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Jobs' Next Fight — Dealing With iPhone Hackers

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the or-you-could-just-open-it-up dept.

An anonymous reader writes "With Steve Jobs' recent announcement of his intention to fight off the independent iPhone developers, the question worth asking is: How will Apple try to defeat the hackers: Software updates, or lawsuits? Will Apple risk losing its most frequently (ab)used legal tool, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, in order to try and punish the developers of the iPhone unlocking tools? This CNET article explores the legal issues involved in this, which make it perfectly legal to reverse engineer your own iPhone, but illegal to share your circumventing source code with others."

6 of 341 comments (clear)

  1. Unlocking is specifically allowed by DMCA by Fallen+Kell · · Score: 5, Informative

    Exemptions are allowed for 1) the educational library of a university's media studies department, in order to watch film clips in class; 2) using computer software that requires the original disks or hardware in order to run; 3) dongle-protected computer programs, if the the dongle no longer functions and a replacement cannot be found; 4) protected e-books, in order to use screen-reader software; 5) cell phone firmware that ties a phone to a specific wireless network; and 6) DRM software included on audio CDs, but only when such software creates security vulnerabilities on personal computers. This was an exemption introduced last year by the Register of Copyrights. Linky
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    We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
  2. Yes. by daveschroeder · · Score: 5, Informative

    Does Apple truly have much to lose from iPhone hackery?

    Yes.

    To say nothing of other intangibles like wanting to guarantee a seamless user experience with iTunes, activation, the carrier partner, etc.

  3. Will I be the first.....? by /.Rooster · · Score: 4, Informative

    ... To say roll on OpenMoko http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Main_Page

    I know which way I will go and Jobs can stick his iTunes et al. Free your phone!! What more is there to say :)

    --
    Rooster - A friend. "Anyone's friend in particular or just generally well disposed to people?"
  4. AT&T will NOT unlock iPhones by daveschroeder · · Score: 4, Informative

    From the sidebar of the very article you link:

    AT&T will unlock phones for customers once they have fulfilled their contracts, which typically run one to two years. One big exception: Apple's iPhone, distributed exclusively in the USA by AT&T. "That's different," says AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel.

    For how the iPhone is "different", see here.

  5. Re:Arr! by Seismologist · · Score: 4, Informative

    What's more ironic is that the long distance carrier the "blue box" worked on was Bell, formerly AT&T !

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    ~ In Trust, We Trust ~
  6. Bad summary by Stu+Charlton · · Score: 5, Informative

    Both Steve Jobs and Greg Joswiak have indicated they have a "neutral" stance on 3rd party hacking that's related to native application development. The area they have problems with is SIM unlocking.

    I'm Canadian, I've been paying AT&T for a while (they make it a PITA too when you don't have a U.S. credit card). I don't have an issue paying AT&T money given how crappy our data plans are in Canada so far anyway.

    Now, I've unlocked my phone, and am even happier. Sure, I'll be disappointed when future modem firmware updates break the unlock, but frankly, I expect it. There are no guarantees with hacking. But I also expect the hackers to overcome new firmware changes within a matter of days, unless there is a major software change to the way the iPhone firmware works (not likely).

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    -Stu