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Apple Bans iFixit Developer Account and Removes App After Apple TV Teardown
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I have to admit, this is pretty hilarious. But Apple really must be kidding themselves if they didn't think this was going to happen from someone, be it iFixit or anonymous. But what did they think was going to happen when they shipped iFixit an Apple TV? That they were going to make an iFixit channel instead of tearing it apart?
I love iFixit and love reading the teardowns they do.
But in this case, since these Apple TVs were only meant for developers, they should have known better.
But in this case, since these Apple TVs were only meant for developers, they should have known better.
It's not Apple's place to be deciding what they do. That's why the sign the NDA. Misuse and you get some consequences.
I hope the guy's defending iFixit will eventually get jobs where they collaborate with many other companies. It will be very interesting to see how far their business ethics get them there. Aside of that there is not much that Apple could do differently anyway. They have to show action or they lose their standing in court if somebody else really breaks an NDA an causes real damage. Deleting the developer account is probably the mildest form of response they can show.
Yep, get ready for Screwgate II, III, and on.
The site serves a purpose, but that was a manufactured controversy just to sell screwdrivers that they just happened to have for sale!
Apple does a lot of overbearing things, but this actually seems very reasonable to me. They violated the terms, this is the consequence.
There is no issue with what they did with the 
tv, the agreement said nothing about disassembling the device. The only issue is that they posted it on their site. The NDA clearly states "Prior to Apple’s commercial release of Apple TV, you agree not to publicly write about, review, or display the Apple TVDeveloper Kit."
tv, the agreement said nothing about disassembling the device. The only issue is that they posted it on their site. The NDA clearly states "Prior to Apple’s commercial release of Apple TV, you agree not to publicly write about, review, or display the Apple TVDeveloper Kit."
This is basically the nuts and bolts if the issue here. iFixit wanted the scoop on this before anyone else and was willing to break the rules to do it. Break the rules enough and you get punished. iFixit realised this. The jab al iOS9 does nothing but make iFixit sound lazy and not caring enough about their iOS app to keep it up to date and bug free.
iFixit want people to use their website with their personal data? How can we trust them to follow the rules and keep our data private when they could not keep the Apple TV data private till the NDA embargo was lifted? Impossible. All credibility iFixit had is now gone.
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From the iFixIt blog "Our old app is open source if you’d like an example to build upon. Just respect our license and don’t put ads in it."
LOL
LOL
I suppose Apple thought that iFixit signed a contract, and therefore would do what the contract says. What would be the alternatives? Do you think Apple shouldn't have allowed iFixit to get a developer account in the first place? Now _that_ would have got some complaints. Do you think Apple should have excluded iFixit from trying to lay their hands on an AppleTV? Apple just assumed that the company is run by grownups, or at least by kids who understand that a contract is a contract. Apparently Apple was wrong.
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That sucks.. You live and learn... If it were me, knowing that it would violate something.. I would have done it under the radar and not announce and/or take credit for taking the hardware apart. Kind of cocky on the companies part if you ask me.
You have no idea what you're talking about, buddy. Every complex app that's been build in Swift is now broken, with the launch of iOS 9 and Swift 2. I had to rebuild mine from scratch. So i really understand them. Also, i need to run Yosemite in a virtual machine so that i get the old XCode to continue developing the old app
I agree with the rest of your comment. I don't feel sorry for them either. They signed a contract, got a free device and didn't care to respect the agreements they made. That's a crappy way of doing business.
I've really no opinion regarding iFixit and Apple. I do take exception to lumping contracts and NDA's in the same bucket. Specifically, contracts are always up for debate. Contracts are not immutable. They are always up for debate. Take sports contracts, or mortgages, or car loans, or any number other contracts. They're renegotiated constantly. NDA's are a different animal. They're typically cut and dried. I think Apple was within their right to respond the way they did. I also think it really doesn't affect iFixit to have their account banned and app removed. I guess I do have an opinion regarding iFixit and Apple. Go figure.
Because apparently it sucks and hasn't been updated since iOS4..
They knew the risk, I don't feel bad for them at all. Apple did a great thing by releasing hardware early to developers. They won't do it in the future if it's abused.
Shame on ifixit
Shame on ifixit
No I agree that apple did all the right things here. And iFixit the wrong. I was just being snarky I suppose. =]
When considering there are a limited number of devs who actually got a unit, it was incredibly stupid for Apple to send iFixit an Apple TV 4. You can't cover up that fact. iFixit was wrong. Let me clarify this point: iFixit was very, VERY wrong. But Apple was stupid. It's not a contest as to who is more to blame. Everyone involved was dumb. What could they honestly have expected them to do with the damn thing? Build a streaming television network? Come on, have an ounce of common sense! It has bad idea written all over it. It's just so uncharacteristic of Apple to be this dumb that I have to wonder if it was somehow intentional.