Slashdot Mirror
China's Official Newspaper Pans iPad — Too Locked Down
An anonymous reader writes "The People's Daily newspaper, which is the official news organ of the ruling Communist party in China, apparently recently posted a review of the iPad, where it complained about the locked down nature of the device, noting that 'There are many disadvantages. For example you cannot install pirate software on them, you cannot download [free] music, and you need to pay for movies you watch on them.' You would think a country that is in favor of locking down the internet so much would like a locked up device ..."
apple blocked software that China GOV made and or they don't like the 30% cut.
http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/tag/pwnagetool/
Really? Your country spends so much effort pirating even physical cars, factories, etc, you can't be bothered to run a jailbreak?
Right now I am imagining China as a cat and Apple as a piece of bread, buttered on one side. Steve Jobs just taped the bread to the cat's back butter side up, and tossed it in the air. What will happen?
In spite of the trolls, the best perspective is that there's been remarkable progress in China.
...only when it benefits them. Consider how Baidu beat Google: by offering free searches of copyright-infringing content in addition to the legitimate services that Google provides. If I'm reading the stereotypes correctly, the Chinese government has no interest in protecting IP rights, especially those of American companies, since it ultimately seeks to undermine the American economy by devaluing it. So this really is towing the party line, if you assume that the movies, software and music are all seen as tied to America and American-allied countries (Japan, South Korea...) from the Chinese perspective.
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
For example you cannot install pirate software on them, you cannot download [free] music
I thought one could download Free recordings of public domain music on a PC and then sync them to the iDevices using iTunes. When did Apple disable that?
I found it ironic that China, the first civilization to invent printing press, thinks the iPad is too lock down.
"Damn it! Pre-printed books are too locked down! You can't write your own stuff to them!"
Next they'll be complaining about the amount of lead in the jobs we're shipping over there.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
I love these guys.
Should we be hatin'?
This coming from a country where copying, stealing or selling other peoples ideas is not a crime, but a business model.
Color me surprised.
Perhaps China is more experienced in sealing intellectual property than they are in paying for it and therefore they dislike this in the iPad. Since their government goes to such lengths to control the flow of information and the *ideas* that people are exposed to, I conclude that the Chinese leadership is quite comfortable with the idea of piracy.
There's the pot calling the kettle black!
Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
If you drew up one of those 2x2 matrices favored by MBA consultants, Apple would be in the "locked down, good taste" cell. China would also be in the lockdown side of the "Freedom" axis, but would be opposite Apple on the "Style" axis.
I'm sorry, but how many People's Daily stories or articles has slashdot linked to? I bet it numbers in the single digits in its 10 year history.
So why would anybody care what the People's Daily thinks about the iPad? There have been many countless review written already. It seems this story is just obviously flamebait to rile up the pro and anti-Apple zealots.
Can we finally get an editor moderation feature already? Timothy and kdawson are the biggest trolls here. How come they can't be held accountable?
Millions of computers in China are running pirated versions of Windows/Office/Microsoft software and the country itself maintains its own nationalized version of Linux. They, along with Russia, are the major contributors of malware and viruses, and are the one of the bastions of cyberterrorism today. With this kind of a status quo, they would clearly have no issues with a device that, by default, doesn't even let the user install apps from third-party vendors.
LOL
You would think a country that is in favor of locking down the internet so much would like a locked up device
It depends, as it always does, on who holds the key to the lock.
O_O
There's the Pol Pot calling the kettle black!
Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
You missed the point. They are upset not because the device is locked in nature, but because Apple didn't consult them about what to lock in the iPads meant for China.
I don't get the author's tone, China is more open than the US. There are fewer restrictions overall.
the official news organ of the ruling Communist party in China
Thanks for clarifying that this concerns the ruling Communist party in China. I almost made the mistake of thinking it was about the non-ruling Communist party in China, which would have been awkward as it doesn't exist.
A slanted iReview.
... suspect common sense!
If US folks think China is too locked and China complains about extreme locking in an US product, I'd carefully dedicate some quality time to think about my paradigms.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not from US (nor China).
China needs pirated software to help local business grow. Lived there for a while and couldn't find any person, company, or government organization that paid for licensing. All off the street corner for 10 kuai.
www.newviewmedia.com
"Damn it! Pre-printed books are too locked down! You can't write your own stuff to them!"
On the contrary, printed books are ideal for writing notes in the margins because you don't have to worry about messing up the original. They're also ideal for spreading propa^W information to the masses.
Apple is too totalitarian for the Chinese government's tastes.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
that's priceless. China finds it too unlocked for their market.
