Manton and Daniel talk about Google’s new, straightforward 15% fee structure for App Store sales, and how it shines a light on the sharp edges of Apple’s Small Business Program. They talk about the unfair aspects of Apple’s plan, and how Apple might feel pressure to improve it. Will they? Finally, they talk about whether Apple can and should decouple the costs of running the App Store from the payments made by customers to developers.
No sponsor this week! Please consider sponsoring us, or asking your employer to do so.
Links:
- Google Undercuts Apple – Ars Technica on Google’s new 15% developer commission for revenues under $1M.
- How I Got Rejected – Sean Harding shares his tale of being denied admission to Apple’s Small Business Program.
- Stratechery – Ben Thompson’s email newsletter.
- A 95% Cut – 9to5Mac on Micrsoft’s policy, announced last year, to take only 5% from some App Store sales.
- Where Apple Went Wrong – Manton’s 2011 post about Apple’s attitude toward free apps.
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March 19, 2021 at 12:26 am.
Daniel and Manton talk about Basecamp’s new Hey World blogging service, based on their email service. They think about the merits of attempting to leverage marketing exposure by interfacing with other products or services that have a larger audience, talk about trying to “fill the void” in popular services’ offering, and striving to get a good amount of PR without necessarily “going viral.”
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March 12, 2021 at 9:03 pm.
Manton asks Daniel about his first week back on the job full-time at Red Sweater. They talk about Daniel’s recent work on FastScripts and whether he should revise its freemium business model. Finally, they talk about an Arizona bill that would impose new requirements about the limits companies like Google and Apple can apply on App Store sales.
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March 5, 2021 at 8:29 pm.
Daniel talks with Manton about the thrill of being self-employed again, and about the merit of seizing on that possibly-fleeting enthusiasm. Manton talks about coming out of his own micro-slump with Micro.blog, and celebrates recent news that Ulysses will support Micro.blog. They both look forward to being more aggressive in marketing their apps in the coming weeks and months.
No sponsor this week! Please consider sponsoring us, or asking your employer to do so.
Links:
- Beta Ulysses 22 – The popular text editor announces beta support for Micro.blog.
- A Fresh Start – Daniel’s post announcing his return to full-time indie work.
- Almost Anger – Daniel tweets about the level of enthusiasm he is feeling.
- Episode 355: Stupidly Confident – A previous episode in which Daniel and Manton discuss Jared Sinclair’s business, among other things.
- Jared Sinclair – iOS developer who formerly made Unread and Riposte.
- Out-Heart the Competition – Daniel’s 2015 talk at NSConference in Leicester, UK.
- 512 Pixels – Stephen Hackett’s blog, which Daniel and Manton have both recently sponsored.
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February 27, 2021 at 3:23 am.
Manton updates Daniel on the state of things in Texas, where a disastrous winter storm has wreaked havoc. Switching gears back to tech, they point to confirmation of the vague problems Daniel recalled hearing about building apps on M1 Macs. Finally, they reconsider how and when they’re likely to spend the $500 DTK credits they are expecting.
No sponsor this week! Please consider sponsoring us, or asking your employer to do so.
Links:
- Winter Storm – Houston Chronicle weather page covering the impact of the storm.
- Signing Code on Apple Silicon – Quinn from Apple provides an overview of the problem and workaround for signing code for older versions of macOS.
- I’m Coping and Okay – Dan Rather tweets from the midst of Austin, TX during the winter storm.
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February 20, 2021 at 5:03 pm.
Daniel and Manton catch up on last week’s news from Apple that they will offer $500 instead of $200 to DTK leasers. They discuss the general state of Apple’s Developer Relations compared to other companies such as Microsoft, and challenge Apple to strive to outdo their competition. Finally, they compare notes about what they each plan to spend their respective $500 credits on.
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February 10, 2021 at 10:32 pm.
Daniel shares that he has resigned from his nearly-full-time contract in order to refocus on Red Sweater and “the indie software dream.” Also, Manton and Daniel react to Apple’s email warning that Developer Transition Kits will soon be called hom, and talk about Apple’s missed opportunity for better PR with developers.
Many thanks to our sponsor this week:
Links:
- Mixed in Key – The music-oriented software company Daniel is resigning from.
- Cocoa Job Opportunity – Job listing from Mixed in Key
- Silverpine Software – Software company run by long-time friend of the show Jonathan Hays, where Manton also works part-time.
- Two Weeks Notice – Manton’s 2015 blog post announcing his resignation from VitalSource, his former employer.
- I Didn’t Expect Anything – Daniel’s tweet reacting to people’s rage over Apple’s DTK return credit.
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February 7, 2021 at 5:05 pm.
Daniel and Manton reflect on the passing of Brad Cox, inventor of Objective-C, and the impact his work has had on Mac and iOS developers.
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January 29, 2021 at 9:27 pm.
Manton and Daniel briefly observe their personal feelings of relief after the US Presidential inauguration, while acknowledging that the past four years have not been all bad for most of us. They talk about Apple’s rumored VR headset, about how they may be too old and grumpy to see the promise of AR/VR, but that they are nonetheless eager to be proven wrong by whatever Apple is working on.
No sponsor this week! Please consider sponsoring us, or asking your employer to do so.
Links:
- Apple’s Headset – TechCrunch digests the rumor that Apple may have a new VR device in the works.
- Doing a Fine Job – Daniel’s previously pinned tweet.
- Macintosh Portable – A former Apple product that didn’t quite hit the sweet spot, size-wise.
- AR Dev Kit – Matthew Panzarino chimes in with a succinct observation.
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January 22, 2021 at 5:22 pm.
Daniel updates Manton on his ongoing quest to “tie up all the loose ends” in his software lineup, and questions whether perpetually tying up loose ends might be a form of procrastinating coming up with new ideas. Daniel talks about the strange situation he’s in with FastScripts in the Mac App Store, having been non-sandboxed from the beginning, and continuing to be that way. Finally, Daniel acknowledges that he may have to take FastScripts out of the Mac App Store because he wants to charge an upgrade fee for the forthcoming major update.
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January 16, 2021 at 4:03 pm.
