Comments on: Apple App Developers Being Bribed to Trade Over to the Microsoft Zune HD?

By: Evan Selleck

Evan Selleck — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:31:37 +0000

I mentioned the notion that “buckets of money” could mean the end result of selling an app with Microsoft, on the Zune HD, to give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt. But to be honest, as Chris added, it looks like Microsoft went to the developer and offered him money to transfer his development skills over to Microsoft. In which case, it would be bribery, and if that’s what Microsoft is planning on doing for the majority of developers already stationed at other platforms, it may be an interesting development cycle for the Zune HD.

By: jbelkin

jbelkin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:46:27 +0000

This is Ms playbook sine the 1980′s and as they say about generals fighting old wars but pre -internet, you could buy up distributors or even lock up PC makers but now with the internet, it’s much harder but of course, when MS faces a declining marketshare, they just throw cash at it ($4 billion search in 2 years) – since MS shareholders don’t care that, why should the employees? But it’s like MS found out with XBox 360 – they bought or locked up deals with a lot of jpanese software manufactures because that was their weakness with the original Xbox except that unlike buying a distribution channel – a new multi BILLION dollar markets can just pop up like the internet (casual games) or the iPhone (a guy in a garage) where the cost of entry is essentially nil while MS is battling the LAST BATTLE and by the time they get they get to the new one like introducing a touch screen 2 YEARS AFTER Apple. So, they will lock up creators of games NOW but is the sequel of Rolando or Little Gods going to sell as well (as examples) or will it be some unknown kid in a garage … but that’s MS – the DMV of technology – anywhere from 2-8 years behind the competition and their only solution – throw money at it … but when Win7 sells as well as Vista (nothing wrong with Win7 but pay $299 to run it on a $399 computer, bwwhahahaha), and Office revenue starts drying up, MS will be dead in 8 years – like polaroid, they will still sell server software and an OS to run jiffy lube terminals but some India or Chinese company will license the name to sell hologram Leia & luke watches.

By: Chris Davies

Chris Davies — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:24:09 +0000

Perhaps you’re right and it is all semantics, but from the reports I’ve read the developer felt it wasn’t a case of Microsoft pointing out how much money they could make for coding for Zune HD, but an initial incentive to encourage the switch.

By: mjdinsmore

mjdinsmore — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:48:44 +0000

“Bribed” to “trade over” to Microsoft? It sounds like like getting incentives for porting applications to the MS platform. What’s so newsworthy of that? If they follow the same revenue share with developers on the MS platform as Apple, then there would be ‘piles of money’ as long as the app sells. This is how things work.