IPhone 3G Jailbreak Released, Paves Way For Open Source Apps 382
PainMeds writes "iPhone Atlas is reporting that the first jailbreak for the iPhone 3G has been released, and includes the popular Cydia community installer for distributing free games and applications. Since Apple's SDK was released, web sites have criticized Apple for the restrictions placed on both what developers could write and what APIs they were allowed to use. Others have noted the SDK's incompatibility with the GPL. The Cydia installer has provided a distribution channel for both open source software and software that would otherwise be impossible to build using the restricted SDK. A few applications are already out, including MobileTerminal and NES.app, a Nintendo game console emulator. In just over a week, open development is finally here for the iPhone 3G!"
Don't buy it (Score:2, Insightful)
Buying a product so you can crack it is just retarded.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Don't buy it (Score:5, Insightful)
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As for why people buy iPhones and then crack them, the an
Re:Don't buy it (Score:4, Interesting)
Even without it being, it jailbroken, it is an enjoyable phone to use. Much more so than any Nokia / Samsung / Sony-Ericsson I've had over the years. And compared to WinCE it's a godsend, a Start menu on a phone? Seriously? Maybe the Blackberry is more functional... However I think that UI and aesthetics are a large part of functionality. The touch keyboard interface is good enough to write emails and I find it just as easy to use as a tinny qwerty keyboard.
At the end of the day I would have an iPhone regardless of whether I could jailbreak it or not. I've had some expensive phones in my time and this is the only one I've actually ever played with.
It's a well designed piece of hardware and I hope it spurs other companies and perhaps the next rethink of the OpenMoko into developing something better.
Re:Don't buy it (Score:5, Insightful)
The reasoning is not very difficult:
1) I like the hardware
2) I don't like the software
If the cost of fixing 2 is less than the value of 1, then you buy the device.
I don't have an iPhone either, but I don't act like people with a different opinion are drooling morons.
Re:Don't buy it (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Don't buy it (Score:5, Insightful)
Awesome, so you're buying a product and deliberately cutting yourself off from software updates for it.
What could possibly go wrong?
Re:Don't buy it (Score:5, Funny)
http://www.infopackets.com/news/security/2008/20080417_vista_security_update_bricks_usb_devices.htm [infopackets.com]
Lots! Automatically downloading and installing code from an untrusted party is pretty much the only way to make sure your software continues working as expected.
Nothing is wrong with the parallel chain (Score:4, Insightful)
Are you so apoplectic at people who install the XBox media center, cutting themselves off from official XBox updates?
REAL hackers accept the path of the parallel path they take. In reality there is no risk since you can always cut back to the main branch from Apple if things stop working - but why would they? If things work today they will continue to work as long as the device does.
You are just making excuses for continuance of your irrational Apple hatred.
Re:Nothing is wrong with the parallel chain (Score:5, Interesting)
There's nothing irrational about hating Apple. They are the kings of the proprietary and I like being in control of my own hardware.
And yes, buying an Xbox so you can hack it is also retarded.
Support the suppliers who are not trying to lock down the hardware.
Re:Nothing is wrong with the parallel chain (Score:4, Insightful)
Any hatred is irrational, but Apple does seem quite opposed to Freedom these days, which is a strong reason not to support them. I still use a Mac a lot because I do multimedia production, which unfortunately only the Mac handles well at this time. But I would never buy an iPhone or an iPod, not with the kind of policies Apple lays down for them. It's a shame too, they could be such nice devices otherwise. And you may be sure the minute there is a Linux alternative for serious mm production*, I'll be switching over altogether.
Yes, that makes a lot of sense to me. But I guess the looks of a gadget are what matters more to a lot of people.
*please don't post to tell me about ardour, audacity, ecasound, etc. They just aren't ready yet, though I certainly applaud their efforts and look forward to the day they are ready.
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There's nothing irrational about hating Apple. ... I still use a Mac a lot because I do multimedia production, which unfortunately only the Mac handles well at this time.
There is nothing irrational about hating the only company that is bothering to market a good solution to your work needs?
Your opposition to those in support of Freedom (Score:4, Funny)
Any hatred is irrational, but Apple does seem quite opposed to Freedom these days,
In what way?
