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Toyota Yields To Apple Over Jailbroken Phones
zakkie writes "Toyota has caved to pressure from Apple and pulled custom themes for jailbroken iPhones. According to ModMyi.com founder Kyle Matthews, a representative of Toyota's ad agency said that Toyota gave in to Apple's request in order to 'maintain their good relationship with Apple', and amounted to a direct attack by Apple on jailbroken iPhones."
...amounted to a direct attack by Apple on jailbroken iPhones.
I think they need to rethink the difference between an indirect and a direct attack. In a direct attack, they would do something to the phones or the users. Duh...
nice goatse. i like...
now jobs tries to fucking put kids in jail for doing the same thing.
all you hackers out there should remember. this is what 'business success' means, this is your future in corporate america. putting a younger version of you in prison (or tortured to the point of suicide, like in China).
Parent is Goatse.
i WAS eating lunch you ass!
Asshole...
Ginormous asshole, in fact.
-1 Lame
Link is goatse!
+1 LOL
Manager B: And why do we make this custom theme for a jailbroken iPhone?
Manager A: To promote our Scion line of cars which embrace the idea of user customization.
Manager B: And what did it cost us to make it?
Manager A: Less than producing a single magazine ad.
Manager B: And how exactly do we benefit from this?
Manager A: Market research has shown that the demographic who is interested in jailbreaking their iPhone are prime advertising targets for the Scion as they share similar interests.
Manager B: So what I want to know is: Who signed off on this nonsense and how can we stop it right now?
Manager A: You did. You're call on whether it's worth fighting with Apple over.
As a non-denizen of Steve J's reality distortion field, I have to ask:
Is the control freakiness so great that you cannot even install custom themes on your own iPhone?
You have to jailbreak the phone in order to install a custom theme?
By the way, has anyone been able to get OpenMoko to run on an iPhone, Android (like HTC or whatever), or a Palm Pre?
I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
posting anyway, I wonder if the recent commenter who was looking for a man who cooks is still looking? Not about me, in case you were wondering, but I can give a link if you are interested.
I love how Apple will potentially burn a bridge over something that means less than 0% of anything on their total sales or value of their products. I know I'm sure going to miss those Toyota themes on my iPhone. Oh, wait, no I won't.
They don't even have employee's who could use these phones. Only contractors who don't have corporate phones would even have an Iphone, let alone a jailbroken one.
They are still in 1995 and swear up and down they're modern by pulling stupid shit like this. Congratulations Toyota you have demonstrated your complete lack of understanding of the youth market yet again.
Simple.
If Toyota doesn't play ball Apple's way, Apple throws a tantrum and kicks Toyota out of its walled garden.
Let us not forget that Toyota has become pretty hostile to real hot rodders and today's TRD products are a complete joke. Gone are the days of actively supporting the hot rodding and motorcrossing community with real performance parts for hot cars like the MR-2 (mechanicallt supercharged and later turbocharged) and Supra (Sequential twin turbocharged) sportscars.
Their idea of modding today is to sell body cladding and spoilers, and TRD decals. They have wholly embraced the ricer market segment, and actively discourage people from making real performance improvements. Should it really surprise anyone that Toyota would respect Apple's egomaniacal control over already-purchased iPhones?
I own my iPhones. Even if I dump AT&T today, I will maintain ownership of my iPhones. I am not renting nor leasing them, nor are they a work for hire under contract. They are commodity goods sold off the shelf, so therefore the first sale doctrine applies - along with bypassing DRM for the purpose of interoperability. Courts have upheld jailbreaking as a legal activity so why is Apple still fighting it? I am a jailbreaker, and yet I still buy apps from the app store, and even occasionally buy tracks through iTunes rather than dig out certain CDs to re-rip them.
Why do I jailbreak? So I can tweak the GUI. So I can run SBSettings, and so I can ssh to my iPhone and custom-build nagios so I can control servers from anywhere - and ssh into a box on the road when absolutely required. I don't use it for anything nefarious like "stealing"[sic] software or anything like that. So I can tweak settings a lot more than the default settings applet allows. So I can turn off phone or data separately with ease, and so I can have individual apps override screen brightness for individual apps rather than a single global setting Apple seems to think should apply to everyone for all situations - oh, and so I can disable rotation support quickly (for TomTom GPS for example - legally purchased through the app store well after I jailbroke my phone, by the way!) rather than distracting myself drilling down through a bunch of menus to disable it while driving.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Yet another example of how the idea of a 'free' market is an illusion with the way things currently work. I wonder how far a suit for tortious interference by all the users of jail-broken iPhones would get? Probably not very far, or perhaps they would get coupons to the Apple App store.
