A new End User Agreement for webOS developers was implemented on July 2nd that allows developers to discuss their development work a bit more. Thanks to permission from Palm, we're able to share a bit of it with you. One of the biggest changes was this short part in section 2:
2. Permitted Disclosures by Developers. Palm acknowledges and agrees that it is valuable for developers in the Program to be able to communicate with other developers and the general public about their development efforts and their applications. Palm agrees that Developer shall have the ability to discuss the Palm Materials, Developer's development efforts and Developer's Application(s) with any third party, including but not limited to blogging, website postings, and public presentations; provided however, that IN NO CASE MAY DEVELOPER PUBLISH, REPRODUCE OR DISTRIBUTE THE PALM MATERIALS, except as expressly licensed in Section 3.
So what does that really mean? Well essentially it means Early Access Program developers are no longer bound to keep quiet. Yes, that's right, there are more developers for the WebOS than you would've thought. Myself, like many others, haven't even been able to legitimately talk about upcoming apps and the development process in general. Now we can announce upcoming WebOS apps to the world. Don't be surprised if over the next few weeks we hear about many developers announcing new WebOS apps that they've been working on for months now.
More details from the revised End User Agreement after the break!
Another notable part of the EUA is in section 4.2:
4.2 Application Signing. Developer acknowledges and agrees that Applications which access or make use of Palm's APIs may not be installed or used on Palm Devices, except in a test environment, without first being signed with a certificate issued by or for Palm. Developer acknowledges and agrees that Palm has not yet finalized the method under which such certificates will be issued, and that Developer's ability to distribute such Applications for use with Palm Devices will be subject to further terms and conditions, which may include additional fees for application signing.
This seems to indicate Palm has not decided on a signing process for its third party apps - but will require application signing for legitimate apps. Makes sense to us, we just hope the fee isn't egregious.
Slightly more troubling:
4.3 Applications Can Only Be Distributed Through the Palm Application Catalog. Developer acknowledges and agrees, that absent a separate written agreement with Palm, Developer may not distribute any Application except as allowed by Palm's formal approved distribution process and channel (the "Application Catalog"). [Emphasis Ours] Developer acknowledges and agrees that (a) Palm has not yet finalized the requirements for participation in the Palm Application Catalog, (b) distribution of Applications will be subject to further terms and conditions, which may include a share of the revenue generated from sale of the Applications to be paid to Palm by Developer, (c) because of certain laws, regulations, as well as contractual or other restrictions, Palm may refuse to allow the distribution of certain types of Applications, and (d) distributed Applications may be viewable or inspectable by third parties, and Palm is not obligated to take any steps to obfuscate the code associated with the Applications or take any other steps to prevent third parties from viewing or inspecting Application code.
Bit of a mouthful there, but several important things are mentioned. First off, Palm seems to be limiting application installation to just the App Catalog, similar to the iPhone and its App Store. At first blush, this appears to be a change in policy, as Palm representatives have told PreCentral.net that direct loading of apps (aka 'Sideloading') would be allowed. Then again, perhaps Palm will be generous with those "separate written agreement[s]."
We're going to hold judgment on the part of about Palm refusing "to allow the distribution of certain types of Applications" for now, as Palm is more than aware of the mess that is Apple's iPhone App process and is no doubt eager to prevent the same sorts of hassles for their developers.
There is also further mention of the App Catalog requirements for application submission are not yet finalized. That's to be expected, it is still in "Beta." It's also unclear what Palm's cut of sales will be. [Note from Dieter: Chances are this will be figured out soon and when it is, we'll be seeing more applications on the App Catalog. If I were the betting sort, I would say that the timeline is probably longer than a week.]
Lastly, this section seems to indicate Palm has not come to a conclusion on whether or not to obfuscate application source code. Since webOS applications are coded in HTML, CSS and Javascript, the source code for said apps are theoretically open to anybody to see. Palm seems to be saying that they will not be held responsible if some user peeks into the Pre to get a close look at a given app's source code. Buyer, er, Developer beware.
In any case, now that developers are able to talk openly about WebOS applications that are in development, expect some interesting announcements.
Special thanks to Chuq Von Rospach of Palm
Comments
whatever the rules are lets just get on with it.
i am getting tired of waiting. the new iPhone is gaining more ground. HTC is announcing a new version of its handset.... and here we sit with out cool little Pre's with an app catalog that is a total joke. sure, sure, it will get better....but WHEN? i NEED remote access software NOW!!!
How long has the Pre been on shelves for? Almost 30 days? Don't be a drama queen just because you got to make the first comment.
I don't see how this can be for worse?
Because you will never to be able to install programs that are not in the app catalog. Meaning Palm will have complete control over what you can and can't put on your pre.
