Mark Nicholas ([info]cosmicity) wrote,
@ 2007-09-05 17:20:00
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Current location:Pluto Post
Current music:Partidge Family theme
Entry tags:apple, hack, iphone

Today's the day...
Today's the day Apple finally crossed a line with me. I'm officially unhappy.

#1 Reason: $200 price drop for the iPhone. I understand why they did it (it'll sell a lot of phones this Xmas), but it's bullshit to do it 2 months after a launch. 12 months is standard for a price drop on new technology. And by that much money? Not $50 to goose sales a bit. Not even $100. $200 cheaper. Every single early-adopter is brutally punished? Extremely not cool. (Damn good news for people who wanted one but couldn't afford 'em, though. No question about that.)

#2 Reason: They're CHARGING you a second time if you want to turn a song you've ALREADY PURCHASED into a 30 second ringtone on your phone. You literally have to buy it again. Want a ringtone? Buy the song for $1. Then edit it yourself to :30. Then pay ANOTHER $1 to use that edit on your phone. Why?! You already bought it! It's yours to use as you want! I hate to say it, but with a move like this, they've become like Microsoft. I feel like I don't know what Steve Jobs stands for anymore. It's almost sick.

So, with this... I am not going all insane and switching to PCs or selling off my iphone. (It's still a great phone and I still like Macs better than Windows PCs.) However, I will be taking matters into my own hands. I will be hacking my iPhone tonight. In case you're curious, here's a link to how that looks: LINKY LINKERTON

Here's what it accomplishes that I think make it well worth it:

- Install any software you want to the phone. It becomes unlocked. (This is the main thing.)
- No-additional-charge ringtones from your own music library. As many as you want. As it should be.
- Built-in iChat client so you no longer need to pay for SMS Text messages via AT&T.
- Games, including a Ninetndo emulator that plays Super Mario Brothers, iPhone Doom, etc.

-m

PS - I do think the new iPod touch is a good announcement (that we all saw coming). And I also think the WiFi Apple Store was a good announcement. It was ridiculous that you couldn't download songs directly to your iPhone from the start. But I'm still pissed. This whole thing just feels a lot less Apple than normal... almost stockholder driven, and that's never been what they were about ('til now). But yeah. They'll sell an assload of phones and iPods this holiday. Shoulda bought stock, I guess.


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[info]introvert
2007-09-05 10:14 pm UTC (link)
Agreed. Total BS.

I'm curious to hear how your hacking adventures go, and whether you're happy with it post-hack. Please keep us posted. If it works well, then I might become interested in purchasing a pair for myself and Dannah, especially considering the price drop. But I won't put up with the draconian bullshit.

I've gotta tell you, my feelings about Apple have shifted quite a bit in recent months. I used to hate their computers and love their gadgets. Now I've come to love the Macbook. Adore it. It's a fantastic machine. But I'm becoming less happy with the iPod, the Apple TV is dogshit (you should see what I have our 360 doing as a media center... it wipes the floor with ATV) and I really don't like the majority of their announcements today regarding the iPhone stuff. I imagine my next media player will be a Zune, and I might go with an iPhone if it can be cracked wide open.

I do want to clarify the Microsoft thing though... this is like Microsoft's Business Software side. This isn't like the Xbox division. Xbox = good. Microsoft Business = bad. Working with them I've come to realize that they are two different companies with the same name attached to them, but the name is all they share. The decisions are different, the goals are different, the ethics are different. These people don't even socialize with each other. They're THAT separated.

I only bring it up because a lot of buddies within Microsoft Game Studios/Xbox really hate the stigma attached to them due to the M$ name, and they'll usually call people out on it when they hear it. They're an insanely cool bunch of people, nothing like their counterparts in the business side.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]gandalfe
2007-09-05 10:46 pm UTC (link)
Don't buy a Zune. Buy the sexxxiest damn portable media player on the planet, the Archos. I actually like Gen4 better than Gen5, at least, the look of it. You can actually use it as a DVR.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
No! Buy this!
[info]serpent_sky
2007-09-06 12:22 am UTC (link)
{note: this is what I do for work and I wrote this, but my co-workers and I could not stop laughing ALL DAY: i.Beat blaxx.

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-06 12:09 am UTC (link)
I hear ya. I was almost as anti-microsoft as they come, but Halo sold me on the original X-box. And as for the 360, outside of the noisy fan, I've been very happy with mine. I'll be even more happy when Halo 3 is out in a couple weeks!

Apple TV: Again, if I could take my media back off of that hard drive and use it as a main backup drive/hub, I'd be all for it. But since it's locked down, it's useless junk to me. I like your 360 idea. Sara and I may do exactly that.

The iPod: Being as objective as I can be, for the most part, we've never had an issue with one. Well, aside from THE issue... the fact that you can't take songs off it once they're on there. But iPodRip solved that, so it really is a problem-free device in our house. Got no reason to change.

But I will say this. Mad as I am about various iPhone annoyances, I did stop using my iPod the day I got it. Come to think of it, I don't even know where my iPod is anymore! Around somewhere, I'm sure. Now, most poeple need more than 8GB worth of music and video, but I really don't. I had a 30 gig iPod with 5 gig of music on it. So, now I only carry one device for everything. I really do like that about the iPhone. And the interface. It's badass.

And I can already tell you the hack is fucking brilliant. I have two psycho Apple friends who both brought their hacked iPhones to a party last weekend. That's what pretty much sold me on it. The hack is so perfect, you'd think Apple either did it themselves or licensed it to these guys. It looks perfect. And I physically played Super Mario Bros on it. Worked perfectly. My only fear is the lame fear that Apple will release some future update, I'll go to get it, and my phone will get permanently screwed up or something. But that's a stupid fear. And all of the data is backed up on my computer, so there's really nothing to lose. I'm just doin' it. But maybe not for a couple more days. I wanna make sure I have the time to focus on it and do it right...

-m

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[info]laerm
2007-09-06 03:16 am UTC (link)
My only fear is the lame fear that Apple will release some future update, I'll go to get it, and my phone will get permanently screwed up or something.

well, y'see, to me that's justification of being an early adopter. i wouldn't be surprised to see that they close a lot of those other loopholes that allow the phone to be hacked, yanno?

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[info]serpent_sky
2007-09-06 12:20 am UTC (link)
01. Total crap; major fuckover of early adopters/Apple devotees.
02. I want a super mega iPod, but not until they develop a replaceable battery so I don't have to re-buy an iPod when my battery shits the bed.
03. I bought my 30gb 6 months ago, at the price of the current 80gb. Not as bad as the iPhone people, but still....
04. The ringtone thing is retarded.
05. iPhone... AT&T doesn't work in my area, so even if it was free I'd not have it. I have Sprint because they have the best network here. ERROR. ERROR.

I wish I got this article on work site.

And Mark.... all caps for serious WHEN DO I GET TO DO AN INTERVIEW WITH YOU FOR SHOUTMOUTH??? DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [for emphasis]

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-06 01:01 am UTC (link)
Dude, send me questions anytime you want and I will totally answer them! info@marknicholas.org .

I hear ya about the AT+T thing. It happened to work out for me since I had Cingular already and the service had always been fine. So when my old phone died, I figured, what the hell? Wish my old phone had waited another month to die now, though.

The battery thing on iPods... never really bothered me. I think that people want a new one before the batteries die, for the most part. And if you really want it replaced, Apple will do it for like $60. But I doubt most anyone does... by the time it actually dies, you probably want the way cooler newer iPods, ya know?

The ringtone thing is extremely retarded. I was just watching Attack of the Show, though, and one dude made a semi-good point that I hadn't considered. A lot of mp3 ringtones from the cell companies are $2.99 and $3.99. This is still cheaper. Still bullshit if you already own the song, but less bullshit than what the cell companies make you pay, I suppose.

