Steve Jobs: Please approve the missing children app – Update

it looks really bad for apple and steve jobs have not this app been aproved before. i'm fan of apple and i'm really desaponted.

That's very good application it is very helpful. I appreciate it.

Mohammad Zohaib Khan from Job Listing

Technology constraints, personal opinions, and competition aside, has the authors/developers asked THIS PARTICULAR APP for the iPhone be written for BlackBerry as well? Maybe the audience isn't as large as Apple's iPhone, but it's still an audience.

I own the new BlackBerry Storm. I'm also a Mac evangelist in all other ways (Blackberry was my choice because I could bundle my Verizon FiOS and VZW together for a better price).

Critical apps like this should be developed for the broadest audience possible. And for markets beyond Apple.

This is a terribly written letter. You simply don't insult a company that you're appealing to in the same message.

Jonathan Zdziarski will lead you to believe that he wrote this for the missing children and their families. However, the manner in which this was written cleary presents he is merely using these kids, this letter, and public media to express a petty, personal dissatisfaction with Apple's service.

Jonathan Zdziarski's only agenda here is to exploit anything and anyone possible to satisfy some insucure need to be heard.

Go slow apple make sure it works.

Jonathan Zdziarski sounds just like the political morons & health Nazis who whenever they want to raise tobacco taxes always sob "its for the children." Then they take the revenue generated & piss it away on pork barrel crap for everything under the sun BUT programs for CHILDREN!

Meanwhile smokers, many of whom are in the lower economic rungs of the job market, have to suffer the increased cost of their fix. They also keep mum on the fact that sooner rather than later smoking WILL decline to a low per capita rate & then the programs/pork that are "financed" by tobacco taxes will disappear—Ha, fat chance. What will happen of course that the rest of us will have our taxes raised to make up the shortfall. Once again the people as a whole will get royally screwed by the Health Nazis & the politician jerk-offs!

PS Before anyone out there gets on his/her moral high horse, I don't & have never smoked.

Great app let's hope if approved nobody profits financially,loads of kids charities could benefit.

RTFM,

I use to have a friend who wrote web based GIS tools for the state of Florida. There is absolutely nothing mutually exclusive about those technologies. A number of advertisements are driven by location simply by applying some algorithms to I.P. addresses. If you bother to look closely said feature only functions on iPhones that have a GPS which means 3rd generation or later.

Simply put if you have a damned cell phone in your hand why would you not call and report exactly what you saw? For example what if you saw what you thought was an abducted child in a vehicle? Your location all of a sudden becomes meaningless though you could simply report a license plate with a voice call. IMHO the software itself isn't a terrible idea though it might at some point include functionality for sending an image in to provide for more specific location information and even verification.

If pushing a single button to make a report (actually two buttons, one to bring up the app and one to make a report) is revolutionary to you I guess you've never heard about speed dial. And I am the one that is dumb, you say?

Personally I am happy the app has been approved, its a good idea, even if just one more person makes a report with it but in all honesty it isn't something that couldn't have been done differently with similar results and I still think Zdziarski's methods were appalling.

Don't be to harsh on Apple. I submitted a similiar app to Google written for Android a year ago and was turned down because it was not a good enough idea.

I would download htis app on my iphone in a second! And he can't charge for this, even if he wanted to. This app is designed with source code from the government. And that would be a major violation if he made a profit from government data.

I hope that this app gets updated, and I hope they authorize push data. I bet it would save countless lives.

This should be considered as 911 for the App Store

Apple User,

You're either deaf or just dumb. A phone call or a web form can't feed a GIS system but the GPS that this app claims to use can. The only reason this app is of any use is that is can do GPS – otherwise there are plenty of other apps out there people are not using. Pushing a single button to make a report is light years ahead of anything else.

RTFM,

It is very easy for applications on various mobile to transmit data to and from the internet. One could manually provide their telephone number for a report on a web application. Form auto-fill makes it even easier to do so.

This could have just as easily been a web app if you provided a couple of quick fields for user submission of location data IE zip code, city/state, etc. Of course that is too much trouble and its easier to force a multibillion dollar company to change a profitable and otherwise successful policy, right?

The only person that would benefit from automatic location updating are the few people that travel frequently and don't know where they will be going. Others who travel frequently could simply set up profiles for various locations.

This will be a great app and I intend to download it when it becomes available … but I can't get past the tone of the letter and how self-serving it is between the lines (and not even between the lines).

Apple is far from perfect, we all know that, but "The reprobate and fearful world these children are surviving in may very well be prolonged because of Apple’s lack of interest in independent developers like me."

Really?

Come on …

Uhm guys, a web application can't use the GPS or your phone number, so how exactly is it supposed to provide your GPS coordinates or phone number to file a report? The application description is very clear that this is the key feature to this application that makes it so useful.

