Well yes, don't you think a corporation, or any person ought to honor their promises? Do you honor your promises, even if it later turns out to your disadvantage to do so? It seems nowadays, that many, both businesses and ordinary people do not abide by their promises. Promises in marriage and promises to pay debts for starters?
.....I would happily re-evaluate the situation if I ever saw new evidence.......
What evidence would you accept as true? What evidence have you looked at?
It is instructive that Jesus told His enemies that they would not believe, even if someone came back from the dead. In the account of the rising of the dead Lazarus, whether you believe it actually happened or not, we are told the skeptical eyewitnesses who hated Jesus sought to kill Him from that time on all the more.
Even if God split the sky. called you by name an told you personally that He is there, you might still not believe. After all, it COULD be a hallucination. People have those at times and some of them are even "God" experiences. It doesn't depend on evidence, but on your WILL, whether you want to believe or not. No amount of "evidence" can ever get anyone to believe if they don't WANT to.
That's why Jesus said that unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Little children WANT to believe and generally do, until they find out they have been lied to by those they trust. The Apostle Thomas had a hard time believing when the other disciples told him that Jesus had been resurrected and they had seen Him. Later Thomas did encounter the risen Christ and exclaimed" Lord I believe, help my unbelief". If you WANT to believe, you might pray that God would help you believe. Believing is a gift of grace, just as life itself is.
They did and at that time Cingular, now AT&T gave then the best deal. Is that not what businesses and consumers do, search for the best deal? I suspect that Verizon and the others are now kicking themselves for having snubbed Apple.
(....because they knew they could get more money......)
Of course they knew that. Apple is no a charitable organization, but a business to make money, like any other. Do you fault them for that?
That's totally wrong. Apple doesn't sell the Intel version OSX apart from a new Mac. If you copy a Mac supplied disk, you are a copyright violator.
PC's still use the 20+year old BIOS booting system. That's the prime reason why OSX won't run on non-ac computers. There are hacks that allow other PCs to run OSX. Apple's OSX doesn't require the user to type long product codes nor does it call the mother ship in order to be "activated". Apple has no desire to support a million different hardware configurations on the PC and they don't feel like supporting multiple networks and other hacks on the iPhone either. PC and iPhone hackers are their own support system. Apple doesn't care, except for their contract with AT&T.
.... but if it results in someone's rights being violated,.....
So exactly how are your rights being violated by Apple not wanting to support yours and a thousand other hacker variations of their product? This update was NOT a fix for something that was broken or on recall, as per your car analogy, but upgrades and enhancements. As such it is entirely optional. Furthermore Apple warns that this particular update may cause phones modified in an unknown way become non-functional. Any normal person (/. readers excluded:-) ) having a hacked phone, reading such a warning might hesitate to install the upgrade. Apple never prevents anyone from doing anything the buyer may wish. You can run the device over with your car or throw it in boiling oil; that's your right, just don't ask Apple to fix it after that.
In physical products, improvements are often made in later production runs or models. A car maker might increase the horsepower slightly and/or gear ratios a month or two after a car comes on the market. This doesn't mean that they are obligated to retrofit the already sold cars with these improvements unless these represent clear safety issues. Because software isn't limited to such physical constraints, it doesn't cost much extra to offer such upgrades not only to the new production, but also for products already in the hands of customers. Just because this process is something we have come to expect in software, does this suddenly make it an obligation of the manufacturer to offer upgrades to products already sold?
.....The laws clearly give the owner of the iPhone the right to modify it......
Has Apple stopped anyone from modifying their phone? No? Then what's the beef? Does the law require Apple to support all possible modifications that could be out there? Does iPhone operate correctly as it came out of the box? It does? Is Apple obligated by law or contract to release enhancements and/or bug fixes? Does Apple force users to "upgrade" their iPhone? Did Apple not warn users of hacked phones NOT to update? Would ALL of those hacked phones still work on whatever alternate network the were hacked for, if their users had heeded Apple's warnings NOT to update unlocked phones? These whiners are like little kids whom their mommy has warned not to touch the hot stove. They did anyway and got burned. Rebellious human nature at work.
