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Commodore 64 Runs Again On the iPhone
Hugh Pickens writes "Stephen Williams reports in the NY Times that the app recreating some of the Commodore's seminal retro games, including Le Mans, Dragons Den and Jupiter Lander, has been re-issued after being pulled in September. The app features SID sound emulation, auto-save to continue where you left off, and a realistic joystick with a beautifully crafted C64 keyboard. Apple originally rejected the program for violating the SDK agreement, which dictates that '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).' After disabling the controversial feature, Apple published the app in September, but days later it was pulled and the developer was asked to remove, rather than just disable, the BASIC interpreter from the program, which would have allowed unscrupulous users to run unlicensed, emulated code on the iPhone or iPod Touch. 'The road was bumpy, but we remained persistent and made the changes Apple was looking for. Ultimately, BASIC has been removed for this release; however, we hope that working with Apple further will allow us to re-enable it,' the company wrote on its blog."
LOAD "VIRUS",8,1
What is the point of running a Commodore C64 Basic application on a DAMN PHONE ?
--Ivan
Haha only on /. would someone compare Apple to communist Russia and be corrected 'Its worse than that, you could even call it DRM'.
I hate DRM too but it probably isn't as bad as the USSR. Though really if Apple owned a country I'm not sure if it would be more or less restrictive than the USSR...
Well! I certainly take back my assertion that Apple's app store is authoritarian. You have certainly bested me in argument, sir, and I bow my head in shame. My strategy of comparing different sorts of authoritarianism has come apart in the face of your assertion that I would enjoy the violent deaths of thousands of people. Moreover, your rhetorical strategy of making any references to communism off-limits for any sort of discussion can only make future debates more fruitful and productive by letting our society forget about 20th century history.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
That's disappointing. Just when I thought my hard earned BASIC programming skills were going to allow me to write unauthorised programs for the iPhone. Oh well.
Conservation of angular momentum makes the world go round.
Ah, but there is another side to this technology. Next Friday will be Junis day,a reminder to us all of the contributions of Commodore computers to the causes of liberty and to international journalism. Millions of impoverished Afghanis rely on Commodore Basic emulators on their iPhones to be able to participate in the international community. Apple are clearly hindering this in hopes of appealing to the lucrative Taliban market instead. Such cynicism is appalling.
To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem. ~ h2g2
Boo apple.
The early home computers, including Apple, shipped with BASIC and a nicely bound manual with clear instructions on simple programming. This was the first step for many who are now players in the industry.
It's almost like the old days again. I hear current Apple products still ship with a book that's about as thick as the old programming manual that came with the Apple ][.
I believe it's called The License Agreement or something like that.
Despite months of negotiations to get a Commodore 64 emulator approved for the iPhone, Apple has pulled the application after just two days after a hack was found that enables the BASIC interpreter.
“Anything capable of allowing programming — any programming — could be a security risk to the iPhone and its users,” said Apple in a statement to the Library of Congress on copyright. “As such, it is absolutely vital for the safety of the nation that we vet every single application and collect 30% on each one.”
Apple software reviewers, who are generally moonlighting from day jobs as TSA airport security policy writers, fear a wave of 1980s-style “hackers” using the iPhone to “dial” into NASA or National Security Agency computers using the accompanying 300-Baud Acoustic-Coupled Modem application. “We had our suspicions when the app lit the user’s face from below in just the right shade of green to show off their cheekbones really photogenically.”
Reviewers were particularly concerned that the BASIC interpreter was originally written by Microsoft. “Of course, their security is famously terrible,” said one reviewer in a break from torturing kittens. “We’d probably get a Commodore 64 virus. And their sense of aesthetics! No way Steve would ever let that through.”
A similar Commodore 64 emulator that gives ten cents to AT&T every time a user runs a game has passed approval in two days.
“A strange phone,” said NSA correspondent “WOPR.” “The only winning move is not to buy.”
http://rocknerd.co.uk
What exactly do you have against Braben?
"Apple must control everything. Yes, they regard even a BASIC interpreter as a threat."
No, it's not that. They consider GOTO to be harmful.
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