Why does apple block what the iPad can do?

[Bill-fl]

I don't get it. There are so many things that a jail broken device can do that I wonder why apple doesn't allow them from the start. I was just looming at the mywi app as an example. Apple says the iPad can not create an adhoc network. But yes it can, with that app. Of course that app only runs on a jail broken iPad. It makes no sense to limit what the device can do.

 

[locus]

my $0.02 cents why apple does that ?

One because Steve Jobs thinks he knows what is good for you, the decisions he makes are better for you he knows better then you,

also so they can do those features later on and sell more pads or phones etc. watch the next ipad will have a camera in the back then the next in the front etc, this keeps people buy the latest and greatest (according to jobs)

 

[gentlefury]

All you have to do is look to the Android OS to understand Apple's method. Android allows anything to be installed.....foreign APIs, codecs, file system adjusters, you name it. And it works like crap! You can easily install an app that breaks your device forcing you to reinstall the OS, you can cripple your device and make it run super slow.

The iOS method is to provide a consistently great and smooth experience. If you want the benefits that jailbreaking brings....than jailbreak! The base system tho is the experience that Apple has intended, unaltered and unhindered.

 

[madsquabbles]

All you have to do is look to the Android OS to understand Apple's method. Android allows anything to be installed.....foreign APIs, codecs, file system adjusters, you name it. And it works like crap! You can easily install an app that breaks your device forcing you to reinstall the OS, you can cripple your device and make it run super slow.

The iOS method is to provide a consistently great and smooth experience. If you want the benefits that jailbreaking brings....than jailbreak! The base system tho is the experience that Apple has intended, unaltered and unhindered.

jailbreaking also brings all the "negative" features you mention about android. just as rooting an android phone brings benefits like jailbreaking does.

i'd have to say ignorance causes the most problems (of course bad luck causes a bit, too). just watch what you install and where you get it from.

in my opinion the only things ios has over android is a gpu accelerated ui and a far better app store. i've spent more on apps in the 3 weeks i've had my ipad than i've spent in the year i've had android. app quality is pretty low - sort of like comparing linux apps vs mac or windows. i've even spent more on my ipod touch in the year i had that than did on android's app store. there is tons of spam and garbage in it's app store. the majority of my spending has been in donations to developers at xda.

in some ways control can keep the quality up. look at all the junk android tablets out. if someone's first experience with a tablet would have been with some of these low quality junkers then one would seriously consider avoiding android after playing with one of them.

 

[iPadCharlie]

[soapbox mode]ON

I think the issue is that the OP is looking at the iPad from a "tech savvy" user's point of view. Steve Jobs, OTOH, has one job and that is to make money for the shareholders of AAPL stock.... period. Some may think of him as a "visionary", but at the end of the day, he is a businessman... first, last and always.

The iPad isn't about technology, its about making money for Apple. It is not a "re-packaged" laptop, it is a consumption device... made for consuming stuff from The Apple Store. To that end, the iPad and all of the other mobile devices are serving their purpose well.

At least Apple left the device open enough to allow jailbreaking... with all of its rewards and risks. If Apple really wanted to lock down their mobile devices so tight that jailbreaking was not possible, I assure you that those folks at One Infinite Loop are quite capable of doing that!

[/soapbox mode]OFF

 

[Hasty]

Tbh I haven't read anything about jailbreak apps which has made me want to do it. Don't even care about multitasking. All I want is folders onscreen and those will be coming next week.

 

[Bill-fl]

@c4, see there is one thing you dais that I have a problem with apple on. You said, if ey wanted to lockdown their devices from being jail broke....

Once I write the check, it's my device,not theirs.

What I don't like is, don't tell me that it can't do something, when in fact it can. Just say, we don't allow it. Why wouldn't the mywi app be allowed in the app store? Is there any good reason? Can it harm the iPad?

 

[iPadCharlie]

I guess my point is that it is, in fact, Apple's product. They designed it to their specifications, but yet, you went out and bought it anyway. If the iPad does not suit your needs, you shouldn't have bought it!

 

[Rich Gibson]

Tbh I haven't read anything about jailbreak apps which has made me want to do it. Don't even care about multitasking. All I want is folders onscreen and those will be coming next week.

I'm a photographer. The combination of a jailbroken IPAD and Cydia's iFile means I can take only my IPAD and two extra SD cards and have two complete backups of my vacation's shoot. No aluminum MBP, power supply, external drives and carrying bag. On our last trip overseas from Dulles they weighed our carry on luggage!

 

[SweetPoison]

I guess my point is that it is, in fact, Apple's product. They designed it to their specifications, but yet, you went out and bought it anyway. If the iPad does not suit your needs, you shouldn't have bought it!

Meanie.

 

[MattIM]

True That!

Once I write the check, it's my device,not theirs.

What I don't like is, don't tell me that it can't do something, when in fact it can. Just say, we don't allow it. Why wouldn't the mywi app be allowed in the app store? Is there any good reason? Can it harm the iPad?

But what will you do when something goes wrong with your iPad? Will you expect Apple to spend time troubleshooting your problem? If you jailbreak your device, the first thing they will tell you is that you have to restore your system back to the way it was delivered.

