This is clearly Jobs extending a middle finger to Adobe and others in the development community. If you haven’t read about this yet, you can here.
One reason Apples gives for this is they want to try and increase the quality of apps for iPhones/iPads. Since when have Obj C and C++ programmers owned the mantle on delivering great apps? Seriously, high school kids download Xcode and release ridiculous and simplistic apps at the app store (just search for apps with ‘whiteboard’ or ‘sketch’ or ‘note’ in their name). Heck, I can’t believe some of the interfaces and ridiculous features I’ve seen on both my iPhone and iPad apps. I paid 7 bucks for an app which looks like it belongs in Windows 3.0. I mean, has anyone really looked at most of the lame-o apps in the app store for iPad? There are those which can access any device, storage medium, webserver, mail slots, but do zippo with the data, then there are those which can fully edit PDF’s as long as you’re physically tethered to your desktop device. Yep, real geniuses those Obj-C programmers. We can certainly discount THAT reason.
Another reason Apple gives is to keep apps from performing slowly or becoming bloated. Well, I do have a number of 100+ Mb apps on my iPhone and iPad– so much for bloat. And the fact Apple still allows for Javascripted apps, like PhoneGap, shows they aren’t all that concerned with speed either. Another myth debunked. The simple fact they even included the word “Javascript” in their Terms and Conditions is a huge slap to Adobe.
And of course Apple tells us the app store “protects us” from harmful apps. Tell that to the owner of the blog, “Just another iPad blog” where he downloaded iDisplay and it ended up costing him his laptop Mac. He had to reformat it, then when it still wouldn’t boot, go to Apple store geniuses to help him figure it out. Again, doesn’t seem like the app store covered him very well? Myth three up in flames.
This latest Developer Agreement shuts out Flash, as well as Titanium, Unity3D, Ansca, MonoTouch, RevMobile and others. Can you imagine working so hard for months and man-years on an iPhone development platform to have Apple yank it “because they can,” and because Steve Jobs has a vendetta against Adobe?
Face it, you may love Apple’s products, but you have to raise an eyebrow at their business practices. Remember when they literally stole Desktop Widgets from Konfabulator without as much as a ‘Thank-you?’ I’m sorry, but that is not the way to do business– especially if you’re a big player like Apple.
I appears someone stepped on and broke Steve Job’s toy when he was a kid and he’s still mad at the rest of the world. You would think a near death experience like having a liver transplant would lend some live perspective to individuals– guess again. The most arrogant man in America needs to grow up.
[Added later]
- has a decent file system (iPad has none)
- allows for developers to promote and update their apps without draconian oversite.
- allows for developers to use RAD tools to create cross platform solutions
- allows for more than a single source supplier of hardware
- allows for tablets to not have to be tethered to existing hardware to transfer files, update the OS, etc..
- has critical mass in applications available. This is critical, and based on my *EXHAUSTIVE* review of utilities and productivity apps in the appstore for iPad, is not very hard to do. In fact there’s such a paucity of professional iPad apps in the app store for things other than gaming, it shouldn’t be difficult for a group of Flash, Rev, Titanium, Unity3D, Ansca, MonoTouch programmer to eclipse it in literally no time at all. I’m serious– any of you iPad owners just try and figure out how to load a PDF onto your iPad, mark it up and send it out without having to tether to your desktop or laptop. Simple, but impossible as of now.
I called apple and proposed that I return the devices I purchased while under the impression that they would be useful as a development device, I suspect that is this happened frequently there would be a change in the tone of apples, dictatorship.
Great piece. I’ve been following the Apple-tablet myth for years now. Excited. Expecting a game changer when it made its appearance. Well, I was over-the-moon for a couple of days after the UPS brought my Paddie to me. Then, a great saddness descended, one that’s still falling. It’s become painfully obvious: the thing is pretty much useless, except as a color reader for Epub docs. I expected a media-rich environment. All that initial promise is gone. Tom has a good point. Enough people return the otherwise dead weight, Apple might wake up. Beyond that, if I were Adobe, I’d withold CS5 from the OSX platform for a while. Yeah, it’d be a massive loss of revenue, but quite honesly, what Apple’s already trying to do to Adobe is nothing less. Jobs needs a shrink, if he hasn’t already got one. What a freak.
All Apple is doing is forcing Adobe to agree to use the proper tools for iPhone/iPad software development, because Apple wants to retain control of their platform.
Here’s how it went down: Apple said, “We’ve made a brand new platform for you to make great gobs of money off of, but there’s one catch: We want to control the development of our platform, so you have to use C, C++, or Objective-C. You can’t use Flash because Flash is closed and proprietary and we can’t control, develop, improve or fix it should the need arise.” Adobe ignored this request and wrote a Flash to iPhone/iPad bridge allowing them to get around using the proper tools, and then they announced this bridge as a major feature of Creative Suite 5. In response to this, Apple added Section 3.3.1 to the developer agreement making Adobe have to agree in writing to use the proper tools, otherwise they can’t develop apps for iPhone OS 4.
It’s not Apple giving Adobe the middle finger. It’s Adobe giving Apple the middle finger and being smacked down because of it.
But understand: Adobe is in no way barred from developing first-class iPad applications. They are, in fact, hard at work doing so. They’re just not going to be based on Flash/AIR.
Incidentally, it’s not Google who would benefit from an alliance with Adobe. It’s Adobe. He who controls the software, controls the platform.
Mark,
How then do you explain all the other programming frameworks Apple is now closed to? And what about EA, who uses their own framework with a scripted LUA interface?
Apple wants developers to use Apple’s tools. It’s as simple as that. If a developer wants to use something not allowed by the developer agreement, they can ask Apple directly and get special permission. But if they exploit a loophole in order to circumvent Apple’s wishes, as Adobe did, they’re going to get smacked down too.
Apple is only trying to retain control of its own platform. This isn’t anything like Microsoft which used its monopoly leverage to control the entire PC industry. Apple isn’t telling Google what to do with Android. They’re not telling Microsoft what to do with Windows Phone 7. Apple just doesn’t want its own platform to become beholden to forces it can’t control.
For about a decade OS X development has been held hostage by carbon which only existed because Adobe and a few other large developers refused to use the OS X platform’s native development tools. Apple doesn’t want to get stuck in that trap again.
If developers use Apple’s tools, Apple can fix, change, improve, modify and tweak the platform as need be without being at the mercy of a third party.
Let Android become a Flash ghetto if it wants.
Still, I think the other programming frameworks are just collateral damage. What Apple objects to primarily is Flash. We have Adobe to thank for Section 3.3.1.
It’s silly for developers to feign outrage over this. Apple created a whole new platform for them to get rich from. They should show Apple a little respect by using the tools Apple is asking them to use.
That was a superb read,I await some more post from you.
That was a very good read,I count on many more post from you.
beautiful advice and sharing,I will buy one damn good apple for me .thanks,Joe