I used Wikipedia Search with the phrase

Jonathan Zdziarski

And got two links :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSPAM

DSPAM is a free software statistical spam filter written by Jonathan A. Zdziarski

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayesian_spam_filtering

listed as a reference at the bottom

Then I used Yahoo Search with the phrase

Jonathan Zdziarski

and here are just three links:

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/1861

Prior to the release of iPhone Forensics, Jonathan wrote and supported an iPhone forensics manual distributed exclusively to law enforcement. Jonathan frequently consults law enforcement agencies and assists forensic examiners in their investigations.

http://www.iphonealley.com/category/tags/jonathan-zdziarski

Some disturbing information has come about that might make you think twice about handing in your old iPhone to Apple to be refurbished. An Oregon State police officer was able to recover email, photos, and other data from an "out-of-the-box refurbished iPhone" he had purchased. Jonathan Zdziarski was contacted by the officers who found the information.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10010070-37.html

Much ado about the iPhone's 'kill switch'

Based on this little bit of information, I would not call Jonathan Zdziarski a hacker.

He is doing software analysis and data reconstruction. Some would call it reverse-engineering of software and data structures.

But if he is not a licensed professional engineer, then, of course, he cannot call himself an engineer.

I used Wikipedia Search with the phrase

Jonathan Zdziarski

And got two links :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSPAM

DSPAM is a free software statistical spam filter written by Jonathan A. Zdziarski

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayesian_spam_filtering

listed as a reference at the bottom

Then I used Yahoo Search with the phrase

Jonathan Zdziarski

and here are just three links:

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/1861

Prior to the release of iPhone Forensics, Jonathan wrote and supported an iPhone forensics manual distributed exclusively to law enforcement. Jonathan frequently consults law enforcement agencies and assists forensic examiners in their investigations.

http://www.iphonealley.com/category/tags/jonathan-zdziarski

Some disturbing information has come about that might make you think twice about handing in your old iPhone to Apple to be refurbished. An Oregon State police officer was able to recover email, photos, and other data from an "out-of-the-box refurbished iPhone" he had purchased. Jonathan Zdziarski was contacted by the officers who found the information.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10010070-37.html

Much ado about the iPhone's 'kill switch'

Based on this little bit of information, I would not call Jonathan Zdziarski a hacker.

He is doing software analysis and data reconstruction. Some would call it reverse-engineering of software and data structures.

But if he is not a licensed professional engineer, then, of course, he cannot call himself an engineer.

Zdziarski is an angry hacker trying to take down Apple's closed app system. He always has been. This is just an excuse. Yes, the app could save lives, but as others have pointed out, if he were TRULY interested in helping these children, he would've built a web app first. He did this deliberately to call attention to his personal anti-Apple cause. He's like that ship captain on Whale Wars who staged a fake "shooting" by a Japanese whaling boat in order to draw critical attention to the Japanese and turn public opinion against them. Shame on you, Zdziarski. Using a good cause — missing children — to advance your personal anti-Apple agenda is disgusting. Grow up, dude.

There is no question, Apple has become AppleSoft. It is expected that a company in that size will tell you what you will do. The good old friendly AppleII is gone, man.

the REAL reason he wants this approved is because he wants to charge for it and expects to make his fortune off those same abducted children.

Come on Jobs, let's hurry up so this guy can get paid!

everything is steve's fault?

give me a break.

This doesn't seem like a very typical app by which to gauge the review process, due to the legal implications. Suppose something about the iPhone is responsible for a sighting (or sighting info) not getting through to the right person: Is Apple on the hook? I'm sure that's related to the delay here, getting the legal team involved.

Quick Mr. President,

I think we need a new law that requires everyone to have this app on the their iphone. If just ONE child's live is saved, it is worth the government mandate.

Two words: Web App.

You can have the web app up and available until the real app is approved.

Beyond that: Apple is a socially responsible company, to be sure, but to insinuate that Apple will somehow share responsibility for the misfortunes of missing and exploited children goes well beyond the bounds of reason. Given that Mr. Zdziarski has a history of bragging about his ability to circumvent iPhone security mechanisms, I, as an iPhone user, would insist that Apple take extra care to ensure that nothing malicious is lurking anywhere in his submission, regardless of how noble it claims to be. That's pretty much the definition of how trojan horses operate. If the approval of the application by Apple staff therefore takes longer, then Mr. Zdziarski himself can accept responsibility for prolonging the stay in "reprobate and fearful world these children are surviving in" – since he's got nobody but himself to blame for adding that layer of suspicion.

"If I were the parent of one of these missing children, I would be unable to withstand the unreasonable delays Apple has taken in approving this application."

