When Robert Mullins of Network World filed his story, "Rogue iPhone Apps Market Flourishes," it's reasonable to assume he did so before Apple made clear it will crush that market like a bug. Unless, of course, by "rogue" we mean "Safari-friendly ajax junk," which isn't particularly roguish, when you think about it. It's hard to imagine anyone having an easy time as a rogue after 1.1.1 and all those in-store signs implying that any modding whatsoever voids the warrantee.
Apple, the article says, won't clarify that boilerplate statement — "Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty" — as found on the lips of spokespeople and on disclaimers alike, despite it failing to distinguish unlocking hacks, which immediately precipitate a use scenarios that deprives Apple and AT&T of money, from homebrew applications, which don't.
Does the EULA make clear that every element of the iPhone, even its handset's empty memory, is not yours to fiddle with or fill as you please? Can a EULA say that? One thing's for sure: updates to the software are a great way to effectively render obsolete a recent ruling that made clear we have a right to unlock thehardware, if only when it comes to asserting exemptions from the DMCA*.*
'Rogue' iPhone-apps market flourishes [Macworld]
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