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iPad Jailbroken
A day after the release of Apple's tablet computer, a hacker claims to have gained root access to the iPad. "A well-known hacker of the iPhone, who previously defeated Apple's restrictions on developers, has claimed in a video to have hacked the iPad. Just a day after release, the hacker, who goes by 'MuscleNerd' online, said that he has gained root access to the iPad..."
If you'd get a normal tablet or computer, you wouldn't need to jailbreak it. Apple is moving us towards closed computer environments. If Microsoft did this everyone would be angry about it, but now that it's Apple its all fine and classy.
MuscleNerd is a pretty active contributor on the iPhone dev team, and has assisted significantly in finding vulnerabilities to SIM-unlock and jailbreak the iPhone with. It was only a matter of time, anyway.
Jailbroken or not, the iPad is still locked into Apple. There are much better alternatives to the iPad which will allow you freedom over your own device.
If it weren't for Apple and Steve you'd all be owned by some commie mobster by now. Thank Apple, and THANK YOU STEVE JOBS!!
.Jailbroken or not, the iPad is still locked into Apple.
If it were, what would be the point?
In fact the whole point of Jailbreaking is to be able to ALSO run stuff Apple didn't approve, from Cydia or other sources.
Or to do your own development without going through Apple (though a $99/year barrier is hardly off-putting).
You can also continue to run Apple approved apps too, but it's hardly "locked" to be given a full range of options including commercial ones sold through Apple...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
why do we care?
People who buy this device are buying into the environment created for the device by Apple. As such, someone gaining root access to the device that Apple will analyze and patch, and you *still* won't be able to use the app store for... seems like a waste.
So, I ask again... why do we care?
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If you'd get a normal tablet or computer, you wouldn't need to jailbreak it. Apple is moving us towards closed computer environments.
Apple still sells laptops you know. And desktops. And the continue to improve both.
The other platforms are just as open as ever, they are not moving to a closed model.
Indeed, if Apple had done just what so many people on Slashdot demanded, and released the same OS X shipping on the laptops with an Apple app store then I could see something of a point, of a direction Apple wanted you to go that was entirely closed.
But instead they continue to do just what they have been doing, which is in ADDITION to growing an open platform, they are also growing a closed one as well so that people who gain no benefit from an open platform can gain the benefits of integration that come with a closed one.
And if in fact you thought the matter over carefully, you'd see that in fact Apple is still leaning just ever so much toward the open platform anyway since they are on the leading edge (along with Google) of full HTML 5 support on the "closed" platform that anyone can develop applications for featuring local storage, offline access, and all sorts of platform integration with things like the GPS and accelerometer...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
"In MY impression there is a preponderance of Apple-hating commenters here on Slashdot."
I think you'll find that about 20% of posters hate Apple, 20% would defend Apple if they were killing babies, and the rest don't care. Since you're an unabashed fan of Apple, I think you've adopted a bunker-like mentality that makes you feel that unless you're very complimentary to Apple that you hate them and you need to speak up to defend the honor of poor beleaguered Apple.
If you got a normal tablet or computer it'd suck. If I wanted that I could have, and did, buy it a decade ago. If Microsoft locked up the platform it'd be unbearable because the default platform would be so poorly designed, buggy, and lacking of basic functionality. You'd still be able to get a virus but you wouldn't be able to remove it.
The only reason to jailbreak the iPad IMO is to do connection sharing. I'd imagine the restrictions on THAT exist so that AT&T and others are willing to give such cheap data plans.
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
Apple is good at marketing to the hipster market. Each hipster has a large supply of money they can spend, but didn't actually work for. It mainly comes from each hipster's parents and/or trust funds.
Now, Apple has gotten a lot of money from these hipsters in the past, and will likely get more in the future. This makes it look like their ideas are "good" to the executives at competing manufacturers, even when they're very fucked ideas (you know, like closed platforms).
After seeing Apple's success, HP, Dell, Google, Microsoft and others will try to emulate it by producing their own shitty tablets built upon closed platforms with shitty "app stores" and all of that crap. So now when you go to buy a computer, you'll get stuck dealing with all this nonsense.
You won't be able to buy an open tablet, all thanks to Apple and their success tricking their competitors into thinking that closed-platforms are the way to go.
Perfect example for why Slashdot needs a "-1 WTF" mod.
