Open Source Not Welcome At Palm App Catalog 174
Posted
by
CmdrTaco
from the well-thats-not-very-friendly-of-you dept.
from the well-thats-not-very-friendly-of-you dept.
davidmwilliams writes "It appears Palm is seeking to follow Apple's footsteps in gaining a reputation for inconsistent and spurious rejections and removals of iPhone and iPod Touch applications. In this case, Palm has resisted including a free application because the source code is attainable elsewhere."
Buzzwords (Score:5, Insightful)
I know. I know. I must be new here...
It should only need to be said once... (Score:4, Insightful)
Palm, get your act together. Apple is "good enough," and the only way you can differentiate yourselves is by being substantially better. Treat developers like gold and get your story 100% consistent, unlike Apple, if you want to succeed.
Ultimately Android (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:It should only need to be said once... (Score:3, Insightful)
Palm, get your act together. Apple is "good enough," and the only way you can differentiate yourselves is by being substantially better. Treat developers like gold and get your story 100% consistent, unlike Apple, if you want to succeed.
Market follower, get your act together. The market leader is "good enough," and the only way you can differentiate yourselves is by being substantially better. Treat providers like gold and get your story 100% consistent, unlike the market leader, if you want to succeed.
Yep, it works.
Re:Ultimately Android (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Palm's Zawinski Contradicts Palm SDK License (Score:2, Insightful)
But Palm has an uphill battle so it better get started on making a happy fanbase,
The G1 and the iPhone already have a head start.
Re:Why bother developing for it then? (Score:4, Insightful)
Palm's only partially getting it (Score:4, Insightful)
Palm is only partially getting the big picture of the iPhone's success. Admittedly, however, they're doing a better job of it than, say, the carriers supporting the Android initiative. The Pre is the closest thing to an "iPhone killer" out there.
But Palm, you need the apps. Nay, you MUST bring the apps if you want your phone to begin to compete on Apple's multiple levels.
I agree that the person involved in this Palm app flap is likely overreacting. And for the dweebs that don't seem to get it regarding Apple's vetting process for apps: Don't think the FCC wouldn't haul Apple to court (and the cell owners lynching any Apple employees they'd see) if Apple couldn't show that they've checked EVERY app they've allowed on their phone (and, as a result, into the international cell network) without reasonably ensuring that the app doesn't cause an individual's phone to die or, worse, infect the iPhone net (and others) with bad or malicious code that could compromise the cell networks. Sure, Apple seems sometimes political about the vetting (note a recent app about health care that Apple seemed to reject arbitrarily), but otherwise they're only hurting themselves if they don't allow most apps from being available.
The iPhone is (as a fan and an owner) an fair phone but a very powerful and extensible mobile computer and Palm must match that functionality. The Pre is it's only decent competitor in terms of its relative features, OS and flexibility based on its carrier's desire to support the hardware without butchering it down for carrier-only apps (**cough**Verizon**cough).
But the apps bring Palm only so far. They need a mechanism that isn't carrier marketing specific to support and augment the hardware features of your phone. For the iPhone, iTunes handles everything and fairly well. Palm must bring it's own iTunes-like PC/Mac application that handles syncs, mates with their new Amazon music initiative, can access their Palm app store, AND even (get this) use the approved Apple process for third-party iTunes library support that won't get them into trouble as they did with spoofing their hardware with iTunes itself.
Right now, Palm is shooting themselves in the foot if they are rejecting apps for any reason other than gross obscenity or copyright/IP issues. They'll soon headshot themselves if they don't get even a modest competitor to iTunes running, in my humble Mac-consultant opinion.
Re:Palm's Zawinski Contradicts Palm SDK License (Score:2, Insightful)
Indeed, and the best way to do this is not to become the control freaks that Apple are.
Re:Palm's Zawinski Contradicts Palm SDK License (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't even know why Slashdot accepted this article as it was already debunked and addressed by Palm.
*gasp* jwz is GOD ALMIGHTY. Every move of his is WORTHY OF SCRIPTURE. Those denying any news about him to Slashdot are tantamount to HERETICS.
Begone, sinner! A hundred XScreenSaver modules as penance! And it had better be downloaded through the original Mozilla browser!
Re:Buzzwords (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure, I know that new cool thing is to hate on Apple, the iPhone, iTunes, and the like
I'm a middle-aged, overweight fat computer bloke that moans if he has to spend more than £8 (=$12) on a pair of jeans and listens to Jethro Tull in his spare time - believe me, I gave up on "cool" a long time ago...
