iPad Jailbroken 624
A day after the release of Apple's tablet computer, a hacker claims to have gained root access to the iPad. "A well-known hacker of the iPhone, who previously defeated Apple's restrictions on developers, has claimed in a video to have hacked the iPad. Just a day after release, the hacker, who goes by 'MuscleNerd' online, said that he has gained root access to the iPad..."
Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
If you'd get a normal tablet or computer, you wouldn't need to jailbreak it. Apple is moving us towards closed computer environments. If Microsoft did this everyone would be angry about it, but now that it's Apple its all fine and classy.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Try to get outside apps running on a kindle.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Informative)
Try to get outside apps running on a kindle.
Kindle Hacking: it's a lovely little linux box [boingboing.net]
What you see there is a Kindle 2 with the Ubuntu 9.04 port to ARM running in a chrooted environment. On the screen you see xdaliclock in front of an xterm with the remains of a "top" command and a few mildly embarrassing typos.
To open up the Kindle, I used the USB networking debug mode Amazon left hanging around when they first shipped the Kindle 2, a statically linked telnetd and a cross-compiler to bootstrap myself. From there, I built a daemon that can convert DRM-free PDFs and ePubs into something Amazon's reader on the Kindle can deal with.
After that, I started to get curious about what else might be possible. It only took a few evenings to get a moderately usable Ubuntu environment running.
Mostly, the Kindle is a lovely little Linux box. Getting X working took a bit of hacking, but everything else "just works" with very little configuration.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
ok
http://www.griffin.net/2010/01/hacking-the-amazon-kindle-dx-part-2-qt-and-sudoku.html [griffin.net]
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Try to get outside apps running on a kindle.
The Kindle is an e-book reader, not a tablet PC.
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Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Interesting)
I find it hilarious to see all the kindle owners ragging on the ipad for being overpriced and how they can get the same thing that's so much better for less in a Kindle. Then say one word about the features of the ipad and they run screaming in the other direction saying you can't compare the two since the kindle is "just an ebook reader". So, apparently we can compare them when talking about batter life and price, but we can't compare them when talking about app stores, color displays, games, etc etc etc.
For right now, cost and (extreme) battery life are really the only two things kindle has going for it. Give it a few months for the prices on ipad to come down and it will bury the kindle, or force them to drop the price on it quite a bit to maintain their edge. They're not in exactly the same market. The Kindle is in a subset of the ipad's market. Which usually means "it's cheaper" is the only thing they have going for them.
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I find it hilarious to see all the kindle owners ragging on the ipad for being overpriced and ...
Ah, but if you already own a Kindle (it came out before the iPad, donchaknow), it's much cheaper than buying an iPad.
;) Not that related, but you CAN "root" a Kindle, and put Linux programs on it. That doesn't magically give it the power or display of the ipad, but hey, at least you'd have a physical keyboard, right?
Cost, battery life, *and* free wireless data. (I believe you'll find the iPad has a better browser, but hey.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Informative)
The Kindle DX is the closet thing to an iPad in the Kindle line, and costs about the same as an entry-level iPad.
Comparing the two:
With the Kindle DX you get a reflective screen that's readable in intense daylight, free included 3G in perpetuity (so you can ... buy more books wirelessly), and 4 days of battery life (with wireless on; 2 weeks with it off). It's a reader's device through and through.
Unless I'm mistaken, that's about where the advantages of the Kindle end. In every other dimension, I think the iPad owns it pretty hard.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
The iPad, on the other hand, is trying very hard to replace at least the netbook class, if not the lapto
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
As a long-time e-ink user I always laugh when anyone starts telling stories how another "LCD-powered gadget X" is the "ultimate reading apparatus".
For reading there is no display technology comparable to e-ink. Displays will make your eyes hurt, e-ink will not.
Tried reading on everything, from Nokia N810 to iPod Touch and TabletPC. After that decided to try Sony ebook reader (PRS-505).
Kindle DX would make a nice "home" ebook reader, big screen and stuff. Also you can load non-DRMed ebooks whenever you want
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I've read technical articles and a 200-page novel on my N800, which has an LCD. In the past I've also read a novel on a laptop, which was not a particularly pleasant experience.
The main thing about the N800 display is that it's over 200 DPI, so it looks like proper text, whereas text on a regular computer LCD is either blocky or blurry. I think the latter (antialiasing, with or without subpixels) is the problem because our eyes cannot focus so well on something blurry. Of course, reading on the N800 requ
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
iBooks supports ePub, and you can add your own books via iTunes. I've got a couple of the free Baen books [baen.com] in my iPad's library already.
A large number of Gutenberg's collection are in the iBooks bookstore for free (often with automated formatting), but you can get them directly from Gutenberg if you like.
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Hello? Earth to AC: The 3G version of the iPad IS NOT OUT YET. Therefore he is using "free" Wifi.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Interesting)
LCD screens are superior in most aspects except for when reading lots and lots of text in which case the LCD screens are going to make your eyes cry out in pain while E-ink is just about the same as paper. The Kindle has its place, it isn't meant to be an iPad, tablet, laptop, toaster, etc. it is meant to let you read books without much eye strain which it does very well.
