“Apple’s 2.0.1 firmware update accomplishes what hackers had claimed Apple couldn’t do: It relocks an iPhone to AT&T. The original boast was predicated on the fact that through all of its prior updates, Apple had never updated the baseband (cellular radio) firmware. Well, 2.0.1 breaks this tradition, and it breaks unlocking,” Tom Yager bogs for InfoWorld.
“Apple’s iPhone 2.0.1 firmware also breaks iPhone open source development. My iPod Touch [sic], which never made any trouble for AT&T or Apple, and never cost any App Store vendor a dime in lost sales, won’t run Unix apps any more. I’m back to hauling a notebook around when just my iPod Touch would do,” Yager writes.
“Maybe the iPhone open source community will hack the iPhone open again. In the meantime, it’s still possible to operate an iPhone or iPod Touch with open source jailbreak by avoiding the 2.0.1 firmware update, but as it does with iTunes, Apple is adept at turning voluntary updates into a practical necessity by making related products dependent on the latest update,” Yager writes.
“There is an amicable way out of this. The best thing for all concerned would be for Apple to enable iPhone 2.0 open source development and the running of unsigned applications (such as shell or Python scripts), but only for device owners who explicitly consent to it. I’m all for protecting users from unwittingly welcoming nonpedigreed software into their iPhones. I’ll be big about it and set aside the fact that an Apple-issued pedigree doesn’t make software run any better,” Yager writes.
“An open source iPhone community benefits Apple by turning the iPhone into a platform in the Mac sense of the term, and this isn’t at odds with Apple’s App Store venture. Yes, iPhone unlockers spoiled the party for everybody. But Apple can lock out the unlockers while letting the iPhone open source party go on,” Yager writes.
Full article here.
This whole tit-for-tat exercise is why I waited for the iPhone’s official release Down Under – I just can’t be bothered with the rigmarole of unlocking and re-unlocking. I dare say most consumers are the same.
A cold day in he’ll before Apple opens the iPhone as suggested.
Apple is now officially starting to be a bit annoying
Maybe there should be some sort of amnesty program for people who have unlocked 2G phones. This would bring them back in the loop and avoid the whole re-unlocking thing.
I agree with MacDaddy, they need to stop wasting resources on this stupid exclusivity deal and use those resources to improve phone features and functionality. Offer a wider range of web video compatibility, copy and paste, wireless syncing with itunes, the list goes on……
Applesoft Strikes Back
Lets rewrite this headline the way it would read if Microsoft did something similar:
“Microsoft Exercises Draconian Measures to Keep users Locked into Monopolistic Deal with Slipshosd Service Vemdor AT&T;!”
“Proving once again they have little or no concern for the needs of users, Microsoft released a Trojan horse in an update that was supposed to fix the VISTA like problems users have been experiencing with the new 2.0 version of their mobile phone software. Instead, unsuspecting users were shown who really owns the phones they purchased and not only were few if any bugs addressed, but the sneaky underhanded patch apparent introduces many new problems according to users.”
@MacDaddy
Amen.
yup…mobilemess still not working for me, iphone 2.0 sucks, even iphone 2.0.1 not as good as the speed in 1.1.4.
Open application means Wait Wait Wait……
I had enough…guys, Blackberry Bold and Gmail, Google Calendar will be my next step. BTW, have you ever heard about jailbreaking a Blackberry? why so troublesome?
“There is an amicable way out of this”
Open source content on the iPhone OR iPod Touch is out of the supported context the device was intended for by its creator. If you wanted updated OS and support from Apple, then live by their rules.
you cant have it both ways. All you open source nuts, stop whining!
I too, would to see a way to install non-app store apps, without jailbreaking.
I would really like to install Mobile Scrobler, as well as game system emulators, and neither of those has a chance at this point.
Everyone wants to have their cake and eat it to.
Dont buy an iPhone or touch if you’re gonna complain about it. No one is forcing you to play the game. You people sound like whining children who cant have their desert before dinner.
No Mr. Yager, the best thing for all concerned would be for you to stop trying to hack the iPhone. Apple has every right to dictate how their phone is used and all you’re doing is costing them time and resources keeping the creeps out of THEIR phone.
The ‘open source iPhone community’ is not benefiting Apple in any way. If a hack is written to let the iPhone work on any network, Apple loses revenue and AT&T;(Apple’s partner) loses out too. AT&T;then says, “What the heck? We’re losing money with these hackers posting software that allows anyone to go to another network. We’re going to have to raise the price back to $399 to compensate”.
In a small minded way, you think being ‘open’ makes it all good for everyone, but in reality it does not.
If you were in business you’d understand this, and you would protect the right to make money with your own products too.
Only hackers think hackers help Apple.
Objective Third Party.
It is difficult to argue with your logic. You are right. We buy this phone knowing it’s the most locked up device on the market and then turn around like idiots and complain about it.
