>Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 13:10 -0500
>From: Michael Alan Jones <michael_jones@mail.com>
...
>
>Writing Newton programs is slightly different than writing a hobbyist app
>in Visual Basic. NewtonScript is tedious and as difficult as C. There
>aren't many Newton programmers because of the learning curve. And it is
>not likely that there will be any more either, since the Newton was
>discontinued.
>
I'd agree that there weren't ever _many_ Newton developers (and fewer
remaining all the time); I recall ~800-1000 attending the first Newton Dev
Conference. There is a learning curve, and there are some tedious aspects
and gotchas in NewtonScript, but generally I found it a joy compared to C.
I think the main reason there weren't more programmers was that Apple kept
NS proprietary and not available on other platforms; they also made the
development tools and support quite expensive; and only when they were
ready to spinoff or abandon the Newton did they make the tools free. So,
not much incentive for programmers to learn a great language/environment,
but with only limited applicability.
>A real developer is not going to invest a lot of time writing this MP3 app
>unless he can make some money on it. And what is wrong with that? Do you
>know how many people come to me with a "... cool idea, that is going to
>make us all rich"? So you are going to say that you will register this
>MP3 program. Even if you do send in $20 or $30, that is less than real
>developers make in an hour. Big whoop!
>
I agree it's tough to make a living or pay the mortgage just selling Newton
software; it was possible a few years ago, but the user base is declining
and much more fragmented and difficult to contact. On the other hand,
there is still the coolness factor. So, if someone wants to do it for fun,
or some fame, or maybe even a little money, why not?
Steve
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