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Apple has made life of small developers hard. Mac software and app industry has died. Even after notarising apps they show malicious popup to users. Same pract

• Rubayo 5y ago
  Yet given all this, for a substantial cohort of customers, the Apple brand is still bought as a badge of "coolness".
  • nobodyknowsyoda 5y ago
    Slightly off topic, but I do love the translucent terminal on the Mac. It is very cool
    • rovr138 5y ago
      Pretty sure gnome-terminal and terminator both have this.
      • testific8 5y ago
        Quite a number of terminal emulators have this feature. Alacritty and xfce4 terminal as well.
      • edgyquant 5y ago
        As far as I know pretty much every Linux terminal emulator has an opacity setting so long as you have a compositor installed
      • keyb0ardninja 5y ago
        And konsole (And pretty much every Linux terminal)
      • mhh__ 5y ago
        And powershell (if I understand what is being described).
        • noisem4ker 5y ago
          That would be Windows Terminal, the application inside of which PowerShell and other shells run.
    • Siira 5y ago
      It's a performance hog that provides little value.
  • Nextgrid 5y ago
    The Apple brand is still where things mostly "just work". Sure, it's significantly declined in the last few years, but it's still ahead of Linux, and while Windows was great during the Windows 7 era and Microsoft definitely has the resources to compete, it seems like they're intentionally degrading the experience with Windows 10.
    • l33t2328 5y ago
      Why do you say they’re degrading the experience?
      • wincy 5y ago
        The other day I had a windows upgrade and suddenly had weather on my desktop. I thought it was some malware I’d downloaded. Nope, new windows feature with a confusing way to disable it so I had to Google it. My next laptop will definitely be a MacBook.
        • deleted 5y ago
          [deleted]
        • Strom 5y ago
          I had that weather widget show up a few days ago as well. Beyond being unwanted it is also incompetent at the basics. I have my Windows regional settings correctly configured and yet this weather widget still showed me temperature in Fahrenheit.
        • mlazos 5y ago
          To each their own, but I find it hilarious that the weather widget is the straw that broke the camel’s back for you not wanting Windows anymore. There are so many better reasons to move away from Windows.
          • wincy 5y ago
            Well me selling off my $1200 video card (my midlife crisis gamer “Ferrari”) and quitting video canes completely has a lot to do with it too. I just don’t have a compelling reason to stay. My work laptops have always been MacBook Pros, they’re nice, and funnily enough my favorite feature is things like iTerm that just doesn’t something as good on Linux.
  • tshaddox 5y ago
    I really don’t know how long I’m willing to buy this argument that Apple is a “luxury” brand or that Apple or its customers are disproportionately concerned about coolness or fashion. All the competing flagship smartphones have similar products at similar prices, including all the branded accessories, as well as extremely similar marketing and advertising. And at least in the United States, Apple has nearly a 50% market share, which makes it really hard to buy the narrative that people are only interested in Apple products because of Apple’s marketing and their desire to fit in or look cool.
    • cglong 5y ago
      I can't tell you how many comments I've gotten (in jest I know) about how their text bubbles to me are now green.
    • throw14082020 5y ago
      > Apple has nearly a 50% market share What market are you talking about? I haven't heard the 50% market share number in the US. - iOS is 59.71% of smartphones in the US - macOS is 27.16% of Desktop PCs in the US https://www.mobileapps.com/blog/android-vs-ios-market-share#3_United_States https://www.mobileapps.com/blog/android-vs-ios-market-share#... https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/united-states-of-america/ https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/united-st...
      • tshaddox 5y ago
        I’m talking about smartphone market share. Most sources show around 40-50% market share in the US for Apple, sometimes spiking higher in quarters with popular iPhone releases.
• bberenberg 5y ago
  I spend more for mac apps every year than the year before. And I do out it outside of the app store (mostly). Obviously HN crowd isn't representative of the general populace but this is my limited anecdotal experience.
  • codesternews 5y ago
    I am developer of mac app which rely on system events. From mojave each time I request for permission user see popup this app wants to control etc etc. I got it but every time? It killed lots of apps.
    • Rubayo 5y ago
      >>It killed lots of apps. how?
      • rovr138 5y ago
        People see that, don't understand the popup, get scared and stop using the app.
        • simondotau 5y ago
          Do you think that all apps should have access to system events without asking permission? I sympathise with the frustration, and I agree that Apple could’ve done more to help less tech savvy users navigate the challenge of increased security. But every operating system is a series of trade-offs between developer convenience and having the system defend the user’s interests. But if I was in your position, my response would be to do the best job I can to educate my users about this and hold their hand through the process as much as possible. If your competitors face the same challenges, doing this well could be a real competitive advantage.
          • arvindamirtaa 5y ago
            It should have all that, when you install the app. And you should probably be able to see what apps are using what permissions when. Both of which you can do already. A prompt at every instance is just fear mongering.
• heavyset_go 5y ago
  > Mac software and app industry has died. Even after notarising apps they show malicious popup to users. I maintain a handful of open source apps for macOS, and have for years. If I don't pay the $100 Apple tax, macOS will treat those apps as if they're radioactive, and it will trick users into believing the apps are either broken or malicious. In order to run them, users must know how to change arcane settings and do a magic ritual with the UI, otherwise they just won't open. If the tables were turned and it was Linux that wouldn't run apps that were not signed and approved by Red Hat without having to jump through arcane hoops first, people would be rightfully pointing out how user and developer hostile it is. > They killed the industry. Not only that, they helped usher in the race to the bottom when it comes to the app distribution market. Now everyone expects to spend a dollar or two for an app if they're spending anything at all. They also killed the paid update/upgrade model for apps.
