comments on Apple's changing of themselves as they change the world...

[acroyear]

Tinkerer’s Sunset [dive into mark]:

And I know, I know, I know you can “jailbreak” your iPhone, (re)gain root access, and run anything that can motherfucking run. And I have no doubt that someone will figure out how to “jailbreak” the iPad, too. But I don’t want to live in a world where you have to break into your own computer before you can start tinkering. And I certainly don’t want to live in a world where tinkering with your own computer is illegal.

Once upon a time, Apple made the machines that made me who I am. I became who I am by tinkering. Now it seems they’re doing everything in their power to stop my kids from finding that sense of wonder. Apple has declared war on the tinkerers of the world.

If wishes were iPhones, then beggars would call [dive into mark]:

I have nothing to say about the iPhone that hasn’t been said already. Apple made it very clear what they were offering: a carrier-locked, closed-development mobile computing device where every aspect of the user experience would be controlled by Apple. I’m told it can also make phone calls. If that’s what you want, then buy it. If not, then don’t. If you want an iPhone without the phone, buy an iPod Touch, but it doesn’t run third-party applications either. (So much for the “network security” argument, but never mind that.)

Comments

[thelongshot.livejournal.com]

People act like this is something new for Apple. Apple has mostly dictated what is to be done with their hardware, and until OSX, The Mac's OS wasn't really hacker-friendly. Not to mention that you are required to run it on their hardware.

There is a reason why I have a lot of disdain for Apple.

[scaleslea.livejournal.com]

What gets me is that people are acting like Apple has been TAKING AWAY capabilities from them. Apple has been giving users new capabilities, and giving developers new tools to write to those capabilities. And the developer tools are free.

Yes, Apple is being draconian in enforcing their rules. And, yes, some of their rules are stupid and inadequately explained (Google Voice apps anyone?). But for the most part, it is easy to just follow Apple's development rules. So, when you get down to it, there is still plenty of room for tinkerers, as the author described himself.

But I wonder when it was that hackers became a demographic that needed to be marketed to. If it is easy to hack, then doesn't it become less of a challenge, and therefore less attractive? Hackers should like Apple's walled garden approach, because that gives them something to get around.

And tinkerers need to start writing code. Or wait for someone else to do it for them.

Doc

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

hacking != cracking.

hackers are *lazy* - they do what they do to not have to do it later.

The issue is that a hacker's pride is being able to share his invention, his discovery. When you can't share it without having to go through some approval process by some arbitrary committee who looks at it not as a value-add, but as a threat to their business model (not to their customers phones), then the entire hacker ethic (and yes, the vast majority hackers are ethical) is lost.

in the good old days, I could walk up with a floppy and go "here, try this".

With everything for the iphone/ipad having to go through the App Store, its just not the same. i am not in control of *my* stuff: they are.

and THAT is what the problem is.

for a hint at how bad it can get when you don't control your own devices, consider Amazon's pulling of the Orwell books from people's Kindles without them asking.