Apple and Stanford University this week will begin offering free videos and course materials on iPhone application development.
Video
recordings of Stanford’s 10-week computer science class, taught by two Apple employees,
will be freely downloadable through Apple’s iTunes U educational
channel. The course’s syllabus and
slides will be freely available on iTunes as well.
This move toward open, free information is particularly
surprising coming from Apple. The tight-lipped corporation is especially peculiar
about guarding its secrets, and its products are designed under a
restricted, closed platform. However, as Apple continues to expand its product line and partnerships, the corporation has recently been forced to open up — just a peep.
"Stanford is very interested in not just creating knowledge but in
sharing that knowledge with anyone who seeks it," said Brent Izutsu,
product manager of Stanford’s iTunes U program. "I think there
definitely is a little modification at Apple, at least within the
education realm, to open up a little bit."
Apple did indeed modify its modus operandi for its iPhone 2.0
software development kit — under the pressure of widespread scrutiny.
Previously, Apple imposed a non-disclosure agreement on iPhone
developers, which prohibited them from making public any information on
coding software for the iPhone.
Most notably, the NDA barred programmers from
exchanging tips with one another on iPhone coding — and critics said
this was antithetical to how a scientific community works. The NDA
also blocked publishers from releasing books on iPhone software
development.
Finally in October, Apple lifted its NDA, agreeing that it was only stifling the iPhone’s potential.
"We put the NDA in place because the iPhone OS
includes many Apple inventions and innovations that we would like to
protect," Apple wrote in a letter
published on its developer site. "However, the NDA has created too much of a
burden
on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the
iPhone’s success, so we are dropping it for released software."
The removal of the NDA led to the launch of Apple’s iPhone University program,
giving instructors and students all the software needed to code for the
iPhone for free. This program made Stanford’s iPhone development course
possible, and other universities have plans to offer iPhone classes as
well.
Universities could teach courses on competing mobile
platforms as well. But the unique, attractive factor about the iPhone is its phenomenally successful
App Store, which made some independent developers
rich. For example, independent developer Steve Demeter announced earning $250,000 in just two months with his game Trism. And Ethan Nicholas, developer of the iPhone game iShoot, raked in $600,000 in a single month with sales of his app.
"We
really wanted to highlight the iPhone course because currently there’s
a ton of interest around it," Izutsu said. "We thought it was the
perfect opportunity to ride that wave of interest."
Stanford is posting its first video of this quarter’s iPhone development course Friday at iTunes U.
Apple did not return phone calls for comment.
Photo: shapeshift/Flickr
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