Rogue Amoeba Becomes Latest Developer To Quit App Store In Frustration
11:24 am, November 13th, 2009, Ed Sutherland
Rogue Amoeba becomes the latest developer to quit the App Store in frustration over Apple’s lengthy review process. The developer “no longer has any plans for additional iPhone applications, and updates to our existing iPhone applications will likely be rare,” according to a Friday blog post.
On Thursday, Joe Hewitt, developer of the iPhone Facebook app, announced he’ll stop developing for the iPhone out of a “philosophical opposition” to the reviews. Like Hewitt, Rogue Amoeba developer Paul Kafasis told App Store customers the Cupertino, Calif. company was “acting as a gatekeeper” and preventing developers from getting software to users.
Kafasis said Apple took four months to approve a bug fix of the developer’s popular Airfoil Speakers Touch app which lets iPhone or iPod touch owners send audio from a YouTube clip out through speakers. Apple initially balked because the app used “Apple-owned Graphic Symbols” in its navigation. The developer charged Apple’s review process included “slow replies, delays and dithering.”
“All the while, our buggy and supposedly infringing version, was still available. There’s no other word for that but ‘broken,’ wrote Kafasis.
Kafasis said he’ll now focus on developing software for the Mac.
[Via 9to5Mac, iClarified and Rogue Amoeba Blog]
Posted by Ed Sutherland in News | Comment on this article
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Oh man, I love Airfoil speakers. I bought their Airfoil Mac app just for the iPhone integration.
theguycalledtom, on November 13th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Divas clamoring for attention. qq more
eikonklast, on November 13th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Great guys..No updates. Frak your custumers for some press. Give me my money back please!
Look, on November 13th, 2009 at 11:58 am
@eikonklast
Totally agree with your comment. Im sure a lot of these developers are ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ in saying they are leaving, and as a result are getting publicity from major Tech blogs, but at the same time, the App Store has a lot of problems with the review process, and needs to go through a major change if its to continue to keep big developers with their platform.
Andrew Macdonald, on November 13th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
oh no …. if all the whinny bitches take their toys and go home, there are only going to be 999,987 developers left.
d.lete, on November 13th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Everytime one of these whiny developers makes a statement to the press, they get free publicity!! They get much more attention for their whining, than their original application ever could on it’s own! STOP pandering to these folks!!
Good riddance!! And watch for the loundly slamming door behind you!!
Macuser, on November 13th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Boo Hoo, the classes are too hard, I’m dropping out of college!!
When a developer complains about the Apple approval process and threatens to quit, it’s nearly the same thing.
Mike, on November 13th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Jesus wept. I weep for them too. They deserve our sympathies. Never before has it been possible for even a lone programmer to sell his creations to the world with no sales, marketing, packaging, delivery or accounting hassles.
God, Apple is so unkind and unprofessional.
I knew people like Hewitt et al when I was kid in London. We played football in the park after school. If the game did not go the way they wanted they would always, without fail, protest/cry about it and demand to take their ball back and go home.
Going bck even further, we may recall the babies who threw their toys out of their prams if they did not get all the attention they wanted right when they wanted it.
Boo hoo.
You will never know how good it is for witless people like you.
Go elsewhere and get ignored or, better still, screwed by the operator.
chano, on November 13th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Heaven forbid that Apple might want to protect the iPhones resources and make sure that no one is hogging them or distributing something illegal/illicit.
I get so tired of people complaining about the process. Maybe Apple should follow Microsoft’s lead in the mobile marketplace… it worked out so well for them.
*eyeroll*
Conrad, on November 13th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
All of the people wishing ill to the developers as they leave will be happiest when nothing is left in the store.
Only developers who give a damn would feel this level of frustration and leave because of it.
I take it that Apple is golden and shares no responsibility in this. Apple can do no wrong in some peoples eyes.
John, on November 13th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Look, Macuser and others,
Make your own app and wait 4 months for approval, then scream here that these developers just want publicity… They had their publicity in the App Store. When I have to wait for the BibleReader 4.09 update 5 weeks – is it normal?! Now several v.4.10 are submitted to Apple, but all 4.09 versions still ain’t no approved. Is that normal?! So – if the bug fix takes 4 months, this really isn’t acceptable.
Guntis, on November 13th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I like Rogue Amoeba, it is a good company, makes some great apps and I had nothing but good experience with their products and their customer service. If they say the Apple is sour than I believe them, I am sure this decision wasn’t made easy. I hope Apple gets their act together so competent developers like Rogue Amoeba stay on board.
nichtkomisch, on November 13th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Rogue Amoeba, shame on you for using tech blogs as free publicity!! If you can’t play, go home, but don’t cry about it! There are plenty of other willing developers to keep the shelves stocked, so to speak.
Gather yourself and dig your trench, if you are in for the long haul. Or just shut up and go develop Android apps!!
If you really are as good as you think you are, folks will find and purchase your apps, when and if they eventually become approved by Apple.
Howard, on November 13th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Notice that this attention-seeking prima donas is going to quit developing for Apple. Kafasis intends to have his cake and eat it, too.
Apple should eject this non-conforming app from the App Store considering that Kafasis is refusing to improve it.
Interloper, on November 13th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Correction: Notice that this attention-seeking prima dona is NOT going to quit developing for Apple. Kafasis intends to have his cake and eat it, too.
Interloper, on November 13th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
well lets face it these guys are going to have lots of problems all their app focus on going around APIs and there limitations. This makes it really hard for them to make iPhone apps as APIs must be respected here.
That said it easy to see which developers are having the worst time with the iPhone. Those code in their own world and don’t understand or care for human interface guidelines will spend a lot of time tripping over themselves. Sorry but in the Apple world just making it work isn’t good enough, you have to make it work the way the user expects a mac/iPhone app to work which means following the guidelines.
Don’t have a cow every-time there is a glitch in the process Apple has had to review 100,000 apps each one with multiple revisions. I would bet there have been over 500,000 submissions to the app store expect a few to get caught in the works.
And don’t be so delusional. Steve Jobs isn’t spending his time to personally destroy your app. Apple doesn’t give a crap either way about your silly little app as long as it doesn’t damage the iPhone experience.
TRRosen, on November 14th, 2009 at 4:06 am
I can’t believe how reactionary some of you are. Without good developers the iPhone is a shadow of itself. RA make some very nice apps so don’t bite their heads off just because they’re fed up. Most of the apps in the store are useless crap. We need more developers that actually make quality apps so when one leaves development it’s a loss to the platform and not to be scoffed at in my opinion. There is tons of money to be made via the iphone so if a dev leaves you better believe they have good reason to do so beyond being “prima donnas”. Gimme a break.
Camperton, on November 14th, 2009 at 4:48 am
Personally, I’m GLAD that Apple takes four months to approve a simple bug fix. They put us, their customers, FIRST!
iGenius, on November 15th, 2009 at 10:12 am
To all people calling Rogue Amoeba “whiny” or “attention seeking”, develop your own bloody app for the iPhone, find a bug which causes your userbase distress and then wait for four months or more just trying to fix it while your users complain about the bug and douchebags like this lot call you “whiny”.
I’m an Apple user and I’m ashamed by the lot of you.
Jake, on November 15th, 2009 at 6:53 pm