> Big podcasters also apparently want Apple to insert itself as a financial intermediary to allow payment for podcasts within Apple’s app. We’ve seen how that goes. Trust me, podcasters, you don’t want that.
Is Marco referring to In-App purchases in apps and how it changed them? Or the book store, which I would find more compelling?
> We’ve seen how that goes. Trust me, podcasters, you don’t want that.
is a tossed off line referring to the travails of Marco and other developers who publicly complain about the app store. In particular:
Apple's 30% cut is probably the least significant but definitely not an insignificant concern.
More important would be the way Apple handles its role as a curator of content. The App Store doesn't sell every app which is submitted. Apps can be rejected for quality or for content. Should a podcast be rejected because it is a low fi unedited recording of two guys hanging out and talking into shitty microphones? Or because it contains adult content?
Perhaps most importantly is the App Store's notoriously bad relationship with developers. What qualifies as appropriate "content" and "quality" is not always clear, and Apple doesn't strictly follow its own guidelines. If your app is rejected it is basically impossible to appeal and often unclear how it needs to be changed to be accepted.
They ban things capriciously, they can't be reasoned with, hell they can't even be contacted unless you know somebody, they can't seem to devise a decent search mechanism to save their lives, the list goes on.
Is Marco referring to In-App purchases in apps and how it changed them? Or the book store, which I would find more compelling?