Micah Lee and Peter Eckersley for the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Apple’s recent products, especially their mobile iOS devices, are like beautiful crystal prisons, with a wide range of restrictions imposed by the OS, the hardware, and Apple’s contracts with carriers as well as contracts with developers. Only users who can hack or “jailbreak” their devices can escape these limitations.
“Join us now and share the software, you’ll be free, hackers, you’ll be free-ee-eee!” – Some crazy-eyed old neckbeard.
Seriously, EFF, just shut up.
The music production apps and soft synths for Android suck horribly. For a musician, other mobile operating systems are prison.
EFF, sometimes right, this time wrong, tend to pimp techno-geek elitism. Nothing democratic about their vision of things at all; especially if you are not hip enough to know how or don’t want to jailbreak anything.
Wait, he attacked Gatekeeper too (i.e. the system that gives you choice as far as how locked down you want your computer)? The only argument that I can see being made in the entire thing is that Apple’s eco system is increasingly incompatible with their licensing terms. That comes across as sour grapes.
It’s always odd when one party picks another party to be the standard bearer for their thing.
Quite possibly one of the least insightful posts on The Loop that I’ve read so far.
Still, nice to see a well-reasoned argument against what the EFF says. At least you didn’t result to personal comments based on stereotypes and the way people look. Oh wai
Seriously, did you never get bullied in school for being a geek? Even if you don’t remember what that was like, at least have some common decency not to go down to the level of a playground bully.
Seriously, name-calling? Give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it, you really do. Hope you’re proud.
A well-reasoned response to criticism of a “closed” system will come when they make a a well-reasoned criticism. This is another “it’s bad because it’s closed” religious-type edict with nothing to back it up. Apple’s system resulted in more high quality apps, a safer platform, and a better user experience for the customer. The EFF and other “open” advocates never acknowledge this.
There’s no “freedom” at stake here. This is a company that sells products that you are not forced to buy. It’s not a law you are forced to adhere to. If you don’t like it, go buy an Android phone.
Tone trolls can shut up too.
Too much freedom is causes chaos ..
IMHO Apple is doing just what is right to keep the products healthy and lovable .. So that they can last a good number of years without having too much problems because of your so called crystal prison..
That’s it? That’s all you have? Just shut up? Wow what we’ll thought out response that is. How old are you? 8?
No more donations to the EFF from me. I find that article ridiculous.
100s of millions of iOS users. No viruses or trojans. Normal people who feel secure enough to buy digital goods, install and uninstall software.
iOS also shifted power from the “telecom industrial complex” — state originated monopolies the world over — who never ever did anything good for the end user.
Let’s face it. The so called “restrictions” of iOS has empowered users, not imprisoned them. We engineers and geeks should celebrate this, but some of “our own” aren’t going to be happy until my mom compiles her own kernels.
The critics also fail to address the fact that you can install what ever you want on any iOS device you own. Get a developer license and install all you want.
If EFF find iOS and OS X offensive, don’t use it. Don’t buy any apps. Don’t buy any device. Don’t use iTunes. Go crazy until you reach The Full Stallman. Good for you.
Where in the UN Human Rights does it address the Fundamental Right to Control All Turing Machines?
I’m tired of this crap.
You might ask the same to the EFF. They don’t like it because they can’t do whatever they want – sounds like the ramblings of an 8 year old too.
How about something like this? http://www.loopinsight.com/2012/05/24/not-cool-apple/
The free software movement in general and, in this case, the EFF in particular could benefit from contemplating Ralph Waldo Emerson’s aphorism: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”
I’d tell you to shut up, but in the CDAed, SOPAed, DMCA-even-crazier world that the EFF has been fighting against (and you seem to prefer) I wouldn’t have to.