Apple Wants To Make Jailbreaking Worthy Of Jail Time, $2500 Fine By Chris Walters, 11:41 AM on Sat Feb 14 2009 The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has petitioned the Library of Congress to officially protect phone owners who bypass software restrictions on their phones—aka "jailbreaking." Apple has just filed an objection, arguing that doing so would infringe on their copyright. If Apple gets its way, The big question, of course, is who really owns your damned phone? Apple says that bypassing their software restrictions messes with the "chain of trust" they've set up and screws up their "ecosystem." The EFF counters that if you apply Apple's argument to another industry, it falls apart: On a more serious note, they point out: The EFF has set up a "Free Your Phone" website where you can follow the case as it moves before the Library of Congress: www.freeyourphone.org. "Could You Go to Jail for Jailbreaking Your iPhone?" [Bits Blog - New York Times] "Apple speaks out against jailbreaking" [vnunet]
Basically, it gives you an open system like the Android platform so that you can add third party apps outside of the Mac App Store. Many of these apps are useful and aren't allowed on Apple's App Store, since they compete with Apple's own Apps.
It's a shame it's gotten to the point where companies are making the claim that they still own the product even after it's been purchased by a legitimate customer. What they do with their products after they've been purchased is their own business. I guess companies are doing anything they can to make money nowadays. I also suppose LG should sue me because my phone's been beat to hell and isn't an accurate representation of their fine products.
The RIAA are the biggest a-holes with respect to that portion. Apple has always been very proprietary about their stuff, and iPhone looks like its going to be their next big avenue. The good news is Android is growing, and it looks like its been fairly successful with the G1. 3 more phones are slated to have the Android OS put on it. With Google tied to it, it should do well. Hopefully Windows Mobile also ramps up their game.
... I haven't got a clue in the world as to what you're talking about, but I'll assume it's about stuff I know nothing about, which explains why I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just kidding. I mean, I really don't know what you're talking about, but I was just commenting how how it's ludacrous for a company to think they can control what people do with their products once they buy them. You don't see Harmonix suing people for using two kick pedals with Rock Band, do you? It just makes no sense.
I can understand it for some products, mainly CD's, DVD's and games, because piracy means they lose revenue. In this case though I agree, especially after people have spent a ridiculous amount of money buying an iPhone.
Android is the mobile platform of the G1. Basically it's the OS of the phone (ie, mac os, linux, windows, solaris, unix, dos) I believe that Android is open source though I'm not sure. Anyway, open source means that you are allowed to legally modify and distribute the os. Meaning you can enhance it, or sell it ( sometimes) customize it. etc. Closed Source software you are not allowed to do this to. But I find no problem with modifying an Iphone that you yourself have paid for to better it. Jailbreaking an iphone would mean that you are Breaking away the restrictions that Apple have given the phone. Like using it without itunes or installing thrid party software, or using it on an OS other than windows or mac. It's not like you're trying to sell it off as a new product, or sell it at all. I actually find it ludicrous that they are trying to make modifying something you own illegal. If that's the case then putting stickers on a car should be illegal, so should putting a terabye hdd in a computer that originally came with a 500 gb. it's a stupid and pointless thing to do IMO. That's my biggest gripe with apple.
Although the RIAA took it to levels with music that was absurd. Well they still are, but they are horrid so I guess that's another story. It is open source.
It really is ridicules for a company to try to control what you do with their product... people jailbreak their phones so that they can use apps on it that are either better then the official ones, or don't exist yet. When the iPod touch came out, it had basically nothing on it so people did the same thing, they modded/jailbreaked/whatever you want to call it so that they could install their own user created apps. But in this case, all of these user created apps was most peoples reason for buying a Touch originally. I can understand if the jailbreak is allowing people to use the official apps without paying for them, that would be stealing and illegal, but people using user created apps on their phone should be none of Apples business. It is basically the equivalent of microsoft telling you that you can't download a free open office program and that you have to use their Office Suite... if someone else can create a program just as worthy if not more worthy, and offer it up for free, other companies have no right to deny people to them... leaving devices open to programers while at the same time working to create quality products worth out money is what should be happening. The free programs create a competition that will cause, or at least should cause apple to try harder to deliver more unique and superior ideas... and if they are charging their users for software that some out of his home programer can do for free, they should stop. People pay for music that is professionally done, not some garage band. People pay for movies that are professionaly fimed, not some home camera movie. People pay to read books that are skillfully published, not something some random kid in highschool wrote for english. People pay for computer games professionaly developed, not flash games that you can find 300 variations of online. The fact is people are willing to pay for things that are quality, but if you are offering products that are the same quality that someone can make at home and give to people for free... what is the peoples incentive to paying?? END OF RANT