[Spliff]

Wow, he makes it sound so easy. Too bad I'm not a programmer.

Wil Shipley, founder of The Omni Group, gave an inspirational "Student Talk" at WWDC 2005. It's a good read. I'm interested what other Mac developers think. Are they all writing off big screen TVs, pool tables, and driving fast cars?



Direct link to presentation

Blog posting about the Student Talk

[Superchicken]

Holy frick... have that many people actually bought Omniweb? Wonder how much cash they make off of OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle? That's insane!

[Spliff]

Originally Posted by Superchicken

Holy frick... have that many people actually bought Omniweb? Wonder how much cash they make off of OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle? That's insane!

Delicious Library made a $54,000 profit on the first day of its release?! That surprised me. It's shareware that costs $40. How many people purchased a copy?

And I'm even more surprised that OmniGraffle 3 has made "several million dollars."

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

A very simple and ingenial manual to success. Now I have to learn to program! How long will it take?

[budster101]

Spliff:

54,000 / 40 = How many bought it.

[Superchicken]

In retrospect... OmniGraffle making millions makes sense... if only Apple purchased it for their Machines even at a deep discount that's gota be a fair bit of cash... now why haven't we see the same quality out of people like felt tip who also get their software bundled...

[DeathMan]

Originally Posted by budster101

Spliff:

54,000 / 40 = How many bought it.

+ (Cost of development / 40)

[budster101]

If 54k downloaded the product, you can say, that number divided by 40 will give you the number of downloads with purchase.

If he had said, we made 54k in a week for example, that would make our response more logical. But, when we are talking one day. He's talking gross amount. Not net after development costs, which would be almost zero? His time and his equipment, and noone else. Just him. 9 months.

I do understand what you were getting at, but I don't think it applies in this case.

1,350 on the first day. Not bad!

[FulcrumPilot]

Cmon! with a name like Wil(l) Ship (ley) you gotta believe in what he says!

[The Godfather]

quote the presentation:
iTunes for Windows: necessary but sad
What does it mean?

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by Spliff

Delicious Library made a $54,000 profit on the first day of its release?! That surprised me. It's shareware that costs $40. How many people purchased a copy?

And I'm even more surprised that OmniGraffle 3 has made "several million dollars."

That seems strange to me, too. I mean, most shareware apps are lucky to make that much over their entire lifespan. I know Omni makes good stuff and has a very good reputation, but still...

[ambush]

the guy is obviously too full of himself.

he fails to mention how they were like one of the first company to write NeXTStep software and how that helped them.

And of course, not every software writer gets its flagship app bundled on computers.. I bet that's several "milions" from the "several milions" OmniGraffle has made.

Wow... those years of entrepreneurship have transformed this guy into an utter asshole.

And Mike Matas. wow. he's just as idiotic and proud.



they make cool software, though.

plus, he's like "drop school omg."
School is much more than just "getting degrees" and earn a better salary... it's about understanding the world you live in. Heck, I might not end up with a ****ing Lotus Elise in my garage, but I will probably have my PHd in a domain that interests me, or even better, help people through reasearch.

Man, ever since Matas joined delicious thingy, he's morphed into this cocky bastard...

Quick mac software industry facts

- Since OSX, chances are your new app won't take off if you don't have nifty aqua graphics all over the place. nifty aqua graphics cost money. unless you have the contacts.
- It's more about having good ideas, really, since Cocoa abstracts much of the hard work.
- Widgets don't sell much.
- High risks of failing
- Helping confused users (aka Support) is the worst thing ever.

his presentation is incredibly stupid, and just another version of the "follow your dreams and make money.. trust me I'm your god... I'm such a genius look at my car... me me me me me me me" discourse.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by The Godfather

quote the presentation:
iTunes for Windows: necessary but sad
What does it mean?

It means that for iPod to succeed on Windows, the software (which undoubtedly is half the experience) cannot be inferior.

[DeathMan]

Originally Posted by ambush

the guy is obviously too full of himself.

Says our paragon of humility.


