5 ms·

How are these "failed"? Just looks like a nice set of demo purpose apps to me

by volaski 12y ago

spacemanmatt 12y ago
I'd like to second this question. I've thought about producing demo/stub apps on a similar basis but my lack of marketing expertise/foresight/interest has been a real blocker. I'm curious to hear how you got into this project, when it started to become a business interest, when you decided it was 'failed' (I note these target iOS 7, but hope all is not lost with iOS 8)
melling 12y ago
Well if I had to guess, it's because he didn't turn it into a profitable business. Targeting developers is probably not a good market because most are notoriously cheap. I've seen rants where people complain about $70 being too much for Sublime Text, for example. Howard Pinsky did a good job explaining his similar problem in this video: http://youtu.be/IBUh8bxbdmU http://youtu.be/IBUh8bxbdmU
- HeshamA 12y ago
  I haven't come across his channel before but from what I saw he has good quality tutorials plus he has 300k subscribers. It is really sad that the combination of quality and 300k subscribers doesn't bring him a decent return.
  - timepiece 12y ago
    In the age of Ad Block, I say a return of $50 every 6 months or per video tutorial is good if not remarkable.
    - jnbiche 12y ago
      OK, so perhaps it's not an unexpected return. But that kind of return does not provide the creator with enough income to make a living, even in a country with a lower cost of living. After all, a quality tutorial is not something even a highly-skilled individual can throw together in a few minutes.
      - timepiece 12y ago
        Yeah sure $50 is ridiculous but as something on the side and in light of the turbulent market dynamics post ad blockers proliferation, it's really remarkable.
- rplnt 12y ago
  I know it's hard to imagine but many (most) developers are not from USA (and similar). They work on/for local markets, earning local salaries. $70 is suddenly a lot. Nothing to do with being "cheap".
  - melling 12y ago
    That statement is made a lot. It's easy to believe because of how the world population is distributed. However, it's just a made-up statement. Where do most developers live? Do you have any real data to backup that statement?
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
    - sebastianconcpt 12y ago
      Take the USD appreciation in front of most currencies and you'll have a made up yet pretty reasonable estimation. 70 sounds fine but what about 210 for a text editor? That's how it feels in Brazil for example.
      - melling 12y ago
        Yes, I get how the exchange rate works, and I understand that there are a fair number of developers in Brazil. It doesn't answer my question though, which is where do most developers live? Like I said there's nothing wrong with choosing free software. It's a great option. The more Linux, vim/Emacs/Eclipse, Gimp/Inkscape users, the better.
        sebastianconcpt 12y ago
        Is the statement in question this one? They work on/for local markets, earning local salaries. $70 is suddenly a lot. Nothing to do with being "cheap".
    - rplnt 12y ago
      I do not have any real data to back up that statement. But I'm pretty sure about it. edit: To explain a bit, just take web developers. No one would outsource creating a web page to US (or wherever it would cost 10 times the money). Various Information Systems as well. Even bigger US companies have usually development centers in some "poorer" countries.
- Cthulhu_ 12y ago
  Pretty much everything is too much if the alternative is free. Taking your Sublime Text example, you can get Atom.io which has functionality that is comparable to ST - meaning you'd only pay the $70 for performance. And even then, you can get the free / demo version of ST which is just as usable as the full version, but with an occasional and IMO not very annoying popup every once in a while.
  - melling 12y ago
    It's fine to use the open source option. The more people who use it and help contribute to it the better. However, saying that you can live with the occasional nagging of the paid option violates the license. It's an honor system. https://www.sublimetext.com/buy https://www.sublimetext.com/buy Later, we should rip on all those unethical MBA's. Those "losers" need to be taught ethics. Ridiculous!
- collyw 12y ago
  I think a lot of the problem is that you don't know how much you want to commit to a product. I have tried a number of JS frameworks, and wouldn't pay for any of the, I would pay for Django (or get my company to) as it has saved me loads of effort over the last 4 years. Though it did take probably 6 months before i was aware quite how much effort it was saving me.
  - ern 12y ago
    I would pay for Django (or get my company to) as it has saved me loads of effort over the last 4 years Not being snarky, but https://www.djangoproject.com/foundation/donate/ https://www.djangoproject.com/foundation/donate/ is an option.
    - hullo 12y ago
      That is true, but it is much much easier to get most companies to pay for a product than to make a donation.
- wz1000 12y ago
  Many widely used developer tools have been free(as in freedom) for decades. This is natural, as developers are actually competent enough to take advantage of that fact by virtue of knowing how to code. So many tools become popular because of their extensibility and hackability.

