Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines

#131

Post by binaryfinery » Thu, Sep 09, 2010, 4:26 PM UTC

Well, I've spent the last six months learning the shitiest language and libraries with the most backwards arse tools. What a total waste of my time.

Can't decide whether I'm furious at this loss of time and destruction of my competitive advantage, or deliriously happy at the thought of being able to use proper tools like Resharper and IDEA.

I suppose the fact is I still have a competitive advantage. I have one client purely because they tried middleware and it ran like ass, so they wanted a native app.

Time to get Java installed on the iPhone. I'd prefer Monotouch, but the editors on OSX suck compared to Resharper.

Re: Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines

#132

Post by DrJokepu » Thu, Sep 09, 2010, 4:31 PM UTC

davidcann wrote: post #128

statictype wrote: post #118

Some of the app review guidelines seem weird: Apps larger than 20MB in size will not download over cellular networks (this is automatically prohibited by the App Store) Don't many games cross this threshold? Apps that browse the web must use the iOS WebKit framework and WebKit Javascript Opera Mini - which was accepted by the App Store - would seem to fail this rule.

The 20MB size limit over cell networks has been published for a long time. It used to be 10MB and they raised it last year, so nothing new on that one.

Also, the 20MB limit applies to everything in iTunes, not just the app store. If you purchase a video in iTunes that is larger than 20MB, it will refuse to download it on cellular connections.

Re: Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines

#133

Post by kristofferR » Thu, Sep 09, 2010, 4:32 PM UTC

steilpass wrote: post #57

Strange. Didn't Steve Jobs mention he doesn't want another software layer? Because it leads to bad apps and they can't push API changes as fast, because these third party layers have to update?

I guess he changed his mind when Epic showed him the Unreal Engine 3 running on an iPhone. He was so impressed by it that he presented it as the only third party app on their iPod press conference, that says a lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2H8hmi8yrQ

Re: Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines

#134

Post by weaksauce » Thu, Sep 09, 2010, 4:32 PM UTC

kd5bjo wrote: post #120

jacquesm wrote: post #21

So, how about all those people that were supporting apples' right to run their app store the way they see fit and who said that there is no point complaining about it? I think this proves that complaining about stuff like this is well worth the effort, assuming that that - and not some backroom pressure - is what caused them to back off. They mention it in their release so I figure it must have been a major factor. e…

There are a lot of items worded like this: > Apps that do not use the MediaPlayer framework to access media in the Music Library will be rejected That sounds like apps that don't access the Music Library at all will be rejected.

Not really, you can bundle music in your app and call it however you like. If you are playing music from the music that you loaded from itunes then yes they want you to use that framework.

Re: Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines

#135

Post by magicseth » Thu, Sep 09, 2010, 4:35 PM UTC

An important Caveat is Section 1 and 10.1: The Human Interface Guidelines. This is large document that describes in general the "look and feel" of apps that run on the iPhone. If you make something that doesn't fit with their long-term vision, or irks them in some other way, it is extremely easy for them to say "You are violating the Human Interface Guidelines," and leave it at that. This has prevented me from delivering innovative UI experiences on iOS, stifling creativity, and again, frustrating developers with wasted research and development time.

Re: Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines

#136

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Sep 09, 2010, 4:37 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #21

So, how about all those people that were supporting apples' right to run their app store the way they see fit and who said that there is no point complaining about it? I think this proves that complaining about stuff like this is well worth the effort, assuming that that - and not some backroom pressure - is what caused them to back off. They mention it in their release so I figure it must have been a major factor. e…

[deleted]

Re: Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines

#137

Post by weaksauce » Thu, Sep 09, 2010, 4:37 PM UTC

jlongster wrote: post #101

jacquesm wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a tricky one, you're right about that. Maybe there is a way to get some clarification on that one without having to go through a whole round of developing an app and then having it rejected or accepted. I think what they mean to say is that it should be a 'finished product' (no beta, no test), it should be fully functional (no demo or trial), so self contained. If there is a more fully featured version of the…

Yeah, I think you're right. If they had omitted "trial" I think it would be pretty clear, but that's a tricky word (trial can be the same as lite).

I think trial software has the connotation of being time limited. This whole section of the rules is just saying that they should be able to use the software as much as they want without having a "dead" app in the phone after the software expires. Lite just means less features/levels so that is permissible.

Re: Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines

#138

Post by danlove » Thu, Sep 09, 2010, 4:43 PM UTC

I've seen a lot of messages saying Apple "crumbled" to Adobe (pun intended). While the initial implementation of the rules may have been a knee jerk reaction to Flash, I think its more likely Apple relaxed the specific rules to allow Unreal Engine powered games. Thus allowing themselves to fully compete against the PSP & DS.

Re: Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines

#139

Post by dgallagher » Thu, Sep 09, 2010, 4:43 PM UTC

Engadget.com posted an excellent summary regarding Apple's new App Store review guidelines:

"We have lots of kids downloading lots of apps, and parental controls don't work unless the parents set them up (many don't). So know that we're keeping an eye out for the kids."

"We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don't need any more Fart apps."

"We have lots of serious developers who don't want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour."

"If your app is rejected, we have a Review Board that you can appeal to. If you run to the press and trash us, it never helps."

"This is a living document, and new apps presenting new questions may result in new rules at any time. Perhaps your app will trigger this."

"If it sounds like we're control freaks, well, maybe it's because we're so committed to our users and making sure they have a quality experience with our products."

More here: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/09/apples-app-store-review-g...

Re: Apple Relaxes iOS Restrictions On Development Tools, Publishes Review Guidelines

#140

Post by Legion » Thu, Sep 09, 2010, 4:47 PM UTC

I'm skimming the guidelines, and I don't see a restriction on one of the most well-known app rejections: duplicating functionality of built-in apps.

I noticed that guideline 2.11 states, "Apps that duplicate apps already in the App Store may be rejected, particularly if there are many of them", but that seems intended for preventing a bunch of near-duplicate 3rd party apps, not the "Thou Shalt Not Write a New Mail Client" commandment.

I wonder, does this "relaxation" include relaxing that restriction?