Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Bans iFixit Developer Account and Removes App After Apple TV Teardown

zorinlynx said:
They didn't do anything that hurts Apple. They received a developer unit, then posted a teardown. They likely reassembled it and it probably still works fine, so I doubt they "destroyed" something they were given for free to show the teardown.

If this had been a free pre-release iPhone and they had filmed drop tests and other obvious things to show they only got it to destroy it and not to use it for development, that would be different. But all they did was take it apart and snap some photos.

I believe strongly in the mantra of "If an activity doesn't hurt anyone, it shouldn't be disallowed."
Click to expand...
How much does it hurt the supermarket if I just walk out with one bag of shopping? I mean really, it doesn't hurt them at all. Are you saying that should also be legal?

They received the developer preview AppleTV with an attached NDA (that's a legally binding agreement) and they broke it.

They knew they were breaking it and decided to do it anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: croooow
nStyle said:
No it's not? It's an isolated incident between iFixit and Apple which in no way affects anyone else.
Click to expand...
Are you serious? You really think someone at Apple right now isn't considering a change to the developer program to keep this from happening again? It can affect everyone. Maybe not today, but possibly at some point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: galrito and croooow
iFixit, you have my love. Apple will eventually come back to you. Consider this as a free advertisement.
 
jaded-mandarin said:
I'm not saying Apple is wrong to enforce the ramifications of breaching the NDA. I'm simply stating the silliness of the whole situation. Most famous company in the world for tearing apart new Apple products gets hold of a new piece of Apple hardware.

All I'm saying is did Apple really expect anything else to happen?
Click to expand...

The process has been described as an automated lottery. Also it sounds like the account was not owned by iFixit as a company but by one of their developers, the iFixit App was tied to it but that's the only hint.

Besides that I can name about 10 people alone in this thread who would go berserk (as in "apple fascism!! Welcome to Russia!!!") if Apple would exclude iFixit from a developer program in advance simply based on a suspicion that iFixit may do funky things with the dev devices.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gnasher729 and moderately
MacRumors said:
The site says the app was outdated and riddled with bugs caused by iOS 9.
Click to expand...

How childish of them. If they don't bother to keep their app current with iOS releases, it's not fair to say that the bugs was caused by iOS 9. The bugs were caused because they didn't maintain the app.

iFixIt shows here that they don't behavior in a professional manner. They don't respect the agreements they signed with other companies and they even retort like a child when they're made accountable for it. How disappointing.

zorinlynx said:
It's not like iFixIt showing us the guts of the Apple TV hurt them in any way.
Click to expand...

But it can hurt. This is a developer kit, not the production device. The internals can be different between the two.

And it's a shame that one Apple TV has been wasted on the hands of a developer that's not willing to develop an app for it.
 
Bradford_Wolf said:
This is ridiculous Apple... My developer account was terminated because I sold it on eBay. Can't get a new account for another year.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for increasing the chances of Apple never do this again to developers. And who can blame them!?

I have applied for the lottery and didn't get one. Unfortunately, I see that may "developers" that applied for it and won don't care about developing apps.
 
Last edited:
zorinlynx said:
They didn't do anything that hurts Apple. They received a developer unit, then posted a teardown. They likely reassembled it and it probably still works fine, so I doubt they "destroyed" something they were given for free to show the teardown.
Click to expand...

The developer unit is for developers to develop apps on. Let's pretend there are 1,000 of them. iFixIt took one of them. There are now 999 units.

That's very obvious harm right there.

Then there's the little thing where they broke the NDA and posted photos of it. Which is also harm.

You could have said "hurts Apple much" and it would have been true. But you were way too general here; this is obviously minor pain to Apple, other developers, and the ecosystem at large.
 
  • Like
Reactions: galrito
zorinlynx said:
They didn't do anything that hurts Apple. They received a developer unit, then posted a teardown. They likely reassembled it and it probably still works fine, so I doubt they "destroyed" something they were given for free to show the teardown.

If this had been a free pre-release iPhone and they had filmed drop tests and other obvious things to show they only got it to destroy it and not to use it for development, that would be different. But all they did was take it apart and snap some photos.

I believe strongly in the mantra of "If an activity doesn't hurt anyone, it shouldn't be disallowed."
Click to expand...


They did hurt apple, they released these early units so developers could prepare apps for these devices. This is one device that is not in the hands of a legitimate developer creating apps for the apple tv.
 
  • Like
Reactions: moderately, croooow and Kaibelf
CFreymarc said:
Crap or not, we'll see if it goes to court.
Click to expand...

Going to court? Huh? What are you talking about?
They signed an agreement to act in a certain way. They violated that agreement. It really doesn't matter what that person does, an agreement is an agreement. It's a legal document. If they can violate it because they are "journalists", then no agreement would have legal binding. BTW, I post on the internet, therefore I'm a journalist.
 
