Friday, September 28, 2007

That's right, let's use the stick

Apple to make unlocked iPhones permanently inoperableOh hoh hoh...that's gonna be a hot potato Apple, hope you're ready for some backlash.
Punishing your audience, those willing to take the next step to use your product, that's useful.

Saul Hansell in his NY Times article writes: "There is something futile about the way Apple appears to be fighting some of its most ardent fans, those who want to use the full capabilities of the iPhone."

In the series of recent iPhone related fumbles and weird acts, starting from going operator-exclusive (which I thought Apple could have and should have avoided), recently with the introduction of the next-gen iPhone and $100 exercise and now this...You guys are making headlines.

So people went ahead and hacked your phones to make them available on other networks. Wow. Unlocking phones has been around for ages, and it means only one thing: PEOPLE LIKE THIS PHONE AND WANT TO GET IT AND USE IT MORE!!!

As I read BBC News article on Apple crippling hacked iPhones, every line, every word amazes me:
"Earlier this week Apple said a planned update would leave the device "permanently inoperable...That warning has now proved correct as many owners are reporting their phones no longer work following installation of the update.": Oh right...let's have all those $500 paying people with a brick in their hands. They're not going to be able to complain 'cause they did the hack, so we'll probably not hear from them again

"There are also reports of the update causing issues with unaltered iPhones...Some owners are reporting on technology blogs and Apple's own forums that the update is deleting contacts information, as well as photos and music, on iPhones that have not been modified in any way. ": Oh right, and by the way, even if you didn't unlock your iPhone, our update will nevertheless delete your stuff.

Did hackers anticipate this and have a cure? I hope so.

Regardless, Apple, people may whisper that all of this has been planned, it does not look like it to me at all.

Google, I hope you're watching (I'm actually sure you are). GPhone can and should change the rules of the game, you can make it happen!

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