After taking a couple of days to digest the Apple WWDC keynote, I have some initial thoughts I would like to share:
- The iPhone is exciting if not overhyped. It is estimated that over 50% of the 5200 attendees are here to learn about the iPhone.
- The dev environment for the iPhone is "elegant".
I'm going to throw a quote I got here in one of the sessions: "We want to make sharp scalpels rather than rusty Swiss Army knifes". This, in my opinion, is what separates the Apple products from all others. Yes, Google's Android can have the same look and feel as the iPhone (and is open source), but the tools for developers to get to that look and feel are primitive compared to what Apple is offering. Apple's dev environment is that precise, sharp scalpel. The open source equivalent is more akin to the rusty Swiss Army knife: what will take me 2 months to do with open source would only take me 2 weeks using Apple's toolset.
To the end users, the results are the same so many will argue that I should go with open source to avoiding being locked in. Well, as a craftsman I can't agree to this argument. Consider: wood artisans like good tools. Given a choice between Lee Valley and Wallmart, they will call the choice a no-brainer: Lee Valley all the way. It is true that Wallmart's generic tools are cheaper, but that is of little importance to the true craftsman. I doubt that wood artisans would call themselves "locked in" to Lee Valley. They just really like to use what Lee Valley has to offer.
I see programming much like this: yes, I can go with free, but would rather go with the higher quality dev environment which enables me to get my job done faster, easier, and with better quality. It makes me shine as a contractor and reduces the costs to my customers.
With the iPhone SDK, I do not have to spend weeks investigating all of the options available to me and can instead focus in on the product I am trying to produce. I have one place to get support from without all of the abuse the open source forums garner (I've given up on using forums because of this). Apple's App Store means I also don't have to spend a couple of weeks working out an ecommerce, packaging, and licensing solution (assuming I am trying to actually make money rather than just working for free). Now, if I am working for free or doing something to educate, them it is open source all the way.
Yup, Apple has won me over as a fan of their new iPhone SDK. Does it show?