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Why are the dev team still volunteers?

Mr. Chewbacca

Mr. Chewbacca

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 27, 2010
892
92
Dallas TX
I appreciate what they have done and donated via pay pal but I am starting to get a little annoyed. I have well over 70.00 in cydia tweaks on my phone and now it's looking like were going to see 4.2 come and go followed by 4.3. How much longer before Apple stops supporting 4.1? We can't stay there forever.

Why is this still being done by unpaid volunteers? Millions of phones are jail broken and I assume it's safe to say a good adv would be at least 20.00 each in tweaks. This is a real multi million dollar business.

My point is not that the dev team isn't awesome. They are and I am thankful for what they do. I'm annoyed because the developers that have made some of the more expensive tweaks like lockinfo and miwi dont seem to be stepping up to the plate

I used to check cydia all the time for new tweaks. Now I don't want to buy any more till I know I will actually be able to use them. Why are the developers not contracting full time engineers to get it done?

<< this post was written in haste. I apologize for the tone of the post and have learned more background information since posting it. It was not my intention to offend. I was angry at a perceived lack of support for the dev-team >>
 
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Basically because the dev-team are in it for the challenge. The fact that you have $70 invested into Cydia apps is quite irrelevant for their goals, I would think.
 
OK DEVTEAM. STOP MESSING AROUND. EVEN THOUGH CYDIA IS REALLY NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU WE KNOW YOU HAVE SOMEHOW EARNED MILLIONZ OF DOLLARZ FROM IT. WE DEMAND YOU CONTRACT A TEAM OF $50k SOFTWARE ENGINEERS IMMEADIATELY. SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS. I HAVE 70 BUCKS RIDING ON THIS.
 
Why can't saurik employ them?
Pay them a wage
Hire a hitman for geohot
Charge everyone to jailbreak, say $10
No more twitter updates just real deadlines and releases.

Everyones happy then.
 
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Mr. Chewbacca said:
Why is this still being done by unpaid volunteers? Millions of phones are jail broken and I assume it's safe to say a good adv would be at least 20.00 each in tweaks. This is a real multi million dollar business now and it should be run like one.
Click to expand...

Ok, so you start this multi-million dollar business. What happens when the first paying customer has a bricked iPhone and takes you to court? What happens when Apple figures out that there is a million dollar business and asks its lawyers to look at exactly what you are doing?
 
Mr. Chewbacca said:
I appreciate what they have done and donated via pay pal but I am starting to get a little annoyed.
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I thought the dev team doesn't take donation. Who did you donate it to?

ZilogZ80 said:
OK DEVTEAM. STOP MESSING AROUND. EVEN THOUGH CYDIA IS REALLY NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU WE KNOW YOU HAVE SOMEHOW EARNED MILLIONZ OF DOLLARZ FROM IT. WE DEMAND YOU CONTRACT A TEAM OF $50k SOFTWARE ENGINEERS IMMEADIATELY. SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS. I HAVE 70 BUCKS RIDING ON THIS.
Click to expand...

WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING? IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY PROOF THEN KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.
 
gngan said:
why are you shouting? If you don't have any proof then keep your mouth shut.
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don't tell me to shut my mouth. If devteam do not release 4.2 untether jailbreak right now i am going to sue them. I am calling judge judy right now. I am gonna tell them about you as well. I have rights as a consumer. This is all beyond a joke now.
 
ZilogZ80 said:
don't tell me to shut my mouth. If devteam do not release 4.2 untether jailbreak right now i am going to sue them. I am calling judge judy right now. I am gonna tell them about you as well. I have rights as a consumer. This is all beyond a joke now.
Click to expand...

I'll represent you! I'm not a hack lawyer. Get it?
 
localboy28 said:
Why can't saurik employ them?
Pay them a wage
Hire a hitman for geohot
Charge everyone to jailbreak, say $10
No more twitter updates just real deadlines and releases.

Everyones happy then.
Click to expand...
I really like the last two.

WhatAmI said:
macrumors Demi-God MY ASS
Click to expand...
What exactly is 'Demi-God' status? It sure isn't 400 posts...

gnasher729 said:
Ok, so you start this multi-million dollar business. What happens when the first paying customer has a bricked iPhone and takes you to court? What happens when Apple figures out that there is a million dollar business and asks its lawyers to look at exactly what you are doing?
Click to expand...
Well, if you're in a 'business' at all, you let your lawyers do the talking.

choice said:
inb4devteamfanboys
Click to expand...
I LOL'd out loud...
 
Hold on people, I am not angry about the Dev team, I love my jb phone and understand that at some point it may all end and appreciate what they have done. I think they should be getting more support.

What I am talking about is the companies like Intelliborn (my wi and my 3g) who are registered companies selling a product. They do have a financial interest in releasing a JB.


gnasher729 said:
Ok, so you start this multi-million dollar business. What happens when the first paying customer has a bricked iPhone and takes you to court? What happens when Apple figures out that there is a million dollar business and asks its lawyers to look at exactly what you are doing?
Click to expand...

That is a good point. I would assume that would already be a risk for developers now.


gngan said:
I thought the dev team doesn't take donation. Who did you donate it to?
Click to expand...

http://greenpois0n.com/

Under the linux button is a link to their paypal account.

For those that asked, Demi is not because you have a lot of experience or posts, its a fun title they give to people that contribute to the forum financially.


