Another Reason Not to Own an iPhone
Show your support:
Actually, this is a reason to boycott
all Apple products. Apple wants to make it illegal -- as in, federally enforced -- for you to install unapproved software on your phone. Following some back links from another story, I found
this alarming item from February:
One of the key legal arguments is whether installing software on an iPhone that is not sold through Apple's iTunes store is an infringement of Apple's copyright. The E.F.F. argues that it does not and that Apple's motivation is simply to preserve its revenue from software sales.
Apple argues that its copyright is infringed, in part because its reputation and potential to profit from iPhone sales in the future is hurt because jailbroken* phones may be more subject to bugs and security flaws.
Imagine if Microsoft adopted that logic. "Unapproved PC software may be more subject to bugs. Our reputation and profits could be damaged. Therefore, installing unapproved software infringes our copyright."
The people who believe that your phone is
yours -- like your computer is yours -- have started the
Free Your Phone campaign. These days, with phones becoming more like -- and being used like -- personal computers, it's even more important to stand up for computing freedom...and to not allow
any legal precedents which might be stretched to your PC.
You wouldn't buy a desktop PC that only lets you install "approved" applications software from the vendor. Don't buy a handheld PC, even if it's called a "phone," with that restriction.
* Despite the alarming name, "jailbreaking" an iPhone has nothing to do with theft. It simply means unlocking an iPhone so that third-party software can be installed, or so that it can be used with another cellular carrier.
Update: upon further reading, I think that "jailbreaking" refers strictly to installing unapproved software. Making an iPhone usable with another cellular carrier
is called "unlocking."
Brad
- Monday 27 April 2009 - 06:30:28
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