Back In
Monday, May 3, 2010 at 8:25PM Last year, I wrote a piece entitled "App Store: I'm Out", which got a little attention. As strange as it feels to be in a position where I have to explain myself, I thought I should write about why I'm again working on an iPhone OS product.
If I wanted to have to constantly twist to justify the opinions of the past, I would enter politics. As it is, we software developers have the luxury of changing our minds as time and requirements dictate.
After the iPad announcement, I wrote a piece entitled "Future Shock", which got a lot of traffic. The reason I was so sure my take was solid was that I've spent a year working through my own future shock over the direction of Apple's platforms. The first piece I alluded to was my own future shock speaking: "They can't make us submit to app review! They can't reject our apps!".
Well, Apple can and Apple absolutely is. That ship sailed some time ago and I have reconciled myself to the idea that the old indie ways on Mac OS X are never going to be available on iPhone OS.
I do not intend to argue that the problems I enumerated about the App Store have gone away. They largely remain and, in some cases, are worse than they were when I first wrote.
The lengthy app review problem has mostly been solved. It's amusing to see tweets like "my update is taking more than 5 hours, haven't seen that kind of delay in ages". A year ago it was two weeks.
The problem of approval - as opposed to review - remains. In particular, the problem that you may be removed at a moment's notice with few channels to quickly remedy the situation is a significant business risk. Few businesses can afford to unexpectedly lose a week or more of revenue and make payroll.
The problem of app rejection - the idea that you build your app and only then find out if you can sell it - remains. It must be said that the number of apps falling foul of this is decreasing. However, it is not an insignificant problem, particularly when approval is not for life and can be withdrawn at any time.
The App Store continues to represent serious risk. However, in business, risk is the currency.
So, having said all that, why am I 'back in'?
When I first wrote about my feelings towards the App Store, it was in the arrogant and vain hope that it might have changed something. The direction of the iPhone OS ecosystem is now clear. To stick to an opinion regardless is to see the world as you would like it to be, not as it actually is.
Down that road lies the Free Software Foundation, and I have zero interest in finding myself in 2020 a bitter forty-something man fighting the battles of a decade ago.
The second factor in this was the iPad. When iPhone OS was just that - a phone operating system - it was obvious at the Apple future would be a combination of iPhone OS devices and Mac OS X computers. Post-iPad, that judgment is far from obviously sound. Having seen the reaction to the iPad from actual potential users, the secure future of the Mac OS as a general consumer computing platform is no longer as clear to me as it once was.
Be clear: I'm not saying OS X is dead, nor that Apple has no interest in improving it. I am saying that I suspect that the days of everyone buying a MacBook to get online are soon to be over. I've already written about how I see our three-Mac family turning into a one-Mac, three-iPad family over the next hardware cycle and I imagine that scenario repeated industry-wide over time. Already the ratio of iPhone OS devices to Macs is 5:2.
This feels like the settling of the wild west. The days of rugged individualism in computing are starting to close. The freedoms we had will still be possible but as with living in remote areas hunting and trapping your own food, few will care to accept those privations in return for the absolutes of liberty.
So where does that leave the small developer? In some ways, we have to shape up a bit. I don't want to say that we have to "become more professional" because, in large part, the Mac indie scene was one of the most professionally committed around.
What I think I prefer is the aviation analogy. We are no longer playing Burt Rutan and building our own aircraft. We're building components for the Boeing or Airbus ecosystems now. Nothing wrong with that - many people do a great job and make a very good living at that. What is lost is the software equivalent of the romance of flight.
I’m Scottish. Frying things and pessimism are our two main industries. It’s worth looking on the bright side too: the iPhone OS ecosystem has in its short life, brought a few incredible things too.