Apple offers countless examples in support of Freedom. They support Webkit, GCC, LLVM, a multitude of common open source apps like Apache, Bonjour, Squirrelfish, etc. etc. etc.
If you yearn to support those who aid software Freedom, as I do (been a paid member of the FSF for years now) then you too would support Apple and the various open source efforts they contribute heavily to.
In the end only your hatred is misplaced, for Apple has no cause for it.
Re:Nothing is wrong with the parallel chain (Score:4, Insightful)
I may well get modded down to the depths of hell for this, but I've got karma to burn:
I would never buy an iPhone or an iPod, not with the kind of policies Apple lays down for them.
What policies?
I own an iPod. I have never, nor will I ever pay money for a track from the iTunes Music Store. Instead, my iPod is loaded with MP3s (ripped with cdparanoia and encoded with LAME) and AACs (again, ripped and encoded using OSS.)
Apple has done nothing to prevent me from using portable, cross platform formats on my iPod.
Now as to the iPhone -- you have more of a case here, but (at least in the US), not much of one. In order to release a cellphone in the US, you need the support of the carriers. If you don't have the support of the carriers... well... how's Openmoko doing again? In order to appease AT&T, Apple needed to make concessions (just as it had to make concessions with iTMS to appease the labels.) One of these concessions was control over the software that could be run on the device. AT&T doesn't want people using things like VoIP apps and SMS->email gateways. Apple needs AT&T's support, so it restricts the applications that can run on the device. It's as simple as that. It would make excellent business sense for Apple to support as much software as possible, but it wouldn't make very good business sense to piss off AT&T (thereby nixing the iPhone's chances of a US release.)
Look, I'm not happy about it either. I'd like to be able to install Java, Python, etc. on the iPhone through the app store. But given that the choice seems to be a somewhat restricted cellphone (that still performs admirably at its primary task as... well... a cellphone) or no Apple phone at all, I'd pick the former.
Apple does seem quite opposed to Freedom these days
Thing is, the rest of Apple's business doesn't seem to be nearly as controlling as you make it out to be. A large chunk of Mac OS X is open source, and Apple has donated code to the community even when it wasn't required for legal reasons (mDNSResponder, for example.) Apple's also donated a tremendous amount of manpower to the open source community: WebKit, LLVM, and gcc have all benefited from Apple's engineering staff. Take WebKit for example. Apple could have simply rolled KHTML into their browser, taken the patches from KHTML when they became available, and not done any work on their own. That would have been "good enough." But they didn't do that. Instead, albeit after a rocky start, they put a programmer (Dave Hyatt) on WebKit development full-time, opened the full source tree for public access, and turned WebKit into the best open source rendering engine out there.
Open standards run deep in Apple's desktop software. plist files are XML based, Mac OS X has system-wide support for PDF -- even iTunes (that "monopolistic" music player) rips files into a interchangeable format by default (AAC.) Apple has embraced H.264 for their video efforts (compare and contrast to if they had developed their own, proprietary codec.)
We'd all like a company that produces a completely open source OS that actively pushes its users towards using completely open formats like ODF with no option to use anything proprietary. We'd love it if this company made easy-to-use, stylish products built completely out of open components. I think I speak for all of /. when I say that if such a company existed and gained even half of Apple's popularity, we'd become fanatical supporters.
But in reality, such a company hasn't come along. The open source community (at least if past efforts are anything to go by) sucks when it comes to competing with Apple and Microsoft. The Openmoko FreeRunner, the open source community's answer to the iPhone, is an embarrassingly outdated usability nightmare. The OSS community _still_ has yet to make a music player as easy-to-use for the common consumer as the iPod.
We can all rant and rave abou
Re:Nothing is wrong with the parallel chain (Score:4, Insightful)
Hatred is always irrational. It doesn't arise from reason, it arises from emotion.
I personally save my emotion for people. Spending it on companies and computers seems like a horrible waste to me.
Those are not the Examples you were looking for (Score:3, Interesting)
They also offer many examples in opposition to Freedom: DRM on iTunes music and video purchases
But Apple is trying to change that with itunes+, a non-DRM'ed format they sell.
vendor lock-in with their OS
An open sourcing Darwin....
tight control over iPhone development (e.g. no emulators, no virtual machines, and no distribution except through Apple)...
