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iPhone SDK in Beta Only? More 3G iPhone Predictions...

What the heck you guys. You're already getting all over Apple's case because of this RUMOR. This is a rumor folks... don't start Apple bashing until Steve Jobs gives the word next week. Why can't you all be a little more optimistic and just wait until the 6th to start bashing Apple about what they did or did not do.

It's stupid that we let rumors hype us all up and then when the real product or announcement happens... we get all let down because it didn't live up to the expected rumored claims. It's sad really.

So until it's for real... stop complaining for nothing. You're literally complaining about something that hasn't happened. It's like when my Mom yells at me for something that she thinks is GOING to happen but, hasn't happened yet.... it's just annoying.
 
I honestly don't see what's taking so long, when the hacker community has already got applications working...

The only thing I can think of is that they're having trouble with the vetting process, but that can wait - they should get the actual programmer tools out first...
 
A beta SDK will be just fine!

A beta SDK will be just fine, kids! Ya know, Apple has a bunch of apps on the iPhone that they wrote with something much, much rougher than whatever beta SDK we will get. We will be able to write lots of great, solid stuff with it.

Calling an SDK final is a very serious thing. Software development tools have to be very solid indeed. If a compiler is messed up even slightly, all programs written with it can be messed up. But don't worry, my guess is we will see a huge flood of quality software, commercial AND free, very soon after this thing gets into developers hands.
 
You do have to realize that there's really no such thinig as a "done" SDK. (Except maybe a dead one that few use or care about). Developing an SDK is an iterative process; APIs change over time, behavior of the APIs change over time, etc.

It's really a matter of stability: How much will a program I write today need to be changed in order to run correctly the next time the SDK or OS is revised? When you call an SDK a beta, you're telling the developers that they'll probably need to make a bunch of changes.

Normally, the "beta" label would slow down developers--generally they'll avoid using a beta SDK unless they really need to get a jump on using it. But there is so much interest in developing for the iPhone/touch platform, I think developers will be all over this SDK, beta or not.

So I think we'll see a lot of apps and soon.

And really, the first release of an SDK for a new platform would essentially be a beta, no matter what they called it. There's just no way to create a fully formed, complete SDK without a lot of feedback from real-world developers and the only way to get that is to release it.

The beta label, by itself, doesn't bother me. I am a little worried that they'll call it a beta, but it will actually be more of an alpha--with significant functionallity missing.
 
Apple's fixin' to piss off a whole bunch of people if there is no SDK with this announcment. At least give us something we can walk away with that we can use to start development.

If there is no SDK this qurater then you can all kiss you quarterly earnings estimates goodbye.
 
hueyproductions said:
Ugh. I was looking forward to hearing announcements of apps I could add starting next week. What does this mean, we won't have apps until June?? Do you really think there's that much of a delay???
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Can't really write Apple compliant apps till you get your hands on the shipping ( not beta ) SDK. Then you need testing and distribution in place. So most likely end of the year for really stable apps it seems. If this delay is true.
 
daveschroeder said:
People who think this should have just happened overnight have no idea just how much work goes into something like this. Making a third party software environment that is reliable, consistent, supportable, and secure takes a lot more work that the (admittedly impressive) work that the hacking/hobbyist community has done. If only I had a nickel for every time my Treo 700p crashed or was utterly hosed or unstable because of one garbage app or another. Certainly Apple could adopt the free-for-all model, but Apple prefers a, shall we say, more "refined" experience when it comes to consumer products, especially for its first foray into a major new marketplace. And that necessarily includes the iTunes selection and syncing paradigm.

The comments above (and the couple below this, and probably about 99% of the rest in this thread) typify the reaction by those who have literally no idea just how much work goes into developing such an initiative. I wouldn't go so far as to say "ignorant" or "completely unable to see the big picture beyond what new little icon they'll have on their phone", but close. Apple is taking baby steps here, and an SDK allowing third party development is a massive undertaking if you want to have an element of control over the process, and the beautiful integration people have come to expect, overall, from Apple products.
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A-frickin'-men.

