Null River has announced that their iPhone tethering application, NetShare, won't be returning to the AppStore.
Looks like Apple has decided they will not be allowing any tethering applications in the AppStore. As such, NetShare will not be available in the iTunes AppStore. We are seeing a lot of similar reports from various developers who's applications were abruptly removed and banned from the AppStore without any violations of the terms of service. This is all unfortunate news for the iPhone platform end-users.
Back on Aug 29, Gizmodo published a reader email to Steve Jobs, berating AT&T's the lack of an iPhone tethering plan, and what is purported to be the Dear Leader's reply saying Apple was "discussing" the issue with the carrier.
Apparently, whatever the outcome of the Apple + AT&T tethering tet-a-tet, Null River and NetShare won't be part of the picture.
Thereupon, I'll renew my call to Null River to open source their iPhone tethering application. Perhaps the iPhone Dev Team crowd can breath some life into it...
Very stupid. I hope they do not make the same mistake they made with the Mac when it first launched, by keeping such tight control that this eventually gave way for Windows to become ubiquitous.
Posted by Guest Poster #1 on 09/15/08 12:08 AM
...so why does AT&T in the USA have a say over the availability of a tethering application in other markets?
Tethering is certainly allowed in many (if not all) networks here in Australia but as usual, we will end up with even less in our iTunes store as we always get a cut down version of the US store... (the same goes for music, movies & television shows).
There are *other* countries on this planet... Posted by Guest Poster #2 on 09/15/08 12:39 AM
they should release it on cydia and/or installer for free just to make apple think about their decision
Posted by Guest Poster #3 on 09/15/08 12:41 AM
Being a _VERY_ long time Apple user, I feel that the company finally lost its ways with the iPhone store. It's time to boycott the iPhone. I am NOT buying. Listening, Apple? You want total control??! No way!!!!!
Time to boycott Posted by Rudy on 09/15/08 1:53 AM
Being a _VERY_ long time Apple user, I feel that the company finally lost its ways with the iPhone store. It's time to boycott the iPhone. I am NOT buying. Listening, Apple? You want total control??! No way!!!!!
Time to boycott Posted by Rudy on 09/15/08 1:54 AM
Stop one minute and think about At&t, the music and movie studio companies and all the agreements and concessions Apple has made with them just to get the iPhone and iTunes on the market. Things are never black and white with one company doing whatever it wants. There are many interests involved here so stop bellyaching and think about how the business world works for one minute.
Apple is not alone Posted by Guest Poster #6 on 09/15/08 10:51 AM
as has been brought forward so many times already, apple made the rules on how to get involved with developing apps for the iphone and was within their rights to accept or deny (or perhaps bless or curse) any particular developer and/or their desired application. i would think that once "accepted into the fold" this, in essence, would constitute a legal and binding contract...so long as the developer did not violate the "terms" of said contract. in the "business world" an agreed to and signed contract is binding. unless the terms of the contract are infringed upon, by either party, generally/usually, not much can be done. in the "business world" once signed, the terms can't be changed on a whim!!! in a variation of the classic phrase (caveat emptor)...caveat procreator--creator beware.
bottom line, it's just NOT right, regardless the "world."
