You're right, but then again, I also like being able to run my own software on my own devices.
If secure means closed well, that is not a trade off a lot of people are not willing to make. Just take a look at the outrage from the Windows 8 secure boot loader that can theoretically stop linux from being installed.
Personally, I like it when companies include some physical mechanism of getting root access to the machine. Whether we have to get root access through the charger port, or pressing F12 when the PC is booting, this mechanism will by definition have to be a 'vulnerability.' Of course, root access in this sense is referring to bootloader root access, not the operating system - that would be bad. We can only assume which type of root access is being referred to in the hack above.
If secure means closed well, that is not a trade off a lot of people are not willing to make
You're living inside a tech bubble. The vast majority of iPhone owners don't care about "open". They care about "it works". These people are benefited greatly from having a "closed" yet secure system.
I too would like to run my own software on my iPhone, yet i would rather it be closed and as secure as possible then open. It, to me, is a phone first, and a computing device second and its security is more important then anything else.
> I also like being able to run my own software on my own devices.
Don't use an iPhone :) Vote with your wallet!
And for the Windows 8 lock down of Linux, there are still numerous ways to get a Linux-enabled laptop, or to ensure that what you buy will work well.
For the vast majority of them, they'll never plug their phone into a non-Apple connector, so the security status of this subsystem will not have any practical importance either way.
I think you underestimate how willing people are to share chargers. If you make one of these malicious chargers, and mock it up to look similar enough to an Apple one, I bet you could compromise a decent number of phones just by hanging out in a popular place (e.g. a coffee shop, or an airport) and making your charger available to folks.
The airport is a perfect example, offering USB ports for iPhone, Android, etc and there would actually be a computer behind the scenes skimming whatever it wanted, or adding whatever it could to the devices connected... A lot of people are eager to plugin to charging stations while waiting for their flights.
If secure means closed well, that is not a trade off a lot of people are not willing to make. Just take a look at the outrage from the Windows 8 secure boot loader that can theoretically stop linux from being installed.
Personally, I like it when companies include some physical mechanism of getting root access to the machine. Whether we have to get root access through the charger port, or pressing F12 when the PC is booting, this mechanism will by definition have to be a 'vulnerability.' Of course, root access in this sense is referring to bootloader root access, not the operating system - that would be bad. We can only assume which type of root access is being referred to in the hack above.