1) Maybe Omnigraffle was bundled on Macs because its a good piece of software?
2) One person can only work so quickly, no matter how experienced he is. I'm sure Wil has to look up stuff in the docs just like anyone else.
3) He didn't say drop out of school, only he doesn't care about your degree. In the "real world" of entrepreneurship, you need people with skills, not papers.
4) University is the *last* place you're going to get an understanding about the way the world really works.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by ambush

- Since OSX, chances are your new app won't take off if you don't have nifty aqua graphics all over the place. nifty aqua graphics cost money. unless you have the contacts.

Or can do it yourself.

[budster101]

Unfortunately I have had vast experiences with iPods and Windows and the only iPods with problems are those on Windows. User error if you ask me, or inferior software. I don't know why.

*This is my personal oppinion and not necessarilly that of my employer.

[ambush]

Originally Posted by DeathMan

Says our paragon of humility.


1) Maybe Omnigraffle was bundled on Macs because its a good piece of software?
2) One person can only work so quickly, no matter how experienced he is. I'm sure Wil has to look up stuff in the docs just like anyone else.
3) He didn't say drop out of school, only he doesn't care about your degree. In the "real world" of entrepreneurship, you need people with skills, not papers.
4) University is the *last* place you're going to get an understanding about the way the world really works.

Ok, fan boy.

1) Yes, you're right, but then look at all the good software that's not bundled with Macs. I hope you get my ****ing point this time.
2) Uh ok...
3) I beg to differ. The more you know about economy, the more you get out of it. And
4) "world really works." ... so like where else can I learn how to perferm a surgery...

[ambush]

Originally Posted by KevinK

Or can do it yourself.

You can always do everything yourself.

My point is that, usually, programmers are not Aqua designers.

[wjsdelicious]

Ambush, I'm sorry if I come off as a jerk.

As a mental exercise, you might try to write a talk to give to 300 students who are interested in possibly becoming programmers, from the point of view of somebody who has been invited to speak because he is considered something of a model to be emulated in this one regard.

Now, see if the talk you wrote makes you sound full of yourself.

Put another way, I invite you to write up your own set of slides and post them, if you disagree with me or resent me getting so much attention. You have expressed your opinion on these forums several thousand times, and I never felt the need to pick on you.

[budster101]

I think he was trying to be exciting. Reading the stuff is different from hearing him speak I'm sure. Much like many missunderstandings begin in the forums because we don't have the convenience of seeing and hearing a person as they express themselves. It's easy to anger someone by mistake, and then they'll possibly treat you with disrespect in other threads just because of one interaction. Its' not so easy to ask a person [in forums], everything ok? You seem upset and over-reacted to my last statement...

I think he seemd a little bit pompus, but I'm going to maybe give him some slack as he really seems to know his stuff, and I'd like to maybe learn from the guy. You think Steve Job's is a bit, obnoxious at times? Sure. He is a genius though when it comes to Apple, and I would listen to what he has to say on topics regarding Apple.

On the other hand, I did also request some more information from that guy and he hasn't gotten back to me so... (bastard)

[wataru]

I liked it. I thought it was clever and humorous. I can see how some might think he comes off as pompous, but like has been said already, it's all in the tone and style of the actual presentation.

[goMac]

For once I agree with Ambush...

[Link]

anyone think this guy could easily slip as Bull Shitley?

[TheJoshu]

Originally Posted by ambush

Ok, fan boy.

4) "world really works." ... so like where else can I learn how to perferm a surgery...

As long as you never, ever perform any on me.

[DeathMan]

Originally Posted by ambush

Ok, fan boy.

1) Yes, you're right, but then look at all the good software that's not bundled with Macs. I hope you get my ****ing point this time.

So, Apple is the reason for Omni and Wil Shipley's success? Mmmmkay. And because I call you out on obviously unreasoned, and emotional posting, I'm a fanboy? Got it.

2) Uh ok...

Thanks for bringing the debate down a level. You're right, no one could ever program as quickly or as well as someone who has been doing it for a while. I'm surprised anyone even tries. If you applied yourself, though, maybe in 5 years, you can be 1/3 as good as the experienced programmers.

