Fuck you, Apple - new "authentication chip" on iPods locks TV out

[bhodi]

I found out today that apple broke the ability to stream to my friend's GPS when we plugged in a new ipod. Looking around, This is essentially the story.

They've added a "Authentication chip" and refuse to work on anything that isn't an "unauthorized device" - basically, they are shutting down "unlicensed developers" on their fucking audio and video out. The solution right now is a custom apple video out cable which has a chip, which they sell for $50. I don't think I've ever seen a starker and more blatant power grab.

Without disclosing the change to customers, Apple has locked the TV Out feature of the iPod classic and video-capable iPod nano, preventing users from outputting iPod content to their TV sets as has been done in years past. Going to the Videos > Settings menu brings up a TV Out option that is now unresponsive when clicked, showing only the word “off.” When locked, video content will display on the iPod’s screen, but not on your TV or portable display accessory.*

Apparently this is not recent, and we only just noticed because it was a new ipod. That article's a year and a half old. I guess it was a small enough market segment that no one noticed that they pulled shit like this. I definitely didn't know about it. If I had, I probably would not have gotten an iphone; I vote with my wallet when companies try shit like this.

Still; Fuck you, Apple. I'm never buying another one of your products. I see what you're doing with a shuffle, you'll get audio out if you can.

[Samwise]

As it happens I found this out just last night when researching 3rd-party alternatives to the universal dock.  Belkin makes one that sounds better than the Apple version in every way and is half the price, but it doesn't work with my iPod touch.     Yeah, fuck you too, Apple.

[Righ]

I vote with my wallet when companies try shit like this.

Enjoy Linux.

[schild]

I vote with my wallet when companies try shit like this.

Enjoy Linux.

When has Microsoft ever done anything like this? I'm just wondering. And not some abstract net-beardy halfway thing.

[Righ]

If you don't think IE was a blatant power grab, you're somewhat blinkered. All companies do this shit. If you don't like it, there's an open software choice.

[schild]

If you don't think IE was a blatant power grab, you're somewhat blinkered. All companies do this shit. If you don't like it, there's an open software choice.

There have ALWAYS been alternatives to IE though. Even when IE was at its peak. There isn't an alternative to some Apple hardware now. It is, ironically, apples and oranges. Installing "open software" on your ipod isn't really a "choice." It's like a last ditch. Installing firefox, opera, etc is a brainless activity that takes 1 minute.

[Samwise]

I never got all the nerdrage over IE being bundled with Windows.  It's not like Windows refused to run any other browser.  It never even mandated that IE be your "default" browser.  What Apple is doing with the iPhone/iPod platform is not even on the same continent as that.

[squirrel]

Yeah, I love OS X and some of their hardware but this shit is just petty and against the best interest of the consumer. It's fucked.

[Trippy]

I vote with my wallet when companies try shit like this.

Enjoy Linux.

When has Microsoft ever done anything like this? I'm just wondering. And not some abstract net-beardy halfway thing.

Microsoft tried to do "Palladium" which got horrible PR so they shelved that for a while but then they and a bunch of others managed to sneak it back in as the "Trusted Computing Platform" aka TPM. They also have all sorts of content protection shit in Vista which degrades your media if you aren't using "approved" software and hardware.

[UnSub]

Yeah, I love OS X and some of their hardware but this shit is just petty and against the best interest of the consumer. It's fucked.

Welcome to the history of Apple. Especially as run by Jobs.

[MahrinSkel]

And people wonder why I've been so lukewarm about iPhone game development.  It's not that there isn't money to be made there, it's that even though Apple has built a public image of being happy-go-lucky hippies that just want to give computing power to the people that's easy to use, the reality for anyone developing for them has *always* been that Apple had you by the throat, and would never let you forget it.  As soon as I saw that the App Store was the *only* way to put software onto a non-devkit phone, I knew that I wanted no part of it and would wait for Android.

Closed platforms mean that the vendor has control of your oxygen supply (if you're a third-party developer).

--Dave

[Sheepherder]

How do people ever get the notion that Apple is in favor of unfettered technology?  It took them how fucking long to produce a system capable of supporting a x86?

[Azazel]

Thanks for the post. I'll stick to non-apple MP3 players. I think my current iRiver is nearing the end of it's life. Might get another year out of it, hopefully.

[CharlieMopps]

I always have to lol when I hear about someone buying an apple product and then suddenly realizing that apple makes microsoft look like Santa clause when it comes to DRM and sucking money out of your wallet. Seriously, don't buy anything made by apple... ever... Buy Microsoft products, but only after doing extensive research to find out that the device/software has a decent crack for it already. If you're at all technically inclined buy Linux based products...