It's probably good for browsing porn. I hate always having to boot a full OS for just to browse porn. It looks super portable too, so I'd be able to browse porn from just about anywhere. It has a fairly big screen, which would be good for browsing porn. And good battery life so I could browse porn for long periods of time. The touch screen is nice, so I'd be able to touch the porn I'm browsing. It has good Internets connections, so I'd be able to browse lots of porn fast. I don't think it's good for much else. I think I'm sold.
The Kindle is an e-book reader, not a tablet PC.
The iPad is an overgrown iPod Touch, not a tablet PC. For one thing, "PC" in Apple marketing language usually refers to Lenovo-compatible hardware running an operating system made by Microsoft.
You're still bound by Apple's environment. It's like having a laptop where you can't change your OS and in order install more applications you have to hack it.
Actually, Jailbreaking means you CAN change the core workings of the OS if you choose - you can replace any executable on the device, or (even better thanks to the Objective-C runtime) you can easy drop in replacements for individual methods in applications, commercial or built-in (like Springboard).
Your original point was "jailbroken or not", you cannot simply now stick your head in the sand and pretend it's impossible to jailbrake to proclaim of shortcomings that matter only to technical users (exactly the ones with the skills needed to jailbrake, though the iPhone tools were easy enough you didn't have to be especially technical).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
There are much better alternatives to the iPad which will allow you freedom over your own device.
I have money burning a hole in my pocket, and I feel like voting with my wallet. Can you recommend a brand of tablet PC, with a screen comparable to that of the iPad (that is, bigger than an iPhone-sized Android phone), without cryptographic software lockdown, and around the $500 price range or below?
and the people in this column must have been in line very early to buy one and share their insights about the iPad. And they must have been making long hours since, to be able to entertain us with their precise comparison to other devices... Sorry, I will come back after I have had the thing actually in my hands...
Well, that didn't take long!
When I can tether the $499 iPad with my iPhone, I'll probably get one to replace my Acer Aspire One.
I have the money for the 3g version, but the idea of paying for two unlimited data plans is just offensive to me.
plus I can buy and fit / swap batteries with one button, use the webcam, burn dvd's, watch true HD on the 1920x1200 screen, etc etc etc...
obviously I haven't drunk the apple kool-aid
http://slashdot.org/~GuyFawkes/journal
Including anything. Any piece of hardware that you buy to own belongs to you
In that case, watch these devices not be sold at all. Instead, the manufacturer will lease a device to you on a 20-year term with full payment up front, after which the lessee is expected to ship the device back. Because the manufacturer still owns the device, it can continue to place such demands on lessees.
Unless you buy a stand, you need to hold the device with one hand to keep it angled so you can look at it and if your other hand is busy that means you have no way to change pictures, etc.
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
Come on, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, we all know it's you behind the lame nickname !
(Great punchline to episode 18 though !)
Running software not designed for it is not the real issue here. The issue is what is a stake and how appropriate the lockdown is.
apple tends to argue for "speed bump" DRM. basically make something difficult enough or a sufficient game of cat and mouse on the one hand (the speed bump) and and offer an express lane you can pay for. So for example, itunes. you can break the audio files if you want to. they impose some speed bumps to make it not worth your effort. then they offer enhanced value for staying in the itunes eco-system: the seemless updates to the ipod, cover art access, organization of the meta data, safe store, etc... All things you could do on your own but would most people would prefer it to happen magically rather farting around with bit torrent or sending your credit card to some russian mafia website.
Now for somethings like the iphone they have taken a much more agressive lockdown. I rationalize that by thinking about what they are protecting. You don't want crazy shit happening on a cell phone. so you make it hard to install anything not vetted by the mothership. Even the android market has this vetting. It's not that you can't do it. they just make it even harder. people will get much more enraged if their cell phones crash or the cell network itself starts malfunctioning.
SO that makes sense.
the Ipad is sort of in the middle regime so it's going to be more of a test of how apple wants to go. it's really more of a general purpose computer. some units don't have cell phones in them, and even those are not there primarily for voice but for data.
so you could see them going either way on this one. My suspiscion is they will try to maintain the lockdown. that's what they did with the ipod touch (which is not a cell phone).
The new rationale will be that this is an appliance not something you are supposed to mess with. protection for content owners will be seen as paramount over make-like access to the internals. Byt treating it as a appliance that protects content owners they will be able to more freely provide content without onerous access modalities. This will keep the device behaving more like an appliance than a computer.
