There's no reason for them not to. People keep expecting "right now" to be synonymous with "forever more," which is ludicrous.
Mind you, I don't see Apple officially supporting an "OPEN" open environment even in the future. Not even as open as the consoles, where they pretty much give you permission to do whatever (within pretty liberal guidelines) as long as they get their cut. But I do expect Apple to offer a true SDK as some point, with software vetted by Apple and officially distributed through iTunes conforming to more stringent standards, which will be just fine by most people. And chances are there will be plenty more "unofficially" released after that point as well, with the only caveat being that Apple won't support said software, and may modify certain service offerings depending on what crapola you grab from out there.
...and how do you install the third party software on the iPhone other than though firmware modifications? Right now there's no industry for it.
That's also not their "stated reason," nor what this update interfered with. While some software installations were momentarily messed up by the overwriting of certain modified system files from the update, it seems that a quick re-application is all it takes to get things going again. Maybe certain functions and updates capabilities remain messed up uptil the hackers find their workarounds again, as they always do in short order after updates, but the phone isn't "bricked," which is the only real point of complaint. As far as I know, the "bricking" is only affecting people who have unlocked--either via hardware or software--their phones to work on other carriers. Even Jobs' "cat and mouse" comment was only referring to carrier unlocking, which is as far as you can get to their "stated reason." That is also a violation of their terms of service, so if you're knowingly violating it... you are also knowingly accepting the potential problems that may arise.
This is not even "installing third party software" within or without a system that by default ACCEPTS third-party applications. This is modifying/replacing their system software to utilize unauthorized networks in violation of their terms of service. Try again.
I am sure, though, if this was Microsoft, you'd be lambasting them for it.
Actually, they've been doing that for ages. And while people have lambasted them, they don't actually lambaste them for THAT. (Though they will tend to lambaste them when they implement it poorly, like the recent Windows Update which broke WGA on a whole passle of machines.) They will rightly attack a stealth, FORCED update as well, but Apple is not doing that in this case.
But Windows has for ages had updates that will cause your system to shut down if it detects too many hardware changes, or can caused excess issues (above and beyond their own false positives for WGA and such) because of certain system modifications the user has done; or simply broken their modifications by overwriting files in the normal updating process so that you have to re-apply your modifications. (And while I don't personally know the Zune scene, I think they keep it very much more locked down than the iPod--and even the iPhone--and attempt to keep it so with any firmware update.)
I don't lambaste Microsoft for DOING it at all, but they usually draw complaints by doing it poorly, improperly (as with the recent automatic stealth update), and from a standpoint of assuming their userbase is a bunch of thieves. But if I were RUNNING a hacked/illegal/very modified Microsoft system, I wouldn't be surprised if official updates broke something. Same as I don't with the PSP. Or with a TiVo. When you choose to modify your hardware or your software, you basically know what to expect.
Apple seems like it's just going to take the PSP route with this; firmware updates are for system changes and improvements, but while they're there, they usually take time to cover exploit holes and overwriting the firmware in general can break hacks and cause them bricks.
I don't think they're going to be quite as virulent as Sony, though... Some PSP firmware updates seem to have almost nothing in the way of improvements except a throwaway "improved security in thusandsuch and yakkityshmack" line, so really all it serves is to bust up hacks. Apple really has no incentive to do that, but does have pressure to show to at&t and their other exclusive partners that they are not ignoring wholesale SIM-unlocking and the like when they provide feature updates. If they can target SIM-unlocking specifically in the future and not software-loading-only hacks in the future, we'll probably see that too.
For what reason? "The installation of third party software?" Of course not. "Running an official OSX update on a hacked version of OSX?" Heck, I'm pretty sure people would EXPECT it. Heck, most people seem to be perfectly fine with Microsoft kicking you off your system if you run an update and it detects something "non-Genuine" about your system, even though they pull in a large amount of false positives.
Apple doesn't have incentive to go out of their way to stymie simple hacks and updates, though. They have more incentive to go after people who hack OSX to work on non-Apple hardware, however, and they don't seem to care much about that either. In the iPhone's case, however, they have non-Apple pressure being applied as well, as the cell carriers lose out completely from their exclusivity agreements if you hack your phone to use another carrier or bypass revenue-gaining services with modifications, so they wouldn't be too pleased if Apple took a "do what you want" stance.