.....the DMCA permits that cell phones can be unlocked legally.....
Fine, does that law also mandate that a manufacturer has to support such an unlocked phone? Anyone may get a hack and unlock their phone. Just don't expect support afterwards, that's all.
....So, just like Apple's bogus claim that they only allow OSX to run on their own hardware........
When will people get it through their head that Apple is the only company that builds COMPLETE computer, comprising both hardware and their own custom made software? You don't expect X-Box software to run on a Playstation, do you? The engine in a Chevy won't fir into a Honda. Why is that principle called "bogus"?
.....Why wouldn't Apple want this to be multi-carrier?......
For the same reason they don't want OSX as multi-hardware, for a more consistent and reliable experience for the users. Their costs would greatly increase if they had to support the iphones for all the different carriers. Either that or they could upset their customers by passing the buck to the respective carriers. If your iphone acts up, do you call Apple or AT&T? I suspect most people will call Apple. The tech rep there has been trained on how iPhones and the AT&T network interact. They would also have to learn this for all the other carriers, at considerable cost to Apple. When your Dell PC acts up, do you call Microsoft or HP? No, you call Dell. Now Dell has to determine whether it is the hardware or the software that is causing grief. Apple would have to know the details and state of each carrier's network to accurately make that diagnosis. There are many wireless phones and music players on the market. If you hate Apple and their choice of AT&T, there are plenty of other options. Nobody is forced to buy and iPhone at gun-point.
Apple has never said you can't hack the iPhone or anything else they make. All they say is that if you do, don't expect us to support it. The update they sent out was ONLY for devices that are in stock condition. A device that is no longer stock may not work with updated parts, software, and/or hardware. Every manufacturer operates this way. They let you run Windows on a Mac, but don't give you support when that Windows installation misbehaves, do they? Should they?
.... It's designed to prevent accidents, not attacks......
So an attack isn't an accident? It's worse, deliberate sabotage wreaked by someone in a distant place.
(.....and now involves a microcontroller......)
Why can there not be a good sized air gap between any such control and safety devices and any remote network? A remote read only function implemented in hardware should keep someone from maladjusting anything from a distance, yet allow the bean counters at headquarters to see how much money they are spending/saving.
I suspect that there are still quite a few good old-fashioned relays and circuit breakers in service that directly protect large generators, transformers and other components of the power utility systems. It seems inconceivable to me that *any* computer screw-up should damage such equipment. Shut downs, yes, but damage the machinery as shown in that article? I think that experiment they did was rigged. Maybe they bypassed the normal hardware interlocks that used to protect such things before computers got into the act.
So if there is even the remotest chance that some hacker in Russia or wherever can shut off or even damage a critical infrastructure in the US, that's an advance? Give me a break! Let's go back to the good old days before such things were possible. Just because something is new and modern and sexy hi-tech, doesn't always mean it is better.
....Working in dangerous or otherwise critical environments.....
It used to be that all equipment was designed with specific hardware protection devices that would also protect against operator errors. If they use computers and software for that now, it is a step backwards IMHO. Adjusting the current or whatever to a dangerous value should not be possible. If it does happen, the machine should shut down, not self-destruct. Something sounds very fishy to me in this whole article.
Except that in the past at least, generators and other equipment had specific hardware devices, such as over current, overspeed and other protections that shut the machine off BEFORE it could go "KABOOM". Whatever happened to those? Do they rely on computers and software for that now? So in your scenario, the generator would be safely shut down before all that stuff was computerized.
Really, has to? Electric systems have been around since the days of Edison and worked just fine without networks, specifically the Internet. Sacrificing security for convenience is a bad idea that Microsoft has amply demonstrated. Why can a power plant not be controlled locally, by a human operator, like they were in the past. Remote reading is a lot different than remote control. Much of this remote control pressure comes from bean counters in management. They want to eliminate the cost of hiring workers wherever possible.
