> Also, if they wanted, couldn't Apple allow 3rd party apps in some
> fashion, but where it warns the user that installing an unofficial
> program may do damage to their phone? Or maybe I should get an android
> phone and support the competition. . .
If you ignore the "security" issue that people float around, there
is also one very good reason for Apple to not do that: Market Share.
Right now, they can have offical Apple-produced applications and stop
third-party applications in those fields from the get-go.
And truthfully, unoffical leaks of how to unlock your iPhone *is*
Apple's way of allowing 3rd party applications while also stating it is
an unofficial program that may do damage to their phone, and that by
simply preparing to install it you are voiding the warranty.
Truthfully, the Android platform isn't all that open. It has an open
development environment, but it isn't open in the sense that you can't
replace any product that ships with it with a third-party product. You
can not, in any real sense, "use the product how you see fit." This is
less a matter of security than it is a matter that the US government
controls the airways.
And the US government *does* control the airways. In particular the FCC.
In the common case, the standard Internet wireless protocols can use
additional channels outside of the US. In the US, some of the spectrum
is used by the US military. In another case, simply listening to some
radio channels is restricted, as you can not legally listen to police
channels in a car.
Now, imagine a person has a simple phone-sized device that can
truthfully freely access the airways. Police channels via your bluetooth
headset? Some cell phones actually include AM/FM radios. It isn't that
far-fetched. Ignoring the military frequencies, you also have purposes
for such a device which could include simple cell phone jamming. If
anyone could have an easy hand-held cell phone jammer then not only
would it be common for folks to have them in movie theaters, but
virtually any criminal worth their salt would have one.
This is why I'm actually headed toward getting an open
mobile-internet-device connected via bluetooth to a closed-platform cell
phone.
I want a fully open hand-held device, but it does not have to be the
same device that uses the cell-phone network, and I do not require my
wireless device's firmware to be open.
Cheers,
--
Steven Black <blacks@indiana.edu> / KeyID: 8596FA8E
Fingerprint: 108C 089C EFA4 832C BF07 78C2 DE71 5433 8596 FA8E
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