  • smoldesu 5y ago
    Absolutely this. Apple's holier-than-thou approach to every settlement they reach is starting to blow back in their face, as the rest of our economy starts to realize how parasitic and destructive this tax-collection model is. Now that Apple can effectively set their own margins, they have no incentive to treat their users or developers fairly, and recently have started to bring the hammer down. I had a few friends who also maintained open source apps for iOS, and they constantly lamented how impossible it was to get Apple to review their accusation that their open-source manual app was malware.
    • hahahasure 5y ago
      Market and use emotion, trick the masses. The intellectuals will be dragged along.
  • Const-me 5y ago
    Windows is getting close to macOS in that regard. Specifically, both browser and OS are arbitrarily marking installers as malware, scaring users. Even digital signatures don't help. The only reliable workaround is publishing through Windows store.
• oblib 5y ago
  I can't say it was the right choice but when Apple announced their dev tools, demands, and "App Store" I read it over and decided I rather not get involved with that. I focused on web apps that can run on most any platform and while it's true they still have hamstrings I've not been feeding that voracious Mac beast and dealing with the frustrations of getting bit when I do. That's not to say it hasn't affected me. It's affected all of us.
• Blikkentrekker 5y ago
  > They killed the industry. A bit dramatic for an industry that is very much alive. — at best they damaged it.
• intricatedetail 5y ago
  They also don't pay the same taxes as small businesses. The market is completely rigged. Apple should be split and fined.
  • astrange 5y ago
    Apple is the largest taxpayer in the US. (and incorporated in California instead of Delaware, which presumably means higher fees)
    • ttty2 5y ago
      2020: sales 247b, gross profit 109b, tax 9b. Based on their official numbers: 8.25% tax But... That tax is total tax with a bunch of stuff that might be delayed, so I'd say it's not really 9b in real terms.. But even so... That gross profit of 109b, is shady. I'm sure they put a lot of IP costs and crap like that to lower that number. Considering all this, I'd say to the real tax they pay is less than 5%. Source: https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/AAPL/financials/annual/income-statement https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/AAPL/financials/annua...
    • vel0city 5y ago
      Apple is incorporated in CA, they're incorporated in DE, they're incorporated in Ireland, they've got corporations all over the place. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/business/how-delaware-thrives-as-a-corporate-tax-haven.html https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/business/how-delaware-thr... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland_v_Commission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland_v_Commission
      • astrange 5y ago
        Rather weak tax evasion argument when Ireland doesn’t want the taxes and the shell company employs 10ks of people and runs a factory.
        • vel0city 5y ago
          > incorporated in California instead of Delaware This was my main point. They're incorporated in Delaware as well as incorporated in California. That way, they can look all hoity toity when it comes to paying their CA taxes while still enjoying the DE tax status many other corporations enjoy. On top of that, their tax attorneys also are some of the best at using the Double Irish method for avoiding global taxes. Pointing to Apple as an example as a company that pays their share of taxes is missing the forest for the trees. Sure they pay a lot in taxes in CA (they're a MASSIVE employer in CA, they do a ton in sales, they own a lot of property, etc.) they're also pretty much doing as much as they possibly can to avoid paying taxes. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to apply a moral stance to this either way in this comment. Its just disengenious to try and paint them as a company that willingly pays their CA taxes while they're also the leading example of the Double Irish tax structure.
• threeseed 5y ago
  > Mac software and app industry has died And yet for me there are far more apps than there has ever been. > steal ideas of developers Nobody owns an idea. > They killed the industry. This notion that Apple killed the mobile apps industry which it arguably started is ridiculous. We have companies like Instagram, Snap, WhatsApp, Niantic etc who built billion dollar businesses on the back of the iOS platform. And a wide array of small developers e.g. Calm who are likely to be the next billion dollar company. Not to mention all the indie developers who are thriving. Those of us who run startups know how difficult it is to build a robust channel to market. And Apple gives you one on a silver platter for far less than what other ad platforms charge.
  • jonplackett 5y ago
    You can still kill something that you start. I think what they’re saying it’s now a lot harder for indie developers. Sure if you’re Instagram or FB you’re OK (though even those companies take issue with the 30%) They just haven’t looked after smaller developers. The introduction of paid search ads was just so hostile to anyone without a massive budget - or rather anyone without a high lifetime value per user, making initial outlay on acquisition make sense. All it does is incentivise this dumb model of free apps with endless sneaky bullshit in—app purchases. Or, worse, the new subscription-everything. I don’t want to pay a monthly subscription for a god damn gif editing app! I just want to buy it and that be that. But this is now rife. The $1 / $2 app model was pretty good by comparison IMHO
  • spicybright 5y ago
    You still need a $100 a year developer subscription to develop your app though, right?
    • jsjohnst 5y ago
      You need a subscription to distribute your app via the AppStore, not to develop it or to use the app you wrote personally.
      • tempodox 5y ago
• swiley 5y ago
  Apple is to app developers what uber is to taxis and carpoolers.
  • Spivak 5y ago
    Better in every conceivable way but make lots of people mad because of the way they deliver which is talking end-to-end control of the product?
    • swiley 5y ago
      App developers are Apple contractors, not small business owners.
• JKCalhoun 5y ago
  Interesting take. I felt developers, by racing to the bottom on price, killed themselves. When a neighbor I did not even really know (and this was perhaps close to 10 years ago) told me she never buys apps anymore, she only downloads the free ones, I knew the jig was up.
  • webmobdev 5y ago
    Note that Apple and Google are also behind this partly, as they also own advertising networks and thus support and promote adware apps on their platform. Most adware apps are free because they are ad supported.
• Razengan 5y ago
  No. I’m a small developer and Apple made my life easier than Microsoft or Google ever did.