In the same way that Apple is "at fault but not at fault" for DRM on the iPod (they weren't going to get online digital music sales going any other way, and they did establish the most lenient terms), Apple seems to be "at fault but not at fault" on this matter. Sony have only their own concerns in regards to PSP hacking and updating, but Apple has outside pressure that they're in no position to ignore... at least for now.
If and when the iPhone spreads and becomes a success somewhere on the scale of the iPod, they can then start changing the way business is done overall. Bear in mind that we have music DRM because of the RIAA, but the only reason we are seeing movement AWAY from DRM now is because of Apple.
Their updates. You know what happens to YOUR device if you don't install THEIR update, hacked or no? Absolutely nothing. Works just fine. Fancy that.
An AppleTV update can mess up AppleTV hacks, and everyone considers that a hacking paradise. (Though admittedly, there's no pressure on them to overtly mess up hacks like there is with the iPhone.) iPod updates can mess up certain alterations or software use, like that one that stymied some programs for... like... half an hour, before they modified how the changed data files were read. That's simply the way things work.
You can just expect the iPhone to more resemble the PSP with its' updates, which is neither illegal nor "evil." Some (including me) may think it's wrongheaded, but as far as hackers go that's just a way of life.
They refused to service a broken hinge on a laptop because it had Linux installed.
A broken hinge is one thing, and Apple would be in the wrong (maybe not technically, but certainly in the public eye) if they refused any and ALL service if they notice hacked firmware on the iPhone, but quite a lot of device issues can result from software alterations. Screen popping out? Well, no... But intermittent display or speaker issues? It still MAY be a hardware problem, but since it CAN come from a software error, that has to be ruled out first.
Personally, I think they should just turn a blind eye to everything and simply have "restoring to factory defaults" be the first known repair step when they encounter "anomalies" such as that, but as much as they've managed to get some concessions out of the cell phone companies, I think there's plenty of pressure on them FROM their exclusive partners to not seem like they're encouraging that kind of hacking.
Apple makes money of the hardware, and no doubt makes money off the iPhone (though certainly more if you're getting service through AT&T), and they usually don't give a rat's ass. They have to in this case, however, because they're not the only one at stake here, and they need the cell partners to get into the industry at ALL. Likely their tune will change when they open up (I think that's more "when" than "if," but it will take a bit) to all other interested cell carriers, but for now it behooves them to "tread carefully," since they can basically be shut out of the market by companies refusing their conditions.
That means, unfortunately, that we get the butt end of the deal right now. Apple is usually much more of a consumer advocate (and certainly we wouldn't be seeing the move AWAY from DRM without their influence), but sometimes that means we have to deal with it until they can get more pull. The cell providers enjoy the same kind of overbearing pull the RIAA has, but already Apple has made some inroads... We'll get more of that in the future. It's just sad that for the time being there will be a few victims along the way.
Though seriously, people... If you know how to hack your iPhone, don't you also know how to reinstate the factory defaults BEFORE you bring it in for service? This is not rocket science.
It's not "their" device. Updates are "their" service, however. What happens when you do not update...? Nothing! It continues to work, as if by magic!
If you hack your equipment, you know what you're getting into. Official updates gumming up the works (and even potentially causing hardware issues) on hacked devices (whether by hardware or by software or by a combination of the two) has been commonplace for ages, which is why--shockingly!--people don't run updates until THEY have been hacked! How this is remotely a surprise or a litigatory offense is beyond me.
It may not work 100% for everyone for everything (for instance, if you don't have an active AT&T SIM), but it should work pretty well overall and, frankly, anything else will be coming down the line in short order. They always do.
You are. Just don't also install later Apple updates on your modified phone. Also, if you know enough to hack your iPhone, you should damn well know enough to restore the factory settings on it before bringing it into an Apple store for hardware evaluation for repair/replacement. (Especially since software glitches and firmware hacks and other modifications certainly CAN have side-effects.)
I'm rather assuming Apple approaches this the same way Sony does with their PSP updates, but you don't see people with hacked PSP firmware installing updates now, do you? Or, when they do, they do it with... updated hacks! Shocking, I know.
No one is stopping you from walking down a different path, but you don't get to walk both "off the beaten path" and on the paved sidewalk at the same time.
When you get right down to it, Apple bricking unlocked cell phones is pretty much exactly what the FCC is supposed to stop with its jurisdiction over cell phone receivers. It's bad for the economy, and bad for the network.
