I think this was more an issue of ‘how long’, not ‘if’ it happens, but Apple’s FairPlay DRM has been cracked for the applications they provide via the AppStore, which means that tutorials exist on how to get cracked versions of any application on iPhone. Yes, you need a jailbroken iPhone (the jailbreak has code that will bypass the signature check, allowing us to run apps not distributed through the AppStore) with SSH access to the device enabled, although that process is bound to get easier. Meanwhile, I am quite curious to see how Apple will now justify the $99 tax to their developers.

All software markets have their counter-markets, the warez scenes that evolve in addition to the official distribution channels. In order to protect their applications, sometimes developers do some very stupid things to control how the application runs (calling home, SecuROM etc) but these schemes eventually get broken and bypassed, so a cracked version gets released. In the case of the AppStore, Apple made some guarantees that because of FairPlay, developers need not worry about copy protection, registrations and whatnot. To be honest, I found Apple’s passing mention of FairPlay¹ as a nod towards the known issues with the DRM; namely, that DVD Jon had reverse-engineered the technology for music, so it was reasonable to assume that others were hard at work trying to break the DRM completely.

Granted, though, Apple does not need to worry too much about either lost sales or rampant piracy. Despite what the BullShit Association or the MAFIAA may tell you, most acts of (individual) piracy do not translate into lost sales; rather, users may opt for these avenues to get extended demos (or, in iPhone’s case, demos per-se, as the system is sorely lacking in that department), easier-to-use versions of the software (No-Disc cracks, especially for games) etcetera. If you have read an NFO you may have seen that most release groups encourage people that use these programs to pay for a copy if they find the software useful, and I know that people do.

Another reason for Apple not to worry too much is that a fair number of people are not interested in either jailbreaking their phone, for obvious reasons, or running pirated applications of any kind. The same rules apply as on the Mac in that many will simply pay. Think about it, $20 for something you use every day is really not a big deal. As someone said, it amounts to a coffee and a lunch. Maybe I understand why it makes sense to pay (or donate, depending on the case) for software that you really use, considering that I ‘get’ what it takes to write a good piece of software². Those people will never be lost sales.

Developers involved with the AppStore might be a bit less understanding though. Apple takes $99 per annum to allow you to be part of the store, 30% of the earnings, and pays out only when the application profits surpass a certain threshold. Yet they fail to address a lot of the concerns that developers have expressed in the last while. Demos are a big sore point with both developers and customers, especially since someone disillusioned with an application that they had to pay before trying is far more likely to leave a really bad review (that will then translate into lost sales). It hurts developers and it hurts the AppStore itself.

Back to cracked applications, I wonder what Apple can technically do to fix the issue, what developers think about their applications being pirated, and what you think about piracy in general. Myself, I see this as an unavoidable aspect of the software business, one that cannot be completely fought off in technology, but must be averted by having truly kick-ass applications that make the users want to support further development.

Thanks for the original ‘breaking news’ to you-know-who-you-are :)

1. Not a very mediated or otherwise advertised ‘feature’ [↩]
2. Not that I have written any good software myself, but just because I have written ’some’ software, and can extrapolate from that. [↩]