I'm still hacking mine, though. I'll do it this weekend when I can spend some time doing it right.

-m

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[info]serpent_sky
2007-09-06 01:09 am UTC (link)
Phone interview.
DEMAND.
They flow better.

:)
Tell me when you have time and I will set up the equipment.

The time difference makes things easier on us, since I'm EST.

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-06 01:33 am UTC (link)
Me = suck on the phone.

Me = great paper interview.

Me = EST. People think Detroit is a zillion miles away, but we're pretty close in the scheme of things. :-)

I'll do it the way you want, but I'm telling you, I'm the most boring telephone interview ever. I did one with this radio show in Hawaaii and I never heard from that station again!

I've got time pretty much whenever you feel like it.

-m

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[info]serpent_sky
2007-09-06 01:39 am UTC (link)
I thought you guys were an hour behind us, for some reason.

That said, paper interviews are dead ends. Phone interviews are "holy crap, that's cool."

Let's plan for next week some time. :)

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-06 02:01 am UTC (link)
Have you ever read any of my paper interviews? It buys me the time to be clever... I'm not that quick on my feet.

http://vampirefreaks.com/content/comment.php?entry=108&t=Mark+Nicholas+Interview

But since you seem determined, you name the time and I'll attempt to use this primitive "telephone" device you speak of. :-)

-m

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[info]gandalfe
2007-09-07 04:37 am UTC (link)
If you want, I can PRETEND to be you. I'm quite good on the phone, and thinking on my feet. And thinking on my phone feet.

Actually, this sounds more and more amusing the more I think about it. I can PRETEND to be you for an interview.

I'll say fuck a lot.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]miss_ania
2007-09-06 12:27 am UTC (link)
Hacking your phone sounds insanely cool. I'd like to know how it goes too.

(after looking at the Apple website I seriously want a 160GB iPod.)

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-06 01:03 am UTC (link)
Do you REALLY have 160 GB worth of music though? Sara has an 80 gig and she couldn't really fill it. I say save $100 and get the 80 gig, maybe.

I'll let you know how the hack goes. And, well, you'll surely see it next time we're at IPM.

-m

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[info]miss_ania
2007-09-06 01:07 am UTC (link)
Considering that 160 GB is twice the size of my hard drive, no. :p But just the idea of having it is awesome!

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[info]jacklattie
2007-09-06 02:34 am UTC (link)
I think your comment about this move being decidedly un-Apple is an astute one.

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-06 06:06 am UTC (link)
Yeah, well, what can ya do? Was bound to happen as Apple's been getting more and more popular. You can't stay small and hip forever.

I say, bring on the new tiny computer company with a shake-things-up attitude and brilliant ideas for making technology fun and easy to use! (Yeah right.)

-m

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[info]jacklattie
2007-09-06 12:13 pm UTC (link)
That's a great point. You know that's bound to happen someday -- some new company with products and practices we can't deny are great. I wonder who what when where how.

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[info]dhumphrey73
2007-09-06 03:40 am UTC (link)
I agree. I finally got the "are you f**king kidding me??!?!?" heartburn feeling from Apple today. A $200 price drop???? Why not just throw in a free Wii to really say "f**k you" to those of us who sucked it up and made the iPhone THE "must have" item this summer. $100, I'd have totally understood. $200 says "we overcharged you suckers HARDcore".

Do I regret buying my iPhone?
Hell no.
Do I regret buying it when I did?
Hell no.
Will I ultimately make my peace with this?
F'sure.
Where would I have spent the extra $200?
Probably at Apple anyway.

It's just SUPER obnoxious and offensive to slap the early adopters in the face like that. The gracious move would have been to give early adopters a $50 iTunes credit or something. I don't want or expect the whole $200 back... but throw us a bone or something rather than trumpting a 33% price drop 68 days after the product launches. (But who's counting...?)

