Since the iPhone hit the market in June, tech-savvy
owners of the phone have been busy messing with its insides, figuring out how to
add unauthorized software and even “unlock” it for use on networks other than
AT&T’s.
Since Monday, Apple has been warning iPhone owners that using unlocking software
could damage the phone.
Steve Jobs Girds for the Long iPhone War More on Apple’s Latest Product, the
iBrick Navigating to Nowhere on the iPhoneBut the Web was filled Friday with
complaints from people who had installed the latest iPhone software update, only
to see all the fun little programs they had been adding to their iPhones
disappear — or, still worse, see their phones freeze up entirely.
Should they have known better?
Since Monday, Apple officials have been warning iPhone owners that using
unlocking software could cause the phone to become “permanently inoperable when
a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed.” But in many cases
those warnings went unheeded.
People who had unlocked their phones to use them with another carrier ran the
greatest risk of, in techie terms, having them “bricked” — rendered about as
useful as a brick. Most of those who committed the lesser transgression of
installing programs not authorized by Apple simply had those programs wiped out.
People have created dozens of programs for the iPhone, ranging from the useless
but entertaining (a virtual popcorn popper) to the decidedly practical (a
screen-shot capture program).
But for anyone who upgrades the iPhone’s system software, a routine process that
adds Apple’s latest fixes and improvements, those programs can no longer be
used. The update has made the iPhone “almost impervious to any third-party
hacks,” said Erica Sadun, a technical writer in Denver who has created more than
a dozen programs for the iPhone, including the screen-shot program and a popular
voice recorder.
Jennifer Bowcock, an Apple spokeswoman, said that when people went to update
their software with their computer through iTunes, a warning appeared on the
computer screen, making it clear that any unauthorized modifications to the
iPhone software violated the agreement that people entered into when they bought
the phone. “The inability to use your phone after making unauthorized
modifications isn’t covered under the iPhone warranty” Ms. Bowcock said.
There were reports online that employees at Apple stores were reviving or
replacing some dead iPhones. But Ms. Bowcock did not offer much hope to iPhone
owners with problems: “If the damage was due to use of an unauthorized software
application, voiding their warranty, they should purchase a new iPhone.”
Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, has said the company wanted to maintain
control over the iPhone’s functions to protect carrier networks and to make sure
the phone was not damaged.
Ms. Sadun said the community of people who write unsanctioned software for the
phone knew the update was coming.
“We had about two weeks’ notice,” she said. Yet Ms. Sadun and others said they
were surprised by the extremes to which Apple went to shut them down. “We tried
to think well of Apple,” she said. “Denial is a very strong part of the human
spirit.”
Until Friday morning, Ms. Sadun had a contract with the publishing firm
Addison-Wesley to write a book about creating applications for the iPhone. After
the news of Apple’s crackdown spread, she received a note from her editor that
suggested that they think of a different topic.
It was not unexpected that Apple would try to stop people from unlocking the
phones, as this threatened to cause problems for AT&T, Apple’s exclusive United
States partner for the iPhone.
“I don’t blame them for fighting the unlocks,” said Brian Lam, editor of Gizmodo,
a blog devoted to gadgets. “They are trying to make money, as a business. I get
that.”
Still, he said, that disabling someone’s phone, “instead of just relocking it
and to wipe out the apps, it seems like Apple is going way too far; I’d call it
uncharacteristically evil.”
In some cases, the apparent punishment for installing unapproved software was
harsh. Ross Good, a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
had added several programs, including one for instant messaging. After the
upgrade, the phone went into a semifrozen state.
When Mr. Good called Apple, the reception was cool. “They said I put third-party
software on my phone, and so it was my fault no matter what.”
Joel Robison, a systems network engineer near Seattle, said his phone stopped
working immediately after he installed the upgrade. He said that when he took it
to an Apple store, he was accused of having unlocked the phone. But he said that
with the exception of one aborted attempt to install a piece of outside
software, he had made no modifications to the phone.
“Their accusation was very damaging to my opinion of Apple’s service,” Mr.
Robison said.
J. Noah Funderburg, an assistant dean at the University of Alabama School of Law
in Tuscaloosa and a longtime Mac user, had little sympathy for iPhone hot-rodders.
“Anyone who hacks must know that they are taking certain risks,” Mr. Funderburg
said. ”If they aren’t willing to assume the risks upfront — like a brick iPhone
— then maybe they should not hack the device.
“We have a free marketplace,” he said. “Buy a product, including using it on the
terms accompanying the purchase, or don’t buy it. And learn to live with not
always getting everything you want.”
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<font size="1">Src: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/technology/29iphone.html?em&ex=1191211200&en=37222d83199c5f92&ei=5087%0A</font>