Re:Only Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
I think the backlight is the problem. That's why LCDs are hard on the eyes. You're essentially staring into a lamp and if you turn down the brightness you have to strain to read.
e-ink, otoh, is great. I borrowed a kindle to read a book a coworker was pushing on me and it was awesome. Significantly better than my computer monitor, N800, or Palm Pilots I've used in the past. If the e-ink was harder on my eyes do to low contrast, I'm really curious what metric you used for that. Reading on LCD screens makes my eyes sore and I need to look away at regular intervals, close my eyes for a bit, etc. I didn't experience this with the kindle.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
How are the photons that come out of an LCD any different from those that are reflected by a page of a book?
I never said they were any different, there are probably just more of them. Even if you turn down the brightness, you're still staring at a light source, and with the brightness down, you might be straining more to read anyway.
But thinking about it, there very well might be some differences. LCD monitors have a different color temperature than bed side lamps. Polarity might be an issue. Does an LCD monitor polarize the light? Reflected light on a page might be more scattered and less uniform. I really don't
wrong (Score:4, Insightful)
Uh-huh. Try reading a book on the iPad -- at the beach.
Don't get me wrong, I think the iPad will be great. But it's not an e-reader. The problem with e-ink is that it's not a mature technology. Apple is playing it smart here - stay out of the e-ink business until you can have color, or at least monochrome at a speed that is acceptable, and without that annoying "screen flash" as pixels rearrange when you turn pages. Once you can do that I think Apple will jump in and we'll see iPads with eink options (or perhaps some other kind of e-ink display appliance, maybe even a usable web browser). Why should Apple release an e-ink device that is just as annoyingly slow as all the others out there, when they can wait until all the tech is in place and jump in at the last minute with a device that gets it right, and then take credit for having practically invented the e-reader, the way they did with the mp3 player and the smartphone?
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Plus the matching size Kindle DX costs $489. Not exactly much cheaper than the base iPad.
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The price of the original iPhone dropped pretty fast after launch, in fact it dropped and doubled in storage capacity. The difference was so large they had to issue apple store credits to early adopters.
I don't expect there to even BE a 16GB iPad 1 year from now or even 6 months.
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SSD drives still aren't cheap. I recently bought an 128GB SSD drive for my laptop and it was $350. Sounds as if Apple is stressing the market right now by buying everything up for the iPad. I'd guess seeing lower prices and high capacities will depend on the SSD manufacturers being able to crank up to handle the demand.
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No the price dropped because Apple stopped making 4GB iPhone AND they cut the price of the 8GB by $100-200 or so.
I'm not talking about the iPhone 3G, i'm talking about the original device, the price dropped and the capacity doubled within 4 months.
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I read that as well, but I think that wasn't Apple but some journalist.
In any case, right now it looks like their biggest problem is how to produce them fast enough for the existing demand rather than trying to get them sell better
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Informative)
N.B. The iPad is fully legible in full sunlight.
Good luck, however, reading your Kindle in the dark.
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Good luck, however, reading your Kindle in the dark.
I know, right? How worthless this book reader is, not even emulating the backlighting features of paper.
(PS: Backlit screen in a dark room equals eye strain, particularly a small screen at a close distance for a significant length of time.)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, you'd be surprised. *If* you can crank the brightness way way down, a backlit display can be easily read for prolonged periods of time in the dark. In my particular case, my primary e-reader is a Palm TX, and I regularly read in the dark (so as not to disturb my wife) with the backlight set as low as it can go (which, with the right third-party software, is very low). It works great, and I can read for many hours that way without any noticeable eyestrain (which is actually a bad thing when you
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N.B. The iPad is fully legible in full sunlight.
Good luck, however, reading your Kindle in the dark.
Is the screen is better than a normal LCD? Otherwise, I suspect that your interpretation of "fully legible" differs somewhat from mine...
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You are putting words in his mouth. He did not even imply such an idea was his.
speedbump (Score:3, Insightful)
Running software not designed for it is not the real issue here. The issue is what is a stake and how appropriate the lockdown is.
apple tends to argue for "speed bump" DRM. basically make something difficult enough or a sufficient game of cat and mouse on the one hand (the speed bump) and and offer an express lane you can pay for. So for example, itunes. you can break the audio files if you want to. they impose some speed bumps to make it not worth your effort. then they offer enhanced value for stayi
Re:speedbump (Score:4, Informative)
All well and good, but there is no DRM on the iTunes Music Store music anymore - they are regular AAC files that are just tagged with your Apple ID. They will play in anything that supports AAC.
Initially though, I agree, it was all about doing the bare minimum to appease the music industry (who own the content), and encouraging you to break the DRM by burning to audio CD when you downloaded.
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but there is no DRM on the iTunes Music Store music anymore - they are regular AAC files that are just tagged with your Apple ID. They will play in anything that supports AAC.
While I'm glad they went to DRM-free, I still don't buy from iTunes because 1) they do tag them and 2) they do AAC and not mp3. I'll stick with buying cd's and ripping them myself.
