“Perhaps it’s playing well in the mainstream press, but here at WWDC, Apple’s ‘you can write great apps for the iPhone: they’re called ‘web sites’’ – message went over like a lead balloon,” John Gruber writes for Daring Fireball.
Gruber writes, “It’s insulting, because it’s not a way to write iPhone apps, and you can’t bullshit developers. It’s a matter of spin. What Apple should have announced is something like this: “We know that you want to write your own apps for iPhone, and we’d like to see that too. We love the apps you write for the Mac, and we’d love to see what you might be able to come up with for iPhone. We’re thinking about it, and working on ways that we might make that happen, but we don’t have anything to announce today. The good news, though, is that because iPhone has a real Safari web browser, you can write web-based apps that work great on iPhone.”
Gruber writes, “That wasn’t what the developers here at WWDC wanted to hear, but at least it wouldn’t have been insulting.”
Another reason why Apple developed and released Safari for Windows, according to Gruber, “is simply money. Safari is a free download, but it’s already one of Apple’s most profitable software products.”
It’s not widely publicized, but those integrated search bars in web browser toolbars are revenue generators. When you do a Google search from Safari’s toolbar, Google pays Apple a portion of the ad revenue from the resulting page,” Gruber explains. “My somewhat-informed understanding is that Apple is currently generating about $2 million per month from Safari’s Google integration. That’s $25 million per year. If Safari for Windows is even moderately successful, it’s easy to see how that might grow to $100 million per year or more.”
Full article, with more about Leopard, Jobs’ scant list of “top secrets,” that the new Dock that only works visually at the bottom of the screen, and more, here.
Growing discontent in 3…2…1…
After viewing the Keynote yesterday, I think I will stick with T tiger.
The dock only works at the bottom of the screen in Leopard? OUCH
Yeah, it blows. You could see even in their demo the lag time between scroll and screen refresh. It’s a bullshit solution. Daring Fireball’s take on the whole event resonates with me.
I’m not a developer and I could smell the “poo on my shoe”. HOWEVER, with most things software there is a natural progression. Welcome to step 1.
RE: The dock only works at the bottom of the screen in Leopard? OUCH
———-
WRONG!
Did you even see the keynote video??
I think you need to get your eyes tested.
SJ showed the dock working on the left and right hand side.
I recommend you actually watch the keynote before stating any obvious errors.
I myself couldn’t believe Steve Jobs would say that to a bunch of developers. It’s like he forgot who he was speaking to.
Of all the people that might be able to see through that bullshit, you picked them?
It sounded like he was talking to a random crowd of young iPod users that would clap, nod and grunt like seals. “Oooo, no SDK necessary!”
That RDF isn’t bulletproof, Steve.
> The dock only works at the bottom of the screen in Leopard? OUCH
What are you talking about? In the demo, Steve Jobs showed it working on the left side.
And what does that have to do with iPhone apps?
I think the developers who are complaining are short-sighted. Web-based apps are the future. Looking back 2-3 years from the future, these complaints that they can’t write apps that reside on the device will look silly.
@ pr
The dock works on all 3 sides as it does now. He demonstrates this in the keynote…
@pr “The dock only works at the bottom of the screen in Leopard? OUCH”
Except for the times when you put it to the sides of the screen like they did in the keynote.
There are still plenty of great reasons to upgrade to Leopard, it’s just that we found out most of them last year and now they seem old hat. A lot of them are under the hood. Full 64-bit support will increase speed as developers take advantage of it. Leopard has not been introduced with Apple’s usual flair for PR, but it’s still a solid improvement.
Gruber never says that the dock won’t work on the side. He’s complaining about how it looks while parked there.
RTFA, people.
Remember this is the 1st generation iPhone – developers should be bloody relieved that there IS actually a way of developing 3rd party apps for iPhone!
Apple could have quite easily just locked it all down and said “fuck you – we aint having crap software ruining the user experience on our new product”.
Yes it’s using web standards, BUT remember web standards are there for a reason, and that reason is almost guaranteeing that ANY app you right will work on iphone or on ANY mac at without any re-coding.
Whether people like it or not, this is the future of app development.
Everyone in the software business is starting to concentrate on ‘web apps’ – going soon are the days of installing software on your mac.
Apple knows this and to be honest all the developers do too but are affraid to make the leap of faith to do it.
Just look at Google – they beat Microsoft to the post to develop a web ‘office’ suite. Microsoft know they are in danger of losing Office’s domination because of this.