There is a lesson there for all you Apple apologists.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The Chinese government likes lockdown only as long as they're the ones doing the locking. Once someone else is in control, it interferes with their own power.
Catholic Church is a good example. A variant of it can exist in China on the condition that it dissociates itself from the Pope, so it is not controlled by a foreign entity. Chinese don't like lockdown and censorship, they like a monopoly of power and influence on the public. Once you think about it, that's also what many of the Western leaders want, but don't have the means necessary to get it.
Those who would give up liberty to obtain working drivers, deserve neither liberty nor working drivers.
that's what I felt about Apple in the first place! Finally!
They were trying to distinguish it from the ruling Libertarian Party there.
Aren't iPads made at Foxconn? Maybe China should stop making these locked down products. Just sayin'.
So you claim Google filters out copyright-infringing content? Since when?
Perhaps if a company knows how to compete with Google, it knows how to win its own countrymen to their own service?
In Communist China, iPad locks you down!
Have gnu, will travel.
The amusing thing is that China Daily has an iPad app.
Sounds like an official government endorsement for Chinese companies to produce their own counterfeit version of unlocked Ipads.
www.newviewmedia.com
It took me a couple of scans through the article to believe this was real and not a parody news story.
And an iDevice owner can still use a PC to download music and movies "off a shady pirate site" and sync them to his iDevice with iTunes. So without a translation of the whole People's Daily article, I'm not sure exactly what is being complained about.
Ok, so the Slashdot post links to Tech Dirt ad Tech Dirt links to Christian Science Monitor and Christian Science Monitor fails to link to the original article.
Anybody have a link to the ACTUAL article in the People's Daily? I want to see how badly those snippets were taken out of context, or if they are the result of glorified translation from the original Chinese.
~A~
Google doesn't speciifcally offer a torrent search. Picture a button between "Scholar" and "Local" labeled "Piracy".
filetype:torrent Iron Man 2
Seems like that works just fine.
When China calls you on it. :P
Sounds like China to me. When I went there, I was curious to see if one could find NON-pirated DVDs for purchase. Never saw one. All DVDs and CDs in the city I was were pirated.
They were all really cheap too. I think it was 10 CDs for $5 and 3 DVDs for $8 if I recall correctly.
This should be no surprise, at least if you consider the entire history of political power. Political power exists to serve its own interests, not the interests of the people they claim to serve. This is how it has always been, and this is how it always will be. 500 years from today, political power will still be serving its own interests, while claiming to serve the interests of the people they exploit. There is no solution to this, except to strictly limit or eliminate political power.
After sifting through the anal discharge that people call comments to this story, here's one that is actually worthwhile. I really wish people wouldn't post these stories, because the typical /.er--while knowing a good bit about technology--is ignorant in topics of Asian politics/culture and just spews trash they think is somehow relevant and/or funny. Because of this, I'm grateful for the refreshing comment that shows a deeper understanding. If only I had a few more mod points...
In addition to what Tweenk said, when something the Chinese gov't dislikes becomes popular, China generates their own homegrown option very rapidly. Since they block social networking sites and blogs, they offer things like RenRen Wang ("People-People-Net"; formerly known as XiaoNei, or "Within Campus"), YouKu ("Exceptionally Cool", video posting site), QQ zones (Tencent QQ being the most popular instant messaging platform in China, and zones host blogs and pictures), and Sina Blogs.
To reiterate: these are all built inside the country specifically so that China can control them. Access to the popular global networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are blocked. (Which, by the way, Western media seems blind to that and continually cites Chinese twitterers as the voice of the common Chinese person. This clearly isn't true, as the common Chinese citizen either doesn't know or doesn't care about the Great Firewall. The ones we see on twitter are the ones who are willing to risk everything to bypass the Firewall and are somewhat radical)
Yeah, not as accessible though. Most people don't know about filetype: , so the button is easier. Also, doesn't necessarily work for straight MPG or MP3's that you may be looking for, while Baidu does.
But, but, but there's no Google Torrent (beta)!
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
You would think that Slashdot could tell the difference between "China" and the person who reviewed the iPad for The People's Daily. Newspaper censorship in the PRC is much more intense than in much of the rest of the world, but that doesn't mean that individuals are mouthpieces for certain sectors of their government.
Man if this isn't a case of "The pot calling the kettle black" then I don't know what is!
Most people don't know about filetype:
I do now. Honestly, I did not know. Thanks /. for helping America to keep up with the Chinese!
God you're stupid.
