Veil Lifts Slightly on Apple’s Secret Plan to Control the Universe
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By Eliot Van Buskirk
- March 9, 2010 |
- 5:20 pm |
- Categories: Enterprise, Intellectual Property, People
The recently unveiled secret agreement that Apple makes iPhone developers sign supports what many have suspected all along: Apple is trying to control the universe.
Much has been written anecdotally about the Apple app-approval process, with the words “arcane” and “Kafkaesque” coming up a lot. But the letter (and crimping spirit) of the agreement was a matter of pure speculation until the Electronic Frontier Foundation had the clever idea of making one developer an offer he couldn’t refuse.
That developer was NASA — a government agency that can’t exactly keep all the secrets it might want to — and the offer was really a demand under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a nonprofit organization that defends free speech, privacy, innovation and consumer rights. Senior staff attorney Fred von Lohmann used an FOIA request to compel NASA to release Apple’s nondisclosure agreement for iPhone developers. Apple forces developers to sign the NDA before they can access the software development kit for the iPhone OS, which also powers the iPad.
Apple is possibly one of the most tight-lipped companies on the planet, so glimpses like this into its inner workings are rare. Making matters worse, the agreement itself bars developers from making “public statements” about the agreement’s terms, so without this confluence of events, it may never have come to light. As Wired.com’s Dylan Tweney tweeted, “The first rule of the iPhone developer program is: You do not talk about the iPhone developer program.”
A full recounting of the contract is reported by Gadget Lab’s Brian X. Chen. Judging from the March 17, 2009, revision of the agreement (.pdf), Apple’s treatment of app developers doesn’t come near putting them in a virtual sweatshop, and indeed, some of them should probably thank Apple for creating the platform that made them rich.
That said, Apple exerts total control over which programs are allowed to run on the iPhone OS run by the iPhone, iPod Touch and the upcoming iPad, from the early development stage all the way to the marketplace. As I pondered last week, “Who would have thought that in 2010 everyone would be so excited about a computer that only runs software approved by its manufacturer?”
The iPod was a music player, but an iPad is a computer. As Apple migrates its App Store model from MP3 players and cellphones onto a computing platform that for some, could replace a laptop, the company’s rules about what those app developers can and can’t do are coming under increasing scrutiny. Just think about what would happen if Microsoft were to demand such authority over the software that runs on its tablet PCs. One can only imagine the backlash.
With the iPad, however, many seem willing to lock themselves in a walled garden of approved software and throw away the key. (Yes, we know, you can jailbreak the iPhone OS and install whatever you want, but that comes with its own set of trade-offs.)
Terms of service often bar signatories from all sorts of normal-seeming behavior, so the non-lawyers among us should take these with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, Apple’s choice to sell devices that only run approved software, and only software sold in its own store, could ultimately make people wonder whether the cameras in the company’s infamous “1984″ commercial may have been pointed in the wrong direction.
See Also:
- Apple Change Quietly Makes iPhone, iPad Into Web Phones
- Google’s ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Mantra is ‘Bullshit,’ Adobe Is Lazy: Apple’s Steve Jobs
- Apple Adds and Removes ‘Explicit’ Category from App Store
- Apple Explains Semi-Ban of Sex Apps
- Apple’s Next Revolutionary Product: iTunes
- Apple Tablet Will Likely Support 2 Kinds of Apps
As a long time Mac User (favourite game = Stuntcopter) I believe Apple or would it be more correct to say Stevus, has freaking Sold Out Man! When this level of control is required, ostensibly for the good of the users and a stable device, it’s only about the money (and the control). This is no longer a computer “for the rest of us”.
Tell me if I am wrong, but was it so hard to just go to Apple site, see the agreement, click on “no, I don’t agree”, therefore not being legally bound to keep your mouth shut, and therefore being able to bring this out?
And it’s not as if it was some terrible secret only few selected illuminati know about…
everyone is making such a huge fuss about nothing! There is no doubt Sony’s (PS), MS (XBox), Nintendo, Palm etc etc have similar developer agreements. Before we get all excited because its a slow news day lets get our hands on those documents and compare them. Then lets make a judgement.
The European Union just slapped Microsoft for pre-installing Internet Explorer in it’s OS. Will Apple escape EU scrutiny if a developer screams foul?