EyeMyke said:
If it's that much of an issue, which I realize it is, SJobs should NOT have set expectations for February.
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Are you kidding me? Not only are there "a lot of moving pieces", but you have unexpected developments. He didn't "set expectations" so much as setting a goal. It's called leadership.

I'm in the same boat thinking, "Beta Only"? --And wondering why the hell "only" needs to be in there. Moreover, "Beta" is not traditionally used for "bare bones" releases. That's "alpha". "Beta" refers to a product that is "feature complete" (with minor exceptions), but may not be completely "stable". Whatever "stage" the SDK is at, I'm sure Apple engineers are working their ASSES off to make it really GOOD, and not simply "functional" or "perfunctory". Not to be any type of apologist, but people can't seem to make up their minds. They want to know when Apple's internal target dates are (and they get them, subject to change), they want to have software NOW (but like 1.1.3 complaints show, do not want software that hasn't received enough vigorous testing), and they want Apple to be more forthcoming with information (yet they don't tolerate updates to this information).

Bah. Welcome to the real world.

~ CB
 
TheSpaz said:
...It's stupid that we let rumors hype us all up and then when the real product or announcement happens... we get all let down because it didn't live up to the expected rumored claims.....
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Well put. That's what I always say and I fell victim to this rumor and fired off a post all halk-cocked. Errrr! Damn you MRs!!!!
 
hob said:
I honestly don't see what's taking so long, when the hacker community has already got applications working...

The only thing I can think of is that they're having trouble with the vetting process, but that can wait - they should get the actual programmer tools out first...
Click to expand...

The hacker community has also turned out some really nice stable programs too. And those programs all allow for updates and reliability.
Please, comparing the developers rate at a company with credibility and stock holders at risk is absurd.
Hackers also pirated copies of Vista and Leopard long before they came out. I am sure those copies were widely adopted because of their stability, and the fact they were bug free, right?
 
They have been leading us on the whole time they knew it wouldn't be ready. Now we'll wait until June.
 
*sigh*

Why does everyone always jump to the conclusions on things like this? Seriously, about half the 'net seems to need to switch to decaf these days.

If Apple release a beta SDK on the 6th of March then they have indeed got the SDK into developer hands (almost) on schedule. Most software environments go through multiple revisions over their lifetime and this will be no different. If this is what happens then we should be applauding Apple for being honest about the state of its product, most other companies would have been content to release it as 'version 1' with version 2 (i.e. the actual release version) coming along in the summer.

Now, leaving that aside, the lack of a 'release' SDK does NOT mean that there will be no apps until the summer. If the rumours about Lotus E-mail basically being done and ready to go are correct this would suggest that certain software houses, dare I say Enterprise software houses, have had a sneak peak at the SDK. We've already seen Apple test their software delivery mechanism with the $20 iPod Touch software update (which, by the way, was a very well aimed kick in the balls, thanks :apple: :mad:).

Personally, I'd say sit back, relax and wait until the 6th but don't expect miracles.
 
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I heard that Steves personal iPhone is pimped out with nine pages of new SDKs!
 
kingjr3 said:
It's the MacRUMORS culture - if you don't want to read the fired up/hyped up rants and raves, I'd suggest you avoid this site like the plague.
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It's just that some people are reacting as if this RUMOR is true. They're pissed off before anything has even happened, and then they get these rumors in their head and when Apple doesn't meet the rumored deadlines... we all get outraged... it just doesn't make much sense. I'm taking this rumor as if it's a rumor... I'm not giving my hopes up but, I'm not holding my breath either.
 
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RickJames69 said:
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I heard that Steves personal iPhone is pimped out with nine pages of new SDKs!
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or should I say SDK developed apps
 
ibwb said:
Steve never said how many developers... if some major partners have the SDK and are working with it, then the "plan" could have been delivered already.

And a "beta" release certainly counts as having it in the hands of developers. While the toys that people could hammer out over a weekend may be fun, the real utility will be when developers have some months to build serious major applications. That could never have been February.
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That's spot on. I'm sure we'll see applications from major players (i.e. Facebook, EA, IBM) next week, Steve will seed the SDK Beta, with a final release promised for WWDC. The SDK will probably be awesome, very open, satisfying developers, and in the end, life is like a box of chocolates.
 
