What's wrong with just using Safari?

January 11, 2010 4:45 AM

There is, in the iPhone app store, an app called MetaFilter Feeds (Unofficial) (iTunes link). The creators, Henlee Studios, are charging $.99 US for it. Something smells fishy.

According to the description, it's a feed of AskMe and MefiMusic. The non-inclusion of the blue seems really strange to me, leading me to believe these are non-mefites who are selling this app (just a hunch). The app showed up in the store on the eighth. Did anyone else know about this? Is this kosher? It seems incredibly wrong to me, somehow, but I thought I'd alert the mods/community and get everyone else's take.

posted by Captain Cardanthian! to MetaFilter-Related at 4:45 AM (96 comments total)

Also it is ugly.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 4:48 AM on January 11, 2010

Also, they can't spell their name right in their own URL.
posted by creeky at 4:57 AM on January 11, 2010

I wouldn't trust a product from a company that calls itself Henlee Studios but operates from the domain heneestudio.com. It's not like henleestudios.com was already registered. This leads me to think that they couldn't spell their own name when registering and didn't double check, which bodes ill for their programming skills.
posted by Kattullus at 5:00 AM on January 11, 2010

Damn you, creeky! Damn you, me, for not previewing!

It's amusing that AskMe/Music is rated 12+. One of the reasons given is Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes, which baffles me slightly. It must be either all the Halloween costume questions or relationshipfilter.
posted by Kattullus at 5:04 AM on January 11, 2010

What's also weird is that, at least according to the screen cap, they don't even use the same categories for questions. They choose one random keyword and go with it.

Ex:
"Posted by starscream to 1980s"
"Posted by youcancallmeal to Maryland"
"Posted by xmutex to city"
posted by piratebowling at 5:12 AM on January 11, 2010

It's weird they only have one app on the store, given it was created with a cut and paste template (or, at best, a tutorial). iTunes accounts require a little bit of work (and $100) to obtain.

It's amusing that AskMe/Music is rated 12+

Apple give you a standard list to tick boxes in. Looks like they've ticked all of them.

What's also weird is that, at least according to the screen cap, they don't even use the same categories for questions. They choose one random keyword and go with it.

MeFi's RSS feeds list all the tags in separate category tags, and in fact don't list the actual category.
posted by cillit bang at 5:15 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Stock photo of the employees? Fine looking office and hot staff!
posted by R. Mutt at 5:16 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

*Downloads Pitchfork and Torches App*
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:19 AM on January 11, 2010 [5 favorites]

I'd work up some outrage, but it's 13F this morning in Tallahassee (places warmer than that right now: Anchorage, NYC, Chicago, Minneapolis) and I just can't bother. The only thing going through my mind is that most of you people are probably warmer than I am and that's just not right.
posted by empyrean at 5:27 AM on January 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

Also it is ugly.

Based on the screenshots, it also looks like its developer cut and paste source code from a few different sample iPhone projects written by Apple.

Back in April, another user and I were looking into writing a Mefi app for the iPhone that would focus on meetups and so forth. If I remember right, he had a nice bit of code that presented a list of contacts with screenshots and a details view. I got as far as authentication, to be able to get access to user profile data. But the profile HTML was a bit difficult to parse (e.g. to pull out coords and social app links required a mess of regexes that I couldn't get to work reliably) so that's as far as I got. If there's interest maybe we can pull it out of storage one day...
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:30 AM on January 11, 2010 [3 favorites]

I confess I don't know much about the processes and technicalities of app-making, but is this legal? It seems like it must be, considering the prevalence of stuff like this and the fact that Apple approved it for the store, but it also seems like it shouldn't be. Why are they allowed to profit (or attempt to, anyway) off of Metafilter like this? It's Matt's business. If I can't sell a Coke-branded app, why is this ok? Is it the (unofficial) disclaimer? Or just that no one's raised a fuss?

I guess this mostly bothers me because the matter of selling a MeFi app has come up before, and Matt seemed a bit iffy on the idea at the time. To see someone just come in and do it, without permission, kind of pisses me off.