Also, nobody it pointing a loaded gun at any developers heads say, “sign your life away or I pull the trigger”. You don’t have to agree and don’t have to developer for Apple’s platform if you don’t want to play by their rules. You can also chose not to buy their products and go with a competitor… you have choices.
If the iPad is a computer, you must then assume the same for the iPod Touch. Since that’s not really the case, you can’t claim the iPad is a computer. It has very little (anything?) to do with OS X and actually has more in common with the iPod Touch OS.
I think it’s because microsoft is such a juggernaught and its been ingrained in our conciousness that apple is like the little kid brother trying to grasp at the pie that people have been allowing apple to get away with stuff that they would never allow microsoft to do.(not defending microsoft)
I disagree that the iPad is a “computer.” It does NOT run a computer operating system, it runs a mobile operating system, unlike the many tablets already running things like, oh, i don’t know, Windows 7? If they want to pitch it as a computer, it needs to run a computer OS. They should make a port of OS X for iPad. Also, if it doesn’t have multitasking, then how is it going to be successfully pitched as a computer? It needs multitasking for the term “computer” to be satisfied and actually accepted by customers.
‘Just think about what would happen if Microsoft were to demand such authority over the software that runs on its tablet PCs. One can only imagine the backlash.’
Yes — a life without trojans or virus threats, a platform with stability and consistency — heck, a lot of IT professionals would be out of a job if Microsoft had long ago managed some manner of control over what runs on its OS software offerings. Then again, they have little control over what hardware their own spawn runs. And if a vendor can manage both the hardware and the software of a tool that does its job — and doesn’t cause undue harm to the user (or any other user on other machines), then I fully support that vendor’s efforts. As it is, we spend too much time dealing with the aftermath of poorly-conceived products that allow misuse through their owners ignorance or stupidity — and we all have to pay a far heavier burden than would have been necessary. Rag on the fruit all you want, but if it provides me with the experience I expect and pay for — that makes it a thing of value. — whiners.
@afterhours
Freedom is a bitch, isn’t it? Enjoy your safe and secure tyranny.
@cory2107
Wow, you certainly don’t know anything about computers or computer programming. The fact that it runs what is called a “mobile OS” means nothing. That mobile OS is far more powerful than DOS, Windows 3.1 or a variety of other operating systems which no one in their time would have considered to not be a “full” OS.
And the OS that the iPhone and iPad run do support multithreading, it’s just that Apple is too lazy to implement a clean, easy way for the user to manage it and therefore, they disallow it’s use by developers. Apple makes frequent use of it’s multithreading for it’s own purposes.
The last time I looked, we agreed not to discuss the API or the agreement. Did you not sign “I agree”? If you don’t like it, then don’t sign and go away. I don’t think this is open source development. This is a closed platform developed by a corporation.
It seems that quite a few children were discovered working in the factories where they assemble Apple products and components
Now is this a surprise or not? http://bit.ly/apple-child-labor-tactics
For sure Apple is controlling the universe via kids..
Nah… He’s not after controlling the universe. He’s after making sure no one rains on his parade. He’s making sure the experience of using his products is not marred by bugs, incompatibilities and viruses. Because that’s what we as customers really pay for – a product that not only works but is a joy to use as well. If control on his part is the price we pay for such convenience, then friends, that’s the price we pay for rice.
I remember my dad telling me back in 1985 that Apple would never overtake the IBM PC because anyone with a PC could develop software for it, but only big corporations could stump up the licensing fees to develop software for the Macintosh. Looks like dad was right.
@karel3d The actual terms are disclosed after you click to proceed. Which is why they aren’t known, and had to be obtained with a FOIA. This is more fully explained in the Gadget Lab story, and in the EFF article itself. Links to both are in this story.
Oh. Migod. Pulitzer Prize awaits for the astonishing revelation that…
APPLE CONTROLS WHAT SOFTWARE GOES ON THE iPHONE.
Oh. Wait.
We already knew that.
Never mind.
The platform will end up being more open, and the Apple App Store will be easier to browse with the larger screen. Inevitably it will have to be opened up to independent app stores. Maybe not this early in its evolution, but 5 years down the line it will be a whole new landscape.
I would hardly call the iPad a computer but that’s not relevant (just like the machine itself).