That's not a problem of Freedom though. You are still free to develop all those things, you just can't distribute some of them. You can always distribute via
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That's like saying if Ford pushes down an update that disables cars with aftermarket parts, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
It doesn't happen, it won't happen, and it can't happen. If you don't want Ford mucking with your parts, don't let them touch your car. Same goes for your iPhone.
Nah, buy it. (Score:5, Informative)
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Irreversibly? Really? So those folks still do not have working phones? Yeah, thought so. Not as bad as all that now is it?
Re:Nah, buy it. (Score:5, Informative)
Upgrade 1.1 irreversibly bricked phones.
No it did not. You cannot brick an iPhone (or iPod) just by installing customized firmware or messing about with the software on it - even if you try. Some people have a really hard time grasping that.
What happened to some people was it restored the status of the phone to "awaiting activation" from where they could only be used with the original SIM they were bundled with (or, technically, an already activated SIM on the appropriate locales network, taken from another iPhone).
Now that pissed some people off and meant that people who got phones and where using them with other providers couldn't keep using them anymore (as they phones wouldn't get passed activation without an activated SIM on the appropriate network for the locale being inserted).
People liked using the term "bricked" so that's how they described it, not least because many of the people in that camp didn't HAVE an original, already unlocked SIM to insert, because the bought the phones from a 3rd party and so were left with a phone that was of no use to them (but that was really still working just fine, as intended by the vendor - but not as they desired).
People in this category were impatient / foolish enough to rush out and install a largely untested update on a phone they'd already patched the software on. This is happening again with the latest jailbreak with people who have a very limited understanding of what they are doing running into problems they won't be able to fix, and I am sure there will be a lot of tears before bed time when they rush like lemmings to install the next official update over the top of their patched up date in a few weeks or so.
Thankfully the Apple restore functionality for iPods and iPhones is reliable and robust. Even if you fuck one to the point where it won't boot still doesn't mean it's "bricked" - because even after doing that you can still access the restore mode and restore full functionality, loading up factory firmware on the device.
Re:Don't buy it (Score:4, Informative)
I don't know about the iPhone, but as an iPod touch owner, I'm pretty sure this is a no-risk proposition. If I install an update that breaks the device, I can just do a factory restore. All my purchased apps are backed up to my computer, so all I can lose is any jailbreak apps I've installed.
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So you're literally saying that you would rather be in a jail than face the risks of a free society.
Fuck me, what a great generation.
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Such bullshit! Anybody can install any software on a Mac or Linux machine, and look at how virus infested those are.
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Because iPhone OS, whether jailbroken or not, is superior to the competition. In particular, the applications are much more integrated and the browser is leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else's.
A jailbroken iPhone is a *better* smartphone than the alternatives, whether they're cracked or not.
I haven't seen the need to crack mine yet, anyway, but then again I'm not a developer.
Re:Don't buy it (Score:5, Insightful)
The same way you'd buy an HP and throw Ubuntu on it. You like the hardware, but despise the software (or part of it), so you do what you can to change that.
I don't think anyone is going to get through to you though, you've apparently already convinced yourself that the only reason to own an iPhone is for superficial trendy reasons. Personally, I feel that the UI is far superior to any other phone on the market, particularly when compared to similar smartphones that run Windows Mobile. Let's not talk Blackberry, their UI is so woefully behind both WM and iPhone that it's really a bit pathetic.
I jailbreak mine because I like the responsiveness of the OS, I like the UI, I like how many things are taken for granted (the media capabilities out of the box are excellent, as opposed to other smartphones, where they feel grafted on, and do not integrate well with other apps). I also want to run 3rd party software on it, because there's some really good stuff out there.
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How about the fact that it has a great UI paradigm and a consistent install base and is perhaps even fun to develop for?
And maybe you don't want to go through the Apple content approval system?
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.....And maybe you don't want to go through the Apple content approval system.....