What would you do as a parent? Accuse Apple of abducting your child? Another case of trying to shift the blame for crime. The blame for criminal acts is on the perp! Crimes against children are horrific but we have to rid this world of the perpetrators. They alone are responsible. If we cant find them we cannot substitute someone else or a company to take the blame for their disappearance.

It seems to me this is an attempt by Jonathan Zdziarski to exploit the cause of missing children to force his own morals regarding the expediency of the app store on Apple.

Other people have raised fine points such as why did Mr. Zdziarski perpetrate this as an application that would be immediately accepted (as demonstrated by his complaint regarding a normal turnaround time) when he was aware of the typical response time?

Another valid complaint; why was this an iPhone only application when a web application could provide much of the same functionality to far more users?

The answers all point to my conclusion above. It isn't a secret that the app store has a lengthy review process.

I think this app should definitely be approved. That being said, I agree with the other poster that apple likely receives thousands of applications. A month to review is hardly unheard of. The Apple Store for iPod apps isn't likely the top of the top of Apple priorities, so they likely don't have massive man power that would allow them to sift through apps simultaneously instead of a queue and go "oh, this one is clearly more important."

So then they wrote a letter to Apple. That's a good idea. However, my issue is with the tone of the letter. It pretty much breaks every rule of how to get someone to do what you want. First, you criticize them, then you tell them why they were wrong not to do it your way, then you tell them they lack interest in you, etc.

If you would have been more civil and reasoned about the request, I'm sure it'd irk the employees reading the request less, and make them more willing to respond promptly. Making it into a publicity issue will likely slow it down if anything.

“The reprobate and fearful world these children are surviving in may very well be prolonged because of Apple’s lack of interest in independent developers like me.”

I stopped reading after this.

Oh please. There are already dozens of ways to get amber alerts on your phone. You can get email. You can get a text message. An application you have to run to get an alert is much less immediate than either a text message or an email. This is just stupid.

@ Jonathan Zdziarski

How long did it take you to build this app? Did you put all of your other work on hold to build it?

Steve Jobs, Cupertino, CA

ex ped: This did not come from a California IP address.

Maybe CNN could try some Real Reporting! Why don't you guys find out how long it does take to get an application approved! You have 25,000 applications to follow-up on! Then we would know if 23 days is long or short.

If the app does what it claims it will, then it is a valuable tool and can aid in the AMBER alert process, but to claim that Apple is "prolonging the fearful state of these children" is completely out of bounds. A web app would be more pervasive than an Iphone app, as it would allow non iPhone users to participate as well.

Mr. Zdziarski – why would the NCMEC adapt their infrastructure and realize an expense before they had assurance that this app would go live? With something so "critical" as this app, I would think that this would have been a joint effort with you, Apple and the MCMEC.

It has been three weeks. There are a zillion other apps pending review. Get in line along with everyone else whose programs are just as important to them as yours are to you. If I were Mr. Jobs and someone sent me a nasty email like that, I'd delete it based solely on the rudeness. Nice attitude, Zdziarski.

I'm sure Steve will jump right on that, as soon as he's back from his medical leave.

Of course, being a known hacker, don't hold your breath. I'm sure someone is picking that thing apart to be sure Apple isn't liable for the next round of virus fun being passed around.

As far as the NCMEC having gone to the trouble of training it's entire organization to use the app., let alone spending the money to build the infrastructure to support that one app, I'd have to say that's sheer BS, unless you can produce documentation to prove it.

"The reprobate and fearful world these children are surviving in may very well be prolonged because of Apple’s lack of interest in independent developers like me."

Yet more BS. Apple's participation, or lack thereof, will not be the key to the end of the sort of thing.

Your whole 'letter' to Apple sounds more like a self servicing rant to get your app published by attempting to make Apple feel guilty for not publishing it on your schedule.

Hard to be taken seriously, even doing good deeds, when you're a hacker. If anyone is to blame, it's you.

Maybe if Apple was a bit more transparent in their review process, developers would feel so frustrated. Does Apple give any type of feedback on the review or do you just get a ubiquitous "in review".

Apple, quickly becoming Microsoft.

Wait your turn Bro. No front cut to known Hackers. I don't care what your cause is. It's unfortunate that guys like this get any airtime at all. What a DORK!!!

Wow… umm, yeah — if this is so important why not make a website that is iPhone friendly and have a a phone number listed. Second, this IS sensational reporting… If you don't agree, then tell me why there is NOT a link to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children so that people may act regardless if they have a iPhone or not.

steve needs to respond asap

that app could save millions of lives, physically and mentally

I understand Mr.Zdziarski's concern and/or enthusiasm to help missing children but how is this Steve Jobs' or Apple's responsibility? Being a known hacker, what is the likelihood that his programme is not a scheme to infiltrate or compromise the iphone, Apple and its users as a whole. It just seems a bit hypocritical that he's pointing fingers and calling Jobs and Apple unhumanitarian. I wonder if he'd be willing to give up his profits and rights for the sake of the missing children he cares about so much in order for Apple to approve it a.s.a.p.

