Phillip Shoemaker, director of applications technology at Apple and the man who runs the App Store, has a side business called Gray Noodle. Gray Noodle is responsible for quality iPhone apps like Animal Farts, a urination simulator called iWiz and a refrigerator magnet app called Medical Poetry. The apps range in price from $1 to $2.
Wired discovered the connection between Phillip and his side business through links on some of his social networking profiles. The profiles have since been deleted. When asked about the applications, an Apple spokeswoman said,
“Phillip’s apps were written, submitted and approved before he became an Apple employee. His experience and perspective as a developer is one of the valuable things he brings to Apple’s developer relations team. Apple’s policy allows for employees to have apps on the App Store if they’re developed and published prior to their start at Apple.”
The statement conflicts with information obtained on Phillip"s twitter account. According to one of his tweets he was hired by Apple on March 9, 2009, but three of his apps were published after that date. According to a former senior iPhone software engineer, Apple employees are prohibited from selling apps in the App Store unless they gain special permission from an executive as part of a policy to avoid any conflicts of interest.