3) I beg to differ. The more you know about economy, the more you get out of it. And

You beg to differ that an entrepreneur would want to work with you even if you have no real skill, only a PhD in economics? Good luck with that.

4) "world really works." ... so like where else can I learn how to perferm a [/surgery...

perform a surgery? I thought we were talking the way things work in this world, not job skills. You want job skills? You're right. School is the *only* answer. How many college grads throw away 90% of what they learn in college? College has its purposes, but apparently when it comes to starting a successful software company it is not a requirement.

Did Wil design the aqua widgets? The Icon, his website? Or maybe he partnered with someone who could, and consulted and worked with others in their respective specialties? Wow, what a genius he is. Who would have ever thought to pair a programmer and an artist on a project.

[Superchicken]

Go figure another Ambush post that I think is a load of crap. You should have read his blog. He was trying to be funny, and who cares if he's cocky? Frankly in the last while I've started behaving a bit more cocky because to be honest it's a bit more fun and it makes you feel better about yourself. You could tell half the stuff he's not likely to believe. Especially if you read the accompanying blog. Frankly the guy sounds a bit like our loveable Steve. Granted I'm not sure I'd want to work with him, but I'd rather have someone a bit cocky and ready to take risk designing my software.

[doucy2]

where can i go to learn to be a programer

[jamil5454]

Originally Posted by wjsdelicious

Ambush, I'm sorry if I come off as a jerk.

As a mental exercise, you might try to write a talk to give to 300 students who are interested in possibly becoming programmers, from the point of view of somebody who has been invited to speak because he is considered something of a model to be emulated in this one regard.

Now, see if the talk you wrote makes you sound full of yourself.

Put another way, I invite you to write up your own set of slides and post them, if you disagree with me or resent me getting so much attention. You have expressed your opinion on these forums several thousand times, and I never felt the need to pick on you.

Hmmm... if you are really Wil Shipley (and I'm asusming you are), then congratualtions. When you succeed, it doesn't matter what people on these forums say. And to be honest I got a little chuckle out of your keynote. It boosted my Inspire-o-Meter™ to 95%, so now I only need 5% more inspiration to go out and start a software company.

Keep the innovation and great software coming. I think I might just purchase Delicious Library not only because of it's innovation, but because I think you're a cool guy. I don't really have a need for it, but consider it a donation, which is rare coming from a student.


To everyone else: As The Human Torch would say,
Flame on!

[OptimusG4]

I wouldn't worry about it, wjsdelicious. One thinks this is their blog, and the other has more vaporware products than you can think of.

[James L]

Ambush,

In the programming industry, believe me when I say that skills count far more than a university degree, which is what the author was trying to say I would bet. I have met many university graduates who had great skills, but I have also met MANY who could not code their way out of a wet paper bag. In total, they had great theory, and absolutely no ability to perform in the real world of computer programming.

My best friend makes $85,000 a year,plus full benefits, as a programmer... with a high school diploma and a self taught programming education. He is in charge of university educated programmers on a daily basis.

This is not a slam on university education at all, so no one go getting all defensive. This is simply a reality of the industry. You either have the skills, or you do not. Where you got them is not of paramount importance to many people.

But, seeing as you seem to feel you are the superior person in this thread, please list all of your accomplishments for us to date. Then, we can compare them to the achievements of the person being discussed and we can decide for ourselves whom we feel to be more accomplished, and how much validity we should give your comments.

Cheers,

James

[Spliff]

When I was Ambush's age, I thought a university education was everything. Personally, I attended university because I enjoy learning new things. But anyway, 15 years later, I don't see a university education as essential. Of my friends and acquaintances, those that make the most money (by far) are the ones who either dropped out of high school or only have a high school diploma. They're aggressive, ambitious self-taught entrepreneurs and business people.

