Hiarcs for iPad?

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Mythbuster
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Post by Mythbuster »

Hi,
More than four months since the last posting and no reaction from the developer ... very sad ... more than 3.000.000 iPads sold ... and still no iPad Version ....

Sad Regards,
Sascha
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Tord Romstad
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Post by Tord Romstad »

Mythbuster wrote:Hi,
More than four months since the last posting and no reaction from the developer ... very sad ... more than 3.000.000 iPads sold ... and still no iPad Version ....

Sad Regards,
Sascha
That's because the situation is still exactly the same as when you first asked: The iPad is still not available here.

I've done some work towards an iPad port, but without access to an actual device, it is difficult to do any serious testing, and difficult to find motivation. Remember that I do this only for fun, and earn no money from it. Spending lots of time writing a program I can't even use myself isn't fun.
Mythbuster
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Post by Mythbuster »

Sorry, if I want to buy an iPad, I will get one!

And do not forget, many developers had made their first versions on the simulator ... just to give one example: Shredder!

It came out on the first day when the iPad wasd lauched in the US in April. And the launch date for the iPad in Germany was End of June ...

So I think if the developer want to do something ... there would be a way ...

And last, not least: You could easy get some Beta Testers with iPads ...

Disappointed Regards,
Sascha
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Tord Romstad
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Post by Tord Romstad »

Mythbuster wrote:Sorry, if I want to buy an iPad, I will get one!
Sure, there are a few people who import iPads privately and sell them for twice the regular price. Do you really think it is fair to demand that I pay twice the regular price for an iPad just to be able to give away a free chess app a little earlier? In your opinion, how much money should I be willing to pay per year (in addition to the USD 99 I pay for distributing my program through the App Store) for the privilege of providing you with free software?
And do not forget, many developers had made their first versions on the simulator ... just to give one example: Shredder!
Which is an entirely different case, because SMK is a commercial programmer, and makes a living from selling Shredder. Of course it's a priority for him to have versions for popular new computing platforms as soon as possible. The world is quite different when you are just a hobbyist writing a program for your own enjoyment, and give it away for free to others in the hope that they will enjoy it.

Of course it is possible to develop only using the simulator, but it would be a very sub-optimal solution, because I need to explore some other iPad apps and learn about the user interface paradigm in order to create the best possible GUI for my own app. I also know from my experience with the iPhone that solutions that appear to work well when using a mouse in the simulator can often be extremely awkward when using a finger on a small device.

It is also, as explained in my previous message, a question of motivation. Why would I want to spend lots of time writing a free program I can't even use myself?
And last, not least: You could easy get some Beta Testers with iPads ...
Of course, just like for any other platform. That's never the hard or expensive part of the work.
Disappointed Regards,
I also get more than a little disappointed when reading messages like yours. When I give away my entire program, including the source code, for free, it is quite depressing to be criticized because users feel entitled to a version for a new device as soon as possible; especially when the device is not even for sale in my country. This sort of thing almost makes me regret that I don't keep the whole program private, but fortunately the vast majority of users actually appreciate my work.

You have my program, my source code (which you could port to the iPad yourself if you wanted), and my promise that I will have an iPad version ready soon after I have an iPad in my hands. You have all of this for free. Seriously, how much more do you think you can fairly demand?
Mythbuster
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Post by Mythbuster »

Hi,
at this Shop you can order an iPad for the normal price ... they ship worldwide and have a very good reputation: http://www.notebook.de/apple-ipad-g-1258

Well, I have purchased the iPhone Version and I would also be willing to pay again for a good iPad Version ...

I don't know, why you are disappointed: We are your customers and we are willing to pay for a product ...

It is not my job to program a Version for the iPad ... that is your job ... and you will get the money for it.

Sorry, but in my opinion you should be glad that there are customers who are interested in your Software and who are willing to pay for it ... please don't try to give me the feeling that you are doing it for nothing ... that is simply not true.

Maybe I am wrong, but I cannot see the real difference between you and SMK: Hiarcs is a commercial Chess Engine ... it is not for free (like Glaurung).

Don't think that I am going to offend you ... but I really like Hiarcs (more than Shredder) but using it on my iPad hurts in my eyes. The iPad is a real good device for playing chess on it ... so in my opinion it is a shame that the best Engine / Program is still not converted to it ...

Nevertheless ... if you ever looking for a tester, you can still contact me.

Hopeful Regards,
Sascha
shiv
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Post by shiv »

If Tord needs an ipad, we can open a donation channel for him. For example, if we have ten people donating $50 each for Tord's ipad, I am willing to join.

Tord Romstad wrote:
Mythbuster wrote:Sorry, if I want to buy an iPad, I will get one!
Sure, there are a few people who import iPads privately and sell them for twice the regular price. Do you really think it is fair to demand that I pay twice the regular price for an iPad just to be able to give away a free chess app a little earlier? In your opinion, how much money should I be willing to pay per year (in addition to the USD 99 I pay for distributing my program through the App Store) for the privilege of providing you with free software?
And do not forget, many developers had made their first versions on the simulator ... just to give one example: Shredder!
Which is an entirely different case, because SMK is a commercial programmer, and makes a living from selling Shredder. Of course it's a priority for him to have versions for popular new computing platforms as soon as possible. The world is quite different when you are just a hobbyist writing a program for your own enjoyment, and give it away for free to others in the hope that they will enjoy it.

