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A comment on The boiling frog of digital freedom. Parent comment

Re:The boiling frog of digital freedom by perihelions on Sunday September 03, 2023 @07:27AM (#37369523)
They don't. I think the commenter was guessing by generalizing from software/subscription service ToS's, which are ubiquitous; plus the fusion of hardware/software in inseparable packages, like the iPhone hardware, which is a brick without an ongoing Apple subscription.
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Re:The boiling frog of digital freedom by aficionado87 on Sunday September 03, 2023 @08:10AM (#37369752)
> a brick without an ongoing Apple subscription

This just isn’t true. You don’t have to give Apple another dime to use an iPhone perpetually. Any paid Apple subscriptions are optional for cloud or streaming services.

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Re:The boiling frog of digital freedom by perihelions on Sunday September 03, 2023 @08:30AM (#37369890)
It may be a free subscription, but it's still an ongoing, no-opt-out commercial software service relationship with Apple, Inc. That's why it has a Terms of Service [0] – which is effectively a ToS for the iPhone hardware itself, as there is no way to use it without Apple's OS.

[0] https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iOS16_iPadOS16.pdf (the iOS ToS)

(And I think it's noteworthy how that ToS' language bounces freely between "hardware" and "software"; how it fluctuates between "software license agreement" and "by using your iPhone (device)", you are agreeing to...". Apple hardware and software are fused together: there is no practical difference).

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Re:The boiling frog of digital freedom by dismalpedigree on Sunday September 03, 2023 @08:27AM (#37369872)
Agreed its optional. But Apple will do their best (worst?) to get you to use it. Defaults to the free 5g, resetting preferences after OS upgrades, nagging prompts, etc.
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