Apple doesn't specifically look for unlocked or hacked phones and end them... Same way Sony doesn't brick PSP's. They just don't promise that firmware updates will be compatible with alternations made to their device. Certainly Sony covers up "security holes" and previous hacking methods, and I'm sure Apple will be doing that as well, but that's not the same thing.
If you're going to alter your firmware (or whatever hacking methods you use), then you already know that updates may screw things up. DO NOT, THEN, UPDATE YOUR PHONE. It's just that easy. If you WANT the benefit of updated firmware, you can always wait for the updated firmware to get hacked itself (which usually happens in a matter of days), or reverse your modifications, update, and RE-reverse it.
I'm not sure what the FCC regulations entail, but Apple is not hunting you down specifically and punishing you. They are not forcing you to update your iPhone firmware either. (It is a default setting, but if you know enough to hack your iPhone and DON'T change it off default settings...? That's what I call "your own damn fault.") Perhaps new software will require the new firmware later on (as happens with the PSP), but you're not required to use that software either. Freely do what you want, but freely know you're not entitled to update your device freely and flawlessly if you choose to modify it.
That's pretty much common sense, whether or not warranties are in place or whatever.
Yes, yes... a horrible idea. After all, they had such amazing OS prospects in house previous to the NeXT acquisition, and building enhancements based on BeOS would have been much more viable.
...
o_O
Just about anyone trying to enter the OS business with any real commercial viability has failed, because... well... the deck was kind of stacked, eh? NeXT had some real "holy crap!" technology that they were delivering--and had been delivering for years what other OS'es were promising and NOT delivering--but as has been constantly shown, that's not all it takes to carve out a market presence.
OSX Server was delivered 2.5 years or so after the acquisition of NeXT, with consumer OSX out two years after that (and to be fair, a solid version took until Jaguar's release in mid-2002, but that's still just over five years since the NeXT acquisition, which is well below your "decade" comment), which in the terms of huge operating systems is a pretty good turnaround for a major overhaul. You think they were futher along and better along with Copland, and were not otherwise spinning their wheels since System 7?
Not only has OSX been one of the best-received operating systems in general, but it certainly revitalized Apple. Not to mention the acquisition of NeXT allowed them to bring back Jobs without a lot of embarrassment for either him or Apple management, and in the end that brought solid leadership back to the company, dumping holes, simplifying and solidifying their product line, revitalizing their image, bringing in the iMac, some good sales, some actual good press...
It was pretty much the best decision they could have made, all things considered.
Then only buy Episode 2, numnut. It's $30 on Steam. Congratulations, you get what you want. Or do you somehow expect them to create 5 different boxes for various permutations of the Orange Box, and the retailers to all be perfectly happy with them taking up space? As well as tossing a fairly unbelievable combo package out the window? Yes, that sounds like a brilliant plan! Truth be told I'm a bit irked that they didn't at least put out the "Black Box" (at the very least on Steam), but in the end each part is available separately, and will have their own package deals over time, so...
Meanwhile, what's all the "2 year" bitching? Episode One was released June of last year, which is certainly over one year, but nowhere near two. HL2: Episode One was more like 18 months after HL2, but then Lost Coast was in-between, so they've been reasonably "episodic" about it all. You can kvetch over the quality of the episodes if you want, but that's a different matter.
Plus, I'm not sure how anyone would have expected VALVE to release it every 9 months or so... I mean, c'mon... It's Valve!
I'd be interested to see exact figures, but at last reporting, some 60% of online music revenue comes from album sales, which tends to speak to the album still having a big effect. Not to mention the ability to sell IN non-overpriced singles has affected the volume of track sales quite a bit, so it's likely that they're winning out in the long run anyway. They may lose some people who wouldn't buy the whole album, but they also gain people who wouldn't have even bought the single BECAUSE they don't want to pay for overpriced BS or the whole album. Not to mention it can turn "impulse buying" into an art form, whereas you simply don't get that from CD singles (not big in North America anyway) or $15-20 albums (that's more the new/hit album pricing).
"Fill in the gap" album strategies go a good way towards convincing people to "upgrade" their 2-3 songs to the whole album, and it wouldn't take much thought to figure out other ways to convince consumers to go for it. The digital age is only going to get bigger and eventually consume the rest, so... they're better off working out what new strategies they NEED for it, rather than figuring that anyone trying new technology is automatically willing to pay an ass-reaming premium for it. Consumers may be stupid, but they're not THAT stupid.