You don't have to pay, or even hack or anything to watch movies or listen to music that you didn't get through the itunes store. Just needs to be in you itunes library duh... China doesn't like stuff locked down because they are the kings of piracy, they have no respect for intellectual property. They sell clones, copies of everything American. Not just stealing, but SELLING what they have stolen. So you are siding with China? Typical slashdot pro-piracy.
and paying for content is so Capitalist.
The fact is that there is *no* history of civil code in China. The law has historically been punitive *only* when an activity upsets the natural order of things. For instance: if you carried a flag into Bejing in 1968 that said "Capitalism is Good", you were guaranteed to die or suffer in prison for years. China has, for its entire history, been controlled from the center, by emperors, despots, etc. At the same time, the absence of civil code has meant that when someone steals you property, or copies your invention, it was between you and the perpetrator, and the person with the most personal and networked power would win. That tendency continues to live in China, today. Things are changing, slowly, but it will be a long time before China embeds the private property meme, protected by civil laws, rules, authority, etc. into its society. Also, it will be a long time - if ever - before the Chinese end control from the center. So, their current criticism about the iPad fits perfectly fits their cultural and legal DNA. They think one should have easy/free access to a neighbor's (or a company's) IP, and that all control over a population should emanate from the center.
Won't be content, you mean.
Its a rogue nation...
So the newspaper for the official ruling Communist party in China says bad things about the iPad.... isn't this a good thing? I'd be more concerned if they praised the device, the fact that they don't like it must mean it's wonderful.
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
I couldn't find it either, but it may not even be in the online version, that website is very hard to search and the English search wasn't even working when I tried. It could even be some paper-only editorial or something. However, I did find this gem of an article:
Handsome man invented the world's first pieces of "anti-fart underwear" to filter cocky
According to Taiwan's "News Today" reports, you have a sphincter to blame, which led in public could not help you live "discouraged" embarrassing experience? Colorado man Buck - Weimer invented the world's first "anti-fart underwear", which has the function of filtering cocky, wear it even if the non-stop farting, people will not smell the next.
Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
....They like capitalism only when it enhances their personal political power. Any other time, it can take a hike.
Regards;
China selectively enforces its rules and laws in favor of its own companies and against foreigners.
Trying to get a fair shake in china is rather like playing against a team that, in addition to having a home field advantage, has all the refs on their own payroll.
Ya I didn't know about that either. Thanks!
Ok I lied a little there is nothing more fun than seeing an idiot who bought a iPhone 3G(S) and saying "is that an iPhone4". Someone should tell people that an Apple product is for 3 months of cutting edge product at a premium, and then outclassed by the competition, your already seeing significantly superior hardware appear with alternative more open Smarts, and the same it true for the iPad.
lol.noobs.
its ok man, there just using the phrase losely. you have to learn to except it and ignore the affects on you're sensibilities. you no what I mean? People in all woks of life make these mistakes; you just have to stuff them in your mental chester drawers and forget about them. that way, for all intensive porpoises, you donut run around with emotions all penned up.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Thanks for reminding me of why I don't buy Apple products. At least with Windows and Blackberry, I don't have to get my hardware maker's permission to do what I want with the product I own.
China praises the glory and openness of the brand new eyePad
Pay attention, 6-digit! I learned that a few years ago on Slashdot.
Actually, just typing "ironman torrent" will also get you much of what you want.
I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
Comment removed based on user account deletion
It's "n00bz".
Hand in your "overbearingly obnoxious script kiddie wannabe geek" card on your way out.
"City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
So you claim Google filters out copyright-infringing content? Since when?
They respond to DMCA take-down requests, which constitutes filtering. It's just not something automated, nor are they pro-active about it.
To see it in action, Google for "kaazaa", then look at the bottom of the page - the text which goes "In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed ..."
I have been looking back at my posting history on Slashdot and noticed a trend. I have been more and more "defending" if you can call it that, China here. I then realized that, China is now the fashionable country to hate by many Westerners, mainly Americans, usurping Arabs and Muslims and possibly even the Iranians (who are not Arabs, despite what many bigots here like to say). Being a Muslim myself and weathering through horrible post-September 11 outright bigotry and hatred has made me more alert. All the classic signs are here in this thread. You know, the "they're stealing our jobs/innovations/money/women", "their culture is a debased/derivative of our own superior culture", "they have {insert negative racial trait} while we don't. I am also surprised to see about half of Slashdot suddenly turning into RIAA spokespersons about piracy in China when usually it's fuck the RIAA!. I guess it's "their piracy is inferior to our piracy" thing. More disturbingly, further down the thread someone tried to find the purported original article and couldn't find it, possibly making this story a racist smear campaign as well. There is even the "White man's burden" argument where China's human rights record had something to do with pirating the latest movies (the irony here is that Chinese citizens can freely copy any movie they like while you couldn't). Guess, even among geeks there are hypocrites, racists and bigots.
