
Save My House From Apple - madmaze
http://savemyhousefromapple.com/
======
VonLipwig
I sympathise with the developers plight and this is a reason why I haven't
wanted to get into App development. If your not battling people cloning your
games, you have a constant axe swinging above your head that the app store may
find fault with your App and remove it. You then have changing rules and
requirements in the App Store..

The thing that bugs me a bit though is how the developer is asking for money.
"Save my house." Its been 14 days since this revenue stream was compromised
and the guy is apparently in financial trouble. This doesn't sound like Apples
fault. This is a lack of financial planning.

I am by no means well off. I get by. My partner, my child and I were struck
down by a bad virus last month. For 3 weeks I couldn't work, I could just
about roll out of bed to get to the loo. I am a freelancer, I have no sick
pay, no payment protection etc. For 3 weeks I earned nothing. My family is on
a budget for the next month but we are fine. We have savings to get us through
3 months of joblessness.

If 14 days of near zero income pushes you over the edge and risks you loosing
your house then you probably need a career change. That or its time to spend
less and save more. For many profession's this isn't possible. Some people
need several jobs to make ends meet. However, for a _I expect_ fairly talented
developer there are plenty of jobs and opportunites to get you on the right
track.

~~~
csomar
As someone making a living from an App Store (though not Apples one), 14 days
are enough to turn your emergency alarms. You need to know that

1- You get paid a month later. (and apparently, he is not going to for
January) 2- If that's your dependable income, you'll need 3-4 months until you
find a job or figure out a different revenue stream.

So if he is not getting paid for January, that's already 2 months of non-pay.
But I agree on the lack of financial planning. Before jumping (and dropping
from college) into this market (small products + freelancing), I saved 1 full
year of expenses. Yes, you read it right, 1 full year.

My first aim is to guarantee the next year spendings. It's 70% done now (my
year began on September, though). After that, I can spend/invest/save or
whatever.

~~~
VonLipwig
This site is good because it pokes Apple into action. However this seems like
a temporary problem. It was pulled because of a problem on Apples end. There
are a lot of companies who want an app in the app store or help with
something. Its not difficult to find a temp job for a couple of weeks to tide
you over.

Obviously it isn't ideal but you do what you have to do to keep going. If your
revenue stream dries up you contact Apple to try to reestablish it. How long
does that take? Maybe 1 email and 2 phone calls a day. Lets be generous and
say this takes an hour each day. That then leaves 7 hours of thumb twiddling.

I have been in similar situations and have just nabbed a job on Guru. Its
horrible BUT it brings in that little bit of money to keep the lights on until
more work comes in.

~~~
csomar
_Its horrible BUT it brings in that little bit of money to keep the lights on
until more work comes in._

I agree on it's horrible, but I don't agree that it brings money. You are very
likely to land a $500 job that takes over 80 or 100 hours of work, and the
buyer may end up rating you badly or not paying you.

------
petercooper
This is the same Apple that plans for GateKeeper to check a certificate server
for blacklisted apps and developers in OS X 10.8.

Imagine not even being in the App Store and your app's mainstream customers
with default settings seeing a scary warning message because your certificate
was accidentally blacklisted. Coming to the HN front page later this year..?
:-)

Orienting your business around the ecosystem of a corporation with an itchy
trigger finger is a tricky game of dice.

~~~
robomartin
This isn't just an Apple problem. There's a disturbing trend here. All of the
dominant internet companies exhibit this kind of nonsensical "evil" behavior:
Google, eBay, Apple and Paypal, to name the most salient examples.

Way back when, Microsoft was openly painted by Apple (and the Apple cult
followers) as being evil. Interestingly enough, Microsoft never sought to have
this kind of a death grip on its users, at least not by force. And, I've never
heard of MS killing-off someone's revenue stream like that. You buy their
tools and develop for the platform. They don't have a say at all. That's the
way it should be.

Somehow a united front needs to be organized and presented to these companies
in order for them to understand that they are causing serious damage.