I do not have an iPhone, but I have an iPod and I download music from iTunes pretty regularly.

I REFUSE TO DOWNLOAD ANYTHING FROM iTUNES UNTIL I HEAR THIS APP HAS BEEN REVIEWED AND APPROVED.

I you will all agree with me and avoid spending money with Apple in their iStore or on iTunes and I hope this reaches Cupertino or wherever the decisions are made.

"Nearly a month."

Why does that not seem too long to me? With 25,000 apps published (many decent) and presumably many rejected (most, presumably, not so hot), there is evidence of a lot of work being done at Apple's end — presumably by a staff of actual humans with inboxes.

What's the standard turnaround time? A couple of weeks wouldn't be bad. And if I was on staff at Apple, I would make all sorts of checks before going live with the Amber app because of all that's at stake.

It's fine to howl a bit now with an email to Jobs and coverage on this blog, but Apple seems to me to be understandably "sluggish," while complaints about "arbitrary procedures" seem comparatively few, anecdotal and a tad arbitrary themselves.

By all means, get the Amber app live. But I'm astonished by the richness and operational smoothness of the App Store, and it isn't hard to imagine the amount of smart work it takes to have that be so.

I can't think of a more important app for my iPhone. I'll be downloading this the day it's published!

Perhaps they would get a faster response if they were to address the letter to Tim Cook, Apple's current CEO. Steve Jobs is on medical leave and won't be back at work until June. I'm sure he'd help take care of it then if they are would like to wait another 3 months!

A more formal open letter to Apple, Inc. is printed on the application's web page.

Open Letter to Apple, Inc., and Steve Jobs

To the Executive Team at Apple, and Steve Jobs,

The need to send an email such as this represents the magnitude of the problems the App Store faces, and everything that is wrong with its lengthy and ambiguous review process. The mere fact that a free utility that can quite possibly save lives cannot make it into people's hands within a reasonable amount of time is just a highlight of the ongoing problems independent developers like myself have been experiencing with Apple for the past year.

This letter is to make you aware of an application I've volunteered my time to engineer with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children – AMBER Alert. This App Store application has the potential to revolutionize how missing children are reported to law enforcement. By using the iPhone's GPS and some geo-analytics, we're able to build a number of automated logistics tools and quickly relay sightings to law enforcement agencies. With an audience of millions of iPhone users, the missing kids that are out there stand to gain a LOT more exposure.

Yet nearly a month has passed since my February 14th submission, and the application continues to sit "In Review". NCMEC has adapted their infrastructure to handle these submissions and has a call center trained to respond to them, as well as their CIO, regional directors, and many others ready to devote time to making this application successful – yet this entire team continues to wait on Apple to approve this application.

The App Store review process is non-responsive to a cruel degree, and unfortunately, a month is sadly only a small amount of time compared to some of my other applications that Apple has chosen to flat out ignore for three months or more. While spending time developing commercial applications only to face Apple's silence is frustrating, to have an application (like AMBER Alert) developed solely on a volunteer basis, and for such a good cause as finding kidnapped children – to have this non-profit application ignored is entirely insulting.

Is it the belief of many that these discriminating and opaque review processes are hurting Apple's relationship with independent developers – a demographic that once carried Apple for many years. With the advent of the Android store, the Blackberry store, and competing iPhone application stores such as the Cydia Store, continuing to operate in this mode of cold silence will only drive away more developers.

While these matters are better left for lengthier conversations, I'm asking that you pick up the phone today and help push the AMBER Alert application through. If you had to sit and look at these kidnapped children, as I have while working on this application, you'd realize just what a depraved world we live in, and how urgent it is to have an application like this be able to get information out (and sightings back in). As a developer and a human being, I'm anxious to see this application released. If I were the parent of one of these missing children, I would be beside myself with anger over Apple's apparent lack of interest in this application. The reprobate and fearful world these children are surviving in – if they are still surviving – may very well be prolonged because of Apple's lack of interest in independent developers like me.

Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to discuss this. Otherwise, I hope you'll do the right thing and light a fire under someone's seat in the App Store. If there is any application that should be getting reviewed today, this is it. I would be glad to put all of my other application submissions on hold to see this processed as soon as possible.

Jonathan Zdziarski

I'm sure Apple needs time to review an application written by a hacker who historically has acted against Apple's interest.