I just don't want you getting the impression that most people like or hate things because it's "cool" to do so. In 30+ years of working and playing with computers, I've never found a single reason to own anything or buy anything made by Apple and that isn't going to change any time soon.
Yes, maybe if Apple were less proprietary and locked in than Microsoft, I might consider ditching both Windows and Linux for their products, but the fact is I don't like Apple because they charge far too much for something that looks nice yet doesn't let you do what you want with it... ...and my experience with most (but not all) Apple users is that they pay a premium price in order to join an exclusive little club where they are permitted to sneer at anyone who doesn't use Apple products without having any requirement to give any technical justifications for it. That, in turn, creates the anti-Apple backlash.
Overblown story (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Buzzwords (Score:4, Insightful)
You haven't looked very hard. Most Mac communities are accepting folks who would rather generate content than tinker with their machines, but otherwise don't particularly sneer at anyone or act exclusively that I've seen.
When's the last time you recompiled your Windows kernel from its open source distribution, like you can with MacOS? Or used a Microsoft browser's nightly builds?
Anyway, I understand if you don't like the Mac or iPhone, but there's no reason to go around insulting those who do.
Re:Buzzwords (Score:3, Insightful)
Apple receives a lot more attention, from a lot more sources than it did five years ago. Many of those new interested parties are a lot less willing to put up with Apple's shenanigans than its traditional fanbase.
To be fair, panties were twisted (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem here is that jwz got his panties in a twist
Actually if you read his original post, that is most certainly not the root problem. He had very valid reasons to be upset, and only posted a long rant when the whole process had gone beyond absurd.
That said, as others have noted Palm has already stated they are clearing this up for him, and I really think Palm is trying to do the right thing in general - they just slipped up very badly here. But Palm has a history of treating developers well so I would cut them some slack now that they have addressed this problem.
Re:Overblown story (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Palm's Zawinski Contradicts Palm SDK License (Score:4, Insightful)
Modded as troll? Come on. Apple is control freak, iPhone is a really locked up device and you can only get software from their store.
The Pre and the G1 are already doing it 'the best way', according to you, and they're being left in the dust.
I don't know if I would have modded your post 'troll', but it definitely wasn't very useful for doing much other than getting argued with by fanboys.
Apple?? Control Freak? Really? (Score:3, Insightful)
By the way, I understand that Apple has denied all rumours that they intend to come out with an Apple iCar specifically designed and approved as an authorized mobile listening accessory to the iPod and iPhone. The last I heard was that they were definitely not researching ways to seal the hood shut to prevent people from changing the iCar battery.
Re:Actual blog post (Score:4, Insightful)
Good find. And now that I've RTFA, I disagree with the title of the /. post. It should be "jwz Doesn't Want to Follow Any of Palm's steps for Submissions, Equates Opening a Paypal Account with an Existentialist Nightmare, Even His LiveJournal Sycophants Call Him An Ass."
Re:Buzzwords (Score:2, Insightful)
When's the last time you *legally* installed your MacOS on hardware from any manufacturer other than Apple? Even with a few pseudo-open-source components, Apple is still vastly more "proprietary and locked in" than Microsoft (unless you are comparing Apple to Microsoft's console offerings, which, I guess, would actually be a pretty fair comparison).
You seem to think that "proprietary and locked in" is insulting to Mac or iPhone users; if you don't like using the most "proprietary and locked in" systems available in their markets, use something else. Seriously, can you think of anything more "proprietary and locked in"?
Re:Buzzwords (Score:4, Insightful)
Windows? you compare Apple's products to Windows!? if there's a constant for Slashdot throughout the ages its been its complete devotion to UNIX. Which is why the Apple love was at its zenith two or three years ago, when Apple had an *usable* UNIX as an OS (rather than the bloated piece of shit that was 10.0) but hadn't started their current game of "let's cripple our own products for fun and profit". Or, at least it wasn't in full force yet.
But yeah, while before the criticisms were mainly about what Apple *couldn't* do, these days it's about Apple *doesn't allow you* to do. It's switched from technical to legal, as a result of Apple keeping a walled garden by means of NIH syndrome to an army of well-paid lawyers writing draconian EULAs and pursuing frivolous lawsuits.