Hacker News Reader

Comment by jmtulloss | Hacker News Reader

I think JWZ has some of the details wrong. The Palm app catalog may resemble the Apple app store. This is not a bad thing. This is a repository of apps that are easy to find and install from the device itself, and it carries a certain seal of approval from Palm/Apple. There should be quality requirements for this distribution channel.

However, there is no "2nd citizen" app store. What Palm is doing is providing a link to your app that can be posted anywhere that will do exactly what JWZ wants: install the app on your phone when clicked. There is no charge for this link, and the app is not reviewed. Palm is simply hosting the app for you AND providing over-the-air updates for your app. What you don't get is the on-device distribution channel.

(Disclaimer: I work at Palm, but am not in developer relations. These are my opinions; I'm not privy to information on this topic outside of what you fine folks have.)

View on HN

This point was made on his LJ, and he responded:

That's just semantics. Palm is still in control of it. It is their catalog, and the app is surely hosted on their servers.

So maybe the user-facing interface for getting at apps is a web page instead of a "store" application that runs on the device. That's just an implementation detail. Palm is still mediating my interaction with my customers.

I love the "that's just semantics" argument. Semantics have connotations, and his were far from the truth. The "just an implementation detail" is another favorite. The differences between good programs and bad programs that do the same thing are, largely, implementation details.

It's great that people want to discuss the upsides and downsides of this approach, but the dismissive language and outright anger in the original post makes JWZ's argument weaker.

Will it be possible for me to host the app so users can download directly from my server?

I doubt you'll ever see this, for security reasons.

I'm just imagining a scenario where I install your app, and it decides to SMS all of my contacts with a bit.ly link to spread itself, send out emails and do whatever else it wants to.

At least linking through Palm, they know who you are as the app author and can shut down the app if necessary and go after you if your app turns malicious.

But this is exactly his point, this kind of gatekeeping is ridiculous. If it hasn't been necessary for PalmOS previous and it's damn clear that desktop operating systems don't work this why, why do phones have to? There's much more sensitive information on my desktop computer and much more potential for damage yet when it comes to my phone I have to be treated with kid gloves?

I think the much better argument to make in Palm's favor is that 30% is a lot of money, not that it's a good idea to keep users "safe."

1. You can install whatever you want on your own phone if you first enable developer mode. It's very easy to do.. See the homebrew app scene here: http://www.precentral.net/homebrew-apps

2. Palm hasn't tried to shut down the homebrew scene at all. Actually they have been reaching out to developers of those apps and offering to let them host their apps in the official app store too.

3. Most people are not going to go through the trouble of hacking their phone just to install homebrew apps. They expect their phone to act like a phone, and they don't want to have to buy a virus scanner just to protect their phone from threats. For those users, I think the kid gloves are reasonable.

4. I believe Apple takes a 30% cut from iPhone app sales too.

And who gets blamed every time some dumbass downloads an attachment named britney_spears_naked_pic.exe and runs it? Windows, for being un-secure and virus prone. Palm's trying to avoid that fate, just like Apple is. I can't say I blame either of them. They're simply learning from history.

The only difference is they're letting those of us who know what we're doing install whatever we want via the homebrew route.

If jwz really wanted people to have his tip calculator (because the other 8 that are already there aren't good enough I suppose) he could simply post it at one of the many places that are referenced by WebOs Quickinstall or Filecoaster or Preware and people like myself who can't even spell SSH let alone use it can install the app.

Android allows this (users can download apps directly from third-party web sites). It just requires the user to check an "I know what I'm doing" box in the settings first.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com