Still, there is just something wrong with seeing Apple behave this way. This is the company that should be showing that rest of the world how to do things the right way, not how to screw people and still be successful.
It’s as if they’re saying, “We’ve shown Microsoft we can build vastly better technology, let’s show them how to build a Monopoly the right way.”
Apple has every right to do what they are doing.
It’s just disappointing. It’s embarrassing. This is not the Apple I’ve loved for 20 years.
I was hoping to install the iMindController.app on my iPhone that allowed me to broadcast my wills and wants, enslaving millions over Wi-fi. And sure enough Steve Jobs, cause no one else at Apple can think, goes a head and pulls the type of stunt Apple has been perfecting for the last 20+ years , maintaining their directives by endorsing their closed end-user experience paradigm, the likes of which being the main reason most of us use Apple products in the first place.
DAMN YOU for making me so not 3l33t!
QED, you are, of course, right.
“Only hackers think hackers help Apple”
Everybody is wrong here. The iPhone model is killing the iPod Touch potential to establish a new platform.
Apple is screwing the pooch here–if they want people to lug around $1000 plus laptops instead of tiny $250 palmtops then sure—
—oh…oh—wait a minute! They do! Apple has no interest in the new, cheap mobile OSX platform everybody (including me) got so excited about.
They just want to sell all kinds of hardware for multiple purposes to as many people as possible instead of relinquishing those profits for a greatly expanded user base and who knows what kind of software licensing revenues.
Cest la vie….
@thephoniestmacuser
So many posts, so little thought.
“Apple has every right to dictate how their phone is used and all you’re doing is costing them time and resources keeping the creeps out of THEIR phone.”
How do you come up with this? Would you agree to this statement if you swapped out Apple for Ford phone for car?
Last time I checked, customers *purchased* an iPhone. Which means it’s theirs. To do with as they please.
Once you buy a product, it is yours to use in any way you see fit (legally, of course).
Now Apple can of course not support a product that is used in ways they disagree with to a certain extent, but they have no *right* to dictate how their products are used.
@MacDaddy: As an Apple fan ever since I 100% agree with you. All that iPhone locking sucks.
Ugh, this really should not be a surprise. You break open a product with unauthorized software and then you wonder why it doesn’t work with the next update?
Somehow I doubt Apple is losing any sleep over jailbroken iPhones/touches. They get their money either way, and more and more people are learning how to program for Mac—authorized or not.
I would actually be surprised if Apple purposely ‘broke’ the hack. They have enough other problems with iPhone/MobileMe to fix right now that are way more important.
Apple to all iPhone hackers:
“All Your iPhone Are Belong To Us.”
Dannis
I hope RIM isn’t paying you to write that drivel: they’re not getting their monies worth!
This debate is too ridiculous. Yes, you “own” your iPhone and can do whatever you want with it just as you own a car or a toaster or whatever. But if you HACK your iPhone, or modify your car or toy with the wiring of your toaster then you void your warranty and cannot expect support from the manufacturer.
The hackers want to hack their phones AND have Apple support their phones. In fact they demand it as their God Given Right! It’s a choice. Break your warranty, and enjoy the unauthorized but unsupported power of the iPhone. Or do what 99.9% of people do and accept both the perks and the warranties of a pristine iPhone.
“I have to lug around a laptop…”
Somebody call the Waaaaaambulance.
So I guess Apple should just stop improving their products, or even better yet, ask every iPhone hacker’s permission to do something in case it breaks their previous hacks.
So let me get this straight, you buy an iphone, unlock it, and it works the way you wanted it to.
Apple releases an update that relocks the iphone.
So, if you want your iphone unlocked, don’t install the update. Simple. You wanted an unlocked version 2.0 iphone, you’ve got it. Have a nice day.
Now, if you don’t mind your iphone being locked (like you knew it would be when you bought it), and want updates from Apple when they come out, and are happy with the iphone you bought (which works just like it was supposed to when you bought it), then keep it locked.
Is it just me, or are a large number of people complaining about a problem that doesn’t exist?
And yes, if I bought a Ford car, I would expect to be able to modify anyway I see fit. I would also expect that modifications to the operation of the car (computer, fuel, engine) might void my warranty, and I certainly wouldn’t post to a Ford forum complaining that their oil filter no longer works in my car after I switched engines.
“The best thing for all concerned would be for Apple to enable iPhone 2.0 open source development and the running of unsigned applications (such as shell or Python scripts), but only for device owners who explicitly consent to it.”
And then when a lot of this shit hits the fan (as if it hasn’t already) people aren’t going to blame the hackers; Apple will catch all the crap. No one will remember about the ‘consent’ part.
jailbreakers and hackers are losers…give it up.
FreddyThePig,
Awe come on, buddy. Pretty please with sugar on top?
@Objective Third Party:
What idiot would want to get a piece of cake and not eat it? What else are they going to do with it? That’s the dumbest analogy ever created!
