Those that hack or pirate always have it better. No DRM, no restrictions on what software you can install, no need for physical media and the list goes on. Being a nice customer simply doesn't pay anymore these days.
Still I see people who defend DRM and I don't understand it.
This story isn't about DRM. It's about an alternative to the iPhone Application store that's operated by Apple. This is competition for Apple, which is good. This is also competition for AT&T, which is better because all the stupid things that they tell Apple they can't let their phones do are getting beaten up.
But your praise for the "hack and pirate" community ignores the fact that the iPhone is a superbly designed device. The "hacked" version would be OpenMoko, and they aren't doing as well.
Also... just wait until malware applications from the 3rd party Application Store begin to ship. It won't take long for rootkits to disable the "return to factory conditions" feature and then Apple stores around the country will need to re-flash the ROMs on the "broken phones" for thousands of "hack and pirate" customers.
No, sir. There are important distinctions from "Freedom to use a device how it's designed" and the "hack and pirate" method. For what it's worth... Microsoft sells the "hack and pirate" method and it's set the computer world back 25 years in terms of security and usability.