Written by Among its other features, the things that really sell the Apple iPhone are the iPhone apps. “Apps” is short for “applications,” which are little programs that both the Apple developers and others create for phone users to download. Those that are approved by Apple can be submitted to place in its online store, and then users can download these iPhone applications. The creators usually decide whether these apps will be free, or will be sold for a price. This sounds easy enough, and users should find all the apps they need in Apple’s store.
However, some people have a problem with the iPhone apps officially approved by Apple. Those applications often don’t quite do what people want or, more insidiously, they sometimes allow a third party to track what they do, infringing the user’s privacy. Whatever the reasons, some users will do an iPhone hack. They developed methods of breaking into their phone to allow them to alter how the applications worked, or to download apps from a source other than Apple. One rationale for some of them was that they now owned the phone, and should be allowed to do what they wanted with it, as they could do with a car they owned.
Not surprisingly, Apple decided not to take this tampering with iPhone apps lying down. The company insists that it’s not going to authorize this hacking, or as it is also known, “jailbreaking,” while the Electronic Frontier Foundation among others have asked the nation’s Copyright Office to allow hacking in certain instances. Apple claims that opening up the iPhone this way would cost money, deter its own development efforts, and open it to a vast number of service calls from customers who become angry when iPhone downloads from unauthorized sources interfere with their phone’s performance.
Whatever people’s reasons for wanting to hack their phones and alter how iPhone apps work, the Copyright Office must consider them all before it finally rules. Some people want the right to use their phone with someone other than the “approved” carrier, as they can with other cell phones. Others want to engage in iPhone hacks that allow them to use applications that work much better or have different features than those Apple approves of, and some simply want to break what appears to be Apple’s monopoly on use and access. Whatever the final decision on these matters, 2010 will be an important year for iPhone users.
Kenny Leichester is a foremost expert in the interior design industry specializing in the outdoor or patio settings using outdoor patio furniture, patio umbrellas, outdoor cushions, patio heaters, patio lighting and so on to create exquisitely beautiful layout. His work on outdoor patio furniture cushions designs and so on are widely distributed and is a regular contributor to PatioShoppers.com.
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