It’s undeniable that iPhone OS devices are incredibly stable. Last night I spent a frustrating hour trying to get my iMac to reboot into a functioning state after it crashed. That was an hour I had planned to spend in bed. In a post-iPhone, post-iPad world such failures feel even less acceptable than before.
iPhone OS is the first mass-market operating system where consumers are no longer afraid to install software on their computers (I’m not counting read-only media software platforms like games consoles here). In a conversation recently, a friend recounted a scene that he passed by in an airport. Four fifty-something women were sitting at a cafe table discussing the latest apps they had downloaded on their iPod touches. New software can’t break your iPhone OS device and, if you don’t like it, total removal is only a couple of taps away.
Finally, the devices are incredibly cheap by comparison with traditional laptop hardware. I could buy myself every iPad that comes out over the course of a three-year hardware cycle and still spend less than I did on laptops. The software is inexpensive too. There remain great strides to be made on discoverability and trials in the App Store. Still, it’s hard to ignore the fact that there’s now a large constituency of users just venturing into their first experiences of purchasing third-party software.
Simply put, I believe, the choice is this: the iPhone OS train is leaving the station in a big way with the iPad; much more so than when it was just for smartphones. I have to ask myself if there's a train that I would rather be on. I don't see one right now, and I don't see one coming down the track.
Reader Comments (40)
Thumbs up for being reality-based, Frasier! Welcome back.
I really wouldn't mind seeing an "App Store" for OS X. Of course, I wouldn't ever want Apple to lock down what I can and can't install, but pre-tested, sandboxed software that has an official seal of approval, and is 100% consumer safe, would make using desktop computers as un-scary as using a touch. Just tell grandma to always install apps from the App Store, and she won't ever have to worry.
It would also make monetization for desktop apps much easier.
As a developer myself I fully understand why you are jumping back in. Strike it while the irons hot and I have yet to see the iron even SLIGHTLY cool down. However, I few issues I have with your developer perspective:
1) Doesn't it bother you how Apple is cattle herding their developers? Namely, I am referring to the infamous clause in the OS 4 documentation stating cross-platform compilers are strictly prohibited? That is ultimately frustrating as a developer to see Apple completely deny a massive market of developers. I understand the "business" aspect of Apple's decision, but if I want to take advantage of hardware specific functionality then I will tweak my cross-compiled app to make use of said features. Don't force me to use languages that are conducive to tapping the phones resources, that's aggravating.
2) Do you really think comparing the cost of iPads to laptop hardware costs is a fair comparison to make? I mean Apples and Oranges here, a laptop is exponentially more versatile in it's abilities then an iPad or iPhone. First and foremost, apps are ONLY installable via the marketplace which is subject to your avid displeasure of a seemingly random approval process. iPads and laptops are two drastically different categories of devices. Period. I dread the future misconceptions that are already taking hold where the average consumer is mislead into comparing/pricing laptops and iPads on the same playing field. I am not saying one is better then the other for someone, all I am saying is they must be considered for their own intended purpose in their own intended markets and not against each other.
Interesting perspective overall though with this post.
@Mike Block
Re: 1) Of all the things in the iPhone OS ecosystem to worry about, 3.3.1 is the last of my concerns by a country mile. I'm not here to argue for Apple's position but it's been clear to me for years that everything but Xcode+ObjC is a second class citizen on the Apple platform.
Re: 2) Comparing iPads to laptops is perfectly valid if you're mainly interested in the subset of all possible computer functions that an iPad can perform. My meta-argument in this whole piece is firstly the point that, in a world of iPads, the overlap with Mac OS X machines is now larger. Secondly, I argue that a significant fraction of regular consumers will actively prefer an iPad. This is what I was trying to get at with "the days of everyone buying a MacBook to get online are soon to be over".
"I’m Scottish. Frying things and pessimism are our two main industries."
Beautiful quote.
I think you're making a good choice, here. I am amused, though, by a Scotsman talking about the "wild west".
Why not count game consoles? The iPad more closely resembles a console model of operation than it does any other device—I’ve heard the phrase “app console” applied to it from several independent sources. Moreover, it seems overwhelmingly likely to me that game consoles were exactly the concept Apple had in mind when developing the iPad.
