etc: Netflix is polling subscribers on their interest in an iPhone app that would stream over WiFi. Maybe there’s hope for a near-term iPhone OS solution after all.
!–body–
pNetflix is polling subscribers on their interest in an iPhone app that would stream over WiFi. Maybe there’s hope for a near-term iPhone OS solution after all./p
pstrongRead More:/strong
a href=”http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2010/03/netflix-survey-hints-at-iphone-streaming-via-wifi.html”Hacking Netflix/a, a href=”http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/01/netflix-ceo-not-streaming-to-the-ipad-in-the-near-term.ars”Ars Technica/a /p
pa href=”http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/03/netflix-is-polling-subscribers-on.ars?comments=1amp;utm_source=rssamp;utm_medium=rssamp;utm_campaign=rss#comments-bar”Read the comments on this post/a/p
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Week in Apple: The Great Sexy App Purge of 2010
a href=”http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/02/week-in-apple-the-great-sexy-app-purge-of-2010.ars?utm_source=rssamp;utm_medium=rssamp;utm_campaign=rss”
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/a
!–body–
pNews about the iPhone OS was all over the place this week, from Apple’s plans to expand to more devices to hints in the latest SDK beta. We also discussed why NVIDIA’s Optimus is ready to be dumped into some new MacBooks and why a paid version of Hulu on the iPad would make sense. What, you thought this week was emall/em about the sexy app purge? Read on to get the low-down:/p
pstronga href=”http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/02/apple-vp-attempts-to-explain-double-standard-for-risque-apps.ars”Apple VP attempts to explain double standard for risqué apps/a/strong: Apple’s Phil Schiller has addressed the issue of the recent purge of sexually themed apps from the App Store. However, it seems an arbitrary double standard still remains./p
pstronga href=”http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/02/apple-releases-pulls-ipad-sdk-beta-camera-hints-inside.ars”Apple releases, pulls iPad SDK beta, camera hints inside/a/strong: Several tidbits were uncovered in the latest iPad SDK beta before it was pulled by Apple, ostensibly to address a “major bug.”/p
a href=”http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/02/week-in-apple-the-great-sexy-app-purge-of-2010.ars?utm_source=rssamp;utm_medium=rssamp;utm_campaign=rss” title=”Click here to continue reading this article”img src=”http://static.arstechnica.com/mt-static/plugins/ArsTheme/images/read-more.jpg” alt=”Read the rest of this article…”/abr /br /
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etc: Apple may be readying an "Explicit" section to the App Store. The decision would be surprising, given Apple’s recent move to purge the App Store of risqué offerings.
Apple may be readying an “Explicit” section to the App Store. The decision would be surprising, given Apple’s recent move to purge the App Store of risqué offerings.
Read More:
Cult of Mac, Recent Ars coverage
Apple VP attempts to explain double standard for risqué apps
Apple recently began purging over 5,000 “overtly sexual” apps from the App Store after customer complaints caused Apple to reverse a policy that had allowed such apps to be approved. The New York Times recently asked Apple’s SVP of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, to explain the reasoning behind the decision, and he says that it’s all about the children. However, there might be a double standard if you are an “established brand” such as Playboy or Sports Illustrated. The uneven application of constantly changing standards is a problem for developers and users alike, and continues to be a thorn in Apple’s side.
Originally, Apple tended to fall on the side of banning anything from the App Store that had sexual overtones, including e-book reading apps that could potentially access a text-only version of the Kama Sutra. Apple extended Parental Controls to the App Store with iPhone OS 3.0, and the policy became more lenient on apps that were rated 17+. However, it was later discovered that children could access apps that sometimes had salacious descriptions and screenshots, even if they couldn’t actually buy them.
iPhone developer consolidation stirs fears among fans
iPhone publisher and developer ngmoco has acquired long-time Mac software developer Freeverse, according to Freeverse’s website and Twitter feed. While terms of the deal are unknown, it appears that Freeverse will continue doing business as an independent entity with its current management.
Freeverse has been a mainstay in the Mac software world since before the days of Mac OS X and has published numerous games, utilities, and productivity software for the platform ever since. The company has also published for Windows, as well as XBox 360 Live Arcade. In recent years Freeverse has also published for the iPhone OS where it has seen moderate success with its 25+ applications, the most popular of which are the Flick series of games and Skee-Ball.