I had no problem with the 99cent ringtone until you made the good point about having to pay AGAIN to work with a file you already own. OH YEAH! That makes sense. I made my peace with it when I compared it to the cost for other ringtones, but you make a very good point!

Grrrrr....
D

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-06 06:04 am UTC (link)
Yeah. I'm used to some degree of early adopter burn. I've purchased a computer and had the price drop a bit 6 months later (or seen good features added for the same price). I've purchased an iPod and seen it come down $100 bucks 6 months later. But this just seemed like way beyond normal. I felt price gouged by Apple. Seems like the kind of thing an Oil company would do... not them. And yeah. A $50 or $100 credit to the iTunes store would make me feel a lot better, but you know they won't do that.

The ringtone thing... yes. It is cheaper than paying a cell company $3.99. But it's ridiculous when you consider you can just push play to hear a song on your iPhone that you purchased already, but you can't just have the phone push play on that same song to represent a ring!? DUMB! (Also, why can't it play a song as a wake-up alarm instead of one of the built in songs?)

So, I shall hack. I've seen a hacked phone in action and it's gorgeous. I can't resist. Ringtones should be free if you already own the song. And the pull of playing Nintendo on my iPhone is too great to resist.

-m

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[info]dhumphrey73
2007-09-06 01:23 pm UTC (link)
I hacked mine last night. It's AWESOME. I do need your sage advice on one thing though. I'll email you separately re: that.

D

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-06 09:14 pm UTC (link)
Check it. THIS is the Apple I love.

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/

-m

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[info]dhumphrey73
2007-09-06 10:49 pm UTC (link)
Yep. I saw that. i called today and waited 1/2 hour on hold to complain. I said that Steve Jobs gave all early adopters the good old one-finger salute yesterday and that it was a shame. The person I spoke to, and then later her manager, both said that today was a HORRIBLE day in Apple customer service and they said that the wait times were longer than ever and that people were smoked. Good for Steve Jobs for publicly addressing it.

D

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-07 01:49 am UTC (link)
Yeah, I feel better. And I'll feel extra better when I see what the actual offer is next week.

But I'm still hacking. It's too irresistable to avoid. Get NES to work?

-m

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[info]dhumphrey73
2007-09-07 04:12 am UTC (link)
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/so-nice/how-to-install-nintendo-games-and-play-with-tactile-feedback-in-your-iphone-292655.php

:)

D

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[info]carloscov
2007-09-06 07:29 am UTC (link)
man M that sucks

sorry you are having so much trouble with Apple.

Weren't apple and mac computers the "user freindly OS"?....

Apparently not so much any more...thier customer apprieciation operations sound like they need improving.

Carlos

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[info]gwyrah
2007-09-06 01:39 pm UTC (link)
On #2 welcome to the wonderful world of the RIAA. Few years back they realized that ring tones would be a multi-billion dollar perk. So even though you've bought the license to own a copy of that song, you still have to buy the license to make that song into a ring tone.

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-06 01:57 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I was reading that it's basically not Apple's fault. But it's still a crime when you have portable device that plays a song you legally own, but it's not allowed to do exactly that same thing when I call is coming in. It's like saying you can have a clock with a radio in it, but you can't have the radio turn on as your alarm in the morning. (BTW, another thing the iPhone can't do but should - be able to use your iTunes songs as wake-up alarms.)

-m

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Open Letter from Steve
[info]gwyrah
2007-09-06 07:55 pm UTC (link)
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Open Letter from Steve
[info]cosmicity
2007-09-06 09:14 pm UTC (link)
That's awesome. Now THAT is Apple. Steve just saved himself in my eyes.

-m

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[info]gandalfe
2007-09-06 09:04 pm UTC (link)
Ask and ye shall receive! $100 iBucks.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118910651781519626.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news

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[info]cosmicity
2007-09-07 01:51 am UTC (link)
Yeah. This is Apple making it right. Better.

-m

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