COntrary to cory doctrow I see this as good. why? well it's not an either or situation, it's an all of the above. If I want true access to my computer then I should buy a computer that allows this. it's called a laptop. I can put linux on it. it's mine to mod. But I should expect that I'll also run into access restrictions from content owners. I might find that less user freindly. On the other hand if I want easy access then there's this appliance I can use for that. I can't modify it. that's the trade, but it's a trade that gives me a value I want.
you could wish for both in one device and if this were easy to provide then someone will do it.
but because both devices, laptop and appliance exist, I have not lost anything.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
I'm looking forward to doing some of the excellent unsanctioned things jailbroken iPhones can do on my iPad, such as lock screen calendar, weather and notifications, Palm Pre-style multitasking, video wallpaper, themes etc.
Unfortunately, one of us is misinformed. If you could point me to any phones or tablet PCs running Microsoft operating systems that have locked down application distribution pipelines, I'd be surprised. It has been my understanding that I can write a program for any Microsoft OS, put it on my website, and let anyone run it without Microsoft's permission.
The Xbox is the only exception I'm aware of, and in many ways it is still the most open mainstream game console on the market (for developers).
Insert self-referential sig here.
Firefox says that Google says that this site has viruses or browser exploits in it...
For the love of God people! WTF is wrong with you guys? It is a freaking mass produced consumer product, not the elixir of youth or manna from heaven. It is also not the Dajjal (AntiChrist) either. Do you vehemently argue over the merits/evils of your washing machine or your sink's waste disposal unit? If people want to buy a severely crippled product, it is their own decision to make and money to spend. You do not lose anything if someone else buys it. Similarly, if people don't like a particular Apple/Microsoft/Boeing/Airbus/Sienar/Incom etc. product, then they are not committing heresy against the Holy name of the Immortal Omniscient God Emperor either. Get it into your heads people! There is no obligation on you to support or hate a freaking mass-production, soulless commercial entity.
Because it does.
Wow! A republican found slashdot - what are the chances of that happening again?
apple will not be able to do this on a desktop / full laptop and with M$ tried this the US GOV will stop it so fast.
apple hardware lock in is bad but a app store lock in with fees for people to make free apps and a 30% cut of sales for payed apps will KILL MAC OS X.
That's ok, they don't run on the iPad. Guess where they do?
He must have a Bowflex in his 'command center'.
most of us don't care! the itampon might have 2 or 3 news worthy posts - when it's released with a review, when it can multitask, when people find out it's an over priced undered featured laptop.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
I was in Best Buy a week ago (that is, pre-iPad), and I didn't see a tablet PC running Windows or Linux.
Didn't Microsoft introduce TabletPC in 2001? Aren't there lots of iPad killers about to hit the shelves? Didn't the iPad *just* launch?
How is Apple monopolizing the market for tablet computing devices?
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
Its just your prejudiced. Its NOT fine when Apple does it - and those who us with just a bit of IQ would NEVER buy an Apple product!
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Probably on MacOS, Windows, Linux.
So far only ePub format is supported in iBooks and I don't know about their further plans, but you most certainly can copy your own books onto the device. You can also use its full blown PDF reader with pinch zoom, full UNICODE support (the reason why I did not buy the Kindle is it's shitty with both of those things), color, international keyboard, and the screen is almost the same resolution.
And yes, this is typed on an iPad. Try that with your kindle sometime.
Musclenerd is a significant contributor to the jailbreak scene, however I would like to see credit go to the proper people. He says that in his tweet "Courtesy to spirit" which is the jailbreak that posixninja and comex had been working on for the past couple of months. In this instance, he is posting a video to confirm it works, not take credit.
there is a reason Apple do it. Steve Jobbs was so angry that Bill Gates used copied Apple software to seel to Japanese computer makers to compete with Apple, that he forever felt violated by that, and since then Apple has always been hardware dependent.
If you'd get a normal tablet or computer, you wouldn't need to jailbreak it. Apple is moving us towards closed computer environments. If Microsoft did this everyone would be angry about it, but now that it's Apple its all fine and classy.
If you got a normal system you'd have to put up with the regular crap of a normal system. This isn't a "normal" system, this is an appliance--like a television or stove or washing machine or automobile (all of which nowadays often have chips and firmware). People don't go around bitching about not being able to load arbitrary bits in their washing machines--though they could if they replaced the chips--so what's the big deal about the new appliance from Apple? Do people complain that they can't load any program they want on an iPod shuffle or nano?