[goMac]

I don't have a problem with inspirational speeches, but acting like Mac software will make you rich... Some guys have teams with talent. Delicious Monster is one of them. Most Mac software people don't make enough money to hire employees. Not everyone has a world class Aqua interface designer. I mean, if I had a Mike Matas it would be wonderful. Instead I have to sink a lot of software money into an icon designer, and it's hard to actually hire a designer for a company that knows Aqua icons. Afford a car? Maybe if I was writing Windows software. I bought my Powerbook back when I sold software, and took girls out for dinner. Fortunately, I was happy enough with that.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally Posted by ambush

And Mike Matas. wow. he's just as idiotic and proud.
Man, ever since Matas joined delicious thingy, he's morphed into this cocky bastard...

What are you basing that on?

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Superchicken

Go figure another Ambush post that I think is a load of crap. You should have read his blog. He was trying to be funny, and who cares if he's cocky? Frankly in the last while I've started behaving a bit more cocky because to be honest it's a bit more fun and it makes you feel better about yourself. You could tell half the stuff he's not likely to believe. Especially if you read the accompanying blog. Frankly the guy sounds a bit like our loveable Steve. Granted I'm not sure I'd want to work with him, but I'd rather have someone a bit cocky and ready to take risk designing my software.

The point that Ambush makes (that he could have made a little better) is that real Macintosh Software development is hard, and you don't make that much money. Someone from our company went and saw the presentation, and found it very enjoyable. I didn't make it to the presentation because my plane got in later that day. The way the presentation might come off is "look at us, we're Delicious Monster, we're so wonderful that we can buy nice cars", while developers like Ambush don't make all that much money. And I know he's not the only one. Practically all the developers I know don't make that much money unless they're doing Mac and Windows. Omni/Delicious Monster seem to be the only exception in the industry. I don't think it's as much of a case of writing Macintosh software, as it is being in the right place at the right time (Omni was the very first developer for Mac OS X, and happened to have the only decent web browser because they happened to be the first), and reputation (Delicious Monster carried the Mike Matas reputation and the Omni Cocoa-y goodness). Ambush is trying to say, unless you get your application bought out by Apple, or bundled with new machines, your chances of making lots of money are pretty low.

[Spliff]

Originally Posted by goMac

Practically all the developers I know don't make that much money unless they're doing Mac and Windows. Omni/Delicious Monster seem to be the only exception in the industry.

I suspect that Ambrosia Software does okay.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Spliff

I suspect that Ambrosia Software does okay.

Ambrosia does ok, but remember a year or two back, there was the huge activation scandal. Ambrosia had to start using product activation because they weren't making enough money. Also remember, they are now a cross platform company, doing both Mac and Windows. Escape Velocity, Pop Pop, they're all Mac and Windows now. So really, they're a pretty good example case of what I'm saying. They realized to really turn software into a business, you need good anti piracy and Windows versions. I think they defined it as the difference between pizza and beer money and enough money to live on.

[Kevin]

Maybe ambush's persona keeps him from making tons of money.

You have to be a people person to really make good money. Ambush is not.

[OpenStep]

iin this rare circumstance, ambush is right

[pathogen]

You do not have to be a people person to be rich. Case in point, rich bastards.

[DaKiwi2788]

I just read the blog post about it. I think that would have been interesting to sit in. I am not a developer, so the technical side of it doesn't make sense at all, but he has some good advice about being a young entreprenuer (sp?) that is useful.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by pathogen

You do not have to be a people person to be rich. Case in point, rich bastards.

In the software business, being able to reach the people to buy your product is important.

Steve Jobs for example.

Even though Gates is a dork, he can still speak.

[mrfrost]

Originally Posted by goMac

Ambush is trying to say, unless you get your application bought out by Apple, or bundled with new machines, your chances of making lots of money are pretty low.

I don't agree. Of course it all comes down to what you define "a lot of money".
Living off your software is very much possible, even without any kind of degree.

[wataru]

Some of this backlash against Shipley sure looks to me like jealousy. As a person who's published an app or two but would still not describe himself as a "developer," I found it entertaining. The people who found that it rubbed them the wrong way here all seem to be "real" developers themselves. Just an observation.

