Once again we see the entitlement attitude used to defend piracy.

So first off, iDevices aren't made for hackers. They're made for consumers. The amount of people who need a root shell on their iPhone is probably about the same amount of people who will post in this thread saying they need a root shell (I'm exaggerating but it's a seriously small number).

There are free apps that let you SSH into servers already on the app store. If one doesn't suit you there's always the option of creating one. Too expensive? Then submit it to one of the stores for Jailbroken iPhones. They'll probably be more interested in it than the regular App Store using population anyway.

Trying out apps before you buy one is a really great idea and I wish it was possible with iOS apps. I get people using Hackulous and such to try apps before they buy but what I don't buy into is this idea that there's a huge population of iOS users who are using Jailbroken phones and apps to "try before you buy". I don't have solid numbers and I doubt anyone really does but experience and observation tell me that the amount of people who Jailbreak a phone just to try before you buy is incredibly low with the majority just trying and never buying. I myself Jailbroke my first generation iPhone when I first got it. You know what I did with it? Totally got a bunch of paid apps for free with intention of never paying for them. I was poor and even $0.99 was too much for me. I was an asshole and I know this. I haven't done that since 2008 or so though.

Now, when you say "Besides, there are poor ppl out there with iDevices" my mind gets kind of boggled. How in the hell are poor people getting iDevices if they're so poor? If they can afford even the subsidized iPhone or the low-end iPod then you'd think an app that costs $0.99 - $2.99 wouldn't be all that much. But even if we assume this is a valid reason (excuse is the word I'd use personally) does being poor entitle you to goods at a lower cost or free? I've been poor. I know what poor is better than most and I can say that looking back I wasn't so poor that I couldn't afford iOS apps. I was just incredibly cheap as a result of how poor I was. That $1 - $5 was just going to get pissed away on something equally stupid and quickly squandered like a pack of cigarrettes. I feel for the poor people but I can't get behind the idea that it's alright to pirate software because you can't afford it. The old "they wouldn't buy it anyway" argument is so lame. If they wouldn't buy it anyway then they shouldn't have it anyway and maybe if they couldn't circumvent the payment process they'd actually give saving up for whatever "they" want to pirate the ol' college try.

Pirating helps people participate in society you say? Depends on your definition of participate. If it means they get to use a copy of Photoshop for free rather than something cheaper that they paid for that's really not good participation. Again, I've been on the shit-end of poor and I was able to participate as a creator without piracy. Yes, I did do it but there was nothing stopping me from participating with what I had available. I feel like this whole line of thought comes from this weird idea that many young people, my peers (I'm only 26), have these days that somehow we're somehow entitled to start out at the top. That we're too good to "slum it" and work our way up. Participating in society could mean doing the ethical thing and paying for the goods you use. That's good participation the way I see it.

So iMacs are more expensive overseas. That sucks. It really does. But I doubt it's some conspiracy to empty the pockets of European Mac users. That's life, man. Some things suck but you just do what you gotta do to make it.