Someone should give Fred von Lohmann and award for getting hold of Apple’s nondisclosure agreement. I for one will honor Fred by laying off lawyer jokes for no less than a week.
Apple, specifically Mr. Jobs, seem to think it’s there world and the rest of us, including those that don’t fall far from the tree, just live in it. Well, I find that just a little too arrogant. I do enjoy the commercials though.
In a world where the user’s experience of computing is marred by malware this “cage” is also protection (like a shark tank). If you think about what it means to run a PC, you have two antivirus applications (this is recommended) which is hard to setup (they often don’t play well together) and saps performance, you have a near constant patch cycle, you have more attack vectors everyday (I’m looking at you Adobe Reader and Flash).
Given that the iPad is meant as a “kick back and relax” computer, I don’t want this pain. Perhaps the “shark tank” would cramp my desktop rather too much (it would) but for my “other computer” it’s fine (don’t think the iPad is really suitable as anyone’s only computer – though it might be the most used).
So is it restrictive, yes, but the PC (or Mac come to that) isn’t going anywhere, the iPad isn’t here to replace anything – it’s just a “new thing”, and this “new thing” puts security above everything else, so for the user it’s a “non-issue”. I don’t hanker after a “desktop iPad” it’d be all wrong, but I don’t fancy needing to run a “system update” while trying to watch a movie or read a book.
Lol, too many Apple “fans” around. Just come and fight me with your Iphone againt my Nokia N97. Oh wait! You can’t multitask and the phone cannot be used as a wireless 3G+ modem since the day you bought it! Oh wait the Ipad is a giant Iphone with few extra thingies for which fanboys wil have ot pay extra data plans! … Right, despite the good look why don’t you just choose brands which comes with no surprises… (Oh wait Itunes is horrible compared to super easy nokia music! x) )
The Apple Fanboys are out in force tonight. The fact remains that Apple is directly profiting from people who write applications for use in apple products. Not just by the sale of tools, but by taking a percentage of the sale. Imagine the outcry if Microsoft charged a fee for every software writen to run in windows — the regulators would screaming their heads off… And no, just because Apple only has a tiny percentae of the market doesn’t mean it can use anti-competitive tactics.
It’s so saddening how easily people throw away basic rights if you just put something nice and shiny in front of their faces. Free Market? Fair Competition? Privacy? Freedom of Speech? Eh shove it, it’s just way to inconvenient.
They just fail to realize that the problem isn’t how things are NOW, it’s how they’ll become if things keep going the wrong way. If you think Microsoft was bad, just wait for Apple to finally shoot the free market in the neck.
Guess sheep need a shepherd after all.
@bslayerw
“You can also chose not to buy their products and go with a competitor… you have choices.”
Probably you should read up on things like “monopolies” and “vendor lock-ins”.. both of which Apple is trying very hard to establish right now.
Isn’t this just called quality control? Many many users would like a simple computer experience, without surprises, without viruses, pop-ups, spam, malware, etc. The way to achieve this is to have a locked system with good design running it. Instead of screaming “Horrible Dictators!” I’m saying “Finally, I don’t have to be tech support for my extended family and neighbors.” Heck, even sometimes I would like to turn off the workstation and just enjoy a simple computing experience.
When did contracts that said, “you will sign away your rights” become legally binding? I’m certain under our Bill of Rights, you cannot forfeit your rights through a contract. Or does Apple superceed the law?
Whats the problem.. Nobody is forcing anybody to buy Apple products. If there is market to supply devices other than Apple’s model, they will be developed. If Apple get to big, we will bust it up.. Life goes on.
Nobody has to buy an iPhone or an iPad. We all may want them but we don’t NEED them. There are thousands of devices out in the world with their own operating software (cameras, car ignition systems,microwave ovens and the already mentioned games consoles to name but a few). All of them are restricted in one way or another. It is more unusual to have open operating systems that can be openly programmed or have programmes written freely for them. With Apple you buy a whole product – they own the whole concept- you buy into that. I own an iPhone and I wish it was more open but I knew that it wasn’t before I bought it; I knew the restrictions. Stop bleating. If you don’t like it don’t buy it!