HP provides a warning on their cartridges that they will not support an HP printer if you use a third party cartridge. BTW, all tech companies place a certain restriction on their devices when endusers need their help. Even my own technical staff that I manage will decline to help an enduser if the user in any way alters or installs software that is not supported by their specs.

And finally, when Apple releases its os update, what you did to make your device truly your very own device will be restored back to the Apple garden--if you want to update your os.

For me, what I paid for and what I expected when I bought my iPad was to fully utilize and take advantage of Apple technology. So far I have not seen any advantage to getting anything from anyone outside of Apple's world. In this world--that I paid good money to join--everyone works and plays well together. When an app breaks down or has a bug, I know it will be addressed quickly. Control is a good thing.

 

[Wreybies]

@c4, see there is one thing you dais that I have a problem with apple on. You said, if ey wanted to lockdown their devices from being jail broke....

Once I write the check, it's my device,not theirs.

What I don't like is, don't tell me that it can't do something, when in fact it can. Just say, we don't allow it. Why wouldn't the mywi app be allowed in the app store? Is there any good reason? Can it harm the iPad?

There is a truth here that cannot be hindered by poor grammar, but...

Let me give you another example: Cars

My father and I have tricked out a number of old school Detroit muscle. Barracudas (2 of them), Camaro (just one), and four of the most beautiful Pony's you ever did see (a 64 1/2, 66, 67, and a 69).

My cars. My right to add whatever I wanted. High profile cam. Edelbrock intakes. Holley carbs. Custom exhaust. Whatever I want. Nothing is stopping me and for the most part I am at my leisure to do so and am limited only by my knowledge and my bank account.

These cars are long out of warranty, so there is no issue.

Now, when it comes to my daily driver, the car I go and get groceries in and depend on to get me to meetings and clients, this car needs to perform reliably, not astoundingly. It needs to crank up every single time, not leave people breathing burnt rear tire. And this car does have a warranty. And that warranty needs to be respected in order for Toyota to then keep up its part of the bargain that I signed when I made the purchase. That warranty is pretty clear on the fact that should I happen to drop the largest aluminum block that will fit under the hood and then the car won't crank up 100% of the time, then Toyota is off the hook to help me out.

Can my Matrix go faster than it currently allows? Of course it can.

Can it sound like it's got a bigger set of you-know-whats than it currently does? Of course it can.

And if I want to forget about the warranty and reliability and gas economy and respect from my clients and all of that, then it's all me, baby! I can trick out 'till there just ain't no mo' trickin'!

So, it falls to you to simply decide where your concerns lie. It falls to you to decide, trick or treat?

 

[Bill-fl]

When i looked at buying this, the commercials and the website show it doing things it does not do. I am a photographer and had a few specific things i wanted to use it for. One was a larger screen preview. They show it hook to a camera via the camera connection kit and full screen preview images. It can not do that. You have to download them to the iPad first. I might shoot 100 frames and only want to download 3. I called apple and they told me it could do it. I asked them how and after about 15 minutes, they decided, no it can't do it.

This is my first apple product, it will also be my last. It's a pretty neat little web device, but that is really all it is.

 

[MattIM]

Is This Really THE Issue?

When i looked at buying this, the commercials and the website show it doing things it does not do. I am a photographer and had a few specific things i wanted to use it for. One was a larger screen preview. They show it hook to a camera via the camera connection kit and full screen preview images. It can not do that. You have to download them to the iPad first. I might shoot 100 frames and only want to download 3. I called apple and they told me it could do it. I asked them how and after about 15 minutes, they decided, no it can't do it.

Or the other one that most of us were addressing? I thought you didn't like the iPad because you didn't like the restrictions of using it for purposes not originally offered by Apple?

I do not recall seeing a commercial where you can see a full screen preview of a photo BEFORE it is downloaded to the iPad. That is a limitation. I can do that with my laptop. It would be nice to be able to preview what I just took to see if it was a keeper or a potential keeper after a little post processing. To that end I bought the 64gig iPad so that I can download every photo from camera to iPad just to see the photo in large screen size.

Since I shoot landscapes this is okay, I have time, the building isn't going to move. If you shoot sports or fast moving events, that's another matter--you have to rely on your photography skills to make sure you got the photo. If you shoot portraits or moving things that pose for you, I can see where having a large screen preview would help the studio session go faster if you knew you got the photo--but then again do you want to stop a photo session so you can hook up your camera to preview it?

Can you identify other issues where Apple misled you?

 

[Bill-fl]

On their current photo app page, they have changed the ad some, after I emailed them about it, but it shows the camera hooked up to the iPad with the full size image showing. The other ad showed it being connected and the image showing up. Like I said, when I talked to apple, they said it could do it.

I wanted to be able to use it for client previews on location, so I would not need to drag a laptop anymore. I have figured out a work around. I am going to go with an eyefi card and a aluratek battery operated router and use shutter snitch. Still, it will be dropping all of the images to the iPad, but I guess I will just go back and delete them afterwards. It will be nice to let the client preview as we are shooting. The original post is in reference to the need for the router. I wouldn't need it if I jail break the iPad and turn on one of the things it can do, that apple won't let it do.