Macworld — Ever since the App Store launched and the first app developer complained publicly about having his app rejected, Apple's (AAPL) received a lot of criticism about how it's run the App Store. Developers have been angry that rejections occur without clear reasoning and are impossible to appeal.

Recently, more developers got up in arms about a change to Apple's developer guidelines that banned all app development outside of Apple's Xcode system, shutting out not just Adobe's (ADBE) Flash, but other tools such as RealBASIC and Runtime Revolution, and throwing into question the status of many apps that use scripting languages as a part of their construction.

In recent months it's been clear that Apple has been stung by the criticism--or at least, is aware of the bad publicity it's been getting for its App Store policies. At several public events, Steve Jobs has gone out of his way to explain Apple's iOS philosophy: that while web-based apps are a completely open playing field, the App Store is a carefully curated environment.

Unsurprisingly, those statements didn't really satisfy the company's critics. But Thursday's announcement that Apple has modified and clarified its app-rejection policies will go a long way toward making developers feel more comfortable about writing apps, as well as taking the wind out of the sales of some of Apple's App Store critics, including myself.

Development tools

The decision about development tools is perhaps the most resounding turnabout of all Thursday's announcements. In April, Apple changed the terms of its developer agreement to ban any app that wasn't originally written in the C programming language. This happened just as Adobe was readying Flash Packager for iPhone, a tool that lets Flash developers output native iPhone code for submission to the App Store. Essentially, Apple's move meant that no app designed with Flash Packager would ever be approved for sale.

If you're wondering what else was going on in April, here's a reminder: the iPad was released, unsurprisingly without any support for Adobe's Flash in the Web browser. Though Apple hasn't ever supported Flash on the iOS, the release of the iPad (a more realistic laptop replacement than an iPhone or iPod touch) seemed to explode coverage of Apple's lack of Flash support. Adobe certainly fanned the flames, portraying itself as a victim while using the coverage to promote its forthcoming Android-based Flash player.

Apple's amended guidelines occurred against this backdrop, which explains why some members of the media have conflated the two events, leading to many stupid headlines Thursday about how Apple has backtracked when it comes to its ban of Flash. News alert: Flash still doesn't run on the iOS. Instead, Apple's amended guidelines allow Flash developers to use Flash Packager to compile native iPhone apps and submit them to the App Store, where they'll be judged not by the color of their development environment but the content of their interface.

Continue Reading