Like A Brick...

So, it's been fun reading through the Apple news and forums as of late. About 90% of it seems to be about the iPhone, which I have little interest in. However, the controversy of how Apple went out of their way to "brick" the hacked phones is intriguing. With the software update, not only did they shut down phones that had been hacked to use a different SIM card, but it also rendered phones useless that had 3rd party applications on them. So there are customers out there with $500 paperweights because they upgraded a hacked iPhone even though Apple warned the 'bricking' would happen. Those that didn't install the upgrade are still doing ok, and probably won't be upgrading any time soon. What's interesting is that although Apple had the right to do what they did, it's rather regarded as a stupid thing to do. Why would you tick off your devoted fan base of early adopters and Apple fanboys just to kowtow to AT&T? Not only that, but the 3rd party apps were making the iPhone that much more appealing to use and therefore buy, so shutting them down is making people think twice before buying one. It seems to have started a backlash against Apple too. The forums are awash in "Apple = the New Microsoft" and wondering if this kind of behavior will extend to the computer lineup as well. I kind of doubt that, but the uproar and pause for thought coming from the Apple purists is a telling sign. I still want a new Mac computer, no doubt about that, but it's going to be interesting to see what kind of corporate behaviour comes from the Apple camp as they gain more popularity in the coming years.