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iPhone Jailbreaking Still Going Strong
snydeq writes "Despite the productivity promises of Apple's forthcoming 3.0 firmware update, jailbreaking should continue to push the iPhone's productivity envelope, as users increasingly demand the Holy Grail of smartphone power use: applications that run in the background, InfoWorld reports. Copy and paste, video recording and streaming, Internet tethering, and content search are just a few of the features over which iPhone users have sought to jailbreak their devices — a practice Apple itself has done little to crack down on. Jailbreak apps circumvent hardware and software restrictions that Apple says ensure a consistent, responsive user interface and optimal battery endurance. In particular, jailbroken phones can run apps in the background, a capability Apple reserves for its own apps but prohibits in third-party programs. Jay Freeman, creator of the Cydia iPhone installer and Cydia Store, however, believes a free-market approach is the best way to satisfy power users' demands for features without compromising the performance of their iPhones. And given Apple's App Store overcrowding, it seems likely that jailbroken phones and app venues like Cydia Store will continue to be popular with iPhone customers and developers, even after the 3.0 firmware ships."
...and here's why: Some company makes this, but you can't listen to music while using it. What a shame, what a waste. But they figured that if somebody is dumb enough to buy an iPhone then they're dumb enough to spend the dough on a fancy accessory that they believe they need to workout.
So?
I will end this thread with the notion, how in Nazi Germany, it was "against the EULA", to be Jewish, too.
So?
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
Only recently was all of this "this being the chance to work at Apple" laid to rest, ending several months of talks and bringing a close to the toughest challenge, by far, of my career to date. Following is an account of how it started, and yes, how it ended.
For years I've literally dreamed of working at Apple. Grinding my life away like a digital serf. Who hasn't? For a designer, its the holy grail of aesthetic accolade. Through a series of related events, a recruiter at Apple contacted a certain high-level person *cough* Woz *cough* in the industry. This person then asked me if I wanted my name in the collective applicant hat, which eventually produced a call from Woz himself. The timing couldn't have been better given the position they were looking to fill.
And what was the position for, you ask? Well, to protect Apples and Oranges right to secrecy, I wont disclose too many details. But suffice it say I would have been managing the design of a certain place within their site where they showcase a lot of product for newer stuff where the make widgets and then showcase product.
The Interviews
Officious little prick. On the heels of a few successful phone conversations, I was flown out on a cold November evening. Interviews with several members of the team were to be held the next morning. And yet here I was in a lush hotel room, almost pinching myself to be certain this was really happening. Am I really here in Cupertino? With my gay lover Rob Malda? Am I really about to interview with Apple tomorrow? No way. Yes way. No way.
The following morning I endured 6.5 hours " yes, I said 6.5 hours " of interviews. Straight through. Even lunch was an interview. The only breaks I enjoyed were spent in the mens room with my lover CmdTaco enjoying a commode taco.
Interviewing with several members on a team isn't unusual these days, especially at the likes of Google, Yahoo, and a host of other tech companies. Needless to say, however, fielding questions and selling yourself for nearly a full day is quite exhausting. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the team members were both fascinating and brilliant. Two of the designers I would have been working closely with were particularly savvy.
The interviews concluded, I returned home, and in the ensuing weeks Suzanne and I discussed it at length. And I mean at length. The pros. The cons. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The sacrifices.
Let it be said that the chance to work at Apple, the prestige that comes from doing so, and the challenge of working with a highly talented team was undeniably attractive. But regrettably, it was the other parts of the equation that werent, well, quite as attractive.
Weighing Pros and Cons
Amidst a veritable sea of pros and cons, two factors weighed heavily on the decision we'd end up making: cost of living and flexibility of schedule. And my gay lover, Rob Malda's future living with us as a eunuch slave.
Having grown up in the Bay Area and still in touch with family and friends, it came as no surprise that housing is quite affordable. One can talk all day about the economics of supply and demand and how the market is merely working towards equilibrium, but when the same humble home I have now in Utah is priced at 1/5th that of the cost in Cupertino " nearly a million dollar home " I'm left only to wonder where the buck will stop. Or in this case, where it doesn't.
Further, housing in the area isn't kind to a 60-member family. Being a sole provider of income for that same 6-member family isn't a kind proposal either. On top of all this, we were considering scenarios which reduced commute time, limiting ourselves to homes closer to Apple headquarters, and therefore driving the overall cost of living even higher.
But enough about money. How about the intangible pros and cons? Flexibility of schedule? Time with family? Freedom to speak at conferences, author articles, and the like on the clock instead of off?
Knowing Id have to dedicate myself 100% at
You're right, only metally disabled people would ever buy mac shit.
Apple sucks, and their IPhone will be hacked. Fuck it, Apple. You suck big asses.
jailbreaking (in windows) requires about 5 clicks from an installshield type application.
Apple, it Works, Just!
I just switched my phone on and used it. It Just Works. What is this Windows thing you speak of? - we're talking phones, not PCs.
Blimey, I love how any comment negative of Apple results in a torrent of abuse. The only one "blathering" here is you. "OMG RETARDED LOL" What are you, 12?
Yes, my phone Just Works with my computer if I want it to (e.g., I don't need to hack it in order to get basic things like "tethering" working). However, I expect my phone to Just Work Out Of The Box, and not have to lumber it to connecting it with a Windows box. If Iphones can't do that, well that's not the end of the world, but it's confusing since (a) they are held up as if they were the best phones on the market (e.g., consider all the Slashsdot Slashvertisements such as this story), and (b) the only reason that people can come up with for why they are good is that they "Just Work" - so when we get evidence that they don't in fact Just Work, it makes me suspicious of such claims.
Yes, we're talking phones here - which are now portable computers complete with their own Internet connection. Why should I need to have to strap it to a PC in order to get something working?
(see, they -- like you -- don't really 'get it' that a modern phone should be coupled with a modern user's computer). Apple, BTW, gets that.
What? Are you seriously suggesting that other phones don't do syncing with a computer? Please don't tell me you believe this as yet another Mythical Apple First? They've been doing it for years.
I entirely get that phones should integrate with computers (which Apple don't get, btw - see the example of tethering). What you don't get is that a phone should also be able to Just Work Out Of The Box on its own. A computer gives me extra optional features but it shouldn't be required to give me what other phones can do as standard.
You are confusing the difference between connecting to a computer to add features that are impossible for a phone to have on its own, versus needing to use a computer to remove some artificial constraint that only exists on the Iphone.