<< “jailbreakers and hackers are losers…give it up.” >>
I for one- prefer to keep my iPhone “stock”. These kids however are NOT losers by any stretch. They are talented & resourceful. They just can do what most of you can’t- and that bothers you doesn’t it?
Steve & Woz were hackers back in the day- Well- Woz was anyway. Remember the device Woz built for free long distance calls. Not to mention all the disassemblies and reverse engineering.
FreddyThePig,
Thanks Freddy.
Excuse me, but Apple DOES have the right to dictate how THEIR product is used. And when you buy an iPhone, you agree to abide by their conditions.
If YOU were to form a company and spend years developing a product, you too would want your product used in the way you designed and intended it to be used. Every single profitable company operates in this way.
Also, to the kneejerk ‘Apple is now just like Micros**t’ comments.
You people typed those comments on a computer that you bought and agreed to the SAME conditions as the iPhone is subject to.
But now Apple is now just like Micros**t??
FeddyThePig is right. This is boring.
Joe: ” Offer a wider range of web video compatibility”
I agree with the copy and paste, and the wireless iTunes. I think both of those things are coming.
But more “web video compatibility” ? No way.
Apple needs to stick to open source here. Not promote proprietary formats like Windows media, or Adobe’s Flash. Both cases are full of problems, not least of which is giving them a stamp of approval to continue to pollute the interwebs.
The iPod and iPhone hardware is built to play H.264 video efficiently, this makes battery use better, and promotes an open standard.
What’s going to happen out of this is a HUGE number of iPod touch and iPhone devices will be out there, and the number will be far too large to ignore. Anyone who is serious about web video will be forced to include an open source compatible format. This is a Very Good Thing™.
@ QED
I’m in absolute agreement with your sentiment. The rest-o-yall please remember that the only legal way to purchase an iPhone in the U.S is through Apple or AT&T;with an agreed 2 year contract. Skirting these well published requirements leaves you open to whatever measures the companies involved deem necessary to recoup any lost revenue you might have cost them. Do you really think Apple wanted to be tied to AT&T;? This was a business decision paved after many hours of thought and with an eye to the future viability of the product, AT&T;expects to make a certain amount of dough based on the provisions of this agreement, when hackers violate these agreements they hurt the entire community….. There’s no such thing as a community minded hacker… just another form of personal greed, from someone who enjoys reveling against authority.
thanx
@twighlightmoon
Nice premise, but remember open source has its place to be sure, but Apple and every other company is in it to make MONEY! Money pays the staff, the advertisers, the manufacturers, the sales staff, Big STEVE, and everyone else involved. Any company would require a certain amount of proprietorship to remain competitive and in Apple’s case a market leader … Utopian ideas only work, or make sense in a utopia.
Thanx
Update:
The 2.0.1 jailbreaks are out. So much for that.
On Jailbroken phones, are there any other browsers that crash less than Safari? The iPhone version is terrible.
As far as I’m concerned 2.0 sux anyway. It is slower and it crashes alot. I have a first gen iPhone and an iPod touch and my Iphone is jailbroken so when it started crashing I blamed it on being jailbroken etc.. but the Touch is 100% legit 2.0 directly from Apple and the damned thing crashes just as much. Most likely one of the Appstore Apps that I got but isn’t that what the whole deal is is to make sure the stuff we install won’t cause problems. My iPhone on 1.1.4 jailbroken was rock solid. Hell, I’m thinking about going back to 1.1.4 but will have to have older version of iTunes as Apple in their infinate wizdon made the latest iTunes incapable of doing it. Apple is starting to get too big for its britches and is becoming more like another big computer software company we all love to hate. They need to fix the shit befor they start worring about jailbroken iPhones.
“I certainly wouldn’t post to a Ford forum complaining that their oil filter no longer works in my car after I switched engines.”
Except here you take your Ford in for a recall to get a number of defects unrelated to your accessories fixed and find that they’ve stripped off all your accessories and sold them on ebay.
That’s not right for a car, and not right for a phone either.
In the US, it’s illegal for the car manufacturer to require that you use their expensive oil filters or other parts to maintain warranty. Why? because dealers were abusing customers to lock them in to over priced servicing requirements. Therefore by law in the US you can add any accessories you like to a car and as long as they don’t cause the specific problem you want warranty service for, the car company must honor the warranty.
It’s also the law in the US that a cellphone company must let you unlock your phone.
There’s not question of whether Apple is abusing it’s customers through it’s handling of various aspects of the iPhone platform, unlocking, upgrades, SDKs, the app store. Clearly they are.
It’s only a question of whether the iPhone will become a significant enough platform that the government takes notice of what they’re doing and steps in to protect customers, or whether Apple’s own policies will stop it’s growth long before that.
So given that Apple will eventually will be made to obey the law if they’re sucessful, why wouldn’t they start now?