iPhone Tethering App Released, Killed In 2 Hours 434
tjhayes writes "The iPhone App Store released an application called NetShare that allowed the iPhone to tether a laptop to the internet. It was priced at a $10 one-time fee. After being available for approximately 2 hours, the application has disappeared from the apps store. What exactly are AT&T/Apple trying to accomplish here?" They are trying to prove what is wrong with DRM, and demonstrate why hackers want to jailbreak the iPhone.
Re:I got mine (Score:5, Insightful)
Until Apple decides to blacklist it and erase it off the phone on an iTunes update.
What about outside the USA? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What is the big deal? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Pretty Clear (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What is the big deal? (Score:4, Insightful)
'Their' product? No, the phone belongs to the person who paid several hundred dollars for it. That's this concept we have called a 'sale'.
Re:WTF? (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm more inlined to believe that this is likely at&t's doing not Apple. at&t charges extra for tethering on other phones and since the iPhone has a special plan for data, they don't want iPhone users going nuts on the 3G network and affecting the percieved speed of the network.
At&t (as well as the other 3 major US Cariers) have been known to intentionally cripple phones so that users can't take full advantage of the features.
Re:WTF? (Score:3, Insightful)
My one button Apple mouse disagrees.
Re:What is the big deal? (Score:5, Insightful)
Roger that! But when you do more than "not buy/use it" the fanboys (and girls) want to mod you as flamebait.
Apple is mostly image and branding. There is nothing Apple does that is unique. There is nothing in the iPhone that is unique. (You show me an iPhone, I'll show you a PalmOS phone and the major differences are fewer buttons/keys on the iPhone and more graphic intensive.) So what makes Apple better or different? It's how people FEEL about Apple. If you disagree, instead of modding me flaimbait, how about citing some *objective* examples of where I am mistaken?
When people at my office ask me about iPhone, I state where I see it falling short. You can't remove or replace the battery. So when the battery is useless, the phone is useless. That almost always gives people cause to think. But still 1 in 20 people will still say something like "I don't care! It's so cool!" I don't try to stand in their way either. If they can't see beyond the bling-bling, they aren't going to hear what I have to say about it.
Maybe the problem is all mine... I am just not as enthused by shiny stuff as other people are. I want it to work the way I want it to work and to use it the way I want to use it. If I can't, it's nothing short of an annoyance.
Nothing to see here... (Score:5, Insightful)
What exactly are AT&T/Apple trying to accomplish here?
Quite simple:
1. AT&T (like other mobile operators) would like you to pay extra for the privilege of using your phone as a modem. This has nothing to do with Apple or iPhone: e.g. the same thing applies to my Windows Mobile smartphone on T-Mobile (UK).
2. Apple needs to play nicely with AT&T and its other mobile operators and can't be seen encouraging people to breach the terms & conditions.
3. Presumably, someone at Apple OK'd this software without checking the AT&T T&Cs. Someone else spotted the error and took it down.
Nothing to see, move along.
Re:Why did I buy this iPhone!?!?! (Score:5, Insightful)
No offense, although I'll probably be moderated as a troll for this, but you're just an idiot, plain and simple.
It doesn't take a triple digit IQ to know the phone didn't have SSH and a terminal, so either you're trolling or really are an idiot if you bought the phone knowing that only to turn around and complain about it.
Blackberry also passes all e-mail and everything else through their servers. Again, troll or idiot.
And there was no secrets about Mobile Me.
So which is it? Troll or idiot?
Re:What about outside the USA? (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't get it.
Buy $600 phone.
Pay $60-90/month to use it.
And you can't tether.
That's what I'd be the most interested in anyways. WOW on the go would be fun.
Re:What is the big deal? (Score:4, Insightful)
No one will argue with you that Image is very important to Apple.
No one will argue with you that Image is important to ANY company marketing to consumer.
The point where you'll get nasty responses is when you claim that Apple is Only, or Mostly image. I was a Windows fanboy in HS because of the Image of Apple products (overpriced, underpowered, niche, etc.). When I finally gave them a try is when I realized that the Image I had of Apple was actually being espoused by people who hadn't used a Mac in years, if ever. I made the switch because I don't have to fight with the OS.
