The developer who produced the live video streaming iPhone application “Knocking™ live video” wrote an impassioned letter to Steve Jobs after the Pointy Heads, LLC-produced application was rejected. It was rejected for a very valid reason: it used a private API. This is a faux pas in most programming circles.

A private API in the iPhone SDK is an API that was included by Apple but is not supported officially in any way. The API was written and included mainly to assist Apple’s own internal development efforts, not those of third-party developers. Essentially, the Pointy Heads developers have built a tripod and one of the legs could disappear at any moment.

When one finds the “Knocking live video” application in the App Store, the ratings are less than confidence-inspiring. The average rating barely musters above one out of five stars. Many of the reviews simply state that the application did not work as advertised.

This only serves to emphasize the need for App Store reform. Excellent, experienced developers can have their applications rejected for arbitrary ridiculous reasons. However, if you are a mediocre developer but a good speech writer, then you stand a better chance of getting your app into the store right away.