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They probably think it means Apple Audio Codec and not Advanced Audio and that it is entirely a creation of Apple and not a standard part of MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 that even the Zune plays.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Funny)
I need a grammar nazi and a punctuation pedant on isle 4.
Re:Hack released (Score:4, Funny)
Firefox says that Google says that this site has viruses or browser exploits in it...
Not the webpage, it's the Ads. (Score:3, Informative)
I can verify that it doesn't impact Lynx. :) I can also verify that it's a PDF, so it likely impacts Windows and Apple computers.
See this previous discussion [slashdot.org] on Slashdot. It's not the website, it's the banner ad companies allowing a Russian(?) group of script kiddies to buy ad space and immediately redirect to an infected PDF file. Happens on a LOT of websites, including the base msn.com page occasionally. DeviantArt is a particularly bad offender. I've apparently made a career out of walking ignorant Southern United States women through removing these things over the phone.
(Yes, it's my own personal hell, why do you ask?)
Re:Only Apple (Score:4, Interesting)
I know one thing I can do on a fully-unlocked Windows installation: I can go over to Sourceforge.net and download all sorts of free, open source programs, some of which are very very good, in every catagory. I can run Reaper and edit video. I can save to an SD card or USB drive. And if I should leave my Windows machine on the bus or drop it off of a pier, I can go back and get all those same programs.
I don't really care that it's not as pretty as an iPad. In fact, as someone who rides an aluminum-frame bike with full campy drive train, that's painted an ugly matte black and is absolutely beautiful in my eyes, I kind of like something that looks a little funky but gets the job done. I reject shiny.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I kind of like something that looks a little funky but gets the job done. I reject shiny.
Don't tell me you're into Goth chicks, too.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
"And if I should leave my Windows machine on the bus or drop it off of a pier, I can go back and get all those same programs."
Um, with the iPad, you just buy a new iPad, plug it in and sync. You get all the apps that you had in your lost iPad, along with the data for all the apps, so everything is configured the same as well.
For me, the main difference is that the UI on the iPhone/iPad has been designed from the ground up for Touch. Apple didn't start with a menu bar and all the regular widgets, then modify them so you could use them via touch, like WinCE and Windows Tablet. I still can't believe the Windows Office team crapped on the Windows Tablet team just because they could [ie, by screwing text input for example].
As a computer geek, you may find how the iPad works objectionable, but for the 99 other people around you on the street, they would much rather have the iPad, if you put both the iPad and a Windows Tablet machine down next to each other and let them try each out [IMHO, of course].
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't claim to be or strive to be like "the 99 other people" around me on the street.
I'm OK with that.
I also do not want to rely upon a single source for all of the computer applications I use. Too often, I find that some little-known open source free app is exactly the tool I need to get the job done, and sometimes the only tool that will get the job done. I'm not going to take the chance on being reliant on Apple to make available everything I need to do my work.
I like more open systems, and don't mind the little bit of fiddling that is required to make it work. Like my bike, and my musical instruments, and my 1963 Norton Commando, sometimes there is meaning in the little fiddling that I have to do.
I don't need, nor do I want, every single thing to "just work". That's just the kind of hairpin I am.
But don't hate on me just because I'm not planning to fly the same shiny tech flag as you and your 98 friends "on the street".
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Who needs Farmville when you have We Rule? :)
Zynga can choose to make a FarmVille client for the iPad like they made a version of Mafia Wars for the iPhone.
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Re:Only Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
For 99% of people the universe of what apple lets you install is easily enough. With the added benefit of every app having been screened for malware.
It's easy to find an app that does what you want, in one place, relatively cheaply, and relatively well on the iPhone platform (I'm extending that to the iPad.. I don't own one of those yet). On the Windows platform you have to fish around for a whole bunch of apps just to get to the pre-installed functionality. And that is a bit of a slog, the road paved with malware and complete crap you have to search through from a multitude of different sources. Much of which is old versions that don't work on whatever version you happen to have.
On the Apple platform, if you really want to hack, they always make it relatively easy to jailbreak. I doubt this is an accident.
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On the Apple platform, if you really want to hack, they always make it relatively easy to jailbreak. I doubt this is an accident.
Correction... They don't make it easy to jailbreak, but it is fairly cheap and simple to get a Developers License and add as many of your own apps to your iPhone OS powered device (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad) as you like. They actually seem to be putting a fair amount of effort into making Jailbreaking more hassle than it's worth (they can't actually make it impossible, no matter how hard they try, IHO).
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"Paying" 30% for the services the App Store provides is cheap compared to running your own store. You see, getting 70% of sales in the thousands is better than getting 100% of no sales at all. Heck it beats the margin of practically any traditional sales channel for software.
Also, if it is bad, why are Microsoft carbon-copying the idea for their Windows Mobile 7?
Anyway, all the points you raise are well known and developers STILL prefer the platform and App Store over the platforms with more freedoms, and t
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Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
"If Microsoft did this everyone would be angry about it, but now that it's Apple its all fine and classy."
That just goes to show you that without some numbers to back it up life is so ambiguous. In MY impression there is a preponderance of Apple-hating commenters here on Slashdot. Presumable those same Apple haters are not also running Windows, which is just as closed as anything Apple puts out, but consistency of thougt--even among so-called geeks--is not a major human trait.