You want to argue that the Windows OS's are easier to use, more stable, more intuitive/consistent? Fine, you can argue that point if you don't like looking silly.
You want to argue that PC's are cheaper than Mac's? You've got a more valid point here, Macs usually do come at a ~10% premium. I think the increase in usability and not having to spend that money on virus/spyware prevention makes up for the difference, but I can see the other point of view.
You want to argue that the iPhone does nothing special? Fine, I can concede that point as long as we ignore the whole "usability" issue. I currently have a phone that has most of the features that everyone raves about on the iPhone, but I've never used them. It doesn't even occur to me to use them because I feel like I need a PhD in computer science with a specialization in programing for imbedded devices to figure out how to use the damn features. You don't have that problem? Good for you but the general public shares my frustrations and seem to have been able to figure out the iPhone without so much as having to by an "iPhone for Idiot's" book.
If you insist that everyone with a different set of priorities and judgement calls is being bamboozled by
the bling-bling
, then you're just showing yourself to be myopic and condescending to those around you. Maybe you need to consider that the reason people aren't listening to your advise is that their priorities differ from yours and not that they are slaves to Apples marketing material.
Re:Why did I buy this iPhone!?!?! (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, I need utility from my phone;
Perhaps you should have researched the phone before buying it. Hell, you could've read one of the dozens of articles here on slashdot with the words "iPhone" and "lock" in the title.
I didn't buy the damn thing to show it off.
So, you bought an iPhone hoping to use dozens of features that it doesn't support, but don't want it for the one thing it is good at?
The big deal (Score:5, Insightful)
Okay, I'll bite. Funny thing is, I don't even have an iPhone, but I'm pretty familiar with another of Apple's products. I have a video iPod, and I absolutely love it.
It has little to do with it being an Apple product. Frankly, I'm not a big fan of the company, precisely because it tries to be all glitzy. But just as frankly, my iPod is head and shoulders above any other mp3 player I've ever used. Sure, it's pretty, but it also has a very nice display. I find that navigating using the touch wheel is much easier than the clunky buttons on most other players. Getting music and videos is stupidly simple. Although I'm technically proficient and can rip CDs and DVDs, jump through hoops encoding and transferring stuff, I appreciate the fact that with my iPod, I don't have to. I hate the DRM that Apple imposes on content, but it works well enough for me, and when I need to get past it, hey, I can still rip CDs and DVDs and jump through hoops encoding and transferring stuff.
You say, "I want it to work the way I want it to work and use it the way I want to use it." Well, you've pretty much stumbled onto why there are so many Apple devotees. Sure, there are some fanboys, but for most of them, Apple's products just work. It's that simple. They don't have to rip and encode and transfer and configure and read manuals and learn rocket science.
The iPhone undoubtedly has some areas where it falls short. I've used an iPhone, and I'd love to have one, but the game-breaker for me is that I'd rather shove bamboo shoots under my fingernails than to subscribe to AT&T's service, and although I probably could, I just don't have the motivation to hack it. (Better things to do with my time.) I really don't see the battery as an issue. Honestly, in about 15 years of having various cell phones, I've never once had to replace a battery. I always end up getting a new one before my battery stops holding a charge. Is it a consideration? Sure, I suppose, but stacked up against other things, it's not a major one.
Apple isn't perfect. I don't know of many people who think it is. And yes, they have a reputation for being excessively stylish. But that doesn't change that their products are very, very good. You want people not to get caught up in the glamour and not to overrate their products; I'd ask you to do the same and not underrate them, either.
Re:Anonymous Coward (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:What is the big deal? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:What is the big deal? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not that Apple's products have a feature-list that is notably superior. It's that their ease-of-use is notably superior. It's hard to measure 'ease of use'. You can't really quantify it. It's not like megapixels, gigabytes, or battery life... it doesn't really go down to numbers.
But Apple products tend to have no jagged edges... there are no common use cases where they are frustrating or annoying to use. Any product will have frustrating uncommon use cases, you can't avoid that... the battery is a good example.