Of course it is possible to develop only using the simulator, but it would be a very sub-optimal solution, because I need to explore some other iPad apps and learn about the user interface paradigm in order to create the best possible GUI for my own app. I also know from my experience with the iPhone that solutions that appear to work well when using a mouse in the simulator can often be extremely awkward when using a finger on a small device.

It is also, as explained in my previous message, a question of motivation. Why would I want to spend lots of time writing a free program I can't even use myself?
And last, not least: You could easy get some Beta Testers with iPads ...
Of course, just like for any other platform. That's never the hard or expensive part of the work.
Disappointed Regards,
I also get more than a little disappointed when reading messages like yours. When I give away my entire program, including the source code, for free, it is quite depressing to be criticized because users feel entitled to a version for a new device as soon as possible; especially when the device is not even for sale in my country. This sort of thing almost makes me regret that I don't keep the whole program private, but fortunately the vast majority of users actually appreciate my work.

You have my program, my source code (which you could port to the iPad yourself if you wanted), and my promise that I will have an iPad version ready soon after I have an iPad in my hands. You have all of this for free. Seriously, how much more do you think you can fairly demand?
SirDave
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Post by SirDave »

I'm a little confused by this discussion. I have both the Itouch & Ipad and have many of the chess apps for both. To the best of my knowledge, the HIARCS Iphone/Itouch app ($9.99usd) is the highest priced of the bunch. Is there no money being made?

I mean no disrespect in asking -on the contrary, I am most appreciative that quality chess apps are available at even that price, given the price of PC chess programs in the past. Just trying to understand the backstory.
mdannib
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Post by mdannib »

SirDave wrote:I'm a little confused by this discussion. I have both the Itouch & Ipad and have many of the chess apps for both. To the best of my knowledge, the HIARCS Iphone/Itouch app ($9.99usd) is the highest priced of the bunch. Is there no money being made?

I mean no disrespect in asking -on the contrary, I am most appreciative that quality chess apps are available at even that price, given the price of PC chess programs in the past. Just trying to understand the backstory.
Guys Hiarcs (look in the about box on the iphone version) is made with a gui framework from Tord.
Mark Uniacke made the chess engine and "gui evolution"; we (i've got the iphone version) pay € / $ for the engine (Mark) and not for the gui because it is for free (Tord).

Regards,
Matteo
SirDave
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Post by SirDave »

mdannib wrote:
SirDave wrote:I'm a little confused by this discussion. I have both the Itouch & Ipad and have many of the chess apps for both. To the best of my knowledge, the HIARCS Iphone/Itouch app ($9.99usd) is the highest priced of the bunch. Is there no money being made?

I mean no disrespect in asking -on the contrary, I am most appreciative that quality chess apps are available at even that price, given the price of PC chess programs in the past. Just trying to understand the backstory.
Guys Hiarcs (look in the about box on the iphone version) is made with a gui framework from Tord.
Mark Uniacke made the chess engine and "gui evolution"; we (i've got the iphone version) pay € / $ for the engine (Mark) and not for the gui because it is for free (Tord).

Regards,
Matteo
Got it, and thanks Matteo.

Seems to me that given the number of these apps likely being sold, Tord should be getting a little cut of the proceeds.
shiv
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Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2007 10:32 pm

Post by shiv »

I personally am impressed by Tord's free contributions to the iphone and desktops. He has contributed the Glaurung engine (which is also worked on by Marc Costalba currently), several GUIs for the iphone and Mac OS X. I think he deserves a lot of praise and support for his contributions to the open source community. Glaurung is now the strongest open source engine and is not that far behind Rybka.

I do not know about his cut for Hiarcs, and I was mainly interested in supporting his free work.
SirDave wrote:
mdannib wrote:
SirDave wrote:I'm a little confused by this discussion. I have both the Itouch & Ipad and have many of the chess apps for both. To the best of my knowledge, the HIARCS Iphone/Itouch app ($9.99usd) is the highest priced of the bunch. Is there no money being made?

I mean no disrespect in asking -on the contrary, I am most appreciative that quality chess apps are available at even that price, given the price of PC chess programs in the past. Just trying to understand the backstory.
Guys Hiarcs (look in the about box on the iphone version) is made with a gui framework from Tord.
Mark Uniacke made the chess engine and "gui evolution"; we (i've got the iphone version) pay € / $ for the engine (Mark) and not for the gui because it is for free (Tord).

Regards,
Matteo
Got it, and thanks Matteo.

Seems to me that given the number of these apps likely being sold, Tord should be getting a little cut of the proceeds.
egrit
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Post by egrit »

It is almost november and still no hiarcs for the iPad. :cry:

Egrit
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Tord Romstad
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Post by Tord Romstad »

SirDave wrote:Seems to me that given the number of these apps likely being sold, Tord should be getting a little cut of the proceeds.
I'm not interested in that. Computer chess is a hobby, I'm not trying to make a living from it.

Some good news: I finally got myself an iPad last week, and started programming this weekend. A lot of work still remains, but it's going well so far, and I have a working prototype running on my i Pad. A screenshot (this is not exactly how the final version is going to look -- I'll at least have to redesign the taskbar for the iPad):

Image
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Dark Horse
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Post by Dark Horse »

nice!
egrit
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Post by egrit »

This will be really good. I have the iPhone version on my iPad Now and look forward to having this iPad version. It looks really nice.

Egrit
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Harvey Williamson
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Post by Harvey Williamson »

egrit wrote:This will be really good. I have the iPhone version on my iPad Now and look forward to having this iPad version. It looks really nice.

Egrit
How does it work on an iPad? What are the main issues with using the iPhone version on the iPad?
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