Normally, each generator, transformer and other equipment has safety devices that shut the machine down BEFORE any damage happens. Whatever happened to those? Do they depend on computers for that safety function now, that a simple relay or circuit breaker used to provide? If the setup in that experiment corresponds to the way power systems are run today, perhaps it's time to take a step into the past.
Well, I used that analogy because it actually happened and the @%$#$% jerk even tried to sue the manufacturer after he got his teeth knocked out! Hot coffee at McDonalds?
The iPhone was designed to be used in a certain way, with a certain network. The lawnmower was designed for a certain type of fuel or electricity to mow lawns. The phone and the network were meant to go together. Apple always deals with the whole SYSTEM, not just bits and pieces, like the rest of the computer makers. They do this for Macs, the iPod-iTunes system and now the iPhone and the AT&T network system. That's why their stuff "just works", at least most of the time.
If you, with the help of some hacker figure out how to use the iPhone on some other network, fine, more power to you. Just don't blame the manufacturer if something goes wrong. The hackers should include a means to RESTORE the phone to what it was when you walked out of the store with it. Then before you apply an update from Apple, you restore the phone, apply the update and then re-apply the hack, if it still works. If not ask your hacker friend for an update to the hack, especially if you paid him money. If all that is worth it to you, for whatever reason, good for you. Apple would likely honor the warranty, if say the screen burned out, but not if the hack hosed the system to where it couldn't be restored to what it was at the factory. It's not too likely that a software hack would destroy the device, but it might cause extra work for Apple for which they would be justified charging you for.
(.....it's about seeing what could be a problem for your business......)
Exactly and that's why they're warning people that these hacks COULD brick their phone. Having a bunch of irate customers with dead phones would be a problem for their business. Maybe they should put a warning sticker on each iPhone.
Apple will let you install Windows on their computers. They even supply the means for you to do it and won't void the warranty on a shiny new Mac. However, they are not obligated to support your Mac after that. If you brought it to them, they might install OSX thereon (if it wasn't on there still) and determine that the Mac works just fine. If so, you probably would end up paying some money to them for their trouble. I have Windows XP on my Macbook-pro. The built in camera works only on OSX. Otherwise it seems to work quite well.
Then you simply um-mod it before you send it in to Apple to be repaired. Apple has the right to demand that the phone be restored to the state it was in when they sold it to you, except for normal wear. Anyone who uses some hack to mod the phone, should make sure that they also have a hack to unmod it to whatever it was before the hack was applied. The same goes for applying Apple patches. You restore the phone, patch and then re-apply the mod. If the mod doesn't work on the patched phone, the person who supplied the hack should patch the hack so it works again. Any hack that's not reversible is worse than useless, it's dangerous.
...you test for how people are likely to use it in ways you DON'T want......
So then a manufacturer of lawnmowers will test how well they work as hedge clippers? Someone making a device for ironing clothes will check to see how well it works as a bed warmer? The iPhone was made as a phone, to work only with AT&T's network. Anybody who misuses it for some other company's network takes the risk for whatever happens to them and the phone upon themselves. If the house burns down because some jerk misapplies an iron as a bed-warmer, is that the manufacturers fault? No manufacturer of anything can possibly anticipate the sum total stupidity of humanity. Whatever happened to that old-fashioned idea of people being responsible for their own actions?
BS. I have a Titanium PB that came out in January 2001. The only upgrades it had was to 512M RAM and a 80G drive. It still works fine and I'm keeping it in case I have to boot into OS9 for some odd reason. Normally it runs OSX10.4.9. It's a little slow, but still fine for many tasks, such as a music server and X-10 controller. Until recently we still used an old Color Classic as a dedicated phone answering and fax machine. We now have voice mail and a 3 year old Mac-mini G4 makes a great fax machine because it allows faxes to be accessed over the network from all computers we use daily, as well as print them on the networked laser printer. It is also totally silent and doesn't take up much space. Old Macs definitely have good use left in them.
.....I got about 7 years use out of that machine for the money invested.....