Bad impression then (Score:2, Insightful)
"In MY impression there is a preponderance of Apple-hating commenters here on Slashdot."
I think you'll find that about 20% of posters hate Apple, 20% would defend Apple if they were killing babies, and the rest don't care. Since you're an unabashed fan of Apple, I think you've adopted a bunker-like mentality that makes you feel that unless you're very complimentary to Apple that you hate them and you need to speak up to defend the honor of poor beleaguered Apple.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
I have to strongly disagree here. You cannot compare a DRM restricted hardware platform like the iPhone and iPad (and PS3, XBOX, PSP, etc.) and an OPERATING SYSTEM.
Microsoft may not be open source, or play well with standards, but you are still running an operating system (licensed right?) on hardware that you get to actually own. Of course you don't own the operating system. If you want a more open operating system choose Linux instead. Open source with hardware you really own feels really quite nice.
If I purchased an iPhone or an iPad I would feel justifiably pissed off that I don't have complete root access from second one. Preventing me from doing that is completely retarded, unethical, and downright shitty. I can feel the arguments starting, so I will just say this: If you don't want me to have root access on the hardware... then RENT THE BASTARD TO ME. Don't SELL it.
The same goes with any other piece of electronics. I feel perfectly justified and ethically correct to run custom firmware on the PSP, mod my XBOX whatever, and ultimately enjoy a completely 'cracked' and 'hacked' PS3.
Which is, btw, why you can't ever hack a piece of hardware to run a different operating sytem that you own. You own it. You did not do anything but enjoy your PROPERTY.
So consistency of thought? I think most of /. is remarkably consistent in this regard. 1) DRM sucks and is Defective by Design, and 2) You should be able to do anything you want with your property.
This issue is pervasive in our culture right now. The powers that be are fighting as hard as they can to prevent our effective ownership of anything. They don't want us to resell our books, our music, our movies, our games. They don't want us to do what WE want with our hardware, but what THEY want with *their* hardware. They want laws to punish us severely when get around the draconian restrictions they put into place on us.
Their ideal world is one in which we own nothing, lease everything, and pay by the minute to do so. That dog won't hunt will it? Yet they continue to try to make it happen. So let's not distract from the real argument here..... the fact the iPad which you purchased is not wholly owned by you when the expectations are that you really do.
Sigh...not this shit again (Score:5, Insightful)
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But you are wrong, when other people buy it I most certainly lose. In our society buying something is analogous to voting for it. The more people that vote for it the more pervasive it'll become in our society. If not enough people vote for it then it may make the manufacturer bring it back to the drawing board and wonder why.
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You do not lose anything if someone else buys it.
If this were true, we would have nothing to worry about, but in our so-called free market, the consumers vote with their dollar. Everyone who buys the iPad votes for locked down hardware, drm, and furthermore state that it's ok to sell a product with such rediculous restrictions that if we install OUR software on OUR hardware, the warentee is void. We will end up with no alternatives to this if everyone else but you and I says, "Yes! This is ok! I'll take 3."
Then we'll be fucked.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Where can I get a normal tablet computer for the price of an ipad?
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Where can I get a normal tablet computer for the price of an ipad?
Well, I have no idea. You can get them cheaper though. [amazon.com]
Re:Only Apple (Score:4, Informative)
HA-HA-HA-HA!!!
First of all, that's not a tablet, that's a laptop with a swiveling screen ... Seems pretty brittle to me, and certainly looks like it was designed during the darkest days of Soviet Russia, but more importantly, did you even read the specs of that? Copy/pasting:
* 8.9-inch touchscreen-enhanced Eee PC
* Panel rotates 180-degrees into tablet mode for ultra mobility
* Energy-efficient Intel Atom Z520 processor
* Long-lasting battery life with 5 hours of interrupted use*
* Exclusive touch-optimized software suite
* 52GB Hybrid Storage (16GB SSD + 16GB SD Card + 20GB Eee online Storage**)
* Complete wirless connectivity with Bluetooth v2.1 and Wi-Fi 802.1 b/g/n
* Complimentary stylus for ultimate precision
My face started to contract in a smirk when I got to the "5 hours of interrupted use*" (note the asterisk pointing to some caveats), but then I cracked in a loud laugh when I got to the "Hybrid Storage": 52 GB including 20 GB of ONLINE STORAGE??? Gimme a fscking break, at least Apple has the good taste to wrap their reality distortion with beautiful visuals! If this is the best cr*p you can come up with (and if it isn't, epic fail!) then the iPad is a better buy than I had thought!!
(And "complimentary stylus for ultimate precision"? As in "our touch interface is really not that finger-friendly, and is multi-touch only in the sense that if you touch it once then you can touch it again and again, multiple times in succession!!"??? The most laughable counter-example I've seen in a while!)
Re:Only Apple (Score:4, Interesting)
"Microsoft officials Monday confirmed at the company's MIX 10 developers event in Las Vegas that native applications will not be allowed on Windows Phone 7 devices. Only applications running in the Silverlight runtime environment or games in the XNA Game Studio runtime will be allowed."
http://www.cio.de/news/cio_worldnews/2227933/ [www.cio.de] :o ?