Do you think the iPod succeeded just because people like Apple? Bullshit. It succeeded because it was better than the other players, and remains superior, if only by a slim margin, even today. Most of the other mp3 players have jagged edges that make them uncomfortable to use... a button that accidentally pauses the music if you have the player in your pocket... a stupid menu that takes 4 clicks to play music, but 2 to change contrast... a short battery life... too heavy... bad software...
It's not that Apple products are so superior in every way. It's that they have no strong weaknesses other than big price tags. No jagged edges. Removing jagged edges, removing frustrating use cases, is where Apple's design teams excel. It's their killer feature.
I'm not an Apple fanboy... I use Linux and Windows. I'm a gamer. The only Apple product I use is my wife's castoff 10GB iPod that I use as a USB drive. I know Apple products have flaws... nothing is perfect. And their brand image is part of the appeal. But brand appeal can't carry a bad product... their products are good, AND they have brand appeal. You can't stick your head in the sand and pretend otherwise.
Re:What is the big deal? (Score:5, Insightful)
"how about citing some *objective* examples of where I am mistaken?"
I've owned Palm based devices for a while, and I can safely say 'objective' is in the eyes of the beholder. I remember trading in my ancient newton for a Treo...no longer needed to wear cargo pants to use a mobile device (I started off with a MP100..then 120 and finally a 2100 before realizing I wanted something smaller not bigger). The Treo was nice...but unlike the Newtons, I couldn't change batteries. Big deal. I kept a pocket charger in my bag for the few times I've ever needed to plug it in.
Since this time, I've had several smart phones. The iPhone was only because I needed something so that I could transport my music with me without having two devices in my pocket. No other reason...I held off for months picking one up even though I had Apple credit that I've had sitting around for a while (and the fact that I occasionally consult for the company).
Subjectively, it syncs better than any other PMP that I've used. This is a biggie for me.
Subjectively, I wish it had a keyboard, but at the same time kept the same sized screen, but without changing the size of the sucker. Oh wait, this is an either / or. I do wish I could sync up an external keyboard like I could my old Palm (though that was a full sized one...I'd rather have a BT capable thumbie thing). Again, it is subjective.
Batteries? I've only run out of juice once. It was after two days of not charging and using edge quite a bit. I've never carried a change of batteries...I've always found it easier to just charge (I bought two extra cables for $8 and have a car adapter with USB built-in). Besides, an external battery (that can actually charge the device and you can unplug it after it is done) is only like $30 from Belkin (I believe...or one of those companies).
I replaced the battery in my iPod and it was pretty cheap ($25) and actually pretty easy. I looked up the instructions on how to replace the one in the iPhone before buying it, and while a LITTLE more complicated, it can be done at home with the tools supplied in the battery kit.
Objectively, I have options. The lack of a replaceable battery does not make one a fanboy by ignoring this fact.
Beyond that, it is all subjective. Don't discard the subjective though...I'm a former computer science / programmer that went back to school several years ago to go for a therapy based psychology PhD (midlife crisis thing...looking for substance and not just another line of code). The geek side says that all the specs are the same. The human side tells me that this is NOTHING like the rest. Guess what? We should be looking for subjective and not objective (and that's why I'm not going to argue against your subjective arguments). I thought the interface on the old Palms were HORRIBLE. It felt like using the old Win 3.1 interface...but that they had actually thought it was innovative. The iPhone...fluid. Gesturing that was hinted at in older experimental GUIs and then abandoned were refined and made useful (yeah, back in the day, I had used a few geeky interfaces for Linux or Win that when I realize that I could have kept my fingers on the keyboard, it would have been faster than memorizing a dozen movements). But it just worked on the iPhone...and it isn't like they included EVERYTHING...just enough to do what you need.
And subjectively, it is the idea that Apple didn't try to put everything into this device that makes it useful. It is limited...and that is a good thing. This was the problem with my Newton that was infinitely more laptop-like than my palm...it tried to be a portable computer after a while.
The only thing I've concerned myself with lately is that I do engage in some 'extreme' sports...and while it is nice to be able to be up 10 stories and pull out the device to get another angle on the right route to climb, it is too fragile. Been thinking of picking up a second one that is rugged and that I can strap to my ass and not worry about banging it u
Re:What you talkin' about willis? (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe someome will write an app called "net-sell". and I can go to coffeeshops and rent my iphone connection to all the people in the room.
