As Apple boasts of creating two million U.S. jobs, it has been accused of making life as a small developer unsustainable.
The claim was made by Matt Gemmell, a software engineer who used to work for Apple as a contractor and whose source code has been used in hundreds of iOS and macOS apps.
Gemmell wrote this in a blog post in which he argues that Apple has ‘trained’ consumers to think that apps should be free or extremely cheap, and that they shouldn’t have to pay extra to run an app on multiple devices, or for updates.
He says that while Apple positions itself as the developers’ friend, bringing them a ready-made market for their work, the reality is quite different. The way that Apple promotes and sells apps is, he says, ‘deeply hostile to the sustainability of a small business as a software developer.’
His viewpoint is entirely understandable. We know independent developers who have either switched to working as an employee for a large software company, or got out of the business altogether. It’s a tough way to make a living.
But as someone who’s been in the personal computer field since the days of the Apple II, ’twas ever thus. In those early days, no consumer expected to pay for software at all: it was either free or ‘shareware,’ where people were encouraged to make a donation. Very few people ever did.
What Gemmell is really describing is the tail-end of a gold-rush. A lot of people moved into the field hoping to make their fortune, but only a tiny minority ever did. The companies that consistently made money during the gold-rush were the ones selling the shovels. In neither case does it make sense to me to blame the shovel-maker when most people fail to strike gold.
What are your thoughts? Is Apple the hero or the villain of the piece, or neither one? Please share your views in the comments.
Photo: TechCrunch
