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Apple Patents Remotely Disabling Jailbroken Phones
An anonymous reader writes "Apple yesterday applied for a patent to allow remotely disabling electronic devices when 'unauthorized usage' is detected. The patent application covers using the camera to take pictures of the unauthorized user and using GPS to determine location, and it involves ascertaining whether the phone has been hacked or jailbroken, using those as criteria for detecting 'suspicious behavior.' The patent would allow the carrier or any other 'authorized' party to disable or restrict the functionality of the device. Is this Apple's latest tool to thwart jailbreaking?"
...doesn't mean it's legal, right?
On the contrary, because it's patented, it is now illegal for anybody else to do this, which is a good thing :-)
So, from now on, as long as you avoid the iPhone like the plague it is, you should be safe against the threat of your phone manufacturer spying on you...
Jailbreaking is already legal. What use would it be to take a photo of a jailbroken user?
If someone broke out of jail and got their hands on an iphone, I imagine having a picture and location information would be very useful to the police. But that's probably not what you meant.
If Google has to remotely brick the Andoid phones because of the unauthorized usage of Oracle's patents, will they have to licence this technology to be able to do it legally?
A school district tried this and barely avoided having officials brought before a grand jury and indicted.
Perhaps we will get to see Mr. Jobs wearing iStripes in the iPrison? Or iPrisonUniform in the iAlcatrez.
I tried that, but due to this new technology I can't successfully steal them anymore.
So, from now on, as long as you avoid the iPhone like the plague it is, you should be safe against the threat of your phone manufacturer spying on you...
Hahahaha! [wipes tear] Oh, man. I needed that.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Hi. My name is AppleFanboy. I see this patent as Steve Jobs dick gently caressing and protecting me form what other evil companies might do. Nothing to see here. Move along.
If you work on Wall street.
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs