Open Thread: To Hack or Not to Hack, That is the Question
October 3rd, 2007 (7:22am) Judi Sohn 7 CommentsTweet This
Seems you can’t shake a stick without running into an article about Apple vs. Users (and 3rd party Developers) over the iPhone. Apple has said all along that it’s their way or else. Now the “or else” comes in the form of a firmware update that not only takes away 3rd party unauthorized applications that customers have installed on their iPhones, but also “bricks” phones that have been unlocked so users can make calls with a provider other than AT&T.
It’s an arms race…with Apple throwing up road block after road block to keep their wonder-device closed, and developers finding workaround after workaround. Apple responds, developers respond…everyday users who aren’t hacking their iPhones are caught in the middle.
On the one hand, Apple has the right to dictate the technology that is on their devices if folks want Apple to continue to support and update said device. You never know what kind of trouble those hacks can cause later on down the line. Not to mention that there’s a very lucrative relationship with AT&T to protect. On the other hand, folks want to get the most out of the technology they’ve purchased. 3rd party applications and multi-carrier support have been a hallmark of mobile hardware for a long time. This isn’t the kind of “Think Different” folks have been looking for from Apple.
What’s your take? Is Apple being unreasonable? Are the users threatening lawsuits out of their mind?
Going beyond the iPhone, do you use your technology as the manufacturer dictates right out of the box, or do you push the barrier? If you tweak, how far do you take it and what is your expectation of the reaction you should get from the company if you do?
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That’s an interesting question. In general, I’m in favour of tweaking, but I don’t expect the manufacturer to give me support if I break anything. Certainly, if I overclock my CPU and it burns out I don’t expect a refund.
On the other hand, I expect the manufacturer to continue giving me updates, and letting me use the item — if they deliberately cause an update to break equipment that’s been tweaked, that’s just malicious. In the case that the hardware wasn’t physically damaged, I’d also expect to be able to get it “repaired” (i.e. have the firmware reinstalled to the manufacturer’s spec) at my expense, if my non-approved tweaks caused it to malfunction, and I couldn’t undo it myself.
I’m a hardware hacker by nature, so I expect that if I get ahold of an iPhone, I’d want to hack it.
That being said, I also consider myself to be reasonably intelligent and therefore able to read the warranty/terms of service. If it says in there that 3rd party apps are unsupported, and violating the terms of service will nullify the warranty *and* support, then I might still go ahead and hack it. I would not however, be upset if my phone stopped working after a software update.
Why?
Unless the software update was forced upon me (something I really dislike about Microsoft and Vista these days), then I installed it of my own choosing. A software update is support – the update that Apple pushed out is not mandatory to install. Anyone installing it should have been prepared for the consequences.
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t like what Apple’s doing, but given that it’s spelled out in their service contract, that Steve Jobs has said repeatedly that 3rd party apps wouldn’t be supported, and that Apple even warned the community ahead of time that hacked phones might not work afterwards, I think users should have been prepared.
Lawsuits? That’s just nuts yet sadly typical.
You want Apple to open the iPhone up? Don’t sue them. Just stop buying iPhones and buy competitor’s open products instead. Apple will get the message.
I was lucky enough to buy a hackable (firmware 1.0.2) iPhone on Monday and took full advantage of it. The additional features allowed through hacking are definitely worth it, since you’re not forced to upgrade to a crippled firmware. You’ll also likelier:
1) accidentally drop/get wet/otherwise break the iPhone
2) have an obsolete iphone
before the iphone will break due to a manufacturer’s defect.
iPhone :)
I won’t buy another Apple product because of the way they have treated their iPhone customers.
Despite any flaws they do have, one of Microsoft’s hallmarks has always been support for development. Microsoft has almost always provided a way for 3rd party developers to produce applications for their products. Apple (as best as I can remember) has never been known for being that open. I can remember at several points in the past when Apple had a shortage of applications for it’s platform.
Apple does have the right to dictate how it’s platform will be used. As for user lawsuits, I don’t see anything wrong with that. If they success, great. If they fail, at least there will be a firm precedent as to what users can legally expect from Apple Inc.
I just bought a new phone. I went with the iPaq 6945 unlocked. I know very well what to expect (and not to expect) from Windows Mobile, and one of the things I can expect is a healthy developer community around this platform.
At the end of the day, my iPhone is my only phone. I’d like to hack and tweak like I do with every other gadget I’ve had (I’m an avid reader) but I can’t make my only phone unreliable. So that’s a big NO to hacking my iPhone. Do I think Apple is being short-sighted? Yes. Do I need a working device that doesn’t rely on undocumented features? Yes to that too. I don’t know what the right thing to do it, but in the meantime, I’m staying in Switzerland.