That being said, I for one would totally download the hell out of a Matt Haughey-approved MeFi app.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 5:38 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

-"..check out the latest daily questions and latest uploaded musics."-

Actually, it's all written a leetle bit oddly.
Nefarious. Shenanigans.
posted by peacay at 5:44 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Why are they allowed to profit (or attempt to, anyway) off of Metafilter like this? It's Matt's business.

The information is on the Internet specifically for the purpose of the general public reading it. If Matt wanted to limit readership to subscribers, there are ways to do that.

Not that I don't think these guys are scam artists. Just that I don't think there's any law against forwarding RSS feeds for a fee.
posted by DU at 5:49 AM on January 11, 2010

Excuse me, I was told there would be a burning?
posted by The Whelk at 5:59 AM on January 11, 2010 [4 favorites]

I smell noodles frying across the hall
posted by infini at 6:03 AM on January 11, 2010

I am not a lawyer.

Given that the copyright statement at the end of every page reads:
© 1999-2010 MetaFilter Network Inc.
All posts are © their original authors.

Seems like the screenshots should be a violation of copyright.

Seems like these dudes/dudettes would have to ask us for permission before republishing for a profit.

But they may argue that the app is just a reader and does not in and of itself violate copyright any more than an RSS Feed reader or Browser does.

I guess it would depend on particulars and interpretations of copyright laws wherever this issue was addressed (if at all).
posted by kalessin at 6:03 AM on January 11, 2010

What is even worse ... they are are Canadian!
posted by saucysault at 6:14 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

AKA "Canadlian".
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 6:20 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Excuse me, I was told there would be a burning?

What is even worse ... they are are Canadian!

LIGHT THE TORCHES!
posted by Ghidorah at 6:34 AM on January 11, 2010

LIGHT THE TORCHES!

I hear they got a spiffy torch in Vancouver.
posted by Atreides at 6:36 AM on January 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

Hahaha. "Choose a UIBarStyle." No mincing words with the user here!

Oh, App Store reviewers. You rejected my app because the public domain videos I included showed trademarks that were not owned by me. And then you do this.

Well, at least this is easily taken down. One email from Matt or anyone featured in the screenshots knock it off the App Store.

As for the company, I'm guessing the guys that stamped this out have a hundred other apps just like this, but after seeing another app factory (or perhaps the same one) get a thousand of its apps locked in one swoop from Apple, these guys decided they'd invest in a domain name and fake company web site for each app, making a separate basket for each egg, so to speak.
posted by ignignokt at 6:38 AM on January 11, 2010 [4 favorites]

I hear they got a spliffy torch in Vancouver.

Fixed that for you. *Ducks tomatoes*
posted by battlebison at 6:42 AM on January 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

From that iTunes Store link:
> Customer Reviews
Glitched
by kskiivv - Version 1.0 - Jan 4, 2010
As you scroll down a few posts, the app closes. Don't waste you're money.

Heh.
posted by ardgedee at 6:56 AM on January 11, 2010

Horror/Fear Themes.
posted by agropyron at 7:00 AM on January 11, 2010

> I wouldn't trust a product from a company that calls itself Henlee Studios but operates from the domain heneestudio.com.

Why not? Those people in the stock photo in the page headers look totally youthful, energetic, forward-moving go-getting progress maker types that (probably) have never appeared on anybody else's offshore software chop-shop's website.
posted by ardgedee at 7:01 AM on January 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

Navigation on their website is also a constant delight and surprise.

Want to see a cool side of iPhone? come here and we will show all fantastic screens to you...
posted by shakespeherian at 7:12 AM on January 11, 2010

Plus, they have a black friend!
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:16 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Blago's making apps now?
posted by infini at 7:17 AM on January 11, 2010

Ah, Blago is the black friend.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:18 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Why is that guy sitting on the floor?
posted by Burhanistan at 7:19 AM on January 11, 2010

Yeah, we're aware of it as of pretty recently, and not happy about it. Matt has I believe been going down the road of having something done, he would know more about the details that I do.

Fundamentally, wrangling RSS isn't much of a violation, but it moves into fucked up territory in my eyes when they're (a) trading on our brand without our permission and (b) charging for it.

Something being given away for free that presented itself as the work of metafilter enthusiast trying to help fellow enthusiasts enjoy mefi better in a mobile context would be another question, I think, but this is really clearly not that at all.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:21 AM on January 11, 2010

Plus, they have a black friend!

