Apple iPhone warning proves true

[SteveW]

Apple iPhone warning proves true (BBC)

Last Updated: Friday, 28 September 2007, 09:38 GMT 10:38 UK

An Apple software update is disabling iPhones that have been unlocked by owners who wanted to choose which mobile network to use.

Earlier this week Apple said a planned update would leave the device "permanently inoperable".

Thousands of iPhone owners hacked their expensive gadget in order to unlock it for use with other mobile carriers and to run a host of unsupported programs.

There are also reports of the update causing issues with unaltered iPhones.

More...



SW

[AnthroMatt]

Oops. Apple designed something to cripple unlocked phones and apparently it is erasing data from phones that have not been modified.

Apple's new slogan should be "Now just like Microsoft!"

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt

Oops. Apple designed something to cripple unlocked phones and apparently it is erasing data from phones that have not been modified.

Apple's new slogan should be "Now just like Microsoft!"

What do you mean just like Microsoft? This sounds a lot worse. Microsoft doesn't disable your Windows Mobile phone because you took it to another network.

-Jay

[AnthroMatt]

Well worse in the specific regard. Apple just prides itself as the anti-MS when they are just as bad, just in different ways.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt

Well worse in the specific regard. Apple just prides itself as the anti-MS when they are just as bad, just in different ways.

Oh yeah, Apple is worse. Everything about their computers is proprietary so you have to go back to them for upgrades.

[SteveW]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Oh yeah, Apple is worse. Everything about their computers is proprietary so you have to go back to them for upgrades.

Not to get into a religious war, but this is not as true as it used to be. Now Macs run on Intel processors (you can run native Windows on them if you want) and have standard Bluetooth, USB, Firewire. Internal drives are SATA, RAM is standard DDR2 SDRAM. They only have one very expandable computer (the Mac Pro) but it offers a choice of several NVIDIA or ATI graphics cards, 4 hard drive bays, 2 optical drive bays and 3 PCI Express slots. So there are lots of upgrades you can do yourself, if you have one of those.

Market research shows that most people don't ever upgrade their computers anyway, which is why Apple's biggest selling computers are not very upgradeable (although they do have build-to-order options). The OS and its updates, of course come from Apple, but MS is the same way. Which brings us back to the topic.

The editors on Macintouch pointed out that there is no small irony in Apple sending out an update to foil hackers:

There is irony here, as Steve Jobs originally started in business peddling illegal phone-hacking devices.... -MacInTouch

SW

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by SteveW

Not to get into a religious war, but this is not as true as it used to be. Now Macs run on Intel processors (you can run native Windows on them if you want) and have standard Bluetooth, USB, Firewire. Internal drives are SATA, RAM is standard DDR2 SDRAM. They only have one very expandable computer (the Mac Pro) but it offers a choice of several NVIDIA or ATI graphics cards, 4 hard drive bays, 2 optical drive bays and 3 PCI Express slots. So there are lots of upgrades you can do yourself, if you have one of those.

Market research shows that most people don't ever upgrade their computers anyway, which is why Apple's biggest selling computers are not very upgradeable (although they do have build-to-order options). The OS and its updates, of course come from Apple, but MS is the same way. Which brings us back to the topic.

The editors on Macintouch pointed out that there is no small irony in Apple sending out an update to foil hackers:





SW

I always upgrade. I have found that a few well chosen upgrades can add years to the life of a computer. Take the current system I'm using. Its a 4 year old Dell P4 2.2 ghz running Win XP professional. I just added 1 gig of ram to it last night bringing it up to 2.0 gig ram. (I was having low memory errors). This is a far cry from the system's original 256 mb. I can now multitask to my heart's delight without spending over $1,000 on a new computer.

My old system was upgraded several times. It started as a 350 mhz P3 running Windows 95 with 128 mb ram. By the time I retired it the system was about 7 years old and was a Celleron 1,000 overclocked to 1.5 Ghz running Windows Me with about 1 gig of ram.

I feel the only way to truly get your moneys worth out of a system is to upgrade. This past upgrade I added 1gb ram for about $60 on sale. The only other upgrade I might do for this system is maybe upgrade the processor if that upgrade gets cheap enough. Otherwise I'm set with this one till I get a new one, probably at least 2 years away.

My experience with MAC's in the past was that whatever you needed you had to buy it from Apple, limiting your choices, and making it expensive. I always thought you had more choices and could build a better system for less money going the PC route.

-Jay

[SteveW]

Originally Posted by SteveW

Market research shows that most people don't ever upgrade their computers anyway...

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

I always upgrade. I have found that a few well chosen upgrades can add years to the life of a computer...

Proving that you are not most people. Most people don't even know what RAM, multitasking and overclocking are, much less how to install hardware and software upgrades on their machines. That's what keeps IT guys in business.

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

My experience with MAC's in the past was that whatever you needed you had to buy it from Apple, limiting your choices, and making it expensive. I always thought you had more choices and could build a better system for less money going the PC route.

There has always been a third party market for Mac hardware, but it was typically limited to expensive components like SCSI drives, non-standard RAM and graphics cards. Now those components are identical to their PC counterparts. Apple did this for several reasons, but one was to remove, insofar as possible, the price differential between its systems and competitive PCs. Most reviews of Apple consumer machines that I read these days report that price/performance compares very favorably with PCs.

However, if you are really building the computer yourself from components (rather than just specifying components on the Apple or Dell website), the PC is the only game in town. There simply isn't a true build-from-components market in the Apple world, where you buy motherboard A, processor B, case C, power supply Z, etc., all from different manufacturers.

