JetLib News

nigham writes “The EFF is publicly disclosing a version of Apple’s iPhone developer program license agreement. The highlights: you can’t disclose the agreement itself (the EFF managed to get it via the Freedom of Information Act thanks to NASA’s recent app), Apple reserves the right to kill your app at any time with no reason, and Apple’s liability in any circumstance is limited to 50 bucks. There’s also this gem: ‘You will not, through use of the Apple Software, services or otherwise create any Application or other program that would disable, hack, or otherwise interfere with the Security Solution, or any security, digital signing, digital rights management, verification or authentication mechanisms implemented in or by the iPhone operating system software, iPod Touch operating system software, this Apple Software, any services or other Apple software or technology, or enable others to do so.’ The entire agreement (PDF) is up at the EFF’s site.”

Source: Apple’s iPhone Developer License Agreement Revealed

tugfoigel writes “Anyone who currently owns an iPhone and was hoping they would be able to use it as a mobile Web access point for a Wi-Fi iPad just got some bad news. Reportedly, Steve Jobs has said this will not happen. Swedish blog Slashat.se claims they e-mailed Job directly to ask him whether or not you’d be able to tether your iPad and iPhone and received a terse ‘No’ in reply. According to the report, the email headers made it plausible that the reply had come from Jobs’s iPhone.”

Source: Jobs Says No Tethering iPad To iPhone

tekgoblin writes to let us know that Gizmodo has some early shots of the new prototype “Courier” booklet (foldable tablet) on the way from Microsoft. “Courier is a real device, and we’ve heard that it’s in the “late prototype” stage of development. It’s not a tablet, it’s a booklet. The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They’re connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre.”

Source: Microsoft “Courier” Pictures

jasonbrown writes “Apple on Thursday began removing another category of apps from its iPhone App Store. This time, it’s not porn, it’s Wi-Fi. Apple removed several Wi-Fi apps commonly referred to as stumblers, or apps that seek out available Wi-Fi networks near your location. According to a story on Cult of Mac, apps removed by Apple include WiFi-Where, WiFiFoFum, and yFy Network Finder.”

Source: Apple Removes Wi-Fi Finders From App Store

snydeq writes “Peter Wayner provides a developer’s comparison of Android and the iPhone and finds Android not only competitive but in fact a better choice than the iPhone for many developers, largely due to its Java foundation. ‘While iPhone developers have found that one path to success is playing to our baser instincts (until Apple shuts them down), a number of Android applications are offering practical solutions that unlock the power of a phone that’s really a Unix machine you can slip into your pocket,’ Wayner writes, pointing out GScript and Remote DB as two powerful tools for developers to make rough but workable custom tools for Android. But the real gem is Java: ‘The pure Java foundation of Android will be one of the biggest attractions for many businesses with Java programmers on the staff. Any Java developer familiar with Eclipse should be able to use Google’s Android documentation to turn out a very basic application in just a few hours. Not only that, but all of the code from other Java programs will run on your Android phone — although it won’t look pretty or run as fast as it does on multicore servers.’”

Source: Where Android Beats the iPhone

andylim writes “Several mobile gaming companies are developing cross-platform multiplayer games allowing Android and iPhone users, for example, to play games against each other. Last month touchArcade reported on a cross-platform baseball game developed by Com2Us called Homerun Battle 3D. Unlike turn-based multiplayer mobile games, Homerun Battle 3D allows players to compete against each other instantly, but you don’t see the other player — instead you only get to see your competitor’s score being updated. Pushing cross-platform multiplayer games even further, a company called Bulky Pix has created a table-football-style game that displays the action as it happens — both players see the ball moving around. This hopefully suggests that cross-platform, multiplayer mobile shooters aren’t far behind.”

Source: Cross-Platform Mobile Gaming Gaining Traction

timothy found this link (hat-tip to Tim O’Reilly) to a paean to the joys of tethering. “In a short post, Steve Souders explores the current state of tethering 3G connections via iPhone (on which he basically gives up, for the perfectly decent reason of not wanting to jailbreak his iPhone) and the Nexus One, with which he has great success. His writeup serves as a micro-tutorial (“use PdaNet’s Android app“) as well as an endorsement.”

Source: Tethering Is Exhilarating (With the Nexus One)

gollum123 writes “A new survey sent out to Netflix subscribers indicates that the iPhone might be the next device that its streaming service rolls out on in the coming months. (The NY Times credits Hacking Netflix for the tip.) According to a tip sent to Hacking Netflix, the subscription video company is now asking users how likely they would be to use an iPhone app to view movies via its online streaming service. According to the survey, an iPhone app would give users all the same functionality that they have when streaming on a PC or other device, including all the same movies and TV shows without advertisements or trailers. If the app is rolled out, the ability to watch on the Apple mobile device would be offered at no additional charge to existing Netflix subscribers. There is good news for AT&T implied in the survey questions: it appears that the app would require users to be connected to a Wi-Fi network.”

Source: Netflix Gauging Interest In an iPhone App

Google Nexus One’s luminous OLED screen may be state of the art when it comes to display technology in smartphones but an iPhone’s LCD screen ranks better, according to tests by DisplayMate, a firm that calibrates and optimizes displays.

Source: iPhone’s LCD Screen Beats Nexus One’s OLED Display

Netflix has renewed its interest in the iPhone as a video streaming platform, with a survey asking its customers how much they want an app for the iPhone (and, almost certainly, the iPad). The proposed app would allow them to watch thousands of movies and television shows for about the price of one movie ticket per month, with no need for a traditional cable or satellite subscription.

Source: Netflix Eyes iPhone for Movie, TV Streaming