Mozilla, Skype support EFF's case for iPhone jailbreaking

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kiwi66 View Post


    Sorry but you all seem to miss the point.



    a) "I dont have to jailbreak my unix system".

    No you dont because your system administrator has the root password and you can do whatever you want with the box YOU OWN. This is not the case on the iPhone. It means apple can do whatever THEY want with the phone YOU own.



    Yo buddy. what YOU own is the HARDWARE. You dont OWN the rights to the Intellectual Property that decides what this device CAN and CANT do. and APPLE has no obligation, in my books, WHETHER YOUR FCKING HAPPY or not, to support an open market, when its current system IS NOT anti-competitive in the sense that it offers apps which compete against its own offerings. IF YOUR SO UNHAPPY WITH THE MILLION THINGS YOUR PHONE CAN DO. go back to whatever other cellphone you had before and Hack the sh!t out of it



    In the midst of digital age people are forgetting that being able to so something. In this case hack, jailbreaking WHATEVER, doesnt necessarly mean that its a right to do. Im gettting pretty annoyed of hearing people say that because a product is digital based and they have the skills they dont have the right to FCK with everything. Like man your right is to not purchase a product that your not happy with its limitations.
  • Reply 22 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maciscool View Post


    No-one WANTS to jailbreak their phone but are forced to just so that they can tether their Mac to their phone, or just so that they can send an MMS to their friends/family.



    If you live in a country and have no plans to move, then you won't worry too much about your phone being locked, but many people live in several countries over time (I've lived in 3 so far and plan to move to the 4th later this year) for various reasons who don't want to have to buy a new phone each time they move.



    Especially for EU members. Our countries are not countries anymore, they are states that make up one big country. Yet, if you live in the UK for example, and decide to move to another EU country (be it fo business/retirement/love/better weather etc) you might as well sell your iPhone because you cannot use it in another country. Or jailbreak + unlock it.



    To put this into perspective for US readers: what if Apple said you can only use your iPhone in the state you bought it, and nowhere else in the US? So, if you bought it on New York and decided to go to Miami on holiday, you could not use your phone there.....isn't that stupid? wouldn't you try unlock your phone?



    Well that's exactly what we Europeans experience with locking, hence we jailbreak/unlock.

    (I know the two are seperate, but often the process happens simultaneously)



    Apple should sell the iPhone to any network so that we as consumers get better prices as a result of the competition between networks, and we would have the choice of network and the freedom to move.



    Secondly, it should at least allow a tethering app in the app store and add an MMS feature to the OS.



    I bet at least half of those who have jailbroken or unlocked phones would stop doing it if Apple did this, if not more....



    I agree with the above, though it misses some additional points:



    No, I don't WANT to Jailbreak my phone, but when apple neglects to enable simple software or firmware updates that would allow such simple references to the hardware as allowing a landscape keyboard on ALL applications within their phone that could utilize it, such as texting, email, etc, and not just safari, or even something as benign as not offering the emojin smilies in the App Store (My wife wants these and is pushing me to jailbreak her phone to get them)



    .....Well, they're just asking for a battle similar to this one.



    Bottom line is they have dropped the ball on several accounts and done nothing to recover it. It's sad I can get better preferences control, or video, or zoom, or landscape keyboards in nearly all my apps, or asian smilies on a phone which I can already change the keyboard to kanji on, ONLY BY JAILBREAKING IT.



    That is ridiculous.



    If apple doesn't want this argument, then get on the ball and do what your customers want.



    And the MMS and texting plans on a phone that is obviously made for it but has to come at an extra expense?



    Ludicrous!!!!
  • Reply 23 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by irnchriz View Post


    ... Maybe the EFF should start a case for Sony and Microsoft to make it legal to hack both of their consoles so you can run your own software on them (like backups from torrents). ....



    As much as people mostly laugh or roll their eyes when someone says this, I think it's a very key point.



    No one at EFF or similar organisations is arguing for XBox or PS3 to be opened up and they've both been around for years and years. The few times any consumer has suggested it, the arguments against it have always been the exact same ones Apple is using here also. But somehow now Apple is doing this it's a corporate "evil" that must be stopped in the name of "electronic freedom" or some such garbage.



    The reality is iPhone is being attacked because it's desirable. It's just a case of ..."But Mommy, I want it!!" and stamping their feet.



