You're right. Those damn Apple people want to keep all their swag to themselves... /sarcasm
iPhone Developers Go From Rags to Riches
The iPhone is a revolutionary handset. But it is also the key to a virtual gold mine -- the iTunes App Store, where independent developers can become multimillionaires in just a year.
Since its launch in July, the App Store has grown to become an indie developer's dream come true. Steve Demeter, developer of the vastly popular $5 iPhone game Trism, announced he made $250,000 in profit in just two months. His team? Himself, mainly, with a little bit of help from a friend and a contracted designer (whom he paid $500). If his profits continue at this rate, Demeter will earn nearly $2 million by July 2009...
the mac is a desktop/laptop w/ an OS (since they force you to put it on the proprietary hardware)
the iphone is an embedded platform. software for the iphone can be created on any OS/platform that supports the emulator and tools. (like Windows, linux, etc)
what is really funny is how the indy developers have no problem writing software that can ONLY be sold to customers through Apple for a fee which goes directly to Apple. not to mention, they don’t seem to mind doing the work for free... stocking the iphone app shelves... strictly on the promise of getting a percentage of the purchase price.
just imagine the outcry if BGates decided to decree that all software to be run on a Windows box MUST be bought AND sold through Microsoft. too funny.