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The Windows mobile platform has official SDKs you can download and no NDA. Any application can do anything allowed by the SDK and they can be installed by any r

by trezor 18y ago

The Windows mobile platform has official SDKs you can download and no NDA. Any application can do anything allowed by the SDK and they can be installed by any regular consumer without jailbreaking, either directly from the internet on the phone itself or trough a simple setup-program on a PC synching with the phone. Microsoft beats Apple at all points here. I have no experience with Symbian development, but a quick google seems to imply that their platform is as open as Microsoft's. I'm not saying Windows Mobile is flawless or that Microsoft are saints, but I fail to see why people constantly are cheering or apologizing for Apple when they are clearly overstepping their bounds in the name of a "it just works" image-based egotrip.

silencio 18y ago
And Windows Mobile is a LOT older than the iPhone. As in, you could trace back the history of Windows Mobile probably something like 10+ years. Compare to iPhone, which has its roots in OS X, but this is the first mobile/embedded version of OS X, and it's Apple's first phone, and the SDK is hardly months old. Just saying, this could be Apple being stupid and malicious, or it could be Apple wandering into new territory (for them). I'm hoping situations change in the coming years, but I mean, I really wish people would put a little perspective into this..."Windows Mobile has this, has that! iPhone doesn't!" well, what if you gave it some more time? Good apps and know-how don't just appear out of thin air, it stems from experience.
- trezor 18y ago
  And good apps would certainly stem from people being allowed to develop for the phone, not to mention discussing experiences. What Apple is doing here is trying to keep the "good apps" in house and under their control so they can capitalize on it (and make it a selling point), instead of developers out on the free market.
  - silencio 18y ago
    To be honest, I don't think Apple's doing that...and if they are, they're doing a horrible job of it. Have you seen the apps on the app store? Half are complete trash. Maybe like 5% are awesome and worth using. The rest are mediocre (and on a sidenote, I think those percentages apply to applications in general anyway). Outside of the ones that violate the terms set by Apple/AT&T, I don't really want to know what the hell kinds of applications Apple is rejecting...or what it would be like if it was a complete free-for-all instead of having a "tax" of the $99/year fee. This is not even beginning on touching on the developer issues outside of the NDA, like actually getting apps/updates accepted to the store itself (it's definitely not Apple being picky, they just seem massively backlogged). I'm hoping this is just growing pains from Apple just starting out, but you never know...it's only been a few months, I'm going to give it some more time. (Also, everyone who knows other people who are definitely in the program aren't stopping from talking about it e.g. during wwdc, which was a good thing but...eh.)
    - trezor 18y ago
      To be honest, I don't think Apple's doing that...and if they are, they're doing a horrible job of it. What I mostly meant by my statement was that they are keeping expertice and experience in house, while rejecting the rest of the developer community the same thing. It has the net effect of what I said, but if this is a "evil", intentional master-plan or just a side-effect of other policies... Time will tell.
      - silencio 18y ago
        Hmm, well it depends if you paid the "tax" to go to WWDC to take advantage of their in-house expertise and experience, which is still minimal given how new this all technically is. :) Regardless, Apple can't keep on doing this, there are lots of entities who are wanting the NDA gone, not just the app developers. It's in their best interests to do so, and I will be shocked if they keep it for much longer.
axod 18y ago
The difference is, no one wants to develop for the Windows mobile platform, so it's a bit of a moot point IMHO.

by trezor 18y ago

silencio 18y ago

And Windows Mobile is a LOT older than the iPhone. As in, you could trace back the history of Windows Mobile probably something like 10+ years. Compare to iPhone, which has its roots in OS X, but this is the first mobile/embedded version of OS X, and it's Apple's first phone, and the SDK is hardly months old. Just saying, this could be Apple being stupid and malicious, or it could be Apple wandering into new territory (for them). I'm hoping situations change in the coming years, but I mean, I really wish people would put a little perspective into this..."Windows Mobile has this, has that! iPhone doesn't!" well, what if you gave it some more time? Good apps and know-how don't just appear out of thin air, it stems from experience.

trezor 18y ago
And good apps would certainly stem from people being allowed to develop for the phone, not to mention discussing experiences. What Apple is doing here is trying to keep the "good apps" in house and under their control so they can capitalize on it (and make it a selling point), instead of developers out on the free market.
- silencio 18y ago
  To be honest, I don't think Apple's doing that...and if they are, they're doing a horrible job of it. Have you seen the apps on the app store? Half are complete trash. Maybe like 5% are awesome and worth using. The rest are mediocre (and on a sidenote, I think those percentages apply to applications in general anyway). Outside of the ones that violate the terms set by Apple/AT&T, I don't really want to know what the hell kinds of applications Apple is rejecting...or what it would be like if it was a complete free-for-all instead of having a "tax" of the $99/year fee. This is not even beginning on touching on the developer issues outside of the NDA, like actually getting apps/updates accepted to the store itself (it's definitely not Apple being picky, they just seem massively backlogged). I'm hoping this is just growing pains from Apple just starting out, but you never know...it's only been a few months, I'm going to give it some more time. (Also, everyone who knows other people who are definitely in the program aren't stopping from talking about it e.g. during wwdc, which was a good thing but...eh.)
  - trezor 18y ago
    To be honest, I don't think Apple's doing that...and if they are, they're doing a horrible job of it. What I mostly meant by my statement was that they are keeping expertice and experience in house, while rejecting the rest of the developer community the same thing. It has the net effect of what I said, but if this is a "evil", intentional master-plan or just a side-effect of other policies... Time will tell.
    - silencio 18y ago
      Hmm, well it depends if you paid the "tax" to go to WWDC to take advantage of their in-house expertise and experience, which is still minimal given how new this all technically is. :) Regardless, Apple can't keep on doing this, there are lots of entities who are wanting the NDA gone, not just the app developers. It's in their best interests to do so, and I will be shocked if they keep it for much longer.

axod 18y ago

The difference is, no one wants to develop for the Windows mobile platform, so it's a bit of a moot point IMHO.