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Why you should not buy Apple computer products
- jpxxx 14y agoMmm. sips tea Anyway, to the best of my knowledge, the jailbreak-detection system mentioned here[1] was removed as of iOS 5. [1] http://arstechnica.com/apple/2011/02/ibooks-to-jailbreakers-no-yuo/ http://arstechnica.com/apple/2011/02/ibooks-to-jailbreakers-...
- saurik 14y agoNo: was definitely present on iOS 5. In fact, this plagued people during the first week after the 5.0.1 jailbreak release[1] and was later defeated by planetbeing as part of "crazeles"[2]. [1] http://www.redmondpie.com/fix-ibooks-on-ios-5.0.1-iphone-ipad-ipod-touch-after-untethered-jailbreak-using-corona-1.0.5-update/ http://www.redmondpie.com/fix-ibooks-on-ios-5.0.1-iphone-ipa... [2] http://theiphonewiki.com/wiki/Crazeles http://theiphonewiki.com/wiki/Crazeles
- jpxxx 14y agoOh! I take that back, thank you.
- stcredzero 14y agoWhat a waste. People don't know how to use a jailbreak detection system. One doesn't "plague" people with the information. Doing this actually destroys the value of it. One should never restrict features and functionality based on this.
- mrknmc 14y agoSo what smartphone should I use then?
- CrazedGeek 14y agoBuy a non-Nexus and non-Motorola Android phone, install CyanogenMod or AOKP, and (optionally) install a non-Play Store app store. (This is all fairly quick and simple to do with recent-ish major Samsung phones, at the very least.) Or wait until an Ubuntu phone comes out. (EDIT: For clarification, I am NOT saying any of this would be RMS-friendly, just a bit more open and less privacy-invasive than the norm right now.)
- dobbsbob 14y agoWith a Nexus banded phone you can build your own Rom from source if you wanted.
- CrazedGeek 14y agoVery true. I excluded them purely because Nexus is a Google brand, and buying a Nexus device would be supporting them to an extent.
- dhruvmittal 14y agoRMS says the Ubuntu dash is made of spyware, so that's not quite kosher either.
- CrazedGeek 14y agoIt's removable FOSS spyware, at the very least.
- gurkendoktor 14y agoWouldn't the phone have to ship with CyanogenMod/AOKP? Liberating a device after the purchase still rewards the wrong company. And Samsung? http://developer.samsung.com/android/technical-docs/DRM-in-Android http://developer.samsung.com/android/technical-docs/DRM-in-A... http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20010533-1.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20010533-1.html http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57559174/samsung-chip-plant-caused-womans-breast-cancer-s-korean-govt-agency-rules/ http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57559174/samsung-chip-pl...
- CrazedGeek 14y agoI'm not saying it's an ideal solution, but are there any better solutions smartphone-wise right now? And yes, Samsung. Because if we're going to pick off every phone manufacturer for every misdeed they've done, there won't be any left to actually buy a phone from.
- dobbsbob 14y agoNo surprise. Android isn't Gnu compliant either so according to the FSF we should be using nothing.
- dhruvmittal 14y agoI think we can "officially" use triquel or parabola linux on lemote PCs...and that's about it.
- moogleii 14y agoStone, chisels, maybe horsehair brushes.
- Spittie 14y agoThe FSF obviously suggest to use Replicant (http://replicant.us/ http://replicant.us/). Otherwise, Cyanogenmod without the proprietary Google Apps is a less bad alternative (http://fsfe.org/campaigns/android/liberate.en.html http://fsfe.org/campaigns/android/liberate.en.html)
- gbog 14y agoWhy bring a caricature here? RMS and FSF tell us what is bad and less bad from the point of view of software freedom, which they and other think is important. RMS said explicitly that Android was less bad than iOS, which is obvious, while still not being perfect according to freedom of software, which is obvious too. Nobody said you can't buy an iPhone, but what you can't reasonably do is value highly software freedom and at the same time prefer iOS over Android.
- uptown 14y agoI use what I like. I currently like the iPhone.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- jewbacca 14y agoThat is certainly the default position. I use an iPhone as well, because I like it, and I could make that same statement, but it would be with significant self-deprecation, and the "currently" would be loaded with subtext. I'm curious about what you think Stallman's purpose is here? Assuming you're as unapologetic as taking your statement at face value would imply.
- uptown 14y ago>I'm curious about what you think Stallman's purpose is here? I'm assuming he's taking a principled stand based on what he believes to be injustices carried out by Apple, and trying to convince others to do the same. Good for him.
- jewbacca 14y agoHaving some suspicions of what Stallman's wider goals are, I wouldn't assume that these "injustices" are the reason for his objection in isolation. I see from a quick stalk (sorry, I wanted to see if there was some common ground to build on) that just the other day, you wrote a comment about Google Reader that seemed to suggest (my interpretation; by all means object if this is mischaracterized) that controlling your own tools is a more far-sighted and responsible choice than locking yourself into a proprietary system out of your control. Sorry to pick on you (and thank you for responding), but I really am genuinely curious if others who are aware of RMS and still make the choices that you and I have, are really on the same page as far as understanding his overarching philosophy.
- uptown 14y ago
- dsego 14y agoDoes anybody listen to Stallman anymore? Boy crying wolf.
- gurkendoktor 14y agoI make a living on iOS and I still hadn't heard all of these before. Nothing wrong with keeping track of a company's missteps. The problem is that he then destroys all credibility by things like calling the iPad "iBad" ... :(
- IheartApplesDix 14y agoApple lost all credibility with me for the reasons listed in the article. Given the motivations of each, which one would you trust more?
- coldtea 14y agoApple. At least they are in it for the money (and some proud in their products), not some ideology.
