Anyone else get a Developer Transition Kit?

[absolut_mac]

If you make Mac products for a living and you cannot afford to spend $999 to rent a machine for the next year+ to make sure your products run on next gen Macs you should probably take that as a sign that you should do something else for a living.

I can't imagine any commercial companies balking at $999.
Share/freeware guys who code in their basement on the weekends sure, but not people who make their living from the Mac platform.


Lethal

I don't disagree with your assessment.

It's just that in my mind Steve's chances of greatly increasing the amount of apps available for his platform, and hence his market share would go up exponentially inversely proportionally to the price of the machine going down.

So a free machine would get some time wasters and weekend tinkers on board, but as already mentioned Apple can easily afford it and the benefits would far outweigh the minor negatives.

 

[groovebuster]

So a free machine would get some time wasters and weekend tinkers on board, but as already mentioned Apple can easily afford it and the benefits would far outweigh the minor negatives.

And which time wasters and weekend tinkers would qualify for such a machine? This is not feasible. Giving away 1,000 machines would be already 1,000,000 US$. And the machines are probably worth more anyway, since they are from prototype batch production. This is an early stage of development and Apple needs serious developers to make progress with the transition, not people who occasionaly code a little bit or did 2 or 3 useless widgets and only want to brag about that they already have a Mac with an Intel processor...

groovebuster

 

[jsw]

How about he just prints it on his ass with one of the print on anything inkjets, and just gives us the scoop under the hairy moon.

I'll send those pics to you first... and exclusively.

 

[jsw]

I don't know if you realized but you didn't buy it...you rent it...you have to return it by the end of 2006. I though it's quite expensive for that.

I understand that (now, although the third eyelid rolled up and the feeding frenzy kicked in when I saw the "Buy" button before watching the keynote).

However, I see $999 as reasonable depreciation for the time (~ a year and a half), and it's worth it to me to (a) hopefully kick-start some development for myself as opposed to my to-remain-nameless employer based in Finland; and (b) to get excited about something new. The last time I had funky hardware like this was when I bought my BeBox in the mid 90's.

 

[jsw]

So JSW.... are you a devoloper?

or you jsut getting it to mess around on....

I'm a developer, but so far only to the extent that I use my Mac to do Java development for my employer simply to avoid using the laptop they provide (and the endless stream of security updates). Not a gripe about XP, which I actually think is pretty good, but we're still on Win2K and our IT department doesn't let a day go by (seemingly) without some patch.

I've wanted to do other work, even talked to Wes and emw about helping me test my stuff, but Automator has taken the wind out of my main idea, and I'm looking for new ideas now.

Hopefully, with this equipment and a creative burst, I'll finally get the kick-in-the-butt I need to get moving.

 

[MainFrame23]

That's a waste of money.

I'm not here to flame, but do you have any real concept of what it means to run a business or be a programmer? $1,000 for a computer (or FEW) that you lease and return so you can go ahead and make your programs work

If you're running a multimillion dollar software company, and to be able to sell a product you have to be Intel ready, HOW is spending a few thousand for a temporary computer to make sure your entire product line is market ready a 'WASTE' of money.

Seriously. Just.. think before you post. You obviously don't understand the point of an SDK so just avoid these kind of conversations.

 

[MainFrame23]

And which time wasters and weekend tinkers would qualify for such a machine? This is not feasible. Giving away 1,000 machines would be already 1,000,000 US$. And the machines are probably worth more anyway, since they are from prototype batch production. This is an early stage of development and Apple needs serious developers to make progress with the transition, not people who occasionaly code a little bit or did 2 or 3 useless widgets and only want to brag about that they already have a Mac with an Intel processor...

Bingo. People think this is there for them to buy with their ******** widgets or crappy programs. I don't code, and don't pretend to. You need to be a Development member (stated in Keynote) and like my friend who tried to buy one, if you're not, you don't get the computer. The spent money is nothing compared to having an Intel ready product.

 

[jsw]

I'm not here to flame, but do you have any real concept of what it means to run a business or be a programmer? $1,000 for a computer (or FEW) that you lease and return so you can go ahead and make your programs work

If you're running a multimillion dollar software company, and to be able to sell a product you have to be Intel ready, HOW is spending a few thousand for a temporary computer to make sure your entire product line is market ready a 'WASTE' of money.

Seriously. Just.. think before you post. You obviously don't understand the point of an SDK so just avoid these kind of conversations.

I agree (well, obviously).

I'd go farther and point out that the $999 includes support from Apple, which definitely has value in addition to the hardware.

The system Apple provides would, if purchased in a similar configuration, depreciate by a similar amount anyway. It's as though some members think that, if they buy a system, it retains its value 100% for a year and a half. The $999 price is a great deal.

 

[jsw]

Bingo. People think this is there for them to buy with their ******** widgets or crappy programs.

Oh damn. Maybe I wasted my money.

I actually want to explore resolution-independent applications and the apps needed to support the creation of those applications. I've been working on Scalable Vector Graphics for my employer and might see is there's opportunity in that area.

 

[Mr. G4]

And the machines are probably worth more anyway, since they are from prototype batch production.