Hmmm So the phone has officially been released for 4 weeks now. We have seen an average of 1 os update a week. We still have one of the most intuitive phones out today and folks are STILL complaining about small things, totally forgetting how many things the phone does out of the box that no other phone can do, at least not so smoothly.... FOUR weeks and folks are crying foul over the app store. Those of you who went to sprint to get your phone are still waiting for your rebates for heaven's sake! Palm can't seem to win with today's "instant gratification selfishness" If they had released the phone any earlier there would be MORE complaints about bugs and craftsmanship, and if they had waited until it was darn near perfect and the app catalog was complete and full of yummy morsels...that could have been september and folks would have jumped ship and palm would have lost out there. So they met in the middle, an earlier than prepared for release in my book, with a decent amount of function and a delay on the app stuff so that they can release top of the line updates and apps in a flood of nice size proportions Come on guys... chill out and just be patient...and i mean REAL patience. It'll pay off.
We have only seen two updates during the four weeks. That is an average of one OS update every TWO weeks, not one update a week as you stated.
In those four weeks and two OS updates, we still CANNOT select our notification sound. We still CANNOT reply or forward an HTML e-mail message and keep the formatting intact.
Please do not act as though there are not very real problems that should have already been resolved.
There was an update issued before the phone was sold en masse that was 1.0.2 (week 1) there was 1.0.3 released a week later and 1.0.4 released after that....This week isn't over yet and we could very well see another update.. so I stand by what I said.
why would any one post 'appoval' over the way Palm is handling the SDK. there is nothing to be pleased about. so version 1 was a pretty good launch. but there are many feature missing. major features that should have not been missed. features that could easily be corrected if the SDK was readily available. do not condone what Palm is doing. complain and let them know....
Still there is litte point in complaining about things they already know and have confirmed to be coming...
For all those complaining about the "slow speed" of release of the SDK, I think Palm is doing a great job. The first version of the iPhone went through this as well.
As for the updated agreement, sadly, it was to be expected. Here are some points the article didn't note.
Requiring only "signed" apps, and only permitting apps to be distributed through the Palm app catalog, they are controlling (like iPhone) what apps are "allowed" on the phone. Meaning, for instance, that they can refuse to sign or put in the catalog any application that could impact the revenue of the various carriers (presently, only Sprint). Such as? Any app that runs voice over IP (such as Skype or completely free packages). A VoIP application would cut into the minutes you use for voice talking, which hurts revenue. Yes, they have plans with unlimited minutes -- but no-one is going to buy those plans if they can buy a cheaper plan with very few minutes, and then do all their talking over IP.
Another example are things like PDANet that circumvent Sprint's lack of a phone-as-a-modem option on their present plans (aka tethering). Tethering can place a strain on the carrier's network, and can impact 3G card account revenues (unless Sprint were to do the sensible thing and offer a PAM plan and put a cap on data use).
As for the application "encryption" -- it's much more serious than simply having people "look at" your code. This is a huge weakness of the webOS. Essentially, every pure Mojo application (aka, comprised of only HTML, CSS and JavaScript) is forced into an "open source" model de facto (if not legally by use of an open source license). So what? How about this -- I notice that some particular application is selling a lot of copies from the Palm store. I want to get in on that! So I simply make a copy of their application. Then I change the logo and the name of it. Maybe I tweak the look and feel a bit (or maybe not). And I go sell it myself! The original company may have put many man-months into developing the app, and spent a lot of money on it (perhaps even more money on marketing). I spent close to nothing, but start selling it.
In this case, the control over app signing and the Palm app catalog, I see as being a good thing. Palm can refuse to put my app in the catalog, or can pull it from the catalog once the infringement is seen. Without that, the original app vendor's only recourse is to sue me for copyright infringement. And, if app side-loading was allowed (which, actually, as a user, I want), me as the app-thief could see my stolen app from my website and let people side-load it. Palm would have no control if app-signing were not enforced. And as for the copyright issue, I'd just have to make sure I lived (and hosted the software website) in a country where it it would be hard to sue me (like China). Or made it look like I did.
Now, I'm not about to do any of those things, but someone would be willing to.
Not good at all. I've been skeptical if Palm would allow sideloading and it appears not likely. (a separate written agreement is not the same..it's still Palm giving approval).
This is not an open system then. It's Apple all over. If you want an (full working) app from Sling for example..forget it. Sprint will pressure Palm to make Sling cripple it. Palm can because they're the gateway.
Want a pdanet app? Forget it. You'll have to hack it in. CallRec type app? Forget it, Palm isn't going to approve or sanction that.
These are just examples. Whenever you have a gatekeeper, its NOT GOOD. No matter what Palm says or how open they say they'll be, they control what goes in that catalog or if you can have a separate agreement which really means, they control what app can be installed on your Pre.
It's also troubling in that Apple's control is what drove many to the Pre based on the promise of being able to sideload.
Excuse my ignorance here as I am fairly new to the smartphone game and have owned my Pre only a week...But what is the importance of being able to sideload apps rather than just go through the app store? In the post and the comments, many have pointed out they want it as a user...is the reason just for the fact one can bypass the app store...not paying for an app or paying less when sideloading it directly from the vendor/developer? I would think there's more to it than that but I just can't figure it out. Thanks in advance for enlightening me.
