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iPhone 3GS Finally Hacked

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the almost-like-consumers-don't-like-being-dictated-to dept.

Well, the inevitable hacking of Apple's latest flavor of iPhone has happened. Named "purplera1n," the tool will only allow installation of unauthorized applications instead of a full unlock. "The purplera1n jailbreak will free your iPhone from the limitations imposed on it by AT&T and Apple. After jailbreaking, a user will be able to customize the iPhone with home-screen wallpapers and third-party ringtones. But the biggest advantage of jailbreaking is the support of unapproved apps such as iBlackList (blacklists and whitelists for contacts) and many others."

7 of 376 comments (clear)

  1. err, why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why would anyone buy a device where someone *else* decides what apps you can run and what you cannot run? You don't own such a device - someone else owns it, and is letting you use it only under conditions they decide.

    I'm sure this will get modded down by iPhone fanboys, but I don't mean it as an anti-iPhone thing, more like an anti-any-device-where-the-mfg-regains-control-after-you-buy-it thing.

    1. Re:err, why? by kzieli · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No. But I might want software that allows me to download and read from Project Gutenberg. Which was banned because a text only version of the Karma Sutra is available. Or I might just want a vm for the scripting language of my choice for no reason at all. I've installed python on every phone I've had that supported it. To date I've never done anything useful with it, but I might one of these days. If you want freedom then you must be doing something illegal sounds like the first step towards tyranny. (Yes I'm aware that its just a Phone, and no I don't plan to get one).

      --
      read my mind at http://the-willows.blogspot.com/
    2. Re:err, why? by cowscows · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because even with that restriction, the iphone is still a zillion times more useful than my old phone.

      Sure, I can only choose from Apple-authorized apps, but seeing as there's tens of thousands of those apps, chances are I can find at least one app (or more likely a few to choose from) for pretty much anything I want to do. For most practical purposes, it really doesn't make a difference to me, seeing as I don't really care from any philosophical or ideological angle.

      And if I ever have the need, jail-breaking my phone will always be an option.

      --

      One time I threw a brick at a duck.

    3. Re:err, why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Don't you people ever read contracts and EULA's anymore? So... well, I think that sums it up. Let me know if you still have questions.

      Read EULAs? Crap, I've tried. I usually glaze over long before the midpoint. I've gone through days where I have 4 or 5 updates that each demand I read a new EULA before installing - I don't have the time, the legal skills, or the money to hire a lawyer with the time and legal skills necessary to understand all that. It's a farce. We need a UCC for software and services. I would love to do a social experiment at a Walmart (or similar) store, where every time a product was swiped across the UPC scanner, it would ask the purchaser to read a 15 page legal document before letting them proceed. It'd be interesting. I wonder how many people would read them before clicking "OK". Then I'd like to detain a few of them as they left the store, and inform them that the EULA they agreed to at the register limited them to using one or two of the products they paid for only inside the store, and by removing the product from the store they were stealing. That'd be a hoot.

  2. Re:iTunes The Real Problem by BalorTFL · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There's a difference between not supporting third-party applications and actively working to stop their use.

    In this case, Apple's doing the latter, and that's pretty evil.

  3. Only in apple world... by E+IS+mC(Square) · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Only in apple world, you use a software running on a desktop/laptop and meant for music files to control your mobile phone.

    Kudos to you and apple.

  4. why doing this? by PineGreen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Jailbreaking is counterproductive. Apple and AT&T will never learn this way. I opted for N97 instead, sure it has some drawbacks, but I am simply not prepared to give any kind of money to companies as evil as Apple and AT&T.