Apple Releases Xcode 4 to Developers, Coming Soon to Mac App Store for $4.99

[Carniphage]

The Windows SDK is FREE.
The Visual Studio Express Editions are FREE.
Microsoft Robotics Studio is FREE.
XNA/Windows Mobile development tools are FREE.

My experience with MS development (some time ago) for Windows and XBox was expensive. The MSDN library was an expensive subscription and it was pretty mandatory for commercial Windows development. MS also charge for game submissions (on a per submission basis).

Apple's token cost to prevent casual downloaders grabbing multiple 4Gigabyte files per year really doesn't seem like the end of the world.

C.

 

[PatrickCocoa]

To Summarize

Having read the post to date, here's what people are saying:

1. Apple is greedy for charging $5 for Xcode 4. It's all about the money.
2. I, on the other hand, am principled for objecting to Apple charging $5 for Xcode 4. It's not about the money.

 

[deputy_doofy]

OK, I'll argue that charging $5 for Xcode 4 is NOT a step to the Mac App Store being the only allowed distribution point for new software. There's no relationship between changing the cost of developer tools and authorized methods of software distribution.

Agreed. I think the Mac App Store is just the official version of "no more boxed software in a store." I have ZERO problem with that as long as the platform never closes.

 

[jowie]

Imagine you only get Finder, Sys Prefs, App Store, and Safari. Everything else is a paid download from the App Store (iCal, $0.99, Photo Booth, $0.99, QuickTime, $10, Mail, $5).

That will never happen. Just because Apple decide to charge $5 for the new version of its developer software, how does that equate in any way to selling parts of their integrated OS apps on the App Store? Stop panicking.

 

[zymeth]

Uh no offense but Visual Studio cannot be compared to Xcode. Xcode isn't even half what visual studio is. Developing in visual studio is so much easier to use to develop software than xcode. So charging that amount for visual studio is actually justified. Xcode for $4.99 is probably worth it.

Charging $799 for something i can do in textmate is hardly justifiable

 

[mac2x]

There are free levels to both iOS and Mac developer programs. I don't see anything in the announcement disqualifying these members (although I haven't read anything other than the OP yet).

You have to be a paid member to get it free, unfortunately. I am a free level member myself, and I am not allowed to download it. Not that I want to though...Xcode 3 does what I need it to.

 

[iBug2]

Agreed. I think the Mac App Store is just the official version of "no more boxed software in a store." I have ZERO problem with that as long as the platform never closes.

I believe the platform will eventually close, not just for Apple but for all "PC"s out there. But it's decades away.

 

[Detektiv-Pinky]

This is basically what I thought when I read this story. Any serious Mac developer would get this free as they are part of the paid ADC.

I am not knocking those who don't pay and are "serious developers", but I do hope you are seeing the big opportunity you are missing with the lack-of App Store access.

Where do you think these "serious developers" come from. Do they grow on trees?
Not having a free and current development environment is hurting an important starting point in the programmers vita - the entry!

 

[ntrigue]

I know that they probably HAD to charge something. But the way I see it is if your app exceeds the capabilities of XCode 4 then you may charge more. If not, stop kidding yourself.

 

[NebulaClash]

Today I am truly ashamed of the MacRumors posters who are complaining about charging five bucks for a program that can enable people to make thousands of those five dollars back again. Yes, it used to be free. $5 is also free when you round it down! Unbelievable that people who love to slam Apple for everything under the sun are now whining because people who bought a laptop and pay monthly ISP charges and pay daily for coffee -- all at real cash money every day and month -- are now asked to pay a one-time $5.

You'd think Apple took your puppy out back and shot it.

Shame on all of you for showing such a lack of balance. May you complain about every last thing in your life that costs $5 or more, you hypocrites.

 

[jowie]

Wouldn't the $5 be a way to track and enforce a licence agreement. By making someone go through this process the licensed copy would be associated with a credit card and a person/organization. Apple doesn't want your $5; they want to know who's got the software.

Why not use $1? My guess is Apple lawyers thought it was too trivial? A buck isn't what it use to be. Did anyone read the license agreement yet?

I think what people have been saying about bandwidth makes perfect sense. 3GB download(ish) every time, not to mention all the bandwidth when they provide minor updates... That is a huge amount of gigses. They're happy to write it off when you're paying $99 a year, but otherwise it's a strain on their resources. So I'd also guess that when Lion comes out, it'll be on the disk for free.

 

[xStep]

Seriously, who are you to decide who's serious or not ? Again, this used to be free, the ADC paid program was never a requirement to write software, and now it's suddenly 5$.

Greed. The only reason.

It has been said a couple of times in this thread. The likely cause of the $5 charge is how Apple interprets Sarbanes–Oxley.

 

[jahala]

Every single member from devforums was very disappointed with the release.

What about the married members from devforums? The proportion of single to married members may be significant in determining how many were actually disappointed.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

Today I am truly ashamed of the MacRumors posters who are complaining about charging five bucks for a program that can enable people to make thousands of those five dollars back again. Yes, it used to be free. $5 is also free when you round it down! Unbelievable that people who love to slam Apple for everything under the sun are now whining because people who bought a laptop and pay monthly ISP charges and pay daily for coffee -- all at real cash money every day and month -- are now asked to either pay a one-time $5.