That content approval system is not a minor afterthought from Apple. It prevents the miscreants of this world from doing to the millions of iPhones what they have done and still are doing to millions of Windows computers all over the world. Malware writers on the iPhone could not only steal your identity, but also keep track of your every move. I think every jail-broken iPhone should get at least one good piece malware as a ju
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Great idea! I'll also have Steve Job personally approve everything that goes on other devices I use too.
Seriously, climb down off the high horse already. Jailbreaks will come out for no other reason than to prove they can be done. Getting malware isn't "just punishment" for anything. Anyone who writes malware is a criminal or little punk at best. Ignorant and stupid people are more easily victimized but this stupidity in no way justifies the existence of the malware. Methinks your value system needs s
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Very secure? I thought it was still running Safari, no? And if it was so secure why did it take less than a week to break it?
How exactly is my identity going to be stolen off of my phone....
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I mean, unless you're so superficial and trendy that you just have to have the "cool look" of the iPhone, why on earth would you do something like this?
Cool look of the iPhone? I have to ask: What cool look are you talking about? Are you talking about the pretty interface, or are you referring to it doing things like browsing the web and not looking like a huge mess of mis-aligned tables? I ask because yes, I am attracted to the iPhone, but for the latter reason. I haven't seen a phone with a comparable browser. (Yet. Suggestions appreciated.)
I'm not saying that there isn't a group of people walking like zombies towards the Apple store going "ooo p
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Sure it can. However, it cannot ALSO take photographs, use WWAN broadband, send/receive text messages, etc. It is the convergence between these things that is useful and interesting.
Using the phone as a terminal is precisely what I do -- along with other things.
Other way around (Score:5, Insightful)
Not buying a great product you can easily crack is even more retarded. If you limit your options only to fully supported models of distribution you'll never have anything. You'll also face a life of being totally ripped off by the people that have you at the mercy of limited options.
The car dealer recommends you change the oil at the dealership, do you do that every tie as well?
We live in the hackers age. Embrace that, and win.
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Although a poor Fortune/CNN story, you'll find interesting comments here [cnn.com].
Story is wrong (Score:2, Informative)
So don't buy one? (Score:3, Insightful)
I realize the iPhone has a cool interface and all, but if so many people have a problem with Apple's tactics over this, why buy one?
It's like criticizing the makers of Soylent Green for using people as the ingredients and yet YOU STILL EAT SOYLENT GREEN.
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If you show me an open-source phone that has a touch screen and Wi-Fi and is actually usable (So that throws out OpenMo
Does that make Nintendo DS a phone? (Score:2, Informative)
Because it is just about the only phone you can get with Wi-Fi and a touch screen.
The Nintendo DS ($130, plus $40 for the homebrew expansion card) has Wi-Fi and a touch screen, and it can make and receive VoIP phone calls [svsip.free.fr].
Eh... (Score:3, Insightful)
Not that I don't appreciate the effort, but the App Store has more than held my sway over the old Installer.app-style stuff. Just about everything I want is free on there, and there's really a handful of stuff that will not be on there (emulators, as I'm assuming they count as "illegal" and pr0n -- but who needs pr0n in an app anyway)? So far, the stuff that has come out (e.g. radio apps) and what people are working on (about 5 programmers that I know of are doing VOIP apps -- and Apple already said there'd be no problem putting them up on the store).
I even downloaded the SDK and, yeah, while you can't do anything crazy with kernel or whatever in an "official" program, the API is pretty robust (pretty much any app can call one or two commands to find the GPS location -- that's pretty cool). I'm tempted to write my own apps now.
I mean, yeah, open source is cool and all. But all I wanted was the apps, and 99% of what I want is going to end up on the App store (in some cases for free). I haven't even jailbroken my phone at this point.
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I too enjoy the simplicity of the app store and unless there is a very good reason to do so I will not jailbreak my iPhone 3G if/when it becomes possible.
The only thing that could really get me interested in jailbreaking my iPhone 3G right now would be if there was a way to jailbreak it and there was a free SSH client needed the phone to be jailbroken. But as there currently is no SSH client for the iPhone 3G at all then there is no point for me to care about jailbreaking.