Why not?
What I use my Internet connection for is none of my Internet provider's fucking business, and if you believe otherwise then you're just a tool.
Re:What about outside the USA? (Score:5, Insightful)
There's nothing that special about the iPhone - all phones are "software driven". With other tethering-capable phones, tethering is done by either Bluetooth (with a standard "Personal Area Network" profile), or by a USB connection (requires software on the tethered computer). On my WM6 Treo 750, I just start the AT&T-provided "Internet Sharing" application and tap "Connect" - done.
I think that many who gush about the iPhone and think it is unique have never used a smartphone before, of which there are many excellent examples on the market. What is unique about the iPhone is the way Apple decides what you are allowed to use it for.
Re:I got mine (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What you talkin' about willis? (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't get it.
Buy $600 phone.
Pay $60-90/month to use it.
And you can't tether.
That's what I'd be the most interested in anyways. WOW on the go would be fun.
Well duh and i'd like a pony too. You are paying for the service you are getting not the one you wish you were getting. Maybe someome will write an app called "net-sell". and I can go to coffeeshops and rent my iphone connection to all the people in the room.
I think the point here is that you are OVER paying for the product you are getting, when tethering is, as far as I and every techie smart phone user I know goes, one of the main points of getting a smart phone. The whole point of spending such a high monthly service plan is the data transfer.
3G speeds don't seem fast enough to tempt users away from using old-fashioned internet when it's available (WoW with more than 120ms lag wouldn't be THAT much fun). I don't really see iPhone renting being popular in coffee shops when up against the common free WiFi.
Isn't this just another example of Apple innovating on a product to improve it's user experience and make it exciting, but then giving in on something that just restricts us the consumer?
iPhone: AT&T => no tethering
iTunes: RIAA => DRM
bad moderation (Score:2, Insightful)
Moderators, please learn that moderation is not based if the comment subscibes to your world-view but rather if the comment advances the discussion or makes a non-redundant point or rebuttal. The above comment is a good rebuttal and is not flambate. The GP was being childish is his expectations and the parent pointed this out.
Re:What is the big deal? (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, there are lots of things about my iPhone that I like better than my old Treo. There are also a few things I don't like as much to be sure. I wish it had copy/paste, an SSH client, and the ability to tether would not go amiss. These are things I miss, but they are more that made up for or I wouldn't use the thing. (Less the lack of copy/paste) The user interface is way easier to use and I find myself fumbling around looking for stuff a lot less. The built in mail system (especially now that it handles multi-media mail) is a lot more useful, though I'll grant you that the Treo had some decent third party mail apps. I've never found one quite as nice as the iPhone Mail app. The App store is a remarkably convenient way to find applications, though that is part blessing, part curse. Manly though, is the web browser. Blazer, to be as polite as possible, sucked ASS. Opera never worked on my Treo, it loaded but would never run more than a second or two. Safari is so nice that it almost negates the lack of tethering. I use the web on my phone a lot. I used to do so on my Treo some, but on this phone I can always use it to track down a fact, find a picture someone needs to see or just while away the time at the Doctor's office.
Is the iPhone perfect? Definitely not, but it does almost every thing I want, and does it all really well. If a well thought out UI, and apps that do what they are intended to do is "image and style" then I suppose you could accuse Apple of being all image and style.
Re:What is the big deal? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's that their ease-of-use is notably superior. It's hard to measure 'ease of use'. You can't really quantify it. It's not like megapixels, gigabytes, or battery life... it doesn't really go down to numbers.
Well that makes it easy!
So I claim that the Iphone has the worst UI. You can't claim I'm wrong, because as you say, it's hard to measure "ease of use", so when I claim there are much better phones, you can't prove me wrong on this issue.
But seriously, that it's unmeasurable is a myth put out by those who what to claim that there's something special about the Iphone. This argument would never work for any other company's product (imagine it: "Who cares about all the flaws in Windows - it just is better. It's better in ways we can't measure or quantify, it just is" - would that be accepted?)
UI is quantifiable in all sorts of ways, for example, explaining how a particular process is achieved on different phones, or by comparing features that might make a process quicker. E.g., how do I copy text from somewhere to somewhere else?
