Thanks for taking part in the DefectivebyDesign.org
iPhone Challenge.
When we first wrote about the iPhone 3G, we listed 5 reasons to avoid it.
1. 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.
2. iPhone endorses and supports Digital Restrictions Management (DRM)
technology.
3. iPhone exposes your whereabouts and provides ways for others to track
you without your knowledge.
4. iPhone won’t play patent-and-DRM-free formats like Ogg Vorbis and The-
ora.
5. 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 – like the FreeRunner.
The feedback we’ve received has been incredible, both from supporters and from
iPhone owners, angry at us for speaking out against the iPhone.
Enter the iPhone challenge.
We’d like you to go to your local Apple Store, book a space at the Genius Bar
and ask them some questions. Simple.
When you’re done, give the Genius a rating from 0 to 160, based on the accuracy
of information they give you. If they’re honest and up front about Apple’s deceit,
give them a higher score. If they toe the party line, give them a lower score.
1
What is free software?
Free software is software that respects our freedom.
To use free software is to make a political and ethical choice asserting our
rights to learn and to share what we learn with others.
Usually software we buy denies us these rights, because we don’t actually buy
ownership of the software – instead, we receive a license to use the software, and
this license binds us with many fine-print rules about what we can and can’t do.
If we make a copy and give it to a friend, if we try to figure out how the program
works, if we put a copy on more than one of our own computers in our own
home, we could if caught be fined or put in jail. That’s what’s in the fine print.
What if there were a worldwide group of talented ethical prog