I am hoping someone will release a
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But... there is! :)
http://blog.iphone-dev.org/ [iphone-dev.org]
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Re:Java? Really? (Score:2)
Still no SSH client.. (Score:2, Flamebait)
Despite a lot of people clamoring for one, there's still no SSH client available to download, which is a shame since the iPhone has an ideal display for it. Apple appears to have some sort of restriction on "terminal" type applications, which is a far bigger restriction than just "illegal and pr0n".
I don't want a device I have to "jailbreak" (Score:2, Insightful)
Honestly, I don't understand why so many intelligent people love the iPhone. From what I understand (and I'm happy to be corrected) here are some of the big drawbacks:
1) Heavily restricted and requires "jailbreak"
2) I read that in Australia at least must be hooked up to iTunes before it can make anything other than emergency calls! WTF????
3) Doesn't play as many different types of media as other devices?
4) Overhyped and overpriced
5) Built in expensive to replace battery.
6) No storage expansion.
It's suppose
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Re:I don't want a device I have to "jailbreak" (Score:5, Insightful)
Posting on Slashdot must automatically remove all of your ability to sympathize with other human beings too.
Let's go through why most people don't care about the stuff you raised.
1) Most people don't do anything that's restricted anyway. This is less true of being restricted to a single carrier, but people generally have very little loyalty toward an individual carrier.
2) People really do not feel that it's a big deal to connect their phone to their computer one time in the 2+ years that they will own it.
3) People don't have "many different types of media", they have MP3s. The iPhone plays MP3s.
4) $200 US does not seem overpriced to me. As for overhyped, most people don't have this weird reaction where they feel that they are obligated to dislike anything that's popular.
5) Most people simply don't care about replacing their battery.
6) Most people simply don't care about storage expansion.
Your complains are all legitimate and it's fine that you don't like the thing (I don't own one either), but it's silly to act as though the device has no merit whatsoever.
Re:I don't want a device I have to "jailbreak" (Score:4, Informative)
Re:I don't want a device I have to "jailbreak" (Score:4, Insightful)
That's fine. That's a reason why you don't like it. It is not, however, a reason why everybody with any sense at all shouldn't like it. There's a big difference, and people on this site have a very difficult time understanding that.
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Two companies already sell matchbox sized addon batteries which allow you to recharge and use a dead iphone simply by plugging it into the charge port. 2 hours later you have a fully charged phone.
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1) Most people don't do anything that's restricted anyway. This is less true of being restricted to a single carrier, but people generally have very little loyalty toward an individual carrier.
People don't have loyalty except in the many places that AT&T just doesn't work. While many smaller phone companies have built towers there and you get full bars with them. And the fact that I believe the contract is *$100* per month!?!? And that doesn't include texting which is nearly essential to have today.
2) People really do not feel that it's a big deal to connect their phone to their computer one time in the 2+ years that they will own it.
Except if the people have a computer that iTunes won't run on, either an older Mac or an older Windows computer (and we know, Linux or BSD but that isn't most people yet).
3) People don't have "many different types of media", they have MP3s. The iPhone plays MP3s.
Except if they rip C
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You gave plenty of reasons why you do not want this phone. You gave no reasons why an arbitrary intelligent, reasonable person is obligated not to like this phone.
There is an enormous difference between "I don't like this" and "if you like this then you are stupid", and people on Slashdot simply don't grasp it.
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"People don't have loyalty except in the many places that AT&T just doesn't work. While many smaller phone companies have built towers there and you get full bars with them. And the fact that I believe the contract is *$100* per month!?!? And that doesn't include texting which is nearly essential to have today."
I have 200 texts, unlimited data, and more minutes then I can use for $60 a month...
"Except if they rip CDs using Windo
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It's tied to a 2 year high cost lock in. (Score:2)
It's tied to a 2 year high cost lock in.
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So is almost every other phone that people buy.
Once again, this is only a reason why you don't want it. It's not a reason why nobody should want it.
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I'm just one person. But I can answer your question, speaking for myself.
Those drawbacks have so far not affected me in any way (except that I paid a lot to get the iPhone).
1) I haven't yet found anything I want to do that a) is available but b) is NOT available in the App Store. When it happens, I'll jailbreak. (In any case, jailbreaking isn't that hard, and rarely affects any functionality.)