[Righ]

There have ALWAYS been alternatives to IE though. Even when IE was at its peak. There isn't an alternative to some Apple hardware now. It is, ironically, apples and oranges. Installing "open software" on your ipod isn't really a "choice." It's like a last ditch. Installing firefox, opera, etc is a brainless activity that takes 1 minute.

There isn't an alternative to Apple Hardware? C'mon now. And of course installing open software is a choice. In fact, if you don't use Apple's idiotic DRM infused audio files from iTMS or their Apple Lossless format, its a great solution, since the open source software does everything else the Apple software does and then some. If you do use Apple's idiotic DRM infused audio files from iTMS, you made your bed.

Microsoft made their name on locking out unlicensed participants. I wouldn't hold them up as your champion of third-party support. Nor would I choose Sony as a good example, to pick the other highly established brand in portable audio. All three companies are heavy-handed when it comes to locking out people who do not pay a license to be a third-party developer.

On this matter it is Apple bad, open source good. You might want to think that its Apple bad, Microsoft good but if you are honest, you'll realise that your support for Microsoft in this case is simply a religious preference.

[schild]

I wasn't aware Microsoft made hardware for the PC market which locks out other hardware from the market. Nor was I aware that there's replacement OS shit for the iPod Touch that does more than the iPod touch original OS and such allows. Or that an open source variant allowed the use of third party hardware locked out for the chip.

You got links for this or are you just posting for shits and giggles?

Also, I can't remember a time when Microsoft locked out unlicensed participants. As an enthusiast, they've always made it painfully easy to circumvent. A comparison not apt for replacing the firmware on a piece of hardware. Yes, they've done tasteless shit, but that's not exactly the same as what we're talking about, is it?

[Righ]

I wasn't aware Microsoft made hardware for the PC market

I wasn't aware that iPods were in the PC market, why are you qualifying that? Microsoft do make hardware that locks out third parties, and you know it. I wasn't specifically speaking of the iPhone Touch because that hadn't been mentioned so far, and... I don't have one. I would imagine that like all other proprietary hardware, it will take some time for a complete open source replacement to arrive but that it will come.

[Trippy]

I wasn't aware Microsoft made hardware for the PC market which locks out other hardware from the market. Nor was I aware that there's replacement OS shit for the iPod Touch that does more than the iPod touch original OS and such allows. Or that an open source variant allowed the use of third party hardware locked out for the chip.

You got links for this or are you just posting for shits and giggles?

Also, I can't remember a time when Microsoft locked out unlicensed participants. As an enthusiast, they've always made it painfully easy to circumvent. A comparison not apt for replacing the firmware on a piece of hardware. Yes, they've done tasteless shit, but that's not exactly the same as what we're talking about, is it?

You are comparing apples and oranges (pun not intended). Look at the Xbox 360. Microsoft locks out (or tries to) unlicensed peripherals on that system. Same thing Apple is doing now. On the PC Microsoft doesn't sell the hardware except for some peripherals. Because of their OS monopoly position if they tried to force hardware makers to pay for "Officially Licensed Windows Hardware" licenses the world governments might actually do something about their monopoly, for a change.

Apple *is* worse than MS in many ways in this area but that's because 1) they can (they aren't a monopoly) and 2) they control the full "stack" (hardware and OS). E.g. TPM chips are rare in PC motherboards but all newer Macs have them now. And Apple didn't put them there for your protection. It's so they have even more control over how you use your systems.

[schild]

I wasn't aware Microsoft made hardware for the PC market

I wasn't aware that iPods were in the PC market, why are you qualifying that? Microsoft do make hardware that locks out third parties, and you know it. I wasn't specifically speaking of the iPhone Touch because that hadn't been mentioned so far, and... I don't have one. I would imagine that like all other proprietary hardware, it will take some time for a complete open source replacement to arrive but that it will come.

Samwise mentioned the iPod touch and this problem in the second post. And considering you need a PC (as in personal computer) to do much anything with an iPod, I'd say that places them firmly in the PC market.

You are comparing apples and oranges (pun not intended). Look at the Xbox 360. Microsoft locks out (or tries to) unlicensed peripherals on that system

I didn't bring up the 360 because there's a difference between requiring things meet certain control schemes and don't fuck up the product versus just making a money grab (which is what Apple is doing). Also, locking out unlicensed peripherals has been a mainstay of console gaming since day one of modern gaming. Complaining about it these days is just ridiculous. Also, licensed peripherals in gaming *do* keep the quality bar at a certain level in most cases, not to mentions it insures that they work with the games coming out. Anyway, there's a reason for it.