While ngmoco has been around for considerably less time, the company has approximately 15 titles for the iPhone OS, including popular games like Rolando and Topple, and has most recently created a “premium social play network” called plus+. ngmoco was formed by former Electronic Arts executives in 2008 and offers both free and paid applications that almost universally make use of in-app purchases, a feature Apple made available to developers when it introduced version 3.0 of the iPhone OS SDK.
While claims have been made that the deal won’t effect Freeverse, it seems likely that there will be at least some changes. The company will no doubt be hard at work incorporating plus+ into its existing catalog of iPhone games and also including more in-app transactions in its offerings. Fans of the longtime Mac company might end up disappointed if more of ngmoco’s focus shifts to the iPhone and the company’s Mac, Windows, and console software is left for dead.
Regardless, the acquisition means that two medium-sized developers for the iPhone are now one larger fish in the App Store sea that is becoming more inundated each day by 40-foot sharks. We can only hope that a group of investors doesn’t turn Freeverse into just another iPhone company.
Apple blocks screenshots, axes sexual content from App Store (Updated)
Apple is stirring up yet another censorship brouhaha with its latest changes to App Store policy. The company recently began blocking screenshots for apps that are outside the acceptable age range in Parental Controls in iTunes. According to iPhone developer ChiliFresh, it seems that all “overtly sexual” apps might be expunged from the App Store too, which is making some users uneasy about Apple’s “power” once again.
Last month, we reported on a glitch in the App Store system that let any user browse apps and their sometimes NSFW screenshots in iTunes, even if Parental Controls indicated that the user was a small child. Shortly after the glitch was reported to Apple as a bug, developers were notified that all screenshots for the App Store had to be free of “objectionable material” and be acceptable for a 4+ rating. This, of course, was a good thing.
etc: Apple has changed its mind on blocking sweepstakes from being advertised in iPhone apps. A new policy now allows them, but with some conditions.
Apple has changed its mind on blocking sweepstakes from being advertised in iPhone apps. A new policy now allows them, but with some conditions.
Read More:
TUAW, Ars past coverage
etc: Apple has added App Store access to Armenia, Botswana, Bulgaria, Jordan, Kenya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, and Uganda.
Apple has added App Store access to Armenia, Botswana, Bulgaria, Jordan, Kenya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, and Uganda.
Read More:
iPhone Dev Center
Google buys reMail iPhone app, then pulls it from App Store
For reasons yet to be revealed, search giant Google has acquired San Francisco-based reMail, makers of the reMail e-mail client for iPhone OS. The company promptly pulled the application from Apple’s App Store, however, leaving users perplexed as to the reasons why.
reMail CEO Gabor Cselle explained in a statement on reMail’s website that the company, and thus the application, had been acquired by Google, and he was hired to work as a product manager on Google’s GMail team. The reMail website already reads “Copyright 2009 Google,” but not all of the links to the now-vacant spot on the iTunes Store have been removed.
reMail, which continues to work for individuals who purchased the application before its removal, was meant to be an alternative to the iPhone’s built-in mail client. The application allowed for full-text search and offline support, among other things. All mail was stored on the phone in such a way that it took up significantly less space when compared to the same amount of mail on Google’s servers.
It seems Cselle will return to Google where he first started as an engineering intern in 2004 working on the GMail team. On his personal blog, Cselle claims that reMail and Google came to the decision to “discontinue” the iPhone application together. He also reiterates that the app will continue to work for those who have already purchased it, and that all in-app purchase options have been made free. Technical support will continue through the end of March.
While it is unclear what exactly Google’s plans are for reMail on the iPhone, it seems unlikely that the company will rebrand and rerelease. Google already has a spotty history with App Store approvals, including a Google Voice application that still hasn’t seen the light of day, and an initial rejection of its Google Mobile application (which has since been approved).
Though Apple had already approved the application when submitted by reMail, would it really surprise anyone if Apple rejected the application due to duplication of functionality when submitted by Google? Sure it would be a PR nightmare, but Apple seems to have already drawn the line in the sand with regard to Google. In the end we may be more likely to see reMail’s technology make an appearance on Google’s Android OS, perhaps as the official mail client there.
etc: Apple has bumped its 3G download limit from 10MB to 20MB. This applies to apps, music, podcasts, and more. What does this mean for AT&T’s clogged network, though?
Apple has bumped its 3G download limit from 10MB to 20MB. This applies to apps, music, podcasts, and more. What does this mean for AT&T’s clogged network, though?
Read More:
Macworld
