Solipsism Gradient

RB App Checker Lite 1.0.2 is out. Sorry for the delay; to compensate, there are some neat new features and a lot of infrastructure work has been done to prepare for the upcoming non-lite version.

…while Apple catches up with sent-in FAXes. Yes, you read that right.

In the meantime, RB App Checker Lite is momentarily off the Mac App Store. (It’s still normally available from the product page, of course.)

With very few interruptions, I’ve been a registered Apple Developer since mid-1984, when I bought the original loose-leaf edition of “Inside Macintosh”. From a reasonably early date onwards, I always paid by credit card. At some point – I think it was the late 1990’s – most developers were switched to paying over the iTunes store – quite practical in the US and Europe, since that was already tied to the Apple ID.

However, Brazil was very late in getting the iTunes store and from then on developers here had to send in an annual FAX stating their identification, credit card number, and so forth. A few years ago, the the iOS app store, the iTunes store, and the Mac app store (in that order, I think) became available and every time we heaved a collective sigh of relief, thinking that easy payment would be again possible.

Unfortunately, it’s now late 2012. All the stores are available but we still have to send in a FAX to Cupertino to renew our developer programs! No shipping Mac even has a built-in FAX-Modem anymore, which was what I used in the early years. Twice, I’ve asked developer relations at WWDC to send in the FAX for me – which they did, to their credit; and for the last few years I’ve asked their counterparts at Apple Brazil to do so, as they’re the only place I know of which still has a FAX machine stashed away somewhere. Still, the renewal was effected in a few days.

When I renewed my iOS membership a few months ago it took an unprecedented 7 days to be effected after sending the FAX, so when my Mac membership renewal came up, I thought it prudent to send in the FAX 20 days (!) before to ensure a timely response.

Unfortunately, the 20 days have come and gone, my renewal application still hasn’t been processed, and I’ve been cut off from the developer sites. Moreover, my app is no longer visible in the Mac App Store. I’ve already complained twice to Developer Relations and re-sent the FAX (both by machine and by email) 3 times; at first they admitted that it should have taken at least two weeks (!) to process, but haven’t replied since.

In the meantime, the new version of RB App Checker Lite had been in the review queue for 15 days and was finally rejected this week; first because of the pending renewal, second because of a temporary entitlement that had been accepted in the first version. I’m working on that. More soon (hopefully).

Update: just got email from Apple, stating that they put in a temporary extension while my renewal is being processed. The app isn’t back on the store yet, but at least it gives me breathing time to submit a new version; perhaps as soon as tomorrow.

Update #2: the app is back on the store. Stay tuned…

Update #3: my renewal has been processed, and we’re back to normal. Now working on the app again.