2) Since I have used iTunes as my jukebox for years anyway... yawn. I can see this would be a problem if you us
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2) Since I have used iTunes as my jukebox for years anyway... yawn. I can see this would be a problem if you used a free OS as your everyday OS.
Yes, it's precisely the problem of locking out Linux, BSD, etc. users. What you're using as your jukebox is irrelevant because regardless of what you're using I'm still locked out.
If you've converted everything you have to Vorbis/FLAC, then you're a) probably using Linux and b) even if you aren't, not on Apple's radar.
This is funny, because I think it's similar to "If you're wearing a turban, then you're a) probably a Talib and b) even if you aren't, we'll kill you anyway." By the way, why should I care about "Apple's radar" at all? You're in fact saying they aren't supporting OGG and FLAC because they aren't supporting them.
5) I'll have a new phone by the time the battery dies. A two-year-old phone is a dinosaur.
I'll only say "plan
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You're taking my response out of context. The original poster was asking, essentially, "how can anyone intelligent love the iPhone when it has all these drawbacks?"
You've explained that the drawbacks are fatal for you. That doesn't answer the OP's question. I'm saying there are many people, including myself, who don't care. That does answer the OP's question.
Apple, for better or worse, has made the choice that it's not worth the time and effort to support OSes other than Windows and OS X. Their financia
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1)Obviously the phone doesn't "require" jailbreak any more than Photoshop "requires" a keygen or my neighbor's house "requires" a skeleton key.
3)There are some devices that play more media types, some that play less. If that's the only criteria you care about when searching for a phone, then I guess the iPhone's not for you. The majority of people don't really care about whether their phones are mkv capable or not, though.
4)Matter of opinion, doesn't really belong in the midst of facts.
6)This is true but
Apple hater FUD from -1 Years Ago (Score:2)
Honestly, I don't understand why so many intelligent people love the iPhone.
That joke just wrote itself, I won't bother.
From what I understand (and I'm happy to be corrected)
I am here to make you ecstatic. See, the thing is your understanding is actually about a year old, before even the original iPhone came out.
1) Heavily restricted and requires "jailbreak"
Not anymore, there are very few real restrictions on SDK apps. Jailbreaking will be for some pretty marginal things now, like emulators that don't ha
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All of your issues have been talked about in another response, but I'll respond as well. I just got rid of my Treo to get the iPhone and I have to say it's the best phone I've ever owned, and I'm not much for hype. It just a good smartphone. I don't know what magic phone provider you have (you might be in Australia, so that would explain it) but in the US, every carrier has crap restrictions that beat the pants off anything Apple can do with their phone and App Store. 25 cents a text message? 3 bucks for a
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Only on Mac (Score:5, Funny)
(picture in TFA)
On Mac, even exploits have user-friendly GUIs!
The SDK is not incompatible with the GPL (Score:4, Insightful)
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The SDK is "XCode and GCC" but you cannot use the SDK without linking to non GPLd libraries in order to actually DO anything.
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That's true of OS X on Macs as well. Any application will link against libSystem.dylib which isn't licensed under the GPL.
Oh Bullshit... (Score:2)
It doesn't even conflict with GPLv3.
When people distribute User Products that include software under GPLv3, section 6 requires that they provide you with information necessary to modify that software. User Products is a term specially defined in the license; examples of User Products include portable music players, digital video recorders, and home security systems.
"Dear User. To compile this code you will need the iPhone SDK available from Apple and you can push the modified code out to your iPhone using a
Except in Canada... (Score:4, Informative)
Thanks to the upcoming C-61, anybody picking "digital locks" placed on their own damned phone is liable to a $20,000 fine!
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3025/125/ [michaelgeist.ca]
Misrepresenting the four freedoms (Score:2)
I like how whenever the discussion of open source comes up, someone always tries to slip in "freedom to modify in place" as one of the rights you have with free software, that link up top about the SDK being incompatible with the GPL even links here: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html [gnu.org]
in an attempt to say that freedom to modify in place is one of the four freedoms, and it isn't.
"Thus you could in theory place your work under GPLv2, as long as it was either entirely original or derived only from code
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He's talking about the GPL v3, which specifically says you can't require code signing.
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in an attempt to say that freedom to modify in place is one of the four freedoms, and it isn't.