I paid $1000 for a Titanium PB in 2002. I upgraded it later to 512M and put in a 80G drive. It runs only at 550 mhz and as such will be limited to 10.4.10 if this rumor is true. It works fine as a music server and an X-10 controller, running 24/7. I control it over our wireless network, since it sits in the back room doing its thing. Older computers often make fine servers for home use.
.....Do PCs from 2007 have no problem running Vista?......
I have a Macbook pro that runs VISTA just fine. However compared to Win2K or XP it is dog slow. It is totally unreasonable to expect to be able to run VISTA on even the fastest Pentium available in 2001. For most Mac users, 10.4.x will probably work for a while, just as XP will be running on most Windows users current hardware until the hardware dies. Even the newest computers have to work hard to run Windows VISTA. With nothing else running VISTA uses about 30% CPU cycles. XP uses only 10%, everything else the same.
.....I know you were attempting to discredit global warming......
I was not trying to discredit global warming as such, only the myth that humans are its cause by our technology. Man can and has caused local and regional changes, such as you cite. One look at a globe shows that man's activity is confined to a tiny portion of this planet. Most of it is covered with water and even much of the land is not inhabited by humans. As a life form, we probably have less effect on this world than the insects do.
We arrogantly pretend that it is our world, yet didn't make so much as a single atom. If renters trashes the landlord's property, doesn't that landlord have a right to take measures against those tenants? We are intended to be caretakers of the Creators work, but have made quite a mess of His property. We are allowed to use what he has given us, not to abuse and destroy it. It is not our technology, but our arrogance, rebellion and pride, which causes the Creator God's anger. The politically incorrect word is SIN. Read what God's spokesman, Isaiah wrote, centuries ago in Isaiah 24. We are told there exactly what God will do someday, about our treatment of Him and His planet. That same prophet also tells us in 30:26 that even the sun gets involved when that time comes, by becoming seven times hotter. John echoes this in Revelation 16:9. There will be REAL global warming alright, and we are the cause, but it's man's bent for evil, not our technology that is already beginning to bring it on.
....In most cases the computer manufacturer and the OS manufacturer are not the same....
Apple shows that there is no reason why computers have to be the sole commodity in the market place where that has to be the case. All water heaters and stoves come with a heating element. The user or dealer don't install these. Washer come with motors, brooms come with handles, refrigerators come pre-built with a compressor etc. All other consumer products come more or less complete with their main functional element, from the factory, ready to fulfill the purpose for which they were purchased. The central element in a computer is not the hardware, but its software. The fact that MS is able to make software for a vast array of different hardware proves this. Maybe MS SHOULD begin making hardware add-ons to the main component of any computer, the software that runs it. It's the dog of the software that wags the tail of the hardware. Apple's new iPods and iPhone show this very clearly.
.....I had half a dozen machines in the last few years and had to pay for the installed XP several times......
I have a number of light fixtures with 100w light bulbs. I had to buy all the light bulbs separately, for each fixture. I don't have an atomic duplicator, so I could make light bulb copies. So why should you be able to use your software duplicator, rather than buying a copy for each computer? It's people like you that force DRM burdens on the others who understand such an elementary principle. If it weren't for that mentality, DRM would never have been invented.
.....you could still buy a bare-bones computer and then decide......
Yes, I remember those days also. Before that, the only application software available was what you wrote yourself. I wrote a program to keep track of finances for us. In the early days of automobiles the owner of one these "horseless carriages" had to be a strong male (to crank it) and a fairly good mechanic. Now cars and computers are commodities and are expected to "Just Work (TM)". Installing an OS is not the customer's nor the dealer's job, but that of the manufacturer. It's the heart of a computer in the same way that the engine is what makes the car run.
Because Apple is the only computer maker that makes the WHOLE computer, they will always be better than those where the hardware and software are made by separate entities who often have trouble communicating. Better of course usually costs more. In the end, people get what the pay for.
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.....That's a pretty huge exception.....
Well yes, don't you think a corporation, or any person ought to honor their promises? Do you honor your promises, even if it later turns out to your disadvantage to do so? It seems nowadays, that many, both businesses and ordinary people do not abide by their promises. Promises in marriage and promises to pay debts for starters?
