Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

roomsapp.mobi

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 53 posts

Re: Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

#41

Post by credo »

illumin8 wrote: post #27
lukev wrote: post #7

At this point, anyone who develops an iTunes app is bringing this on their own head. Apple's arbitrary stupidity is a known risk . If you don't want to get bit, then don't play with the pit bull.

It seems the developer just let his 1 year distribution certificate expire. This is really careless on his part and blame should not be automatically placed on Apple. If you distribute a web app using SSL, and let your Verisign certificate expire, are you going to complain that Verisign is unfair because now your customers are getting security warnings/errors in their browsers?

The developer said "somehow my so called ‘Distribution Provisioning Profile’ has expired and seems to be the reason."

However, to me, it isn't clear that this was really the reason for his app being removed from sale.

My first two apps haven't been updated for a long time (the first was released in 2008 and the second in early 2009). The distribution provisioning profiles (and the certificates used for the profiles) expired a long time ago.

However, those two apps are still available for sale in the app-store (because my developer registration continues to be active)

It is unclear why the developer's app was removed from sale after being approved, but if the certificate/profile had been valid at approval time, that isn't the problem. If the profile had previously expired and the app had been approved in error, he should just try to resubmit it with a new provisioning profile.

Re: Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

#42

Post by isamuel »

troystribling wrote: post #30
kanwisher wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a separate mode for background audio, pandora uses it

I thought this was playing audio not streaming it. A streaming app would need both background network access and the ability to play audio in the background. See the Background Audio section at http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/documentation/iPho... . It is not clear here that network access is permitted. Being vague in the permitted application functions for each mode makes it difficult to know what exactly…

It's completely clear that network access is permitted because Pandora uses it, which is the app everyone thinks of when they think background audio. It also works for Rdio and many other apps.

Re: Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

#43

Post by Zev »

Hoff wrote: post #20

I can't tell if the programmer was using the VoIP mechanisms to allow the app to run continuously in the background, though it does look that the programmer was attempting that. Apple isn't going to allow continuous background. If your application needs that, then that's likely best an Android application and not an iOS application. And this comment: "It’s just not possible to tell them to hold the chatline, send a P…

Why not create the servers necessary to do that; to allow off-line IRC, and deliver via push? There are folks already using a similar scheme - bouncers - to do that with existing IRC clients and servers, after all. Package that and sell it, and (if your end-user agreements are clear about the potential for dual-use of the servers) package and sell the feed, too.

We considered running a service like this for Mobile Colloquy. We ultimately decided that it wasn't worth doing. Too many different IRC networks out there, too much potential for abuse. This page is slightly out of date, but explains our reasoning for not running a bouncer service on our own: http://colloquy.mobi/push.html

Instead, we host a push server and let people use a bouncer that they host on their own for push. There's support for ZNC, Colloquy and irssi. Plus an SDK-type thing, so any other bouncer with a plugin system can, in theory, work.

Re: Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

#44

Post by andrewljohnson »

rimantas wrote: post #3
jacquesm wrote: post #2

That really sucks, but it is the risk you take when you allow someone else a say in the operation of your business. If you want to have a solid income stream you'd do well to stay miles away from walled gardens where some flunky behind a desk can destroy your business with a click of their mouse.

Indeed. Port it to Android and make a bunch of money there. Or in Nokia's OVI store.

Bad advice... The money on Android is terrible compared to iPhone. I know this from continuing experience.

Anyone doing mobile and wanting to bootstrap needs to do iPhone first.

Re: Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

#45

Post by pak »

lukev wrote: post #7

At this point, anyone who develops an iTunes app is bringing this on their own head. Apple's arbitrary stupidity is a known risk . If you don't want to get bit, then don't play with the pit bull.

I wonder if somebody could start an insurance product based on consolidating the risk among iPhone app developers for damages due to arbitrary App Store rejections/delays. It would cover stuff like this, "Acts of Jobs", etc.

Re: Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

#46

Post by Zev »

Maybe its because I've contributed to Mobile Colloquy (Rooms' competition), but, I can't bring myself to be pissed off here. The guy actively ignored his app for periods at a time. That his certs expired at some point isn't surprising. And then he proceeds to abuse APIs in a way that Apple has specifically said not to do. And acts surprised at rejection?

You know what? We had the exact same issues when working on Mobile Colloquy. We managed to figure out a way to not get removed from the app store. And we're BSD! All he had to do was copy what we did (yet again; Rooms' core is based on Colloquy's Chat Core)!

Re: Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

#47

Post by hboon »

andrewljohnson wrote: post #44
rimantas wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Port it to Android and make a bunch of money there. Or in Nokia's OVI store.

Bad advice... The money on Android is terrible compared to iPhone. I know this from continuing experience. Anyone doing mobile and wanting to bootstrap needs to do iPhone first.

I think that was his point. iPhone is where the money is (for the top X developers).

Re: Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

#48

Post by ojilles »

mfukar wrote: post #26
javanix wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And lose out on whatever chance they had of making a decent profit? I doubt that this jailbreak ruling is going to result in a spate of common-joe iPhone hacking.

I agree it's not ideal profit-wise, and neither do I expect every iPhone user to be interested, let alone technically savvy, enough to jailbreak their iPhone. But I find the fact that the executable won't be free even if my source code is (and I don't mean free as in "free of charge" - people deserve to get paid for their work and then some) a farce, at best.

How is that a farce? The distribution model of the App store has been clear from the start... It's take it or leave it - but depending on jailbreaking for a mass market app is clearly not going to work.

Re: Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

#49

Post by augustl »

rimantas wrote: post #3
jacquesm wrote: post #2

That really sucks, but it is the risk you take when you allow someone else a say in the operation of your business. If you want to have a solid income stream you'd do well to stay miles away from walled gardens where some flunky behind a desk can destroy your business with a click of their mouse.

Indeed. Port it to Android and make a bunch of money there. Or in Nokia's OVI store.

I recently got an Android phone, ans was stumped to find that the Android Market did not support paid apps in Norway, where I live.

I'm speechless..

Re: Rooms irc app removed after 4 minutes in app store

#50

Post by alttab »

invisible wrote: post #37
illumin8 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems the developer just let his 1 year distribution certificate expire. This is really careless on his part and blame should not be automatically placed on Apple. If you distribute a web app using SSL, and let your Verisign certificate expire, are you going to complain that Verisign is unfair because now your customers are getting security warnings/errors in their browsers?

False. He did not let his distribution certificate expire - his "distribution provisioning profile" expired. Read this carefully: http://www.roomsapp.mobi/blog/2010/07/roomspulled-from-store...

Sounds like he set up a provisioning profile early on and hated the process so much he just kept using the same one for his final project.
Post reply on HN