Remember kids: Don't hate the playa, hate the game.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by mrfrost

I don't agree. Of course it all comes down to what you define "a lot of money".
Living off your software is very much possible, even without any kind of degree.

I would disagree. Here is why:

Writing software is expensive, and takes an investment in itself. Want to be an effective developer? You really need an ADC account. $500. (Want an Intel Mac? Not necessary, but thats another $999). To develop for high end Mac OS X technologies like CoreImage you'll really want a nice Mac for that. Another $2000-$3000 there. Oh, you're going to need a website with pretty good bandwidth, I got lucky when I first started and got unlimited bandwidth for $100 a year... Now you're going to need a vendor to actually sell your software... They'll take a %10-%15 cut of whatever you make. Afterwards we'll assume you're a good person and pay your taxes...

We're already to at least $2500 and I haven't sold a single piece of software. We don't even have nicely drawn artwork or icons yet (developers aren't artists). Now, I don't know about some people here, but that's a huge investment to enter the software industry. A student account might be the nice way out of the ADC expense, but that doesn't include pre-release software which is really the point. Oh, want to go meet with Apple at WWDC to get ideas on your software? Pony up another $1500 (here you can get a scholarship if you're a student). And hiring employees? Most people over 21 demand stable pay. That means an hourly wage. Hourly wages and shareware don't mix.

The moral of the story is, don't quit your day job.

One thing he did get right is follow your passion. I'm not saying Mac software coding isn't a fun thing. If you like doing it, by all means do it. I'm just saying, there isn't as much money in it as there is in other markets. Bullet number one on the follow your passion slide is right on.

A thing I was surprised he didn't touch on (at least from what I can tell in the Powerpoint) is the problems with writing a charter for the company. It's not easy. Somewhere you have to decide ownership of work (whether or not the group owns everything the developer does), where the money goes (how much goes into the company for expansion, how much of money from your product is sent where), what to do if one person splits (do they have to be paid their share in the company, do they keep their products?) and in what cases someone can be forced from the company (are they slacking off and throwing a wrench in the works?). This can cause a lot of problems, and in some cases, you really do want a lawyer because it can get complicated fast. Wil kind glossed over this.

Lawyers just reminded me... in most cases you need a minimum $10,000 to open a business account. All banks may vary though.

Another thing I was VERY surprised was not mentioned was cramming your app full of wonderful Mac technologies. CoreImage can be used very nicely in communicating to a user, as a relay for status and such. You can use Spotlight to automatically find all the documents for your application internally instead of having the user find them manually. These are both examples of wonderful Mac OS X technologies to use to draw the user to your app.

I would bet not everyone who buys Delicious Library actually continues using it. This isn't a fault of the app, it is a really wonderful app. It's just I bet a lot of people who buy it don't really have a strong interest in keeping a library. It's the cool features that draw users to Library. iSight barcode scanning is cool. The non-standard shelf is cool. The Amazon integration is cool. These are all slick applications that Mac users will pay to support development of. It doesn't mean they have an interest in personally using the app. It means they like throwing money at really cool things. I had some users register Duality twice just because they thought it was cool. It was originally free but users thought it was so cool they wanted to give me money. It's coolness that grabs Mac users. That's why they use Macs. They like cool features. If they just wanted an app that would do the job they would use Windows. (Wil kind of referred to Windows apps as crapware. I think of crapware as something thats along the lines of crap... A Windows application can do the job and not be pretty, and that doesn't make it crap, just ugly lookin). And organizations love buying new applications on the Windows side, even though the average user might not.

His coding tips were also wonderful. I started not giving my ints names like i, j, and k today because I kept thinking about these slides.

[mrfrost]

wow man, how much money do you need to just "get by"?
I know for a fact that it is quite possible to live of your software.

You make some valid points but they don't don't apply to what I was trying to say. I just meant that it is perfectly possible to develop software and make good money. Enough money to pay the bills.
Then if you feel like moving on and using some of the technologies you mentioned, you will indeed need some new gear and make investments.

[Superchicken]

Fah, for your first version I'm sure you could find people to photoshop up icons if you had a good product for free and let you pay them later if ever. I'd do it.