To say that, as entrepreneurs, businessmen and developers we don't want to see
the tech landscape develop and evolve in this manner is probably an
understatement.

I wonder if CNBC might be interested in doing a documentary on the damage to
small businesses and entrepreneurs done by the likes of Google, Apple, eBay
and Paypal? That could be an interesting angle.

~~~
rickmb
The repeated comparison with Microsoft's "former" evil lacks perspective.
Microsoft aimed higher and sought to pretty much own the entire ecosystem _and
everything in it_. You don't need to kill of someone's revenue stream if
you've taken said someone out of the equation entirely.

The painful difference is, where Microsoft actively aimed for the big game,
leaving most smaller businesses to do as they please as long as they stayed
small, the automated systems build to control rather than own the ecosystem
(i.e. app stores) hurt everyone equally.

This leads to painful stories about big evil Apple/Google/eBay hurting the
little guy. It sucks, it's a very worrying trend and I agree we should be
pushing back.

But it's still nowhere near as "evil" as MS former dominance, when the options
were a) build for Windows and get killed by MS if you become to big, or b)...
Oh wait, there was no other option.

~~~
bad_user

         But it's still nowhere near as "evil" as
         MS former dominance
    

This argument comes up a lot but I just don't see it.

In regards to the death of such companies like Netscape or Borland, you cannot
put the blame on Microsoft's evilness. Sorry but you cannot. These companies
completely fucked up their products. If they kept working and improving
instead of fucking up their products, Borland would still sell developer tools
and Netscape would still make serious money with their browser.

Also, take a look at Adobe. This company is not only big and old, but it
thrived in a Microsoft-dominated world with products that directly competed
with Microsoft's own products.

Now do a small exercise, take the effects of present-day Apple and scale that
to a 90% market-share.

~~~
efsavage
Yes, there seems to be some disconnect between Microsft killing off
competition and said competition simply being worse. Not to say that there
weren't smaller companies with good products that were pushed out by some
intentional decisions on Microsoft's part, but the headline examples always
rung a bit hollow for me.

IE > Netscape

Visual Studio > anything by Borland

Excel > Lotus

Word > Wordperfect

~~~
gaius
People forget, because it's seen as "hip" to hate on it now, but when IE6 was
released, it really was a better browser than the competition.

What killed Netscape was that version 3.0 of their server products were
terrible. At the time I was working for a company that had spent millions on
version 2. It was easier to jump platforms than to try to get 3 stable for
us...

~~~
JackC
Dude, people don't hate IE6 because it's hip, we hate it because it has wasted
hours and hours and hours of time for each and every one of us who design for
the web, and the websites you use are worse as a result.

Maybe IE6 was better than the competition in 2001, but it was also terribly
buggy and non-standards-compliant, encouraged developers to include Windows-
only components that made it impossible for users to change browsers or even
upgrade, and then _wasn't upgraded for 5 years._ Five _years._ And they did it
that way not by accident or incompetence, but because they knew before anyone
else that the web was a competitor, and they wanted to screw it up as much as
possible.

Hate hate hate IE6 and be proud of it. Microsoft has a lot of karma to make
up.

~~~
efsavage
Yes, but from when IE4 came out (1997) until late 2004 when Firefox came out,
IE was the undisputed best browser (yes I'm ignoring Opera as we always have).
That was 7 very long years of getting people to upgrade to IE from NN4.

------
kenneth_reitz
Apple did this to me too, without explanation. They've owed me $13,860 for
over a year now.

You're 100% at their mercy.

~~~
madmaze
We should start a poll to see how common this is

~~~
madmaze
though after looking im not sure how to do so

~~~
someone13
You need a certain amount of karma to make polls. Not sure how much - but it's
more than 465, which is what I have.

~~~
timerickson
You only need 20 karma to make polls.

