Will Apple ever permit a full-blown non-Safari browser app in the store?
If it's just a WebKit wrapper, probably. If it's a different rendering engine, not a chance.
And will Apple ever permit an interactive programming tool like Smalltalk adapted for the touch screen, or (one of my ideas) a graphical meta-calculator building tool that ultimately allows the user to do "real" programming?
Smalltalk, no. Graphing calculators with variable assignments and stuff, sure as long as you can't create things that resemble real applications.
Ultimately, I think the answers are yes and yes, but the unsureness of those answers is troubling.
I'd be looking at developing for Android tablets, where you don't have to give the manufacturer a kill switch to your ideas. Or HTML5 if possible.
If it's just a WebKit wrapper, probably. If it's a different rendering engine, not a chance.
And will Apple ever permit an interactive programming tool like Smalltalk adapted for the touch screen, or (one of my ideas) a graphical meta-calculator building tool that ultimately allows the user to do "real" programming?
Smalltalk, no. Graphing calculators with variable assignments and stuff, sure as long as you can't create things that resemble real applications.
Ultimately, I think the answers are yes and yes, but the unsureness of those answers is troubling.
I'd be looking at developing for Android tablets, where you don't have to give the manufacturer a kill switch to your ideas. Or HTML5 if possible.