This is probably the wrong crowd. But most people don’t care about the inner workings of a computer. They just want it to work. They don’t care about not being able to install 5 different browsers or pick any anti-virus they want or any of that. In fact they fear that much choice because it means they could pick the wrong program. It is comforting to have the manufacturer of your computer let you know that this program has passed all of their reviews and they promise it will work.
I don’t think it’s anti-competitive at all. They are selling a whole user experience and Apple thinks it’s important that in order to make that experience a happy one that they are in full control.
Apple should “zone” its app store… allow more unsavory apps into a zone set up for such so that parents/businesses/anyone can set whatever controls they like… if they want adult content or never want to see it. Even a “techie” zone for more advanced, possibly risky apps–wifi scanners, etc.
They also need to quit locking down their protocols–wifi, bluetooth, etc. What’s the point of offering it if it is braindead. The truth is, if they don’t do stuff like this, they may be sued and forced to do it for anti-trust reasons, etc.
I am a long time Apple fan (since 1985) and am starting to wonder when did the Evil Empire make a deal with them? I still love most of the technology-enabled life I’ve been given courtesy of Apple, but would like to see some sense of consciousness as to what kind of example this corporate citizen is contributing to our world.
Big business is big business. It doesn’t matter if your name is Apple, Microsoft, or Google. It’s still the same game. Anyone that belived otherwise was perscribing to their own reality. Time for Apple fanboys to wake up and join the club.
What is it with all this Apple Fanboy stuff? We’re all just end-users of products that we buy. I buy Apple because I know the interface and it just works…for me (I also use and enjoy my PC at work. My Sony TV, my Canon and Nikon cameras, my Nokia N95, my VW car, my Samsung DVD player etc etc, also just work for me and I think they are great. Am I a Sony, Samsung, Nikon, Nokia, VW Fanboy too? In the physical world, I do know a few people who label anyone with an Apple product, a Fanboy. In the case of those, I know they have never owned or used an Apple product…
PS some girls like Apple too…
So I guess the freedom fighter/liberator of 1985 have grown into the the tyrant dictator of 2010
Here’s a thought experiment… If some tech company brought out an all singing, all-dancing phone/tablet/laptop/PC (delete to your choice), and it was brilliant and better than Apples products,and took the market by storm, loads of people here would be singing and cheering and dancing. Everyone’s kind of hoping for it aren’t they? It could happen, couldn’t it? What would happen if it was Apple that did it? Oh wait a minute…they did! Of course not better than themselves…just better than everyone else at the time. Pity it had to be branded Apple.
The terrible thin about living under tyrants is that they don’t allow their subjects to escape. Except of course Apple is not a country and you are free to buy a better product from anyone you like…except that at present the iPhone is the best there is. So until another company advances to the next level of innovation your either stuck a second class product or you stay with the first. It’s all about choices…and we can all make them. Apple does not MAKE you buy anything.
Thats it! I’m buying a Blackberry instead cause their app store is way better… no?
Thanks Apple:
Thanks for my iTouch that my 4 year old has abused for months – it still has a flawless screen.
Thanks for the magnetic power cord on my laptop its saved it a dozen times.
Thanks for keeping porn on the Internet and out of the app store.
Thanks for my virus free computing experience – its been 18 months now (since I switched from PC to Mac)
I never purchased Apple Care – thanks for a product that doesn’t need it
I haven’t had to format my hard drive and reinstall your operating system
I could keep going for a long time but I’ll stop – perhaps I’m a fanboy but I don’t care. I’m forced to use Win7 at work I won’t have it in my home.
I don’t get what the big deal is. Bitching about a closed platform? PSP? XBox? DS? Those guys must be all hand-holdy open source platforms then, right?
Tyrants seldom allow their populations to leave their country. Apple though is not a country…it’s a company. You can leave any time you like. You can buy a better product, with all the freedoms and features you WISH Apple would include, any time you like. Wait a minute…no you can’t…because no one is making them yet.
Fanboy Defense Team Assemble!
There’s a name for this sort of draconian measure. It’s called “Quality Control”, and it ensures that you (the end user) have a consistent experience. Not really that uncommon. Let’s look back…
Atari had one for the 2600 to ensure quality of games. Once they let that go, it lead to the “video game crash of 1984″ because the market was flooded with inferior product. As a result, all major console makers have QC over what plays on their devices, especially Nintendo which has the strictest standards of the big three.
