Apple's App Store Antics Frustrate Devs

Now you see it, now you don't. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is playing hide and seek with some applications in the iPhone and iPod touch online App Store.

The first application to show and then disappear was Nullriver's NetShare. It first went on sale briefly on Thursday, then disappeared without explanation -- to the developer or to MacNewsWorld press inquiries on the matter -- then reappeared Friday. And now it's gone again.

NetShare is a controversial app. It basically uses a proxy connection over WiFi with a computer to turn the iPhone into a WiFi hotspot. While the app is no doubt handy to iPhone owners who might be traveling and need a quick method for accessing the Internet via a laptop, it also has the potential to suck a lot more bandwidth out of AT&T's (NYSE: T) 3G network than the company might be comfortable with.

Still, in some countries, unlimited data means unlimited data, and the carriers don't seem to mind if the iPhone gets to be a tethering device. Many other smartphones have the capability built-in.

Box Office Bites the Dust

Now, it looks like an application called "Box Office" has been yanked from the store. Box Office was a movie theater and show time finder that also appeared to grab RottenTomatoes.com user ranking data, which it displayed next to each movie title. The program was written by Cyrus Najmabadi, with graphics by Jeffrey Nee.

A user identifying himself as Box Office's developer posted a public note on MacRumors.com stating that he received no notification from Apple prior to the app's removal, and has received no explanation as to why it was taken down.

As of press time, the developer hadn't responded to a MacNewsWorld request for comment.

Must Apple Become Copyright and Licensing Police?

While the developer says he is in contact with his data providers, which include Rotten Tomatoes and Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), might Apple require some sort of proof? What if an application ran afoul of copyright or some rule of law?

If so, the nature the Apple's overt control over the App Store may make it at least partially liable, Sean Ryan, a research analyst for IDC's Mobile and Wireless Group, told MacNewsWorld.

"If it was a third-party application that just happened to work with the platform, and it's sold through a different channel with no affiliation with Apple -- just the fact they are compatible -- Apple's not liable," Ryan explained.

"But if Apple is selling the app through their store, they can become liable, so I'm sure it makes them more conservative," he added, which could explain the mysterious disappearances.

Clearly, though, Apple's process is less than transparent when apparently the developers themselves can't even get answers. Nullriver's site provides the latest update on its NetShare app: "Apple has taken it down again, with no explanation yet again."

Benevolent Dictator?

"The App Store is being marketed as a quality and security assurance measure, but that's not what it is," John Sullivan, manager of operations for the Free Software Foundation, told MacNewsWorld.

"It's a control and exclusivity measure. It's an extension of the Digital Restrictions Management system that's imposed on the iPhone, which prevents users from installing their own software from any third-party sources. This means that Apple can prevent certain applications from being installed on the computer that make it do things they don't want users to be able to do -- for example, install a client to monitor voice minutes and data exchange to make sure that the billing from the phone company is correct, or install a music player that plays file formats that Apple would prefer not become popular -- like Ogg Vorbis," Sullivan explained.

"A signing system like the App Store uses could indeed be a very useful security measure," Sullivan acknowledged "But only if the user herself holds the keys and remains in control of her own computer," he added.

"The problem with security measures like what Apple is trying to push is that they are actually security for Apple against the user, not for the user against threats. The user is asked to blindly trust a corporation with different interests than her own, and is legally and technologically blocked from being able to monitor or verify that trust," he noted.

Will Box Office or NetShare ever appear again? Hard to say. Right now the only way to find out is to keep watching the App Store. Store.