Apps vs. e-Books

[deesy58]

---

bobstro wrote:

---

deesy58 wrote:

I noticed a post on a now-locked thread that asserted that the reason why apps were less expensive than e-books was because of advertising support.  [...]  That does not explain why apps for cell phones and tablet computers are so inexpensive, especially when compared to e-books.   They must be published, advertised, sold, distributed, etc,, just like e-books.  Why is it, then, that one is so much less expensive than the other? 

---

I've actually been puzzled by both sides of this: Why are apps so cheap, and why are ebooks still so expensive?

I originally set out to be a software developer some 25-plus years ago, and was doing some decent work right about the time Peter Norton was still working with Turbo Pascal. I became frustrated with the difficulty of getting the user interface and presentation working when I was really interested in the underlying code. I'm definitely an infrastructure guy. I poked at programming for another 10 years or so until the annual cost of keeping up with Microsoft's latest suite of development tools was simply too great for a hobbyist and I more-or-less forgot about it. With a growing interest in open source software for infrastructure use, I've been tracking the evolution of quality and free development tools. I can make a few general observations:

1. Developing is easier today. I'm not saying that it isn't a creative work. It most definitely is, but a coder no longer has to worry about mastering every aspect of their app to produce something that both looks and runs decently. User interfaces, GUI elements, and even low-level device access are largely abstracted into relatively easy-to-use interfaces. Although it's not yet the "write once, run anywhere" ideal, it's not all that far from it. This doesn't mean just anybody can throw something together and be successful, but it does mean someone creative can get something out much more quickly today. Witness the booming successes of Internet- and location-aware apps (Foursquare comes to mind) that mash together data of all sorts into a compelling user app. There's a lot of competition, and the development from apprentice to master is not all that great.

Other than use of word processing software, I have to wonder if writing a book in 2012 is all that different than it was in 1982. You still have to develop the "whole enchillada", or pay others to help. You can't re-use whole swaths of your work (at least not without being labelled a hack, which is another topic.) Good writing takes years to master, even today.

2. Programming has been commoditized. It is literally possible for a kid with an old PC to put together an app as good as a staff of professions (not that it happens often, but it is possible -- See Linus Torvalds). The tools are freely available, and the hardware to run them affordable. You don't have to have big build farms, high power compilers etc. anymore. Chore programming can be outsourced, and the cost of having it done far, far away is actually cheaper. The perceived value of "programming" has been diminished.

I don't think the perceived value of creative writing has been diminished as badly. "Writing" is still an exotic career while "programming" is often perceived as drudgery (see Office Space).

3. Programming is global. Along with the cheap outsourcing I mentioned, a lot of the apps I use today have been built by teams of individuals around the world. The best rise quickly to the top and are embraced. A Serbian kid can be my competition as easily as the guy in the next cubicle. With a bit of internationalization, a German app can be just as usable as a native app. This is particularly the case with the advent of powerful GUIs. Many apps don't have any written words. There is a LOT of very talented competition. 

A book author, by comparison, has to not only, literally, "speak your language", but they have to do it well enough to convey a range of emotions, perceptions and moods using only the written form of that language.

I'm not particularly happy about the sorry fate of programmers. I still harbor dreams of a nice little income stream from apps that sell without me having to lift a finger. I've done programming for pay and hobby in the past, and am getting into Android programming today. I think the key to success, as others alluded to, is having the value come from outside the code, whether it be in the form of social interaction, or "stuff" that can be bought. I don't know that a self-contained "killer app" will make it in the market today.

For all that, if one does manage to write the runaway hit (Angry Birds, Words with Friends), breaking into a global market is easier than ever before. These same negatives can be positives -- IF you have the bright idea at the right time, and can move quickly enough to build a brand. You seem to need to be a rock star with name recognition to succeed at programming today.

Is it any different with book authors? There are a lot of "authors" who are producing drivel as bad as the worst apps, if not worse. Twice yesterday, an android anal porn title showed up in B&N results as I was searching on "robotic evolution". B&N seems to be a showcase of bad self-published stuff. I doubt that's selling much better than some of the goofy apps, though I suppose any porn sells if it's cheap enough.

The value of ebooks does seem to have been kept artifically high, though that may soon change. I don't think that authors have the same opportunities for "other revenue" that programmers do, which will be their own unique challenge. I can write a program that makes doing other things easier. I don't know if you can do that with a book.

The answer, I think, is that although both are creative exercises, writing a program and writing a book are not the same thing. They are used differently by different audiences with different expectations and attention spans.

Perhaps the key is to do both? I've noticed a lot of technical ebooks selling at high premiums ($30+) by developers with established reputations doing software. I wonder which earns them more?

---

Well said, bobstro.  You have clearly given this matter a great deal of thought.  You are probably correct in most of your conclusions. 

I do seem to recall that Linus Torvalds had a template from which to work when he wrote the Linux kernel.  Is that true? 

I have also used software development tools, and I have found that, even though they significantly reduce a programmer's workload, they often produce bloated, inefficient code. 

Good luck with your Android development efforts. 

[bobstro]

---

deesy58 wrote:

[...] I do seem to recall that Linus Torvalds had a template from which to work when he wrote the Linux kernel.  Is that true? 

---

I'm going from long-ago memory, but I recall that Torvalds wrote the Linux kernel in part to respond to a dispute he was having the Andy Tannenbaum about monolithic kernels. Tannenbaum had written, among his many, many textbooks, "Operating Systems Design & Implementation" which contained the printed source code for his Minix operating system. I was busy trying to input the whole thing with a buddy of mine at the time. Not 100% sure, but I believe Linus' kernel was his own thing. The userland stuff from GNU was incorporated later, and of course, Linux is the result of many thousands of contributions that happened to run on Linus' kernel. (jeez, I'm getting all misty thinking back.)

---

I have also used software development tools, and I have found that, even though they significantly reduce a programmer's workload, they often produce bloated, inefficient code. 

---

True, but faster processors and more memory seem to make that less important. I was stunned when my son told me he was taught C++ as "low level" programming during his Computer Engineering studies. He didn't like it when I laughed. Alongside Tannenbaum's book on my revered shelf of old stuff sits K&R's C book, and I must have an old assembler book around somewhere.

---

Good luck with your Android development efforts. 

---

Thank you! It's nothing serious, but I'd like to get back in touch with my creative software side. I love networks and security, but they're not a great outlet for artistic expression! Funny enough, reading some material on creative writing is getting me motivated.

[5ivedom]

Bobstro makes some very good points.

My take would be that ebooks still have Publishers who control most of the good writers while apps have lots of indie developers and smaller companies. There aren't really gatekeepers.

What happens with indie developers and smaller companies is that they don't think 'sustainability' and instead think 'Lottery Mentality'.

Basically, instead of saying: There's a 0.1% chance we'll be a Top 10 App and make millions and there's a 0.001% chance we're be the next Angry Birds and make tens of millions.

They think: Wow, we could make millions. All we have to do is price at $1.

That's what they do.

Now that forces everyone else to price at $1 or low prices.

*****

That's actually the main thing. Tragedy of the Commons.

For the Top 0.01% of Apps (those in the Top 100) it makes sense because high volumes make up for the very low profit per unit.

However, the vast majority of software developers get killed (financially).

*****

It's also a reflection of who has the power (App Stores, Users) and who has close to zero power (developers).

And a reflection of the mentality of devaluing software to gather users and GET RICH QUICK or sell their information or sell advertising that pretty much all of Silicon Valley worships these days.

Basically, Google's success with advertising convinced nearly every other developer and development company to give away their software for nothing and hope for some magical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.