Antony is right in that there are a lot of differences between DNN and an iPhone/iPad.  The Apple environment is a completely closed shop where they control everything.  DNN is at the other end of the scale where absolutely everything is open.  Restricting access to snowcovered would just mean applications will pop up somewhere else.  I would guess that probably over 80% of extensions installed into DNN are not sourced through snowcovered.  I know the vast majority of code of mine that is used in DNN installs is taken directly from my downloads page, and snowcovered sales represent just a fraction of the total downloads for software that I have written for DNN.

There are a lot of problems with certification ; the thread here is talking about problems with upgrading the core, and it's clear that the size of the QA problem is difficult enough to deal with.  It's just not feasible to test the infinite combinations of DNN Versions and third party modules.

When researching a module purchase, the feedback is there for people to see across the internet.  It should be clear if the developer is keeping up with DNN releases, or if they have abandoned the software.  

Having said all that, I and other developers are working closer with DNN corp in testing releases as they come up.  There's still work to be done but I think the message should be that the problems have been noticed and solutions are being developed.  Nobody has thrown up their hands and given up.

Just a couple of points in response.

I said the cost should be low, maybe it could just be a small percentage of the total module sales, so there is no upfront cost for developer. It should be sponsored mostly by DNN Corp as a way to build their business.

If this was a regular occurrence why should I think about going from CE to PE, instead of from DNN to some other CMS? It's in the interests of DNN corp to minimize these issues.

I also said there should be two tiers - certified and uncertified, which means nobody is forced to comply, it's a choice, just like it's my choice which modules I am going to buy.

As far as being aware of who the "good developers" are, it's not that easy. How do you know whether the company is doing things correctly until there is an issue like this? We don't even know now which modules broke with this latest release, unless we were affected ourselves. Where is the list of these modules that has been published? As far as I know it has not been published.

So how could I possibly know which modules are likely to break in the future until it affects me??