Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Cydia ruined by Cydia store?

8

8767092

Cancelled
Original poster
Oct 28, 2007
1,288
58
I've had an iPhone since the first day they were out in 2007. The first days of jailbreaking were really interesting just because it was necessary to get the basics for your phone. Remember ApolloIM and similar apps?

Those days weren't filled with $4.99 $9.99 $1.99 jailbreak applications. They were free, buggy, and great. It just seems like these days that every little additional tweak requires $1.99 extra.

Take something like 3G Unrestrictor, Infinifolder, or itether. They're all very useful in their own ways, but all they do is remove an existing restriction for $1.99 - $2.99. In the original days, these programs would be free, but now the authors think a basic tweak is worth $2.
 
8767092 said:
Those days weren't filled with $4.99 $9.99 $1.99 jailbreak applications. They were free, buggy, and great. It just seems like these days that every little additional tweak requires $1.99 extra.

Take something like 3G Unrestrictor, Infinifolder, or itether. They're all very useful in their own ways, but all they do is remove an existing restriction for $1.99 - $2.99. In the original days, these programs would be free, but now the authors think a basic tweak is worth $2.
Click to expand...

You do need to understand that these packages take time to conceptualize, code, test, and prepare for release. Then they have to be supported. And have bugs fixed. And develop new releases. Sure, the developers should do all of that for free. :rolleyes:

Then you need to decide how much these packages are worth to you. If you don't think the have any value, don't buy them. You don't think that these developers should have the gall to charge for their labor? Vote with your wallet. But you are dead wrong.

S-
 
Devs put time into making tweaks. And more importantly, as long as people are willing to pay $X, then Devs will charge up to and including $X.

I don't think it's ruining Cydia at all, if anything it has given incentive to devs to create something which they know won't be accepted by Apple's App's store. Ergo, develop for the Cydia store. If the store did not exist then many devs who have made really useful things would not have made the cydia tweaks that are so useful.
 
8767092 said:
I've had an iPhone since the first day they were out in 2007. The first days of jailbreaking were really interesting just because it was necessary to get the basics for your phone. Remember ApolloIM and similar apps?

Those days weren't filled with $4.99 $9.99 $1.99 jailbreak applications. They were free, buggy, and great. It just seems like these days that every little additional tweak requires $1.99 extra.

Take something like 3G Unrestrictor, Infinifolder, or itether. They're all very useful in their own ways, but all they do is remove an existing restriction for $1.99 - $2.99. In the original days, these programs would be free, but now the authors think a basic tweak is worth $2.
Click to expand...

Yeah I don't understand it either. I thought they do it in their free time, which means everything they do in this time is supposed to be free for the enduser. Outrageous!
 
The question was not whether developers should be able to charge; of course they should. The question is whether this has harmed or altered the essence of what and why people JB there phones. I believe that it has.

Basically I agree with OP. The Cydia store has "ruined" JB for me. Today Cydia is little more than an alternate store to what Apple moderates. JB used to be for people who like to tinker and play with new things. I'm not going to pay even a couple of dollars to poke around with an app just to see what it does like I did when it was free. If I am paying for an app I want better quality and support. What would have been a great experience with a slightly buggy tool, becomes a poor experience when I have to pay for it. I'm not going to spend time troubleshooting an app that I paid for; some joy is lost in that.

If a dev wants to charge, let them. But let's not pretend that the hobbyist hasn't lost something (beyond a few dollars from there wallet) from the wild-west days of Cydia.

Cydia is dead. Long live Cydia!

- For the record, I have bought and will continue to buy apps from Cydia.
 
mgamber said:
Do it yourself and give it away. Short of that you have nothing to say.
Click to expand...

Simple and to the point. :D

To OP:

Creator Of Product or Service - Has the right to charge whatever they want to.

Consumer Of Product Or Service - Has the right to buy, or not buy,
 
On the contrary, the Cydia store has been a great boon to the jailbreak community because it has allowed developers to be compensated for their work -- encouraging innovation, swelling the ranks of developers, and improving support.
 
The basic question OP asked was:
Is Cydia better or worse after integrating a store?

And nearly every response was essentially saying that developers should be paid and no further inquiry into the subject is wanted.

While I agree that applications have financial value, It does not answer the original question: is Cydia better or worse after integrating a store?
I believe it is better for casual users who just want apps that work, but with Apple Store's relaxing policies, Cydia is providing less value over time.

On the other hand Cydia has lost a sense of community.
Before, there would be long threads with users helping developers to reproduce errors and helping other users to work through issues. These communities are breaking down with the Cydia store. Users are less interested in helping and simply point to developers telling him to fix the app. With a paid model, users are no longer invited to be a part of the process and instead just consume.

Obviously there is no going back. This is what progress looks like and the end users have no really say. But I think it is important to recognize what has been lost. As is stands, Cydia is now just another app store falling under a growing shadow of Apple.

It's not about the money. If I could pay a monthly subscription to the Cydia community and have access to all of the apps, I would do that.
 
8767092 said:
I've had an iPhone since the first day they were out in 2007. The first days of jailbreaking were really interesting just because it was necessary to get the basics for your phone. Remember ApolloIM and similar apps?

Those days weren't filled with $4.99 $9.99 $1.99 jailbreak applications. They were free, buggy, and great. It just seems like these days that every little additional tweak requires $1.99 extra.