If you see the machine you would think otherwise.
3rd party developer doesn't have money. We all though that if the $999 is as a down payment for the next Mactel every 3800 people in the Presidio would get it. By this time next year Apple would have something better to show us and we'll still have about 6 months to test the code on a real machine.

 

[Mr. G4]

I understand that (now, although the third eyelid rolled up and the feeding frenzy kicked in when I saw the "Buy" button before watching the keynote).

However, I see $999 as reasonable depreciation for the time (~ a year and a half), and it's worth it to me to (a) hopefully kick-start some development for myself as opposed to my to-remain-nameless employer based in Finland; and (b) to get excited about something new. The last time I had funky hardware like this was when I bought my BeBox in the mid 90's.

Oh one more thing unless you are already select or premium member you cannot buy it. So you have to add the membership price on top of that.

 

[jsw]

Oh one more thing unless you are already select or premium member you cannot buy it. So you have to add the membership price on top of that.

Well, if you end up buying a "real" Mac within your membership year, and if it's a pro system, you'll easily get your $500 back in the developer discount.

Plus, I got a free T-shirt last week (so did all developers). If you figure that an exclusive Apple Developer t-shirt is worth, oh, $350, then the price for membership is even more reasonable.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

jsw, if you don't mind, I'd love a PM as well (and I sorta live near you... ).

Ya know, before I get my next Mac (which was going to be next spring), I will probably dish out the $500 for the ADC membership just for the savings I will get on the system.

If this PowerMac is almost as good as a regular G5 (which jsw I hope can fill us in on), then I actually see the $1000 as money well spent. Granted you'll have to give it back, you can use it as a test machine, regular workhorse computer, and a system to install and test builds of Leopard on for a year and a half. So, for $1,500 (assuming you aren't a developer right now), you can get a membership (and the discounts that go with it) and a nifty PowerMac with Intel insides plus support for about the same price you would have to spend to get a 17" iMac G5.

Sounds tempting to me.

 

[daveL]

jsw, if you don't mind, I'd love a PM as well (and I sorta live near you... ).

Ya know, before I get my next Mac (which was going to be next spring), I will probably dish out the $500 for the ADC membership just for the savings I will get on the system.

If this PowerMac is almost as good as a regular G5 (which jsw I hope can fill us in on), then I actually see the $1000 as money well spent. Granted you'll have to give it back, you can use it as a test machine, regular workhorse computer, and a system to install and test builds of Leopard on for a year and a half. So, for $1,500 (assuming you aren't a developer right now), you can get a membership (and the discounts that go with it) and a nifty PowerMac with Intel insides plus support for about the same price you would have to spend to get a 17" iMac G5.

Sounds tempting to me.

Just so you know, you don't get the hardware discount until you *renew* your Select membership the second year. So, you have to pay for two years @ $500 per year before you get a developer hardware discount (%20). I used mine last year to purchase my 2.5 GHz G5.

 

[Sun Baked]

I'll send those pics to you first... and exclusively.

As you continue to moon everyone else publically with every post you make.

 

[4409723]

Good luck with the kit and now that I think about it automator pretty much shafted your idea. I am done with exams but I leave to Greece in six hours for a week; after that I'm free to test any app you want until university starts in October.

 

[Phobophobia]

Why doesn't someone use Xcode to make a universal binary for one of the benchmark apps? XD

 

[4409723]

Why doesn't someone use Xcode to make a universal binary for one of the benchmark apps? XD

None of these testers are open source. In good time the devs of these programs should release a universal version of their apps and that's when the real comparisons will happen. It may be quite a complicated port if their apps test the computers at a low level.

 

[Phobophobia]

None of these testers are open source. In good time the devs of these programs should release a universal version of their apps and that's when the real comparisons will happen. It may be quite a complicated port if their apps test the computers at a low level.

Yeah, I figured we didn't have to source code.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

Just so you know, you don't get the hardware discount until you *renew* your Select membership the second year. So, you have to pay for two years @ $500 per year before you get a developer hardware discount (%20). I used mine last year to purchase my 2.5 GHz G5.

Ow... well, that's a big difference... Then again, it's still money off plus lots of other benefits.

 

[Mr. G4]

Bingo. People think this is there for them to buy with their ******** widgets or crappy programs. I don't code, and don't pretend to. You need to be a Development member (stated in Keynote) and like my friend who tried to buy one, if you're not, you don't get the computer. The spent money is nothing compared to having an Intel ready product.

I don't want to be picky here but if you just you don't need the Mactel to test you widgets...it just works regardless of MacPPC or Mactel...no thing need to be modified.

 

[ITASOR]

I'm not here to flame, but do you have any real concept of what it means to run a business or be a programmer? $1,000 for a computer (or FEW) that you lease and return so you can go ahead and make your programs work

If you're running a multimillion dollar software company, and to be able to sell a product you have to be Intel ready, HOW is spending a few thousand for a temporary computer to make sure your entire product line is market ready a 'WASTE' of money.

Seriously. Just.. think before you post. You obviously don't understand the point of an SDK so just avoid these kind of conversations.

You're right. I have no clue what I was thinking. I want one now...lol

 

[lordmac]

Engadget just posted a pic of the inside of the mactels they are just g5 tower cases though they appear to be much more roomy without the g5's in there.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

Ew, that's ugly.

 

[slooksterPSV]

Think the real versions will be liquid cooled???