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I'm pissed off at Microsoft for how they're treating Win Phone developers

6 points by valdiorn ↗ HN
I knew they would not let me publish and distribute Windows Phone 8 apps through ANY other distribution channel other than their store, but I thought to myself "okay, I can at least build some concept apps and see if I want to publish them later" ... but now, it turns out you have to pay for a developer account, just to register your phone to be able to test your software on it.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windowsphone/develop/ff769508(v=vs.105).aspx

That's right. You need to register your device with an active developer account, (and for no reason other than being evil and greedy, they limit the number of devices to three. So expect to pay double if you want to test on a variety of devices and form factors).

Are people just OK with this? Am I crazy for thinking this is crazy? How many hobbyists are going to pay for the privilege of developing for Microsoft's new walled garden Shouldn't it be the other way round, or at least they provide you with a development toolchain for free, since they seem so desperate to get apps for the platform?

I know $99 isn't a lot of money, but it's not the sum that bothers me, it's the fact that there IS a sum. Also, it's annual, so stop paying, and your app vanishes forever. I'm a hobbyist and I mostly develop for Windows desktop, where I provide all my software free of charge and open source.

HackerNews, what's your opinion on this? Will you be pouring your own money into Microsoft's pockets for the privilege of supporting their product?

PS: I know they have a super-special deal on developer accounts this week, but I won't even pay the $8 they're asking.

http://blogs.windows.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/archive/2012/10/30/announcing-the-new-windows-phone-8-developer-platform.aspx

12 comments

[ 7.2 ms ] story [ 42.4 ms ] thread
brackin
What's even worse is that they announced their new SDK in June and haven't given it to developers until today, they have devices releasing in days.
wmf
"Good" developers have had the SDK for months. IIRC they didn't want to leak some WinPho8 features via the SDK.
bediger4000
Wow! By what method does Microsoft determine who gets, and who does not get, the SDK? Do they usually pick winners in these sorts of contests?
wmf
Focusing your developer relations budget on partners who can add value to the platform has been going on for, oh, thirty years or so. Basically any top iOS/Android app developer can get some love from MS and the top top developers will get paid to port to Windows.
wtracy
Not that I have any love for MS, but is any of this really worse than what Apple does?
heelhook
No. But I have trouble connecting the dots here. Why Apple doing that makes Microsoft have to do the same thing? If anything I see a wasted opportunity to (even if only marginally) lure developers in, don't you think?
OafTobark
I don't think its luring anybody. I think its money (to be made).
valdiorn
No worse, but it's not like Apple is a beacon of morality either.
pedalpete
I think they are just following Apple's lead on this. I couldn't get my app on my ipad for testing until I registered with Apple developer for a signature.

I think there should be multiple tiers. As a hobbyist, or somebody who just wants to check-out the platform and play on their own devices, you shouldn't have to pay.

I hope they don't charge a separate fee for Windows 8 (non-phone).

The 3 device limit is definitely not enough. I think Apple limits you to 100, but I'm not entirely sure.

brianchu
Apple does limit you to 100 test devices. Enterprise accounts have an unlimited number of devices ($299/year).
ProblemFactory
Apple gets away with it because they launched the SDK a year after the first iPhone, by which time it was extremely popular. Developers wanted to jump on the coolest platform at the time with millions of users, so a $99 fee wasn't too bad.

Microsoft doesn't have that luxury, as it's struggling to attract both users and developers. Discouraging hobbyists, students, and curious developers from just testing it out for fun is a terrible idea.

jankins
Most of the Windows 8 stuff -- including this policy -- makes Microsoft look like a Johnny-come-lately, taking Apple's lead, with the only difference (though it's a pretty big one) being that their two operating system paradigms bleed into each other. The policy you mention is the exact policy Apple has if you want to deploy to any iOS device, except with Apple you can provision up to 100 devices per year on your account.

I assume a big reason would be that Microsoft wants to make sure people can only obtain Windows Phone 8 apps through their store, and if it were possible to install an app on your device without a developer account, or if it were free to do so (and therefore more anonymous), pirating apps would be an easier task. But that's only a conjecture.

On iOS I've come to accept this kind of policy as an acceptable tradeoff for what the ecosystem provides.