Apple Error Leaves iPhone Developers In the Lurch

canadacow writes "iPhone developers enrolled and active in the iPhone OS 2.0 beta program got a nasty surprise today when Apple inadvertently 'expired' the recently released version. While for a beta program this typically would not be an issue, Apple has yet to release a new deployment of the iPhone OS. So developers like myself who use their iPhone for both actual phone and iPod use are bricked. Of note, this particular expired build is just 11 days old."

In Apple's defense

They tried to call you and apologize but you didn't answer your phone.

Re:In Apple's defense

Apple users are just happy and content they spent $800 bucks it would seem for a phone and the company just turned it off, with no recourse.

These aren't users whose phones are gone forever, they're developers (or "developers") whose platform (or phone) is down temporarily. Apple screwed up here, but "It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic" might be overstating it a bit.

Re:In Apple's defense

Apple screwed up here, but "It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic" might be overstating it a bit.

Come on, this is Apple. They practically have a 100% market penetration among emo kids. *Everything* is tragic to them.

Re:In Apple's defense

I mean seriously, how many times has this phone been bricked lately?

0, if you're a regular customer who uses the device as intended. No one should be surprised to find problems when signing up for a beta program.

Re:In Apple's defense

I think you missed the part where these are people choosing to explicitly install beta development software on their mobile phone. If want to be sure your phone will work, either don't install early beta software on it, or buy a second phone.

Re:In Apple's defense

I would agree with you if the people you refer to used stock firmware, however we have requested and gone out of our way to use Beta firmware in order to get a head start on developing for the platform. Although I am frustrated that my phone has had bugs since I loaded the beta firmware and I am upset that my phone is not working, I recognize that I placed myself in this situation by switching to the beta software despite Apple's warnings posted in their portal about doing so. However I am mostly angry with myself for being too "cheap" to buy a test device (an iPod Touch maybe) and instead opted to use my primary phone for development.

Re:In Apple's defense

Jesus. Drama Queen much? A piece of beta software exploded. It will be fixed in days if not hours. It's probably fixed by the time you posted your whiny rant. So dry your tears, Princess, and turn down the hyperbole a little.

I have an idea!

Let's complain about BETA software!

Re:I have an idea!

Let's read stories we're not interested in and complain about them!

Re:I have an idea!

Here's an even better idea. Let's complain about developers who use beta software for their primary mobile phone!

Re:Testing?

Corporations who do serious mobile phone development do not have their developers use personal phones for development and testing. They purchase separate phones for them.

Independent developers can order a separate line with a cheap phone and have their calls redirected. Then if their development platform breaks they still have a usable phone. It's the cost of being a beta tester.

Seems easy to fix on Apple's side

Couldn't they just re-release the exact same beta OS but fix the expiration date? They must know about this by now, and it doesn't seem like it'd even take that long. Maybe they are having a day off or something.

I know this will be the theme for the whole slashdot story, but I have to say that if MS did this, I think there'd be public burnings, see-I-told-you-so's, etc.

You forgot to mention

You forgot to mention that Apple SPECIFICALLY told you NOT to put it on your phone because it was unstable- and you hacked the lockouts and did it anyway. You also didn't mention that you could simply do a restore in iTunes and get a working firmware in about 2 minutes.

But, I guess that getting on the front page of slashdot is more important.

Re:You forgot to mention

Wah wah wah! Apple released this fancy new phone but there's no SDK and nobody can develop apps for it, this sucks, Apple sucks, everyone sucks!

*Apple releases beta SDK*

Wah wah wah! Apple released an inital version of an SDK for their fancy new phone and it isn't perfect and doesn't do everything we ever wanted, this sucks, Apple sucks!

All some people do is complain. Even when someone listens to what you're asking for, and tries to meet your needs. Even when they're just starting out and testing the waters in an area that is very complex. Apple released what they had because obnoxious people wouldn't shut up about how much Apple sucked for not releasing anything.

It'll get better. Half-finished software is the price the world pays for being whiny and impatient.

You've been Steved!

Consider the open source alternative, OpenMoko [openmoko.com] No worries about some sudden "change in corporate direction" screwing you over.

Re:You've been Steved!

Yes, OpenMoko, the opensource alternative that is unavailable and doesn't even work.

Oh it boots, but you can't make a phone call from in the UI. And while the command line dialer does work, no audio does. So you can call someone but not speak to or hear them.

While I have every hope for OpenMoko, don't go flinging them as some open-source solution when it doesn't even do what it's supposed to.

Bricked?

Is anyone else getting tired of the sensationalist misuse of the term "bricked" around here?

Unless it's nigh unrecoverable, your hardware isn't bricked.

Re:Bricked?

This begs the question, if everyone uses the phrase incorrectly is it still incorrect?

Not Bricked

"Bricked" is unrecoverable.
"Bricked" is permanent.
"Bricked" is having absolutely no way, ever, of interacting with the object in a manner that is inconsistent with interacting with a brick.

This, on the other hand, will be fixed by tomorrow.

So it's a werebrick.

"Bricked" is permanent. ... This, on the other hand, will be fixed by tomorrow.

So it's a werebrick.

Uh....no.....

Beta testers were notified by e-mail of the software expiration that night. A new copy was available immediately from the AppleSeed site.

My phone is fine and probably a lot of other beta testers who have a clue have a working phone as well.

Maybe people who beta test software should have a good understanding that it is a BETA test and Apple highly recommended that the BETA software not be installed on personal or business-related phones that need to have 100% accessibility and reliability.

How many beta testers in this program understand how to use a web browser to go grab the new release? If you're gonna be a n00b about it, don't sign up to be a tester.

Um, what are people smoking?

I don't get it - My "friend's" iphone expired at midnight but guess what, there was an email from the Apple beta program in my "friend's" email telling my "friend" to update their iPhone. Update, start using the phone again.

This is just a sensationalist article using the Dvorak Method (TM) to get more hits.

Maybe this is a misdirected AskSlashdot

Folks, don't tell him the phone isn't bricked, it just encourages him. Instead of going to a forum and asking "hey, what happened to my iPhone with this devkit installed?" he comes to Slashdot and hyperventilates about a bricked phone. And whaddya know, several people already gave him a solution (rollback firmware through iTunes - hey, great idea!) I propose we no longer act as Apple Technical Support for the Un-Bricked.

Re:"Brick"

It's only bricked if you cannot get it to work again without cracking it up and digging into some special programming connector or replacing some chips. That is, the device can serve no other purpose than to be a brick without highly technical intervention. The fact that you can update the software back to the non-expired non-beta version seems to be completely overlooked.

Re:"Brick"

The device functions enough that you can restore the original firmware, you know, the firmware that is stable and fully supported and not recommended for development use only.