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General discussion

Moving to Mac

Apr 2, 2012 9:26PM PDT

Hi all,
I have been using working on windows platform for more than 15 years. I developed several application and websites in Java, asp, php. I am thinking of moving to Mac. I want to develop apps for mac and iphone. Do you think it is a good move?

Thanks and regards,

Suvi Joseph


Note: This post was edited by a forum moderator to remove signature link that is prohibited in these forums on 04/03/2012 at 9:01 AM PT

Discussion is locked

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(NT) Yes!
Apr 2, 2012 9:31PM PDT
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Maybe
Apr 2, 2012 10:28PM PDT

Maybe... If you're going to get into development, then you're going to get to see Apple's nasty side. Seriously, everything that is great about the company when you're a consumer is an absolute nightmare on the business side. They will randomly decide one week that they're going to enforce some obscure rule, or just completely make up some rule for all you know, because the first you will ever hear of it is when Apple decides to land on you like an 800lbs gorilla over it.

You should definitely read some of the horror stories about people who have had their apps rejected by Apple, and the difficulty they had in trying to get some kind of clear explanation why. Everything has to be a secret with Apple. I had to deal with someone in sort of the Apple internal affairs department, and I never caught the guy's last name. I wanted to send him a quick email, so I talk to someone else I know saying how I have a first name, phone number, and the department the guy is in to prove that I have dealt with him, but my contacts were barred by company policy from giving the guy's email address to me.

Also, good luck getting anyone at Apple to care about your problems. Unless for some reason your problems might affect Apple's bottom line, it will fall on deaf ears. They will also routinely kick developers in the teeth with a steel toed boot at Christmas without a moment's hesitation. If Apple decides they want to enter the particular market your app occupies, then they'll kick your app, and every other competing app, out of their playground with absolutely no recourse on your end. If you're like me, and think the iOS email app sucks, don't go wasting your time writing a better one because you'll never get it approved. It might confuse users (read: compete) with regard to the default iOS email app.

Also, you should know if you're going to be a developer, Apple is infallible. Even if you did absolutely everything right, and every shred of evidence points to it being a problem on Apple's end, it's not. However, if you're lucky, they'll be such nice people they'll fix your mistake for you. Just remember, even though it LOOKS like they fixed a bug on their end, really they're correcting YOUR mistake.

I know there are a lot of stories about people who wrote a fart noise app and make tens of thousands of dollars, but the majority of app developers will probably be lucky to break even, maybe turn a very modest profit. It cuts both ways: On the one hand you have millions of potential iPhone/Pad/Pod users who might buy your app, but on the other hand there's probably a million other developers just like you with dreams of getting rich. So your app has to somehow stand out from the crowd of dozens of other apps that may do the same thing.

Also, AFAIK, iOS apps have to be written in Objective-C, which is really quite different from the likes of Java or PHP. Both in syntax and the way it approaches OOP. I forget the language which C++ and thus Java, are modeled after, but ObjC is modeled on SmallTalk which goes about things very differently. Your experience with other languages might well work against you in this area. As we get older, we get more and more set in our ways, and while it's certainly not impossible, if you've been using the C++ style of OOP for the past 15 years, learning the SmallTalk method might represent a pretty big challenge. Less so now, considering there are plenty of books on the language after it was plucked from the relative obscurity of NeXTStep, and finding any kind of tutorial on the language was a challenge.

Not to pour a giant bucket of cold water on your idea, but it's important that you go into things with very realistic impressions. To say Apple is a terror or nightmare on the business side doesn't even begin to do it justice. A Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde analogy would not be out of place. The consumer face of Apple is all warm and cuddly, and the business side of Apple is a like taking Freddy, Jason, Chucky, and all the other major horror film villains, distilling their worst qualities, amplifying them for good measure, and putting them all into a single company.

Whether or not you ultimately decide to become the next iOS developer is up to you, I'm just strongly encouraging you to take a good long hard look at things from all angles. If you still want to go ahead, at least you're doing so without any fanciful delusions about what you're getting into.

All I can say, is that after about a year and a half in Apple land, I'm seeking the nearest emergency exit. Microsoft is certainly no saint, but what they are is pretty open and up front about how they are going to screw you over. There are few, if any, hidden surprises waiting to jump out at you where Microsoft suddenly remembered some secret rule they never told anyone about, but expect you to follow to the letter. To be a bit crude, at least that way I can be ready with the lube when the shafting comes.

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wow....nice reply
Apr 2, 2012 11:22PM PDT

Hi Jimmy,
Thanks for the reply.
Your reply is really informative. But if you look at the people who is developing for Mac, we really get jealous. They are making thousands of dollars. And why not, if we make a good apps and we also can make money like them. I heard about the story about learning Objective-C is really tough. That is the hardest part I believe we should take.
And also, the sale of new ipad for the first week is over 3 millions. So we can think them as potential customer. What I feel the microsoft marketing is fading away and apple is emerging on top.

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As I said
Apr 3, 2012 12:03AM PDT

As I said, the choice is ultimately yours, but for every success story there's probably a dozen or so developers who have barely seen a dime from their efforts. Do not let fanciful dreams of making money hand over fist influence your decision, because there's a good chance that will never happen.

And even if Apple sold 3 million iPads, that doesn't mean all 3 million people will buy your app. Sure, even if only 1% of that bought your app you could be living pretty good at a couple bucks a pop, but odds are even that will not happen. Also, don't forget that probably 90% of that 3 million people have a PC running Windows at home.

From what I've seen, Tim Cook is going to drive Apple into the ground and by 2020 Apple will probably be right back where it was around 2000, only this time there won't be a Steve Jobs to come rescue the company again. There are already a number of little cracks showing if you know where to look, and a good start is Apple's increasingly fierce (read: desperate) patent war on its rivals. The majority of Apple's revenues come from iOS devices, so if anything should ever happen to that market, Apple is completely screwed. And Tim Cook has already decided to go against Steve Jobs' wishes in a couple of areas, like raiding the Apple cash reserves to pay dividends to shareholders. Guess who is likely a pretty significant shareholder of Apple stock?

Just be sure you do your homework. I would suggest taking the rest of this month to fully research what you can expect by becoming an iOS developer, good and bad. And make sure to venture off the beaten path a little, since if you only look at Apple's forums you'll get a slanted view of things given they will remove pretty much any post where the masses aren't fighting amongst themselves to be the first to drink the Apple kool-aid. Find some independent forums, maybe try and talk to a couple of actual developers. I'm sure you'll hear many of my comments repeated over and over again, along with others.

If you take the time to do your homework, you can go into the situation with realistic impressions on what to expect, or maybe you decide that upon further inspection, developing for Apple isn't for you.

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Sure. But.
Apr 3, 2012 12:34AM PDT