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Inside Apple's iPhone SDK Gag Order

Posted by samzenpus on from the the-first-rule-of-iPhone dept.

snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Tom Yager takes a closer look at Apple's iPhone SDK confidentiality agreement, which restricts developers from discussing the SDK or exchanging ideas with others, thereby leaving no room for forums, newsgroups, open source projects, tutorials, magazine articles, users' groups, or books. But because anyone is free to obtain the iPhone SDK by signing up for it, Apple is essentially branding publicly available information as confidential. This 'puzzling contradiction' is the 'antithesis of the developer-friendly Apple Developer Connection' on which the iPhone SDK program is based, Yager contends. 'You'll see arguments from armchair legal analysts that the iPhone developer Agreements won't stand up in court — but those analysts certainly won't stand up in court on your behalf.' Anyone planning to launch an iPhone forum or open source project should have 'a lawyer draft your request for exemption, and make sure that the Apple staffer granting it personally commits to status as authorized to approve exceptions to the iPhone Registered Developer and iPhone SDK Agreements,' Yager warns."

25 of 495 comments (clear)

  1. no sale, here, then by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I had no idea about this. I don't follow apple things (...) but given how sue-happy they are, they can certainly live without MY buying any of their gear.

    simply because of this, alone; I vow not to buy an iphone. I was not really in the market but now I know for sure that apple is on my blacklist (at least the evil phones).

    apple: are you trying to dislodge MS as the most hated computer company around? keep it up, mate....

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    1. Re:no sale, here, then by Grey+Ninja · · Score: 5, Insightful

      apple: are you trying to dislodge MS as the most hated computer company around? keep it up, mate....

      They're already there, as far as I'm concerned. Apple's business practices just reeks of some mad power trip in general. They absolutely despise people using their products (be it hardware or software) in ways that they had not intended. Microsoft is FAR their superior in that regard. The main evil with Microsoft is seen by the IT professional, not the consumer. With Apple, it's generally the other way around.

      The only explanation I can see for Apple's recent surge in popularity is their marketing, which is absolutely top notch.

    2. Re:no sale, here, then by loganrapp · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Well, that's one more reason to wait and see how the HTC Dream and other Android-using devices work out.

    3. Re:no sale, here, then by HumanEmulator · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The only explanation I can see for Apple's recent surge in popularity is their marketing, which is absolutely top notch.

      So in the past 10 years, the switch to a unix based operating system with modern object oriented apis, the switch to intel hardware that made an easier transition for windows developers, the acquisition and development of technologies like multi-touch, the negotiating with record labels to break out of the subscription model, the adoption of open source for many parts of the operating system (from Darwin to WebKit) and so on had nothing to do with it?

      Yeah, it's silly that they haven't lifted the NDA yet, but it's not like developers have gotten excited about their platform because of brightly colored commercials.

    4. Re:no sale, here, then by BhaKi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Every anti-competitive trick used by M$ is also used by Apple. However, M$ has a monopoly and Apple doesn't. For some people, this is reason enough to abstain from hating Apple. Unfortunately, such people don't realize that they are just becoming silent promoters of such tricks.

      --
      The largest prime factor of my UID is 263267.
    5. Re:no sale, here, then by ontheroll · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As an owner of an iPhone 3G who previously owned dozens of different phones from all possible manufacturers (SE, Nokia, Siemens, Motorola, HTC, Samsung, just to name a few), I have to say that iPhone is superior for two simple facts:

      1) It is, BY FAR, the most intuitive and easy-to-use-out-of-the-box phone I have ever used.

      2) It is fun to use. Sure, all new phones are fun in the beginning, but after 2 weeks with this phone I still enjoy every time I surf the web or write an eMail with it. Something that never happend to me with any other phone (and not with any of the same generation competitors of the iPhone).

      So yes, it has many downsides, Apple are bastards when it comes to their control freakiness but their products are better.

    6. Re:no sale, here, then by Candid88 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In fact, I'd go so far as to say sometimes Apple's anti-competitive practices make Microsoft look like angels by comparison.

