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John Leyden at the Register only has to write two stories a day - Paul Hales
Apple Iphone brickage law suit beckons
APPLE'S belief that its users have to do what it's Messiah Steve Jobs tells them, might be tested in court.
Last week, the outfit sent out a software update which turned hacked Iphones into very expensive, but nice looking, bricks. Now it seems that a bunch of mad users is mustering support to sue Job's Mob.
According to Information Week, a user who goes by the handle of " myndex" posted the message "Iphone Class Action Lawsuit" on one of Apple's sites.
Myndex is now seeking comments from other forum users on what they think of suing Apple over its refusal to service users who've unlocked their Iphones or loaded them up with "unauthorised" applications.
Fearing the sort of comments myndex was getting, Apple censored the posts as heretical.
From the posting, it appears myndex is gathering people to be respondents for possible class action lawsuit against Apple. Certainly there will be a number of lawyers which would love to get their sweaty paws into an expensive class action against Job's Mob.
Information Week reckons that "myndex" isn't a lawyer but works for Myndex Technologies which is a research and development outfit based in Nevada.
The mag seems to have woken up to what we have been saying for a good year now, that Apple's arrogance and "control issues" are getting out of hand.
While in the old days it only had to worry about a bunch of Apple fan boys who thought everything they did was great, these days it is selling gear to people who expect things like customer service and the ability to use a product they have bought. Such tend to get a bit tetchy if they are paying over the odds for broken smart phones.
Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock, told the Times over the weekend that if punters get their phone's bricked as a result of trying to use their phones on a network which has not been blessed by Saint Steve of Cappuccino they should purchase a new expensive Iphone.
While the product is somewhat cheaper now, thanks to St Steve dumping on earlier adopters with a huge price cut, somehow we think that someone has lost their grip on reality. ยต
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Let's see....
Apple designs a phone and even prior to release, states it is designed to work with AT&T's network exclusively. The iTunes activation process is tied into AT&T (including even purchasing rate plan(s).

Then some people figure out how to unlock the phone. They will even give you your "right" to this freedom -- as long as you pay them a ridiculous price for the unlocked phone on eBay.

So you, the fool, buy the unlocked phone at a ridiculous price, you bypass the designed operation of the phone icluding it's normal activation, and of course probably failed to read the license and user's agreement that came with the phone.

Then, all of a sudden, Apple warns you that an upcoming update might make the phone stop working. OH, I'll ignore them, after all, they only MANUFACTURED THE FREAKING PHONE. I'll trust the guy on eBay who took my money happily.

You upload the update, and lo and behold, the phone doesn't work.

I don't know why, but I think I'll sue Apple. They don't have an army of lawyers. A lawsuit won't take years, and cost loads of money. I love throwing good money after bad.

After all, who is Apple to tell me I can't use their AT&T designed iPhone any friggin way I want. It's MY phone after all.

Why did Apple laugh at me, the same way Ford did when they wouldn't fix my car after I tried to put a Z28 engine in it. It was MY car, afterall. And MY engine.

Here's a clue....if you don't like Apple, or the fact that the iPhone only runs on AT&T, then get a friggin Treo or Blackberry and quit blaming everyone else for your woes. It's your right to boycott Apple after all. That's how free enterprise works.
"Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock, told the Times over the weekend that if punters get their phone's bricked as a result of trying to use their phones on a network which has not been blessed by Saint Steve of Cappuccino they should purchase a new expensive Iphone." 

What the hell??? Buy another one??? The brickage is fixable in a lot of cases by more 'hacks' meaning Apple should be able to fix it as well by flashing the firmware, and they are suggesting buying A NEW ONE? Wow, I didn't know Apple could stoop THAT low.
I meant to comment on this issue last week, but the predictable is happening, unfortunately.

Bricking somebody "Else's" property (needless say very expensively purchased) I would like to ask some legal questions on other cases like this:

Could that be considered sort of like sabotage?

If it is owned by an corporation, could that be considered sort of like "industrial sabotage"?

Leaving out the question that if an unreasonable contract is "slavery", in which people pay huge prices (reasonableness again) to fund huge profits, to be that slave, in effect earning money for the other party? Then it comes down to liberty laws, and freedom of speech? And also telling over people what they can do with their paid private property?

And any other "legal" queries I might have forgotten.

Forgot: wherever Intellectual Property means an right to make unlimited profit, on unlimited terms and conditions, even at the expense of, whatever, rights and liberties of the purchasing party has, or other individuals, is right and even lawful? Wherever the ability to control conveys the right to control?


Couldn't that possibly attract an class action law suite?

There are many other issues out there in the IT community, and manufacturers have to learn they sell it, it does no longer belong to them, and whatever they do to it, they are directly and solely liable for it. Wherever it be an buggy web browser that costs the suers (whoops, I meant users) much time, servicing and loss of expensive data, or the latest games system, or movie title. I wonder if the millennium rights management laws could also be declared as unconstitutional. Anything that restricts or takes aways people's right of legitimate choice (outside the process of Justice and punishment under the law) is restricting their freedom and should be challenged. Ohh, for an really good precedent case on this basis.


The Falcon

(P.S. I have been wanting to buy an Mac product for years, but the premium pricing, low performance and low interpolatability of hardware (3D cards) at the lower end, issues like the one above, and IP issues like the trash can ICON suite (part of 80's suite against MS Windows look) and so many others prevents me again, and again, from converting and buying an Apple product, and I guess it might have similar effects on an number of other people.)
Fair enough - 
i bricked my Iphone with 1.1.1. Can't do anything about that now. 
However, I did return to macbook and two Ipods I purchased at the same time