.....I would happily re-evaluate the situation if I ever saw new evidence.......
What evidence would you accept as true? What evidence have you looked at?
It is instructive that Jesus told His enemies that they would not believe, even if someone came back from the dead. In the account of the rising of the dead Lazarus, whether you believe it actually happened or not, we are told the skeptical eyewitnesses who hated Jesus sought to kill Him from that time on all the more.
Even if God split the sky. called you by name an told you personally that He is there, you might still not believe. After all, it COULD be a hallucination. People have those at times and some of them are even "God" experiences. It doesn't depend on evidence, but on your WILL, whether you want to believe or not. No amount of "evidence" can ever get anyone to believe if they don't WANT to.
That's why Jesus said that unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Little children WANT to believe and generally do, until they find out they have been lied to by those they trust. The Apostle Thomas had a hard time believing when the other disciples told him that Jesus had been resurrected and they had seen Him. Later Thomas did encounter the risen Christ and exclaimed" Lord I believe, help my unbelief". If you WANT to believe, you might pray that God would help you believe. Believing is a gift of grace, just as life itself is.
....If Apple spoke to each of them....
They did and at that time Cingular, now AT&T gave then the best deal. Is that not what businesses and consumers do, search for the best deal? I suspect that Verizon and the others are now kicking themselves for having snubbed Apple.
(....because they knew they could get more money......)
Of course they knew that. Apple is no a charitable organization, but a business to make money, like any other. Do you fault them for that?
.....Apple uses DRM on OSX ......
That's totally wrong. Apple doesn't sell the Intel version OSX apart from a new Mac. If you copy a Mac supplied disk, you are a copyright violator.
PC's still use the 20+year old BIOS booting system. That's the prime reason why OSX won't run on non-ac computers. There are hacks that allow other PCs to run OSX. Apple's OSX doesn't require the user to type long product codes nor does it call the mother ship in order to be "activated". Apple has no desire to support a million different hardware configurations on the PC and they don't feel like supporting multiple networks and other hacks on the iPhone either. PC and iPhone hackers are their own support system. Apple doesn't care, except for their contract with AT&T.
.... but if it results in someone's rights being violated,.....
/. readers excluded :-) ) having a hacked phone, reading such a warning might hesitate to install the upgrade. Apple never prevents anyone from doing anything the buyer may wish. You can run the device over with your car or throw it in boiling oil; that's your right, just don't ask Apple to fix it after that.
So exactly how are your rights being violated by Apple not wanting to support yours and a thousand other hacker variations of their product? This update was NOT a fix for something that was broken or on recall, as per your car analogy, but upgrades and enhancements. As such it is entirely optional. Furthermore Apple warns that this particular update may cause phones modified in an unknown way become non-functional. Any normal person (
In physical products, improvements are often made in later production runs or models. A car maker might increase the horsepower slightly and/or gear ratios a month or two after a car comes on the market. This doesn't mean that they are obligated to retrofit the already sold cars with these improvements unless these represent clear safety issues. Because software isn't limited to such physical constraints, it doesn't cost much extra to offer such upgrades not only to the new production, but also for products already in the hands of customers. Just because this process is something we have come to expect in software, does this suddenly make it an obligation of the manufacturer to offer upgrades to products already sold?
.....The laws clearly give the owner of the iPhone the right to modify it ......
Has Apple stopped anyone from modifying their phone? No? Then what's the beef? Does the law require Apple to support all possible modifications that could be out there? Does iPhone operate correctly as it came out of the box? It does? Is Apple obligated by law or contract to release enhancements and/or bug fixes? Does Apple force users to "upgrade" their iPhone? Did Apple not warn users of hacked phones NOT to update? Would ALL of those hacked phones still work on whatever alternate network the were hacked for, if their users had heeded Apple's warnings NOT to update unlocked phones? These whiners are like little kids whom their mommy has warned not to touch the hot stove. They did anyway and got burned. Rebellious human nature at work.
