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04/12/2008
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Thanks to SWB for reminding us that Symbian's Open Signed Online starts next week, in beta at least and with some throttling limits in place. We haven't been featuring every last 'unsigned' utility that's flooded the blogosphere in the last 3 months because, basically, the self-signing has been too hard for the average user. Will the new system improve matters? Comments welcome. http://hongblog.net
Read on in the full article.
Personally, I resent not being able to choose what I install on my phone, even if its only unsubmitted programs. One of Samirs apps got submitted a long time ago and its still not been released.
Unless they vastly improve the speed and ease of which you sign something, its going to be a rather laughable effort with many complaints.
bartmanekul, you can already run some unsigned software as long as it doesn't access certain key functions. I think what Symbian is worried about is malware which somehow installs itself without your permission and then spreads to other devices. By locking down key functions for all software, even if malware gets on your phone it can't spread any further.
Having said all that, the system for getting a piece of software signed is ridiculous and I'm as frustrated with it as anyone.
Why does the same author have to get software re-signed every time they release a new version with minor bug fixes? It must make Symbian development feel like trying to run through mud.
Why is the default expiry period for signed software just one year? Does that make any sense to anyone? It's not even that difficult to get round, you just alter the phone's calendar, so why have an expiry period at all? It just creates unnecessary pain for the end user as they have to keep going back and forth adjusting the calendar.
Why can't a trusted company or individual sign their own software? If they wanted to sign malware it would be incredibly easy to trace back to them.
Why are demos being made more difficult to release because of signing? Don't Symbian realise how important demos are to commercial software sales?
It's ludicrous that (for example) most of Babi's S60 3rd Edition themes can't be used without altering the calendar because of the expired certificate problem, and Antony Pranata's Screenshot app STILL hasn't had its latest version signed. It's ridiculous that a copy of K-Rally bought last year now refuses to work and has to be reinstalled.
For Symbian Signed to succeed it has to avoid damaging the quality of Symbian software, but at the moment it's doing a great deal of damage, and I'm sure it's putting people off writing for the OS.
Thanks for adding the source of your post Steve, but I am not Vaibhav. He is from The Symbian Blog.
Sorry about that - I have updated the news item.
The Symbian Signed stuff is more complicated that people realise. Despite what some people think Symbian is not being deliberately obtuse. Symbian Signed exists for a good reason. I also think people should appreciate the number of power users / consumers who are impacted by the problem is very small compared to the overall umbers of users.
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