4 ms·

I'm still not sure how that's such a ginormous amount of money.

by ConradHex 18y ago

jgranby 18y ago
Compared to the average iPhone app budget, I'd bet that it is a lot of money.
- danteembermage 18y ago
  And I'm willing to bet that the risk of getting your app banned before you are even off the ground will keep those budgets lower that they would have been, except for perhaps games. That said, even with a 50% chance of getting blocked from the get go it can be still quite profitable, on average, to spend this kind of money on an app. I just wouldn't suggest funding development with credit cards.
- boucher 18y ago
  This isn't the average iPhone app. As the article mentions, this requires actual hardware infrastructure -- not something your average iPhone indie is worried about. Did they overspend? Probably. But that doesn't excuse Apple.
  - jgranby 18y ago
    This isn't the average iPhone app. As the article mentions, this requires actual hardware infrastructure -- not something your average iPhone indie is worried about. Even if the $500k wasn't overspending for what they wanted to do, the part that seems crazy to me was that they spent that money before getting the green light from Apple and with full knowledge that the approval process is opaque, often lengthy, and sometimes seemingly arbitrary. Of course Apple's policy is wrong and unreasonable for developers. But these guys knew that this was the case, and they seem to have acted as if they had no idea.
    - boucher 18y ago
      "before getting the green light from Apple" There is no mechanism for preemptive approval of any kind. Either they could take no risk and not develop the product, or they develop the product with risks. What's inexcusable isn't that the product might be denied, its that they do not yet know. They have to simultaneously act as if it will be in the store in the future, and as if it won't be. I don't know what practical implications that has, but I know its a ridiculous situation to be put in. If Apple insists on the approval process, they have an obligation to do it in a timely manner. They ought to be embarrassed about the number of cases being reported of unreasonably long waits and flat out wrong assessments of SDK violations, but they aren't.
      - kragen 18y ago
        I think it's prety inexcusable that this software, or any software, might be denied.

I'm still not sure how that's such a ginormous amount of money.

jgranby 18y ago

Compared to the average iPhone app budget, I'd bet that it is a lot of money.

danteembermage 18y ago
And I'm willing to bet that the risk of getting your app banned before you are even off the ground will keep those budgets lower that they would have been, except for perhaps games. That said, even with a 50% chance of getting blocked from the get go it can be still quite profitable, on average, to spend this kind of money on an app. I just wouldn't suggest funding development with credit cards.
boucher 18y ago
This isn't the average iPhone app. As the article mentions, this requires actual hardware infrastructure -- not something your average iPhone indie is worried about. Did they overspend? Probably. But that doesn't excuse Apple.
- jgranby 18y ago
  This isn't the average iPhone app. As the article mentions, this requires actual hardware infrastructure -- not something your average iPhone indie is worried about. Even if the $500k wasn't overspending for what they wanted to do, the part that seems crazy to me was that they spent that money before getting the green light from Apple and with full knowledge that the approval process is opaque, often lengthy, and sometimes seemingly arbitrary. Of course Apple's policy is wrong and unreasonable for developers. But these guys knew that this was the case, and they seem to have acted as if they had no idea.
  - boucher 18y ago
    "before getting the green light from Apple" There is no mechanism for preemptive approval of any kind. Either they could take no risk and not develop the product, or they develop the product with risks. What's inexcusable isn't that the product might be denied, its that they do not yet know. They have to simultaneously act as if it will be in the store in the future, and as if it won't be. I don't know what practical implications that has, but I know its a ridiculous situation to be put in. If Apple insists on the approval process, they have an obligation to do it in a timely manner. They ought to be embarrassed about the number of cases being reported of unreasonably long waits and flat out wrong assessments of SDK violations, but they aren't.
    - kragen 18y ago
      I think it's prety inexcusable that this software, or any software, might be denied.