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The Gnashing of Teeth (4/9/98)
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Okay, so it wasn't just the usual grousing. Developer sentiment regarding Apple's changes to the Developer Connection this week remains "icky." When we use the word "icky," of course, we are using it as the scientific term comprising equal parts anger, loathing, and incredulity. MacCentral has the data to support this conclusion in a special report. Among MacCentral's respondents, opinions ran 8 to 1 against the recent changes to the system. Most respondents were reportedly "very angry," and several apparently intimated that they were leaving the platform altogether.
Perhaps most telling of all is the fact that the words "sucks" and "stupid" occurred repeatedly in the data set. Given that the test group consisted of professional and amateur software developers, and not a Beavis & Butthead fan club (though we admit the overlap could potentially be fairly high), we think it's safe to say that emotions are running pretty strong. The issues that concern developers the most are: that the new pricing structure hurts smaller developers and students who can't necessarily pay the higher fees; that hardware discounts now only apply to people who can shell out $3500 for the highest tier of the program, and those people are probably the ones who need the discounts the least; and that this is just one more example of how poorly and/or indifferently Apple has been treating its developer base, which is its life's blood.
In the interests of scientific rigor, MacCentral has also posted Apple's response to the developers' complaints, which consists largely of praise for the new structure by several larger development houses like Dantz and Casady & Greene. Of course, these companies praise aspects of the program like better international support and an improved web site-- they don't address cost issues at all. While we love to see Apple making money, doing so at the expense of the developer base seems more than a little shortsighted. The world watches and waits for Apple's next move...
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 4/9/98 episode: April 9, 1998: Unhappiness in the Mac developer community seems to have reached a fever pitch, and if things continue unabated, it's only a matter of time before Cupertino is besieged by hordes of angry geeks. Meanwhile, Apple states that all will be made clear at the WWDC, and Microsoft tries to enlist the support of the American public in its multitude of antitrust battles...
Other scenes from that episode: 612: 30 Days is a Long Time (4/9/98) Meanwhile, Apple's trying really hard to weather out the storm until the Worldwide Developer Conference next month. While the natives grow more restless with each passing day, Apple is attempting to smooth over the increasingly-bumpy relationship with its programmers by insisting that its currently-murky software strategy will be revealed in detail at the WWDC... 613: Retreat to Easier Terrain (4/9/98) For the most part, Microsoft knows how to pick its battles. Given the beating they took in the courtroom in the continuing Redmond Justice case (which, as of yet, hasn't affected their business one iota, but still), they're now trying to shift the arena of the conflict from the court to the minds of the public...
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