Apple crumbles over its App Store restrictions

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Apple’s relaxation of its restrictions on developer tools will cheer the company’s user base as much as the programmers. At last, they can all use Adobe Flash.

The new decree allows the use of Adobe’s tools for app building. There has been a storm over Apple’s ban on Flash apps, especially since the release of the iPad, which prevents access to media content on numerous websites.

Apple released a statement that said it had removed all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps. The rider is the resulting apps must not download any code.

The move is seen as a reaction to the bad publicity the Flash ban has caused. Apple said: “We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart.”

The company has released the App Store Review Guidelines to specify how apps submissions are reviewed for App Store inclusion.

"We hope it will make us more transparent and help our developers create even more successful apps for the App Store," Apple explained.

Not only will this clarification increase the number of apps but the tools relaxation will open the floodgates for submissions using Flash that have been waiting in the wings for Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, to change his mind.

The guidelines also included examples of best practises for iOS programmers, including user interface design, functionality, content, and the use of specific technologies.

The hold Apple has exerted in the past still remains and the guidelines specify what kind of content will not be tolerated, especially when it involves apps that might harm or corrupt children.

Rejected apps developers are also warned engineering a public outcry is not a good idea. "We have a Review Board that you can appeal to," the company wrote. "If you run to the press and trash us, it never helps."

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