THAT'S MY COPYRIGHT!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:29 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

But they may argue that the app is just a reader and does not in and of itself violate copyright any more than an RSS Feed reader or Browser does.

I'm not a lawyer but my guess is that using MetaFilter in the title is probably what would make it illegal (if anything). Putting (Unofficial) after something doesn't automatically make it legal, otherwise all sorts of generic products would call themselves the unofficial versions of popular established brands.

If I can't sell a Coke-branded app, why is this ok? Is it the (unofficial) disclaimer? Or just that no one's raised a fuss?

Coke's intellectual property is probably more legally protected than MetaFilter's (I'm sure Coke applies for all sorts of trademarks and whatnot around everything related to their products and public image) but it's usually just a matter of convincing the content providers (Apple, web hosts, etc.) to take the material down. Most sites that host user-submitted content like YouTube have a policy of letting most content get posted initially and working with copyright holders to remove anything that they feel constitutes infringement. Apple's approval system is more stringent but with so many apps being posted every day they can't afford to spend much time and money vetting any given app. Since using the court system for these kinds of minor disputes is too costly for anyone on either side to bother using, it generally comes down to the content provider's policy rather than the law.
posted by burnmp3s at 7:38 AM on January 11, 2010

What is point of having Apple approve all apps if something like this gets through the process? (This question is directed at Apple, btw.)
posted by chinston at 7:43 AM on January 11, 2010

I emailed the mod address last week, and Matt was already aware of it (from someone else telling him) and going through channels with Apple with regards to this.

I was surprised and irritated, I note, that someone would do this.
posted by mephron at 7:43 AM on January 11, 2010

By leveraging a next-gen platform, this app engenders new paradigms!
posted by blue_beetle at 7:52 AM on January 11, 2010 [3 favorites]

Matt has I believe been going down the road of having something done,

Oooh. That sounds nicely ominous. Looks like you've got a nice little app shop here. It'd be a shame if anything happened to it. /drops bytes on floor
posted by Babblesort at 7:53 AM on January 11, 2010 [22 favorites]

What is point of having Apple approve all apps if something like this gets through the process? (This question is directed at Apple, btw.)

I believe there have been a few rumors about the process being less than perfect at times.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:54 AM on January 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

"What is point of having Apple approve all apps if something like this gets through the process?"

It's pretty clear the Apple approval process isn't about quality, usefulness, tastefulness, propriety, or even as a check against fraud. It exists for one purpose only: to prevent someone from having to go down to the filthy, smelly animal pits and unchain an Apple lawyer to deal with something.
posted by majick at 8:09 AM on January 11, 2010 [4 favorites]

Yeah, I've been aware of this app since around xmas. I've contacted Apple and gotten the run around as they clearly don't want to stick their noses in disputes like this.

Legally speaking, I own the online use of the trademark "Metafilter" and I can dictate when and how people use that. I emailed the developer and asked him to rename the app to not use MetaFilter, remove the app, or at least put unofficial on it, the latter which he did, but it's clear people still search for the name.

The problem with the app is that I personally find it ugly, the guy is charging for it, and he's using the RSS feeds as a source which contain no advertising. So essentially this isn't just profiting off the site, he's also providing a means to take income away, and it's got the title of the site right in it.

I'm going to email the dev again demanding the removal of the word metafilter entirely from the title.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:30 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

I like the juxtaposition of (C) 2009 ... DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION BY HENLEE STUDIO LTD right above the link, "Design downloaded from free website templates."

I've contacted Apple and gotten the run around as they clearly don't want to stick their noses in disputes like this.

Wait, and yet they continue to indulge Tim Langdell? [Previously]
posted by jamaro at 8:38 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's probably because of our fondness of punching people in the dick. If a kid under 12 heard that, he might get upset.

Let's punch these guys in the dick.
posted by mccarty.tim at 8:39 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Based on the screenshots, it also looks like its developer cut and paste source code from a few different sample iPhone projects written by Apple.

UIBarStyle is a bit of a tip off there. In fact it looks more or less like my first stab at an RSS feed reader app fudged together from demo code.
posted by Artw at 8:46 AM on January 11, 2010

Matt has I believe been going down the road of having something done,

Off in the distance, a bloodcurdling scream is abruptly cut short by a loud the loud "crack!" of something sharp and well oiled snapping closed.