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If you'd get a normal tablet or computer, you wouldn't need to jailbreak it. Apple is moving us towards closed computer environments. If Microsoft did this everyone would be angry about it, but now that it's Apple its all fine and classy.
Most people do not want to tinker. Please get over it. The iPod, iPhone, iPad are wonderfully easy to use, and are not lacking for applications. I'm glad that MS and others are also working on similar devices, because we don't want Apple to become the mobile device monopoly like MS is in the OS arena, lest they stop innovating also. So please keep buying and supporting those non-Apple products if you prefer them. Just don't be upset if Apple happens to be the market leader.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Extreme example shows the logical flaw: You buy a gun. You simply cannot do anything you like with it.
Okay, so now we're into the world of laws and rights, aka the real world.
You're talking about computers? Well, I can easily build a page turner for a shop-bought scanner, and set up a book scanning service. From there I can use OCR and finally distribute the resulting text files around the world.
Do you believe your rights extend that far?
You never had the freedom to do anything you liked with anything you owned. Ever. When you start to impinge upon the rights of others, your freedom ends.
Focus on the reality, not this hand-waving "I should be able to do anything!" crap. You never could, and never will.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
you are absolutely wrong and are trying to pull a fast one. Murdering someone is illegal whether you are using a gun or a stone or a knife or a computer.
On the other hand you can take your gun and use it to open food cans and that is an example of use that the gun was not intended for. You can smelt the gun and make a knife out of it. You can make it into a flute. You can make it into a paperweight. You can take it apart and use parts to put together some other machine. There is no legal argument against you using your hardware, except in ways that are criminal. Of-course, again, US is crazy - thus DMCA happened there.
You're talking about computers? Well, I can easily build a page turner for a shop-bought scanner, and set up a book scanning service. From there I can use OCR and finally distribute the resulting text files around the world.
- in your world you believe this is illegal or wrong, most people in the world do not care about what you think, they are doing what you are describing every single day, have you ever visited the real world?
Do you believe your rights extend that far?
- I don't believe in imaginary property that much, I don't particularly care if someone's copyrights are violated, that's an artificial construct and also it does not kill anyone, no moral problems at all.
Focus on the reality, not this hand-waving "I should be able to do anything!" crap. You never could, and never will.
- you certainly can do anything, you are brainwashed not to understand this. You can even kill people, just make sure that other people, who don't like you doing it don't catch you. However I don't consider this to be polite behavior.
On the other hand there is no argument that can be made against you using your computer for purposes that do not cross legal boundaries. Buying thing and then doing whatever you wish with them, that's your right to give up.
Re:Only Apple (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, people who create nothing of value generally don't care about copyright. Perhaps you're one of them.
- you are right, I am creating nothing of value. I don't care about copyrights. If you think that you are creating something of value you are wrong. My FF extensions are used by about 250 thousand people, but I still do not consider that of too much value. The code that I have created over the past 15 years at work for a number of companies is used across the world. I still do not consider that of too much value.
I am not being facetious, I really mean that whatever it is I am doing for money or as Free source is not that important that I should be fighting people about violating the copyrights. You are probably overestimating the importance of whatever it is you are doing.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Correction. My FF extensions (4 that are public on mozdev and mozilla) were downloaded 500,000 times. They are actively used by about a third of those people.
These same extensions are also downloaded from various other unofficial sites and I do not have statistics on that.
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Your argument is flawed
- wrong. My argument is not about rented hardware, it is about bought hardware, get your facts straight.
If I buy a piece of hardware I must be able to do with it anything I want. Someone took it to mean that if I own a gun then by my logic I can kill without repercussions, which is of-course not doing whatever I want just with hardware but also with someone's life, so they are trying to be cute for the sake of an argument.
If I buy a TV tuner / cable receiver, it's mine. I should be able to do with it an
Mistaking expansion for direction (Score:2)
If you'd get a normal tablet or computer, you wouldn't need to jailbreak it. Apple is moving us towards closed computer environments.
Apple still sells laptops you know. And desktops. And the continue to improve both.
The other platforms are just as open as ever, they are not moving to a closed model.
Indeed, if Apple had done just what so many people on Slashdot demanded, and released the same OS X shipping on the laptops with an Apple app store then I could see something of a point, of a direction Apple w
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
> If the iPad doesn't work for you - don't buy it.
And help other people understand why they should't buy one either. Oh, wait, that's what he's doing, and you want him to stop.
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Yes he IS.
FUD is Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.
1) The fear is justified. This a move towards a more closed environment in which you freedom is in fact limited. You seem to want to argue that, but if I don't have root access by default, I am NOT FREE.
2) Uncertainty.
Re:Only Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
So, my question: will this stop projects like Android?
Will this kill Linux?
Will this stop open source?
Of course not - you will always have choice, and there will always be other options. All this can do is a) make money for Apple (or not) and b) encourage competition.
The rise of the iPhone spurred the rise of numerous open competitors and everyone is better off.
