iPhone Facebook Developer Done With iPhone Development
Facebook Developer Joe Hewitt has written his last iPhone app. Or something like that. In protest of Apple’s well publicized AppStore approval policies, the iPhone Facebook Application Developer has handed the project off to another developer and is moving on to “more open” pastures.
Joe had this to say to TechCrunch:
“My decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple’s policies. I respect their right to manage their platform however they want, however I am philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process. I am very concerned that they are setting a horrible precedent for other software platforms, and soon gatekeepers will start infesting the lives of every software developer.
The web is still unrestricted and free, and so I am returning to my roots as a web developer. In the long term, I would like to be able to say that I helped to make the web the best mobile platform available, rather than being part of the transition to a world where every developer must go through a middleman to get their software in the hands of users.”
I can definitely sympathize with Joe on the nebulous (at best) and nefarious (at worst) review process. Hopefully, Joe’s defection will cause someone at Apple to finally fix the problem once and for all.
