For some people, it might seem useless to keep hacking at devices that Apple is actively working to not allow hacking. But, here’s why iPhone/iPod Touch hacking matters.
When Apple releases an update, those participating in the hacking festivities have to decide whether or not to upgrade. With the iPhone 1.1.1 update, we got a slew of new features including home button double-click, the double space shortcut, additional SMS notification tones, and the iTunes Wifi Music Store to name a few. This makes it harder for hackers to lag in their upgrading.
So, now, it’s up to the hackers. They’ll get back to work on breaking into the iPhone and iPod Touch. That goes without saying. And as the dance continues, Apple will need to continue to push out new features and provide other compelling reasons for users to upgrade their device software.
So, the reason hacking matters is because it’s good for users. And not just for the intrepid users who are making use of the hacks. Hacking puts pressure on Apple to provide compelling reasons, i.e. new features, for users to upgrade, and that is good for all users.
I’m sitting in Einstein’s this morning, and there is a table of four young co-eds to my left. They are discussing the trip one of them took to Belize this summer and how they should all go there for spring break. I’m glad they aren’t having to drive there because apparently, judging by their discussion, they would end up in Baja California. Is it any wonder, though, that they wouldn’t know where the hell Belize is when 20% of Americans can’t find their own country on a map. To quote from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, I weep for the future.
First reports of iPhone VoIP application surface:
[I]t does look like a true, calls-over-WiFi VoIP client for the iPhone could be just around the corner.
In my opinion, this is precisely why Apple is so aggressively guarding the iPod Touch from hackers.
The quality of VoIP and the ubiquity of WiFi in many areas makes this a clear choice. It’s not just about the price difference between the iPhone and iPod Touch (which is likely only a minor consideration if you’re considering one or the other). I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t jettison an AT&T relationship (and its associated bill, of course) for a free or dirt cheap VoIP option.
This may relate to VoIP explicitly, but I see it more as a general rule of protecting their interests. In the wake of yesterday’s flurry of applause for Amazon’s new MP3 sales service, I can precisely see where Apple wouldn’t want a native version of Amazon’s Downloader for iPhone or iPod Touch as that would put at risk their most long-awaited feature for any iPod as well as the cash cow that is the home base iTunes Store.
In this respect, I see a certain degree of paranoia coming out of Apple. Maybe it’s a result of dealing with music and movie publishers. (I would also add mobile phone companies to that list.) Whatever the reason is, it’s unbecoming of Apple.
(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)
★ More on the Amazon MP3 Store:
Which brings me to the jackassiest comment of the day regarding Amazon MP3, from Jupiter Research analyst David Card to the Associated Press: “In and of itself, (Amazon MP3) isn’t enough to change any market share. They have to do a good job at building their store.”
Well, perhaps Amazon can find a book or something about how to build a successful high-volume online store.
It’s writing like this that makes me love John Gruber and Daring Fireball. Snarky when appropriate but always cogently argued and insightful - unless he’s posting about sports. 
(Via Daring Fireball.)
I love when I make a serendipitous discovery, particularly in software. I haven’t seen this documented anywhere, but somewhere along the way, Apple pushed out feature addition to iTunes’ Party Shuffle feature.
I think we all know that in iTunes > Preferences > Playback you can specify how you’d like to shuffle. iTunes lets you specify to shuffle by Song, Album, or Grouping. I noticed today that Party Shuffle was selecting items by album. When I changed my Playback preferences to by Song, Party Shuffle obliged and reselected by song. Here are some screenshots.
No One Likes a Critic:
What are expectations? “Mike, you’re a smart guy so I expected more out of you. Since you failed to meet expectations, you get no raise. Frankly, I’m surprised Bob can even wipe his own ass. That he comes to work most days with his pants facing forward exceeds expectations, so he gets a ten percent raise, and a little gold star.”
Mike is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorite bloggers. When he posts, I listen because he’s not just posting to post, you know? Top notch all the way.
With 36-Hours Of Extra Free Time I Would… - Evolving Times - The Law of Attraction Resource for Personal Growth :
[O]ne of the biggest obstacles in most people’s quest for freedom is their inability to imagine what they would do with all that extra time. Work fills a gaping void in most of our lives, a void into which we would rather not peer!
And the main reason that hole is so difficult to look into is because we have not figured out what we would fill it up with.
This is so true. The question that graces this post’s title isn’t just a headline. It’s a serious question that demands serious deliberation. Just for the sake of argument, what if you only worked four hours per week? What if more and more of us worked less and less? I think that without serious consideration of what we’d do with all that extra time, we’d merely think up new varieties of mischief and madness. I don’t think that’s what Tim is after at all.
When I initially pressed ⌘+2 to blog this, I intended to write a post that actually answered the question. But somehow, I managed to actually have a thought before dashing off a post full of platitudes and clichés about how I would do this or that with all that extra time. It turns out that I don’t really know what I would do with all that time. So, I won’t post my answer to that question until I actually figure it out.