      I'm no M$ fan in anyway but I do find it remarkable how much stuff Apple get away.

    7. Re:no sale, here, then by Candid88 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "but there is nothing wrong with that because Apple has no monopoly in any market."

      Nothing wrong to you maybe, personally I think no matter what the game, the players should all be playing by the same rules.

      "the whole sue-the-blogger fiasco was grounded in law"

      Yea, grounded in bad law, which doesn't make it right. The Nuremberg trials after the Holocaust established that.

      Let's be clear, given the evidence at hand, if history was different and Apple were in Microsoft's position there would be, if anything, far less openness and freedom for innovation in the software industry.

    8. Re:no sale, here, then by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You want to allow product tying for non-monopoly players, but disallow it for the monopolies. That's good governance

      Er, what? How is that good governance. I'm trying really hard to think of why we should allow artificial product tying ... and failing.

      How is society served by requiring iTunes to activate an iPhone? How does the free market benefit when Apple abuse their iTunes install base to install Safari for Windows?

      I can swallow "natural" tying .... like the iPhone SDK to a Mac .... because implementing the SDK in a cross platform fashion is hard and that shouldn't be an aspect of law. But Apple actually had to go out of their way to make the iPhone depend on iTunes and I'm just having a really hard time seeing why that kind of crap should only be illegal when you're a monopoly. Because to me it seems inherently bad.

      Lastly, hating a company means that you're defining your reactions by them. It's precisely as valid as loving a company. Neither are logical or even sensible.

      Another non-sequitur. A company is just a group of people. It's not illogical to dislike a company, anymore than it's illogical to dislike a group of bullies at high school, or a band, or a political party. Companies don't get a special "get out of emotions free" card through virtue of being incorporated.

    9. Re:no sale, here, then by Firehed · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I agree, but you have to remember that their overbearing protection schemes are also the reason that their products are popular. Say what you want about it from a Freedom perspective, but when one person/group/company controls the entire ecosystem, they're able to weed out the junk that plagues the other ecosystems out there. A year and a half on I still can't get decent drivers for Vista for my very-current-at-the-time system, but I've absolutely never had issues of hardware or driver compatibility on my MBP.

      --
      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
  2. This will have to change... by Karpe · · Score: 5, Informative

    Stanford has announced that it will be offering an iPhone development course. I would also expect that many books on iPhone development are being edited to be published soon. For these to occur, iPhone development information cannot be under NDA. So it's just a matter of time. Apple is not stupid.

  3. Sorry I can't talk about this. by blanchae · · Score: 5, Funny

    This forum is in contempt of the NDA.

  4. Re:Typical Apple by paroneayea · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So... I guess this kind of mentality puzzles me. There are a lot of apple users out there, who, like you, acknowldge that they're being dicked around mostly even because you take interest.

    To me it almost seems like an abusive relationship. You care about them, they beat you up, and you keep coming back. Why?

    Note, I don't mean you, per se. But it seems pretty common in the Apple fanboy communities.

    --
    http://mediagoblin.org/
  5. Message Received. by mkcmkc · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Apple doesn't want me to program their hardware. I hear and will obey...

    --
    "Not an actor, but he plays one on TV."
  6. Re:So basically, no learning help? by AllIGotWasThisNick · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is this cellular fight club or something?

    Not quite. I expect the iPhone SDK NDA bullshit will end with the end of the Android SDK NDA bullshit. Neither wants to show their cards first.

  7. Re:Try not to choke. by zapakh · · Score: 5, Funny

    A secret survey conducted by the Rand Corporation in the 1970s confirmed that any person attracted to white, plastic machines completely without sharp edges is an utter homosexual, subconsciously wishing to insert them into his rectum.

    Wow. I gotta watch Wall-E again...

  8. Common Fanboy Behaviour, in general... by PC+and+Sony+Fanboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Can you think of a single fanboy that doesn't defend his obsession to death? ... then again, I guess that *is* the definition of fanboy.