    Sadly the legal system, especially on political hot potatoes like copyright and DMCA, does not turn on the facts. In the current climate, the fact that Apple is right about this doesn't mean that the case will be decided in their favour at all.
  • Reply 24 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maciscool View Post


    No-one WANTS to jailbreak their phone but are forced to just so that they can tether their Mac to their phone, or just so that they can send an MMS to their friends/family...



    you know what NO ONE also needs to do. is what you just listed above. NOONE NEEDS to do these things, they just want to. SOOOO Knowing that the iPhone doesnt fulfill your expectations you should have returned it, and stop talking this propaganda about open crap on ruining one of the BEST business models I have ever seen any company have.



    My love for Apple is one part design, one part user interface, and one part my admiration for its business model, REGARDLESS of the little things it renders the phone unable to do. such WHINY little Bs man its not cool.
  • Reply 25 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post


    I'm with the EFF on this. And I don't see why Apple needs to bother worrying about it: Jailbreaking is fun for the techie hobbyist, but Apple doesn't lift a finger to help jailbreakers when OS updates come out--and the OS is evolving fast. ...



    I think this argument misses the point though. No one is saying that jail-breaking should be shut down and the cops should come to your door and drag you into the street etc., least of all Apple. It's as you say, a techie hobbyist thing for the most part.



    It's the EFF that is stirring things up and suggesting that it be turned into an approved legal process. In other words they are arguing for the commercialisation of jailbreaking. To turn it from it's nudge-wink status into a thing that any company can legally do. If they are successful, you will see multiple app stores by various companies pop up all over the internet, and pirating applications will take off with a vengeance. Apple's business model will collapse, and all the legal applications will get much more expensive as a result.



    What's worse, is that now the EFF has filed their papers, they cannot be taken back. So whereas before Apple was fine with a bit of jailbreaking here and there, if Apple wins this, it will then be officially "illegal" to jailbreak. It will be classed as a direct violation of the DMCA with all those draconian penalties attached.



    This is a colossally stupid move by the EFF based on the outmoded idea that the iPhone is a "computer" that should be forced to run whatever software the average idiot wants to put on it. Probably because most of the folks at the EFF are still in 1970's mode.
  • Reply 26 of 46
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Jailbroken on 2.2.1 and loving it. I'm seeing a lot of bug fixes, the keyboard is definitely less laggy. The OS is snappier, one of the best updated yet. Thanks Dev Team
  • Reply 27 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by talkshowonmute View Post


    you know what NO ONE also needs to do. is what you just listed above. NOONE NEEDS to do these things, they just want to. SOOOO Knowing that the iPhone doesnt fulfill your expectations you should have returned it, and stop talking this propaganda about open crap on ruining one of the BEST business models I have ever seen any company have.



    My love for Apple is one part design, one part user interface, and one part my admiration for its business model, REGARDLESS of the little things it renders the phone unable to do. such WHINY little Bs man its not cool.



    That's a pretty unfair statement, especially considering what was quoted.



    No one knew that MMS would no work like any other phone. It was interestingly not included in the keynote, the biggest propaganda machine that could be mentioned here. Neither Keynote, gen 1 or 3G.



    The belief is it can text, it has a camera, it can do MMS.



    Oh...wait...it can't.



    Wow, big design flaw there.



    When pictures are sent to a server, they can be looked at by anyone before it gets to you.



    You may have been mostly anonymous numbers when you bought the phone, but.....



    How about this: I have a friend who works in the security business. He's israeli. They pioneered and perfected facial recognition.



    You have now sent numerous pictures to people via an email server on your phone.



    That's a pretty big database to work from.



    That's no privacy at all.



    That's a big design flaw.



    By blackberry pearl could send MMS, but AT&T disabled it on the iPhone.



    Yes, AT&T. You actually think apple had something to do with that? AT&T owns the transmission system, so instead of mocking this guy and being an apple Zealot (Hey, I own ALL apple ALL over my house, minus apple TV, and even I know they can screw up) why don't you agree to disagree or point out the real culprit in that scenario?



    As for the other issues mentioned with the phone, that ALL falls on apple, and when doing their iTunes updates, they could easily fix then and they haven't, so shame on them.
  • Reply 28 of 46
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    This is very true. I've been trying to explain this too. People don't seem to realize Apple has done nothing to directly stop jailbreaking/unlocking.