How is "modify in place" different from "adapt to your needs" (freedom 1)? Isn't being able to "modify in place" a precondition?
You still have the software and the freedom to use it anywhere else you want.
Yes, you still have your open source iPhone software and you're free to use it on any jailbroken iPhone you want.
Code signing means that someone else than you decides what you can run on your device.
Freedom 0 is seized by the signing authority - you can only run programs approved by the authority.
Freedom 1 is denied - you can't adapt the program to your needs, because you won't be
Assuming Apple allows you to buy it (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Assuming Apple allows you to buy it (Score:5, Informative)
This same situation was described on the first day by a TV reporter who was also refused as he also had a special discount. This is why potential customers were asked to come by a day or so before to check their eligibility for an iPhone 3G at the discounted rate. Clearly, thos on special discounted plans were not eligible for the full discounted rate. Thisincludes you as you could have determined by checking online before. However, it's human nature to want something and overlook the details. I'm sure you can find a solution by talking with AT&T and getting a phone from them since you are thiwr customer, however, don't expect to get the $199 or $299 discounted rate unless you give up your monthly discounted rate.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I still can't believe I don't currently own an iPhone 3G.
This issue was widely reported the day of the launch in various forums.
The solution is very simple: call AT&T and ask them to remove the discount from your account. Buy the iPhone from the Apple Store, then call AT&T to reinstate the discount.
There were multiple reports of people doing this -- some of whom were actually standing in line waiting to buy an iPhone and resolved the problem before they got to the front of the line.
Or, you can do like I did and avoid the lines altogether:
Don't need jailbreak for open source apps (Score:2)
If you look around, there is already plenty of source code (including whole apps) to be found for the official SDK.
Those who have developer accounts (and by now that's pretty much anyone who asked as Apple opened up the acceptance channel shortly after the 3G iPhone release) can compile that code, and run it locally.
It's true that apps like that cannot get the distribution of a Jailbreak app which can run on any phone and does not require having XCode installed. But you should not say the SDK precludes ope
This "incompatible with FOSS" FUD is annoying (Score:3, Informative)
Get on with the news, zealots: the final SDK has been released July 11, so the NDA has been lifted for more than a week now. I wish people would stop with that bullshit about not being able to make open source apps on the iPhone.
There is NOTHING stopping you from distributing code that targets the iPhone SDK. In fact, nothing prevents you from distributing binaries of OSS apps on the App Store while still providing source code for them on your website or whatever.
The only problematic license is the GPLv3 because of its infamous anti-tivo clause, but barely anyone uses the v3 anyway, and those using it are RMS fanboy zealots who are better not buying the iPhone because they'll just whine relentlessly about it.
Re:This "incompatible with FOSS" FUD is annoying (Score:5, Insightful)
Get on with the news, zealots: the final SDK has been released July 11, so the NDA has been lifted for more than a week now.
You'd think so, but no. If you check Apple's Cocoa mailing lists you'll see multiple nastygrams from the moderators stating that the iPhone SDK is still under NDA. It's an exceptionally stupid situation where anybody in the world can download the SDK, but nobody can talk about it, and presumably publicly posting code that uses it would be in violation.
Re:so (Score:5, Interesting)
Because OpenMoko looks like the iPhone's ugly cousin from Kentucky? How about the fact that the iPhone already has numerous apps and a lot of momentum in app development? How about the fact that the standard software on the iPhone is much more polished than anything the OpenMoko will produce?
I'm more interested in Android and very interested in what platforms may support it. (You know if, if it gets out of Beta(tm) stage)
Re:so (Score:5, Insightful)
Flamebait? By pointing out the OpenMoko's obvious downsides to the iPhone? Are you kidding me? The overzealous sensitive mods are out in force!
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of the OpenMoko, but the execution is poor considering the considerable competition. People are developing plenty of apps for the iPhone because it is popular and it does have a very polished user interface. The iPhone has staying power. The OpenMoko? Not so much.
Re:so (Score:5, Funny)
The mods aren't overzealous, they're from Kentucky.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
That's not the real price of the iPhone however. Unlocked iPhones in Australia are around the $750 - $800 mark.
