In article <slrnh4n8th.c30.jon+usenet@snowy.squish.net>, Jon Ribbens
<jon+usenet@unequivocal.co.uk> wrote:

> On 2009-06-30, Todd Allcock <elecconnec@aNOoSPAMl.com> wrote:
> > Yes, but Palm took it a step further, didn't they, and added syncing as
> > well.
> > That's what triggered the threat- if the iTunes store is more about
> > supporting high-margin iPod hardware sales than a profit center in its own
> > right, Apple has a vested interest in keeping it "in the family" rather
> > than allow it to become a generic music sync tool like Windows Media Player
> > is.
>
> Well, yes, of course. That's my point - even though it's not
> necessarily in their own interests, Apple did what was in their
> customers' interests and changed iTunes to deliver DRM-free music.
> Once they did that, it became impossible for them to prevent other
> companies making their devices sync with that music - whether
> directly through iTunes or through some tiny add-on makes little
> difference.

other devices can certainly access the music but apple could make it
very difficult to access the itunes library which contains playlists,
song ratings, etc.

> > The iPhone is a huge success _despite_ its flaws and limitations,
> > not _because_ of them!
>
> I think you have that wrong. Everything about the iPhone is a
> compromise between the competing interests of mobile phone companies,
> media companies, consumers, and Apple itself. I think Apple have done
> a pretty good job of balancing these interests, and this is what has
> lead directly to the iPhone being a success.

well put.

> > Those ARE wiped out with every upgrade!
>
> Ah, OK, I haven't tried jailbreaking my phone. I just haven't heard of
> any complaints from jailbreak users due to Apple going out of their
> way to stop them. At the very least, for example, when updating the
> iPhone OS iTunes could detect the jailbreak and refuse to update
> ("phone in non-standard state, warranty voided, cannot upgrade").

but you could put the device into recovery mode and install a stock
firmware, so it's not worth bothering to do that.

> With other phones, unlocking them was always a rather nervous affair
> as there was the possibility of bricking the phone or causing some
> other hard-to-undo problem, but with the iPhone as far as I'm aware it
> doesn't matter what you do, you can always just reset and restore from
> backup. It practically encourages hacking! ;-)

early unlock attempts did sometimes brick the phones, but that's
because the unlock was so primitive and the hackers didn't really
understand what they were doing. now it's fairly reliable, with the
issue being that apple keeps patching the exploits that the unlock
methods use.

> > (Though you can't really blame Apple- an pgrade wipes the entire
> > device, and only Apple's excellent backup/restore mechanism in
> > iTunes gives the illusion the OS is upgraded "in place" without
> > disturbing data. The data, in fact, is simply restored.
>
> Indeed, it is very pleasing when I get a replacement phone and
> I take it out of the box, plug it into iTunes and twenty minutes later
> it's magically turned into "my" phone. So much better than previous
> phones I had where I had to spend ages re-entering my entire contact
> list.

yep, and it's not just contacts, but *everything*.