Hello and Good news I think

[Ian Price]

I don't consider the Mac, iDevice etc. a tax. The license, maybe. Not the hardware itself.
And sometimes you just have to speculate to accumulate.

If you own a Mac previously and you are happy with it, you don't consider its price.
But I think is sad to have to buy a Mac *only* to make iPhone applications. If you pay a developer license to Apple, they would let you to choose your working tools.

I have already stated that HAVING to buy a Mac just to compile code for an iDevice is $#!+ (and I have said this numerous times), and as it happens I DID have to buy my Mac (and iDevice for that matter) to allow me to do this. Nobody is forcing you to develop for iDevice. You don't have to. But if you want to, unfortunately, you have to jump through Apple's hoops. The license as I see it is the only real tax, as that's sole purpose is for developing apps (which Apple ALSO takes a cut of). That is the REAL unfair part about this. The Mac and iDevice can be used for other things, not just devloping. The license is the tax, hence my posts.

Yes £1000 for the machines and license may sound expensive, but how many people here smoke? Or drink, or buy take-away meals? Pretty much everyone here I'm sure. Each of those items has a substantial value to them and once consumed (often very quickly) will leave nothing (except an empty wallet and a foul taste in the mouth ). The Mac and iDevice will still be there in years to come (hopefully). They are investments and used in the hope of accumulation for programming purposes.

And you don't have to spend £1000 - there are plenty of second hand devices available, bring that cost to less than half if you are lucky. Yes, that's still a lot of money for the initial outlay, but the returns could and should, over a period, be much more.

[Scott_AW]

That's what we call double dippin'.

Apple has always been a product targeting middle and upper class.  Sure they have some cheaper ipod and itouch variations but the systems have always been expensive.

From a developer's perspective its quite a turn off, especially if you're running on a tight to low budget.

The period of closed or limited development on their systems in the 90s and such didn't help either.  Software for Mac was far inferior to Windows based systems.  And only recently has Linux started to shine, which I think is great.

It's funny since I loved my Apple IIe back in the day because it could be easily used to make programs.

I guess it comes down to if you have the money to do it and want to take the risks involved.  There are a growing number of far more open systems coming out that are far cheaper to develop for.

Maybe sometime Apple may see this.

[Ian Price]

There are a growing number of far more open systems coming out that are far cheaper to develop for.

Maybe sometime Apple may see this.

Indeed.

[Kuron]

From a developer's perspective its quite a turn off, especially if you're running on a tight to low budget.

For a developer, the price should not be an issue as it would be a legitimate business expense (hence a tax deductible business expense) in many countries.

[Scott_AW]

I'm just frugal, I think Apples are excessively priced.  They generally have a fairly big markup, take the iPhone4 selling at 600 when the bill of parts has been around 300.  Now compare this to what handheld consoles and entertainment systems which have very little markup.

Both types of systems rely on users using services and purchasing apps/games after the system is purchased.

PS3 was ~$500 when it came out, because it cost close to that much to produce them.

[Kuron]

If anything, Apple has proven people are willing to pay almost anything just so they will not have to deal with Microsoft anymore.  IMHO, that is something you simply cannot put a price on.