------
evanlong
Sounds like really poor personal finances. An individual should have at least
6 months to a year of savings so a 2-4 week outage is really no dent at all to
your well being.

~~~
dmazin
Ah, so I'm guessing you understand this guy's situation entirely, allowing you
to comment on his personal finances without sounding like a jackass.
Otherwise, you wouldn't have posted, right?

~~~
evanlong
"Apple removed my software (how I pay the bills) from the Mac App Store"

"We've lost nearly half a month of income (so far) due to this and there is
also some question as to when we might hope to see payment from Apple for the
previous month's (January) software sales. It looks like that may not happen
any time soon. (This isn't the only case where Apple has hurt people who do
things right lately.)"

So the individual hasn't seen a check for 2 months. We are a nation that loves
to buy more than we can afford. Why should I feel sorry and bail someone out
for making poor choices prior to this two month period of suckiness handed
down by Apple?

I am taking it as an opportunity to remind people. That rainy days happen. And
it's best if you plan in advance. However, we as a society would rather buy a
brand new iPad 3 instead of put money in the bank.

~~~
drivebyacct2
In my opinion it's even more irresponsible to not have such savings when
you're raising a family. Maybe they had some big medical expenses but to be in
such dire straits after 2 months is indicative of some poor planning either
way.

------
swang
Why isn't there a Developer Relations department at Apple to handle problems
like this? Apple has made billions upon billions of dollars because developers
have decided it was the best environment to make money and they put their
weight behind iOS/Apple, yet somehow stuff like this drops through the cracks.

I mean am I really going to feel safe quitting my job to make iOS/Mac apps if
Apple can just cut off my revenue stream without recourse? This is an easy
problem for Apple to fix and it'll cost them somewhere down the line where
someone with the next big app decides not to chance it because he's heard that
Apple may just dump you and not give any reasons why.

~~~
azov
Because they don't have to. Because they can screw you as much as they like,
and you will still be developing for their platform, buying their hardware,
paying for their developer program, etc. Because you have no choice - they are
a monopoly in mobile space, and you can't just ignore them (while they can
ignore you). Because by not being their customer you're hurting yourself more
then them.

Basically, because they can.

~~~
rbarooah
Except that they do.

------
noisebleed
Somewhat tangental, but this is the second post I've seen here recently that
plays up the ".. and this happened on my birthday!" angle ( this being the
first: <http://lunduke.com/?p=2206> ).

I'm extremely sympathetic to anyone who's struggling, but seriously, why
should a birthday matter in this context? You can debate Apple's app store
policy, but should they be expected to factor in stuff like birthdays when
they enforce it? It just seems like a cheap pity play that, for me at least,
undermines whatever point is being made.

~~~
ojilles
That looks like the same guy?

~~~
socialist_coder
This seems shady to me.

I have apps on the iOS store as well (just like many of you) so I am aware of
the emails you get from Apple telling you that your Apple developer account is
going to expire. I have never heard of another developer having a problem with
renewing their credentials. If there was an actual bug, I don't doubt more
developers would be affected.

Honestly, I bet he forgot to renew, his apps got pulled, and now he's
scrambling to cover his losses.

~~~
madjo
He renewed in time, it was Apple that made the mistake.

"Three days later I was able to get a response from Apple that verified this
was, indeed, a problem with their internal software and that there was nothing
I could do about it." Quoth the article.

------
oleganza
AppStore is not the only way to sell the software. And I don't get why instead
of asking for donation he didn't put a "buy button" right there, on the story
page?

I'd rather buy his stuff than simply donate him money. This way it would be
better for both of us.

Instead he asks for money "for free" and does not provide a direct link to buy
his app. This looks really strange.

~~~
jasonlotito
"Everyone who donates will receive a free copy of my video game (2299 : THE
GAME) and my visual app development tool (Illumination Software Creator). Both
run on Linux, Windows and Mac. I'll also throw in the first two issues of my
comic book (Road-Sign Hank)."

------
SeoxyS
I donated some cash because I feel bad, but I hope you've learnt your lesson:
Do not base your entire livelyhood at the mercy of anybody but yourself, and
especially not a huge corporation.

This also goes for anybody who takes out a mortgage they can't afford. Don't
ever get any debt or create any expenses you will no longer be able to pay if
you got fired tomorrow.

