Just say NO to tethering!

People have been emailing Steve Jobs for quite some time now.  The subjects would range from my MacBook can’t be repaired to the latest email from a Swedish Apple customer inquiring about tethering the iPad with his iPhone.

MacLife reports that Jezper Söderlund, from Sweden had emailed Steve Jobs inquiring about tethering.  The email went something like this, with Steve Jobs’ response to follow:

“I’ll keep it short.

I’m Jezper from Sweden, a long time Apple fan, currently about to replace the very last computer at home with a brand spanking new iMac i7. I’m also awaiting the release of the iPad. However, I have one question:

Will the wifi-only version somehow support tethering thru my iPhone?

Two devices, based on the same OS, with already built-in technology to share one data plan suggests a secondary contract could possibly be redundant.

From the look of your keynote, where the iPad sits well between my MacBook Pro and my iPhone, I was hoping the three of them could interact as seamless as possible.

All the best,
Jezper Söderlund

And Jobs’ response:

No.
Sent from my iPhone”

Well, Steve was pretty direct and to the point about this.  I’m reminded of an article from Silicon Alley Insider, in which an Apple applications developer was sent an email from Apple’s legal department.  They told them that they needed to remove the word iPod in the name of their application.  The developer in a plea to keep the name emailed Steve Jobs directly, and this was his response

“Change your apps name. Not that big of a deal.

Steve
Sent from my iPhone”

As you can see Steve Jobs is no stranger to the one liners.  Yes, Steve owns the company, however, it’s probably not in his best interest to go against what Apple’s lawyers had already deemed copyright infringement.

With that being said, Steve is not that cold hearted when it comes to the pleas of an Apple Customer that has felt that he/she’s been done wrong by Apple.  There have been several times that irate customer’s have emailed Steve Jobs, and asked to have their Apple computers replaced, because it has a defect that can’t be repaired or replaced under AppleCare.  I had a neighbor eleven years ago that did this very thing, and he received a brand new laptop from Apple.

So, the real question that is on all of our minds, including mine is; is Steve Jobs being a curmudgeon, or are his hands tied because of the cell phone carriers restrictions?  I can’t speak for cell carriers in Sweden, because they probably allow tethering.  However, here in the United States, AT&T still will not allow tethering.  Be it that they are not ready for the network constraints, or whatever fairy tale AT&T has made up to hide the fact that their network would really suffer from tethering with the iPhone.  I would like to know your opinion on this whole issue with tethering.  Leave a comment below in our comments section.

Photo Credit : iPad

Article Via MacLife

I'm a husband, dad of two great kids, and I have a passion for Apple products. I got my first Mac in 2005, and I haven't looked back. I like the simplicity of the Mac, and how does the motto go, oh yeah, It just works. I think that's the great thing about Macs how the hardware and software work harmoniously together. I've also been in the IT industry for over fourteen years. I've worked with everything from Windows computers to Mac computers. I can say I thoroughly enjoy working with Macs.