Search:
Recent Posts
Categories
Archives
Using iTunes to build a nuclear weapon. Wait, what?
I blogged sometime ago about the problems I’ve had with my iPod booting up. Looks like I’m not the only one who has had this problem. Check out Matt Hickey at TechCrunch give some instruction on how to do major home surgery to an iPod that won’t boot. Pretty cool stuff.
While I’m on one here check out MacFixItFourms. Wait! I thought these things didn’t break, crash, hiccup, etc? What gives?
Phil Burns has blogged about his horribly frustrating year working on Mac notebooks. Phil, thanks for jumping up and yelling ”the emperor has no clothes!” Here’s an excerpt:
“The keys on the keyboard are constantly falling off! My kids Powerbook is actually missing the left shift key, the Z and X key. The D key falls off it all the time. Even when you’re running in windows, the function keys do whatever Mac wants to do - f5 changes the volume instead of refreshing. f4 lowers the volume instead of dropping a combo box. And if all that weren’t bad enough, THERE’S NO RIGHT CLICK BUTTON!!! So, using the hardware for a windows machine really seems pointless - besides being pretty, having light-up keys and scrolling on the touch pad, there is no use for the hardware.
Windows may have its problems, but I can make it do whatever I want it to do - I’m not stuck with what the Mac engineers thought was a good idea. I have a huge choice in software, I can store my files wherever I want and if I’m so inclined, I can go delete the system files for the OS. I’ll take a few random blue screens over being completely frustrated every time I use the laptop - besides, the Mac crashes just about as often as a Windows box.”
Welcome back, Phil.
On a funny final note, here’s some actual content from the iTunes EULA:
“THE APPLE SOFTWARE IS NOT INTENDED FOR USE IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS, LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES OR OTHER EQUIPMENT IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF THE APPLE SOFTWARE COULD LEAD TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE”
Maybe some attorney out there can explain that one to me. Is this saying that I shouldn’t use iTunes to run my nuclear power plant, fly a plane or bring someone back to life?
Here’s another great one…
“You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of missiles, or nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.”
I didn’t know that iTunes was such capable software! I could potentially run my nuclear power plant and, at the same time, use the software to construct a nuclear weapon. WOW! Steve, that’s amazing software!
Out…
[...] Chris Knudsen and Phil Burns recently blogged about how Macs are overrated. I couldn’t agree with them more. I recently bought a new laptop, and I can’t be happier that it isn’t a Mac. [...]
Left by Sean Roylance » Buy a laptop you can be proud of on 03/09/2007ROFLMAO!!! I’ve been trying to figure out the last piece of my nuclear weapon i’ve been building on my PC. Now I know I just have to install my powerbook on it and wait for it to blow up, which it does pretty regularly!
Great write-up man.
Left by Phil Burns on 03/10/2007What is the penalty for violating the agreement? Is apple really going to sue some guy who has an armed warhead because he violated some boiler plate language? Perhaps it is become there is always some low IQ person out there ready to sue a company for misuse of its product. Shouldn’t all cell phone companies have a provision that you agree not to detonate a bomb using your cellular service?
Left by Rand on 03/10/2007I’m positive that this is a standard EULA that Apple uses on all their products, and in some sense, I can see the logic behind it for other products (not iTunes).
Take OS X for instance. What if someone decides to build a custom app to run their hospital devices off of? Or if part of a nuclear reactor is managed by an application on top of OS X? Or, heaven forbid, an air traffic controller’s station. I’m not sure why anyone would run a mission-critical application on a Mac, but if they did, and OS X ends up crashing, Apple doesn’t want to be held responsible for that. I would imagine this is the reason for these.
Seems like they’re just saving money on lawyers by using the same EULA for everything.
Left by Nick on 03/10/2007[...] via Chris Knudsen [...]
Left by Blogwerk » Netter Versuch, Mr Jobs on 05/01/2007