IOS 4.3 Now Available For Download

tekgoblin writes "Apple has just released iOS 4.3 for download from iTunes. The update from Apple includes enhancements to Apple Airplay, Safari, iPad side switch, and the Personal hotspot feature for the iPhone 4. I personally welcome the feature to make the 'mute button' on the iPad back into the screen orientation lock."

Comments

Re:The Apple Way

[Anonymous Coward]

My Android phone can be modified so I can have any button run any feature I want. I'll show you once I'm allowed to update it....

Xcode no longer free

[Anonymous Coward]

The bigger news today is that Apple has decided that developing for iOS or the Mac, without even submitting anything to their respective app stores, is now no longer free. Developers registered in the $99 iOS or Mac developer program get it as part of their subscription, but all others have to pay $4.99 now.

While $4.99 is chump change, it just seems like an odd thing to do and comes across as greedy. Seriously, they aren't going to make any significant amount of money from this, so why bother? I can't imagine what they were thinking. All it does is serve as yet another roadblock, albeit low-priced, to getting into the walled garden. I imagine a lot of young, aspiring developers will see this and look elsewhere instead. Maybe that's a good thing?

Re:Xcode no longer free

[hsmith]

Yet, Apple disallows developers from charging for updates.

Re:Xcode no longer free

[1729]

Jesus christ, it's just an IDE. You can still develop Mac apps with vim and gcc.

Without XCode? Getting a working toolchain on OS X without first installing XCode (which includes gcc and binutils) is non-trivial.

Re:Xcode no longer free

[Drakino]

$99 a year is if you want to release apps via the App Store and have access to beta versions of the OS, along with professional developer support. The $99 includes XCode 4.

$4.99 is an accounting charge due to financial reforms passed after the Enron mess. XCode 3.x comes free with every Mac, and 4.x will come free with Lion, as it's cost is built into the overall cost of the OS.

Re:Xcode no longer free

[Drakino]

And XCode 3.x is still free with any new Mac (required to run XCode anyhow). XCode 4 will return to free status when Lion ships. The $4.99 is simply an accounting fee due to Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002. Enough new features and functionality were added to XCode 4 to qualify it as a proper upgrade, and Apple hasn't been counting revenue from new Macs and OS X as "subscription" revenue needed to allow it to be released for free.

Re:Xcode no longer free

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

The bigger news today is that Apple has decided that developing for iOS or the Mac, without even submitting anything to their respective app stores, is now no longer free.

Umm, charging $5 for the latest version of the dev tools is not equivalent to charging all developers for the Mac platform. You can use the older version of Xcode for free or you can use dozens of other tool kits from other vendors and pay Apple nothing.

While $4.99 is chump change, it just seems like an odd thing to do and comes across as greedy.

It is the result of US accounting law. They can't give it away for free and claim it as part of the cost of OS X as they have been since there are too many new features in it to pass muster. So they charge a minimal fee until the next OS X release then claim it is also rolled into the price of that OS for new users.

Seriously, they aren't going to make any significant amount of money from this, so why bother?

I think I just answered this.

I imagine a lot of young, aspiring developers will see this and look elsewhere instead. Maybe that's a good thing?

I suppose it's possible, or they'll use Eclipse or the older version of Xcode or any number of other toolkits.

Re:Xcode no longer free

[Just Some Guy]

The $4.99 is simply an accounting fee due to Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002.

And that's simply a lie. Google gives away almost all of their services, Microsoft gives away versions of Visual Studio, Red Hat gives away darn near everything, but Apple has to charge for a completely optional download that a tiny percentage of users will want to use? Nope, I don't buy it for a second. Either Apple has the most incompetent accountants in the technology sector, or they're charging because they want to for whatever reason.

Re:Xcode no longer free

[Drakino]

It's not a lie, it's due to that act, and how Apple runs their books. Yes, all the companies you mentioned give things away for free, and so does Apple, depending on what it is. XCode is classified as part of the OS, a paid component that Apple either sells as a standalone disc for upgrades, or part of the price of a new Mac. If Microsoft claimed Visual Studio was part of Windows and distributed it with every version of Windows 7, then they would have to deal with how to account for a "free" upgrade from VS 2008 to VS2010. They could either claim VS 2010 is simply a bugfix release (not likely to hold up in courts if they were ever challenged on it), or defer the revenue recognition of Windows 7 over a period of time that covers when VS2010 was released. OS X is not a deferred revenue product for Apple, so they already recognized the income before XCode 4 came out. Accounting wise, they can't say that XCode 4 dev time (salary money, etc) was a cost component of the currently released version of OS X.