You'd think Apple took your puppy out back and shot it.

Shame on all of you for showing such a lack of balance. May you complain about every last thing in your life that costs $5 or more, you hypocrites.

Wouldn't this be bundled into the the 30% fee?

It has been said a couple of times in this thread. The likely cause of the $5 charge is how Apple interprets Sarbanes–Oxley.

They should look at other things than if SOX compliance is the excuse.

 

[iBug2]

Where do you think these "serious developers" come from. Do they grow on trees?
Not having a free and current development environment is hurting an important starting point in the programmers vita - the entry!

XCode 3 is still free and anyone can develop using XCode 3 for 10.6.

 

[greytmom]

my 16 year old little brother who doesn't have a job and could barely even be considered a newbie programmer set aside his lunch money today to buy xcode when he gets home.

Anybody whining about the price needs a reality check.

+ 1,000,000,000,000,000,004.99

 

[leman]

I believe that many here do not get the main point.

Its true, 5$ is not much for the IDE.

Still, there are lots of people that are not interested in the IDE at all. My research team (linguists) does a lots of statistics and we rely on the compiler to build a bunch of optimized open-source tools. So far, the only reasonable way to get the compiler was to install the free Xcode. Installing the vanilla GCC on Mac is a horrible mess, because Apple uses a highly modified version thereof. Am I supposed to tell to my colleagues that they have to pay Apple 5$ to get the new compiler? This is simply ridiculous!

At least they should provide a free developer tools package (without the IDE), which includes the latest compilers. True, you can get the Xcode 3 with GCC for free. But, it seems that Clang is the future of the mac platform and there is currently no way to get the Apple-customized version for free. This is absurd and unheard of. Even on windows the base developer toolset (compiler, linker etc.) are free!

 

[Carniphage]

Uh no offense but Visual Studio cannot be compared to Xcode. Xcode isn't even half what visual studio is. Developing in visual studio is so much easier to use to develop software than xcode.

I have used both. To me the biggest difference is Cocoa vs MFC. The IDE's seem pretty similar in terms of productivity.

If Visual Studio was *genuinely* 20 times more productive than XCode, wouldn't we see more innovative and more functional Windows software being developed?

C.

 

[iBug2]

I believe that many here do not get the main point.

Its true, 5$ is not much for the IDE.

Still, there are lots of people that are not interested in the IDE at all. My research team (linguists) does a lots of statistics and we rely on the compiler to build a bunch of optimized open-source tools. So far, the only reasonable way to get the compiler was to install the free Xcode. Installing the vanilla GCC on Mac is a horrible mess, because Apple uses a highly modified version thereof. Am I supposed to tell to my colleagues that they have to pay Apple 5$ to get the new compiler? This is simply ridiculous!

At least they should provide a free developer tools package (without the IDE), which includes the latest compilers. True, you can get the Xcode 3 with GCC for free. But, it seems that Clang is the future of the mac platform and there is currently no way to get the Apple-customized version for free. This is absurd and unheard of. Even on windows the base developer toolset (compiler, linker etc.) are free!

GCC is not updated in XCode 4. It's still version 4.2, so you can keep using the gcc that comes with XCode 3.

 

[pika2000]

$499 for an iPad: "OMG that's cheap I'm lining up right now!"
$5 for a developer software: "What a rip off Apple is greedy @#%#@!



I bet these people are the same people that bitch how 99c for a song is so expensive while paying $2-$3 for bottled water is not. What they will become? Oh I know, they will bitch about paying $10 for their monthly heart medication that keeping them alive, while they don't mind spending $$$ per day for Starbucks coffee.

 

[uwbadger]

This is basically what I thought when I read this story. Any serious Mac developer would get this free as they are part of the paid ADC.

I am not knocking those who don't pay and are "serious developers", but I do hope you are seeing the big opportunity you are missing with the lack-of App Store access.

Some serious developers have no need for paid ADC or the App Store. We're not all writing applications that are available to the general public.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

I have used both. To me the biggest difference is Cocoa vs MFC. The IDE's seem pretty similar in terms of productivity.

If Visual Studio was *genuinely* 20 times more productive than XCode, wouldn't we see more innovative and more functional Windows software being developed?

C.

We do. The problem is its not in an App Store... its usually sitting hidden on a Server running things such as App Stores.

 

[NebulaClash]

Its true, 5$ is not much for the IDE.

.
.
.
Am I supposed to tell to my colleagues that they have to pay Apple 5$ to get the new compiler? This is simply ridiculous!

Do you not see the disconnect between your two statements?

 

[iBug2]

Some serious developers have no need for paid ADC or the App Store. We're not all writing applications that are available to the general public.

And you suddenly need XCode 4 and can't use XCode 3 anymore?

 

[KnightWRX]

It has been said a couple of times in this thread. The likely cause of the $5 charge is how Apple interprets Sarbanes–Oxley.

And is that a new requirement ? Because otherwise, why was Xcode 3 free before. And is that a requirement that only applies to Apple, otherwise why can other companies still give away software free of charge ?

Or is that just the big excuse Apple throws out ?

Anyway, I'll keep working on my iOS app and maybe I'll get to release it someday. Xcode 3 is plenty fine, I don't need Interface Builder at all (thank god, because the current concepts of Xcode <-> IB are a mess).