I've always seen the viruses and malware on Windows as profoundly unprofessional. If not for the fact that it is a software-only platform with no warranty, Microsoft should have been sued out of existence a long time ago. Google also has this problem on Android. In my opinion, if developers have to walk on hot coals to keep iPhone OS malware-free that is not too much to ask. Developers have to suck it up. You've always had to get approved by I-T, but Apple is in place of I-T now because there is no I-T in the consumer market.
I was thinking that. If indie developers still want to sell software for Mac OS X, I think they should club together and make a store.
Great piece of personal analysis, really well written.
This is a really, really acute analogy. Why would (the majority of) people prefer the old way (.dmgs, Application folders, 'Library', 'Application Support', .plists) when they could tap what they want and get it, hassle free? What would they care about 'lack of developer freedom' and 'restrictive acceptance policies'?
Instead of providing a solid third-party software store for the Mac, Apple are probably going to get rid of the Mac altogether (obviously not right away). Again, why would people want the old way (heavy machines, keyboards, small battery life) for doing everyday tasks when presented with a simple and solid solution such as the iPad. Of course, there will always be the outliers, where an iPad would be inappropriate for say, 3D rendering. But for 75%+ of MacBook owners, an iPad would probably suffice.
'To stick to an opinion regardless is to see the world as you would like it to be, not as it actually is.' hits particularly hard with me. Whilst I've invested a lot of time into both platforms, I sort of dismissed the iPhone OS early on. Now with WWDC and the iPad, my mind's racing with ideas about where the future will be. It's at least reassuring to see the platform continue to mature, and I still trust Apple not to shoot themselves in the feet too badly.
"The iPad more closely resembles a console model of operation than it does any other device"
This would be even more evident if Apple were to make the AppleTV an iPhone OS device, and hook it up to the App Store.
I have noticed that for many functions, I actively prefer using my iPad to my iMac.
Obviously I'm never going to develop software on the iPad. That's way more productive on my iMac's massive screen. But I like doodling and taking notes on my iPad so much that I'd like to buy another one for that purpose and use it alongside my development unit.
But I have noticed the same thing you did - I have far more third party apps on my iPad than I do on my iMac. On my iMac, about 95% of what I run is built by Apple! I think there are two reasons for this: First, I can trust that none of these apps will damage my iPad, and second you can buy something actually useful for $ 0.99! If you ask me to pay $50, I think about it; if you ask me to pay $0.99, if it seems even slightly likely to be useful, I'll buy.
I think there are a lot of people who really could use iPad as their only computer and would be much happier doing so.
At least once it can print, somehow. I'm always amazed how addicted many people are to paper.
D
The game console comparison is especially interesting because they are actually in the process of shifting in the other direction. Games, which used to be done for good or ill when the disc was pressed, now have mods, downloadable content, and bug patches. Not to mention building in channels for download only titles by indie developers, something that simply didn't exist a console generation ago.
@Harley
I think it's further support of your premise that the "old way" you discuss is itself so very much better than what I think of as the old way; that is, installers that spew files all over the place and uninstallers that never work. You know, the way Windows still operates. Those are the types of things that scare away potential users and drive the rest of us batty with care and feeding.
As for the rest, I find this all very well reasoned and have to agree. Making computers appliance-like without carving out their soul is a difficult thing, but I feel like we're getting damn close. I think the iPad represents a crucial shift in how we humans relate to computers. I don't see a credible alternative in the near or mid term. And I don't mean just the iPad... the Litl, ChromeOS, etc are all part of this shift for the average user to get a simple, refined, natural (and bulletproof) interface for those computing tasks relevant to them. And as a developer, I love it, warts and all, because I see how intuitive and natural computing is becoming. It's beautiful.
postscript : What's the source for the 5:2 ratio between iPhoneOS devices and Macs? Is that ongoing sales numbers or is there a place where the number of outstanding OSX Macs is credibly estimated?