You can avoid Apple (and the PSX, and the Xbox 360 etc) all you want, and stick to open alternatives. The market can only get stronger with the addition of competition. That was my point here, that this is just another entry into the arena, not the death of everything else and every other business model.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
Because the OS on the Zune is so free and easy to modify.
Apple has a closed environment on the iPad/iPhone/iPod line, the rest of the hardware contains an OS that is just as open (more so in some respects) than Windows. A software platform that it continues to develop and open up. You don't need to jailbreak an OS X box.
There is nothing to suggest Apple are moving "us" towards closed environments. If the iPad doesn't work for you - don't buy it.
Whaaaaaa? Are you in some strange bizzaro world where Apple isn't the embodiment of a closed system?
The rest of the hardware contains an OS that is just as open ? What the hell are you talking about? Tried to boot OSX on a whitebox yet? Apparently not or you'd see how ludicrous your statement is.
There's nothing to suggest that Apple is moving "us" (why is "us" in quotes?) towards a closed environment? You mean other than the fact that every product they have is locked down and closed off? You are deluded if you think Apple wouldn't love to lock OSX users into an App store - the only reason they haven't is because Windows would regain most of the customers lost to OSX if that happened. Apple is way too far behind in the OS arena to try to dictate terms to it's users, whereas they are/were far enough ahead with the iPod/iPhone to dictate whatever the hell they wanted. The whole iPod/iPhone environment is a perfect example of exactly what Apple would do if it had the power to do so - and it's also a perfect example of why Apple should never be given enough marketshare to accomplish anything like it.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Informative)
I have OS X running on a whitebox - next question. Just because they officially discourage it, doesn't mean it is not possible. They don;t even make it difficult. The install DVD is not encrypted, has no serial numbers, does not phone home, does not need online activation. While it technically infringes the licence to do so, it is not hard to do.
Dayy-um! You Apple fanbois are deluded! Because it's hacked/hackable to work on a whitebox somehow equates to the company supporting it or making it an open system. So by this logic, the iPhone is an open platform as well, because it can be jailbroken. Whoa... whatever!
"Every product locked down" - this is just nonsense. While OS X itself features closed source components, just because this is the case doesn't mean it cannot be open. Open and open source are not the same thing. OS X features a multitude of open protocols, codecs, standards and features that are designed to make it play well with other operating systems, as well as a continued commitment to open source projects that it includes and bases large parts of its systems on - CUPS, Webkit, libdispatch, OpenGL, OpenAL, GCC etc etc, just to name a couple.
Because they have appropriated open source software for their own use and are making a profit on it, while at the same time closing off parts of it and making it impossible to write drivers for or boot on white box systems somehow makes them open? It's the exact OPPOSITE of open. They are only as "open" as they have to be to keep customers. I'm not faulting them for taking open source software and making a viable business out of it, in fact I commend them for such and have absolutely no problem with it. What I do have a problem with is people such as your self that try to then claim that they are somehow open and "good" when they are purely out for profit and any way they can squeeze more profit out of their customers is a good thing.
If they were truly open, why not sell OSX for any whitebox? Because they don't want to - they want to keep a CLOSED SYSTEM. I mean, duh. Come on, can you really not see this? They want to maintain control over the entire environment, this is diametrically opposed to an "open" system.
If Apple wanted to lock people into an App Store for OS X they would have done so already - they will do what works for them in a business sense, nothing more, nothing less.
No, they wouldn't have. As I already posted, if they thought they could get away with it, they would have ... but if they tried it, their meager share of the OS market would dwindle to numbers not even worth tracking. The only reason they do NOT have a locked in environment, as I've already said, is because they don't have the power to force users into this. They have/had that power with the iPhone and look what they've done with it. You are insane to think they wouldn't love to do the same with the entire Mac line if they could somehow convince their users to do it... but it would leave too much to be desired at this point, since there is already a huge ecosystem built around a quasi-open standard that is the Windows environment. Trying to cut that off at the knees would be suicide for OSX.
It is a fallacy to suggest that because the iPhone business model was successful for Apple that they would try and shoehorn that onto the Mac business model.
I don't suggest any such thing. I'm saying they don't have the muscle to make it happen, and the iPhone is a perfect example of why they should NEVER be given that muscle.
You might as well say that now that Xbox live and the 360 are so well entrenched that MS will be moving that business model onto Windows.
Moving what business model to windows? You mean... oh I don't know ... Games for Windows Live? So... like, you mean moving the console model to Windows, which is EXACTLY what they have done/are in the process of doing? Are you trying to make my case or yours? Because you're succeeding very well in the former and failing miserably in the latter.
Re:Only Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
There is nothing to suggest Apple are moving "us" towards closed environments.
Other than the fact that they deployed the iPhone OS on a device that could(should) have used a better, generically useful OS. Other than the fact that Jobs thinks this type of computer will be the future of computing? Other than the fact that with the iTunes store being the sole provider of software for the iPhone OS, Apple gets a slice of every pie? No, check that, they already got a slice with the OS being locked to special hardware; now they get a sliver of every other slice by becoming the sole software distributer. Where do you get MS Office for the iPad? iTunes. Where do you get Microsoft's free RDP client for iPad? Well, there's already a fully functional pay version from another third party, and Apple won't make money from a free App with better functionality. Denied; no reason given.
