
Sample iOS 6 Passbook Web Service in Rails - aaronbrethorst
https://github.com/mattt/passbook_rails_example
======
carson
Apple _really_ needs to stop putting this type of stuff under NDA. I've had
something like this since 3 weeks after WWDC but I was sitting on it waiting
for the NDA to lift. So many people are ignoring the NDA that at this point it
seems that maybe Apple is effectively not enforcing it.

~~~
ben1040
Seriously. When anyone can get access to NDA-protected stuff just by coughing
up $100, all the NDA really does is make it difficult for developers to share
helpful knowledge.

~~~
sdoowpilihp
This is true to a cosmic scale. The combined hours of duplicated effort by
developers unable to share even the most basic of experiences and tips with
various new components in the ios ecosystem is not only wasteful and short
sighted, it's down right absurd. It makes me wonder if there is a way other
than posting on the apple forums to share blog posts or code to persons
confirmed to be apple iOS developers ( which by extension would be under nda
).

~~~
ricardobeat
What's the point of sharing experiences/tips/code if you don't have a
developer license?

~~~
ben1040
It's not sharing it with "outsiders" that's the issue. The problem is that the
NDA limits you to being able to discuss these things with other developers on
Apple's forums, and that is the only venue. And honestly Apple's forum isn't
terribly helpful - the search sucks and the forum is full of noise.

Suppose a change in a new iOS version broke your app, and you wrestled with it
for a weekend trying to fix it. How many other developers' weekends could you
have saved, if only you were permitted to blog about the issue?

You can't write up examples of stuff using the new APIs, and post it on
Github, or share at a local developer group meeting. So inexperienced
developers can't learn from others.

It's not like the NDA is protecting things that would be truly damaging if
disclosed, considering all it takes for them to pull aside the velvet rope is
$100, and they've let both Google and Samsung in. The real secret stuff
clearly goes to the blessed developers who get advance notice of things like
the taller screen or GPU capabilities.

~~~
MaxGabriel
$100 isn't necessary--anyone can watch WWDC videos with a free Apple developer
account

Edit: not sure why this would be downvoted. Here's a macrumors source on the
videos being free. It's also on the WWDC FAQ.
[http://www.macrumors.com/2012/06/19/apple-posts-
wwdc-2012-se...](http://www.macrumors.com/2012/06/19/apple-posts-
wwdc-2012-session-videos-for-developers/)

~~~
ajanuary
Probably because it's not really relevant? The point was about the $100 for
the developer licence and the NDA that puts you under. Having a free option is
neither here nor there because it doesn't give you access to the betas and it
doesn't put you under NDA.

~~~
MaxGabriel
But it is relevant. If you can learn about all the confidential technologies
like UICollectionView from free WWDC videos, then why is an NDA really
necessary?

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prezjordan
mattt is a legitimate github superstar, huh? I always see great projects from
him (at an alarmingly high rate...)

On topic: this looks really nice, I'll definitely be using it to learn some
more Rails

~~~
MaxGabriel
To add to this, I highly recommend Mattt's blog NSHipster--it's superb

~~~
drtse4
Agreed, he should turn it into a newsletter.

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aeontech
So wait, is the only security on the pass information based on the device id
being not commonly known?!

Wouldn't a simple MITM attack ruin all the fun? Or is this meant to be used
over https with device-specific certificates?

~~~
rimantas
Passes are signed.

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jparishy
Mattt is seriously a boss, and this is pretty sweet. Thanks for the example!

*edit: typo.

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Aissen
OS-level Passbook is a neat idea. Would be 10x more useful with NFC. Optical
Scanning in 2013? Really? Think human-less.

~~~
Spooky23
I disagree -- I think that NFC just adds another step that makes the
technology less approachable and doesn't provide a big benefit.

The problem solved here is that I don't need to carry a half dozen cards or
slips of paper to do stuff. In my wallet right now I have a BJ's Card, two
supermarket cards, CVS card, a Hilton Honors card, a Westin card, library
card, health insurance ID card, dental ID card and a couple of other store
cards. If I don't carry the cards, I need to giv my phone number to a clerk to
look up my account, which is a pain.

So I'm carrying around all of these cards. Passbook gets rid of all of them --
that's compelling.

NFC is another layer of geekery that's cool, but I'm not going to use it, just
like how I never use my RFID credit card. Why? Wireless point of sale readers
cost a fortune, and they aren't available at 95% of retail outlets, and when
they are, they only work for credit cards. (Honestly, in my area, I only see
them at drug stores and Exxon/Mobil stations)

~~~
Aissen
As I said, you can have both.

Also, you're not going to use it because no PoS has one ? Kind of a chicken-
and-egg problem. Which can be solved by providing both optical and NFC.

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blaines
Nice work! I appreciate the documentation as well!