[wjsdelicious]

I actually don't call Windows apps crapware, but I can see how it might be interpreted that way. What I was saying was, if you actually have a good idea and start making money, there are going to be cheap knock-offs of your idea inside of a year. Crapware. How are you going to distinguish yourself from those?

I opened my business bank account with $100.

You can sign up with ADC for free, and get full access to everything I've used to develop software. I assume if you can program you have a computer. If not, you're hosed already. It's like saying, "But if you decide to become a poet, you'll have to buy a pen! And paper!"

The real point of the talk was that, if you have passion and talent, becoming a Mac developer has a huge potential reward. You can still make it big with two people. You talk about a $2500 start-up cost, but I'm comparing us to, say, designing a new car, or becoming a lawyer. If you want to be really great at those things, it's going to take MASS bucks. You can't just get on the internet and learn it and do it in your spare time.

You really don't need a high-end Mac to write software, and I think writing software on a high-end Mac is kind of a trap, because you'll end up making your software just fast enough for the 1% of your audience who owns the newest machine. CoreImage runs on machines that are like six years old (or so).

Don't add buzzwords just because they are fun. Sure, I love flash and glitz. But we never sat down and said, "We need to somehow incorporate Spotlight and vImage and Bluetooth and USB and QuickTime and..." We just had things we wanted to do, and we did them. The technology is the enabler, not the show.

--

Bundling with Apple is not like printing money. I'm glad we had that bundle in the old days, and it was great publicity, but Apple doesn't just throw money at companies. The difference between Steve and Bill in this arena is that Steve knows that, if you want more than $X for some piece of technology, he can just go and hire some geniuses to replicate what you did. Bill knows that his company's reputation is in the toilet and genius mavericks typically don't want to work for him. He can't just hire someone else to do it, so he'll pay, say, a third of a billion for WebTV. And, you know, turn it into that amazing product that he did. You know. That one.

--

It's surprising to me how many people here react negatively to the simple act of my giving advice to students intended to inspire them to greatness. How many responses are "well, it's not that easy, don't bother..." Look, I know it's not easy! I spent my life doing this. I dedicated myself to it.

But sometimes somebody has to say, "Hey, you know what? Go for it! Chase your dream. If you fail, so what? You're out some money. Maybe you move back in with your parents for a year. Then you get a job with some bigger company, and they pay you a ton because you've got street cred from being an independent software developer. How bad is that?"

It's true the speech lost something when put into just slide form. But I haven't heard from anyone who was in the room who said, "Wow, you're full of yourself, stop being such a jerk." They all said, "Wow, you really succeeded, and I think I can, too." They _asked_ me to put the slides up. I didn't ask to get linked from MacNN. If you feel somehow violated by my putting up slides, don't read them!

[goMac]

Originally Posted by mrfrost

wow man, how much money do you need to just "get by"?
I know for a fact that it is quite possible to live of your software.

You make some valid points but they don't don't apply to what I was trying to say. I just meant that it is perfectly possible to develop software and make good money. Enough money to pay the bills.
Then if you feel like moving on and using some of the technologies you mentioned, you will indeed need some new gear and make investments.

It depends on your situation. If you live with your parents, yes, shareware is a perfectly wonderful way to keep you happy. It paid for things wonderfully before I went to college.

Now that I'm in college, I'm in the starving student role. I'm looking a release of software for July, so I didn't draw much off of software last year in college, just some stragglers on registration, but I was earning about $300 a month working a job (they give official jobs to students but pay them student rates, I manage all Macintoshes on campus and get $7 an hour... wonderful...). That kept me in most current software and well fed. I would probably double that for the average month of drawing income from shareware per program. That would keep me probably fully up to date for software, well fed, with maybe some spare money to sock away every month for a new Mac desktop (I had to sell my Mac desktop for college, and that was a G3 anyway). Now don't forget that in addition to going through a Computer Science program, I'm also coding and supporting this said shareware, and living the "college experience" (which some people might not care about, personally I do). So not only is money a concern, now time is too.