You fickle iPhone/iPad developers are really starting to piss me off. Get in or get out but quit your fucking waffling. Frankly, nobody cares.
As a developer, the app store process was horrendous and i pretty much quit to, but it actually seems to be a drastically better in some areas. Better enough that i think it is totally worth while coming back to the platform even with all the other minor headaches you will still have to deal with
Until there's proper OS printer support, using the "Air Sharing" app works pretty well. It's great at getting files on and off the iPad and for printing viewable formats, as long as the printers are visible via OS X or Linux printer sharing. It can open the files it stores using other apps, or be opened by other apps to store a file. For example, if Air Sharing is installed, Safari will transfer control to it to process and store a downloaded zip file.
"Down that road lies the Free Software Foundation, and I have zero interest in finding myself in 2020 a bitter forty-something man fighting the battles of a decade ago."
Glad too see the experience was not too humbling and you are able to still cut down others on your return. Get in those little digs to help build yourself up.
@lowbatteries
I think your still thinking small.
A Desktop iPad. Something with a large, rotatable, touchable screen, maybe running iPhoneOS 5.0 or 6.0, with a split-screen MDI for multitasking.
Content creators would still need a Mac, as well as people who need access to legacy formats like MKV and Excel documents.
Risk may be the currency of business, but letting a huge company whose fortunes are not tied to yours manage your risk for you is not a good way to bet.
There are always risks, but there are also things you can do to manage them. You can have concrete assets to sell, general-purpose code that can be built into new products, etc.
The trouble with the App Store is that Apple is eliminating a lot of risk management techniques. It would make a huge amount of sense to write the core of your app in a cross-platform language so that you could jump to another platform if Apple got too oppressive, but now Apple is not even allowing this anymore. Apple can destroy your livelihood with the stroke of a pen and with no appeal, and this is unprecedented. (Even your congressman will at least answer your letters if the government destroys your life with a bad law.)
To my mind, I'm better off ensuring that my livelihood isn't tied to Apple in the first place, because I just don't want that much risk.
@Mike Block
I completely disagree with both of your points, though well thought out and written.
Speaking as a reformed Java developer, write once run everywhere was a non starter. You can hardly get a war file to work in two different app servers. Not to mention the end result for the user is the swing junk. (sorry if you don't know java, let's just say it really write once fix everywhere)
I have no problem with Apple saying essentially that you need to invest time learning the right way if you want to play in our sandbox. Ask suppliers about the hoops thy have to go through to get their stuff in walmart.
Your second point about the iPad not competing against computers sounds like the old arguement from ms and sony that the wii doesn't compete. The author himself gives a clear example where he will buy iPads in place of laptops. I'm also in the same position. I would gladly trade my new 27" iMac for three iPads. If I only knew of the coming revolution.
So in essence, all the fundamental problems are still there, but now you've accepted that they are all OK because there is money to be made.
Back then, pinning your hopes on a fickle company that, beautiful products or not, essentially allows you to make money only at its own discretion was a bad idea, a year has passed full of steady progress in the wrong direction away from that point, and all the really important problems haven't been solved, it's OK?
You've found a nice little aviation analogy to satisfy yourself that all the criticisms you had weren't valid, you've peacefully abandoned your convictions, and now you're going to make some money. And they do make such beautiful products, right?
Two words for you: "Stockholm" and "Syndrome".
Text-editing fail: The paragraph "Back then,..." should read:
Back then, pinning your hopes on a fickle company that, beautiful products or not, essentially allows you to make money only at its own discretion was a bad idea. Now that a year has passed full of steady progress in the wrong direction away from that point, and all the really important problems haven't been solved, it's OK?
And after some considered thoughts, thank you Jason for your contribution.
Perhaps a "Hitler rants" video on YouTube would be a more appropriate forum.
Very true, we are moving more toward the age where Richard Stallman is the eccentric flying his ultralight, and Google and Apple are Boeing/Airbus....Microsoft is heading toward Cessna status.