There are plenty of examples of quantifying user interface on operating systems. E.g., menus at the top of the screen (as in AmigaOS, MacOS) are better that those not at the top (as in Windows), or proportional scrollbars give a better visual representation than non-proportional scrollbars (as in classic MacOS), or up/down arrows next to each other on a scrollbar (as in AmigaOS) are quicker to access than those at opposite ends on the scrollbar (as in Windows). Anyone who claims that UI is inherently something we can't measure is just grasping at straws to claim that their favourite expensive product is better, and they fail anyway, because I can just as easily claim my dirt cheap phone has the better UI - and by your own rules, you can't claim I'm wrong, because UI is unmeasurable.
Do you think the iPod succeeded just because people like Apple? ... Most of the other mp3 players have jagged edges that make them uncomfortable to use... a button that accidentally pauses the music if you have the player in your pocket... a stupid menu that takes 4 clicks to play music, but 2 to change contrast... a short battery life... too heavy... bad software...
The Ipod was a decent product. This topic is about the Iphone. Furthermore, you contradict your own argument. You've provided numerous examples of why the Ipod was better. So much for "it's unmeasurable"! So where are the same reasons for the Iphone?
It's not that Apple products are so superior in every way. It's that they have no strong weaknesses other than big price tags.
[Leaving aside a few basic functionality that even cheap phones have such as copy/paste, Java, MMS, video recording, and it only just finally got 3G.] If you agree that the Iphone is not superior, and it has no major weaknesses either, then that's the point: it's just yet another phone, and there's nothing special about it. Lots of phones fall into this middle ground category
But brand appeal can't carry a bad product... their products are good, AND they have brand appeal. You can't stick your head in the sand and pretend otherwise.
I'm not the one with my head in the sand saying "You can't measure UI, it just is better".
Brand appeal is important - this is shown by the very fact that you tried to claim the Iphone is better be saying how the Ipod was better. Your logic is that they're both "Apple", therefore the Iphone must be good too. That's judging not by product, but by brand. Do you think the Iphone would be getting even a fraction of media coverage it gets, if it wasn't produced by Apple? Brand appeal is everything to Apple. Consider how Macs today are nothing to do with older Macs (different hardware, different OS), but no one says "Well, Apple had to ditch the old OS because they finally realised it was so awful), rather, they're all considered to be the same platform.
Re:What about outside the USA? (Score:1, Insightful)
Translation: "I've never used an iPhone in my life, but that's not going to stop me from telling you all about how lame it is."
Re:What you talkin' about willis? (Score:5, Insightful)
The service you purchased on your phone contract says otherwise, and that's the problem.
Re:What is the big deal? (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple products no jagged edges? What the fuck?
Ok, I understand, they are smooth 'n all -- oh, you mean there are no USABILITY issues. Gotchya. And... wrong.
Example: Someone (my wife) using Windows 98. Really. With universal usb storage driver. Buys her sister an ipod and a CD to rip (audio book). The ipod is the little one with no display, 1gb of memory, cheap. Really, its a destructo audio book player. Limited instructions, maybe she missed the part about "itunes" but I don't think it was in the instructions!
Anyway, the CD is ripped onto the computer, and the ipod is plugged in. It shows up as a mass storage device. She copies the rip to the device, and charges. However, the ipod won't stay on! She RETURNS the ipod to the store as defective. The service guy says "Um, you need this application called iTunes" - Of course it is not supplied with the ipod. Too cheap to put a mini-cd in the packaging!
iTunes doesn't work with Windows 98. XP, maybe (I don't know). Fortunately, GtkPod is available for Linux (which we also use).
Let's break it down -
The ipod needs custom software, YET responds as a USB mass storage device - this is good design?
Apple doesn't put a cheap CD into the box with the software - come on, that's just bad - now an internet connection is REQUIRED.
iTunes doesn't work with Windows 98. Ok, I'll grant you this.
The ipod doesn't stay turned on if there is no magic itunes stuff on it. It has a nifty color changing led and all, but that isn't used to display any sort of distinguishing error - you have to KNOW the magic to get it to go.
