Words cannot describe how much I feel the iTunes App Store is broken. For every thing that’s right about it (the convenience, for one, and the ease of installing updates), the big problem, the huge problem that Apple has decided to put someone’s great-grandma (both slow and a prude) in charge of deciding what gets in. Not only does this cancel out the benefits, it also makes the system fundamentally aggravating.
One way in which the App Store fails is in restricting updates (which must be approved according to Apple’s secretive schedule), and limiting the ability of the programmers to respond to customer comments. And is it just me, or are App Store commenters beginning to approach YouTube-levels of idiocy? For every one comment that has something useful to say about an application, there are typically a hundred where it appears that the user hit the caps lock key and registered his disgust by throwing random objects at the keyboard. I remember reading a one-star comment for a WiFi location app where the commenter declared it useless because what he really wanted was a program to crack wireless passwords. I can only imagine that he clicked send, then stared off into space, thinking yeah, how cool would thatmake him? Like, cooler than Neo with a lightsaber.
Ahem.
Regardless of whether I’m right or wrong about the fundamental flaws of the App Store process (and I’m right), here’s a perspective from a programmer about his frustrations, and the culture that Apple is creating among its users:
But my favorite part of this whole experience is that there’s no way for me to respond to reviews as the app creator. So I can’t go in and say, “Hey, by the way, version 1.3 fixes all this and we’re just waiting on Apple’s ridiculously slow and convoluted approval process!” I just sit by and watch.
I’m far more likely to get 15 one-star reviews when something goes wrong than I am to get 15 five-star reviews when everything goes right. Perhaps it’s just frustration speaking here, but when Apple ties my hands behind my back and lets users punch me publicly in the face without allowing me to at least respond back, it’s hard to get excited about building an app.
Read [Maniacle Rage] Via [Daring Fireball]
poor baby…I feel for you