Apple says no Commodore emulator on iPhone
In a move that probably surprised no one but the developer, the Apple app store has rejected an iPhone app which emulates the venerable and still popular Commodore 64 microcomputer from the early eighties.
In turning down the app, Apple cited its rule against any application that is or includes a virtual environment, or which can execute code not downloaded from the official App Store. This rule states:
An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise. No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s).
One must still feel bad for the developer, Manomio, for putting a lot of work into what really seems like a cool idea. Still, the rule is very clear and Manomio probably should have known that they were running afoul of the rule quoted above. The app had the backing of a lot of folks from the Apple European community, according to a story in The Register. The app probably would have been a great deal of fun.
In truth, the rule is aimed at Java developers and not at people that want to play 25-year-old games. Apple is worried, probably with some reason, that allowing such a virtual environment would open the the iPhone up to Java exploits like the ones that have bedeviled other platforms in the past. Especially given the new focus on security from potential business users, the Cupertino electronics giant could not let this one slide by.
It is hoped that there is some way around this dilemma. Manomio not only put a lot of work into the app, they actually thought they had pre-approval from Apple after making sure Apple knew that they were not infringing on any patents or copyrights. This also bodes ill for similar apps, such as AudioSurf.
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