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It's a shame they haven't updated it, but I guess the WebGL-based "earth" now in Maps is the replacement. (As an aside, I find the code-signing in OSX to be pr

by FreakyT 12y ago

It's a shame they haven't updated it, but I guess the WebGL-based "earth" now in Maps is the replacement. (As an aside, I find the code-signing in OSX to be pretty crooked -- charging $100/year just to allow people with default settings to run your executables seems pretty sketchy. If it really was about security, I would expect at most a one-time fee, with Apple reserving the right to revoke your key if your programs contain malware.)

mnem 12y ago
Security is a part of it, but the fee also gets you 2 incident tickets with Apple engineers (way more that a forum chat - they'll look at code and debug) and a reasonably decent distribution infrastructure (their Mac App Store). I say none of that to justify the overall notion of a paid developer program, but it's wrong to characterise it as just security signing. Although, now that I think about it, I do pay yearly for certificates for my website - although not $99 :)
cjensen 12y ago
Back when compilers cost money, I had no problem as a $40K/year programmer paying >$200 for the latest edition annually. It really is about security. You have to ID yourself to get in. If you write malware, Apple has a kill switch they can enable to kill all your apps everywhere, and law enforcement has at least the start of a trail to follow. I really want Windows to switch to this model! I cringe every time I download an unsigned installer. Even Free Software (Free as in Freedom) developers manage to pay for a cert.
- TillE 12y ago
  I don't understand why a Microsoft-compatible code signing cert costs around $200/year. I'd be completely in favor of a one-time identity verification fee, or maybe even $100 for a five year cert if you want to make sure everything stays current. But the current structure makes zero sense.
- GeorgeHahn 12y ago
  Not always true - some companies will give CV certs to OSS projects.
- dingaling 12y ago
  > Back when compilers cost money, I had no problem as a $40K/year programmer paying >$200 for the latest edition annually. But a compiler generally received improvements from each of those updates. A certificate does not; in fact it's quite the opposite, paying an annual fee merely prevents the certificate from being disabled.

by FreakyT 12y ago

mnem 12y ago

Security is a part of it, but the fee also gets you 2 incident tickets with Apple engineers (way more that a forum chat - they'll look at code and debug) and a reasonably decent distribution infrastructure (their Mac App Store). I say none of that to justify the overall notion of a paid developer program, but it's wrong to characterise it as just security signing. Although, now that I think about it, I do pay yearly for certificates for my website - although not $99 :)

cjensen 12y ago

Back when compilers cost money, I had no problem as a $40K/year programmer paying >$200 for the latest edition annually. It really is about security. You have to ID yourself to get in. If you write malware, Apple has a kill switch they can enable to kill all your apps everywhere, and law enforcement has at least the start of a trail to follow. I really want Windows to switch to this model! I cringe every time I download an unsigned installer. Even Free Software (Free as in Freedom) developers manage to pay for a cert.

TillE 12y ago
I don't understand why a Microsoft-compatible code signing cert costs around $200/year. I'd be completely in favor of a one-time identity verification fee, or maybe even $100 for a five year cert if you want to make sure everything stays current. But the current structure makes zero sense.
GeorgeHahn 12y ago
Not always true - some companies will give CV certs to OSS projects.
dingaling 12y ago
> Back when compilers cost money, I had no problem as a $40K/year programmer paying >$200 for the latest edition annually. But a compiler generally received improvements from each of those updates. A certificate does not; in fact it's quite the opposite, paying an annual fee merely prevents the certificate from being disabled.