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34 Comments
- geminitojanus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+24Which is precisely the reason I don't think Apple's going to bother releasing a complete API. While it would be great, the software on the iPhone is still very immature and providing an API to that software at such a level of development is, well, moronic to say the least. Right now if they change something huge and some third party app breaks, big deal, but after they've documented and released a clean API, they'll be lampooned for it (look at Symbian and its continuous API/ABI breaks).
Meanwhile, by getting everyone to make Web Applications as a compromise, Apple wins because the Web Apps can be used on any of their devices (iPhone, Macs and theoretically Apple TV too), other companies wanting some level of compatibility wins (because WebKit is open and anyone's free to build a browser or widget viewer around it), and AT&T wins because you'll be using their network (even though some of us consider this to be a bad thing).
Furthermore, the fact it doesn't ship with an API makes it a hacker's fetish; instead of getting the $8/hr Cocoa coders and David Wannabees, Apple's getting the $50/hr embedded developers and disassemblers and reverse-engineers playing with the iPhone, so instead of having to answer a million questions on "how this or that works", Apple sits back and lets the community do all of the heavy lifting for them. Whether or not we should find this abusive, I leave to the mind of the reader, but it's certainly something to think about. - superpixel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+22Those who do not open a device are doomed to have it opened for them.
- RedRummy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12"Programmers don't like to waste time on things that are not officially supported" Thank god that's not true.
- Zippo, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7Life is a sexually transmitted disease with a 100% fatality rate
/emo - digggggg, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4The killer app most often wished for is of course Skype with full iPhone integration: you still touch a number, the standard phone interface shows that you're connecting, but it's all cheap Skype behind the scenes :-)
- skipunk, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4I think you might be a little confused...When the iphone was first announced,yes, there were only web apps. But now, the iphone has been successfully hacked, and it is possible to write native apps for the iphone. This is what the article is about, exposing APIs to write native apps, NOT web apps, for the iphone.
- Tivor, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3OK, I have no idea how that link pertains to your "give us a break" reaction to this article.
- WiseWeasel, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6If it is simply an issue of developer resources and API stability, then Apple needs to do a much better job of communicating their future plans to iPhone customers and outside developers. Their current stance that it's a closed platform like the iPod is not helpful in any way. There NEEDS to be supported native 3rd party apps for the iPhone, given its capabilities and cost.
- jtb4, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Dugg for the title!!!
- jcannonb, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Maybe if you got laid, you wouldnt have to use phrases like 'for ***** sake'
- Tryke, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2iPhone APIs are like a box of chocolates?
- robdiggity, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2And even IF jabberwolf wasn't... err... just jabbering, the fact is that the iPhone web apps *are* apps. Their presentation has been extended to leverage webkit extensions specific to the iPhone. Jabberwolf needs to get a grip and realize that client/server apps distributed over http are applications.
- inactive, on 10/17/2008, -0/+1A corporate shill
- mymate, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"right now is not for the faint hearted or even regular developers." pure bs - theres tones of 3rd party applications in development and loads already out there!
- inobla, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1My crap filter doesn't work if you folks don't list these articles under the Apple category.
- stbrewer, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It's Web/AJAX development because that is the future. Being restricted to a browser hasn't prevented Google from becoming the most valuable brand in the world. The mobile industry has ignored this, for whatever reason (looking at you, big telco). I'm glad to see Apple putting all their efforts behind improving the web development landscape. More thoughts here http://www.bigdumbdev.com/2007/08/web-development-and-iphone-revisited.html
- jtb4, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It was the best of iPhones, and the worst of iPhones.....
- geminitojanus, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I'm not excusing anything, it's exactly what I think they'd do. Whether or not you think it's a good thing, it's entirely up to the reader.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2I'm not sure why I'm always getting dugg down for saying this, but I can't help but feel like Steve Jobs' best interests were not in line with the users' best interests with the iPhone. Why no SDK. Why no flipping music ringtones. Why *only* AT&T. The answers indicate that he was more worried about acting like a big corporation, and not about delivering the best to his consumers. Sounds a lot like another company I know. It starts with an M and ends with an icrosoft.
Is this not plain common sense to others? - schoate09, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Proven not true, such as the same code being there for the Apple TV, as well as the ROKR. Buried for ***** idiot fanboy who can't let go.
- schoate09, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2***** off.
- super_spyder, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2I KNEW IT!!! that was not a sausage pie that they served at wwdc ... damnit I went back for seconds....
- SuperMoses, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Is there a 3rd part application that stops AT&T from wiretapping you?
- simonwalton, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Life is like a poor analogy.
- Piedramente, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2As I said: The iPhone is *designed* to suck.
It is an effort to get you to pay more for certain features. - Error601, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1"But establishing an API also means restricting internal development freedom for the device. It is no longer simple to rework a particular function to provide better capability or performance without substantial testings to ensure the existing APIs are not broken."
That was true a decade or two ago. OO languages make that pretty easy. Apple is just dragging their feet to get their apps some exclusive time. - lordtyros, on 10/10/2007, -5/+4Wrong. Apple's just getting people to say, "looks cool, but I'm not going to bother." Programmers don't like to waste time on things that are not officially supported and can be ruined via firmware update. Don't try to excuse Apple's behavior. Developers asked for an SDK and Jobs ***** on a plate and called it pie.
- schoate09, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Too long, didn't bother to read.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2What do you call a person who makes excuses for a corporation again?
- fortezza, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3Dugg down for being iPhone story.
- shorty9, on 10/10/2007, -5/+0iPhone for begginers:
http://www.hooqs.com/iphone-guides-and-tutorials/17021,22936 - inactive, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2Ok for the Umtienth time THEY ARE NOT IPHONE APPS !!
For ***** sake when will mactards understand?
They are WEB APPS that happen to be made for the iPhone browser. - mymate, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2give us a break - http://www.macrumors.com/2007/08/13/lights-off-first-native-iphone-game/ - buried for blog spam
- Piedramente, on 10/10/2007, -15/+6The iPhone is designed to suck.
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