WebOS Users: Needed

[PalmPixi_User23]

Yesterday, we all have read the sad news of the developer "Inglorious Apps" (who has left the WebOS platform) known for many of its app on the HP Catalog for the TouchPad tablet. For me it's quite a shock to see more application developers leave this OS, specially when we have high hopes for the future of Open Source of WebOS. While it's not shocking considering like Derek Kessler said, "WebOS users shrinking by days" but I think that it's not time to dwell in sadness or regrets. I have decided to write this post, to gather the support WebOS users(like myself) to write a message via twitter or email to this developer.....I'm hoping it's not too late change his mind and make him reconsider to come back to WebOS development of apps.

So please, send emails and messages on the developer twitter page showing support for the WebOS that we all love and use everyday. It could also be great to contact maybe Thornton from the WebOS(developer relations) to write him a letter, I'm sure word from WebOS team could persuade him, possibly don't sure about that(but it's worth a try).


Contact email: ingloriousapps@gmail.com
Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/IngloriousApps

I already wrote him several messages.....please show support as well....
Thanks

[antijingoist]

FYI, it sounded like it was support emails taking up too much time that drove him to that decision.

[eblade]

I assume your last statement was directed at me.

I still make more in webOS app sales than the other platforms combined. Sure, my app sucks on Android, but unfortunlately, there's not much I can do about that besides attempt to re-write it in a more Android friendly version of the framework. Unfortunately, initial tests say that Android still absolutely sucks for web apps, until you get to 4.1 or 4.2.

PlayBook, I have no rationale for, though -- The PlayBook itself has no consistent UI metaphors at all, other than the use of bezel swipes. However, virtually all of my support requests are from the dozen or so PlayBook downloads that I get each month - the numbers on webOS outweigh PlayBook approximately 8 to 1, but the time I spend on support for my apps is more like 90% playbook, 5% Android, 5% webOS.

[xandros9]

Don't spam them, you'll only succeed in not changing their mind AND ****ing them off.

Chill

[cgk]

Can a developer eat twitter messages of support?


Sent from my Lumia 800 using Board Express

[miles4000]

Instead of trying to get developers that leave to stay, lets continue to support the ones that stay. Like donate to preware developers and buy apps from catalog. I just got Archive Manager from pcworldsoftware. Only issue would be trying to figure out who is still actively supporting webOS apps in the catalog.

[GMMan]

Originally Posted by cgk

Can a developer eat twitter messages of support?


Sent from my Lumia 800 using Board Express

We should get Twitter to set up a system that is like text donations.

[geekpeter]

Originally Posted by GMMan

We should get Twitter to set up a system that is like text donations.

twitter for food?



facebook "like" for food?



it could catch on.

[DataJog]

Originally Posted by eblade

I assume your last statement was directed at me.

I still make more in webOS app sales than the other platforms combined. Sure, my app sucks on Android, but unfortunlately, there's not much I can do about that besides attempt to re-write it in a more Android friendly version of the framework. Unfortunately, initial tests say that Android still absolutely sucks for web apps, until you get to 4.1 or 4.2.

PlayBook, I have no rationale for, though -- The PlayBook itself has no consistent UI metaphors at all, other than the use of bezel swipes. However, virtually all of my support requests are from the dozen or so PlayBook downloads that I get each month - the numbers on webOS outweigh PlayBook approximately 8 to 1, but the time I spend on support for my apps is more like 90% playbook, 5% Android, 5% webOS.

I will also confirm that my webOS apps are still doing the best. We'll be releasing another webOS app next week '123 Trace' to compliment our current 'ABC Trace' app. We are humbled that we continue to see daily downloads of this app.

We're also still updating DataJog and will continue to do so.

Just another dev's point of view!
Scott

[broncot]

I'm a user of several of Inglorious Apps' apps, and I was worried until I saw the tweet he wasn't pulling them from the app catalog, just stopping support. That's all I care about-still being able to use the apps. Does anybody really need support at this point? Leave him alone before he pulls his apps out of frustration!