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
Congratulations Toyota you have demonstrated your complete lack of understanding of the youth market yet again.
Really? If Apple didn't react how many people would know about another pointless theme and would we be talking about it now? There are many authorized car branded themes right now but my guess is only the enthusiasts care. I say bravo to Toyota's marketing folks for exploiting an expected knee-jerk reaction.
Sorry for the AC but I already burned some mod points.
Good grief! If you can't stand the Apple Walled Garden, don't sweat it, don't even THINK about it. MOVE ON to a platform that has the politics you like. Android? But CHRIST, is there anything more POINTLESS than Apple Hand-ringing?
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
You have to jailbreak an iPhone to put a custom theme on it? That seems pretty restrictive. Seems like a basic customization that you should be able to do on any smartphone.
Wasn't jail-breaking deemed legal?
Perhaps for the owner of the phone and with respect to copyright, patents, interoperability, etc.
However having a third party such as Toyota encourage someone to violate a contract with Apple is something entirely different. Interfering with a contract between others is something that is against the law in and of itself IIRC.
... is there anything more POINTLESS than Apple Hand-ringing?
Jailbreaking an iPhone to install a Toyota/Scion theme?
I'm beginning to lose faith and have actually started considering an Android phone ( but to find something that is comparable that isn't locked down as bad by the carrier. )
I still have every aple device i ever owned, from my first apple ][, and I'm really getting tired of this. Its my "box", let me use it as i want. If you don't want to support/warrant me, fine..
I'm also worried about the long term future of the computer side of things, if it will end up in a similar locked down state.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
>> Why do I jailbreak?
I don't have to justify it. It's simple. Because I refuse to be anybody's bitch. I own the fucking device. Steve Jobs, Apple, appholes can go fuck themselves.
As someone who has worked on the digital end of a tremendous number of campaigns for some very (very) large clients, please understand that oftentimes the larger company is not aware of what is going on. Campaigns are pulled quite often for even smaller, sillier, brand infringments. The only reason anyone cares about this one is that Apple's walled garden is a hot button topic.
You don't need to jailbreak for SSH. There's an app for that.
Toyota isn't doing very well as a company - first the unexplained acceleration issues, followed by plenty of other recalls, and now the earthquakes. Their stocks have taken a serious hit, I suspect they are starting to show up on other companies' lists for acquisition.
I for one expect that the most likely suitor will be none other than Sony. Laugh at it now, but you won't be laughing when Toyotas all have memory stick slots in the seat to remember the shape of the driver's ass...
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
What makes you think it's illegal to "interfere with a contract between others"? That's how business runs! Let's say you have a contract to buy 10,000 widgets from me for $100 each, and some bozo comes along and offers them to you for $2 each. He's sure as hell encouraging you to hire a lawyer to find a way to weasel out of the contract with me. Are you saying that's it's illegal for that bozo to undercut me? Why would you even make something like this up?
YANAL. Don't pretend to be one.
I like my iDevices but I really wish Apple would provide an easy and legal way to jailbreak, maybe charge $50 to have people walk into an Apple store and do the jailbreak. After all I can buy an unlocked iPhone for more money, I should be able to buy one that's completely unrestricted too. Maybe we should ALL buy iPhones, then complain to the EU about Apple's monopolistic iPhone policy ;-)
That said, do we need another story like this on Slashdot ? You know it's just some marketeer counting on the Streisand effect.
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
What makes you think it's illegal to "interfere with a contract between others"? ...
My Business Law textbook.
... That's how business runs! Let's say you have a contract to buy 10,000 widgets from me for $100 each, and some bozo comes along and offers them to you for $2 each. He's sure as hell encouraging you to hire a lawyer to find a way to weasel out of the contract with me. Are you saying that's it's illegal for that bozo to undercut me? Why would you even make something like this up? ...
"Competition is the essence of business. Successful corporation compete aggressively, and the law permits and expects them to. But there are times when healthy competition becomes illegal interference. This is called tortious interference with business relations. It can take one of two closely related forms - interference with a contract or interference with a prospective advantage."