~~~
gfodor
Let's be honest here: is not a startup based upon putting your entire
livelihood at the mercy of a few small actors? That first customer, that first
investor, that first employee, that first acquisition offer? Of course, we
take measures to try to minimize the impact any one party, deal, or decision
has on our overall success, but the fact is that there are often choke points
in building a business or company where you do have to put all your eggs in
one or two baskets. Not sure if that's the case here, but it's certainly not a
hard and fast rule that you _always_ have to avoid taking "all-in" risks.
(Though maybe that's more the case if you have a family to feed and
insufficient savings to avoid the fall...)

~~~
SeoxyS
Starting a startup is like going to Vegas: you absolutely need to give
yourself a limit before hand of how much you're willing to lose, stick to it,
and go in expecting to lose it.

If you have a family to feed and a mortgage to pay, you should not work at a
startup.

One of the reasons why we've had this latest recessions is because consumers
have been financially irresponsable, taking out mortgages they can't afford,
relying 100% on their salary for income and having no backup plan.

If I were to lose my job tomorrow, I would be fine for the most part. I'd
probably have to move out and get a cheaper apartment, but I'd be fine. I'm
not shackled to a mortgage and have no debt of any kind. I'm working towards
success, but I'm ready for whatever life decides to throw my way.

------
neebz
I know the job market sucks but I've been to many countries and if there's one
industry with tons of demand and limited supply; it's software development.

it's hard for me to accept that an iPhone developer is down to live on
donations in the current job climate.

------
eridius
Apple provides a free storefront for Mac apps. It is by no means the only way
to purchase Mac apps. A glitch occurs that removes a piece of software from
the free Apple-provided storefront.

...

I'm having a really hard time figuring out the part here where Apple is some
evil entity depriving a developer of their livelihood. Sure, this sucks, but
it's not like nobody can buy your software. There's plenty of Mac software out
there that isn't even on the Mac app store to begin with, so I'm having a hard
time figuring out why this developer is having such a huge problem that he
needs to resort to begging for donations.

------
suresk
That sucks, and I hope you get things sorted out. My apps are just for extra
cash, but I'd still be pretty upset if I were in your situation.

Unfortunately, this highlights the drawbacks of relying on a third-party for
all of your income, especially when the relationship is one-sided. Apple's App
Store is an incredible opportunity for a lot of developers, but for the vast
majority, Apple has very little accountability to you.

This is no different than the people who build a business around AdSense, only
to be terminated and receive the silent treatment at some point - which itself
is nothing new, as this has been going on with affiliate programs since I got
involved with them in the mid-90's. If I've learned one thing, it's this:
Don't ever build your company around another company unless you have a really
good personal relationship with them or a strong, fair contract.

------
leephillips
They've screwed you again: your donation slider doesn't work on the iPhone.
Best of luck to you.

~~~
Yaggo
Just FYI, iOS happily supports <input type=range>.

------
rbanffy
What bothers me is the apparent lack of accountability. Apple pulls an app off
the app store any time under rules so complicated and vague this power becomes
completely discretionary. Or does it by mistake. I'd like to see the process
Apple uses to ensure a rogue censor will not remove an app from the store
because they don't like it, its publisher or got paid by a competitor.

The worst part is that Apple isn't even the worst offender around.

------
michaelhoffman
I'm amazed anyone decides to develop for the Apple app stores. This is not the
first time this sort of thing has happened, by a long shot. Due diligence
means not putting all your eggs in the Apple basket.

------
narad
You are using Paypal for donations. There have been many horror stories on HN
about people doing a donation drive and getting accounts closed by Paypal
citing ToS.

~~~
mahyarm
But isn't he 'selling' something (software) in return for those 'donations'?