.....the DMCA permits that cell phones can be unlocked legally.....
Fine, does that law also mandate that a manufacturer has to support such an unlocked phone? Anyone may get a hack and unlock their phone. Just don't expect support afterwards, that's all.
....So, just like Apple's bogus claim that they only allow OSX to run on their own hardware........
When will people get it through their head that Apple is the only company that builds COMPLETE computer, comprising both hardware and their own custom made software? You don't expect X-Box software to run on a Playstation, do you? The engine in a Chevy won't fir into a Honda. Why is that principle called "bogus"?
.....Why wouldn't Apple want this to be multi-carrier?......
For the same reason they don't want OSX as multi-hardware, for a more consistent and reliable experience for the users. Their costs would greatly increase if they had to support the iphones for all the different carriers. Either that or they could upset their customers by passing the buck to the respective carriers. If your iphone acts up, do you call Apple or AT&T? I suspect most people will call Apple. The tech rep there has been trained on how iPhones and the AT&T network interact. They would also have to learn this for all the other carriers, at considerable cost to Apple. When your Dell PC acts up, do you call Microsoft or HP? No, you call Dell. Now Dell has to determine whether it is the hardware or the software that is causing grief. Apple would have to know the details and state of each carrier's network to accurately make that diagnosis. There are many wireless phones and music players on the market. If you hate Apple and their choice of AT&T, there are plenty of other options. Nobody is forced to buy and iPhone at gun-point.
.....Apple says you can't do that.....
Apple has never said you can't hack the iPhone or anything else they make. All they say is that if you do, don't expect us to support it. The update they sent out was ONLY for devices that are in stock condition. A device that is no longer stock may not work with updated parts, software, and/or hardware. Every manufacturer operates this way. They let you run Windows on a Mac, but don't give you support when that Windows installation misbehaves, do they? Should they?
.... It's designed to prevent accidents, not attacks......
So an attack isn't an accident? It's worse, deliberate sabotage wreaked by someone in a distant place.
(.....and now involves a microcontroller......)
Why can there not be a good sized air gap between any such control and safety devices and any remote network? A remote read only function implemented in hardware should keep someone from maladjusting anything from a distance, yet allow the bean counters at headquarters to see how much money they are spending/saving.
I suspect that there are still quite a few good old-fashioned relays and circuit breakers in service that directly protect large generators, transformers and other components of the power utility systems. It seems inconceivable to me that *any* computer screw-up should damage such equipment. Shut downs, yes, but damage the machinery as shown in that article? I think that experiment they did was rigged. Maybe they bypassed the normal hardware interlocks that used to protect such things before computers got into the act.
......if we are to advance as a society......
So if there is even the remotest chance that some hacker in Russia or wherever can shut off or even damage a critical infrastructure in the US, that's an advance? Give me a break! Let's go back to the good old days before such things were possible. Just because something is new and modern and sexy hi-tech, doesn't always mean it is better.
....Working in dangerous or otherwise critical environments.....
It used to be that all equipment was designed with specific hardware protection devices that would also protect against operator errors. If they use computers and software for that now, it is a step backwards IMHO. Adjusting the current or whatever to a dangerous value should not be possible. If it does happen, the machine should shut down, not self-destruct. Something sounds very fishy to me in this whole article.
....**KABOOM**......
Except that in the past at least, generators and other equipment had specific hardware devices, such as over current, overspeed and other protections that shut the machine off BEFORE it could go "KABOOM". Whatever happened to those? Do they rely on computers and software for that now? So in your scenario, the generator would be safely shut down before all that stuff was computerized.
.....has to communicate .....
Really, has to? Electric systems have been around since the days of Edison and worked just fine without networks, specifically the Internet. Sacrificing security for convenience is a bad idea that Microsoft has amply demonstrated. Why can a power plant not be controlled locally, by a human operator, like they were in the past. Remote reading is a lot different than remote control. Much of this remote control pressure comes from bean counters in management. They want to eliminate the cost of hiring workers wherever possible.