There is no reason behind what Apple is doing here. This is just Apple being insecure about their fanbase and aiming to increase their bottom line. It's largely bullshit. I don't particularly care, because I'm a fan of first party anything, I'm just saying Righ's line of comment was a woefully unfair comparison.

[Trippy]

You just said that licensed console peripherals keep the quality up but licensed iPod products don't. You can't have it both ways.

[schild]

You just said that licensed console peripherals keep the quality up but licensed iPod products don't. You can't have it both ways.

Why not? Are you under the impression that Apple is going to keep the same quality:price ratio as the third parties? Do you *really* believe that Apple is doing this as a quality control issue?

Edit: In short, I absolutely can have it both ways. I *know* why it's done in gaming, I don't know why Apple is doing it here after YEARS of not having such a system in place.

[Trippy]

They are only locking out unlicensed peripherals. Same as Microsoft is doing. They are not locking out all 3rd party peripheral makers.

[schild]

They are only locking out unlicensed peripherals. Same as Microsoft is doing. They are not locking out all 3rd party peripheral makers.

Right, but why?

[Trippy]

Because they can. Just like Microsoft can on the Xbox 360.

[schild]

Because they can. Just like Microsoft can on the Xbox 360.

We're going in fucking circles. Also, that's not a reason. That's the excuse PR would put on it. Once again, we're back to the whole "consoles have been doing this forever" vs "Apple just decided out of the blue to do it 8 years later."

[Trippy]

Consoles have had licensed and unlicensed products since forever, like you said. On the newer gen systems like the Xbox 360, however, they actually have security hardware to lock out unlicensed products. Just like Apple is doing now.

Edit: also just because Microsoft has been doing it longer on the Xbox 360 doesn't make them "right" and Apple "wrong".

[schild]

Edit: also just because Microsoft has been doing it longer on the Xbox 360 doesn't make them "right" and Apple "wrong".

No one ever said this. But it sounds to me like Apple is doing something a little more "wrong" as you so put it then Microsoft. When Microsoft starts making me use Microsoft only HDMI cables and such, it's a different story. Until then, I wasn't saying one was right and one was wrong, I'm just wondering if there was something beyond Apple wanting more money driving this decision or if it's purely the trademark Apple moneygrab.

[Trippy]

It's just an Apple moneygrab.

[schild]

Thank you.

[Trippy]

I said as much up here:

Apple *is* worse than MS in many ways in this area but that's because 1) they can (they aren't a monopoly) and 2) they control the full "stack" (hardware and OS). E.g. TPM chips are rare in PC motherboards but all newer Macs have them now. And Apple didn't put them there for your protection. It's so they have even more control over how you use your systems.

[schild]

heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy i thought we were done here

Those don't read the same to me.

[Trippy]

I was agreeing with you that Apple is worse than Microsoft in this area.

[Sky]

Steve Jobs isn't donating a large portion of his fortune to put computers in libraries.

But I'll still use Apple stuff, love OSX (but the osx86 project doesn't like my X-Fi :( ).

[bhodi]

In related news, today Apple has decided to implement their "tiered" pricing for individual songs. After analyzing all the data people were uploading to enable the Genius playlists on itunes, they have decided which tracks to make $1.29:

Almost all of them.

There are almost no $0.69 ones.

Enjoy!

[Quinton]

The thing that's most obnoxious about Apple hardware lock-in for OSX is their current stuff is total commodity PC hardware based.  That said, their industrial design remains really nice.  I wish I could buy a Mac Pro case without overpaying for the innards, and the sansa mp3 player I bought, while nicer in some ways (ogg support, usb mass storage support, etc), doesn't touch the ID of the 2nd generation ipod nano, which was totally inspired stuff.

Console lock-in just totally sucks.  I really hate closed platforms to death.  Besides taking some issue with their architecture, that's my biggest gripe with iphone -- the world does not need yet another walled garden, god-emperor-has-final-say distribution model for software.  Yuck.

Also, for all the "omg apple store is soooo amazing," folks, allow me to say "Danger Hiptop (TMO Sidekick), 2002, been there, done that, got the t-shirt".  I love how the apple faithful are so ready to believe that Steve has invented all this stuff that has existed for years-decades beforehand ^^