretty soon Apple will be doing what Microsoft used to do. If so, it's a real shame. I remember when I first switched to OS X as a student. The free developer tools were very impressive to me. I remember telling people "See, this is how it should be done. You shouldn't charge people to develop for your operating system. More applications for your system only helps you sell!" I'm sure the free developer tools were also a factor in Microsoft offering a free version of VS. Now, it seems, as Apple is becoming more and more popular, they are moving more and more in the direction that MS did in their hay day. It appears that a once fairly open system is becoming slowly more and more closed. I sincerely hope that the cynic in me is wrong.

rbarooah 16y ago
Except that the price of their other software (iWork, Aperture, OSX) has even falling dramatically.