iPhone again

[Lynn Fredricks]

> As I read Gruber's article, his main point is that the policy 
> is wrong, not that the pulled app was in contravention of the 
> current agreement. However I do think a pre-approval 
> mechanism would be beneficial.

As I read his comments and those of Paul Kafasis (who is the CEO of Rogue
Amoeba Software, maker of some very nice audio products for the Mac) I also
see this - that the policy itself is monopolistic - but sadly - arbitrary.
Determining if something competes with something from Apple - it is also a
"post approval" risk.

At some point after approval, Apple can come along at any time and pull the
app because new functionality has been added that duplicates this ability.
Having Apple copy your work (or coming up with something in parallel,
whatever the case) is nothing new, and to Apple's credit, they've never
really hidden from developers their willingness to do it. It's like that
oversized mole on your loved one - you just accept it as a part of the
beautiful package of the relationship.

But since there is only a market for the app through the Apple Store, you
can never know when the rug may be pulled out from under you.

Years ago, I worked very closely with console game makers, in the time when
you had to source your cartridges from the console maker. This did create a
pre-approval situation that carried a lot of risk (and some companies, like
Nintendo, also applied "quality" standards too, at first), but after a
while, you would get your catridges so long as you didn't break any of the
well documented rules. You had the same monopolistic situation but, you
didn't have to worry about the rug being pulled out from under you.

It seems to me that to approach iPhone development confidently you need to
either:

1. Develop something that isnt your core revenue generator and accept the
risk, or 

2. Have a relationship with Apple that gives you the confidence you need to
move forward

Best regards,

Lynn Fredricks
President
Paradigma Software
http://www.paradigmasoft.com

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