Why is XCode suddenly paid?

Question

I mean, I have no problem paying for it (I still won't update, though). But I think many people who would want to try it, will not because of the price tag.
Think about it, there are no paid IDE's, they're all free.
No, I think it will result in less people programming for OS-X, thus less programs and so less people buying OS-X. Bad call, Apple.
If you want to make OS-X just as closed as iOS, please warn me beforehand, so I can sell my Mac before nobody will want them anymore.

Answer 1

You are right, it is cheap, but it used to be free and that was an excellent plus point when it was introduced and Windows developers were forking out huge sums of money for MS development tools. I accept that other development tools have now come down in price and become more competitive but you have to ask yourself what the point is in charging such a small sum for such a brilliant product. In the UK its £2.99 which is certainly nowhere near the amount you would expect for such a vast and complex product. It does feel like a cheap money grabbing trick now they have the App Store, which is the perfect vehicle for making small sums transactions a lot easier (be honest, when its 0.59p and you click the button it doesn't feel like money!). Would they be charging this tiny amount if you had to go through a laborious process of entering payment details and going through card security??
I don't think so. This is an easy way for Apple to increase their profit margins a bit because, lets face it, anyone who wants to develop for Mac will not mind shelling out such a small amount. On the one hand it irritates and takes some of the wind out of my sail when I am waxing lyrical to my friends about how much better Apple are in comparison to Microsoft; but lets get to the bottom line here, Apple are a business and need to make as much profit as they possibly can so its hardly surprising as this is a good business decision, albeit one that slightly damages their reputation as a forward thinking company that is able to spot the next trend (how many other company's now allow you download the SDK/Tools for free!). Being an optimist I would like to think that this money is being channelled back into making the awesome products and tools that we can all agree Apple churn out on a regular basis.
Happy coding!
Milly.