As for Microsoft, they do it in the few appliances they do sell, like the Zune and Xbox. These have a CPU and memory and storage, yet they aren't generally considered "computers" as such. You can certainly get into the hardware that you own and start fiddling with bits--just like you can with an iPhone or iPad--but that's not what they're being billed as. Ditto for Sony: they have "computers", and they have appliances like the PS3.
If you want an general purpose computer, buy a general purpose computer. If you want an appliance, buy the iPad. Just because it has a CPU, memory, and storage doesn't make it a "computer". You can certainly technically run anything you want on the ARM-based processor--just like you can on the dashboard of (say) a BMW--but that doesn't mean that's its purpose.
You must look at the purpose of the thing, and judge on that. If you want to go hacking it that's your prerogative (just as on the Xbox, or PS3), but IMHO your judgement is disingenuous.
Jail-break or not, the DRM alone is enough reason for me to not to even consider Apple's iPad and iPhone. I want to be able to watch porn or whatever and install any software I want on my device. Apple can disagree, fine, but I don't need to buy their DRM-crippled crap.
No one said fanboi, and it was you yourself that placed you in the category of enthusiastic supporter of apple. I personally don't like the term because it makes otherwise masculine folks like yourself seem like waif-boys who are androgynous and rarely seen not wearing a dark hoodie.
But back to the ultimate point, you're being a fanboi if you claim that the Apple fanboi phenomenon doesn't exist. It does and I find it amusing in the extreme. The iPad is somewhat interesting not because of it's capabilities, but primarily to see people's overreaction in both directions on the product.
My gf got an iPad and I got to play around with it today. I was pretty skeptical of the device but all-in, I enjoyed using it. The iBook reader is ok, but you can get a Kindle reader as well and get to all your kindle books. The Kindle app blows away the iBook app hands down and makes navigating a book, something which is a pain on the kindle, very seamless. I was really interested in the PDF reader capabilities and some of the 3rd party ones were pretty slick. The only things I didn't like were the heft (at 1.5 lbs it's a bit heavy) and the fact that within a couple of minutes the thing was covered with my greasy fingerprints
.
I think they have done a good job with the store. First, as a guy who works in the software industry, I don't think it's a moral sin to charge people, or even pay people for software. On the contrary, I kind of enjoy it as it allows me to do things like eat, and buy clothing and shelter. Sure it's a "closed ecosystem" but it's an ecosystem that includes things like quality control, and usability ratings from normal human beings, as opposed to a wild west free-for-all run by snarky programmers. Granted, that's a bad thing for people who want to screw around with trying to get an xterm window running on the device but pretty good for people who are, for example, using it for real work like study organic chemistry, medical research, or god forbid watch a movie. Just sayin'. This device does what most people want it to do. They don't give a flying fuck about "software freedom". They just want it to do cool shit. Which it does.
Do I need one? Nah. Not at all. Would I get one? Maybe. Depends on what apps come out and/or what V2 looks like.
Perhaps the GP meant that Microsoft is the only alternative to Apple, and that Russian programmers can easily circumvent Windows security. That still doesn't explain how they would get into my Linux box.
As someone who has enjoyed using a ultra-mobile device for many years now, starting with Palms and currently a n810, how does an iPad stack up with something like the n810?
Clearly the iPad has a bigger screen but that is the only true advantage I see for it. It is heavier than my n810 which comes in at 226g vs 680/730g for the iPad. However given that it is bigger and thus you can grip it better I'm not seeing that a a huge problem. (However I'd be lying if I said that even at 226g the n810 can get annoying to hold for extended periods of time.)
Furthermore the n810 is almost fully open. Easily open enough for everything I do with it. Ebook reading, watching videos/listening to music, remote connections via SSH/RDC, scanning WiFi, an alarm, etc. It is by no means perfect but it's very very good when I'm on the couch/lazy-boy.
That is the slot that I would see an iPad, or any tablet like device, filling for me. But given that it's closed, save for having to jailbreak it to open it up, and the current price tag it seems like all I'd be getting is a bigger screen with less flexibility. (I can even watch flash when I'm at home via RDCing to one of my main computers!) And don't get me a bigger screen would be nice but if anyone has used something like a n810 and now a tablet how do they stack up?
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
Since my iPad is on WiFi and I didn't pay anything for a data plan.
