FSF vs iPhone

by Mike Gunderloy - Jul. 18, 2008Comments (9)

One thing about the Free Software Foundation: there's seldom any doubt where they stand. Take the blog entry they recently posted: "5 reasons to avoid iPhone 3G." You can't come away from it thinking that there are pros and cons to the iPhone. Rather, if you agree with them, you shouldn't even consider putting an iPhone in your pocket. But how well do their arguments stack up?

The FSF case against the iPhone boils down to five points:

  1. It doesn't allow free software.
  2. It supports DRM.
  3. It helps people track you.
  4. It won't play DRM-free formats.
  5. There are better alternatives coming.

We could debate some of these points - in particular, some people have focused on whether the FreeRunner is really a viable alternative. But it's important to realize that the crux of the FSF's case is really in their first two points. From their point of view, free software and DRM-free formats are not features to be discussed: they are the basis of software freedom.

Remember, for the FSF freedom is a matter of liberty - and all software for the iPhone flunks their definition. You can't read the source code of the platform, you can't redistribute copies, you can't improve the applications. Even if a developer wants to make an iPhone application free, Apple's gatekeeping practices make this impossible.

As for DRM, the FSF is equally inflexible. If you support DRM in any way, you're contributing to the erosion of software freedom.

So, from the point of view of the hardcore free-software advocates, there's nothing surprising about this condemnation of the iPhone. As a platform, it is no more free than Microsoft Windows. In fact, with the policies of the AppStore closing off software distribution, it's easy to argue that the iPhone is less free than just about any other platform.

Of course, many people, even open source developers, are not purists about their software - thus the popularity of OS X as a development platform.  But whatever you think of their chosen battles, it's clear that the FSF does a service to the community by making us think through these issues. If we are to compromise on freedom, we should at least understand the compromises, even if the siren song of snazzy consumer technology is ultimately too difficult for many of us to resist.


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9 Comments
 

Aren't we taking this "Open" thing too far?? iPhone is a great product and shouldn't be dismissed just because it's not "Open"...

0 Votes

Aren't they taking this "Proprietary" thing too far?? Just because the product works well when using software and music purchased from Apple, doesn't mean it's not an insult to competition and users.

0 Votes

It's the same issues I have with the iPhone, well actually I won't do business with ATT, so that's the first stumbling block, but I'm *very* excited about upcoming handhelds that'll support Android. I see it as doing for mobile what the web is for everyone else; open to innovation where companies won't be forcing you to use certain software since some Joe Developer just created a new Open Source app with far more features that'll do what you want...the way you want it!

0 Votes

I do agree with FSF. iPhone goes too far with its restrictions. Not open-sourcing a platform is more or less understandable (for some) but restricting open-source on the platform is just awful. It seems to me that Apple, although being a very good producer of products, is the worst consumer of open-source products - it takes too much from the world of open-source and returns nothing in return. Example?! BSD kernel, ZFS file system and many others. While those parts are not GPL and do allow such usage I really dislike the way Apple acts.

0 Votes

Has there ever been a doubt about where the FSF would stand with the iPhone, or any apple product, for that matter? Apple is all about lock-in. The fanboys will gripe and flame because someone is criticizing their cool toys, but anyone who cares about software freedom is not going to be interested in an iPhone.

0 Votes

It is over the top. I dislike Apple's philosophies in many ways, but 2 points above make no sense. MP3 is a DRM free format. No, it isn't like OGG. I wonder if they meant license free.

The one that makes no sense, it's a wireless phone. Nobodies phone works if you are not attached to a tower and they know who you are. It's impossible to route calls without knowing where you are. Matter of fact, per E911 mandate, 911 operators must be able to locate your phone withing a maximum of 100 meters. It's kind of funny, but for anyone who doesn't want anyone to know where they are, turn off the phone.

TripleII

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It is over the top. I dislike Apple's philosophies in many ways, but 2 points above make no sense. MP3 is a DRM free format. No, it isn't like OGG. I wonder if they meant license free.

The one that makes no sense, it's a wireless phone. Nobodies phone works if you are not attached to a tower and they know who you are. It's impossible to route calls without knowing where you are. Matter of fact, per E911 mandate, 911 operators must be able to locate your phone withing a maximum of 100 meters. It's kind of funny, but for anyone who doesn't want anyone to know where they are, turn off the phone.

TripleII

0 Votes

That's exactly why I ordered an OpenMoko. The feeling is so much better when you prefer freedom.

0 Votes

Well balanced article. If the FSF hadn't published their article I wouldn't have thought twice. For me it is primarily a phone, not a computer. A closed source computer is a big nono to me, but a device like a phone.. So far I haven't seen a really "open" phone, so a phone is (at least to me) "closed" by definition. We can say the same aubout desktop DVD recorders, digital cameras and all these other firmware powered machines.

But that was exactly what the FSF article triggered with me: stop seeing those devices as "just" devices. They are small computers and when you value FOSS on your computer, you should value FOSS on EVERY computer.

I catch your drift, but they got a point..

0 Votes
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