I bet one of them wants to make the first trojan for the iphone.

That is simply a staggering number of developers. I wonder if Apple will be able to support this many developers and applications on iTunes, or will they shut down the vast majority of them by denying by not publishing their work.

What is a budcase?

Famous last words. You've heard it here first, folks.

Despite Apple's draconian measures in attempting to milk developers for every dime under the guise of security and stability, malware most certainly will be distributed at some point via the AppStore. Developers certainly don't have to provide the source code for each app to Apple before distributing, all they need to do is submit some very personal info (which can be faked), pay a $99 fee, hope for approval, and off they go.

Right now a very limited number of people (i.e., commercial enterprises, possible some well known small-time Mac devs) are getting this approval, but this is supposed to change. Apparently even I should be able to get approval, and I only work for a charity.

Once the floodgates are open, it's a simple matter for a sneak to distribute some form of malware. Most likely this'll be something that won't do any damage right way, but will be timed to go off in the future so that a number of people download it. When Apple realises that a piece of software is malware, they'll certainly void the certificate, but that won't reverse the fact that malware had been officially distributed.

All Apple is trying to do is make as much money as possible without any consideration for the consumers that are buying the products. Like charging $1 (or however much it was) to download a ringtone for the iPhone for a song a person already owns. Ridiculous, yet some Macolytes backed Apple. Now they've satisfied Macolytes by allowing 'free' software, but does anyone actually think this means truly free software, or just cut-down versions of paid-for software so that people can try and then 'upgrade' to the full version?

No, this has nothing to do with security and stability, as both will be affected negatively despite the whole certification process. Indeed, the whole farce is going to give people a false sense of security, making them (e.g., you, fribhey) think that anything on the AppStore is clean and wholesome, which only time, not Apple, will be able to tell.

there's a big difference between paying $99 and being accepted as a developer and actually having apple accept and distribute the applications that you develop. you are under the impression that once you get accepted then anything you make will be sold in the iphone app store and that is wrong. apple specifically said that all of the applications created have to go through them to get approval to prevent any malware/trojans/viruses/etc.

I for one am totally excited about developing apps for the iPhone. I agree with adobephile on the "new platform" and believe this is a tremendous opportunity. I welcome the approach that Apple is taking for the app store and the financial aspects for both Apple and the developers. I think people tend to forget that the cut that Apple is taking from app sales not only goes for general maint and credit card processing, it also goes to advertising and getting your app in front on customers! I am just anxious to be accepted and obtain a developer certificate.

I am one of those 200,000 who downloaded the SDK, because I am intrigued by the ramifications of this new platform: How applications need to be designed to efficiently interact with a user. How apps need to fit into the tight constraints of limited memory, bandwidth and non-multitasking.

Have I actually developed a real app? No. I haven't signed up for the $99 program either. But I have learned a ton, and I think the iPhone and iPod Touch, along with Android, are harbingers of future devices which aren't computers as we currently know them, but also not dumbed down and awkwardly designed devices like current cell phones.

Yes. This is true, but only people with Mac can download the software. The schools (lower education and students of higher education) don't need this software. This means many people with a Mac(s) to developers is fairly high.