Dear Apple:
Please ignore my prior request regarding opening up the iPhone for third-party development. At the time I wrote that request, I was convinced that some Apple-approved method of running true third-party applications (and not just nicely-formatted Ajax Web pages) was a key missing feature in the iPhone's capabilities. Well, I've had my iPhone for a couple months now, and I've changed my mind: Don't worry about coming up with a third-party iPhone SDK. Really. Just pretend I never wrote that piece.
Instead, I have a new request. Just do nothing at all regarding third-party application development on the iPhone. Nothing to encourage it, and most importantly, nothing to discourage it, prevent it, shut it down, or otherwise stop it from happening. Thank you.
So why would I (fictitiously, of course) write the above letter to Apple? Is it because I no longer feel third-party applications are important to the iPhone? No, that's not it at all. Is it because nicely-formatted Ajax Web pages really do get the job done? No, that's not it either. So why am I no longer concerned about Apple providing an official third-party SDK? Quite simply, I'm not concerned because a number of very bright, talented, and motivated individuals have managed to actually do the job themselves, without any help from Apple.
Read my Macworld blog entry, Don't break my third-party iPhone apps, for the rest of the story...