    This EFF suit pushes Apple into a corner where they are forced to declare jailbreaking illegal. Apple does not want to be legally limited to bring a suit at some point in the future.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    I think this argument misses the point though. No one is saying that jail-breaking should be shut down and the cops should come to your door and drag you into the street etc., least of all Apple. It's as you say, a techie hobbyist thing for the most part.



    It's the EFF that is stirring things up and suggesting that it be turned into an approved legal process. In other words they are arguing for the commercialisation of jailbreaking. To turn it from it's nudge-wink status into a thing that any company can legally do. If they are successful, you will see multiple app stores by various companies pop up all over the internet, and pirating applications will take off with a vengeance. Apple's business model will collapse, and all the legal applications will get much more expensive as a result.



    What's worse, is that now the EFF has filed their papers, they cannot be taken back. So whereas before Apple was fine with a bit of jailbreaking here and there, if Apple wins this, it will then be officially "illegal" to jailbreak. It will be classed as a direct violation of the DMCA with all those draconian penalties attached.



    This is a colossally stupid move by the EFF based on the outmoded idea that the iPhone is a "computer" that should be forced to run whatever software the average idiot wants to put on it. Probably because most of the folks at the EFF are still in 1970's mode.



  • Reply 29 of 46
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    AT&T makes pure profit from MMS, why would they want to prevent its use?



    Their isn't any MMS software on the iPhone AT&T has nothing to do with that.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Harleigh Quinn View Post


    By blackberry pearl could send MMS, but AT&T disabled it on the iPhone.



    Yes, AT&T. You actually think apple had something to do with that? AT&T owns the transmission system,



  • Reply 30 of 46
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lfmorrison View Post


    The people filing for this exception are probably doing so under the premise that a 3rd party (Apple) is using this law as an excuse to exert undue control over something that would otherwise be somebody else's private property.



    Pandora was also altruistic.
  • Reply 31 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    AT&T makes pure profit from MMS, why would they want to prevent its use?



    Their isn't any MMS software on the iPhone AT&T has nothing to do with that.



    And the other parts of the argument were ignored, but to focus on the argument, if the iPhone can send texts it's also capable of sending MMS. The fact it goes to a server is questionable. it shows it COULD send MMS, but the provider elected not to enable it.



    MMS and SMS work on the same principle, but it does one and not the other.



    Why? It's not a software issue as the process is pure data transmission.



    At this time it seems AT&T also make profit on the data package that comes with the iPhone, to the point the pricing went up for the 3G version.



    The argument had been that 3G was more expensive, but that framework was already implemented when it was still cingular



    (Talk about the biggest bankruptcy scam ever. Say you're bankrupt, sell off the cellular arm to many baby bells, then buy them back up right when it all looks profitable and you no longer have to pay the debts you filed bankruptcy on. If we could all do that, there would never be debt....)



    Since the profit model changed and they are now subsidizing the phone and off setting that subsidy with an inflated data plan over a two year period, then it stands to reason that they are making pure profit from this relationship, as the data plan over that time period is much more than the amount of just buying a phone.



    As for the server and MMS, the argument still stands that they get to look at what is being sent, the part of the message that was ignored.



    Remember, and I hate to be a conspiracy nut here, but remember they were never held to task nor have they ever removed the tapping to the trunk lines of their main communication network.



    SMS could be read, but must be referenced first. MMS is the same. The pictures going to a server is in essence an email sent to server that could be looked at by your network administrator at any time.



    That has nothing to do with apple and ALL to do with AT&T.



    it's a simple act of sending the pictures like anyone else does, via coded and parsed transmission, which they elected not to do.



    WHY?



    I don't see anything in the phone architecture that says it couldn't do that, so why doesn't AT&T just let it happen?
  • Reply 32 of 46
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    I support the EFF. Most people on this board would as well if it weren't Apple we were talking about. The proposed exemption doesn't require 1) iPhone users to jailbreak the phone, 2) doesn't require Apple to support a jailbroken phone, and 3) doesn't prevent Apple from suing for copyright infringement.



    It merely allows the iPhone to be jail-broken legally if the intent is to create interoperatable software. THe exemption likely would hardly have any effect on piracy. Most people aren't going to jailbreak the phone because they will not want Apple to void the warranty. Even so, if I buy something, I don't' want any company telling me what I can do with it. Especially a company's who's founders got their start selling illegal black boxes used to get free phone calls from pay phones.
  • Reply 33 of 46
    But my real issue, and what I was pointing out, was not to attack someone as any mac zealot would do, when someone points out flaws.