Western leaders want, but don't have the means necessary to get it.
wait for it...
In a sense you are right. Intellectual property is important to advanced economies which primarily rely on innovation in order to grow. It is less important to countries whose economy is based on plentiful supply of humans who can cheaply and mindlessly stamp out parts for products that other countries invent. China is still a primitive country by Western/Japanese standards with per capita GDP 1/13th that of the USA. It is still desperately trying to catch up. This is because being a production hub for foreign companies will only take you so far, the next step is for Chinese home-grown companies to begin to flourish and produce original innovative technology and that's when China will also start caring about intellectual property.
Your comment closes the discussion in my book. Copying a movie for your home use is not piracy, piracy is when you copy someone's work and sell it or use it to attract visitors to your site. In that case you are a piece of shit and should be dealt with accordingly. When users copy a work for their OWN use it is still illegal but it has no remedy at all. When users copy software or movies or whatever and they like and come to revere and respect the work they WILL purchase their own copy from a legal copyright holder; those who don't could never have afforded the product and likely serve as further advertisement for your product anyway.
If you sell high-end software and you are worried about "piracy" then you need to do custom compiles that integrate the name of the legal user (I would exclude the name integration from output). This will assure that no one forgets that they need to pay and they can still copy/evaluate it without hindrance. Again, as far as software is concerned it is nice to let a start-up use your product until they can afford a license of their own, its called cooperation.
How did you beat the compression filter with using that word so often?
I kid of course.
I can not believe my eyes...did you just compare a toy with an infra structure that supports communication for billions of humans?
It does not make sense.
Do you have a hidden agenda or something?
DURR I don't like this article. In fact, I dislike it SOOO much that I'll show those trolls. I'll show them by taking five minutes to click on the article, and comment about how much I dislike it, and use my superior intellect and nagging to show them all how wrong they are! Oh, but I don't want my name associated with that, someone might DISAGREE with me! How awful would that be! I'll just tick that little box...heh heh heh...look how clever I am.
If I weren't such an internet tough guy I'd kick your ass.
(the irony here is that Chinese citizens can freely copy any movie they like while you couldn't). Guess, even among geeks there are hypocrites, racists and bigots.
Nope we are still fuck the RIAA its just that its ironic that the Commie's are saying that the product is too restrictive. As to your suggestion that we here a slashdot have racist overtones in our postings. Lighten up this is slashdot do not take it seriously.
The Chinese believe that only they can do tight-ass right.
Table-ized A.I.
This is China, the country that sooner or later will be producing cheap clones of the ipad, for half the price, where the only visible difference is that the apple logo is twice as big.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Google doesn't speciifcally offer a torrent search.
Welcome to Google Custom Search: http://www.google.com/cse?cx=003849996876419856805:erhhdbygrma&ie=UTF-8&q=foo&sa=Search
Anybody have a link to the ACTUAL article in the People's Daily? I want to see how badly those snippets were taken out of context, or if they are the result of glorified translation from the original Chinese.
Having read the People's Daily plenty of times, I have to say it's one of the few publications I know from which it's pretty hard to take snippets out of context and make them actually sound worse.
Also, the People's Daily publishes its own English edition so it's very likely the quotes were from that, rather than the Chinese.
"I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
The irony! It is so sweeeet.
To much anime is bad for the brain...desu.
Sorry. Couldn't help it.
I can't find a link to the original story, and the source cited for this post is a TechDirt post that cites a Christian Science Monitor article that doesn't, as far as I can tell, refer to the original article any more precisely than as "a rather snide commentary the other day about Apple products." A link to the original would be appreciated.
I wrote parts of this stuff
when effing China thinks your device isn't open enough!
But, I wanted socialized health insurance!
I can't see it, but I have seen such things in the past now that I think of it.
Don't mod me bro!
noobs = 16 yr old breasts.
Yes, perfectly legal in OUR rest-of-the-world country.
Do you know about site: ?
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
I've been told many times that I should patent my ideas. However...
- Patenting is very expensive for an individual and I simply don't have that money.
- Yet it would only apply to a part of the world. So to be effective, I'd have to patent each idea several times.
This are the very reasons why I won't be patenting my inventions.
I'd rather work with market forces and find ways to encorouge people to join the ecosystems I create, rather than give them incentive to compete.