[deCorvett]

If you've actually followed him on Twitter for more than a day, you'd know he's long gone from webOS and into iOS/Android pastures now and doing just fine in that world.

The only thing he did was finally formalize it, and bugging him with endless messages isn't going to further your case when he's told people outright on Twitter that webOS development is something with no clear direction for success at this point. He has no interest in coming back short of a miracle involving Open webOS becoming commercially competitive, and that also has no evidence of happening--so it's not even worth considering.

For every developer that formalizes their dropping of webOS, there are several others that just do it silently, stop their updates, and concentrate their efforts on other platforms. All you have to do is follow and look. I mean, honestly, do you really expect Flashcards to be updated ever again? Or any one of hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of other independently developed apps that once enjoyed success?

Many webOS developers even took their knowledge of Enyo and ran for other operating systems as soon as it became feasible to do so when the Enyo Project began supporting other platforms. And they haven't looked back.

[I]Most importantly, stop annoying the developers that move on. You're far more likely to drive them further away with your zealous desperation than convincing them to come back. Developers go where the excitement, progress, and money are, and largely aren't interested in charity cases for orphaned mobile operating systems where they can't make money*. Open webOS and especially legacy webOS just aren't worth most developers investing any time in anymore and if you fault them for it, it's not their problem. If webOS ever becomes a platform worth considering again in the future, they'll be the first ones to come back.

[I](* Hint: The only developers making more money on webOS than other platforms are 1) those that only develop for webOS, and 2) those that don't understand the audience of other platforms at all, and 3) those that don't both to use any of the user interface conventions or user experience constructs of other platforms when porting their apps. Users either won't trust them or understand them when most of their other apps tend to have at least some UI/UX consistency.)

LOL. There is no way an indie dev can make money from any platform.

Green pastures? Oh, c'mon... From what I know, IngloriousApps has stopped development completely.

[PalmPixi_User23]

Originally Posted by broncot

I'm a user of several of Inglorious Apps' apps, and I was worried until I saw the tweet he wasn't pulling them from the app catalog, just stopping support. That's all I care about-still being able to use the apps. Does anybody really need support at this point? Leave him alone before he pulls his apps out of frustration!

It's understandable everyone's point of view of not spamming him with emails/messages (he already abandoned the platform), I totally get where you all coming from. We know that at WebOS right now, is completely dead and has no future whatsoever under Stupid HP. Yet, hearing these kind of developers leave WebOS is bad news for this OS, and what's worse further down the line more developers will leave without any hope that they will come back.

Luckily, my talks with Astraware had been a bit better with them promising that they will not drop support for WebOS only that there's won't be any further app development. That's my biggest hope that developers will continue to support this forgotten operating system, not on abandoned it like most developers have been doing lately. Just hope that WebOS Team at HP will focus not only on Open WebOS but fight to retain developers as well....

[eblade]

deCorvett,

Although I've never made enough from the app catalog in a month to pay all my bills, with only 2 paid apps out there, the amount that I have made has made a big difference in my life. Of course, that has come to a head with a relatively long term contract with a mobile developer, so that I can do this stuff full time. But it's not for my own apps, full time.

webOS and PlayBook continue to pay my electricity and internet bills, and Android pays the taxes on the webOS and PlayBook income.

Your app has far more appeal than my apps, though, although it's still a somewhat vertical market. (do you have apps other than Communities/Forums ?)

[deCorvett]

Originally Posted by eblade

deCorvett,

Although I've never made enough from the app catalog in a month to pay all my bills, with only 2 paid apps out there, the amount that I have made has made a big difference in my life. Of course, that has come to a head with a relatively long term contract with a mobile developer, so that I can do this stuff full time. But it's not for my own apps, full time.

webOS and PlayBook continue to pay my electricity and internet bills, and Android pays the taxes on the webOS and PlayBook income.

Your app has far more appeal than my apps, though, although it's still a somewhat vertical market. (do you have apps other than Communities/Forums ?)

Wow, didn't know, congrats! Don't get me wrong, just I don't feel it pays the effort, and dfinitely, you can't make a living on any platform from this, something people don't realize, talking about green pastures and so on.