How are these "failed"? Just looks like a nice set of demo purpose apps to me

by volaski 12y ago

How are these "failed"? Just looks like a nice set of demo purpose apps to me

I'd like to second this question. I've thought about producing demo/stub apps on a similar basis but my lack of marketing expertise/foresight/interest has been a real blocker. I'm curious to hear how you got into this project, when it started to become a business interest, when you decided it was 'failed' (I note these target iOS 7, but hope all is not lost with iOS 8)

melling 12y ago

Well if I had to guess, it's because he didn't turn it into a profitable business. Targeting developers is probably not a good market because most are notoriously cheap. I've seen rants where people complain about $70 being too much for Sublime Text, for example. Howard Pinsky did a good job explaining his similar problem in this video: http://youtu.be/IBUh8bxbdmU http://youtu.be/IBUh8bxbdmU

HeshamA 12y ago
I haven't come across his channel before but from what I saw he has good quality tutorials plus he has 300k subscribers. It is really sad that the combination of quality and 300k subscribers doesn't bring him a decent return.
- timepiece 12y ago
  In the age of Ad Block, I say a return of $50 every 6 months or per video tutorial is good if not remarkable.
  - jnbiche 12y ago
    OK, so perhaps it's not an unexpected return. But that kind of return does not provide the creator with enough income to make a living, even in a country with a lower cost of living. After all, a quality tutorial is not something even a highly-skilled individual can throw together in a few minutes.
    - timepiece 12y ago
      Yeah sure $50 is ridiculous but as something on the side and in light of the turbulent market dynamics post ad blockers proliferation, it's really remarkable.
rplnt 12y ago
I know it's hard to imagine but many (most) developers are not from USA (and similar). They work on/for local markets, earning local salaries. $70 is suddenly a lot. Nothing to do with being "cheap".
- melling 12y ago
  That statement is made a lot. It's easy to believe because of how the world population is distributed. However, it's just a made-up statement. Where do most developers live? Do you have any real data to backup that statement?
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - sebastianconcpt 12y ago
    Take the USD appreciation in front of most currencies and you'll have a made up yet pretty reasonable estimation. 70 sounds fine but what about 210 for a text editor? That's how it feels in Brazil for example.
    - melling 12y ago
      Yes, I get how the exchange rate works, and I understand that there are a fair number of developers in Brazil. It doesn't answer my question though, which is where do most developers live? Like I said there's nothing wrong with choosing free software. It's a great option. The more Linux, vim/Emacs/Eclipse, Gimp/Inkscape users, the better.
      - sebastianconcpt 12y ago
        Is the statement in question this one? They work on/for local markets, earning local salaries. $70 is suddenly a lot. Nothing to do with being "cheap".
  - rplnt 12y ago
    I do not have any real data to back up that statement. But I'm pretty sure about it. edit: To explain a bit, just take web developers. No one would outsource creating a web page to US (or wherever it would cost 10 times the money). Various Information Systems as well. Even bigger US companies have usually development centers in some "poorer" countries.
Cthulhu_ 12y ago
Pretty much everything is too much if the alternative is free. Taking your Sublime Text example, you can get Atom.io which has functionality that is comparable to ST - meaning you'd only pay the $70 for performance. And even then, you can get the free / demo version of ST which is just as usable as the full version, but with an occasional and IMO not very annoying popup every once in a while.
- melling 12y ago
  It's fine to use the open source option. The more people who use it and help contribute to it the better. However, saying that you can live with the occasional nagging of the paid option violates the license. It's an honor system. https://www.sublimetext.com/buy https://www.sublimetext.com/buy Later, we should rip on all those unethical MBA's. Those "losers" need to be taught ethics. Ridiculous!
collyw 12y ago
I think a lot of the problem is that you don't know how much you want to commit to a product. I have tried a number of JS frameworks, and wouldn't pay for any of the, I would pay for Django (or get my company to) as it has saved me loads of effort over the last 4 years. Though it did take probably 6 months before i was aware quite how much effort it was saving me.
- ern 12y ago
  I would pay for Django (or get my company to) as it has saved me loads of effort over the last 4 years Not being snarky, but https://www.djangoproject.com/foundation/donate/ https://www.djangoproject.com/foundation/donate/ is an option.
  - hullo 12y ago
    That is true, but it is much much easier to get most companies to pay for a product than to make a donation.
wz1000 12y ago
Many widely used developer tools have been free(as in freedom) for decades. This is natural, as developers are actually competent enough to take advantage of that fact by virtue of knowing how to code. So many tools become popular because of their extensibility and hackability.