Comment by Xeno 03/31/10 @ http://gizmodo.com/5506776/what-tech-nerds-think-about-the-ipad [gizmodo.com]
I really hope that this is not the future of computing. It's kinda like how most of our economy went away from inventing and producing to consuming. The iPad takes away the making and doing from computers and makes consuming the whole point. I'm not saying that consuming is bad just that I hope it's doesn't become the whole picture.
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It's just as closed as Windows
Awesome! Where do I go to download the Windows 7 kernel source?
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So you're saying all that matters is the kernel, and not the userspace?
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Taiwan.
Now how do I install applications from a third party web site on an Ipad.
How can I get OS X to run on my AMD 64 processor.
Re:Only Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
It doesn't have to be open source for it to be friendly to the OSS community - the developments with Webkit and other projects that Apple has contributed to, as well as things it has created itself and released like libdispatch - are beneficial for everyone.
It doesn't have to be open source for it to be open - it's a posix compliant unix OS with a nice GUI on top (not just "unix like"), that can also support X (if you choose to install it) and numerous other OSS stuff. It's also based on a bit more than just "old BSD code" - it's not like they just nailed the lid shut and called it done - they continue to develop the code at the core (and push their changes back to the community).
It doesn't make sense *at all* for Apple to close up OS X into the same business model as the iPhone OS - they're just totally different markets. The iPhone OS market works because it provides a single, consistent store with a plethora of free or cheap apps (with the odd expensive one which tend not to be the norm). This is pretty much the polar opposite of the way they have positioned OS X, especially with regard to the open source *parts* of the OS that they continue to develop and push.
By your logic, since "it makes perfect sense", I assume that Microsoft is going to adopt the same model it uses for Xbox live and the Xbox 360 software for Windows. I mean, they're all about control right - it only makes sense!
Re:Only Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
Ah, the legal obligation part - that old chestnut. How can you say that Webkit is "one of the uninteresting parts" when it is emerging as a very powerful contender as a rendering engine that is going far beyond where KHTML would have been without it - both camps benefit, even if Apple is "legally obliged" - they chose KHTML rather than rolling their own. They could have gone a different route, with a more liberal (for them) licence, but they did not.
They have also released a lot of their code to the community, and continue to support and encourage OSS development - even stuff they are not "legally obliged" to support.
The burn support thing is to ensure compatibility. Ones that come up with "supported: Apple Shipping" are assured to work since they have been tested, but this doesn't mean that other third party drives *don't* work - have you actually tried it? I tend not to use Disk Utility to burn CDs though, I usually use the open source "Burn.app" which works with anything you chuck at it, and offers more options.
The Airport interface is there to support the Airport cards - if you have a third party one, of course you need a driver and config utility. I'm amazed I can't configure my ATI graphics card with Nvidia's tools - oh the humanity! The beauty of the system preferences window is that you can easily make a pane for your app/device/thingy, since it is designed to be easy to develop for, with open documentation, and human-readable preference files (which you can muck about with at the command line level if you prefer). If you put in a Broadcom card though, which the Airport cards are based on, the Airport interface config works, since the cards are essentially the same. They didn't need to add any code or drivers to support third party cards because they don't ship any - they only ship Airport cards, for every model they make. If you want a third party wireless card, you can use the third party driver that comes with it.
They are "open" in a very meaningful way. Their continued support for open standards, protocols and codecs is very important in the industry as a whole - GCC, OpenGL, OpenAL, NFS, CUPS, AAC, H.264, Webkit, CSS, HTML, HTML5 to name just a few.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Darwin is basically just BSD with an extra dose of weird.
... and tens of thousands of bug fixes and performance improvements, all of which have been released back to the community, even though (for the most part) Apple had no obligation to do so.
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Clearly it will fail in the market, then, just like the iPhone did.
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The Linux desktop/laptop never took off either and if you install a Linux distro you get all the applications this this is supposed to have (e.g. OpenOffice, Firefox) and more. For free. However there is always something else people need which is not provided. Apple themselves sell Final Cut Pro for MacOS X which is a video editing solution like Adobe Premiere. The UI may be better designed, or the input may be more natural in the iPad. However that did not stop people from using MS-DOS by the cartload whe
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It's just a super sized iPhone for a hamfisted idiot (there's a lot of them out there)
It's Easter. Let's not be sacrilegious and disparage ham here, at least for today.
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Or did you want one where you could upload any unlicensed copy you found on some "abandonware" site out there instead of the licensed games?
I want one where I can use C64 freeware or even self-developed C64 apps. I want one that doesn't freeze on purpose when it hits BASIC's REPL.
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Doesn't surprise me. (Score:3, Informative)
MuscleNerd is a pretty active contributor on the iPhone dev team, and has assisted significantly in finding vulnerabilities to SIM-unlock and jailbreak the iPhone with. It was only a matter of time, anyway.
