Only Rafe and I this time round, here's AAS podcast 64, a.k.a. Insight 16, in which we talk about the new Nokia S60 devices for Vodafone and T-Mobile, the recent announcement of Silverlight Mobile for S60 and the issues surrounding the changes at Symbian Signed - how can the current debacle be resolved?
Read on in the full article.
Very good discussion Steve and Rafe, especially the one about Symbian Signed controversy.
I fully agree that Open Signed Online is good for end users because now they can sign application more easily. There are still some problems with Symbian Signed that needs to be improved.
For example, you mentioned that freeware/open source developers are able to use express signed for $20. It is quite cheap. I don't mind paying $20 and additional $200/year for PublisherID. The problem is that getting PublisherID requires us to have a company / organization. Many freeware/open source developers are just individuals. I tried once to apply for PublisherID; but my application was rejected because of this reason. One way to solve this is by register as non-profit organization or something like that. It does require some paper-work with the local authority (each country/state may have different policy).
One drawback of Open Signed Online is the fact that it requires some time to do it. We need to enter information, e.g. IMEI, email address, captcha, etc. Then we need to wait for an email for signed application. It takes at least a couple of minutes. For the end users, this is totally fine. For developers, this is quite frustrating. Normally, developers need to build and test their applications several times every day. The only way to solve this is by applying for PublisherID (then we'll hit the same problem above).
There was also a discussion at the Symbian Signed forum to have a shared PublisherID for all freeware/open source developers. The problem is that we need volunteer to do all the dirty works. Besides that, there many open questions, such as liabilities.
It sounds more like a calculated move by Nokia/Symabian to me.
Remember when iphone came out and the end users were denied any use of third party apps. The hacker community united and hacked the OS to hell, If we look at the situation from a different point of view, this generated a lot of interest in the new OS. The iphone became popular not just in the US but throughout the world wherever it was hacked and sold. Apple indirectly made a lot of easy money realizing they wouldn't even need to provide any warranties.
I feel Symbian also trying to pull a similar trick, killing 2 birds with one arrow. Within days of Symbian pulling the plug off Symbian Signed, there's already news on the internet about Platform Security being hacked and Yes there is a renewed excitement around Symbian Signed. Sooner or later, we might get to a stage, where all the enthusiasts would be running hacked phones without any Security and ofcourse with their warranty void. On the other hand we'll have average mass market users, safe and warm, sitting behind the veils of Platform Security.
I would like to comment on a remark in the podcast about the quality of freeware, where it was speculated many a freeware would not pass the Symbian Signed test criteria anyway.
Well, maybe, but somehow I doubt it. Programming anything, whether freeware or commercial, on Symbian is pretty tough. This is definitely not Windows where anybody with half a brain can fire up VB6 or VS.NET and click together something that might look like a useful program but isn't.
Because of this I think normally only a pretty good programmer has a decent chance to get something non-trivial running. And such a programmer usually does not produce sloppy programs.
By the way, I ran into the same wall as Pranata: I was willing and ready to spend 200 USD for a publisher ID and then several times 20 USD for signing only to release my *freeware*, and I asked them where please do I have to put my money down, only to be told "No, sir, *you* won't get a publisher id, you don't have a company behind you."
This is not funny.
rbrunner wrote:I was willing and ready to spend 200 USD for a publisher ID and then several times 20 USD for signing only to release my *freeware*, and I asked them where please do I have to put my money down, only to be told "No, sir, *you* won't get a publisher id, you don't have a company behind you."This is not funny.
:tongue: I guess Nokia wants you start developing iPhone or WM apps now.
I found the following showcase of Flash applets and sites
http://www.bestflashanimationsite.com/
and
the following showcase of Silverlight applets and sites
http://silverlight.net/Showcase/
Will they all work on S60 ?