I feel the same way — fortunate. I started out on my own (the first time) in ‘06, finally taking a step towards trying to write Mac software for a living, but

I feel the same way — fortunate. I started out on my own (the first time) in ‘06, finally taking a step towards trying to write Mac software for a living, but mostly paying the bills using what I had done prior, “sysadmin” (today: devops) in LAMP stack systems. The iPhone app ecosystem hit in ‘08 and right away, demand for devs far outstripped supply. Through my professional connections, I landed a contract job, and the first app I worked on was Starbucks 1.0. Many other opportunities came afterwards, for which I am also grateful, including eventually founding the mobile systems at Mapbox, which allowed me to work alongside incredibly brilliant people, travel the world, make a much bigger name for myself in the community and in open source, and much more. I’ve since grown pretty negative about the app store economics and incentive systems. I always thought a) it wouldn’t ever get this big and b) somehow, it would at least allow for a more open alternative alongside. The icing on the cake is the app review system, and I just can’t be bothered. As cool as any of the hardware and software technologies are, I am not attracted to the ecosystem for fun, which is honestly, the main motivator my whole career — what did I enjoy doing? The arbitrariness of version reviews, established apps getting pulled, the code signing hoop-jumping, and the ridiculous 30% cut just rule it right out for me.