Re:Doesn't surprise me. (Score:5, Insightful)
i would be even less surprised if some of the jailbreakers had insider information to help them unlock the apple devices. as well thought out as apple's info-release schedules are (sanctioned leaks on upcoming products?) it totally makes sense for them to have two versions of the ipad on the market:
1, typical user experience, customer buys it and it does what it says it will
2, enhanced user experience, customer buys it and hacks it to do something else
in either case, a customer buys it, and in the relatively small second subset, the group who would normally curse the company out and hold off from buying the device because it's 'crippled' actually gives apple money.
of course it was quickly broken, it's part of the dance.
Still not worth purchasing (Score:2, Insightful)
Jailbroken locked? (Score:3, Informative)
If it were, what would be the point?
In fact the whole point of Jailbreaking is to be able to ALSO run stuff Apple didn't approve, from Cydia or other sources.
Or to do your own development without going through Apple (though a $99/year barrier is hardly off-putting).
You can also continue to run Apple approved apps too, but it's hardly "locked" to be given a full range of options including commercial ones sold through Apple...
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Actually, a linux kernel has been booted on the iPhone before, I imagine it still would, the only reason you can't run rockbox is nobody's taken the time to port it, considering you need to write drivers for the screen, audio chipset, touchscreen, etc. and that would take time that people figure is better spent elsewhere. Part of jailbreaking requires running a new unsigned kernel (it has to be patched to disable signature checks on executables among other things) so you could just as easily boot /any/ ker
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Jailbroken or not, the iPad is still locked into Apple.
Seeing as that is the exact and only reason jailbreaking exists, your statement translates into "Locked into apple or NOT locked into apple, the iPad is still locked into apple." which is both a contradiction and wrong.
Explain how jail breaking remains locked to apple, else you are ejected from this conversation.
There are much better alternatives to the iPad which will allow you freedom over your own device.
I guess out of your list of examples, all ze
Re:Still not worth purchasing (Score:5, Informative)
It makes your warranty void,
Point. But while arguing for the right to hack and tinker, that sort of comes with the job so is not an issue.
Installing not-windows on your HP voids warranties too, as stupid as that sounds, which is the exact type of thing the GP is wanting in his hardware.
I'm not saying this is a good thing, it's just not something a tinkerer/hacker type can really expect to state with a straight face.
prevents you from installing the official security patch,
Nonsense. My jail broken phone is running the latest software and patches.
and is generally a legal grey area ...
It is actually very easy to do without having to download or distribute any of apples copyrighted software (or any other software without an explicitly free license)
While of course some people can, and probably most people do, use jail breaking to violate copyrights with pirated apps, this is in no way a requirement and only takes your own will power not to do it to avoid breaking the law.
The open repositories that you gain access to with the jail broken software have a whole lot of free software, and you can of course continue to install free itunes apps.
Nothing about me modifying hardware I own, in ways that do not touch upon others rights, is in any way a legal gray area.
Re: (Score:2)
Honestly... (Score:2, Insightful)
People who buy this device are buying into the environment created for the device by Apple. As such, someone gaining root access to the device that Apple will analyze and patch, and you *still* won't be able to use the app store for... seems like a waste.
So, I ask again... why do we care?
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So your position is that the iPad is a general purpose computer then?
It's an appliance. Think about that for a bit. What works for appliances does not necessarily work for general purpose computers. Appliances (eg iPhone, iPad, X-Box, PS3, toaster, microwave oven, clock radio, car) can be locked down because they're about doing a small set of tasks really well. The more control the better, in the sense that it allows the designers to focus on those tasks and only those tasks.
Locking down a general purpose c
Looks Good for Porn (Score:5, Insightful)
It's probably good for browsing porn. I hate always having to boot a full OS for just to browse porn. It looks super portable too, so I'd be able to browse porn from just about anywhere. It has a fairly big screen, which would be good for browsing porn. And good battery life so I could browse porn for long periods of time. The touch screen is nice, so I'd be able to touch the porn I'm browsing. It has good Internets connections, so I'd be able to browse lots of porn fast. I don't think it's good for much else. I think I'm sold.
Re:Looks Good for Porn (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Looks Good for Porn (Score:4, Interesting)
ABC.com has put together an app for watching their online streaming shows on the iPad. I've heard Hulu and Netflix are going to do the same, and others are sure to follow, including the adult-oriented of the bunch.
one handed navigation is iffy (Score:5, Funny)
Unless you buy a stand, you need to hold the device with one hand to keep it angled so you can look at it and if your other hand is busy that means you have no way to change pictures, etc.
Re:one handed navigation is iffy (Score:4, Funny)
Unless you buy a stand, you need to hold the device with one hand to keep it angled so you can look at it and if your other hand is busy that means you have no way to change pictures, etc.
It sounds like you've done this before.
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You seem to be under the impression that the iPad is kept closed because Steve Jobs cares whether or not you get a virus.
I can see why somebody might think that. It's due to the well-cultivated impression that Apple cares about providing safe computers to their mindless drone users. Please allow me to offer you a dollop of "cynical". . .
The iPad, along with the rest of the Apple line of ultra-popular not-really-a-computer items, (iPods and iPhones), are all about putting price tags on content. This is wh
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