If you listen to financial reports from pretty much any major company, they report revenue in GAAP and non GAAP terms. GAAP tends to have all the "subscription" and deferred revenue crap, while non GAAP represents exactly what came in that precise quarter. If you want to read more on the details, refer to these Wikipedia articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_GAAP

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_recognition

Beyond understanding the basics, there are tons of articles out there that talk about how SOX impacted revenue recognition.

Re:Xcode no longer free

[Sandcastle]

How much is a new version of Internet Explorer?

Re:Xcode no longer free

[frinkster]

Jesus christ, it's just an IDE. You can still develop Mac apps with vim and gcc.

Without XCode? Getting a working toolchain on OS X without first installing XCode (which includes gcc and binutils) is non-trivial.

Apple released an updated version of XCode 3 today (3.2.6). Looking at the release notes, it includes the latest build tools as well as the updated SDK for developing iOS 4.3 apps. It also includes some updates/changes to the XCode 3 IDE.

Apple is charging the $5 for the fancy new IDE only. You still get everything else with the free download.

iOS not IOS

[SimmyD]

Title had me confused with Cisco's IOS. Can we use proper names next time (iOS)?

Re:iOS not IOS

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

Title had me confused with Cisco's IOS. Can we use proper names next time (iOS)?

How many people live with you in your cave?

Re:iOS not IOS

[deniable]

About 80% of the Internet.

Why I ultimately got an iPhone 4

[Anonymous Coward]

I didn't want to be dependent on AT&T and Samsung to push out an Android update and I didn't want to have to root my phone on day one.
I choose an iPhone 4 because for all it's suck Apple is in control of OS updates not AT&T.

Interesting Timing

[rock56501]

Seems a bit interesting that Apple releases iOS 4.3 and an update to Safari just hours before PWN2OWN kicks off at CanSecWest...

Time to jailbreak 3GS

[kirkb]

Usually, I'm quick to mod things (game consoles, etc), but for nearly two years I've stayed "legit" with my iPhone 3GS. I figured that as long as Apple gave me first-class features and updates, I'd stick with them.

I almost jailbroke when 4.2 came out because "find my phone" wasn't available (for free) on the 3GS, but luckily discovered a workaround to make it happen.
For 4.3, I was looking forward to the WiFi hotspot feature. But today, I discover that you only get this on the iPhone 4. The 3GS just keeps the same old USB and Bluetooth tethering, renamed to "personal hotspot".

I don't begrudge Apple for being unwilling/unable to add the coolest new features to the 3GS, but if the jailbreak community can take better care of me then I guess that's where I'll have to go.

Re:Time to jailbreak 3GS

[Karlt1]

Welcome to planned obsolescence! Please take your number and join the queue for the new version in June.

You should try an Android, I hear that Android users always get timely updates as soon as a new release is available from Google.....

Nope, still free

[Doches]

John Gruber made the same mistake earlier -- but you can still register for a free developer account and download Xcode without paying the $4.99.

Re:Not everyone can afford a Mac Pro

[farnsworth]

But students and hobbyists can't necessarily afford a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro. Instead, they buy an iMac or MacBook, or those already owning a PC that runs Windows or Linux might buy a Mac mini and a KVM switch.

Any reasonably modern Mac can run XCode. You don't need a Mac Pro to make iOS apps. You can do it on a $400 used Mac Mini. I've seen it done.

If a "walled" console-like experience becomes the norm for home computing, how would one go about earning enough experience to qualify for a devkit?

Anyone can make an iOS app for free with free tools that run on pretty much any Mac. You have to pay $99 to deploy it to actual physical phones. No one is going to be stopped from learning about making iOS apps because of this.

You can have a $299 locked-down iPhone, or a $398 iPhone that you can do whatever the hell you want to. Or, you can get a $299 iPhone and jailbreak it and do whatever the hell you want to it -- no one cares either way.

You know what the $99 is for? It's paying Apple to generate a cert for *you* so that every one else who has an iPhone can be cryptographically assured that they are not running malware or other crap. This is a good thing, and it's no different than having to pay for an ssl cert, or paying MS to sign your kernel drivers, etc etc. The price might be different, but the concept is the same. Users don't want to trust you. They want to trust their vendor. The $99 is almost completely besides the point.