In his lair, Matt steeples his fingers and smiles contentedly to himself.
posted by quin at 8:49 AM on January 11, 2010

Suprised you couldn't wangle a takedown out of them, they seem to do it at the drop of a hat.
posted by Artw at 8:51 AM on January 11, 2010

Lotta "loud" in that last comment. I'm thinking it's too early, and I shouldn't be trying to form sentences yet.
posted by quin at 8:52 AM on January 11, 2010

How long can an app review be? I'd be willing to spend .99 to write a (the first!) veeeeeeery long, legalese-encrusted review that says the app is crap. But only because I really believe it is.
posted by cocoagirl at 9:00 AM on January 11, 2010

$.99 US? Obviously this is not official, otherwise it would be $20. Same as in...oh, nevermind.
posted by cjorgensen at 9:04 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Of course sooner or later someone will write an unofficial app for something-or-other that we do approve of and we'll change our positions on everything.
posted by Artw at 9:26 AM on January 11, 2010

Does clicking the button to report a problem send a bug report to Apple or to the developer?
posted by fixedgear at 9:27 AM on January 11, 2010

I wonder, isn't Matt well within his legal rights to perform the equivalent of an RSS goatse on this guy's customers? The technical aspect might be hairy, and it's a dark path to start walking down, but it might be fun.
posted by Dr Dracator at 9:30 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

The technical aspect might be hairy, and it's a dark path to start walking down, but it might be fun.

Ahem.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:31 AM on January 11, 2010 [3 favorites]

Initiating a handshake may be difficult without implementing token ring protocols.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:34 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Hey. No fair taking this post into the gutter without me.
posted by kalessin at 9:46 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Purely out of technical curiosity, is there a way that Matt could break the app? Or, once something is into RSS, is it free for the taking by anyone in a non-distinguishable way?
posted by Mid at 9:53 AM on January 11, 2010

Hey, I'm in a screenshot in the app store. That's kind of exciting.
posted by youcancallmeal at 9:59 AM on January 11, 2010

Purely out of technical curiosity, is there a way that Matt could break the app?

The user agent could be spoofed. WWAN access through AT&T IP addresses could be blocked, but that would probably affect legitimate users. Limiting RSS to authenticated Mefites might be a possibility.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:01 AM on January 11, 2010

Matt should use Ask Me to find the appropriate legalise language to scare Apple into a takedown.
posted by Artw at 10:06 AM on January 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

I believe what you are looking for is a Cease and DTMFA letter.
posted by Babblesort at 10:10 AM on January 11, 2010 [16 favorites]

Don't Thieve the Metafilter Feed, Asshat.
posted by zamboni at 10:23 AM on January 11, 2010 [3 favorites]

DTMFA = Drop The 'Metafilter' From App
posted by waraw at 10:34 AM on January 11, 2010 [7 favorites]

I emailed the developer and asked him to rename the app to not use MetaFilter, remove the app, or at least put unofficial on it, the latter which he did, but it's clear people still search for the name.

...and that's why you never give someone an option you aren't really happy with, because they'll take it and then you are still unhappy.
posted by smackfu at 10:53 AM on January 11, 2010 [8 favorites]

I hearby officially and legally withdraw permission, if it was deemed implied, for this particular app, MetaFilter Feeds by Henlee Studios, to use any of my copyrighted content from this site, MetaFilter.

There. All taken care of.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:55 AM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

I can't believe how all of you are just hell-bent to go and fuck with Henee Studio Ltd.! I hope you will take a minute to visit their site and take a look at the picture of the young professionals who's jobs you're endangering in this tough economy! Token Black, Sweater Vest, Cute Redhead, Nice Tie, Professional Blonde... Those kids need to eat too you know!
posted by nanojath at 11:12 AM on January 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

Plus, they have a black friend!

THAT'S MY COPYRIGHT!

Friend ≠ spouse.
posted by shakespeherian at 11:17 AM on January 11, 2010

Limiting RSS to authenticated Mefites might be a possibility.

That breaks the MeFi RSS for anyone whose reader doesn't do authentication -- does Google Reader implement it yet? -- and also for any lurkers who might be subscribed.