Granted, there is a lot of crap in the App Store, but at least it runs predictably for the most part and doesn’t let in malware.
@RyanM — You’re wrong. Neither Microsoft nor Google make application developers sign such draconian BS. Neither of them force applications to be approved for use before they can be distributed through one single anti-competitive point of purchase.
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@cory2107 — I agree it’s not a computer, but technically it does run a dumbed-down version of OSX, so I won’t argue on the OS front. I just challenge anyone here to show me one machine they’d consider a real computer that utilizes an ARM CPU (and isn’t meant for third world countries).
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@Riverhead — Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
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@afterhours — Yes, a life forced into a world of Fisher-Price computing, with steering wheels, mirrors and honky-horns on our computers. Sounds great. Sorry, but some of us aren’t dumbasses, and we’ve used Windows since it’s inception without ever once contracting a virus, trojan, etc. If you aren’t smart enough to handle the power, fine — at least you admit it.
Let’s see if I understand the arguments being made here. Somehow Apple tricked thousands of developers into creating 150,000 apps and making a lot of money. Apple also managed to confuse consumers enough to make them download 3 billion apps for a platform that can’t be any good because it’s “closed.” And the iPad can’t possibly succeed because it doesn’t have a camera or Flash or USB connectors.
Over the past decade Apple has managed to redefine the music distribution industry, invented the smartphone category, cultivated a really successful hardware/software ecosystem, generated a huge pile of cash, and moved their stock price to new highs. Yep, they have no idea what they’re doing.
Apple has become everything Mac users hated about Microsoft, only worse. The only Apple product I have ever owned was an apple II E back in the 80’s. I thought mac users were blind in their support of Mac’s and Apple {an obvious inferior platform to PC). This only cements my opinion. I will gladly use my PC and Microsoft platform and products than to bend to the Orwellian poster child of Anti-trust that is Apple. If their products were so wonderful then they wouldn’t have to monopolize the market by buying out retail space at retailers to block their competitors products, they wouldn’t force control over the use of software on their devices. Lastly NOBODY and I mean NOBODY pays lip service to Apple like Wired does. Is Wired owned by Apple also?
Uh, Hello.
Since when is this a “secret” contract agreement? As someone who signed up as an Apple iPhone developer I do seem to recall agreeing to such a thing; so if anyone should care I’d be perfectly happy to forward the doc or link….after all, the FOIA stuff isn’t even relevant, is it?
Maybe Wired is a bit too hungry for “story”?
I think the success of the App Store shows that a compelling market for your applications and a revolutionary rev share (70% of the retail price to the developer) are more important than complete developer freedom.
I think the Microsoft analogy is a good one for the positives of the iTunes App Store — Microsoft created a compelling market by selling the hell out of Windows, so developers came and made their loot. The same can be said with the App Store. Focusing on the restrictions to the developer is a misdirect, because whatever you do, if you don’t have a consumer base that will use your product, you have no business as a software developer. Revenue cures all ills when you’re selling something.
I’m not arguing for this kind of control, I just don’t think it matters all that much. The EFF and the press like to pick up on the problems, but apparently the overwhelming majority of developers really don’t care, or the store would already be a failure.
Now…what makes anyone think there is an automatic right for developers to profit from the incredibly stable and technologically successful platforms that Apple build. The fact is that there is no automatic right. Despite the ‘terrible restrictions’ that are imposed by Apple, developers have managed to somehow, some way, through sheer grit and determination, get around them and make over 100,000 apps and many make a shed load of money too. Damn that Apple company! Truth is that Apple makes development of apps easy – for a small fee they give you the tools and the know how. If you make money, on the back of their innovation – well why shouldn’t they get a percentage?
Some here claim Apple is tyrannical…Tyrants seldom allow their populations to leave their country. Apple though is not a country…it’s a company. You can leave any time you like. You can buy a better product, with all the freedoms and features you WISH Apple would include, any time you like. Wait a minute…no you can’t…because no one is making them yet.
i beleive this point was made here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUl1DFBKdv8
If Apple does intend to control the universe, then at some point they will have to fight Bungie, who are also intent on universal domination. Right now, it’s no contest, but with time Apple may yet be rise to the occasion.