LWN.net Logo

Apple: why iPhone jailbreaking should not be allowed

Apple: why iPhone jailbreaking should not be allowed

Posted Feb 20, 2009 3:13 UTC (Fri) by jmorris42 (subscriber, #2203)
In reply to: Apple: why iPhone jailbreaking should not be allowed by tgall
Parent article: Apple: why iPhone jailbreaking should not be allowed

> Perhaps it is a little ironic to complain as a community about
> jailbreaking the iPhone for the purposes of unbounded development,
> but on the other hand complain about wine where the source is
> fully available.

Your point would be what exactly? That a Free Software type should focus their efforts to get Wine up to being able to run the closed iTunes app that Apple will most likely break as soon as you get it running on Wine? And even if they don't break it as soon as it runs you still have a closed source app talking to a closed platform. A temporary solution at best.

I really don't understand the mental machinery of a Mac zealot posting on LWN, how you can doublethink your way around the contradictions. Maybe if you are a pure Open Source pragmatist you can avoid the head explodes part.


(Log in to post comments)

Apple: why iPhone jailbreaking should not be allowed

Posted Feb 20, 2009 3:58 UTC (Fri) by tgall (subscriber, #217) [Link]

> Your point would be what exactly?

My exact point would be when I hear a lot of griping about freedom and wanting to tinker with a device or system, it gets to be an interesting question as to how many of those individuals have invoked a compiler in the past week. Does it invalidate the 'right' of the smaller number of legitimate people? No. But neither does it invalidate the right of the designer of the device to create what was their vision, closed tho that may be.

> That a Free Software type should focus their efforts to get Wine up to
> being able to run the closed iTunes app that Apple will most likely
> break as soon as you get it running on Wine? And even if they don't
> break it as soon as it runs you still have a closed source app talking
> to a closed platform. A temporary solution at best.

Indeed. But one does have to pick your battles in life. Likewise, crack a phone's OS where the crack has a limited useful life span, or maybe go with something from the get go where all the code is open? With that we kinda come full circle... there isn't much point to cracking an iPhone.

> I really don't understand the mental machinery of a Mac zealot posting
> on LWN, how you can doublethink your way around the contradictions.

Yup Mac Zealot. Wonder what gave it away .. all these boxes of mine running Linux? Maybe it's those Linux patches I posted today... *sigh*

> Maybe if you are a pure Open Source pragmatist you can avoid the head explodes part.

How about if I rotate my head 360 degrees and spew green goo?

Apple: why iPhone jailbreaking should not be allowed

Posted Feb 23, 2009 3:03 UTC (Mon) by jschrod (subscriber, #1646) [Link]

Well, you ask how many of those who want to use their iPhone without running proprietary intrusive software like iTunes, and who have used a compiler last week? Since your rhetorically question is concerned to construct a straw men, let me answer it nevertheless: at least me.

And, let me tell you: you are a deceiving member of the open source community, if you obviously don't even see that people might want to use their fully-paid hardware without resorting to lock-in software (iTunes et.al.) that only runs on closed-source operating systems and is security-wise extremely obnoxious.

Lastly, but not respectfully, Sir, you show exactly one fact: We really need the functionality of KILL-files on LWN. Sigh, to paraphrase Henry: »Those who do not understand Usenet, are condemned to reinvent it, badly.«

Copyright © 2013, Eklektix, Inc.
Comments and public postings are copyrighted by their creators.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds