4 ms·

I really don't think 99 bucks a year is much of a deterrent to anybody who is serious about this. It's a drop in the bucket, compared to all the other stuff you

I really don't think 99 bucks a year is much of a deterrent to anybody who is serious about this. It's a drop in the bucket, compared to all the other stuff you need to do any kind of development at all, really. And according to the comments in jwz's post, there is a one-time fee to get stuff listed in the Pre app store as well.

plinkplonk 17y ago
"I really don't think 99 bucks a year is much of a deterrent to anybody who is serious about this. " A developer shouldn't need to be "serious" to code a small app and deploy it on his device. By this logic, I couldn't write an app for my Linux laptop without paying Linus & co a "development" fee, or my Windows machine without paying Microsoft, or deploy a J2ME mobile app on my Nokia smart phone without paying Nokia. Apple is just greedy. Soaking developers is sick. Asking annual (vs a one time) fee is pure evil. It will eventually be their downfall.
- apotheon 17y ago
  > It will eventually be their downfall. We can only hope.
- GHFigs 17y ago
  You're making the wrong comparison. Compared to things like game consoles and portables, or most phone platforms (e.g. BREW), Apple's deal is quite favorable to the developer.
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
  - plinkplonk 17y ago
    "or most phone platforms (e.g. BREW), " So what's the situation with brew? Does one have to pay annual development fees? I've never developed a BREW app so I wouldn't know. I don't know if BREW is particularly widespread either. I do know that I can code and deploy on my Nokia phone and Android phone (ordered, on the way). I used to write and deploy apps on a Windows ME phone(not a great experience but I didn't have to pay any money, least of all annually). I'll be damned if I pay an annual fee to deploy my app on my phone. F$%^ that. Developers paying platform vendors to be "allowed" to develop for a platform is completely backward. Others can make a different choice. Fine by me.
    - davidw 17y ago
      I think BREW is some crap mostly used in the US (and even there it's not as widespread as J2ME). Phones here in Europe don't ship with it as far as I know.
    - GHFigs 17y ago
      With BREW you pay $400 at a minimum to be able to sign applications, which is required to run on the device. Consoles and portables invariably end up in the thousands (assuming you're an established developer). Even Microsoft's XNA platform for the Xbox360 is $99/yr. and doesn't even allow full access to the device. In terms of openness, the iPhone and Pre are somewhere between these and desktop operating systems. From one side they appear terribly draconian, but from the other, very appealing. This is why you see Apple putting a lot of effort into courting game developers over, say, hobbyists. I'll be damned if I pay an annual fee to deploy my app on my phone. I understand where you're coming from, but if all you want to do is deploy your own app on your own phone, then you're not really using most of what that $99 ostensibly pays for. The people who are paying are generally those who are going to make use of what else it affords them, e.g. the ability to distribute or sell that application to tens of millions of others. They don't really have it backwards--they're just paying for something more than what you're wanting to do.

plinkplonk 17y ago

"I really don't think 99 bucks a year is much of a deterrent to anybody who is serious about this. " A developer shouldn't need to be "serious" to code a small app and deploy it on his device. By this logic, I couldn't write an app for my Linux laptop without paying Linus & co a "development" fee, or my Windows machine without paying Microsoft, or deploy a J2ME mobile app on my Nokia smart phone without paying Nokia. Apple is just greedy. Soaking developers is sick. Asking annual (vs a one time) fee is pure evil. It will eventually be their downfall.

apotheon 17y ago
> It will eventually be their downfall. We can only hope.
GHFigs 17y ago
You're making the wrong comparison. Compared to things like game consoles and portables, or most phone platforms (e.g. BREW), Apple's deal is quite favorable to the developer.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- plinkplonk 17y ago
  "or most phone platforms (e.g. BREW), " So what's the situation with brew? Does one have to pay annual development fees? I've never developed a BREW app so I wouldn't know. I don't know if BREW is particularly widespread either. I do know that I can code and deploy on my Nokia phone and Android phone (ordered, on the way). I used to write and deploy apps on a Windows ME phone(not a great experience but I didn't have to pay any money, least of all annually). I'll be damned if I pay an annual fee to deploy my app on my phone. F$%^ that. Developers paying platform vendors to be "allowed" to develop for a platform is completely backward. Others can make a different choice. Fine by me.
  - davidw 17y ago
    I think BREW is some crap mostly used in the US (and even there it's not as widespread as J2ME). Phones here in Europe don't ship with it as far as I know.
  - GHFigs 17y ago
    With BREW you pay $400 at a minimum to be able to sign applications, which is required to run on the device. Consoles and portables invariably end up in the thousands (assuming you're an established developer). Even Microsoft's XNA platform for the Xbox360 is $99/yr. and doesn't even allow full access to the device. In terms of openness, the iPhone and Pre are somewhere between these and desktop operating systems. From one side they appear terribly draconian, but from the other, very appealing. This is why you see Apple putting a lot of effort into courting game developers over, say, hobbyists. I'll be damned if I pay an annual fee to deploy my app on my phone. I understand where you're coming from, but if all you want to do is deploy your own app on your own phone, then you're not really using most of what that $99 ostensibly pays for. The people who are paying are generally those who are going to make use of what else it affords them, e.g. the ability to distribute or sell that application to tens of millions of others. They don't really have it backwards--they're just paying for something more than what you're wanting to do.