Before I get started on my rant, a few things first. I know that I have not been here for a long time. The past few…months (I guess), have been quite hectic, busy, and critical. The worst of it is over and I think I have more time on my hands now to get back to work updating this blog and gallery, both content-wise and software-wise.

Anyway, there has been a stir caused by the announcement and beta-release of the iPhone Software Development Kit by Apple. Since the iPhone and the subsequent iPhone sans phone aka iPod Touch were released, the hacking community went straight to work bypassing the restrictions Apple has been widely known to put in their devices. Thus the iPhone/iTouch Jailbreak scene was born with a focus on unlocking restrictions and allowing users to install applications and greatly extend the capabilities of both devices, unwilling to wait for the release of the official SDK that Steve-o promised soon after the release.

Now, the SDK has been “released.” With a subscription fee, one can gain access to developer tools to create applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch that one can distribute through the so-called “App Store” either for free or for a price. Sounds great? But, as always with Apple, there is a catch.

Unlike the free-for-all development in the Jailbreak community, Apple has placed several disenchanting restrictions on software development with the iPhone SDK. These restrictions include prohibiting more than one app from running at the same time, prohibiting 3rd-party API’s, and restricting distribution to the “App-Store.” Although the last is somewhat understandable, it is ironic that they would not allow more than one application to run at the same time as one of Apple’s major selling points of the iPhone/iTouch is the multitasking abilities of the mini-OS X that these devices run on.

As a result, I can safely conclude that the Jailbreak community will not die, as some have feared. On the other hand, the release of the SDK may actually bolster the movement. In any event, we will see when the final SDK and the 2.0 software that allows for SDK-created apps to come in June.

~DC