    The correct thing to have done was to point out those aspects have nothing to do with apple and all to do with the service provider and then address the issues that have to do with this forum and argument that address the APPLE practices directly.



    In my case, I am looking at jail breaking to fix bugs in the os, address preferences issues, and also to make t easier to type text into my phone via landscape keyboards.



    Those are easily correctable APPLE issues that have been addressed via Jail breaking.



    I do agree that the sluice gates would be open for all enterprises to attempt to sell apps for the iPhone if this goes through, but doesn't that happen with the Macs anyway? Not everyone that sells an application for a Mac is featured in the apple stores. There are many other applications out there, so it's not exclusive.



    This never would have come u or had much of an argument to stand on if apple had addressed the issues jail breaking addresses on their on, such as landscape keyboards and cut and paste. Also, if they had not been almost like microsoft in their restrictions and forcing all to play by their rules or don't play at all (Microsoft forcing the bundle of IE and windows on nearly every computer made? Why wasn't intel taken to task on that one?)
  • Reply 34 of 46
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    As much as people mostly laugh or roll their eyes when someone says this, I think it's a very key point.



    No one at EFF or similar organisations is arguing for XBox or PS3 to be opened up and they've both been around for years and years. The few times any consumer has suggested it, the arguments against it have always been the exact same ones Apple is using here also. But somehow now Apple is doing this it's a corporate "evil" that must be stopped in the name of "electronic freedom" or some such garbage.



    The reality is iPhone is being attacked because it's desirable. It's just a case of ..."But Mommy, I want it!!" and stamping their feet.



    Sadly the legal system, especially on political hot potatoes like copyright and DMCA, does not turn on the facts. In the current climate, the fact that Apple is right about this doesn't mean that the case will be decided in their favour at all.



    And along those same lines of what EFFs priorities are, why have they not petitioned the US Copyright Office to make an explicit ruling that using a tool such as MacTheRipper to copy my DVDs onto my hard drive is legal? It's pretty much the same arguement of circumventing protections for "allowing interoperability" that they are applying to the iPhone. Programs like MTR and Handbrake live in the shadows just like iPhone jailbreak tools do. If an exception to the DMCA is warranted for this case for the iPhone, it should be warranted for copying DVDs, which is supported by a large set of Fair Use doctrine. And in my opionion, such a ruling would benefit far more people than a jailbroken iPhone would.
  • Reply 35 of 46
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Harleigh Quinn View Post


    And the other parts of the argument were ignored, but to focus on the argument, if the iPhone can send texts it's also capable of sending MMS. The fact it goes to a server is questionable. it shows it COULD send MMS, but the provider elected not to enable it. MMS and SMS work on the same principle, but it does one and not the other. Why? It's not a software issue as the process is pure data transmission.



    Sorry but this is totally wrong.



    Quote:

    At this time it seems AT&T also make profit on the data package that comes with the iPhone, to the point the pricing went up for the 3G version.



    The argument had been that 3G was more expensive, but that framework was already implemented when it was still cingular.





    The original iPhone used 2G that is why the data plan cost less. AT&T 3G data plans always cost more. Once the iPhone used 3G then AT&T charged what it had always charged for its 3G service.
  • Reply 36 of 46
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    I'm not sure how you can suddenly take a stance you refuse to have a company telling you what you can or cannot do. All media content and software you've purchased over the past 20 years has come with restrictions on what you can and cannot do with it.



    The problem with this is that EFF are attempting to use the legal system to usurp Apple's chosen business model in a market where there is free and fair competition. The legal system should not open this can of worms.



    The market should be left to decide if Apple's model is viable or not. As other phone makers build desirable platforms that are good enough to compete with the iPhone, Apple will be forced by competition to loosen its restrictions. This should be left work itself out without legal intervention.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBell View Post


    I support the EFF. Most people on this board would as well if it weren't Apple we were talking about. The proposed exemption doesn't require 1) iPhone users to jailbreak the phone, 2) doesn't require Apple to support a jailbroken phone, and 3) doesn't prevent Apple from suing for copyright infringement.



    It merely allows the iPhone to be jail-broken legally if the intent is to create interoperatable software. THe exemption likely would hardly have any effect on piracy. Most people aren't going to jailbreak the phone because they will not want Apple to void the warranty. Even so, if I buy something, I don't' want any company telling me what I can do with it. Especially a company's who's founders got their start selling illegal black boxes used to get free phone calls from pay phones.



