
The idea ain't the hard part. One writer finds out hard it is to create an app - DuncanKinney
http://www.unlimitedmagazine.com/2011/08/how-to-create-an-iphone-app/
======
zachrose
Spoiler: At no point in the story does the author download Xcode.

~~~
wccrawford
Haha, I thought you meant he just paid someone else to do it... No, so much
worse. He didn't even -try-.

His app could have had a working version on the store in 2 weeks, if he'd
really tried. It would benefit from further work, but would have proved his
point.

Instead, he got dazzled by how much work the -best- apps take and gave up.
It's like looking at a guitar and realizing how much work it takes to become a
rockstar, and just giving up before you've even picked the thing up.

Most people aren't rockstars, and most apps don't hit #1 on -any- list.

~~~
MatthewPhillips
No, a non-programmer cannot create an iPhone app in 2 weeks, even a really bad
one. You've been programming too long.

~~~
gojomo
I interpreted 'If [reporter] really tried' in the grandparent post to mean,
"if reporter earnestly sought out and hired an expert".

Of course, the know-how for doing that takes time to develop as well.

But, if this reporter's real goal was getting an app done, rather than writing
a story, she probably would have spoken to more people who had actually hired
devs for short projects. Instead, she seems to have spoken to just enough
people to get usable quotes for the story.

She never switches from the layperson's "invent" terminology (a misnomer for
the ideas-into-functions process of software development) and is only ever
hand-wavy about going rates for expert help. There is _someone_ out there who
has the expertise to make a simple version 1 of her app in 2 weeks or less;
how much does that person charge?

~~~
Wilduck
I noticed the use of the word "invent" as well. It kind of hurt to read the
first time. I thought after her first Google search she might realize that
there was a better word for it, and start searching for how to "create" or
"write" or "code" an iPhone application.

------
dreamdu5t
In the late 90's, people thought they could strike riches by throwing up a
webpage.

Today, people think they can strike riches by creating a mobile app.

Not much has changed.

------
StavrosK
25% to develop the app for the MEDL incubator? Is the other 75% for just
coming up with the idea, or also for launching, getting users, promoting, etc?

EDIT: Apparently they handle everything and you get 25% just for the idea. Not
bad.

~~~
wccrawford
I've had a few ideas that I'd gladly give up 75% of to have someone else do
them... If they do them properly.

~~~
nanijoe
I have a boatload of ideas that I would gladly give up for a 10% equity stake.

------
gte910h
The prices he quotes are WAY outsized. Low to Mid 5 figures will do a huge
proportion of apps that "People have an idea about" using US or Canadian
programmers. Some will go into 6 figures, but millions? Really? Not for most
ideas.

(This is what I do for a living, 3rd party app development).

------
DuncanKinney
Thanks for all the comments everyone. I was the editor who commissioned the
piece. To give some context the writer had about 12 days to write the article.
An impartial observer (not me obviously) might get the impression that the
people offering up advice here might need to take themselves a little less
seriously. Have a lovely day and thanks for reading and commenting.

~~~
drewcrawford
To give some context, most of the people on this site are professional
software developers. i.e., my full-time job is writing iPhone apps, so I've
been thinking about that process for the last 2-3 years.

For me personally, 75% of my working hours is spent talking to people who have
an app idea and don't have the funds to execute, and trying to separate those
from paying clients. If I could cut that number in half, I would literally be
twice as productive. It would be like adding 3 hours to every workday, or
producing an additional ten apps a year.

~~~
DuncanKinney
Fair enough. This is hackernews. I've passed the link to this comment thread
along to the writer and we'll slowly educate the client base, one at a time.

------
carols10cents
Should it (programming, creating an app, executing an idea) be this hard? Or
would that only lead to more fart apps and more disappointment later in the
process when the app doesn't hit it big?

~~~
Someone
I doubt it ever will become easy; the goalposts will keep moving.

For example, if, 20 or even 10 years ago, years ago, you built a webpage with
nothing but a textarea and a 'save' button that allows people to save a single
text per URL, you have a CMS that could have made you real money. Nowadays,
wikis must be more advanced than that.

Having said that, it is possible to lower the barriers. I think it would be
extremely cool and useful to have something HyperCard-like on iPad. I do not
think everyone's five minutes of work should be on the app store, though.

~~~
eru
Also think of spreadsheets. They allow normal people to write simple programs.

------
racketeer
text cache --
[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:rhOH__L...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:rhOH__LLQwwJ:www.unlimitedmagazine.com/2011/08/how-
to-create-an-iphone-app/+unlimitedmagazine+/2011/08/how-to-create-an-iphone-
app/&hl=en&gl=us&strip=1)

~~~
DuncanKinney
We're back up. Turns out hackernews can send quite a bit of traffic.