The real cost of coke.. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Because OpenMoko is unusable, at least on the FreeRunner hardware. Seriously? A keyboard where the keys are so small that my relatively small fingers can't avoid hitting two at once?
OpenMoko? I'm still cringing at the interface. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
your being funny but it is true. I figured I would miss out on opening day sales, as I have a life, but I stopped in July 11th with the intent of getting one on hold. I did so and the sales droid told me 3-5 business days. It shipped on friday 5 days, and should arrive on monday for me to use.
Side note the first smart phone I actually spent money on. I can use any OS, but the iphone was the first phone that I actually enjoyed to use the smart phone features on. it was simple, and effective interface
Re: (Score:2)
Go to your local AT&T store. They will allow you to pay for one up front and they will then order the phone. As soon as it comes in you go pick it up. No waiting in lines or getting up at 5am just to get to a store in the hope they will have enough.
Re:I wonder... (Score:5, Informative)
Really? I applied as an individual developer without any released Apple products, and have paid my $99 and got in. They were very restrictive until release day, but at this point I don't know anyone who's applied who hasn't gotten the invitation email. I got my email the day after the App Store was opened, and am halfway done with my first app.
And as there are enough applications in the Apple Store already that it's hard to track them all, I don't think lack of apps is anything anyone's worrying about. Jailbreaking will definitely be good for GPL fanatics (as that's the only one of the open source licenses that's incompatible), but I suspect 99% of the users won't care and will stick with the convenience, support, and variety of the official store.
Present a case (Score:2)
Because you live in a country with Apple Store available?
Are you sure you mean what you say? In theory you have an "Apple Store" anywhere since you can get to it from the web after all...
I had heard initially some people had trouble with international payments but thought those were cleared up now. What countries "Do not have an Apple Store"?
Can you provide links with examples?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Also, you might want to talk to the MAME people about what exactly an emulator is for. But, even if you allow yourself to become knowledgeable, don't let it get the way of your trolling!
In before "virtual console sales!" comment completely ignoring the "portability" aspect.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
If it were anybody but Nintendo I'd agree with you, but Nintendo tends to re-release stuff over [wikipedia.org] and over [wikipedia.org].
Playing emulated abandonware obtained through less-than-official channels is fine IMHO, but the ethics of playing games that are still available commercially are less clear-cut.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Make copyright periods too long, and eventually you have companies like Nintendo re-releasing old games in lieu of actually producing new content.
Sonny Bono owns you (Score:2)
Shit guys, Nintendo is losing potential money over Twenty Year Old games.
Whether they're Twenty Year Old or not doesn't matter. They're not Ninety-Five Year Old [wikipedia.org] games.
Also, you might want to talk to the MAME people about what exactly an emulator is for.
The goal of MAME is to document the hardware in the C language, which has the side effect of producing a real-time emulator. People who subscribe to that philosophy shouldn't consider any NES emulator other than Nintendulator and perhaps Nestopia, as those are the emulators that aim for cycle accuracy über alles, as opposed to good enough to run commercial games on limited hardware (such as PocketNES on Game B
Subtle difference - abandonware vs. pirating (Score:2)
If you could buy NES games today, then it might be pirating (though even there I would argue not in the case of very old games).
But you can't buy NES games for the iPhone today. If there was something that let you download and play Super Monkey Ball for free, that would very obviously be pirating. But playing older games you can't buy through any channel - that's a much grayer area to me as no-one is losing. I firmly believe most people that download a free NES emulator would pay if games were released t
Re:I do not think it means what you think it means (Score:4, Insightful)
What, you didn't keep all of your old Nintendo carts? Guess YOU are the one playing the pirated games then. Many of the rest of us still have the carts.
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, it is.
If you were making homebrew games for the DS (or for the iphone itself, as many people are) then it's somewhat believable. I doubt there is a single person out there making a bona fide attempt at a full NES homebrew game right now.
I developed Tetramino, and I'm single (Score:3, Interesting)
I doubt there is a single person out there making a bona fide attempt at a full NES homebrew game right now.
I developed Tetramino [pineight.com], a falling block game for people who care about falling block games. And I'm single.
Re: (Score:2)
iPhone can connect to Work VPN.