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Mar 19, 08 - 03:44 pm Comment from: Jim - TIV

I've been working with C1 to see if there's a glitch in Apple's store. I was able to download the sdk free. It is supposed to cost $99, am I right?

Mar 19, 08 - 03:45 pm Comment from: ron

Why would Apple pee on their own shoes?

Mar 19, 08 - 03:47 pm Comment from: ron

@Jim - TIV. NO.

Mar 19, 08 - 03:48 pm Comment from: Jim - TIV

Ron... does it cost anything? or have I just been living on another planet the last couple of weeks? lol.

Yes it has always been free

Who wants to saw the branch... ?

Mar 19, 08 - 04:02 pm Comment from: TheConfuzed1

Downloading and using the SDK is free. Becoming an Apple-authorized reseller with wares in the iTunes App Store requires a $99 registration fee.

So basically, they will let you try it before you buy it.

JimTV - it's free for anyone with an Apple ID to download. But if you want to "publish" your new application, you need to pay the $99.

Mar 19, 08 - 04:12 pm Comment from: Jubei

Why is that wrong. Apple should block access to that. If they want functionality, then ask permission and partner with Apple. Otherwise get over it.

Mar 19, 08 - 04:15 pm Comment from: ChrissyOne

@ coolfactor

AH! That's it.

Mar 19, 08 - 04:17 pm Comment from: ChrissyOne

@ The original article

Well DUH. I thought that would be kind of obvious since Apple won't license other DRM formats for iTunes.

Mar 19, 08 - 04:26 pm Comment from: James

Music from Amazon or emusic is fully compatible iTunes--they don't have apps of their own per se. What's the issue here?

No issue, Steve knows what’s best for us.

I was so looking forward to using rhapsody on my iPhone! I'm crushed.

This is a stupid article. Amazon or anybody else can write their own music app for iPhone if they want to. I didn't read anything in the SDK contact that prohibits that. The only thing that they can't do is integrate with iTunes. But so what?

Mar 19, 08 - 04:51 pm Comment from: HMCIV

I'm patiently waiting for the day when Steve & Jeff Bezos take the stage together and announce the ability to purchase Amazon songs from within iTunes.

That's the day when music execs discover the legendary "brown note" and crap their pants! :-D

Mar 19, 08 - 05:09 pm Comment from: DRM sucks

I also understand that Apple will not be selling iPhones with a Zune superglued to them.

Mar 19, 08 - 05:10 pm Comment from: ChrissyOne

@ DRM sucks

SERIOUSLY? Aw, man. What the hell am I gonna get my dad for father's day now?

If you make a new app for the iPhone, do you have to distribute via Apple? Although distributing via Apple gives you nice exposure; could you not just as well setup your own distribution or does Apple not allow this?
Can anyone please clarify?

Mar 19, 08 - 05:29 pm Comment from: HolyMackerel

While there might be a conspiracy in Apple not allowing developer access to the itunes and dock portion of the code base, I think there might be another explanation.

When any SDK is created it contains code that can be called by developers. Apple is guaranteeing that these routines will remain in existence and hopefully bug-free through iPhone/iTouch system revisions so developer code is guaranteed to work. There may be other routines that they know will (or may) change over time. If a developer use these other routines, their app may break over time. As the OS matures, Apple may deem some of these other routines as normal callable routines.

I think from the presentation that the iTunes routines are in the kernel of the OS - this way you can still listen to songs while surfing the web (i.e. not single-tasking). It may be hard then to allow developers to manage songs while iTunes is still playing them.

Regarding Amazon, they may be able to pay for, download and play an MP3, but not add it to the iTunes library on the fly. There is nothing but marketing stopping Real and Microsoft writing their DRM-apps to allow the playing of songs on an iPhone/iTouch.

While developers cannot touch the songs on the players, they still have access to the players' speakers since even games can play sounds through the speakers.

@HolyMackerel

You're right. Amazon requires installation of a tiny program that adds songs to iTunes after they're purchased. I've purchased music from Amazon from time to time. It works flawlessly. Don't think it'll work on the iPhone since the full iTunes software resides on the computer, and not the iPhone...

Mar 19, 08 - 07:58 pm Comment from: Brau

" was able to download the sdk free. It is supposed to cost $99, am I right?"

Actually, Steve Jobs comes to your house in the middle of the night with a couple of goons and "collects" his due "otomatically" if you haven't paid.

This is the dumbest article. (Well except for the Icarus article.) Amazon's tunes are all DRM-free. Therefore, you just drop them into iTunes after you've downloaded them and, voila, they will appear on your iPhone. That is, unless you don't know how to sync your iPhone and your computer.

Umm, why would Apple allow folks to circumvent the already built in iTunes access on the iPhone/iTouch that was added with an earlier update? Music, videos, etc, available for download at a reasonable price, that can then be transfered back to your computer.

And, while we are at it... THIS IS A BETA RELEASE folks... Everyone gets all wound up for A BETA RELEASE and starts huffing and puffing like mad, and forgets that this is still just a BETA RELEASE.

I think Apple should be congratulated for having the BALLS to open this can of worms in the first place. Most other companies (like, umm, dunno... Microshit) say to their customers "here is the product. If you don't like it, well, TOUGH."

As it should be - the music should be kept locked

> No issue, Steve knows what’s best for us.

First the iPhone, next... the [MW] others?

Photoshop, Illustrator and Adobe products in general are a great example of a model whereby a developer can retain control of their core application yet enable an ecosystem to grow around it.

This is one approach extending iTunes without killing the goose that lays the golden eggs that Apple show support, in my opinion. Third parties could build great slideshow tools, recommendation engines, editing or sample tools, etc., all of which are areas that are peripheral to iTunes, and which Apple can always co-opt if they really want to.

These type of threads are a great test of the control v. (developer) community dynamics that will continue to play out as Apple tries to build a mainstream platform; namely, secure developer ecosystem love while maintaining the high performance bar that they have established with the iPhone/iPod touch family of devices.

In that respect, it is somewhat of a three dimensional chess game unfolding, something I blogged about in, ‘The Scorpion, the Frog and the iPhone SDK.’

Check it out if interested:

http://thenetworkgarden.com/weblog/2008/03/the-scorpion-th.html

Cheers,

Mark

Mar 20, 08 - 08:19 am Comment from: ElderNorm

Interestingly enough, at the end of the article, the author writes, "Even though the iPhone owns less than 1 percent of the overall phone market, it disproportionately owns the majority of the multimedia activity taking place on mobile phones. Apple claims 71 percent of all mobile Internet browsing activity with the iPhone simply because it's easier to surf the Web on it than on other devices."

Cause it "just works" so easliy, it rules.!!! Nothing magic, just smart.

en

Duh! Did people really think that Apple was going to allow dev's to turn the iPhone into mobile Napsters?

Just my $0.02

If this had been Microsoft, you people would be asking for their head on a platter.

You people are so full of shit.

"I think Apple should be congratulated for having the BALLS to open this can of worms in the first place. Most other companies (like, umm, dunno... Microshit) say to their customers "here is the product. If you don't like it, well, TOUGH.""

The balls to cut off competition?