Thanks Jason. Makes complete sense. I am for sideloading as well! Hopefully, this is just Palm's initial official stance on the issue as the whole SDK/App Catalog development is still in it's infancy. I have my doubts but we can hope Palm allows an alternative of some sort to the App Catalog.
Frankly i think until things are more stable we should want palm to get as much revenue as possible. This way we can look forward to gen 2 and gen 3 versions of the pre and other great phones from palm... why would you want to rob a company and hinder it from doing more development on a product you like?
With that clarification I must say that I agree whole-heartedly. On the one hand you'd want this company to make money but it seems that if it is too easy for them to step in and REALLY mess things up with customer/developer loyalty by micromanaging. Right on.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that a phone is by definition not a smartphone unless sideloading is possible. Anyone needs to be able to load any app and there must be no preference given to "native" apps vs. user-installed apps. Thus, the iPhone is certainly not a smartphone. The Treo (both PalmOS and Windows flavors) and Centro certainly are.
And it's looking like the Pre won't be, either. One of the main reasons I bought the Pre is because I assumed it'd be a Smartphone -- indeed, Palm promised as much. A smartphone means that whatever I don't like about the phone is likely to bother someone else (smarter than me) too, who will fix it. Now, it may not be possible without hacking, and if hacking is required, this will discourage top-tier apps from appearing.
In other words, this sucks. Where can we go to voice our complaints?!?
Out on a limb for sure lol. But PLEASE people contact palm with ur complaints...either by phone or via fax... they are not that strong of a company now, and THESE are the very companies that will listen more closely to their income supply than say companies like Microsoft...
Palm, Inc. corporate headquarters
950 W. Maude Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
+1 408 617 7000 Main Phone
+1 408 617 0100 Main Fax
Palm hasn't made it easy to find an email address for them... so i say light their phones up and bog down their fax machines/servers.
I'm an iPhone user thinking of making the switch to Sprint because of the unlimited package and making more phone calls due to a new contract I'm on. As far as the apps store for the iphone it has almost anything you want, but it also has a lot of junk apps that I don't think people really need or want. I would hope that the Pre App catalog will have useful apps and not apps like FART, really who needs stuf like that. I also don't like the fact that I have to close down one app to get to something else and then go back and start it again. I like the multitasking.
Come join the Pre family! :) You won't have any regrets, I sure dont!
I know this is hard for a lot of pre users to do, but what helped me make the change was when I stopped comparing the two phones... go based on YOUR needs, these phones are in two totally different fields with entirely different spectrum extremes. This is not an iPhone killer and shouldn't be viewd as such. It is however a well made intitive device that offers things no other phone offers. I think it's more "serious" than the iPhone, seems to appeal more to grown ups in my opinion... The Pre is the Pre, it has it's pros and cons, as does the iphone...how will YOU use the device, that is what will best determine your final choice.
I just finally got my SDK invite on Friday. Looks like I won't be using it, since it sounds like it's legally impossible to develop software with their SDK and distribute it under the GNU GPL, or even distribute my own non-SDK software, once I agree to that. I hope not too many homebrewers fall for it.
Glad I rooted my Pre and disabled the automatic updates, because while I'm sure I'll have my choice of lovely social networking clients on the Pre, some of the more interesting and boundary-pushing apps will never appear in the store. I wonder if they'll even allow a voice recorder, much less something like that Playstation emulator someone posted last week.
I'm not quite sure why everyone is freaking out so much. We can still install homebrew apps just fine via USB and the SDK software with ease. You think that will be blocked by Palm too?
yes. with every update, they can potential lock out the previous version of sideloading.
Predicted.
http://forums.precentral.net/showthread.php?p=1733751#post1733751
*post deleted*
I see no problem at all. Of course they'll somehow try to regulate / restrict things. Exactly like Apple. Anyone who didn't expect that to happen must be delusional.
That said, again just like with Apple's product, someone will manage to hack whatever they try to put in place. So at worst we'll have to 'jailbreak' our Pre to run homebrew. Big deal? Most of us have pretty much 'jailbroken' the phone already anyway by rooting it.
So I guess the only 'problem' is that Joe User who is afraid of jailbreaking/rooting isn't able to install homebrew. While I do agree that kinds sucks... such is life these days.
I'm not worried.
On the issue of Palm forcing developers to sell excusively from their app store does, from a consumer point of view, give consumers a notion that Palm is accepting a liability for an app's 'quality' - just as Home Depot would have a liability for the quality of its zinc plated clouts which were made by someone else. And from the developer perspective, having a marketplace for applications is a good thing as it brings in millions of 'opportunities to see' the app'. But this does make the assumption that Palm Pre users are *only* interested in Palm Pre Store Products. Which might be flying rather close to US or EU anti-trust legislation.
So when visiting the store, will there be an 'approved by Palm' seal for each app' or, will it be buyer beware? I hope there will be some form of approval process (like with the i-Phone), which would include analysis and soak testing of code? Otherwise, there really is no point in having certificate signing. What customer would want to buy an app' that was signed by Palm but not certified by Palm?
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