Los chicos de DefectiveByDesign han preparado una acción activista para llamar la atención sobre las restricciones del teléfono de Apple. Básicamente consistes en montón de visitas al Genius Bar de las Apple Store, en las que preguntarán lo siguiente:

“I‘m from the DRM elimination crew at DefectiveByDesign.org — I‘d like to ask you a few questions about the defects Apple has designed into the iPhone 3G.”

  1. Why do all developers have to submit their applications to Apple before they can be loaded onto an iPhone? Most smartphones, including those by OpenMoko, Nokia, RIM, Palm and even Microsoft, allow applications to come from a variety of sources, including free software developers. Free “as in freedom” software development requires that users and developers be able to share and modify the source code for programs they use. iPhone users are not permitted by Apple to share or load modified versions of programs distributed through the App Store — even when a program‘s developer wants users to be able to do this! Apple markets itself as empowering, alternative technology — How does Apple plan to support free software development?

    • Why does iTunes still contain so much DRM-laden music? Services like Amazon, eMusic, Napster, Rhapsody, Play.com and 7digital are all selling music without DRM. A typical response to this might be that Apple has no option to sell media without DRM, but this is simply untrue. Jobs is the largest individual shareholder at Disney, and he could insist that its films be DRM-free. Apple should be leading the way to promote DRM-free music, but instead is lagging behind. What is Apple doing to fix this? If it really is the RIAA‘s fault, can you tell me specifically what the RIAA said to Jobs when he asked for the ability to sell DRM-free music?

      • The iPhone 3G has GPS support. How can users be sure that the GPS cannot be used to track their position, without their permission? When the only thing preventing the GPS from being used is software, and the software in question is known only to Apple, why should iPhone users trust Apple? There is a privacy agreement, but how would I ever know that the agreement was violated?

        • In ‘Thoughts on Music‘, Steve Jobs said, “it is useful to remember that all iPods play music that is free of any DRM and encoded in ‘open‘ licensable formats such as MP3 and AAC”. If Jobs really wants to see open formats, why doesn‘t the iPhone play Ogg Vorbis, Ogg Theora video and FLAC? These formats require no licensing costs, and are not encumbered by patents. How does Apple plan to support these formats in the future? Will Apple approve applications for the App Store that support these formats?

          • Last question. Why can the iPhone 3G only be activated by Apple and AT&T? In the United States, the Register of Copyrights has ruled that consumers have the right to unlock their phones and switch to a different carrier. How does Apple plan to remedy this discrepancy?