Normally, each generator, transformer and other equipment has safety devices that shut the machine down BEFORE any damage happens. Whatever happened to those? Do they depend on computers for that safety function now, that a simple relay or circuit breaker used to provide? If the setup in that experiment corresponds to the way power systems are run today, perhaps it's time to take a step into the past.
.....Using a lawnmower as a hedgetrimmer .......
Well, I used that analogy because it actually happened and the @%$#$% jerk even tried to sue the manufacturer after he got his teeth knocked out! Hot coffee at McDonalds?
The iPhone was designed to be used in a certain way, with a certain network. The lawnmower was designed for a certain type of fuel or electricity to mow lawns. The phone and the network were meant to go together. Apple always deals with the whole SYSTEM, not just bits and pieces, like the rest of the computer makers. They do this for Macs, the iPod-iTunes system and now the iPhone and the AT&T network system. That's why their stuff "just works", at least most of the time.
If you, with the help of some hacker figure out how to use the iPhone on some other network, fine, more power to you. Just don't blame the manufacturer if something goes wrong. The hackers should include a means to RESTORE the phone to what it was when you walked out of the store with it. Then before you apply an update from Apple, you restore the phone, apply the update and then re-apply the hack, if it still works. If not ask your hacker friend for an update to the hack, especially if you paid him money. If all that is worth it to you, for whatever reason, good for you. Apple would likely honor the warranty, if say the screen burned out, but not if the hack hosed the system to where it couldn't be restored to what it was at the factory. It's not too likely that a software hack would destroy the device, but it might cause extra work for Apple for which they would be justified charging you for.
(.....it's about seeing what could be a problem for your business......)
Exactly and that's why they're warning people that these hacks COULD brick their phone. Having a bunch of irate customers with dead phones would be a problem for their business. Maybe they should put a warning sticker on each iPhone.
Apple will let you install Windows on their computers. They even supply the means for you to do it and won't void the warranty on a shiny new Mac. However, they are not obligated to support your Mac after that. If you brought it to them, they might install OSX thereon (if it wasn't on there still) and determine that the Mac works just fine. If so, you probably would end up paying some money to them for their trouble. I have Windows XP on my Macbook-pro. The built in camera works only on OSX. Otherwise it seems to work quite well.
....if I mod my phone......
Then you simply um-mod it before you send it in to Apple to be repaired. Apple has the right to demand that the phone be restored to the state it was in when they sold it to you, except for normal wear. Anyone who uses some hack to mod the phone, should make sure that they also have a hack to unmod it to whatever it was before the hack was applied. The same goes for applying Apple patches. You restore the phone, patch and then re-apply the mod. If the mod doesn't work on the patched phone, the person who supplied the hack should patch the hack so it works again. Any hack that's not reversible is worse than useless, it's dangerous.
...you test for how people are likely to use it in ways you DON'T want......
So then a manufacturer of lawnmowers will test how well they work as hedge clippers? Someone making a device for ironing clothes will check to see how well it works as a bed warmer? The iPhone was made as a phone, to work only with AT&T's network. Anybody who misuses it for some other company's network takes the risk for whatever happens to them and the phone upon themselves. If the house burns down because some jerk misapplies an iron as a bed-warmer, is that the manufacturers fault? No manufacturer of anything can possibly anticipate the sum total stupidity of humanity. Whatever happened to that old-fashioned idea of people being responsible for their own actions?
...... A 7-year old Mac is a doorstop. ......
BS. I have a Titanium PB that came out in January 2001. The only upgrades it had was to 512M RAM and a 80G drive. It still works fine and I'm keeping it in case I have to boot into OS9 for some odd reason. Normally it runs OSX10.4.9. It's a little slow, but still fine for many tasks, such as a music server and X-10 controller. Until recently we still used an old Color Classic as a dedicated phone answering and fax machine. We now have voice mail and a 3 year old Mac-mini G4 makes a great fax machine because it allows faxes to be accessed over the network from all computers we use daily, as well as print them on the networked laser printer. It is also totally silent and doesn't take up much space. Old Macs definitely have good use left in them.