  • Reply 37 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    And along those same lines of what EFFs priorities are, why have they not petitioned the US Copyright Office to make an explicit ruling that using a tool such as MacTheRipper to copy my DVDs onto my hard drive is legal? It's pretty much the same arguement of circumventing protections for "allowing interoperability" that they are applying to the iPhone. Programs like MTR and Handbrake live in the shadows just like iPhone jailbreak tools do. If an exception to the DMCA is warranted for this case for the iPhone, it should be warranted for copying DVDs, which is supported by a large set of Fair Use doctrine. And in my opionion, such a ruling would benefit far more people than a jailbroken iPhone would.



    Hear hear!



    I'd personally like to see Apple take the bull by the horns and add a DVD slot to the AppleTV with an option to rip to your personal library. They talk about being bold leaders a lot, but they don't really have the guts to do stuff like that very often (or at all really).
  • Reply 38 of 46
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    This would be more trouble than its worth. This would completely destroy iTunes, not to mention the lawsuits from studios. All for the few people who bother with ripping DVD's.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    Hear hear!

    I'd personally like to see Apple take the bull by the horns and add a DVD slot to the AppleTV with an option to rip to your personal library. They talk about being bold leaders a lot, but they don't really have the guts to do stuff like that very often (or at all really).



  • Reply 39 of 46
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    This would be more trouble than its worth. This would completely destroy iTunes, not to mention the lawsuits from studios. All for the few people who bother with ripping DVD's.



    I agree that I wouldn't expect Apple to take it up because of their iTunes business, but the rest of your statement (lawsuits from studios and few people doing it) are exactly the point to my original post.



    The EFF claims it filed the iPhone request to remove the fear of being sued by Apple so developers were free to create applications that depended on jailbreaks. Thus they argue, there would be a more open market for developers to create applications to the benefit of consumers. And Apple still has all of their rights to protect their copyrights, etc.



    But consumers have billions of dollars invested in DVDs and there is no clear guidance as to if it's legal to rip those DVDs to put them on iPods, AppleTV, or any other media server device. The fear of studios suing based on the DMCA prevents commercial developers from creating an easy tool for consumers to get their movies onto those other devices, which I think would greatly increase the number of consumers doing it. iTunes does it legally for CDs. Someone could make a commercial app that does it for DVDs and places the copy in your iTunes library. The only thing that prevents such an app from being commercially developed is the DMCA.



    The studio's business model is that you must repurchase your movies as a digital download to watch a movie you already purchased on your AppleTV (or even your iPhone). This is even more consumer unfriendly that Apple's AppStore business model is. So why isn't the EFF fighting that, too?



    To your last point, I suspect there are far fewer people jailbreaking their iPhones than there are using handbrake and similar programs. So why did they pick this issue to fight and not DVDs?
  • Reply 40 of 46
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    The EFF claims it filed the iPhone request to remove the fear of being sued by Apple so developers were free to create applications that depended on jailbreaks. Thus they argue, there would be a more open market for developers to create applications to the benefit of consumers. And Apple still has all of their rights to protect their copyrights, etc.



    This really wasn't necessary because as long as Apple didn't feel threatened it has done nothing to directly stop jailbreaking. By forcing Apple's hand they will actually achieve the opposite effect of their stated goal.



    Quote:

    But consumers have billions of dollars invested in DVDs and there is no clear guidance as to if it's legal to rip those DVDs to put them on iPods, AppleTV, or any other media server device. The fear of studios suing based on the DMCA prevents commercial developers from creating an easy tool for consumers to get their movies onto those other devices, which I think would greatly increase the number of consumers doing it. iTunes does it legally for CDs. Someone could make a commercial app that does it for DVDs and places the copy in your iTunes library. The only thing that prevents such an app from being commercially developed is the DMCA.



    Its quite clearly stated that consumers are not allowed to break copy protection even for their own private use. It can be argued this has never been tested in the courts.



    CD's are different from DVD's because CD's didn't have copy protection and didn't have rules against copying for other uses. While movies have always had copy restriction.



    Studios have begun to experiment with offering digital copies of movies along with DVD's. That seems like a fair enough compromise to me. I don't typically buy DVD's so I haven't paid much attention to how wide spread or successful this has been.
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