- raganwald 14y agoI'm sorry to be the one to pull on the yarn and unravel your sweater, but the belief that the pursuit of wealth is in some way meritorious or beneficial is in itself an ideology. So either you mean that you like your ideology of "the invisible hand" more than Stallman's ideology of "freedom," or you have fallen into the trap of thinking that "ideology" is a word that only applies to the other guy's beliefs.
- IheartApplesDix 14y agoYou are truly a patient man.
- coldtea 14y ago>I'm sorry to be the one to pull on the yarn and unravel your sweater, but the belief that the pursuit of wealth is in some way meritorious or beneficial is in itself an ideology. And I'm sorry to surprise you, but I also believe that. I'm not a liberal or in favor of the "free market" at all. But, see, while the belief that the "pursuit of wealth is in some way meritorious or beneficial" is an ideology, mere pursuit of wealth is not an ideology. With all this said, I can clarify my original comment. My reasoning is, entities with one narrow and well understood goal (money) are easier to reason and deal with than entities dealing on ideology.
- khakionion 14y agoApple is attacking free software with their mobile patents? Strange, I've only heard of the Android lawsuits. Is there an actually-open OS that Apple is pursuing legal action against?
- IheartApplesDix 14y agoThere is no "actually-open" OS that runs on handsets. The military use is obvious.
- caycep 14y agoOf course, he uses the Lemote Yeelong. Who knows what sort of atrocities went into the production of that thing?
- streptomycin 14y agoBecause X might do something bad, it doesn't matter if Y actually does something bad. Do you apply this logic to all aspects of your life, or just Apple?
- caycep 14y agoWell, comparing Lemote - a state-sponsored company in one of the most corrupt business environments on Earth and who likely enjoys almost no regulation whatsoever, vs. Apple whose manufacturing partnerships with Foxconn, Pegatron, and the like are probably the most scrutinized out of all the electronics manufacturers in China, which factory would you rather work for?
- streptomycin 14y agoYes, this line of logical reasoning absolves Apple of everything.
- jason_slack 14y agoI think that Stallman is always interesting to listen to. So is ESR. But he says: "Apple left a security hole in iTunes unfixed for 3 years after being informed about the problem. During that time, governments used that security hole to invade people's computers." This is really take out of context rather than concrete proof. The original article is pretty vague even.
- stcredzero 14y agoGovernment collusion is really immaterial to this just being bad.
- jason_slack 14y agowhat "just being bad"? Stallman's rant or the lack of patching a hole for 3 years by Apple?
- stcredzero 14y agoThe lack of patching a hole for 3 years by Apple.
- mamcx 14y ago"Apple lures people into the business of developing apps with visions of the great wealth that a few of them get" I wonder if developing FOSS software is proven best in this area... (for individuals, not just companies)
- IheartApplesDix 14y agoor to rephrase, If your application a valuable is a labor saving or time saving advancement, what is the best model to make sure you can benefit the most from that? How do you effectively distribute that advancement so that it "rises the tide"? Is a price a valid indicator of value? No, we see these days that free services are much more quickly adopted. Most people judge value by practicality and word of mouth. If you start extracting value from that service by charging for it, aren't you effectively negating the benefit to society? Imagine you invented a murder App. (lets call it iMurder) This app replaced the need to murder people, through a complex spanning tree alogirthm that combines social network data and communication and travel restriction protocols (commonly known as SAML) and a fully immersive augmented reality overlay. (compatible with Google Glass) How much do you charge for this app?
- mamcx 14y agoYou change the metric of succes. If I wanna the most spread, do it for free. But he is saying about $$$, not reach. So the question remain.
- IheartApplesDix 14y agoYou didn't properly grok my comment what is the best model to make sure you can benefit the most from that? So, how much are you going to charge for iMurder? To clarify, do you think you'll make more money in your life giving it away for free or selling it?
- mamcx 14y agoIf i'm following you, are you saying that the profit could come with ads?
- jjcm 14y agoRMS is a smart man, but I can never seem to take him seriously. He has the tact of a sixteen year old who's looking to start a flame war. Between his iThings, his Micro$ofts, iBads, and "quotes" all over, I half expect him to end his statements in lol. The cause that he's fighting for is good, but the way he fights just doesn't attract anyone to his side.
- mehrzad 14y agoI actually asked him why he uses those terms. He says it's because he refuses to use their marketing terms and he gets to poke fun at the companies as well.
- MichaelGG 14y agoiBad is still obviously using the "marketing term" iPad. If he wanted to not use those terms, he could write "Apple's tablet device" or something to that effect.
- stcredzero 14y agoHow about "weBad" as a way of bolstering the self confidence?
- stcredzero 14y ago> I half expect him to end his statements in lol. There have been a lot of changes to language on the Internet in Stallman's time. Stuff that was cool just a year ago marks you as an undesirable now. "Micro$oft" used to be perfectly socially acceptable on USENET. I wonder who they paid to get that changed?
- untog 14y ago"Micro$oft" used to be perfectly socially acceptable on USENET. I wonder who they paid to get that changed? The level of discourse was raised, MS didn't pay anyone.
- pslam 14y agoIn case people haven't noticed - from the footer: "Copyright (c) 2012 Richard Stallman" This isn't new writing, and the title should really have "(2012)" in it.
- fawkstevejobs 14y agoThe mere practice of referring to service staff as "geniuses" is dishonest already. hahaha! thats the truth!
- cjensen 14y ago"Ebooks with DRM ... due to intentional sabotage by Apple". Nope. It's up to the publisher. For example, all of the Orson Scott Card books on the iBookstore advertise that they are DRM-free in the description.
- Soggybottom 14y agoNo mention about paying 2x for the branding? What's up with that?