I love this remix of Apple’s “Here’s to the Crazy Ones” ad over a scrolling display of third-party iPhone apps:
(Found here, which also has the original ad.)
Apple has previously hinted that they went after Hymn and similar iTunes-hacking projects not because they cared themselves, but because they were contractually obliged to by the studios providing them with music. I could imagine, charitably, that there is a similar dynamic at work here, where AT&T is “forcing” Apple to take action about iPhoneSIMFree and the like. But then, not so charitably, Apple has a long history of rocky developer relations, and this seems like another chapter in that history.
Whether this was intended or not, the effect of bricked iPhones will likely be that a far smaller audience will be willing to install 3rd-party iPhone hacks from now on. Most of us don’t have $400 to blow on bricks. That will have to lead to fewer iPhone apps — at least until Apple decides to release a supported API. The open question is what happens then. Of course, in all likelihood everyone will cry, “Our long nightmare is over,” and get right back to work developing. But I wonder if the video above speaks to any lasting damage.
The amount of interest and excitement around iPhone hacks is unbelievable, and would be unbelievably positive for Apple (and AT&T) if they’d let it. It is everything Apple says it stands for, as the “Crazy Ones” mix points out. I hope all of that survives this bleak period.