I can verify that it doesn't impact Lynx. :) I can also verify that it's a PDF, so it likely impacts Windows and Apple computers.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
Give me a paperback book anytime. At least then I can do whatever I want with it, including use the pages of the book as toilet paper if i think the book is just a piece of trash. If I like it, I can lend it to a friend, or put it on a shelf for 20 years and then pick it up and read it without worrying if the batteries will still work, if a capacitor has leaked, etc.
But whenever I hear the name "iPad", for some reason I think of "MaxiPads" and that maybe it should be called the "iMaxiPad."
Your ideas interest me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Let me take a few moments to describe what causes so many malware and virus attacks - something that the Slashdot crowd has complained about time and time again. All those Windows machines out there which are "open" and "unsecured".
So many words have been written about machines running with administrator access being the cause of so many botnets and other problems on the web. Each time this comes up, the solution is always to lock down the machines and only allow users to run with limited access.
So here you are: a tablet that is locked down and only allows users to run with limited access. It's what you security freaks have been dreaming about for years - but somehow this isn't a solution - it's a problem. Do you realize how this makes you look? I suspect not.
So you want it to be open and unsecured - but only for you because you're special. All the other folks should have it locked down instead. Yeah, right - why don't you wish for a pony, too? You don't get it both ways so figure out what's really important to you before you mash your big hairy finger down on the "reply" button.
It is not MuscleNerd who developed the jailbreak. He was merely demonstrating the jailbreak dubbed "Spirit", developed by comex.
A well-known hacker of the iPhone, who previously defeated Apple's restrictions on developers, has claimed in a video to have hacked the iPad.
It's not surprising that a veteran iPhone hacker was able to root the iPad right away. After all, they have very similar hardware.
Property is theft.
I can verify that it doesn't impact Lynx. :) I can also verify that it's a PDF, so it likely impacts Windows and Apple computers.
See this previous discussion on Slashdot. It's not the website, it's the banner ad companies allowing a Russian(?) group of script kiddies to buy ad space and immediately redirect to an infected PDF file. Happens on a LOT of websites, including the base msn.com page occasionally. DeviantArt is a particularly bad offender. I've apparently made a career out of walking ignorant Southern United States women through removing these things over the phone.
(Yes, it's my own personal hell, why do you ask?)
Now, Wake me up when MuscleNerd has added Flash, Multi-Tasking and a firewire port to that overhyped paperweight, meantime, I'm off to read a book. A Real Book.
Apple would not be able to do this on a desktop / full laptop. {sentence deleted because it made no sense}
Apple hardware lock in is bad, but an app store lock in with fees for people to make free apps and a 30% cut of sales for payed apps will KILL MAC OS X.
Fixed it! Damn you make my OCD itch!
The game.
Listen to this man! He has a good taste in food!
At the end of the day, its the same BSD base isn't it? (I'll be honest, I have no idea really...)
That alone would allow someone to figure out root access eventually, the same way Linux does.
Uh-huh. Try reading a book on the iPad -- at the beach.
Don't get me wrong, I think the iPad will be great. But it's not an e-reader. The problem with e-ink is that it's not a mature technology. Apple is playing it smart here - stay out of the e-ink business until you can have color, or at least monochrome at a speed that is acceptable, and without that annoying "screen flash" as pixels rearrange when you turn pages. Once you can do that I think Apple will jump in and we'll see iPads with eink options (or perhaps some other kind of e-ink display appliance, maybe even a usable web browser). Why should Apple release an e-ink device that is just as annoyingly slow as all the others out there, when they can wait until all the tech is in place and jump in at the last minute with a device that gets it right, and then take credit for having practically invented the e-reader, the way they did with the mp3 player and the smartphone?
I just went ahead an stole an iPad, and *then* jailbroke it.
I can't wrap my head around all the fuss about the iPad being a closed device. So what if you can't get root out of the box? This means that novice users can't break it easily. The Apple experience is an experience where "it just works." The Macintosh, the iMac, and OSX are all products of bringing users to wonderful applications, technologies, experiences, and opportunities in a method that "just works." You don't have to set dip switches, you hardly ever have to install a driver, you don't need to find a missing .dll and you don't need to compile anything. You just point, click, and use. There is a HUGE market for this, especially if you were born before 1970. I think cars are a good analogy - buy a 1969 Chevy with a 350 in it and when you open the hood, boom, you had all access. Swap headers, put in a better carb, even make the air intake stick out of the hood. But if you screwed up the timing chain or used the wrong alternator, you bricked your car. Buy a new BMW, look under the hood, and you see a nice clean BMW logo and a lot of plastic covers. They made it, they made it as well as they could, and if you mess with it you'll probably screw it up!!
