Apple disables iPhone SDK developer iPhones

[RThurmont]

Yes, the iPhone SDK actually does suck.

Seriously, this deeply unnerves me. Does Apple have the ability to disable my iPhone at any time they please? If such a capability is introduced in the 2.0 firmware, I certainly won't upgrade.

Edit: post formatting error.

Edit: to provide a bit more information, basically what occured is that Apple inadvertantly released an update that disabled the iPhones of certain developers using the beta of the SDK (and 2.0 firmware). The phones thus became unusable unless reverted to an earlier firmware using iTunes.

The disturbing aspect is that this was apparently, as far as I can tell from everyone's forum posts, propagated using the AT&T network, as opposed to being a user-initiated update via iTunes. My fear is that Apple has the ability to do this to existing or "stock" firmware in addition to this Beta stuff. If this is not the case (and I hope it isn't), I will be much relieved.

[ANGELUS]

For what I read it sounds more like a bug on the new firmware that disables it, not some evil conspiracy from apple.

[Praxis]

Seriously, this deeply unnerves me. Does Apple have the ability to disable my iPhone at any time they please? If such a capability is introduced in the 2.0 firmware, I certainly won't upgrade.

Don't be so dramatic. This is prerelease software that developers are working on under NDA. The fact that Apple had safeguards in there to prevent the beta firmware from being leaked is not surprising in the least.

Beta software at Nintendo HQ only plays in special development Wii's, it's not some conspiracy to lock out legitamite Wii owners, is it? Neither is Apple putting in a method to disable leaked beta software. They don't want this in the wild- we already know that hackers have created unlocks and jailbreaks for the 2.0 firmware.

If something like this is in the final shipping copy I'll be rather surprised.

[Durandal]

Yes, the iPhone SDK actually does suck.

Seriously, this deeply unnerves me. Does Apple have the ability to disable my iPhone at any time they please?

No, you blithering idiot.

Edit: post formatting error.

There are more errors than that.

Edit: to provide a bit more information, basically what occured is that Apple inadvertantly released an update that disabled the iPhones of certain developers using the beta of the SDK (and 2.0 firmware). The phones thus became unusable unless reverted to an earlier firmware using iTunes.

No, it wasn't "inadvertent". The firmware was time-limited because it's pre-release. This is not uncommon with pre-release software. The screw-up here was not posting the new firmware before the old firmware's expiration.

The disturbing aspect is that this was apparently, as far as I can tell from everyone's forum posts, propagated using the AT&T network, as opposed to being a user-initiated update via iTunes.

Are you completely stupid? Any posts on Apple Discussions claiming that it was a remote wipe are pure speculation and, in some cases, tongue-in-cheek humor regarding the remote wipe feature requested by business customers.

My fear is that Apple has the ability to do this to existing or "stock" firmware in addition to this Beta stuff. If this is not the case (and I hope it isn't), I will be much relieved.

No, that's not the case. The real case is that we've only included this "Remote Wipe From The Mothership" capability on your, specific phone. We've got your name, address and phone number in a giant database, and we're just waiting for the best time to use this information against you. And we've actually got a hidden GPS device in each phone. The teardowns didn't reveal it because we've gotten a secret patent on a technique to partition a piece of silicon into multiple parts that communicate with each other via a microscopic wireless network. It's an ingenious scheme, really.

And do you know why we did it? To piss you off. That's right. Steve has it out for you. He's just waiting for the day when you're lost in a desert somewhere so he can push the Magic Button and nail your ass to the wall. Hell, it's all he ever talks about these days.

Is that what you wanted to hear?

[Durandal]

Oh, and by the way, Apple told developers that this firmware shouldn't be installed on iPhones for daily use. If a developer's primary phone got bricked because of this, it's his own damn fault.

[RThurmont]

Haha, very funny...I am relieved to note this was a misfeature specific to the 2.0 firmware Beta...