.....I got about 7 years use out of that machine for the money invested.....
I paid $1000 for a Titanium PB in 2002. I upgraded it later to 512M and put in a 80G drive. It runs only at 550 mhz and as such will be limited to 10.4.10 if this rumor is true. It works fine as a music server and an X-10 controller, running 24/7. I control it over our wireless network, since it sits in the back room doing its thing. Older computers often make fine servers for home use.
.....Do PCs from 2007 have no problem running Vista?......
I have a Macbook pro that runs VISTA just fine. However compared to Win2K or XP it is dog slow. It is totally unreasonable to expect to be able to run VISTA on even the fastest Pentium available in 2001. For most Mac users, 10.4.x will probably work for a while, just as XP will be running on most Windows users current hardware until the hardware dies. Even the newest computers have to work hard to run Windows VISTA. With nothing else running VISTA uses about 30% CPU cycles. XP uses only 10%, everything else the same.
.....I know you were attempting to discredit global warming......
I was not trying to discredit global warming as such, only the myth that humans are its cause by our technology. Man can and has caused local and regional changes, such as you cite. One look at a globe shows that man's activity is confined to a tiny portion of this planet. Most of it is covered with water and even much of the land is not inhabited by humans. As a life form, we probably have less effect on this world than the insects do.
We arrogantly pretend that it is our world, yet didn't make so much as a single atom. If renters trashes the landlord's property, doesn't that landlord have a right to take measures against those tenants? We are intended to be caretakers of the Creators work, but have made quite a mess of His property. We are allowed to use what he has given us, not to abuse and destroy it. It is not our technology, but our arrogance, rebellion and pride, which causes the Creator God's anger. The politically incorrect word is SIN. Read what God's spokesman, Isaiah wrote, centuries ago in Isaiah 24. We are told there exactly what God will do someday, about our treatment of Him and His planet. That same prophet also tells us in 30:26 that even the sun gets involved when that time comes, by becoming seven times hotter. John echoes this in Revelation 16:9. There will be REAL global warming alright, and we are the cause, but it's man's bent for evil, not our technology that is already beginning to bring it on.
....In most cases the computer manufacturer and the OS manufacturer are not the same....
Apple shows that there is no reason why computers have to be the sole commodity in the market place where that has to be the case. All water heaters and stoves come with a heating element. The user or dealer don't install these. Washer come with motors, brooms come with handles, refrigerators come pre-built with a compressor etc. All other consumer products come more or less complete with their main functional element, from the factory, ready to fulfill the purpose for which they were purchased. The central element in a computer is not the hardware, but its software. The fact that MS is able to make software for a vast array of different hardware proves this. Maybe MS SHOULD begin making hardware add-ons to the main component of any computer, the software that runs it. It's the dog of the software that wags the tail of the hardware. Apple's new iPods and iPhone show this very clearly.
.....I had half a dozen machines in the last few years and had to pay for the installed XP several times......
I have a number of light fixtures with 100w light bulbs. I had to buy all the light bulbs separately, for each fixture. I don't have an atomic duplicator, so I could make light bulb copies. So why should you be able to use your software duplicator, rather than buying a copy for each computer? It's people like you that force DRM burdens on the others who understand such an elementary principle. If it weren't for that mentality, DRM would never have been invented.
.....you could still buy a bare-bones computer and then decide......
Yes, I remember those days also. Before that, the only application software available was what you wrote yourself. I wrote a program to keep track of finances for us. In the early days of automobiles the owner of one these "horseless carriages" had to be a strong male (to crank it) and a fairly good mechanic. Now cars and computers are commodities and are expected to "Just Work (TM)". Installing an OS is not the customer's nor the dealer's job, but that of the manufacturer. It's the heart of a computer in the same way that the engine is what makes the car run.
Because Apple is the only computer maker that makes the WHOLE computer, they will always be better than those where the hardware and software are made by separate entities who often have trouble communicating. Better of course usually costs more. In the end, people get what the pay for.