Apple has always done the same thing by keeping its logo nice and shiny on top and engineering everything underneath so that it works. I'm not a drone and I like jailbreaking my phone so I can customize it, but most of the good ideas that were coded and created by other software engineers was eventually integrated into the Apple experience. Think Soundjam for iTunes. I'm sure Apple has future OS' for the phone and pad that lets you do whatever you wanted to when it was jailbroken but stock. They just can't think of everything the first time around OR they didn't want to release the device with those features since it cut down on performance (my jailbroken iPhone runs much slower than the stock version).
All I'm sayin is just 'cause they put out a great device without root access doesn't mean you don't have full ownership and it doesn't mean that they are creating more consumer drones. They are putting out a product that works to spec and their record shows that the keep improving in my opinion.
What pray tell will the US government do. The US govt did not lift a finger during the MS trials in Europe, where they were found guilty. Nor in the SCO lawsuits when MS was found to be giving financial aid to SCO nor any other time and Microsoft is a convicted abusive monopoly in at least 3 major governments including the US (EU and Korea, Taiwan seems to get special privileges as well for some reason).
You're assuming Apple cares. They outsell Iphone's and Ipods to Macs by at least a factor of 10 to 1. At least, I estimate it would be in the order of 20-40 to 1. Maybe Apple wants to kill OS X now that Iphone OS has become the golden goose. It certainly fits Apple's control uber alles MO.
There is a significant cost in maintaining disparate OS's as well, but more importantly it kills apple's "Just Works" marketing if a user needs to determine if they have the correct version of Apple's OS in order to get something to run. But this is besides the point, Apple will bring this to the desktop not because it gives them more money but because it gives them more control.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
The issue is [...] how appropriate the lockdown is.
I think I agree. How does one measure the propriety of building the lock down, though? Do we measure what the population want vs. what Apple wants? In the mathematical model of free markets, what's good for sellers is good for buyers; do we have a market failure going on here? There are a lot of questions one can ask here, some more useful than others, some more urgently in need of an answer than others, but everybody in this debate ought to know the questions.
Apple tends to argue for "speed bump" DRM.
No matter how you twist and turn it, "speed bump DRM" is imposing artificial limitations in the service of someone's profitability, and not the user's.
Yes, there's an argument that ensuring someone else's profitability is also in the user's interest (see the copyright rationale). But if people really bought into the "I give up my rights temporarily to have better music" argument, why would you need DRM? If there is DRM, does that make people buy into the argument more often? Or is DRM always counter to the user's interest?
You don't want crazy shit happening on a cell phone.
Be very careful here: Apple's various goals is one thing, their strategies for achieving them are another.
Wanting high quality secure software is a fine thing. Wanting your users to have that is fine too.
That doesn't mean that every way of reaching that goal is justified.
For instance, Apple couldn't have turned "not vetted by mothership" into warnings rather than errors and let the user proceed anyways. Then the user can have all the benefits of someone else's auditing and their own freedom.
but it's a trade that gives me a value I want.
I think that's the most important point here: this is something you want. How many people want the same thing? How many fully informed people want the same thing?
I think that arguing that what Apple is doing is good/bad, right/wring, smart/dumb based on "what I want" is a rather risky proposition.
So... uhm... thanks for letting us know what you (in my eyes a random internet stranger) likes and dislikes? Or did you say something more?
You do not lose anything if someone else buys it.
If other people use an insecure operating system on a net-connected device (i.e. Windows on PC) I get more spam and less bandwidth.
If I use OpenVMS and everybody else uses Linux, no one's going to write games/drivers/... for my OS.
If everybody buys a device because of the slick UI, and the device implements a certain policy, then that policy becomes the norm, and future device makers might not give me an alternative to a policy I don't want.
Things cause other things to happen. People buying an iPad or two won't, but everybody and their brother owning an iPad will.
Somebody had to say it, right? Right.
I'm really not all that interested in a closed thing, however well designed, that I know I'll be fighting with the former owner of, just for the right to actually use it.
Really, Apple needs to just give it up. Don't sell the damn things at all. Just make it the iRentalPad, that way they can continue their onerous culture, and take care of the iRecycling at the same time.