~~~
freehunter
From what happened to a game developer in the past (can't remember the name,
it was some isometric zombie game), even though the dev was "selling" the
game, the button said "donate" and he wasn't a non-profit, so all the money
got frozen.

Actually thinking about it, that may have been Google Checkout, but the point
still remains.

------
jiggy2011
I think stuff like this is one of the reasons that there aren't many serious
big ticket apps on the store (at ones that aren't also available elsewhere).

If I were to develop for iPhone there is no way I would invest serious R&D
time and money into something with the risk that this could happen. More
likely I'd just build a bunch of $1-5 apps and have them suddenly flatlining
either because of this or user apathy factored into my plans.

I wouldn't trust the arbitrary mercies of any large corporation to put food on
my (hypothetical) kid's table.

------
micahflee
I wonder if he's planning on figuring out how to make money from software
sales in a way that doesn't involve Apple. They're total asshats when it comes
to things like this.

------
AndyKelley
Note that if you donate money to this guy, you're indirectly encouraging
apple's behaviour.

------
cageface
The writing is on the wall. The smart way to make money in the app stores is
consulting for somebody else.

------
Valdemar
And this is why app-stores with single-sided and super-rigid rules are a BAD
thing. They operate as a black box, with you having NO way of knowing why,
how, if, when or what is going to happen. This is why Chrome store, Windows
Store and the App store and all the others are just bad for business (in
general). If they decide they don't like it, then you're fucked!

You just DON'T trust a single entity to handle all your sales and finances
while they have ABSOLUTE power to terminate their service any time they want.
Have a backup, sell it on your own web site.. oh no you can't because this is
Apple...

------
lignuist
I have two Macs, two iPhones, an iPad and some Apple Software and I enjoyed
them. Also I told my Father to buy Apple products (since I'm the one who tells
him how his computer works). I saw Apple getting more and more ridiculous over
the last few years (there are hundreds of stories), so here is my conclusion:

Getting more money makes them more evil. That's it for me. I'm not going to
buy any Apple products again. I was using a lot of OSS tools, so switching to
Linux should be easy.

My Advice to software developers is:

Try to make cross-platform software. You are giving such companies much less
power this way.

------
ekianjo
A typical example of putting all your eggs in the same basket. When you are an
app developper, distributing your software in different platforms/means would
probably reduce the risk of that happening.

------
calydon
I wish I could blame my own impoverishment (and consequently my family's) on
anything other than my own foolishness but I can't, so I donated. The money's
probably safer with him anyway.

------
devgutt
I feel sorry for his family, but rely exclusively in apple store, or whatever
store, is insane. Actually, the all idea of stores is, IMHO, a bad idea,
because who control the app's relevance is not the user, and this is very
wrong in a market. My 2 cents.

------
RyanMcGreal
Obligatory:
[http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/07/12/WebsThePla...](http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/07/12/WebsThePlace)

------
Praveens
Done mate!! I do agree with the pains one has to undergo developing for the
itunes store and more so when the glitch on their part directly affects you.

------
seejay
Oh wow! This is Bryan from the Linux Action show.

------
andreipop
Best of luck

------
choros12
That's the thing I don't understand. Why some developers are so prone to the
naive following the latest fashion... I mean really.

Look, why to spend any time writing software that might be just killed
overnight by a big faceless corporation? The same Apple Fan Boys who hate
Adobe Flash because it is "closed" and not html5 "standard" as were told by
their guru are at the very same time so heavily invested in Apple Corp closed
eco-system that is just so much worse than anything that Adobe does.

I just don't get it.

~~~
SomeCallMeTim
> I just don't get it.

I've read that, in order to get the #1 slot in "top grossing" for iOS apps,
you need to be earning between $40k-$100k per day.

The publisher I'm working with has been sitting on an app that's been in the
top 5 grossing for 5-6 months.

Follow the money...

~~~
choros12
sure, then write Flash people make $$$ on Flash too.

