Apple backs down over Rogue Mac images

 

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Posted on 24 Nov 2009 at 10:53

Apple has reversed its decision to prevent the Airfoil iPhone app from displaying images of Macs, but the developer, Rogue Amoeba, is standing by its decision not to produce any more apps.

An update to Airfoil Speakers Touch restores the app’s original behaviour, allowing it to show an image of the Mac that is transmitting audio to an iPhone or iPod touch.

But Apple’s change of heart—having delayed the release of the update for several months—was not enough to assuage the concerns of Rogue Amoeba boss Paul Kafasis.

“The problems of the App Store go well beyond our own relatively minor case,” he wrote on the Rogue Amoeba blog.

“The App Store and iPhone platform still have myriad problems, detailed in many places. Among other issues, the potential remains for months of effort to be wasted as an app sits in limbo, or is never even released. As well, the long lead times needed before updates reach users are still in place.”

As Kafasis said, Rogue Amoeba is far from alone in finding Apple’s approval process frustrating and what once was an issue that chiefly concerned developers has now taken on a wider significance as other mobile platforms compete for their attention.

In an effort to address concerns, Apple’s marketing boss Phil Schiller told Business Week that people shouldn’t lose sight of the advantages of the company’s approach.

“We’ve built a store for the most part that people can trust. You and your family and friends can download applications from the store, and for the most part they do what you’d expect, and they get onto your phone, and you get billed appropriately, and it all just works.”

Referring to the issue with Airfoil, Schiller accepted that there is some confusion over how and when Apple trademarks can be used, which the company is addressing.

“We need to delineate something that might confuse the customer and be an inappropriate use of a trademark from something that’s just referring to a product for the sake of compatibility,” he said. “We’re trying to learn and expand the rules to make it fair for everyone.”

Author: Simon Aughton