Ah, I think I see what I was reading now... CDMA still has a slight majority share in North America, but South America leans more to GSM which gave them the slight majority share in "the Americas."
It's not necessarily an overriding factor, but if Apple was edged out (Hah! Get it?) of Verizon in general, they may have simply solidified another gameplan. Who's to say that if they DID work out the deal with Verizon, they wouldn't have maintained CDMA exclusivity during their initial rollout and launch periods instead? It's not like CDMA doesnt EXIST elsewhere... It's just not as widespread.
We certainly know they'll be spreading beyond GSM eventually... But I wouldn't expect anything before the "iPhone 2" launches.
"Most?" I thought GSM took the majority share in the U.S. last year, and that it was still growing at a faster pace.
Regardless, it makes sense for Apple to hold to GSM only right now, as they're in the middle of a global rollout (where GSM is by far the dominant standard), and likely won't be able to produce enough to satisfy demand for this holiday season anyway. Why would they want to confuse the issue NOW by creating different internal hardware specifications and introducing other potentially delaying issues?
We're three months after launch here... Why do people consistently act like everything is already set in stone for the next five years? Handset makers frequently remain exclusive to one carrier or one standard for many months before bringing the model (if it proves desirable enough) to everyone else.
...which rather pales in comparison to The Fountainhead; her philosophy is plainly evident, but isn't as ridiculously emphasized, nor get in the way of a more personal story you can invest yourself in. I still don't know why people obsess so much over Atlas Shrugged...
Um... how is Apple "limiting" it to the US, while they're busy trying to arrange deals with european and asian carriers and had approximate launch timetimes mapped out before they were on market IN the US?
I was unaware that "not doing an immediate global rollout" = "limiting yourself to one market."
Slashdot Mirror
There's no reason for them not to. People keep expecting "right now" to be synonymous with "forever more," which is ludicrous.
Mind you, I don't see Apple officially supporting an "OPEN" open environment even in the future. Not even as open as the consoles, where they pretty much give you permission to do whatever (within pretty liberal guidelines) as long as they get their cut. But I do expect Apple to offer a true SDK as some point, with software vetted by Apple and officially distributed through iTunes conforming to more stringent standards, which will be just fine by most people. And chances are there will be plenty more "unofficially" released after that point as well, with the only caveat being that Apple won't support said software, and may modify certain service offerings depending on what crapola you grab from out there.
...and how do you install the third party software on the iPhone other than though firmware modifications? Right now there's no industry for it.
That's also not their "stated reason," nor what this update interfered with. While some software installations were momentarily messed up by the overwriting of certain modified system files from the update, it seems that a quick re-application is all it takes to get things going again. Maybe certain functions and updates capabilities remain messed up uptil the hackers find their workarounds again, as they always do in short order after updates, but the phone isn't "bricked," which is the only real point of complaint. As far as I know, the "bricking" is only affecting people who have unlocked--either via hardware or software--their phones to work on other carriers. Even Jobs' "cat and mouse" comment was only referring to carrier unlocking, which is as far as you can get to their "stated reason." That is also a violation of their terms of service, so if you're knowingly violating it... you are also knowingly accepting the potential problems that may arise.
This is not even "installing third party software" within or without a system that by default ACCEPTS third-party applications. This is modifying/replacing their system software to utilize unauthorized networks in violation of their terms of service. Try again.
I am sure, though, if this was Microsoft, you'd be lambasting them for it.
Actually, they've been doing that for ages. And while people have lambasted them, they don't actually lambaste them for THAT. (Though they will tend to lambaste them when they implement it poorly, like the recent Windows Update which broke WGA on a whole passle of machines.) They will rightly attack a stealth, FORCED update as well, but Apple is not doing that in this case.
But Windows has for ages had updates that will cause your system to shut down if it detects too many hardware changes, or can caused excess issues (above and beyond their own false positives for WGA and such) because of certain system modifications the user has done; or simply broken their modifications by overwriting files in the normal updating process so that you have to re-apply your modifications. (And while I don't personally know the Zune scene, I think they keep it very much more locked down than the iPod--and even the iPhone--and attempt to keep it so with any firmware update.)