That's probably the primary reason for making the batteries so damn tough to replace, if you think about it. Since they actually are trying to sell the things, despite wanting to continue owning them, making sure they come back for "repair" and "service" just completes the deal, with no iFool the wiser...
Blogging because I can...
That said, you'd avoid these touch screen keyboard devices anyways if you've ever actually compared them with physical keyboard devices, like Blackberrys and Nokias. Blackberry and Nokia make drastic design choices optimized around typing email messages. Apple sells a video game platform with email on the side.
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
From TFA:
> A lot of people complained about the iPad’s closed-off software. But no one did anything about it
for a whole THIRTY SECONDS!
Installing non windows won't void your warranty, that's just bullshit made up to make Apple seem nicer or at least no worse than Microsoft (and you REALLY ought to be wondering why you're going "at least we're no worse than MS!", rather like the US saying they're better than China or North Korea...). What you lose is your warranty that your hardware will work with the SOFTWARE.
You still have your warranty. If the Graphics card fails, you still have your warranty. If your hard drive fails, you still have your warranty.
Stop peddling bullshit to protect your Lord And Master.
I have been asked for computer helps around my circle of friends for a decade now, and each time I can't help thinking that computer is not really suited for normal consumers. Computers are really only suited for programmers or at least techies. Ipad, in my opinion, really changes it and is starting a trend of building "consumer computers". As a consumer product, the consumer is not supposed to have a course before using the product; and the product is not supposed to get "broken" easily; and once the product is broken, the consumers are not supposed to fix it by themselves. And from my experience, 90% of current computer users are really just normal consumers that really shouldn't be using a computer. They have been stuck with computers due to lack of alternatives.
For these thoughts, most of current complaints against ipad, in my opinion, are actually the right directions for the new era of computing or more significantly, the new era of software. Software that sell to normal consumers need to limit their scope and capabilities and narrow its target users; and the restrictions of the hardware platforms it runs will help greatly. The "jail" in the ipad is not just a jail that locks the app in, but more a jail that protects from the outside random visitors; it provides a predictable environment to the app. And if you have been in the coding industry, you understand this predictability is a godsend. With it, the software will change its reputations of being buggy and complicated.
However, I do see two salts in current apple deployment. Its reliance on the tethering to a computer and their attitude toward hacking. Why Ipad have to be connected to itunes for its content? Well, since almost all current consumers of ipad is using a computer, it is a good assumption that they won't have problem connecting their ipad to a computer. But "can" doesn't mean it is necessary. In my opinion, it is totally unnecessary and should be made "optional". And why apple are against jailbreaking? For us techies, we need the functions of outside this jail and we are responsible enough not to complain to apple when we messed up outside the jail, so "we" are not really worth apple to worry about. And for most consumers, most of them don't really have a need to hack their ipad, just as they don't have a need to hack their toasters. And if they did hack their toasters, they sure will understand that their warranty has been voided, right? Does apple worry that thse hacking activity will affect their sales of ipad? How?
I think the real worry of 'jailbreaking" is the effect on their itune store. But just as how the music industry evolved, it is inevitable and it is not necessary a bad thing. Itunes thrives after the fail of CD, and I think the non-expensive app store model will provide a solution to the current software pirating problems. I see jailbreaking or generally, hardware hacking are futile to fight against. Surely, smart as Steve, he sees it as well, right? He must know something I don't. Is it for the publicity?
For reading there is no display technology comparable to e-ink.
Perhaps you haven't heard of this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper
All the comments around here are all about how iPad is overpriced and stuff or how superior it is to it's competition. Here is the time for something different : congratulations. Cracking the iPad in 24 hours sure wasn't a piece of cake (or maybe it was?) and I must thank the guy who has done this in the name of all iPad owners (don't own one, don't plan to) because of the freedom it gives them, whether they realise it or not. They chose the most closed and evil competitor but, now, things are different.
I am with the I-don't-like-shiny-computers poster above as far as computer preferences go, but I have to hand it to you, that was a beautiful reply you penned.
The real question here is what are you interested in tinkering with. Some people like to tinker with computers and some people like to tinker with any of a myriad other things. Very few people like to tinker with more than a few things, though, and expect almost everything else they own to "just work".
I don't care how well written my furnace's user manual is, or how well designed the controls are, I haven't the slightest interest in learning its fundamentals. If it stops working, I call an HVAC guy to fix it.