Take something like 3G Unrestrictor, Infinifolder, or itether. They're all very useful in their own ways, but all they do is remove an existing restriction for $1.99 - $2.99. In the original days, these programs would be free, but now the authors think a basic tweak is worth $2.
Click to expand...

Then it seems you missed the 1.1.3 and 1.1.4 days of the iPhone. In those days, some apps started to be paid, not among the $1.99 or $2.99, but along the $19.99 and $14.99 range.

3G Unrestrictor has a free cousin. Give that a try and then see if 3G Unrestrictor suits you. I for one, would pay $2.99 again for it; it is that WORTH it.
 
just get the paid apps cracked (cydia), flame all you want i dont care im enjoying my apps for free suckers.
 
jer9542 said:
just get the paid apps cracked (cydia), flame all you want i dont care im enjoying my apps for free suckers. (use xxxxxxxxxxx.com as source)
Click to expand...

Besides the fact that it's against the macrumors rules, telling everyone how to get cracked apps is against your own self interest since developers will stop developing if everyone steals their apps.

Don't worry though, there'll always be enough 'suckers' to support the freeloaders. Remember that if you ever rely on the 'suckers' to support your family when you actually have a job.
 
I know it's controversial, but it's to bad GreenPois0n could not really block Installous.
 
err404 said:
I know it's controversial, but it's to bad GreenPois0n could not really block Installous.
Click to expand...

Not really, I said it once, and I'll say it again I am Jailbreaking to get out of Apples Restrictions, it doesn't make sense to me to get into a another jail after that.
 
err404 said:
On the other hand Cydia has lost a sense of community.
Before, there would be long threads with users helping developers to reproduce errors and helping other users to work through issues. These communities are breaking down with the Cydia store. Users are less interested in helping and simply point to developers telling him to fix the app. With a paid model, users are no longer invited to be a part of the process and instead just consume.
Click to expand...

Some of that is up to the developer though. See the Slanted Lock thread here, for example; there was plenty of user testing and feedback going on there in the development stages. And there seems to be at least some of that going on over on other boards.

Another example: there's certainly an active group of users helping to test and improve the latest BiteSMS release. Charging even a relatively "large" amount for a program doesn't mean you lose out on having a decent number of loyalists who are happy to help if it will improve the overall experience.

But they have to know their help will be welcomed.

A lot of devs would rather work alone. I was in IT for longer than some on this board have been alive, and frankly I met more of the loner types than the ones who'd want their end users to take part in the overall process. Guess I don't see how you can blame that on Cydia's store!
 
IrishVixen said:
Guess I don't see how you can blame that on Cydia's store!
Click to expand...

Blame is a stronger word then I would use. It's really just the evolution from hobby to professional. The Cydia Store brings a more professional aura to JB that in turn brings higher user expectations. Cydia and its app feel more like a business. I don't interact with a business the same way I do with a community.
If I buy and app I expect it work. If it doesn't, I don't want to spend my time helping to fix it; I just want my money back.
From a hobbyist perspective, I find Cydia less interesting today than it has been in the past, even while it's more useful as a consumer.
 
8767092 said:
I've had an iPhone since the first day they were out in 2007. The first days of jailbreaking were really interesting just because it was necessary to get the basics for your phone. Remember ApolloIM and similar apps?

Those days weren't filled with $4.99 $9.99 $1.99 jailbreak applications. They were free, buggy, and great. It just seems like these days that every little additional tweak requires $1.99 extra.

Take something like 3G Unrestrictor, Infinifolder, or itether. They're all very useful in their own ways, but all they do is remove an existing restriction for $1.99 - $2.99. In the original days, these programs would be free, but now the authors think a basic tweak is worth $2.
Click to expand...


Somebody call the waaaambulance. Devs won't work for free?!?!?!?!?!?

Its not like they're real people who need money.
 
err404 said:
Blame is a stronger word then I would use. It's really just the evolution from hobby to professional. The Cydia Store brings a more professional aura to JB that in turn brings higher user expectations. Cydia and its app feel more like a business. I don't interact with a business the same way I do with a community.
If I buy and app I expect it work. If it doesn't, I don't want to spend my time helping to fix it; I just want my money back.
From a hobbyist perspective, I find Cydia less interesting today than it has been in the past, even while it's more useful as a consumer.
Click to expand...

Whilst I sympathsise with this sentiment, returning the original premise of whether the Cydia store has hurt Cydia or not, I still cannot fathom why Cydia has been hurt. Yes it is true that there is a shift towards a business model, but the rewards associated with this have been great. As has been pointed out by several, me included, without the financial reward there would be far fewer (or at least far slower) developments taking place on Cydia.

If it is more useful, and I don't see a distinction between it being useful as a consumer or hobbyist, then it can hardly be said that Cydia has been 'damaged'.

The professionalism that is now a part of Cydia is a good thing, it is why the App Store has flourished, and it is why Cydia is flourishing -- most people don't want everlasting Betas, and if we have to pay for something which actually works, that's better than spending hours on end talking to a Dev trying to reproduce a bug that appears for you but no one else. The market model means that buggy software dies if it is not fixed quickly. This, I think, is a good thing. Weeds out the 'crap'.

Thus, I think the innovation that the store has encouraged, and the crap that has been filtered out by the introduction of the store has made Cydia better and not worse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back