I don't lambaste Microsoft for DOING it at all, but they usually draw complaints by doing it poorly, improperly (as with the recent automatic stealth update), and from a standpoint of assuming their userbase is a bunch of thieves. But if I were RUNNING a hacked/illegal/very modified Microsoft system, I wouldn't be surprised if official updates broke something. Same as I don't with the PSP. Or with a TiVo. When you choose to modify your hardware or your software, you basically know what to expect.
They're also only developer preview phones right now. We'll have to see what the commercial release will be like.
Apple seems like it's just going to take the PSP route with this; firmware updates are for system changes and improvements, but while they're there, they usually take time to cover exploit holes and overwriting the firmware in general can break hacks and cause them bricks.
I don't think they're going to be quite as virulent as Sony, though... Some PSP firmware updates seem to have almost nothing in the way of improvements except a throwaway "improved security in thusandsuch and yakkityshmack" line, so really all it serves is to bust up hacks. Apple really has no incentive to do that, but does have pressure to show to at&t and their other exclusive partners that they are not ignoring wholesale SIM-unlocking and the like when they provide feature updates. If they can target SIM-unlocking specifically in the future and not software-loading-only hacks in the future, we'll probably see that too.
For what reason? "The installation of third party software?" Of course not. "Running an official OSX update on a hacked version of OSX?" Heck, I'm pretty sure people would EXPECT it. Heck, most people seem to be perfectly fine with Microsoft kicking you off your system if you run an update and it detects something "non-Genuine" about your system, even though they pull in a large amount of false positives.
Apple doesn't have incentive to go out of their way to stymie simple hacks and updates, though. They have more incentive to go after people who hack OSX to work on non-Apple hardware, however, and they don't seem to care much about that either. In the iPhone's case, however, they have non-Apple pressure being applied as well, as the cell carriers lose out completely from their exclusivity agreements if you hack your phone to use another carrier or bypass revenue-gaining services with modifications, so they wouldn't be too pleased if Apple took a "do what you want" stance.
In the same way that Apple is "at fault but not at fault" for DRM on the iPod (they weren't going to get online digital music sales going any other way, and they did establish the most lenient terms), Apple seems to be "at fault but not at fault" on this matter. Sony have only their own concerns in regards to PSP hacking and updating, but Apple has outside pressure that they're in no position to ignore... at least for now.
If and when the iPhone spreads and becomes a success somewhere on the scale of the iPod, they can then start changing the way business is done overall. Bear in mind that we have music DRM because of the RIAA, but the only reason we are seeing movement AWAY from DRM now is because of Apple.
Wait, wait... MACS are the "conformist" option? This is news.
Their updates. You know what happens to YOUR device if you don't install THEIR update, hacked or no? Absolutely nothing. Works just fine. Fancy that.
An AppleTV update can mess up AppleTV hacks, and everyone considers that a hacking paradise. (Though admittedly, there's no pressure on them to overtly mess up hacks like there is with the iPhone.) iPod updates can mess up certain alterations or software use, like that one that stymied some programs for... like... half an hour, before they modified how the changed data files were read. That's simply the way things work.
You can just expect the iPhone to more resemble the PSP with its' updates, which is neither illegal nor "evil." Some (including me) may think it's wrongheaded, but as far as hackers go that's just a way of life.
They refused to service a broken hinge on a laptop because it had Linux installed.
A broken hinge is one thing, and Apple would be in the wrong (maybe not technically, but certainly in the public eye) if they refused any and ALL service if they notice hacked firmware on the iPhone, but quite a lot of device issues can result from software alterations. Screen popping out? Well, no... But intermittent display or speaker issues? It still MAY be a hardware problem, but since it CAN come from a software error, that has to be ruled out first.
Personally, I think they should just turn a blind eye to everything and simply have "restoring to factory defaults" be the first known repair step when they encounter "anomalies" such as that, but as much as they've managed to get some concessions out of the cell phone companies, I think there's plenty of pressure on them FROM their exclusive partners to not seem like they're encouraging that kind of hacking.
Apple makes money of the hardware, and no doubt makes money off the iPhone (though certainly more if you're getting service through AT&T), and they usually don't give a rat's ass. They have to in this case, however, because they're not the only one at stake here, and they need the cell partners to get into the industry at ALL. Likely their tune will change when they open up (I think that's more "when" than "if," but it will take a bit) to all other interested cell carriers, but for now it behooves them to "tread carefully," since they can basically be shut out of the market by companies refusing their conditions.