I am NEVER buying Apple again. So count me in the ANGRY category if you like.
Mind you, Apple has always lead innovation for PCs and laptops, and now mobiles. However, converting to Apple has made me realize the benefits of open standards and open hardware the hard way:
- XP/Bootcamp on Macbook Pro/Apple hardware is a buggy and dubious implementation, not supported properly by either Apple or Microsoft (should have gone by intuition before I bought it).
- iPhone had to be unlocked to be usable the way I need, and still I find very few good apps to be worth anything due to everyone being on the "sell simplest app for a dime" bandwagon rather than creating more engrossing / encompassing apps. Why can't I easily send pictures, MMS, smileys, tether etc in 2010 with a 400$ mobile device?
- OS X has the same problem, whereas Linux and Windows have thousands of free software and freeware which works just great and can be customized. OS X is locked down, hard to customize and lacks versatile apps.
- iPhone / OS X UI is a plus, for a few days. Then the limitations often creep in and due to closed nature of the software, is unable to be amended.
Since Microsoft is making their settings more complex and abuses CPU and harddrive space uncritically with their aggressive caching processes (read harddrive trashing like it's the 90's all over again), I'm stuck with XP for now. Neither Vista or Win7 satisfies as an "improved product" over XP, even with more RAM and CPU power available today..
Linux is great as a server, but will always lack in the desktop department it seems. Open Office is sadly no serious contender for MS Office. I believe they need to get rid of Java in order to get anywhere.
So fuck u Apple, for closing down computing hardware and software.
And fuck u Microsoft, for implementing dubious improvements which leads to worse utilization of hardware, which is a no-no for an Operating System (OS).
Hail to free software and open source heroes. People like you CREATE the standardized platforms internet is built on, and leads innovation and free-thinking into new levels all the time. Way to go!
Hail also to Google and Wikipedia, for making information more available for free.
However, also MS Office gets 5 1/2 stars in my book. Nothing in computing have given so much flexibility and power to so many.. Being a programmer it gives me even more power, and for instance using just the formulas in Excel, I don't need to overcomplicate things if I can avoid it. 5 1/2 stars.
In addition to the other links you're getting about Kindle Hacking, which doesn't seem to be too hard and opens up a world of Linux possibilities, there's also an official Kindle Development Kit.
There might be a truly locked down device out there, and it's annoying that more manufacturer's don't make their devices more open platforms, but I don't know how much there is to complain about, really. The bottom line is that for most people who actually care about how open their devices are, there's usually a way to get what they want, even if it isn't what they want out of the box.
Tweet, tweet.
Dude, the iPad is single-tasking. So if he was typing that post with one hand, then apparently the implication that he was pleasuring himself to... Slashdot.
I need to go clean my brain now...
... as the next guy, but - I've got an iPhone with many gigs of music... all as MP3s. I don't use it for reading that much, but I have read a few books... as PDFs or HTML. There are a lot of ePub books out there. You can get tons of free video from YouTube.
There are plenty of reasons to dislike the iUniverse - but "locked down content" is not really one of them. There's tons of open content out there, and iDevices play it quite nicely.
I've been hearing this for so long that I finally have to speak up. Yes, I've been reading hundreds of books on a LCD screen (NEC MobilePro 900c). For years. With zero disconfort. No, I'm not a teenager with wonderful eyesight. I don't wear glasses either and I don't feel that my eyesight has dimished any in all those years. Eye exams once a year have confirmed that.
Do you think that maybe, dunno, setting the font size and background color might help? As
in, not attempting to stare at minuscule letters on a bright white background? Use large fonts (as large as you feel confortable reading without straining your eyes at all), and grey, light greyish-yellow or light greyish-green background. Feel free to adjust the brightness and contrast too.
E-Ink is very nice, but it's not the killer feature of readers. The killer features are low price (sub-$100), no DRM, decent reader app, SD card and acting as a plain USB mass storage device with any OS. If any reader managed to offer that, e-Ink would be a nice perk, but not a must-have.
Getting back on topic, iPad will wipe the floor with all the so-called "readers" that are not really just readers but attempt to do anything more. Feature for feature, it's not even a contest.
[And before you call me an Apple whore: I don't own any Apple hardware and don't recall using their software recently.]
i ate crayons when i was a kid and now i have two braincells and the blue ones taste nicer
That's "aisle", you dork, and I'm not a "Nazi" either, thank you very much.