Chrome Web Store developer release + changes to the extension gallery

[Arne Roomann-Kurrik]

As we just announced over on our developer blog, you can now start
testing your apps with the Chrome Web Store!

* http://blog.chromium.org/2010/08/get-your-apps-ready-for-chrome-web.html

You'll be able to start uploading apps to the current Chrome extension
gallery to test out the process (users will not be able to purchase or
install them until the consumer launch). We've published technical
documentation on apps and the license server, so if you're interested
in learning more about these, please check:

* http://code.google.com/chrome/apps/
* http://code.google.com/chrome/webstore/

We also just announced a couple security improvements. First, new
developers will be charged a one-time $5 USD fee to upload extensions
and apps to the gallery. If you've already uploaded an extension to
the gallery you will not have to pay this fee.

Second, we've added the (highly requested) ability to verify your
domain in order to make an "official" extension for your website.

For more information about these changes, please read:

* http://blog.chromium.org/2010/08/security-improvements-and-registration.html

Cheers,
~Arne

[Arpit]

Hi.

I've some questions regarding these changes.

1> What are the available payment options? Do the new developers need
credit card / Google Checkout?? I'm a student, have no credit card,
live in India and $5 is a big amount for me --- how can you expect me
to pay this fee??

2> Is there no other way to ensure security and stop spam in chrome
extension gallery?? Can't Chrome follow the "Add-on Review" program
similar to Firefox??

3> Don't you think that the "official" extensions are going to kill
independent developers?? A common user is generally much influenced by
the tags like “Verified” or “Official”. As expected, a common user
will never install or try unofficial extensions.

[patrick aljord]

On Aug 19, 4:56 pm, Arpit <s...@techraga.in> wrote:
> Hi.
>
> I've some questions regarding these changes.
>
> 1> What are the available payment options? Do the new developers need
> credit card / Google Checkout?? I'm a student, have no credit card,
> live in India and $5 is a big amount for me --- how can you expect me
> to pay this fee??
>

You can easily get a debit card loaded with $5 in India.

[Arne Roomann-Kurrik]

Hi,

    Thanks for raising these points.  I'll respond to your questions in the order you asked them.

    1.) The payment mechanism for the fee is Google Checkout.  We understand that $5 USD can be significant for some developers, but we feel that this one-time cost compares favorably with fees charged by other developer platforms.  You will also be able to continue to develop extensions and even host them on your own website for free- the $5 developer fee only applies to publishing an extension/app in the gallery.

    2.) We've purposely avoided having a pre-review process for the extensions gallery / Chrome Web Store.

    3.) The verified author gives end users accurate information about the author of the extension.  It will be up to individual sites to determine whether they want to compete with external developers on the basis of "official" extensions/apps.  Speaking about things in general, when a popular site has a good API and a healthy developer ecosystem, third party apps seem to do pretty well even in the presence of "official" ones.  For example, see Twitter and Seesmic, Tweetdeck, Brizzly, etc. Personally, if I were installing the Brizzly extension from the extensions gallery, I'd want to know it was really written by the Brizzly folks.

Hope that clears things up,

~Arne

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[Xan]

Please allow me to express my opinion on the subject at some length,
which is, strangely, not widely discussed in this group.

I started as an extension developer for Chrome, almost without prior
JS knowledge, when I found that no extension existed to mimic a
favorite of mine for Firefox. Essentially I was doing this for myself,
not very confident in my abilities, but as it turned out pretty okay
(though a niche product), I decided to publish it in the Gallery. The
outcome was very positive and I now have an audience of 1k+ users and
have a motivation to improve my extension and my skills further.

But if I wrote it today, I'm not sure I'd submit it to the Gallery,
not knowing whether it will be welcomed by others. And it's not a
matter of the amount or inability to pay.

Let's face it, no matter how high a barrier is, it still is a barrier.
There are many reasons for your registration fee to be a barrier,
which were cited in discussions on this matter already. 5$ fee may be
rather high for some, others don't have a suitable credit card to
process the payment, and privacy concerns with Google Checkout are
valid.

Personally I think there's a considerable psychological barrier
between "free" and "token payment"/"cheap". It's still something of an
investment with unknown results for beginners.

Also, a person may want to volunteer his time to develop a useful
extension, therefore enriching Chrome, but any kind of paywall (be it
5$, 1$, doesn't matter) will discourage it. I can see a line of
reasoning like "I'm already volunteering, free of charge, to improve
your users' experience, and now I have to pay you for it?". I find it
very much valid.

Concerning alternative hosting services, it's not as much of a
solution. Chrome actively advertises its Gallery throughout its own
pages, so it will be the first place to look for extensions for
newcomers to Chrome. And it won't be surprising to see Google's own
pages getting higher rank when a broader search is attempted. So it
lowers extension's chances of being used considerably to host it
elsewhere.