You can bet your family fortune that Microsoft is working 24/7 on a web suite of Office.
The future is web apps – and Apple knows this.
Daring Fireball’s take
Apple is still learning how to play nice with “partners.” They’re very used to getting their way when it comes to the user’s experience, but in this field, they’re going to have to learn to give up some control, I think– or have less than stellar sales performance for iPhone.
I think Apple/Steve is only on the verge of realizing that many people would hoist Apple up as the next Microsoft. So, here’s the rub– to be that big means to have to be a little more like M$ perhaps. I’m not working in this field, but I wonder why Apple doesn’t implement some sort of pay and play membership for iPhone developers that would require a great deal of scrutiny of the code used. This would help to promote security and keep the riff-raff out.
Anyone have any idea why this isn’t being done?
Ditto from developer Will Gomez who wrote similar disssssatisfaction with Apple and the iPhone.
OK I’m not a programmer and I do take the point that they want full access to the OS on the iPhone.
But that’s no reason to throw the baby out the pram.
If Google are writing all their apps on Web 2, it can’t be all bad, and arguably it’s the future.
I for one don’t blame Apple for restraining the use of apps on iPhone. We’ll end up with duplicate Mail progs, browsers, antivirus and a lot of other bollocks we don’t need.
Let’s learn to live with it and see how it goes. It is a revolution after all.
I say the kiddies should grow up frankly.
And, no, they are not being Microsoft, they are being sensible. Microsoft would have the whole think cocked up in no time with a free for all in an endeavour to take the whole market.
Oh, but then Microsoft never invented ANYTHING like this before.
I think as soon as the developers see how many iPhones are sold they will start developing the apps using the Apple tools whether they like it or not.
Lets face facts, the iPhone is going to be MASSIVE.
And when is does you can bet that the clients of developers are going to DEMAND their apps be written for iPhone.
And if the developers dont do it… then they will lose their client to a developer that will do it!
Developers miffed about Apple’s third-party iPhone apps solution
Well you know what developers?
95% of exploits are on applications, yea YOUR FSCKING SHODDY CODE!!
Why is it shoddy? Because your G-Dammed marketing departments want your insecure crap out the door first and fix it later approach, if it gets fixed at all.
So because of this, your FSCKING SANDBOXED!!! Good for us consumers!!
And to those third party developers who demand a admin password (aka sudo/root) to install your programs/hacks when it’s really not needed (system level/cloning software excluded naturally).
A big FSCK YOU from those of us needing security.
You install your hacks in Mac OS X and it leaves a pathway to root through your shoddy coding practices.
Sure nobody is frigging perfect, but you plan for that and keep your frigging code out of root and in user space where it belongs so a compromised app doesn’t have access to Mac OS X.
BUT NOOOO!!! Your marketing departments want root so they can install marketing ware, knowing exactly what time and day we are launching what programs, how often we use the competitors software and evil privacy crap like that.
And we all know full well you plan to use EFI to bypass any OS installed outgoing firewall software to catch you, to verify apps and other DRM crap invading our privacy and security.
We buy your apps to solve a need/want, not to be exploited and probed and labeled thieves automatically.
Get out of root space, stay out of EFI because I’m on a campaign to educate everyone to avoid software that installs in these areas.
Apple is guilty too for trusting developers to care about security. They realize shoddy security by third party coders is going to ruin their hardware sales.
So sit in your friggning sandbox where you belong, you earned it!
After viewing the Keynote yesterday, I think I will get a Pro system to move from Panther to Leopard. As soon as the Adobe bloatware runs on it.
There’s one huge group of developers that I guarantee you are very happy with Apple’s iPhone development solution: web developers. Last time I checked, they outnumber Mac OS X developers by a hefty margin.
Relax people, more options will come in time. I for one will be happy to see apps with similar quality to Dashboard Widgets running on iPhone. They’ll still beat every other phone platforms apps any day.
Perhaps there will be many buyers who want the best iPod, and the best phone. They may not care about other applications running on the device. For now, anyway.
If you’ve seen the iPhone commercials, I’d have to sum it up as WOW, those “kinda sorta look like” applications!
Hey Jobs, if you want to bend over your developers, please don’t do it in public and expect them to applaud you while you do it!
the web will be the future of software development the day HTML is replaced by something a lot better.
it’s just too limited, there are completely categories of software that just can’t be made in HTML.
i was planning to write a game that uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to move a ball through a labyrinth, that is not be possible with the Web API.