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.
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