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+--- Thread: App store developers, why do you ask money for your stuff? (/showthread.php?tid=82712)
App store developers, why do you ask money for your stuff? - ashlar - 2010-10-07
I know there's a €99 fee to become a developer. And that might be a justification. But when I see the prices... I'm just curious, this project has been free for everybody for years and years, surviving on donations.
It's a mild criticism, you are obviously entitled to do whatever you want with your time and your work.
And to recover the initial €99 there are several ways. Ransom model comes to mind.
- Robotica - 2010-10-07
it´s reasonable for any dev to make some money with all their efforts as long as the customers keep their freedoms and prices are fair...
- ashlar - 2010-10-07
Sure, it's just that it's pretty strange to have XBMC for free and a product that piggybacks on it being sold at a price.
Take the Logitech Squeezebox line of products. While it's true that SqueezeServer is a free download, the business model has always been that of selling the hardware. The developers of SqueezeServer have a regular pay, etc.
In that case, I understand iPeng and other apps to be on sale with a price. It's more or less in line with the philosophy of the project.
With XBMC... not so much. But maybe it's just me. And again I stress: devs are more than free to do whatever they like. I'm mainly interested in the reasoning behind it all.
Cheers!
- Robotica - 2010-10-07
There are a gillion pieces of commercial software based around a GPL foundation. So that´s no argument.
As a paying customer you have the option not to buy or use that software if you think it should be free. In the menawhile, you always can create a free version yourself or wait for someone to do just that.
But I really liked the squeezebox model (I am a squeezbox version 1 user) before it became logitech. They showed how a open source community could stand. Otherwise, it would have been forked and monetized by the fork. Same with Boxee and XBMC.
So the reason is simple: Make some money with their efforts.
btw: Open Source purists would never develop software on a Apple platform
- Adam B. - 2010-10-07
There's also a sort of expectation that everyone will pay for apps in the app store. On the android market, you see a lot more free/add supported versions and paid add-free versions. I'm a fan of this model, which is one of the reasons I exclusively develop on Android.
- edz2k9 - 2010-10-07
.. one of the main reasons I bought an HTC Desire rather than an Iphone 4G (I'd be lying if I said £140 on top of an already overlong contract wasnt a factor)
- pecinko - 2010-10-07
Adam B. Wrote:There's also a sort of expectation that everyone will pay for apps in the app store. On the android market, you see a lot more free/add supported versions and paid add-free versions. I'm a fan of this model, which is one of the reasons I exclusively develop on Android.
No, you're Android developer for some other reason.
- pecinko - 2010-10-07
ashlar Wrote:I know there's a €99 fee to become a developer. And that might be a justification. But when I see the prices... I'm just curious, this project has been free for everybody for years and years, surviving on donations.
I agree, and some of them are free. I'm using:
uRemote http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/uremote-xbmc/id356830858?mt=8
and
Plexures http://itunes.apple.com/se/app/plexures/id368086486?mt=8
Now, don't let the name misguide you with a second one. It's a s a gesture based remote for Plex Media Center _and XBMC_.
- pecinko - 2010-10-07
Robotica Wrote:btw: Open Source purists would never develop software on a Apple platform
pshhhh.... Davilla may hear you.
- Robotica - 2010-10-07
haha... it´s hard to deal with companies like Microsoft, Apple and Intel being a purist.