5 ms·

FTA: "It’s a system whereby developers can sign up for free-of-charge Apple developer IDs which they can then use to cryptographically sign their applications."

by w01fe 15y ago

mistercow 15y ago
Yes, as I noted in my edit, there seems to be some confusion about this in the media. Some sources are saying that you will have to be a member of the Mac Developer Program (which costs $99/year), while others are saying the signing service is free of charge. Here's Apple's own page on the matter: http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/security.html http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/security.html > Apple wants to help you steer clear of malware even when you download applications from places other than the Mac App Store. That’s why Apple created the Developer ID. As part of the Mac Developer Program, Apple gives developers a unique Developer ID for signing their apps. This seems strongly to imply that a Mac Developer Program membership is required for code signing. I very much hope that their phrasing is merely imprecise, and if not, that they will change their minds and provide free signing. I love OS X as a development program, but I will leave it behind if they start down this path.
- sneak 15y ago
  I've never understood this for a second. Xcode only runs on the Mac OS, and the Mac OS only runs (without hassle) on exceptionally expensive computers. What is $99 more per year to get a signing enrollment? Who gives a fuck about the $100? You're building apps on a $1700 laptop while sipping a $6 coffee in your $2000/month apartment, for fuck's sake. Why waste time being outraged about something unimportant when you could be BUILDING SHIT?
  - prodigal_erik 15y ago
    Right now, the next generation of hackers is around twelve years old and screwing around on computers they can't afford, which is only possible because their parents found having a computer around (unlike a gilt-edged DRM key) to be useful for other things. Anyone who can't start until they can afford their own is is probably going to be a dud. This is yet another reason we should be alarmed and offended over trends that make the world more hostile to tinkerers.
  - mistercow 15y ago
    > Who gives a fuck about the $100? FOSS and freeware developers, I imagine. >You're building apps on a $1700 laptop while sipping a $6 coffee in your $2000/month apartment, for fuck's sake. Sorry, no I'm not. I'm scraping by on a laptop that cost $1100 when I bought it six years ago. My living situation is... let's just say that you're just a tad north of reality. I was making an OK living off of some shareware I wrote until Apple pulled the rug out from under its smaller developers with last year's App Store transition. $100 is not a hardship, but it is a significant chunk of change. Now, with that all out of the way, that's not actually the point. The point is what this does to people just starting out. Consider how much free/cheap software there is out there because somebody took their little weekend project and decided to pop it up on the web. Now consider what proportion of those people are going to take that leap if they have to pay a hundred bucks for practically anyone to be able to use it. Do you think any of them will be willing to put it out there for free under those conditions?
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - glhaynes 15y ago
      I was making an OK living off of some shareware I wrote until Apple pulled the rug out from under its smaller developers with last year's App Store transition. What? Why can't you continue to make a living selling Mac shareware?
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]

FTA: "It’s a system whereby developers can sign up for free-of-charge Apple developer IDs which they can then use to cryptographically sign their applications."

by w01fe 15y ago

FTA: "It’s a system whereby developers can sign up for free-of-charge Apple developer IDs which they can then use to cryptographically sign their applications."

mistercow 15y ago

Yes, as I noted in my edit, there seems to be some confusion about this in the media. Some sources are saying that you will have to be a member of the Mac Developer Program (which costs $99/year), while others are saying the signing service is free of charge. Here's Apple's own page on the matter: http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/security.html http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/security.html > Apple wants to help you steer clear of malware even when you download applications from places other than the Mac App Store. That’s why Apple created the Developer ID. As part of the Mac Developer Program, Apple gives developers a unique Developer ID for signing their apps. This seems strongly to imply that a Mac Developer Program membership is required for code signing. I very much hope that their phrasing is merely imprecise, and if not, that they will change their minds and provide free signing. I love OS X as a development program, but I will leave it behind if they start down this path.

sneak 15y ago
I've never understood this for a second. Xcode only runs on the Mac OS, and the Mac OS only runs (without hassle) on exceptionally expensive computers. What is $99 more per year to get a signing enrollment? Who gives a fuck about the $100? You're building apps on a $1700 laptop while sipping a $6 coffee in your $2000/month apartment, for fuck's sake. Why waste time being outraged about something unimportant when you could be BUILDING SHIT?
- prodigal_erik 15y ago
  Right now, the next generation of hackers is around twelve years old and screwing around on computers they can't afford, which is only possible because their parents found having a computer around (unlike a gilt-edged DRM key) to be useful for other things. Anyone who can't start until they can afford their own is is probably going to be a dud. This is yet another reason we should be alarmed and offended over trends that make the world more hostile to tinkerers.
- mistercow 15y ago
  > Who gives a fuck about the $100? FOSS and freeware developers, I imagine. >You're building apps on a $1700 laptop while sipping a $6 coffee in your $2000/month apartment, for fuck's sake. Sorry, no I'm not. I'm scraping by on a laptop that cost $1100 when I bought it six years ago. My living situation is... let's just say that you're just a tad north of reality. I was making an OK living off of some shareware I wrote until Apple pulled the rug out from under its smaller developers with last year's App Store transition. $100 is not a hardship, but it is a significant chunk of change. Now, with that all out of the way, that's not actually the point. The point is what this does to people just starting out. Consider how much free/cheap software there is out there because somebody took their little weekend project and decided to pop it up on the web. Now consider what proportion of those people are going to take that leap if they have to pay a hundred bucks for practically anyone to be able to use it. Do you think any of them will be willing to put it out there for free under those conditions?
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - glhaynes 15y ago
    I was making an OK living off of some shareware I wrote until Apple pulled the rug out from under its smaller developers with last year's App Store transition. What? Why can't you continue to make a living selling Mac shareware?
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]