In the end, I want to mention that I'm not blind to the reason why
this was implemented in the first place. Rogue extensions are a threat
to the browser's image, but I don't think this will be very efficient
in battling them. Surely not 100% efficient, as an ill-intending user
can, for instance, use untraceable one-time virtual credit cards. And
you risk just throwing out the baby with the bathwater, scaring away
potential developers.

Regards,
Alexander

On Aug 20, 12:42 am, Arne Roomann-Kurrik <kur...@chromium.org> wrote:
> As we just announced over on our developer blog, you can now start
> testing your apps with the Chrome Web Store!
>

>  *http://blog.chromium.org/2010/08/get-your-apps-ready-for-chrome-web.html

>
> You'll be able to start uploading apps to the current Chrome extension
> gallery to test out the process (users will not be able to purchase or
> install them until the consumer launch).  We've published technical
> documentation on apps and the license server, so if you're interested
> in learning more about these, please check:
>
>  *http://code.google.com/chrome/apps/

>  *http://code.google.com/chrome/webstore/

>
> We also just announced a couple security improvements.  First, new
> developers will be charged a one-time $5 USD fee to upload extensions
> and apps to the gallery.  If you've already uploaded an extension to
> the gallery you will not have to pay this fee.
>
> Second, we've added the (highly requested) ability to verify your
> domain in order to make an "official" extension for your website.
>
> For more information about these changes, please read:
>

>  *http://blog.chromium.org/2010/08/security-improvements-and-registrati...
>
> Cheers,
> ~Arne

[PhistucK]

I guess I agree.

Luckily, I already uploaded extensions to the gallery prior to this new policy.

But, I think I would have not paid to add my extensions to the gallery, especially since I never intended for them to be popular.

So, if, for Google, the gallery is aimed only towards 'serious' extension developers, of which job is to develop extensions, then alright, but if Google meant that the gallery is also aimed towards casual extension developers, of which job is unrelated to the browser extension business, then my guess is that it is losing that share of developers.

☆PhistucK

>
> Cheers,
> ~Arne

[Goodwine]

D: I was gonna upload mine today! haha
Damn I barely get to eat and now I'll have to pay for others to have
fun.

=/ well, time to break the pig or become a beggar, although I still
hate the one who proposed the fee...
Oh yes I hate you.

Hey I wan't to be sure about something, if I don't own a domain, how
would the owner of the domain confirm it as "official" without me
having his data or he having to upload?
Would extensions also get "official" or is that only for apps?

And... well, I'm kinda confused with terms,
Apps - would be like Google Docs
Extensions - something like Chrome Bird
right?

PS: =.=

[PhistucK]

Comments inline.

☆PhistucK

On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 19:22, Goodwine <carlo...@gmail.com> wrote:

D: I was gonna upload mine today! haha
Damn I barely get to eat and now I'll have to pay for others to have
fun.

=/ well, time to break the pig or become a beggar, although I still
hate the one who proposed the fee...
Oh yes I hate you.

No need to hate, I am sure they did not mean to harm you. ;)

Positive feelings! :)

 

Hey I wan't to be sure about something, if I don't own a domain, how
would the owner of the domain confirm it as "official" without me
having his data or he having to upload?
Would extensions also get "official" or is that only for apps?

Every extension or app can have an "official" tag.

This tag is only supposes to distinguish unofficial extensions that are acting on behalf of a certain website and official extensions of the same kind. For example, a del.icio.us extension can be official (the del.icio.us created an extension) and can be unofficial (some developer used their API).

This is not to say - "This extension is crap, do not download it", but to say "It is recommended to read comments and reviews before you install this extension to ensure you are getting whatever you really wanted, securely, efficiently and quickly".

 

And... well, I'm kinda confused with terms,
Apps - would be like Google Docs

Yes, something like that. It can be a packaged application (for example, a JavaScript only version of an offline Google Docs), or it can sort of a shortcut for a hosted web application, that gives it extra permissions (unlimited storage for Web SQL Databases or Local Storage, Geolocation, desktop notifications).

Extensions - something like Chrome Bird

Yes. Something that adds something to the browser - a toolbar button, a page action, a context menu, scripts that get run automatically on a web page, notifiers and more.

 

right?

PS: =.=

[Goodwine Grim]

Its not that kind of hate, its kind of a love-hate

just like Tsundere xD

Thanks for the info.

[aaafwd]

I would definitely NOT have payed the fee and kept my extension private to me and few of my friends.

[Goodwine Grim]

My extension will be offered to like 100k players, but they mostly use FF, so its like a good hook to bring them to Chrome :p