Feds to look at Apple policy on programming tools

May 4, 1:52 PM (ET)

By JOELLE TESSLER

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal regulators plan to examine whether Apple Inc. is violating antitrust rules by requiring software developers to use Apple programming tools to create applications for the iPhone and iPad.

Officials at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are sorting out which agency will examine Apple's new policy, according to a person with knowledge of the inquiry. Apple's policy prevents developers from using outside tools such as Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash format, which is used in many Web videos, games and interactive graphics, to design apps for Apple's popular devices.

The person with knowledge of the inquiry, who was not authorized to speak publicly, noted that it is in a preliminary stage. The two antitrust agencies regularly scrutinize whether corporate conduct could stifle competition, and not all inquiries result in a formal investigation or action by the government.

Apple had no immediate comment Tuesday. The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department had no comment.

The inquiry was reported earlier by the New York Post.

A key question facing federal regulators is whether Apple hurts competition in the mobile device market by forcing software developers to choose between designing apps that can run only on the iPhone and iPad and those that can run on rival devices such as Google Inc.'s Android phones and Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry.

Apple's new policy has also raised concerns for Adobe, which includes Flash as part of a suite of software tools sold to professional designers and Web developers. Although Apple's decision to ban Flash limits what its iPhone and iPad can do, the popularity of the devices has led many software developers to design apps without the format.

Last week, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs defended the company's decision in a lengthy Web posting arguing that "letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in substandard apps." Jobs criticized Flash for, among other things, causing performance problems with mobile devices.

Adobe had no comment Tuesday. But last week, the company said in a statement that Apple's "attempt to position this solely as a technology issue is a smoke screen." Instead, Adobe said, Apple was trying to protect a business model that locks developers and consumers into its tools and services.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20100504/D9FG5TS80.html

The question is: Is excluding one format worthy of an anti-trust claim?

Isn't this like saying GM requires car owners to use parts that fit a GM vehicle and not Ford or Toyota ?

No one is forcing them to write iPhone Apps - it's their choice.
Can't Apple say using its Tool Kit is for consistency and to prevent bugs ? Isn't that desirable ?

And even if they make an iPhone App, what's preventing them for making an Android or Blackberry version? nutin ' !!! :-P

Unless they have some crazy angle that nobody is aware of, there is no way any of this will hold water.

like a screen door on a submarine !!

The key here is that Adobe is not banned from writing apps

I think it's less like saying you may only use GM parts in a GM vehicle, and more like saying you must manufacture GM parts using GM-owned manufacturing equipment. I'm not certain that even the corrected analogy works with the situation, however, as code, in this scenario, is a much different commodity than motorparts. It'd be closer to programming the car's computer, which, like the iPhone, probably also uses something proprietary. (Or, I would hope!)

This is the typical Apple controlling the entire widget thing. Considering their development kit is free and works well, I'm not certain what all the complaining's about. It's well-established that the iPhone is a closed platform.

Hi Antonio,

well that's definitely another way at looking at it...

I think the big point is it does NOT prohibit them from making the same App for Droid or Balckberry or any other 'smartphone'... they just have to use a different programming language (tool)... ie they can't use one size fits all... soooo . . is that monopolistic ?

Hey and I can't use Epson ink cartridges in my HP printer, and visa versa .. I sure hope the Feds prosecute Epson and HP for their "closed systems" !

good hearing from you !

Nope, it certainly doesn't prevent them from developing on other platforms. One would hope they wouldn't want to use a one size fits all solution to developing on different platforms, as it would probably produce bloated, buggy code... wasn't that Jobs' point, anyhow?

But, they've already proven me wrong
At least on the front of using the one size fits all tool.

Anyone here use any code-translation tools or libraries? I know they exist for translating between C revisions (ex: Objective C to C), but I've no experience with them.

Look at the GUI for Adobe's CS apps and you'll see why it's a bad idea. I've never seen more graphical glitches and oddities on my Mac. Lowest common denominator development sucks.