That means, unfortunately, that we get the butt end of the deal right now. Apple is usually much more of a consumer advocate (and certainly we wouldn't be seeing the move AWAY from DRM without their influence), but sometimes that means we have to deal with it until they can get more pull. The cell providers enjoy the same kind of overbearing pull the RIAA has, but already Apple has made some inroads... We'll get more of that in the future. It's just sad that for the time being there will be a few victims along the way.
Though seriously, people... If you know how to hack your iPhone, don't you also know how to reinstate the factory defaults BEFORE you bring it in for service? This is not rocket science.
It's not "their" device. Updates are "their" service, however. What happens when you do not update...? Nothing! It continues to work, as if by magic!
If you hack your equipment, you know what you're getting into. Official updates gumming up the works (and even potentially causing hardware issues) on hacked devices (whether by hardware or by software or by a combination of the two) has been commonplace for ages, which is why--shockingly!--people don't run updates until THEY have been hacked! How this is remotely a surprise or a litigatory offense is beyond me.
I'm pretty sure they've already found it: http://www.iphonehacks.com/2007/09/breaking-news-i.html#more
It may not work 100% for everyone for everything (for instance, if you don't have an active AT&T SIM), but it should work pretty well overall and, frankly, anything else will be coming down the line in short order. They always do.
Wtf is a creek.
;-)
It is a stream of water smaller than a river.
You are. Just don't also install later Apple updates on your modified phone. Also, if you know enough to hack your iPhone, you should damn well know enough to restore the factory settings on it before bringing it into an Apple store for hardware evaluation for repair/replacement. (Especially since software glitches and firmware hacks and other modifications certainly CAN have side-effects.)
I'm rather assuming Apple approaches this the same way Sony does with their PSP updates, but you don't see people with hacked PSP firmware installing updates now, do you? Or, when they do, they do it with... updated hacks! Shocking, I know.
No one is stopping you from walking down a different path, but you don't get to walk both "off the beaten path" and on the paved sidewalk at the same time.
When you get right down to it, Apple bricking unlocked cell phones is pretty much exactly what the FCC is supposed to stop with its jurisdiction over cell phone receivers. It's bad for the economy, and bad for the network.
Apple doesn't specifically look for unlocked or hacked phones and end them... Same way Sony doesn't brick PSP's. They just don't promise that firmware updates will be compatible with alternations made to their device. Certainly Sony covers up "security holes" and previous hacking methods, and I'm sure Apple will be doing that as well, but that's not the same thing.
If you're going to alter your firmware (or whatever hacking methods you use), then you already know that updates may screw things up. DO NOT, THEN, UPDATE YOUR PHONE. It's just that easy. If you WANT the benefit of updated firmware, you can always wait for the updated firmware to get hacked itself (which usually happens in a matter of days), or reverse your modifications, update, and RE-reverse it.
I'm not sure what the FCC regulations entail, but Apple is not hunting you down specifically and punishing you. They are not forcing you to update your iPhone firmware either. (It is a default setting, but if you know enough to hack your iPhone and DON'T change it off default settings...? That's what I call "your own damn fault.") Perhaps new software will require the new firmware later on (as happens with the PSP), but you're not required to use that software either. Freely do what you want, but freely know you're not entitled to update your device freely and flawlessly if you choose to modify it.
That's pretty much common sense, whether or not warranties are in place or whatever.
Yes, yes... a horrible idea. After all, they had such amazing OS prospects in house previous to the NeXT acquisition, and building enhancements based on BeOS would have been much more viable.
...
o_O
Just about anyone trying to enter the OS business with any real commercial viability has failed, because... well... the deck was kind of stacked, eh? NeXT had some real "holy crap!" technology that they were delivering--and had been delivering for years what other OS'es were promising and NOT delivering--but as has been constantly shown, that's not all it takes to carve out a market presence.
OSX Server was delivered 2.5 years or so after the acquisition of NeXT, with consumer OSX out two years after that (and to be fair, a solid version took until Jaguar's release in mid-2002, but that's still just over five years since the NeXT acquisition, which is well below your "decade" comment), which in the terms of huge operating systems is a pretty good turnaround for a major overhaul. You think they were futher along and better along with Copland, and were not otherwise spinning their wheels since System 7?
