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Apple Pulls C64 Emulator From the App Store

Posted by kdawson on from the brief-shining-moment dept.

Rob Hearn sends in a piece up at PocketGamer.co.uk on why Apple suddenly pulled Manomio's C64 emulator soon after finally approving it. (El Reg has coverage too.) "It was a glorious few moments for retro gamers when Manomio's C64 emulator was finally approved by Apple and released to the eager, nostalgic iPhone public. Then, calamity! It was gone again. Apparently some wily users figured out how to access the Commodore 64 BASIC system that was originally packaged with the emulator — something that Apple wasn't too happy with, given the nature of the interpreter's code. By setting the keyboard to 'always on,' launching a game and restarting BASIC, players got into the 'empty shell' of their C64 emulator."

12 of 580 comments (clear)

  1. C64 BASIC too powerful to be safe by bzzfzz · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I would have laughed if you told me, back in the day, that future device makers would go to great lengths to lock out C64 BASIC so that users could use it to build applications that were so powerful that important third parties would be afraid. I know it's Turing-complete, but still.

    I have never been much of a believer in Stallman's dystopian visions but I'm getting closer to believing them.

    1. Re:C64 BASIC too powerful to be safe by jpmorgan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The computing world never turned into quite the dystopia that some feared, because the vertical integrators were mostly killed. Now, in the past I couldn't really care what Apple did because they were always a niche platform. But some disclosure: I hate the iPhone, I want it to die, or at least lose its dominant position. If the future of mobile computing is dominated by a company like Apple, then it's a bleak future. Say what you will about Microsoft's domination of the desktop, but they were never draconian like this.

      In the past being a Windows dev was compared to serfdom. If that's true, then what's being an iPhone developer like?

  2. Apple tries REALLY hard... by IllForgetMyNickSoonA · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As it seems, Apple tries REALLY hard to surpass Microsoft on the list of the most hated IT companies. This stunt they just pulled with the C64 emulator is pure idiocy!

    1. Re:Apple tries REALLY hard... by Ohio+Calvinist · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The issue is that if they allow this application, they'll have a harder time justifying denying other applications using interpreted languages. That seems like a non-story to me. Everyone has known from the beginning that that was the case, and that the reason was that if they allowed it, there would be no way of controlling it.

      However what I do think is interesting is that they'd allow any emulator at all. Particularly one whose games all depend upon an interpreted language. I'm primarily surprised because of the possibility that someone might be able to get unauthorized apps to run under it, not to mention any liability (real or assumed) a plantiff might try to claim if the emulator ran their code illegally and that Apple rubber stamped it knowing the possibility. Emulators have always been in that sort of gray-area. Apple is more than just the device manufacturer, all apps through the app-store have them functioning as a distributor.

      --
      Forgive my spelling from time to time. I'm often posting during short breaks.
  3. Apple is worse than Microsoft by etymxris · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When it comes to proprietary lock-in. Styling and hype is much more exciting than philosophical and economical arguments for having an open platform. I encourage anyone with appreciation of these issues to boycott closed platforms like the iPhone, consoles, and set top cable boxes.

  4. You don't understand by jpmorgan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Spur an interest in programmable platforms and maybe get people interested in being more than just a passive consumer of whatever crap Apple wants to shovel at them through iTunes.

  5. Re:Because...... by Danathar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Um...the coding of C64 software was ALL ABOUT using peek and poke in unintended ways!

  6. Re:The n900 cometh... by ShadowRangerRIT · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Unlike the iPhone though, that's the whole cost. The iPhone's "real" price is buried in the mandatory contract. Outside of the U.S., you don't have a phone bundled with the plan, but the plan itself is cheaper. So yes, it costs $650 (or equivalent local currency), but the plan only runs $20-40/month, not $60-70/month. Over two years, you will have paid quite a bit more for the iPhone. And if you choose not to upgrade after two years, the savings over the iPhone accrue even faster.

    --
    $_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
  7. Apple Hates Geeks by popo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No seriously. Apple hates geeks. This isn't flamebait, btw.

    Apple loves the image-conscious, visual-creative crowd that accepts the functionality they're given, wrapped up in beautifully designed packages.

    But ultimately Apple's corporate strategy can be summed up in one word: Control. They want to control where you buy your music, what you do with your devices, and how you interact with other users. All of this 'control' of course is driven by profit motives.

    But geeks ultimately represent a loss of control. Geeks love to tinker... They love to expand functionality. They're innovators. And worst of all from Apple's perspective: They create options.

    Options are the enemy of a carefully structured system which drives users towards Apple's sacred points-of-purchase.

    Options are the opposite of 'control'.

    For all of Apple's "Think Different" public image, the reality is that Apple encourages nothing of the sort: "Think Alike" is the mission. And they prove it at every turn.

    Apple fanboys will probably mod this flamebait. It isn't. I have multiple computers and phones, and own an iPhone and a Mac. But I'm constantly being made aware that my PC represents a nearly infinite amount of options in every usage category -- where Apple railroads me into a pre-approved (albeit always compatible) solution.

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    ------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
  8. Re:And then what? by greenguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This summarizes why I don't own an iPhone. They're very slick and all, but I've been spoiled by running Linux for years. The concept of needing someone's approval to run software on my hardware is a non-starter for me. I'll decide that for myself, thanks very much.

    --
    What if I do the same thing, and I do get different results?
  9. Re:The n900 cometh... by whisper_jeff · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Your post reminds me of the hundreds of "the iPod is dead, here is its successor" posts that I read back in the day.

    I'm just sayin'.

  10. Re:And then what? by oldspewey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It was kinda fun to live in that age when people were gullible enough to accept ANYTHING that popped up on screen.

    About 80% of my friends/family still appear to live in that age.

    --
    If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?