This is not some sort of brutal hit to iFixit. Just means they'll have to wait to get their hands on things like they do with a host of other products, and have done with Apple products in the past. Presumably, they can simply get a more professional outfit to develop / maintain their app. Nothing much to whine about given that they were caught dead to rights.
 
zorinlynx said:
This is incredibly petty of Apple. It's not like iFixIt showing us the guts of the Apple TV hurt them in any way.

It sounds like this is them "making an example out of" iFixIt to scare other devs into following the agreements to the letter. Still, pretty petty in my opinion. iFixIt contributes a lot to the community.
Click to expand...

What part of 'honor your agreements' don't you understand?
 
  • Like
Reactions: CalWizrd
dwaltwhit said:
I am not a developer. With that said, what harm was done to apple? I understand iFixit was breaking the nda, but what is the purpose of this provision? These are not rhetorical questions.
Click to expand...

Why don't you release your source code for everything you develop before you publish your work, just so people can see how proficiently you put it together. What would that hurt?
 
Non-Disclosure Agreement.

Intellectual Property.

They violated the EULA.

While it may seem harsh, protecting an unreleased product (Software or Hardware) is the right of the person, corporation or group that is creating said technology.

Doing a tear down, then posting that information about an unreleased product with high level detail about internals/data which often change when the final version is released. I'm not defending Apple. I'm defending the rights of developers who are sharing their technology with others.

We all know a giant corporation that took something that wasn't theirs and reverse engineered it, then beat the developer to market with similar but different technology, thereby ruining the smaller independent company. If this were a small developer showing their tech to a larger corporation for funding and the same thing happened, would we be up in arms or defending creators of the product not yet released?

iFixit deserves what it got. The fact their app was pulled is as a consequence is honestly a good thing. Their app version of repair manuals found online were often incomplete, including links to videos showing incorrect procedure for repairs that could damage hardware. While I agree with their repair manifesto, I do not side with them over the loss of the app due to violation of EULA.

Live and learn is one thing.

Cooperation for innovation is entirely another.
 
Bulkknoccoutswag said:
You're not only naive but also very illiterate from the way you write what you said. You see you're one of the problems in society you people always want to be politically correct and always follow rules. Well let me explain something to you just stop it because I don't see where this did anything to hurt apple in any shape or form. They decided to give out development models so deal with it. They have their own workers/engineers where if they didn't want the public to see anything they could have. You really have no idea what you're talking about I'm just reading through this forum post and it's like yore getting a paycheck to defend something that didn't cause any harm. I suggest you go find a good book to read and keep your mouth close because some rules are meant to be broken. Give me a break with the NDA. It's a bunch of bull and you know it. You seem like the type to tell on your coworkers and report everything the doesn't need to be.
Click to expand...
Cracks me up that you are criticizing the way anybody else writes. Reminds me of that sign calling people "Morans".
 
  • Like
Reactions: CalWizrd and galrito
Everything is as it should be. iFixit violated the developer agreement and are paying the penalty. I hope they feel it was worth it.

Going forward, I also hope it's not something iFixit whines about or uses as an excuse to spew Apple hatred. A certain tech journalist that got himself banned from Apple press events by pointing a camera at Steve Jobs comes to mind. iFixit did the crime, now take the punishment like a man.

Mark
 
  • Like
Reactions: Will do good and kds1
jaded-mandarin said:
I'm not saying Apple is wrong to enforce the ramifications of breaching the NDA. I'm simply stating the silliness of the whole situation. Most famous company in the world for tearing apart new Apple products gets hold of a new piece of Apple hardware.

All I'm saying is did Apple really expect anything else to happen?
Click to expand...


I understand your point.

But what I'm saying is that Apple may not have even been aware that this was iFixit who was getting the kit. I can only assume that tens of thousands of these things were sent out, at a minimum. And it was likely a very automated system that sent them out. There is the distinct possibility that iFixit's developer account is in the name of an individual, with nothing in the account profile that would indicate it was iFixit. Beyond that, Apple had every right to expect that any developer would honor their contract and NDA.
 
theluggage said:
Irrelevant. An EULA (basically a wheeze that lets software publishers do an end run around consumer protection laws, despite their interests being quite adequately protected by copyright). One of the major problems with EULAs is that you don't agree to them beforehand - they're foisted on you after they've taken your money. Also, many of the clauses in EULAs are unenforceable in many jurisdictions. EULAs need to be killed with fire.

An NDA accepted by a developer (not a consumer) before being given access to commercially sensitive information is a completely different issue. They don't mess with your consumer rights (because you're not a consumer) and they mostly expire as soon as the information is publicly released.
Click to expand...

No. Basically what the EULA does is say if you don’t like it don’t use it. You in most cases, choose to ignore that. Because it suits you. Everything you don’t like in a EULA you ignore, assuming you read it at all. Am I right?
We’re all hypocrites, you included. When you want to find something out you google it, again if it suits you.
Don’t break your butt getting off that high horse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back