And you think Apple doesn't have jagged edges... I would imagine that iTunes probably comes with the Mac computer, so it is probably seamless 'n all. But the chutzpah! I should spend $600 so a $50 product works?
Re:What about outside the USA? (Score:2, Insightful)
I do not have an iPhone, and lack of tethering support is one of many reasons why.
Same here. Lack of tethering on the 3g network was iPhone's fatal flaw for me. If it was permitted, I would have one right now. Instead I'm waiting out some android phones to see how they stack up.
Tethering with EVDO (non rev-a) on my Blackberry usually gives me almost a Mb/sec up and down. That's fine for sending a few emails or even browing the web if I get stuck somewhere. The bonus is the full keyboard and decent sized screen on my laptop, not to mention any data that I have saved on said laptop for work, etc.
There are some problems, with number 1 being that blackberry software ONLY runs on windows, but that's also what my company laptop runs, so no big complaint there.
Re:What you talkin' about willis? (Score:3, Insightful)
In both your examples, your evil companies have invested shit-tons of money into creating the economic pool you want to swim in. You are surprised that they want to impose rules to earn profits on their investment?
Without AT&T, you wouldn't have AT&T's phone service, and without AT&T's investment in the iPhone, you probably wouldn't have $199 access to an OS X-based smartphone that costs $700.
Without the RIAA, you wouldn't have artists getting million dollar contract advances to create albums, nor any rock and roll lifestyle to inspire artists to make music. That's a bad thing if all you like is folk hippie music, but most people like commercial lala popular music, hence the name Pop.
I'm not saying that AT&T and the RIAA aren't greedy assholes, I'm only saying that your outrage is rather naive and silly. "Just restricts the consumer"? You do realize that the purpose of companies is to make profits, right? They don't exist to titillate you at affordable prices.
Warning: Google Maps Walking directions are in Beta [roughlydrafted.com]
Re:What about outside the USA? (Score:3, Insightful)
I've always wondered why the phone companies try to make this distinction. Their network doesn't care if I'm browsing the Internet using my phone or my laptop connected via my phone. The only thing their network cares about is the amount of bandwidth I use. So just let everyone tether to their heart's content, and distinguish between the different tiers of data plans by amount of bandwidth they let you use. e.g. a 10 GB/month plan, a 50 GB/mo plan, and a 200 GB/mo plan. Then make a simple app/site which lets you see how much bandwidth you've consumed so far this month.
Re:What about outside the USA? (Score:3, Insightful)
But then you couldn't call your data plan unlimited, could you? And you can't very well offer "unlimited" data if someone is actually going to take you up on that. Why, they might run something other than a tiny little web browser and e-mail program!
Re:What you talkin' about willis? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What you talkin' about willis? (Score:2, Insightful)
Don't forget that the people also spend money, and in the economic pool, outweigh the amount invested by those big companies. And as such, as the masses voice their naive and silly opinions, they have the right to do it. At the end of the day, these large companies don't have anything without the end users who play the biggest role in the economic marketplace.
Re:What you talkin' about willis? (Score:3, Insightful)
We've gone from one King George to another. Escaping laws like this is the reason this country was founded!
Re:What you talkin' about willis? (Score:5, Insightful)
Not at all, just the day where twenty-page "contracts" didn't come sealed in a box that you buy. If anyone actually approached consumers with a contract long enough to be read in the venue they marketed their product (ie, two-paragraph contract for something meant to be purchased in a retail-ish setting like a cell-phone.) people wouldn't consider them outrageous.
But no, people have the idea that anything they write down on paper is going to be binding just because they hand it to you, with no consideration for letting you read it in its entirety, or before the sale.
Sorry, but that's not behavior I respect. I could "not respect" it by quietly going home and being upset, or I could usefully not respect it by treating it as I would treat a phone I bought from someone I did respect. I follow common-sense guidelines, or rules for the benefit of everyone, but not rules for their sole benefit.
For instance, ISP rules about no servers. Yeah, uh huh. What's a server? Any protocol that happens to answer a port, regardless of the majority of the dataflow. And they forbid servers, not bandwidth hogging. So should I honestly follow along and not run SSH despite it not really being the problem and max-out my downloads on legit Linux ISOs, or should I try to play by the spirit of cooperation and not do anything (regardless of the rules) that would destroy the service for my neighbors such as using all the bandwidth?
