You have to figure that it's a little bit hard to have a good relationship with someone who keeps your mouth taped shut. So in what several groups of people are sure to consider a smart move, Apple has done away with the nondisclosure agreements it used to make iPhone developers stay quiet.

The NDAs were put in place to protect Apple; a whole lot of secretive work went into bringing the company's iPhones to market in their current form. However, as a note posted on Apple's Developer Connection site acknowledges, "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."

Now, the note continues, "[d]evelopers will receive a new agreement without an NDA covering released software . . ."

Because the agreement will allow developers to share knowledge and ideas, at least a small leap forward in the sophistication of iPhone apps can be expected, and development times may be cut. These trends, in turn, should make both iPhone developers and Apple look better, and should make their customers happier.

Given the positive consequences, it's a little surprising that Apple didn't trash its NDAs sooner. We'll go ahead and give credit to you developers for keeping after the company on this issue, then, and encourage you to have some fun with fewer restrictions.

About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news.