    1. Re:Common Fanboy Behaviour, in general... by Concerned+Onlooker · · Score: 5, Funny

      Indeed. Remarkable insightful for someone who has "Fanboy" in his username. :-)

      --
      http://www.rootstrikers.org/
  9. The first rule of Apple SDK Developers club is.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...you don't talk about Apple SDK Developers club.

  10. That's amazingly stupid! by zullnero · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When I first got into Palm development 10 years ago, there was a vibrant and amazing community...I used to participate heavily in the mailing list and forums back then. If you wanted to do something that wasn't explained in the manual, you could post a question...and there was a good chance the person giving you a reply was one of their top OS design engineers. Microsoft started doing some of that later on when they had so many employees with free time on their hands...but you couldn't put a price on that kind of interaction. It seriously helped me pick up the platform so quickly, and that helped me build a pretty good career for myself. Even now I'm still a Palm OS hobbyist for mainly that reason.

    I can't see that happening with iPhone. What a stupid, stupid way to go about things. Palm didn't even have a robust platform, and they kept a huge market dominance way longer than they should have by making it easy to develop for their platform by keeping things out in the open. You had to sign agreements, but it wasn't this fascist Apple crap for sure. I'll take on any Apple fanboy on that point.

  11. No browsers, no API, players or background apps by Coolhand2120 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The SDK EULA also says a lot of other bullshit:

    3.3.2 An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise. No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple's Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s).

    Kaspersky dosen't like that idea

    Slashdotters apparently don't like that you can never write browsers, music/video players or background applications.

    Voice over IP apps like Skype that attempt to use the cellular data connection will be blocked. Competing web browsers Firefox and Opera are forbidden.

    I can't think of any other company that has ever done anything like this. I'm really just curious, has any company ever publicised a SDK that has been so very private and restrictive? No other browsers?!?

    This story reminds me of the time I tried to hook my Apple cinema display up to my Cable box's DVI port, it's just not worth it, even if you get it to work, you have 5 more lbs of monitor you've got to hide somewhere, just because Apple wanted to squeeze a little dough out of people with more proprietary cable connectors.

    Apple has always been about "Show me the money", every action they take reemphasized that they are only interested in more money, not innovation. Here though, they really go out of their way to stifle innovation with literals like "...calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise...". It really says it all, don't bother trying to write this for our hardware, you may compete with us in such a way that we can't fuck you properly.

  12. Re:If this is the computing model of the future by trawg · · Score: 5, Informative

    I like Nokia's new advertising platform:

    http://www.opentoanything.com/

    At a glance it looks like they've identified Apple's closed stance is a big gripe for developers and hardcore tech-types, and they're going after that market.

    Obviously they've also got Google on the other side, but I hope they do well out of this. If they stop spamming out a billion different mobile models a year and focus on getting some nice, neat hardware backed by some good open source, get enough developer support, and they could have something going on.

  13. Re:Apple hosts public iPhone discussions by Coolhand2120 · · Score: 5, Funny

    And therefore violates the terms of the iPhone SDK EULA! Which is what makes it so entirely silly.

    The EULA for Safari for windows also forbids the installing of safari on windows. Again silly. Apple needs to become about 638% less litigious. Yes, I quantified it, wana fight about it?

  14. Re:Not quite accurate by dredwerker · · Score: 5, Informative

    The N810 has a much better res screen, it runs linux, it runs lots of opensource apps. It will connect up to your 3g phone to give you 3g access. It has a keyboard. It will also run Google Android. The Apple kit is shiney but try typing an email on a touch screen hmmm nice. O and while I am at it where is that GPS in the touch ? I want a new Iphone 3g for some inexplicable reason, it is shiney and its kinda fun. I wont buy one though. I hate locked down kit.

    --
    On a long enough timeline. The survival rate for everyone drops to zero. Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, 1996
  15. What uttter nonsense. by jcr · · Score: 5, Informative

    The iPhone SDK is still a beta release, and the restrictions on discussing it are precisely the same as we Apple developers have always had for developer seed releases of OS X. Jager's trolling for page hits.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."