Ok... so lets say you're out of college. Now you have to pay rent. I don't know where I would be living, but lets say you have some roommates splitting the bill.. we'll say about $600 a month. You need internet, thats another $40 a month in the US. Food? At least $200 a month (I'm currently making up these numbers with the best guesses possible). Throw in some other bills, you're probably at around $1000 a month. Now, let's say you're doing shareware full time by yourself... you might be able to handle 3 products. Thats $1800 a month. So yes, you can live on that. Is that comfortable? I'm not so sure. Shareware is variable, sales can drop off the face of the Earth one day. Life is variable. Girls, emergencies, entertainment, they all also drain the bank. $1800 a month is $21600 a year. Not bad. But that's not very comfortable.

And if you ever get married? I can see the budget not working at all. My starting salary for summer work was $18 an hour when I was 17. I could keep one product going at the same time. It was kind of wonderful. I'd sit in high school, do nothing, check my email after that class, and when I first released, I might have $100 sitting there in my email. After school, I'd go work and make $18 an hour. Over the summer I'd work $18 an hour all day, and maybe if I was lucky, I'd get to use some of that time working on my software.

But, I've yet to have shareware buy me a car. And I doubt there is anybody who'd like that to happen more than me.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by wjsdelicious

Don't add buzzwords just because they are fun. Sure, I love flash and glitz. But we never sat down and said, "We need to somehow incorporate Spotlight and vImage and Bluetooth and USB and QuickTime and..." We just had things we wanted to do, and we did them. The technology is the enabler, not the show.

I'm just saying buzzwords sell programs, even if they are your buzzwords. The first time I heard about Delicious Library, it wasn't because it was a wonderful organizer. I heard about it from people who were excited that it could use the iSight to scan barcodes. Lot's of buzzwords tied together doesn't make great software. But it gets people excited about your software. That's why they're called buzzwords. They're words that make buzz.

Think about it this way. Much of America owns an exercise machine. Do we all use them? No. A lot of Americans buy them because they see them on TV and go "Oh look! I can buy this exercise machine and I'll get in great shape!" So the person buys the machine, uses it once or twice, decides it's not for them, and pushes it back in the corner. They still bought the machine, and they're still keeping it around in case they want to use it again someday, but clearly the purchase wasn't about keeping in shape. It was the cool factor that goes along with an exercise machine. Every once in a while they may upgrade so they feel cool for having the latest modal, but they still may not use the thing. Software is the same way. A person may go "Look at this cool software! It turns my iSight into a ray gun! That is so cool! I want to buy this!" Then they realize they might not have much use for an iSight ray gun, but they still feel good because they own the cool software that does cool things with their iSight. They may even keep upgrading because they want to stay cool. It doesn't mean they actually use the software. It just means they think it does cool things. As an example, CoreImage is a great avenue to do "cool things".

As for hardware, software development can be really draining on lower end hardware. I mean, it can be done, but I just about killed myself when I had to use a 12" iBook while my 15" Powerbook was in the shop. It was painful. XCode compiled slow. I couldn't see all my windows. My CoreImage code was slow to test. That's fine for the end user, but when I run concurrent tests, it really starts to slow me down. I would say nice hardware (or at least a nice big screen, which adds $$$ to us mobile users) would be a requirement for Mac development.

I would also say that pre-releases are a very good idea. I did get a lot of cool stuff in return for getting shareware apps working on 10.4 though. Plus you get free OS updates that way. For students the OS updates are worth more then the membership. Don't forget the nice hardware discount on the ADC memberships.

Finally, icons is were it really gets painful for developers. I was lucky enough to have Adam Betts offer to do my icon for free. Not every developer is that lucky. And most developers have little sense of style.

I'm not saying don't do it. I love writing software. I'd probably keep doing it if there was no money involved. I'm just saying, it's very complicated, which you and I agree on.

[wataru]

I was able to get a great up-and-coming icon artist, Kenichi Yoshida, to do two icons for free, partly because we bartered services. Icons don't have to be expensive.