These aren't just "UIKit-inspired layout classes" - it's a full complement of remote-navigable controls: text input fields, buttons, detail disclosure views, scrubbers, sliders, keyboards, so on and so forth. It's also remained largely stable since AppleTV 1 - BackRow is as valid an API as any.
They've already got partners providing javascript-driven "applications" for the AppleTV (ala iPhoneOS 1 - "web apps are king!"); I've no inclination to believe that they're going to make public an API that provides for code execution, especially in this environment. See, not only are BackRow appliances not applications, they're not run in separate execution contexts either. The primary/only application on an AppleTV is AppleTV.app, and all appliances are loadable bundles (on AppleTV OS < 5.0) or simply compiled in (>= 5.0) and run in the same shared context.
That alone makes binary bundles extremely dangerous. It also means that a full re-architecting of the system would be required before third party applications were supported.
I think I just find it odd to think that Apple isn't considering making the AppleTV into "the iOS app+game console for your TV": Apple's version of the Wii, with compatibility of every iOS app ever produced, and presumably using iPod Touches for controllers or something.
They've already got partners providing javascript-driven "applications" for the AppleTV (ala iPhoneOS 1 - "web apps are king!"); I've no inclination to believe that they're going to make public an API that provides for code execution, especially in this environment. See, not only are BackRow appliances not applications, they're not run in separate execution contexts either. The primary/only application on an AppleTV is AppleTV.app, and all appliances are loadable bundles (on AppleTV OS < 5.0) or simply compiled in (>= 5.0) and run in the same shared context.
That alone makes binary bundles extremely dangerous. It also means that a full re-architecting of the system would be required before third party applications were supported.