iPhone 1.1.1: It’s Dangerous to Go Alone

The iPhone 1.1.1 software update locks out any third-party applications you have installed. Quoting Erica Sadun, a tech journalist who has a lot of firsthand experience with the iPhone operating system:

If you somehow managed to upgrade while keeping your iPhone apps intact — I have yet to hear a confirmation of this happening, and I kinda doubt it can happen — congratulations. Everyone else is out of luck. Don’t expect a jailbreak anytime soon.

I am going to hold back on upgrading. I haven’t found any good articles which go into the technical details of the new security measures, but based on Erica’s level of involvement with the third-party apps movement, I’ll take her word for it.

I am surprised to say this as I haven’t said it about any Apple product since the Jobs/NeXT takeover: for shame. If there are legal agreements which require Apple, Inc. to keep the platform locked, then they should be publicly forthcoming about it.

For shame. New customers will never know the simple joys of Blaster Master on their iPhones while waiting for San Francisco’s ridiculously erratic public transportation system. To be fair, most of the other third-party applications were pretty crappy, but the AIM client was starting to mature to the point where it was a reasonable way to talk about people’s new haircuts during overly long meetings with product managers.

For shame.

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Published:
9.29.07 / 1am
Category:
Programming