The confusing part for me, is "What bit was unexpected?"
If you develop for a controlled platform which has an approval process, you have risks. End of story. You don't call any shots, the owner of the platform - Apple - does.
As an Apple consumer, I just don't care, and I'm sure the vast majority are the same. When Apple starts degrading the users experience, people will care.
It certainly is getting very boring to read. Essentially 2 stories have been posted umpteen times now.
Usually, when a company makes a consumer device, they either market it as an "experience" or as a "platform".
When a company is trying to sell a device as an "experience", it finds other large companies to partner with, and makes them all sign NDAs. The partner companies make legal agreements ahead of time so that both parties know what will be developed/accepted. Due to the cost and limited number of partners, only a few applications are made for the device, but they are high quality. This is the model used by game consoles and some mobile devices.
On the other hand, when a company tries to market a device as a "platform", it courts as many developers as it can, from big companies to hobbyists. Usually, the development tools and documentation are free. There are no NDAs to sign, no vetting process; developers create with the assurance that end-users will have access to their product, regardless of how crappy it is. This is the model used by personal computers and some mobile devices.
What is unusual is that Apple is pursuing neither strategy. They want developers to work without prior approval, but they also want to arbitrarily block distribution. They want developers to work on their own, but they also want to keep them from talking to each other.
This approach is unexpected from a device manufacturer. It was not unreasonable of the book authors to expect that Apple would have dropped the NDA by now, as it serves no purpose other than as a barrier of entry to development.
If you develop for a controlled platform which has an approval process, you have risks. End of story. You don't call any shots, the owner of the platform - Apple - does.
As an Apple consumer, I just don't care, and I'm sure the vast majority are the same. When Apple starts degrading the users experience, people will care.
It certainly is getting very boring to read. Essentially 2 stories have been posted umpteen times now.
1). Apple uses NDAs.
2). Apple rejects some apps from the store.