Business Law, Samuelson and Beatty, Thompson Higher Education, 2007, p.143
"There is nothing wrong with two companies bidding against each other to buy a parcel of land, and nothing wrong with one corporation doing everything possible to convince the seller to ignore all competitors. But once a company has signed a contract to buy the land, it is improper to induce the seller to break the deal."
ibid, p. 144.
.. YANAL. Don't pretend to be one.
Pot. Kettle. Black.
Incidentally the reason we non-lawyers take a class in business law is so that we are aware of things like "interference with a contract" and try to avoid getting our own ass sued. Also to know enough to sign purchasing agreements that can be terminated at any time so that we are not locked into one deal should a better deal come along.
As a long time Apple hater, I've been considering an iPhone. Android's interface is pants, and I can't remove bullshit applications (Amazon? Nascar, FFS?) without rooting my phone.
Rooting my phone.
Yes, this is Slashdot, but do you hear me? Rooting my phone. Phone. Root.
It's a phone. The fact that I'm supposed to go geek out with a ... A phone? Just to stop my battery being drained by auto-running bullshit?
Steve Jobs' tyranny is looking better than the rest, I'll admit. At least the man assumed dictatorial powers with a clear purpose.
Oh please... "Rightly"? Violating a terms of use isn't against the freakin' law. Jailbreaking is... *drum roll* LEGAL. Let me repeat.... LEGAL LEGAL LEGAL LEGAL...
In case you missed that... LEGAL. Which means you are FREE to do it. And who are the jailbreak developpers? Why, that'd be HACKERS doing things LEGALLY and are FREE to do yourself. Did I mention HACKER, FREE... and um, LEGAL.
So unbunch your fanboy panties and get back to work designing the iPhone 5 case. Thousands of minimalist design students have to have a subject for their midterm papers in the fall.
Yes, because Toyota has SO much to lose... Wait, they make cars, not apps. And they make a LOT of cars.. a HELL of a lot more cars than Apple makes phones. Apple has more to lose if Toyota started putting Android and Pandora in their radios. Toyota can do whatever they want. They could give a shit about the walled garden.
Why would they provide that? It is not even remotely in Apple's interest, or those of its carrier partners, to make it easy to jailbreak an iPhone.
A man can dream, can't he ? Well maybe it will be in their interest one day when a competitor catches up with them.
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
I own my iPhones. Even if I dump AT&T today, I will maintain ownership of my iPhones. I am not renting nor leasing them, nor are they a work for hire under contract. They are commodity goods sold off the shelf, so therefore the first sale doctrine applies - along with bypassing DRM for the purpose of interoperability. Courts have upheld jailbreaking as a legal activity so why is Apple still fighting it? I am a jailbreaker, and yet I still buy apps from the app store, and even occasionally buy tracks through iTunes rather than dig out certain CDs to re-rip them.
Sure you own the phone, but you don't own the software. You have a license for to use iOS on the device, so long as you abide by certain conditions (i.e. no jailbreaking). So you're completely free to jailbreak and install Android on your iPhone, but not to continue running iOS and using the App Store. You might not like it, but the legal concepts behind software licensing have held up pretty well in the courts so far.
Be careful. People in masks cannot be trusted.
What a bunch of cowards!! Jailbroken phones are legal in the USA - one of the few places where that country still leads the world - even if it was a hard fight to get there.
I think less of Toyota for this retreat, not more.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Fuck Apple.
That is all.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Yes, I do own that copy of the software, inasmuch as I own any book I buy. I own it and can do whatever I please per the first sale doctrine, short of violating copyright protections.
Stop buying into lobbyists' doubletalk.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Really? If Apple didn't react how many people would know about another pointless theme and would we be talking about it now?
Considering that everybody who reported about the pulling also reported about the release a few days before - round about exactly as many?
Fandroids hate facts.
The reference to Carfolio seems to have no reference to this story - did Apple or even Toyota perhaps apply pressure? I did see a link to Toyota ads
However having a third party such as Toyota encourage someone to violate a contract with Apple is something entirely different.
But what this is referring to is having a third party such as Toyota encourage someone to jailbreak their device, and jailbreaking the device is legal. It's quite clear that there is no legally binding contract relating to whether or not you can jailbreak your device and the proof of this is that jailbreaking was deemed legal by the courts.