Attending to renevue/development cost, MailLists was by far my best app, as it gave me a 1000 bucks price, and pretty strong sales until appeared other alternatives.

Communities has been a black hole of time, with strong sales at the beggining, but right now its dead on the market. Same for Forums. Don't get me wrong, I did money from them, but both are death now.

I don't feel confident it's work the effort of porting them other platforms (Tapatalk kicked my *** with desktop versions when they were ready to market for Mac, and that's something makes you rethink everything), And I don't want to do another X wannabe to get a couple of sales weekly.

[steven_farkas]

Originally Posted by PalmPixi_User23

It's understandable everyone's point of view of not spamming him with emails/messages (he already abandoned the platform), I totally get where you all coming from. We know that at WebOS right now, is completely dead and has no future whatsoever under Stupid HP. Yet, hearing these kind of developers leave WebOS is bad news for this OS, and what's worse further down the line more developers will leave without any hope that they will come back.

Luckily, my talks with Astraware had been a bit better with them promising that they will not drop support for WebOS only that there's won't be any further app development. That's my biggest hope that developers will continue to support this forgotten operating system, not on abandoned it like most developers have been doing lately. Just hope that WebOS Team at HP will focus not only on Open WebOS but fight to retain developers as well....

Is this you claiming credit for the Astraware apps on webos?

[T-Pad]

@deCorvett:
What about porting Communites to BlackBerry's PlayBook?
Especially with their $10K-Bounty this makes sense, e.g. RIM guarantees $10,000 to BlackBerry 10 devs in first year

Sven Ziegler has already ported his webOS apps (OrganizeMe! and ReadOnTouch) with great success.

[eblade]

dignitary,

I bet creating an Enyo 2 library that interfaces with their javascript UI thing would be pretty popular.

Hopefully they actually -have- UI conventions in BB10, because the PlayBook has .. none.

[PalmPixi_User23]

Originally Posted by steven_farkas

Is this you claiming credit for the Astraware apps on webos?

Are you seriously listening to yourself Mr. Steven_Farkas, I have never ever said anything about claiming credit for anything to do with Astraware apps. I'm all saying is that having some sort of open communication with developers that remain active on WebOS, should be a really high top priority to the team of WebOS at HP(on top of the Open WebOS project). I think that shifting some efforts into developers could have positive effect into it....with developers NOT dropping SUPPORT of their apps on WebOS.

If you look into the efforts that RIM is placing for their own BB10 platform and encouraging future deveps with the 10k price for apps, that something that HP should be doing or at least focusing on that for the sake of Open WebOS. While there's no future hardware with this OS, important to keep developers happy and sticking around for this platform.

But of course we talking about a company of STUPID HP (and a dumb CEO Mrs. Whitman) who buys companies like crazy and takes a huge loss of profits "Autonomy" anyone ? With those quality of people managing HP it's difficult to have any positive progress with WebOS, can we ?

[GMMan]

Originally Posted by PalmPixi_User23

If you look into the efforts that RIM is placing for their own BB10 platform and encouraging future deveps with the 10k price for apps, that something that HP should be doing or at least focusing on that for the sake of Open WebOS. While there's no future hardware with this OS, important to keep developers happy and sticking around for this platform.

RIM is actively producing devices, while HP is not. That's the difference. With HP unwilling to support regular webOS, there's no incentive for developers to continue development and support. There's practically no going forward with regular webOS, only with Open webOS, which still haven't seen any new hardware.

[T-Pad]

dignitary,

thank you for pointing out the details. As of now the PlayBook is expected to get the BB10 update so all PlayBook owners are also potential BB 10 owners.

1. and 2. sure are difficult to achieve, but 3. will most probably not be the problem if your app meets common demand. There's too much good software missing on the PlayBook, e.g. a good Twitter client (the two with top rating I have bought are crap even compared to the free ones existing on webOS - IMHO). Plus (unfortunately) PlayBook prices seem to be much higher than on other eco systems.