It really depends on what you want. Personally, I always configure computers while buying them, never take the standard configurations. I only upgrade them sometimes and I like to have a manufacturer's warranty on the whole system, at least for a few years.

That's the other thing that Apple is pretty strict about - what you can and can't do without voiding the warranty. On the iPhone (remember the iPhone?) it's practically nothing.



SW

[RJB]

Well as bad as this may be they do have the right to do this IMO>

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by RJB

Well as bad as this may be they do have the right to do this IMO>

IMHO, for the price they are charging you should be allowed to take it to any carrier you want. I can just about guarantee the if Microsoft makes a Zune phone they won't try to stop people from using them on other networks.

At this point I think we'll just have to agree to disagree. I am very anti-Apple and I'm ok with that. People complain about Microsoft, but at least you know exactly what you're dealing with. Microsoft does not try to pretend it is anything else but Microsoft. Apple likes to fancy themselves as the little guy stickin' it to the man, but I've got news for them. They are "the man" now.

-Jay

[Fire14]

Originally Posted by RJB

Well as bad as this may be they do have the right to do this IMO>

I think this maybe the beginning of what could be a problem, I can see Microsoft doing the same thing next with WM phones if they are unlocked & not because it's a Microsoft worry, but a carrier desire.
When you think about this, Apple only did this to protect their relationship with AT&T & their revenue income from AT&T, what's to say the carriers don't try to modify the UI on WM units to make it a specific carriers phone & they start getting in on the revenue stream.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

[AnthroMatt]

Originally Posted by RJB

Well as bad as this may be they do have the right to do this IMO>

As much as it pains me to say this, I agree. All customers who purcahse an iPhone are aware of the restrictions upon them. They can either choose to get the phone or they can voice their displeasure by refusing to buy it. But the bottom line is, the customer knows the "rules" and therefore shouldn't be upset that they cannot play by them.

[RJB]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt

As much as it pains me to say this, I agree. All customers who purcahse an iPhone are aware of the restrictions upon them. They can either choose to get the phone or they can voice their displeasure by refusing to buy it. But the bottom line is, the customer knows the "rules" and therefore shouldn't be upset that they cannot play by them.

Matt thank you, this is pretty much what I was trying to get at. I am not pro apple or microsoft both work well and have their flaws as well.

[VT Blue]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt

Well worse in the specific regard. Apple just prides itself as the anti-MS when they are just as bad, just in different ways.

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

What do you mean just like Microsoft? This sounds a lot worse. Microsoft doesn't disable your Windows Mobile phone because you took it to another network.

-Jay

While I could be wrong, but it seems pretty clear that neither of you own a new Mac or any other Apple equipment. I respect your decision if that's the case.

However, for those of us who do, any comparisons between Cupertino and The Borg seems just a bit over the top. Apple's OS is phenomenal (especially Leopard, which I'm now using), the hardware has no equal in terms of ergonomics, quality, durability...no BSOD...and their service -- when you need it -- is fantastic. English is their native tongue, too, so I can actually understand them.

As for locking hackers out of the iPhone yes, it seems very un-Apple and those actions surprised me, as well. After pondering for a while I decided to cut them a little slack for the following reasons:

1. They're entering an entirely new market to them
2. They have a "partner" and a contract with that "partner" that outlines certain obligations, and
3. They had the stones to break the current model/control that wireless companies hold. If this type of opportunity expands (not being beholden to a cell company's technology, pricing, etc for non-handset items), I'm all for it!

Now, does that absolve them of all things evil? Nope. I knew what I was signing up for and was okay with it from Day 1. That belief is partly built upon the thought that they'll open up iPhone for software development in the near future...Lockdown wasn't going to last forever. Remember, they are new to the industry segment and there will be some hiccups.

I encourage you to try any Apple gear. Pricey, yes, but worth every dime.

[MOTOhooligan]

I used to love Apple but now I really dislike them. When I first started learning about computers we used Macs... that was probably freshman year of high school. Wow, I'm old.

If you've ever read The Best Page In The Universe, Maddox has a brilliant article about the iPhone vs his Nokia E70. I'd post a link but it is extremely NSFW so I'll let those who want to find it on their own. I can't even post the title of the article here, but I laughed my tuchus off reading it because it's true. I feel similarly about the Motorola Q vs the iPhone but I'm not nearly as amusing as Maddox.

[VT Blue]

Thanks, I'll Google the article. I've heard great things about that Nokia and may need a second phone for VT as AT&T doesn't have service up here and will bounce you from your network if too many calls originate on other people's towers.

Thx! Bob

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by MOTOhooligan

I used to love Apple but now I really dislike them. When I first started learning about computers we used Macs... that was probably freshman year of high school. Wow, I'm old.

If you've ever read The Best Page In The Universe, Maddox has a brilliant article about the iPhone vs his Nokia E70. I'd post a link but it is extremely NSFW so I'll let those who want to find it on their own. I can't even post the title of the article here, but I laughed my tuchus off reading it because it's true. I feel similarly about the Motorola Q vs the iPhone but I'm not nearly as amusing as Maddox.

LOL, you're old because you used Mac's in high school?

In middle school we used Commodore 64's

In high school we had Apple II's with green monochrome monitors. The computer lab in high school also had one Atari 800 home computer, but we mostly used it for games.

-Jay

[MOTOhooligan]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

In high school we had Apple II's with green monochrome monitors. The computer lab in high school also had one Atari 800 home computer, but we mostly used it for games.

No, I was just thinking that I'm old because it's been a good 14-15 years since I've used a Macintosh.

LOL! We had Apple IIe computers when I was in elementary school. You're old.

[TelcomJunkie]

Uh oh!