(I was one such lurker for months and months before I finally signed up an account.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:22 AM on January 11, 2010

There. All taken care of.

Nope, they just have to find the threads in which you didn't post anything.

Um... actually, yeah, all taken care of.
posted by qvantamon at 11:23 AM on January 11, 2010 [4 favorites]

That breaks the MeFi RSS for anyone whose reader doesn't do authentication

Yep. Maybe there are other options (other than the obvious legal ones).
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:26 AM on January 11, 2010

I know someone who goes around the web finding pictures she likes, then pays a company to put those pictures on little chinese-made widgets (flashlights and crap) to sell on eBay¹. It makes her very little money, but enough to make it worth her while. This type of app likely is done with the same attitude, and so I would assume the quality of the product reflects this.

Having said that: pb, how long before the official one comes out (that allows people to edit their posts and see deleted threads?)

¹as you may surmise, I am not a fan of this behavior
posted by davejay at 11:50 AM on January 11, 2010

Actually, the solution is to simply release an "official" app for the same price. As long as its better quality and has "official" on it, and comes up in any search for "MetaFilter", you should be good to derail every sale they attempt to make.
posted by davejay at 11:51 AM on January 11, 2010 [3 favorites]

take a look at the picture of the young professionals who's jobs you're endangering in this tough economy!

Nonsense. A large website like Metafilter has no responsibility to the community. They have a responsibility to themselves.
posted by emilyd22222 at 11:53 AM on January 11, 2010 [9 favorites]

Having said that: pb, how long before the official one comes out (that allows people to edit their posts and see deleted threads?)

Why do we need to bother pb for this? I think there's enough programmer-type geeks around here to come up with a decent RSS application thingy in no time at all. Slap an open source license on it, put it in the app store for free [we can do this, right?] --- problem solved. I am not familiar with the iphone [ serious understatement - never even seen one up close ], but I'd be glad to help in any way I can.
posted by Dr Dracator at 12:21 PM on January 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

The feeds are delegated to Feedburner anyway, and so I don't know how much control Matt would have over them. In order to implement some kind of User-Agent check I think he'd have to host the feeds himself.

Also, I just have to say that I have my torch and lighter fluid all ready to go, but as a user of an operating system for which iTunes is not available (and who would rather stab his eyes out with a rusty spoon than install it even it were) this callout is a big letdown.
posted by Rhomboid at 12:25 PM on January 11, 2010

as a user of an operating system for which iTunes is not available (and who would rather stab his eyes out with a rusty spoon than install it even it were) this callout is a big letdown.

Strictly speaking iTunes is not required to use the iPhone. If I recall correctly, it's activated and ready to go when you leave the store, and you can download music and apps onto it over the cellular network or WiFi. And I believe there are programs for Linux that can manage your music library (not sure about apps). The main things you'd lack would be OS updates and the ability to back up & restore the phone.
posted by jedicus at 12:33 PM on January 11, 2010

I don't have or want an iphone or ipod. I just want to see what it is about this piece of shit app that everyone is talking about.
posted by Rhomboid at 12:39 PM on January 11, 2010

Rhomboid: Here you go.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 12:51 PM on January 11, 2010

What a terrible app. If you're already using Safari on the iPhone why wouldn't you just go directly to the site?
posted by Burhanistan at 12:56 PM on January 11, 2010

AskMe: Come for the interesting questions and insightful answers; stay for the "Mild Simulated Gambling."
posted by ErikaB at 1:22 PM on January 11, 2010

nanojath writes "I hope you will take a minute to visit their site and take a look at the picture of the young professionals who's jobs you're endangering in this tough economy! Token Black, Sweater Vest, Cute Redhead, Nice Tie, Professional Blonde... Those kids need to eat too you know!"

