Put yourselves in Nullriver's shoes for a minute: you create an app (NetShare - see TUAW passim), which as far as you can tell does not break any of the App Store rules. You submit it to Apple for inclusion. It passes the vetting procedure (so it must be OK, right?) and goes live online, for sale to real people.

Then it disappears, with no warning. No explanation is given. Then it returns. For a while. Again, no explanation. Then it goes offline again. (I've now lost count how many times NetShare has been online, then offline, rinse and repeat.)

And throughout all this, you get nothing from Apple. No explanation. No reason. No polite email asking you to wait. Not even an impolite email. Nothing.

It was there. And now it's... gone. What happened to iPhone 3G tethering app NetShare?

For a while it was live on the App Store, for a meagre ten bucks. Then it vanished. And now, it seems to have vanished from Nullriver's web site, too. Their news page has no mention of NetShare.

This smells of lawyers. NetShare was designed to let you share your iPhone's connectivity with your computer. Wireless freedom for all. And quite possibly something the telephony service providers in various countries would be alarmed to see on offer in the App Store, ten bucks or no. But wait -- the App Store is vetted, isn't it? Something like this couldn't just creep in through the ventilation shafts. This couldn't just be a ghastly mistake, could it?

You can't make software just disappear from everywhere. There must be some TUAW readers who managed to get hold of a copy before it disappeared. What do you make of it? Is it working?

For the record, we have asked NullRiver for comment, but not heard back from them yet. As soon as we do, we'll add an update.

UPDATE: And here it is. No word directly from NullRiver yet, but one of the NullRiver team pointed out in the comments that they did not have a web page for NetShare in the first place. Also, the following text has now been posted on the NullRiver home page (a fact that was also noted in the comments):

"We're not quite sure why Apple took down the NetShare application yet, we've received no communication from Apple thus far. NetShare did not violate any of the Developer or AppStore agreements. We're hoping we'll get some feedback from Apple today. Sorry to all the folks that couldn't get it in time. We'll do our best to try to get the application back onto the AppStore if at all possible. At the very least, we hope Apple will allow it to be used in countries where the provider does permit tethering."

AGAIN UPDATE: NetShare has now reappeared in the App Store, at least in the US, the UK, and the Netherlands, and probably in many other places as well. You can download and play with it to your heart's content. Thanks to all the commenters and tipsters who alerted us to this.

AGAIN AGAIN UPDATE: Now we've had a reply from NullRiver, as follows: "Hi, NetShare is back on the Apple Store, hopefully for good this time! We're not quite sure why Apple took down the NetShare application yet, we've received no communication from Apple thus far. NetShare did not violate any of the Developer or AppStore agreements to our knowledge. It is unknown how mobile phone carriers may react to using the program. Or if they are even in a position to tell. My personal advice is to not go NUTS just yet by downloading tons. Also be aware that contracts/carriers vary in what they offer from country to country, please be careful your service doesn't have a metered limit, that if you go over may incur extra costs for you."

Odd, is it not, that despite all the ups and downs their app has experienced during the last day or so, NullRiver has not heard anything at all from Apple? What's that all about?

Thanks to Zoli + everyone who sent this in.

Shaun Erickson at psmxy.org has posted that Nullriver looks set to release the next major update of Installer.app. Installer.app is a program that runs on your iPhone or iPod touch and allows you to download software directly to your unit. He writes that version 3.0 should be released soon, perhaps as early as today. The updated features will include a redesigned interface, collapsed groupings (for less scrolling), new categories including "Recent" and local "More Info" pages--so you don't have to keep switching between Installer and Safari.

Update: It's out. Click "Update" in Installer.app. It is, be aware, slow as molasses trying to get through along with the thousands of others doing the same. You must run Installer.app from /Applications--my first attempt using it from /Widgets linked to ~/Applications failed.

Good news everybody! Have you wanted to try out all those great-sounding third-party iPhone applications? Did the hacking part of it put you off? NullRiver has released a simple iPhone GUI installer for Mac OS X.

Download the latest version of AppTapp installer to your Mac and then dock your iPhone, quit iTunes, and launch the program. The software downloads a copy of the latest Apple Firmware; you choose whether you're using Firmware 1.0.0, 1.0.1 or 1.0.2. It takes a few minutes to download the files from Apple using a good connection and then the software copies some files to your iPhone. When finished, your iPhone restarts and the Installer app appears on your iPhone home screen. The Installer application gives you access to nearly every third party application that has thus far been released by iPhone developers. I tested the entire install procedure on my G4 Mac and it worked flawlessly.

Oh, and if you're looking to try out those software packages I posted about earlier today, open Installer App, and install "Community Sources".

AppTapp is a Universal Binary, in Beta, and free.

Update: Readers ask: "Will this mess up my firmware updates?" Answer: Possibly--I'll try to get a firmer answer out of the developers. Use at your own risk, of course.

Today developers Nicholas "Drudge" Penree and Shaun "Ste" Erickson have announced unlimited free Installer.app packaging for iPhone application developers. If Installer.app sounds familiar, you might recall that a few weeks back we posted about the Installer.app utility. Installer.app is an iPhone-based package manager from NullRiver.com. It allows you to download and update iPhone application packages over EDGE and WiFi connections directly from your iPhone home screen.

The problem with Installer.app packaging is that it's fussy and requires a lot of dotted-i's and crossed-t's and for many programmers who are busy improving their software, it's an extra step that can easily get overlooked. Enter Penree and Erickson. They are offering to bundle up your application and host it on either Penree's Conceited Software or Erickson's smxy.org.

These services are a big win for both the iPhone user base and the iPhone application developer community. They allow programmers to focus on their applications and the users to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Donations are welcome at both sites.

Both Penree and Erickson are considering expanding this service to include the new PXL/Breezy package management tool in the near future.

Update: Want to put Installer.app on your iPhone the easy way? Read our post about TappApp, the Universal Binary Installer.app-installer. It's very simple to use.

It seems there are two slowly diverging schools of thought in terms of working on a Mac: to multi-task, or not to. While an independent (though Apple-commissioned) study has been released supporting the increased productivity theory via larger displays and more stuff on-screen at once, not everyone sits in the same camp. Merlin Mann of 43folders is one of those campers who is thinking different, and Russell from our sister-blog DV Guru dropped a note to say the latest episode of MacBreak (iTS link) features Leo and Mr. Mann waxing ecstatic on all things uncluttered and distraction-free. They cover techniques and tweaks for clearing your workspace in the Finder, as well as using 3rd party tools like our TUAW-favorite Quicksilver, Spirited Away (which we've covered) and MenuShade from Nullriver Software (scroll down, it's under their Open Source section).

While I myself am firmly rooted in the 'more on screen = productivity' camp, I am a big fan of enabling users to work the way they need to, and I think this is a nice, quick video (it's only 4:20) to get started with the digital zen art of working clutter-free.