“MacRumors has a story on Pull My Finger, an iPhone App that plays a variety of fart sounds,” Daring Fireball reports. “The demo video shows that the app is clearly well done for what it is — it even vibrates the phone while it toots — but Apple rejected it:”
We’ve reviewed your application Pull My Finger. We have determined that this application is of limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod touch user community, and will not be published to the App Store.
Daring Fireball reports, “I’ve already heard from a top-tier developer this morning who, in response to this story, is dropping an idea for a very cool iPhone app out of fear that the work to create it would be for naught as Apple might reject it.”
“Apple really, REALLY needs to get its act together here,” Former Apple employee Chuq Von Rospach writes.
“I actually don’t have a problem with them rejecting this app, but that’s somewhat irrelevant to the larger picture. The larger picture is a lack of communication and feedback, and a lack of any published policies and standards on what is and isn’t acceptable,” Von Rospach writes.
“The App Store needs a developer evangelist. Someone who interacts with the developers, tells them what to expect, listens to them bitch and moan and carry their arguments back into Apple (hopefully to be dealt with, not blown off), and who can act as a ‘pre-flight’ checker. If this person exists, they’re hiding really, really well, and that’s bad,” Von Rospach writes.
“That developer who killed a project — that’s a real problem. The best way to kill development on the iPhone, to nuke the chance of really out-there, innovative solutions, is to force a developer to do the development and finish the product without knowing if they’ll actually be able to sell it,” Von Rospach writes.
Full article here.
Damn! I really wanted one of those especially if instead of a finger how about a pair of cheeks that you use the pinch to control how it sounds & add a timer to catch some victims! LOL 😀 If it created a smell then I could see a problem. It’s probably not in good taste, juvenile, silly etc. but much better than “I Am Rich”!
“serious problem????????” Misses the point. Yes, world hunger is more important than fart jokes, but this isn’t about farts. Its about censorship which is always important.
HOW TO BYPASS APPLE
step 1) Get “Quickvoice”
step 2) Record your own farts
step 3) Wipe clean. (iPhone and whatever else…)
My Zune will squirt…
Zune will squirt…
For 5 bucks, I’ll fart in an air-tight jar and send it global…satisfaction guaranteed.
Nothing wrong with a little bathroom humor, but alot of people could get in trouble with it.
In high school the trick was to get the person two desks in front of you to get the person in front of you to lean forward while the person behind them slipped a whoopie cushion under their butt.
We made a girl cry doing that when the whole class laughed. It was fun, but there are some Obama sensitive feelings out there.
If you can fart out loud with a girl on a first date, then she is the one for a lifetime.
The ‘ol silent fart in bed while making a simultaneous whip-wind adjustment of the sheet in the opposite direction of your sleeping wife works well for me when necessary.
“It was fun, but there are some Obama sensitive feelings out there.”
Stow it, Orange Juice. Take your political take somewhere else. Can you exercise self-control? I’m guessing you’re not nine years old.
“That developer who killed a project — that’s a real problem.”
That developer who killed a project… was likely working on “Tickle me iPhone”. Oh, that’s such a problem!
To all those that thought I Am Rich shouldn’t be on iTunes, well, this is what you get.
Has Apple lost its mind? or did it simply forget to take its bi-polar meds?
Does Apple wish to retain its place as the creativity center of the PC-Universe or would it prefer to devolve into the Stalinist dictator of political correctness or enterprise smugness?
Apple should concern itself with the quality of iPhone apps (i.e Do they perform as promised?) and should leave the policing to the market!
Any attempt to dictate the kinds of iPhone apps that developers bring to market will backfire. It will chill developer enthusiasm and dampen iPhone user confidence.
Personally, I would have bought a copy of the “gulagged” farting app. What a great gag! Yes, it would have extremely limited utility! In fact, I imagine that I would have used it once. BUt, what business is this of Apple?
There are actually real problems in the world. The lack of fart phone applications is not one of them
@Dr. Billy;
Nice attempt at political spin!
NOT.
If you’re telling me the Lib Dems wouldn’t fight tooth, claw and nail against an App depicting women being barefoot, pregnant and denied the right to vote… I’ll be 1st in line to call you out as a hypocrite.
Political hatred made your argument stupid, so keep your narrow minded opinions to yourself
Wow. Two full pages of comments about an app that makes fart sounds. I bet it will easily go to four or five pages.
Now if the iPhone had smell-o-vision or fully integrated scratch and sniff, the app would have “slid” by.
Just told the wife about this app and she said a woman at Apple must have killed it. No man could resist.
She is happy it was killed. I am sad.
This sounds like the perfect App for the Zune.
Does the developer create ring tones as well?
As George Carlin said, “Farts are universal.”
Think of all the funny variations.
Farts in the bathtub.
C’mon, Apple.
That would be THE biggest app EVER.
Yes, SOME bad press, so what?
Another good app- BURPS.
Always Right,
Just buy a Zune, not only will it play farts in glorious WMA stereo, it also looks the part!
I love Carlin too, btw.
If this is going to help weed out some (you just can’t seem to get them all) of the crap-making iPhone “developers” from the AppStore, i say go with it. If you really must have your daily crap fix, jailbreak.
From what I have heard Apple said they will not allow pornographic apps. That is the policy and that program crosses the line, it’s as simple as that.
Now a scientific scatological program that can help wildlife biologists determine what type of animal feces you are looking at and what the animal ate, and how far away it might be certainly can be of some value. Don’t laugh, I have had to resort to such techniques when finding fresh Ursus droppings. Caused me to make a big detour to higher ground and up wind.
I hate to come into the argument late, but is this not a rumour?
Has it not come form a site that mongers in rumours?
If it came from a MacFact Site that would be a different story, if it came from roughly drafted that would be very serious.
But, it is only a rumour. The so called developer who has decided to scrap his/her project even though it is a very cool or useful app. is just that, an unknown quantity who could or could not exist.
If I said that I had done something similar but did not provide any evidence of acceptance or rejection, would you believe me and therefor scrap your own project?
Suppose I saw or heard of a project that I wanted to sabotage, couldn’t I use this method to do it?
The suggestions of an app store project consultant or advisor is a good one, but how would your idea be protected from imitation from a rival if they got pointed towards your road map accidentally by the consultant?
The App Store is only two months old? Is that long enough for the platform to be considered mature enough to take on board each and every project that is submitted to it?
Perspective everybody! keep your views, opinions and reactions in perspective please!
What right does the market have to demand
Ignoring your own customers is death. Ask Detroit….
Let’s approach this another way: What right does Apple have to control what WE want?
If Apple doesn’t really want third-parties coding on iPhone, FINE. Close the platform and kick everyone out. This half-in, half-out business isn’t doing anyone any good.
@poo
personally I don’t agree with tight censorship. Just saying this is what can happen at this level. We have all seen the “man gets beaten up for iPod” or “iPod causes deafness” articles. It’s not really about censorship it is about managing the negative optics that can be caused by the media. Apple is covering their butts more than they are trying to take a moral stand, in my opinion.
This kind of behavior will destroy the App Store.
Apple should allow everything (sans Porn, I guess… since that’s the only thing they really took a stand on)…
Then let the ‘free-market’ make the decision on what sells or doesn’t. If it doesn’t sell at all, that will weed out potential future developers to that type of app and won’t stain Apple as being the Big Brother who gets to make the decision on what stays and goes.
It’s totally the developer’s fault. They should have clearly foreseen Apple’s insistence on the app doing more than one stupid trick; the app should obviously have included a tip calculator.