Not only has OSX been one of the best-received operating systems in general, but it certainly revitalized Apple. Not to mention the acquisition of NeXT allowed them to bring back Jobs without a lot of embarrassment for either him or Apple management, and in the end that brought solid leadership back to the company, dumping holes, simplifying and solidifying their product line, revitalizing their image, bringing in the iMac, some good sales, some actual good press...
It was pretty much the best decision they could have made, all things considered.
Then only buy Episode 2, numnut. It's $30 on Steam. Congratulations, you get what you want. Or do you somehow expect them to create 5 different boxes for various permutations of the Orange Box, and the retailers to all be perfectly happy with them taking up space? As well as tossing a fairly unbelievable combo package out the window? Yes, that sounds like a brilliant plan! Truth be told I'm a bit irked that they didn't at least put out the "Black Box" (at the very least on Steam), but in the end each part is available separately, and will have their own package deals over time, so...
Meanwhile, what's all the "2 year" bitching? Episode One was released June of last year, which is certainly over one year, but nowhere near two. HL2: Episode One was more like 18 months after HL2, but then Lost Coast was in-between, so they've been reasonably "episodic" about it all. You can kvetch over the quality of the episodes if you want, but that's a different matter.
Plus, I'm not sure how anyone would have expected VALVE to release it every 9 months or so... I mean, c'mon... It's Valve!
I'd be interested to see exact figures, but at last reporting, some 60% of online music revenue comes from album sales, which tends to speak to the album still having a big effect. Not to mention the ability to sell IN non-overpriced singles has affected the volume of track sales quite a bit, so it's likely that they're winning out in the long run anyway. They may lose some people who wouldn't buy the whole album, but they also gain people who wouldn't have even bought the single BECAUSE they don't want to pay for overpriced BS or the whole album. Not to mention it can turn "impulse buying" into an art form, whereas you simply don't get that from CD singles (not big in North America anyway) or $15-20 albums (that's more the new/hit album pricing).
"Fill in the gap" album strategies go a good way towards convincing people to "upgrade" their 2-3 songs to the whole album, and it wouldn't take much thought to figure out other ways to convince consumers to go for it. The digital age is only going to get bigger and eventually consume the rest, so... they're better off working out what new strategies they NEED for it, rather than figuring that anyone trying new technology is automatically willing to pay an ass-reaming premium for it. Consumers may be stupid, but they're not THAT stupid.
Ah, I think I see what I was reading now... CDMA still has a slight majority share in North America, but South America leans more to GSM which gave them the slight majority share in "the Americas."
It's not necessarily an overriding factor, but if Apple was edged out (Hah! Get it?) of Verizon in general, they may have simply solidified another gameplan. Who's to say that if they DID work out the deal with Verizon, they wouldn't have maintained CDMA exclusivity during their initial rollout and launch periods instead? It's not like CDMA doesnt EXIST elsewhere... It's just not as widespread.
We certainly know they'll be spreading beyond GSM eventually... But I wouldn't expect anything before the "iPhone 2" launches.
"Most?" I thought GSM took the majority share in the U.S. last year, and that it was still growing at a faster pace.
Regardless, it makes sense for Apple to hold to GSM only right now, as they're in the middle of a global rollout (where GSM is by far the dominant standard), and likely won't be able to produce enough to satisfy demand for this holiday season anyway. Why would they want to confuse the issue NOW by creating different internal hardware specifications and introducing other potentially delaying issues?
We're three months after launch here... Why do people consistently act like everything is already set in stone for the next five years? Handset makers frequently remain exclusive to one carrier or one standard for many months before bringing the model (if it proves desirable enough) to everyone else.
Uh... Don't you just place two fingers on the trackpad, then click? (Admittedly, it might depend on the age of your hardware...)
..as if there's much of a comparison? That one would be firmly aimed at the Shuffle's end, and admittedly, beats the crap out of the Shuffle.
When I hear people like Bill Maher profess that they are libertarians I shutter.
...you become a camera?
...which rather pales in comparison to The Fountainhead; her philosophy is plainly evident, but isn't as ridiculously emphasized, nor get in the way of a more personal story you can invest yourself in. I still don't know why people obsess so much over Atlas Shrugged...
Um... how is Apple "limiting" it to the US, while they're busy trying to arrange deals with european and asian carriers and had approximate launch timetimes mapped out before they were on market IN the US?
I was unaware that "not doing an immediate global rollout" = "limiting yourself to one market."