Might be best to put the company out of it's misery. After all they can only afford two chairs and no desks split 5 ways. I've worked at some broke ass start ups but even then we could afford milk crates and pallets for chairs and desks.
posted by Mitheral at 1:41 PM on January 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

as a user of an operating system for which iTunes is not available

Hmm, it works on Windows, OSX, and Linux. Are you running BeOS or Chrome?
posted by blue_beetle at 1:49 PM on January 11, 2010

Not having a television has given him enough free time to code his own OS.
posted by cillit bang at 2:01 PM on January 11, 2010

wine? Oh that's rich. Yes, I use wine to run a few Windows apps and it's painfully slow. There's no way I'm installing itunes (already huge and bloated) under wine just to see a screenshot of a shitty app.
posted by Rhomboid at 2:09 PM on January 11, 2010

Is it me or is the iTunes store UI getting progressively worse?
posted by Artw at 2:20 PM on January 11, 2010 [4 favorites]

Well, based on those screenshots, they're using a jailbroken iPhone (or a dev kit that emulates a jailbroken iPhone, if those exist?), which surely Apple wouldn't be happy about, right?
posted by subbes at 3:31 PM on January 11, 2010

Well, based on those screenshots, they're using a jailbroken iPhone (or a dev kit that emulates a jailbroken iPhone, if those exist?), which surely Apple wouldn't be happy about, right?
posted by subbes at 6:31 PM on January 11 [+] [!]

Do you mean the screenshots I linked to, or the screenshots of the app within the store? The ones I linked to are screenshots of my (yes, jailbroken) device that I took for anyone who couldn't see the app in the store. The screenshots of the app itsel don't look jailbroken to me, but I didn't examine them incredibly closely.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 3:52 PM on January 11, 2010

Man that is one half-assed ap.

Please select your favorite MetaFilter:
Questions - Musics
posted by graventy at 4:30 PM on January 11, 2010

Captain Cardanthian!: The ones I linked to are screenshots of my (yes, jailbroken) device that I took for anyone who couldn't see the app in the store."

Oh, sorry. Carry on!
posted by subbes at 5:22 PM on January 11, 2010

If you're already using Safari on the iPhone why wouldn't you just go directly to the site>

Do you have an iPhone? If you do, download the "NPR News" app, then see if you want to ask that question. I've been trying to come up with an elegant solution to this myself. I would love a branded RSS app for my site(s). I don't program, don't have the $100 for the Apple iPhone Dev. account, and yet, I would love to put up something like what "bottle rocket" made for NPR.

What I would love, is open source software, much like mediawiki, but for the iPhone. So content producers could have an app like NPR's without having to have their budget.

From this Metafilter Feeds (Unofficial) website: "Want to see a cool side of iPhone? come here and we will show all fantastic screens to you..."

Because, yeah, the iPhone was missing the cool, so I need someone to show me.

appmakr would be a better choice than this.
posted by cjorgensen at 5:23 PM on January 11, 2010

The NPR app is pretty sweet, but I don't think that is what Burhanistan meant. pb's recent stylesheet changes mean that using MeFi on the iPhone is pretty great. Even if it were free this app is crap. I'd pay a buck or two for a MeFi app if it were half as cool as the NPR app, though.
posted by fixedgear at 5:41 PM on January 11, 2010

Back in April, another user and I were looking into writing a Mefi app for the iPhone that would focus on meetups and so forth. If I remember right, he had a nice bit of code that presented a list of contacts with screenshots and a details view. I got as far as authentication, to be able to get access to user profile data. But the profile HTML was a bit difficult to parse (e.g. to pull out coords and social app links required a mess of regexes that I couldn't get to work reliably) so that's as far as I got. If there's interest maybe we can pull it out of storage one day...

Yeah, that was fun. I think that was me. I'd definitely be into picking that up again.
posted by ~ at 7:52 PM on January 11, 2010

Me, too!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:54 AM on January 12, 2010

I vote you guys do.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 12:12 PM on January 12, 2010

Hooray! We can still be the first iPhone app on the tablet!
posted by ~ at 4:41 PM on January 12, 2010

Good grief. Did I just write that?
posted by ~ at 4:44 PM on January 12, 2010

"I hope you will take a minute to visit their site and take a look at the picture of the young professionals who's jobs you're endangering in this tough economy! Token Black, Sweater Vest, Cute Redhead, Nice Tie, Professional Blonde... Those kids need to eat too you know!"

Those kids need to find some office space that they don't share with Hank's Arc Welding before they get skin cancer. It's probably already too late for the blonde.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 5:40 AM on January 13, 2010

Unauthorized iPhone news readers raise eyebrows
posted by Artw at 3:25 PM on January 14, 2010