Air Dictate 2.0 Rejected From the App Store
After Apple yanked Air Dictate 1.0 from the App Store, we scrambled and submitted a brand new Air Dictate 2.0 that satisfied all of Apple’s requests. We are pretty proud of the work we’ve done in this app. We no longer grab your tap on our big mic button and reposition it onto the little mic button on the hidden keyboard, which is what Apple objected to. In fact, we no longer have a button in the UI at all. Instead of tapping a button, you just raise the phone to your ear, start dictating, and then move the phone away from your ear to stop talking. We not only didn’t use private API for any of this; we didn’t use any API. iOS is doing all of the work.
The official reason is non-compliance with Apple’s trademark guidelines for Siri, however Air Dictate doesn’t use the word “Siri” or include its icon.
Update (2012-06-12): Avatron:
Today in the WWDC keynote, Apple announced that Siri-style diction will be part of Mountain Lion. Now we know why they unceremoniously removed Air Dictate from the App Store: we had beaten them to the punch. They hate that.
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@Chucky This is why I disagree with those who think that Gatekeeper is necessarily a good sign. The technology itself is neutral, but until there’s some action indicating otherwise, I think we have to assume that Apple is going to use it the same way it’s used the App Store approval process.
This is why I was worried about Wil Shipley's idea, now implemented in 10.8.
What happens when a non-MAS Mac app like Air Dictate is decided to be 'malware' by Apple in the future for non-malware reasons?
Under Gatekeeper, Apple holds the keys, and given their lack of scruples in disregarding their own written-on-sand rules, shouldn't we expect Gatekeeper to be used against perfectly useful apps that go against Apple's "strategic interests" in any way, shape, or form?
How long after 10.8 is released do we see the first example of this? Not long at all, I'd bet. The user sees a dialog telling the user to throw the app in the trash. That is the frog actually boiling. No need to wait for 10.9 when the Gatekeeper no longer provides a 'jailbreak' setting for the user...