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Paul posted about one of the arguments in the Free Software Foundation’s article 5 reasons to avoid iPhone 3G ‘. I’m going to talk about several of their other points.
iPhone completely blocks free software. Developers must pay a tax to Apple, who becomes the sole authority over what can and can’t be on everyone’s phones.
The iPhone allows free software. Developers do have to pay to be able to submit applications to the App Store, but once accepted to the store, Apple will distribute them free of charge. If a Developer wants to charge for their app, Apple charges a Distribution/Marketing Fee. They are the sole authority over what can/can’t be on everybody’s phones, but I’m not convinced that’s a bad idea. My primary phone is a Palm Treo 755p supports any software that was designed for the Palm OS, some of which is not particularly stable. When the unit is also my primary means of communication, the last thing I need is a rogue application crashing it/disabling it. By retaining control of what applications get on the device, they can work to assure that only stable applications will have access to the phone’s API’s.
iPhone exposes your whereabouts and provides ways for others to track you without your knowledge.
This is not any more true with the iPhone then it is with any other phone on the market today. Cell carriers are required to be able to pinpoint the location of a cell phone within 100 meters. This means that every phone has the ability to share that information and/or track you without your knowledge. To a large extent, Apple’s jailed operating system provides an extra level of security. Only the currently active program knows where you are; Apple reviewed that application to make sure that it was safe; and, I believe, you have to authorize an application to use your location data.
iPhone won’t play patent- and DRM-free formats like Ogg Vorbis and Theora.
iPhone has also allowed a variety of apps that reduce the need for the iTunes music store to get music on your iPhone (Pandora, AOL Radio, etc.). As for the patent and DRM-free format argument, this is all well and good; on the other hand, MP3 is the most common format available. Anybody who’s ever had an iPod has all their music in MP3 format already.
iPhone is not the only option. There are better alternatives on the horizon that respect your freedom, don’t spy on you, play free media formats, and let you use free software.
This is the reasoning of a three-year-old. We’ve come up with four “good reasons” so we’re going to sum them up and call them a fifth reason.
I like the concept of Free Software, and the Free Software Foundation for that matter. This particular argument, however, doesn’t hold water with me. I’m not rushing out to buy the iPhone 3G. I can’t afford it, ATT doesn’t have good coverage here period (and nothing near 3G coverage), but it’s revolutionizing the cell phone industry. Apple is doing things that nobody else is doing, and pushing the limits of technology.
The Free Software Foundation recently released a list of five reasons to avoid the iPhone 3G. The thing that gets me is point two: “iPhone endorses and supports Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology.” This seemed perfectly in line with the normal FSF line until I got to thinking about crypto, which is endorsed and supported by the FSF.
DRM is primarily concerned with two things: 1) keeping ‘unauthorized’ people from obtaining a usable copy of *whatever*, and 2) determining if a copy of *whatever* has been tinkered with some by someone without the correct tinker privileges. Obviously, this is Evil, and needs to be stopped.
Let us now consider crypto, especially the public-key crypto used in secure email systems. When I encrypt a message to someone, I effectively guarantee that only that person can read the message. Anyone not on my recipient list might get a copy of the encrypted message, but it’s gonna be completely unusable gibberish. Further, I can ’sign’ a message, which allows all recipients of the message to match the clear text they are seeing with my original message, thereby keeping tinkerers from changing my words. Huh, that sounds like exactly what DRM is doing, but DRM is Evil, and crypto is Good. Weird.
So, here’s my thought on the matter. If DRM is unquestionably and always bad, then let’s get rid of it, and take our crypto with it. If, however, some forms of encryption are good, let’s stop blasting everything carrying even the faintest whiff of DRM just because of that whiff.
Personally, I see a place for DRM in the world of Free/Open software. Consider a signed distribution of, say, the Linux kernel or the Apache web server. The sig provides a means for users to verify the authenticity of their software, ensuring that a nefarious third party hasn’t inserted code which could unduly affect the user’s security. In the hardware interface arena, I can also see a use for basic usage limiting, preventing novice users from installing drivers not intended for their devices. Of course, these methods should be easily overcome, so as not to stifle experimentation and innovation, but as signposts on the way to new tech, they could be incredibly useful.
One final thought for the FSF: Check your facts before you go to print. It’s entirely possible to install free software on an iPhone without going through the App Store and Apple’s vetting process. Just use the Ad-hoc distribution feature Apple’s been talking about since third-party apps were developed. No oversight by Apple, and anyone with the right resources can be up and running quickly and easily.
Oh, and before you start complaining about the $99 you have to pay Apple to push apps to a device, consider this: Most open source projects that provide compilation instructions for Windows rely not on open source tools like Code::Blocks and the GNU compilers, but on Microsoft’s Visual C environment. A onetime fee of $99 is a pittance compared to the hundreds of dollars a ‘real’ (non-Express-Edition) copy of Visual Studio will cost you, not to mention that Microsoft cares not one whit for upholding the ISO C standards if it doesn’t suit their own ends to do so.
Stopped at Jo To Go in Escanaba, MI yesterday and had ‘The Butterball’ Latte. Described as “A great sweet treat! A creamy combination of butter pecan syrup and white chocolate, topped with whip cream!” on their website, it was all that and more. If you live near a Jo To Go, it is definitely worth a try. If not, they provide an email address for suggesting a new location. This is a great Starbucks alternative.
Listened to the last episode of LUG Radio on my trip home this evening. They had an interesting discussion on the availability of personal information on the web. Googling my Father’s name and the city he lives in brings up his phone number and address, and a map link. The map pulls up a pinpoint location and the ability to get directions from any address. To go one step farther, there is the “Street View” option, which pulls up a photograph of the house 2 houses down from his and the ability to scroll down the street to see his.
Is this an invasion of his privacy? I’d argue not. None of this is newly available information. He has always had a listing in the WhitePages. Any public library has the local phone book, and many libraries carry the books for the entire region. They could also call Directory Assistance and get the information. From there, somebody could use a city map to pinpoint the location, and drive down the street to take as many pictures as they wanted.
The LUG folk made the point that the information has always been available, just not as easily. I’d point out that the process of getting the information used to leave a trail; somebody at the library would potentially notice you perusing the phone books. Getting any information from the government likely requires paperwork to be filed.
If nothing else, the public availability of information on the Internet has helped to make people a lot more aware of what information is available about them. Considering how active I am on the web, searching for my name turns up nothing related to me until page 5. My Fiance, on the other hand, is not nearly as active and has several hits on page 1 (several of which connect her to me).
This is my first real blog post, and I hope that is has not bored you too much. Thank you for taking the time to read this geek’s ramblings. I intend to do more posts like this, link off to random interesting websites, and get other geeks involved in this community. This happens to be a topic that interests me, so I will probably post about it in the future.
