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."

Comments

Can you actually do anything useful?

[omni123]

Is there actually a method of doing anything unscrupulous with a BASIC interpreter running inside a C64 emulator running on an iPhone?

Re:Can you actually do anything useful?

[nomadic]

LOAD "VIRUS",8,1

Re:Can you actually do anything useful?

[DNS-and-BIND]

That's not the point. The point is, Apple must control everything. Yes, they regard even a BASIC interpreter as a threat. And they are very correct to do so. You might laugh but Apple's principles are sound. I have just spent some time reviewing documents from just before the Wall fell and it was very clearly revealed that letting people have a little bit of freedom was ultimately disastrous.

Re:Can you actually do anything useful?

[Brian Gordon]

I hate the ridiculous anti-free nature of the app store, but it's not hard to see why Apple would be concerned. The fear is that if a program gets into the App Store that allows any sort of user-provided data to be executed, then evil unlicensed apps could be delivered to the platform through that interpreter.

For example, instead of writing your games in C and paying Apple to sell them on the app store, you could write your game in BASIC and deliver them through the C64 emulator. Apple makes no money. Not exactly practical, but if there's a hole in the interpreter environment that allows a jump into raw binary data (which could be set to ARM instructions) then it's up to the app developer to fix it, and Apple has no control. This is the kind of problem that plagued TI calculators for years until they decided to open them up, and was the door into custom unsigned software on game consoles before the age of modchips and hard drives.

Re:Can you actually do anything useful?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. You can do things your Apple overlords have not expressly given you permission to do. This cannot be allowed, because they have not given permission.

The phone market is Apple's wet dream, because none of the customers have any expectation of openness or being able to actually do anything with their own hardware, so there's not much complaint when they give users the full Apple experience by locking everything down. I fully expect they'd do the exact same damn thing with OS X elsewhere if they could get away with it.

Re:Can you actually do anything useful?

[DNS-and-BIND]

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.

Re:Can you actually do anything useful?

[kandela]

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.

Re:Can you actually do anything useful?

[Hope Thelps]

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.

Re:Can you actually do anything useful?

[mgblst]

It is ignorant to talk about Apple being upset at not being able to make money from Commodore basic games.

You can already release as many free games as you want, which cost apple money to host, and they do not make a cent. Apple doesn't care if you release any game you want, or as many as you want for free. They will not stop you (as long as you follow the rules).

It is clearly not about money. It is about a rule Apple created, not for commodore basic, but for things like flash. basic just happens to fit into this rule.

Re:Can you actually do anything useful?

[dgr73]

What exactly do you have against Braben?

Re:Can you actually do anything useful?

[sjames]

Apple's problem is that they have a bunch of thieving users who think the iPhone is theirs to use as they wish just because they paid for it. Next thing you know, they'll be writing "hello world" and you know where that leads! If you give a bunch of scumbags like that even an inch, next thing you know, they'll be demanding that they get what they pay for every time! The nerve!!

The point is ?

[ivan_w]

What is the point of running a Commodore C64 Basic application on a DAMN PHONE ?

--Ivan

Re:The point is ?

[postbigbang]

Today: Commodore 64.

Tomorrow: VAX/VMS

Tuesday: Plan 9

Thursday: MacOS

Oh, wait....

The app's BASIC really wasn't that usable anyway

[rubenerd]

I downloaded it before it got taken down the first time and had fun entering BASIC command for a couple of seconds before I lost interest. Touch screen keyboards are fine for quick SMS messages or email but I couldn't imagine being such a masochist that I'd want to enter entire programs in with one! I suppose someone with enough resolve could do some amazing stuff and create an alternative interface to the iPhone with 8bit PETSCII glory. Actually that would be kinda cool.

Anyway despite that, I kept the application and won't be upgrading, if only just to (Mr Burns voice) honk off my Apple masters :).

Re:How many guru's started with BASIC?

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Apple saves world from 8-bit nuclear attack

[David Gerard]

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.”