If I lived by the rules of "no servers" anything else would be fine. Instead if I examine the situation and deal fairly with those involved, no method of harm is "okay" just because it wasn't mentioned.
So, in other words, you're a schmuck if you follow an abusive contract. Many people who enter offer contracts do so abusively and there's no reason to pander to that and not get a phone, or such. Just follow the reasonable rules, discard the rest. Until courts catch up with the idea that there are some things you can't contract for (not illegal, just unrelated to the apparent deal - misleading) people just need to act this way.
It was the software companies all individually including the EULAs in the box than convinced people shrink-wrap licenses are binding. Now we just need everyone individually ignoring provisions of contracts they didn't get a chance to negotiate to set the assumption that such contracts aren't binding.
The world would be a far better place if people acted based on the harm their actions would cause, NOT based on the rules that would be violated.
Re:What you talkin' about willis? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm aware that there's a twenty page contract, but I'm also aware as a programmer that few people, including programmers, could take a twenty page document full of conditions and exceptions and properly parse it, being sure of not making any mistakes and of catching all restrictions. Especially standing in a store, without a day or two to make notes.
It simply is not reasonable to present people with a contract like that for things that don't warrant getting a lawyer. Thinking these contracts should be binding is like expecting you to hire a lawyer and do battle with Sony corp over your defective Walkman, as opposed to going to small-claims court where the rules are different and engaging them in a more level way.
We might as well practice law in Latin for all the good it does to hand a densely worded and intentionally confusing document, especially at a time that contracts usually aren't required - what looks to be a simple purchase at retail.
So no, even if I believed that these contracts would stand up to the type of challenge I would wage if I had the time/money, I still would not follow them because they are abusive.
As for Apple's ability to control what I do with my data, I do not believe they have the right to tell me I cannot tunnel games over an SSH connection to my phone, or web pages, or a packet whose ultimate destination might be someone else. They provide bandwidth, I use it. They can set limits on amounts, but not on the purpose of the data transmission. (Which would be like saying I can only use the iPhone for certain calls.)
Obviously nobody listens to a rule that says you can't take calls for your friends on your phone - they simply pay the airtime and use the device. Similarly, nobody would accept a rule saying you can call only affiliated pizza places. A limit on who you can forward data to is just a ridiculous.
Re:I got mine (Score:3, Insightful)
"So sorry, the OS update broke it, nothing we can do"
Re:What you talkin' about willis? (Score:5, Insightful)
There is a fine line between voluntarily entering into a contract with a 3rd party on equal negotiation footing and agreeing to ridiculous contractual options because everyone who offers this service requires it. For example, air travel is theoretically optional, but a basic necessity of modern living. You can then either opt out of modern living, or you can wear the contractually-obliged shock collar [washingtontimes.com] in order to fly.
Certain bits of modern contracts are quite frankly immortal, and should not be enforced by the government. As a further example, non-competes can be a way of ensuring that your employees don't simply run to another company with your hard-earned knowledge. But they're also a way of ensuring that certain employees can never work in their field again, and cannot realistically get another job afterwards. This can be held over the employee to prevent them from leaving due to underpay, abuse, or failure to live up to bonus or other compensatory promises. And they're always entered into while the employee is hungry.
Re:What about outside the USA? (Score:3, Insightful)
For instance I couldn't even read the slashdot main page on a windows mobile pone, but on the iPhone I am constantly checking slashdot including reading the articles and comments.
In the example above he probably gets good battery life because he only uses if for email. If I only use the email on my iPhone battery life isn't a problem.
Re:What about outside the USA? (Score:3, Insightful)
Hmm...just struck me as a strange statement. Doesn't everyone put their phone on the charger overnight? It just seemed the common thing for me to do (not an iPhone owner)...I figured everyone charged or 'topped off' their phone nightly.
Re:I got mine (Score:3, Insightful)
Illegaly interfered with?
If you make an update you agree to the changes that come with it.
Re:I got mine (Score:3, Insightful)
No, they will not. Stop strutting like a chicken and making a lot of noise, you'll never do anything and you know it.