TheSpaz said:
It's just that some people are reacting as if this RUMOR is true. They're pissed off before anything has even happened, and then they get these rumors in their head and when Apple doesn't meet the rumored deadlines... we all get outraged... it just doesn't make much sense. I'm taking this rumor as if it's a rumor... I'm not giving my hopes up but, I'm not holding my breath either.
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Yeah, the same happens when mythical products are rumored too. People get all excited, then outraged when its not true! It's a vicious cycle! Probably not good for some people's tickers... :)
 
TheSpaz said:
So until it's for real... stop complaining for nothing. You're literally complaining about something that hasn't happened. It's like when my Mom yells at me for something that she thinks is GOING to happen but, hasn't happened yet.... it's just annoying.
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I don't understand comments like these. This is a RUMOR Site. If we were interested in commenting on things after they were announced we would be content going to a macnews site. People come here for whatever reason to discuss/rage at things that may happen. It might not make sense as human behavior but thats the core purpose of the site. So these rants of things that may or may not happen are part and parcel of it which is probably why you don't see the moderators deleting posts like those. Sure some extreme reactions are weird but hey thats just people being people.
 
Peter's Syndrome at Apple?

This is the most stupid thing I ever listen in the Apple story. What does this means? "...those who have literally no idea just how much work goes into developing such an initiative...You have NO IDEA how many people are working on this, and how high a priority this is for Apple." Are you mad or playing the poor and innocent guy? Why Apple promise something they can't fulfill? People know there is a lot of work at Cupertino but want more, and this is completely fair, because they have in hands a wonderful product that does much more than Apple wanted. And this is an insult to all clients. Look at the open source community! Look at Google Android! See what jailbreak have done to the iPhone and iPod touch users! Be honest, man! Apple have a Peter's Syndrome at the moment. Hard work? Of course they have hard work! But now it really seems Apple don't know how to surpass open source community. A high priority for Apple? Don't joke on me, please. More. Apple don't even know how to ship iPhone worldwide (in the wile, 3G is another joke). And systematically is deceptive, lazy and brutally expensive.
Work more and satisfy the clients is the only thing you should do. No more insults and excuses, please.
 
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what time zone is this post in? The time looks way off.
 
daveschroeder said:
People who think this should have just happened overnight have no idea just how much work goes into something like this. Making a third party software environment that is reliable, consistent, supportable, and secure takes a lot more work that the (admittedly impressive) work that the hacking/hobbyist community has done. If only I had a nickel for every time my Treo 700p crashed or was utterly hosed or unstable because of one garbage app or another. Certainly Apple could adopt the free-for-all model, but Apple prefers a, shall we say, more "refined" experience when it comes to consumer products, especially for its first foray into a major new marketplace. And that necessarily includes the iTunes selection and syncing paradigm.

The comments above (and the couple below this, and probably about 99% of the rest in this thread) typify the reaction by those who have literally no idea just how much work goes into developing such an initiative. I wouldn't go so far as to say "ignorant" or "completely unable to see the big picture beyond what new little icon they'll have on their phone", but close. Apple is taking baby steps here, and an SDK allowing third party development is a massive undertaking if you want to have an element of control over the process, and the beautiful integration people have come to expect, overall, from Apple products.

"What's going on in Cupertino?" Please. You have NO IDEA how many people are working on this, and how high a priority this is for Apple.
Click to expand...

It is not an issue of difficulty it is a problem of telling us that it will be done in Feburary and then having to wait months later. I am a software developer I know this stuff is not as easy as it seems on paper... But if you say Febuary in January that normally means that things are nearly wrapped up all the major problems have been overcome, and all that is left is some minor tweeks and improvements. Granted the small stuff is often the hardest to fix. But when you say you are in the last month or two on a project of that size. I would assume that there are just some polishing issues left... Replace the bouble sort with a quick sort, kinda things.
 
I'm beginning to lose my trust in Apple honestly. Falling stock prices, overpriced tariffs for iPhone, iPhone rollout slow, Apple TV Take 2 delayed, no 3G iPhone and all those delays and all. Apple really has to do something WAUW now to make me happy again:(

If this is true, I'm pissed. But I'll take it as a rumor untill March 6th.
 
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