Gzoladz said:
Not making available earlier versions of apps and ios is another example of Apple going too far with their controls...the ipad is an amazing device but limited when it is not jb.
Many users are getting tired of the cat and mouse game of the jb and apple and will consider changing plattform when it is time to upgrade hardware.
I suppose it depends on your point of view. Some of us are knowledgeable enough to be "trusted" with a bit, or a lot, more freedom over the hardware, some are not and would likely be better off just accepting the limitations and having a piece of equipment that works out of the box without any need for user intervention.
For myself, I've updated my iPhone to 5.1 as I have no intention of fooling around with it, but stuck with 5.0.1 for the iPad so that I have the option of jailbreaking, more as an experiment than because I'm dissatisfied with the OS as supplied by Apple.
It is certainly easier to help out with issues knowing that the OS is standard and what the user will be seeing as a result of particular gestures, keystrokes etc. With jailbroken machines, who knows what tweaks have been applied? Not that it's impossible to help sort out problems; just requires more in depth knowledge of the effects of jailbreaking.
I agree that not being able to roll back to an earlier OS can be annoying. There was plenty of grumbling after the release of iOs5, when users realized that the 100s of improvements didn't amount to much for the majority of them, and in fact detracted from the experience for some. I'm thinking particularly of the iPod app disappearing in favor of the inferior Music app.
That said, sticking with older systems drives computer companies crazy. Internet Explorer 4 is still used, while Microsoft would dearly love people to get off it onto more modern browsers. Their methods of persuading people to update are more subtle than Apple's but still exist. The difference is, of course, that if you decide to try out the new version, you can usually go back to the old version if you don't like the look or feel of the latest and greatest.
At the end of it, the iPad should probably be viewed as a consumer item, whose use is predefined in the same way as a television set or a toaster. Most people don't care a fig for the software, firmware and hardware that is in their electronics, and would be quite annoyed if they were expected to mess with their purchases. Some people do it, for instance with rechipping the engine management systems on their cars, but the majority do not.
A pretty heavy 2¢ worth, but 2¢ worth nevertheless.
Sent from my iPad using iPF
