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Droid X Self-Destructs If You Try To Mod
An anonymous reader writes with some discouraging news for hack-oriented purchasers of the new Droid X phone: "If the eFuse fails to verify [the firmware information (what we call ROMS), the kernel information, and the bootloader version], then the eFuse receives a command to 'blow the fuse' or 'trip the fuse.' This results in the booting process becoming corrupted, followed by a permanent bricking of the phone. This FailSafe is activated anytime the bootloader is tampered with or any of the above three parts of the phone has been tampered with."
A great excuse to stay away from Droid.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
I thought they were open, but apparently they have a walled garden just like Apple. I can't install any Apple apps on an Android phone. They are trying to lock me in to only Android apps. I should have the freedom to install any apps on MY phone. It's just another example of the way Google is trying to control everything you do AND they are trying to make money. They make money on AdMob ads, they make money on their app store. Google is so evil.
Does a company have the right to destroy a purchased product - after the sale - if the consumer doesn't use it in a prescribed manner?
Yes, if the company is big enough. Hell, Sony included rootkits on music CDs.
Eh? It’s just another safety feature.
Mandatory car analogy? Try pulling out an airbag system or modding it.
(For those not already aware, an airbag unit is basically a bomb. Don’t fuck with it.)
The main difference in this case is that the “safety” feature is supposed to protect the manufacturer from you, whereas the safety feature in the airbag system is supposed to protect you – the customer – from an accident. This distinction needs to be made clearly so that we know what we are discussing.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
Where are all the "I'm glad I didn't buy an iPhone because it's locked down" people at right now? The "it's my device, I do what I want" crowd? Granted, the story is completely unverified, but I hope it's true. Then people can shut the hell up about the walled garden I live in, because at least I don't have to worry about land mines there.
Why are you starting your comment with "Except"? Normally that means you're contradicting the comment you're responding to, but in this case it seems that you're adding useless information that doesn't add to the topic or in any way invalidate the point you're responding to.
Much like your idiotic harangue. However, out here in the real world of reading comprehension, we adults realized that the "Except..." beginning was simply a colloquial language pattern that really means "However, in rebuttal to your statement".
Fucktard. YOU are the one that was "adding useless information", not the GP.
Well they might be, after seeing what happened to the Droid. Except none of that makes any sense, because the one thing letting people mess with their own devices does is sell more units.
Like any good slashdotter, you have a HIGHLY inflated idea of the size of the "geek" market.
To the Motorolas and Verizons of the world, you are as the buzzing of flies.
Butthey shouldn't forget that people who trade in a stable system with a hand-picked selection of possibel apps for a locked down system tend to buy an iPhone in the first place.
If 250,000+ apps (and growing by the second!) is your idea of "Hand-picked apps", then I think that the term "Slightly restricted" would be MUCH more accurate than "Hand-picked" (which implies a very limited, exclusive set), don'tcha think?
The counter argument is that you're not making one. I said that despite iOS's use of open source components, iOS is notoriously closed. You said, to paraphrase, "iOS includes some open source components, look, see, Apple lets you download the code. Therefore it is not notoriously closed."
Now, repeating what the guy just said and saying "So n-uh! That means you're wrong" isn't a winning argument. Especially when you're wrong. Which you are.
iOS is notoriously closed, despite having open source components. It's fairly easy to prove, just run it against some obvious tests:
Test 1
While many manufacturers make phones running Android, Symbian, and FWIW J2ME/MIDP, only one makes a phone running iOS, who happens to be the developer of the operating system. Why is this?
Test 2
My employer wants me to write an application that will connect all of our employees to the Asterisk VoIP system, so our employees will be on the office phone network whether in the office or off site. Can I make this application available for the iPhone?
Test 3
A politician has made a particularly stupid comment about paying for healthcare by bartering for services. I want to write an app that ridicules the politician by letting users take photographs of objects and have the box tell you how many cancer treatments you can get in exchange. Can I release this for the iPhone?
I want to write an application for my phone, but while I'm happy to use the native APIs, I'd like the code itself to be written in Java, because that's the programming language I'm most comfortable with. I'm quite happy to use something like GCJ to compile it to native machine code before release. Can I develop such an app for the iPhone?
Test 5
I'm not really a programmer but sometimes I want to put together tools for my own personal use, like I did on my old Macintosh with Hypercard. Can I do that on my iPhone?
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
50,000 applications vs 250,000 applications doesn't really matter. In both cases, it's enough to cover basically everything you'll need, and many applications are redundant copies of each other.
Oops! Your logic slip is showing! So, what you are saying is, the Walls of the Garden are so far away that the average user cannot see them, right? And you know what? You're right!
Android has multiple music players for it, the iPhone has just the one Apple makes.
I guess you didn't see the iOS4 Keynote, nor the iPhone 4 Keynote, where Jobs specifically mentioned Pandora (and I believe even had the CEO of onstage to DEMO). It was one of the apps he SPECIFICALLY mentioned in his introduction of iOS4 multitasking.
Android has applications with political and/or sexual content, the iPhone has practically none.
Sorry, you have blown it with your first statement about "cover(ing) basically everything you'll need." Strawman argument. Next!
Something about temporary safety over essential liberty and deserving neither comes to mind...
Which is why I pointed out (and you conveniently DIDN'T copy into your reply) that ""Liberty" on smartphones is NOT the same as "Liberty" in government. And, just so I don't get some sort of snippy retort, TRUE "Liberty" would mean that I could hunt you down and kill you for not agreeing with me. Do you really think THAT's "1337"? ". But instead, you ignored that, and the example I pointed out about a BANK SCAM APP being approved on Android Marketplace, and came back with the lame-ass "argument" that:
What part of "you can do whatever you want as long as you don't infringe on anyone else's right to do the same" don't you understand?
So, which part of a BANK SCAM APP do you think is not "infring(ing) on anyone else's right(s)"?
/. article on "Fifth of Android Apps Expose Private Data"?
So, let's recap:
First, you ADMIT that the "Walled Garden" is sufficiently large that it contains "basically everything you'll need." Next, you IGNORE that Jobs DEMOed PANDORA running on iOS4. Then finally, you attempt to besmirch the hallowed memory of one of our country's Founding Fathers (Ben Franklin) by invoking his words (which I OBVIOUSLY had in mind when I clearly delineated "Liberty in Government" from "Liberty for App Stores"). THEN, you actually IGNORED an OBVIOUSLY PERFECT EXAMPLE (Bank Scam App) of just exactly WHY a "Curated" App Store is actually BETTER for the USER (name me ONE identity-theft app on the Apple App Store). Wasn't there just a
In fact, one app was SO egregious that Google felt it necessary to REACH INTO USERS' PHONES and DELETE IT!
But, that's ok, because they can apparently PUT IT (or anything they want to!) INTO YOUR PHONE as well (without your knowledge or consent. Just like the deletion).
Yeah, Android's "install any app" thing is working out JUST fine for the USER, and is SO MUCH BETTER than Apple's "Curated" approach. Riiiiight.
BTW, with an average of over SIX HUNDRED NEW apps being APPROVED EVERY SINGLE DAY (given the average 95% approval rate), just exactly WHAT is your problem?