Again, I am sorry if I offended anyone, not my intention. I am just surprised that one is actually paying the dev team, in my opinion they are making a valuable product.
 
I think most of the members of the Dev Team have tweaks available on Cydia so thats one way they can make something from releasing jailbreaks. Like others have said, I also believe they do it for the challenge and fun of it.
 
Mr. Chewbacca said:
Again, I am sorry if I offended anyone, not my intention. I am just surprised that one is actually paying the dev team, in my opinion they are making a valuable product.
Click to expand...
Being serious for a moment, yes they are making a valuable product but it is obviously just a hobby for them. If they were to operate as a business I imagine it would drain all the fun out of their hobby. As has been mentioned, there would be (legitimate) pressure for deadlines to be met and of course the legal minefields would have to be navigated.
Not to mention that a lot of people jailbreak because they don't like paying for things. I don't see how they could put DRM on their jailbreak and stop it from being pirated unless all jailbreaks are only performed remotely on DevTeam servers (for a fee) and I don't think anyone wants that.
Just be grateful for what they are doing and hope that they continue to enjoy it & release more in the future.
 
ZilogZ80 said:
Being serious for a moment, yes they are making a valuable product but it is obviously just a hobby for them. If they were to operate as a business I imagine it would drain all the fun out of their hobby. As has been mentioned, there would be (legitimate) pressure for deadlines to be met and of course the legal minefields would have to be navigated.
Not to mention that a lot of people jailbreak because they don't like paying for things. I don't see how they could put DRM on their jailbreak and stop it from being pirated unless all jailbreaks are only performed remotely on DevTeam servers (for a fee) and I don't think anyone wants that.
Just be grateful for what they are doing and hope that they continue to enjoy it & release more in the future.
Click to expand...

Maybe I am overestimating how many tweaks are actually sold. I was looking at the whole thing as being a business now.

I wish their were a way for the dev team to be better compensated, of all the tweaks available the actual jb is the most valuable to me. I do appreciate them and understand little of how they are able to do what they do, it is very impressive.


gngan said:
Oh... you mean Chronic Dev Team. I always wait for http://blog.iphone-dev.org/ dev team because they are more reliable and don't take donation.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I did not know their was a difference. Donations to that link dont get to the dev team? I feel bad now. :eek: I wish they did accept donations but I guess their must be good reason why they dont.
 
Mr. Chewbacca said:
Maybe I am overestimating how many tweaks are actually sold. I was looking at the whole thing as being a business now.
Click to expand...
I was unable (unsurprisingly, perhaps) to find any actual figures with a quick google, but I think you are right with your assertion that a lot of Cydia apps are being sold and that it is in fact big business now.
This has nothing to do with the Dev Team though (excepting individual members who have their own apps for sale on Cydia).

You are also correct when you state that the jailbreak is the most important part but if they wanted donations they would ask for them.
 
Like many jailbreak related topics, this has been discussed before. :D

There are commercial enterprises, Cydia and biteSMS come to mind, that depend on jailbreaking for their products/services to function. If there's no jailbreak, for all intents and purposes, they go out of business.

If I owned one of these enterprises, I would not want to have to depend on a group of nameless volunteers supporting the code that makes my business possible.

Frankly, I think these enterprises like the current arrangement because they can always claim they are not involved at all in the jb process should Apple decide to throw it's weight around. They like keeping their distance from the jb activity but it's not a very good business model. IMO, something has to change because for most of us, waiting for the next jb is an inconvenience. For enterprises that depend on jb, it's lost revenue. Maybe Intelliborn sold out to Cydia at the peak of the market?
 
Thanks Mike. In retrospect my OP was poorly written and did not convey what I was trying to say very well.

I remember when rock sold they had well over 3 million in revenue. I can only assume Cydia makes more since they bought them out but none of us know how much they make since it's an llc they do not make their earnings public. I hope they make a lot! They earn it. The more they make the more they spend on developing tweaks, I like buying them. I hope that I will continue to be able to buy them.

When I first posted I did not know that the cronic dev team that did allow for donations was not the same dev team. I read the dev team page and they will not accept any payment. I also feel the donation link for greenp0ison is not out of line.
 
Mr. Chewbacca said:
When I first posted I did not know that the cronic dev team that did allow for donations was not the same dev team. I read the dev team page and they will not accept any payment. I also feel the donation link for greenp0ison is not out of line.
Click to expand...
I agree regarding the donations, if people produce a product or service, they should be paid for it. At one end of the scale, you have teams that do not accept any payment, at the other end are groups that charge for their products and in the middle, teams that accept donations. Similar situations and three different approaches. I wonder if their 'business model' was determined by how liable they wanted to be, either as individuals or as a business, in the event Apple came after them.
 
As a moderator of the DevTeam Blog I can assure you that very few of the actual DevTeam members have any hacks for sale in Cydia, take donations or realize any income from their jailbreaking activities (only comex, planetbeing and Saurik).

It's all done for fun and the challenge. If one begins charging for hacks/services then the consumer gains some "entitlements" once they pay for a hack.

I believe what has "protected" the DevTeam from Apple legal action is their "amateur" non-comercial status along with the fact that the DevTeam has a strict rule about not distributing copyrighted Apple code in their hacks.

And you cannot brick an iPhone (3G, 3GS iPhone4) short of sudden hardware failure.
 
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