Apple officially claims Jailbreaking Illegal

The rundown....

T-Mobile:

700 Min Family Plan $59.99 for 2 iPhones
T-Zones $5.99 internet $5.99 x 2 ($11.98) I get about 150 - 200kps in Phoenix.
T-Mobile @ home VOIP $10

$81.97 p/m BEFORE my company discount (~12%) and taxes.

ATT

700 Min Family Plan $69.99
Data Plan $30 x 2 ($60.00)
No VOIP option
No company discount.
Lame ass Gayor colors

$129.99 p/m before taxes.

Apple & AT&T can go suck it!

How do you get $5.99 for internet? The cheapest plan I see on TMobile is $34 for internet and messaging.
 
Yes, rollover minutes expire after a year. But the program doesn't. You only lose rollover minutes unused for a year- the program itself continues, and you keep accumulating them, and losing the oldest ones. Never ends. It's worked that way for years for me, on my 3 phone family plan.

For coverage, the choice is really between Verizon and AT&T. Period. If you stay in one area, you might find it worth your while to consider someone else. AT&T is rolling out 3G at a faster pace now. But I can't help but wonder if they're really just waiting for 4G before investing the really big bucks.
 
I'm not going to be very popular with this position but here's my take on it.

Any cell phone company, in this case AT&T, not Apply, has a right to set its own rules for the service. When you sign the agreement you are agreeing to their terms of contract. To circumvent or bypass their rules and terms of service is a violation and officially makes you a hacker if you use any means to bypass license restrictions. IMO, use of these software or hardware tools to hack your phone is illegal if it violates the terms of service. Additionally, any discussion or advice given on this forum is a violation of the "No Hack Talk" rules.

Now I did qualify this to say that it is an AT&T rules violation to hack the phone to use it in a manner not according to the terms of your license. But what about Apple? They sell you a phone, they do not lease it to you. You own the hardware device and IMO, it is your prerogative to use the phone in any manner you choose as long as it does not violate the terms of cell phone service (AT&T) You can use the phone as a hammer if you want, whatever floats your boat. NOW, if the use of jailbreak or other software enables a feature that is not permitted by AT&T, then it is illegal AND, AT&T must enforce it's terms of service. The only terms of service that they do not have to enforce are those that are also regulated by the FCC. The FCC has that obligation to enforce FCC regulation violations.

So, who the hell does Apple think it is telling you the computer you bought, the iphone you own, is a licensed technology? Well, lets be open minded for a minute and look at it the way Apple does. In addition to the hardware, iphone is also loaded with Apple's iphone operating system which IS a licensed technology. You may be legally able to use your iphone as a hammer but can you hack and modify, reverse engineer the operating system and any of Apple's software? Most likely not. SO, in this argument, I have to agree with Apple, that using anything that hacks the OS or reverse engineers it is a violation of your license agreement.
In addition, as long as the company, Apple, believes that Jailbreak is "illegal" any discussion of it here is a violation of the Satelliteguys.US "No Hack talk" rule.

IT doesn't matter about open source and whether you think it is a good thing, Apple is not open source so the argument is irrelevant.

Apple is not required to fix it's software to prevent the hack. If a bank doesn't lock it's safe and a bank robbery happens, that doesn't make the robbery OK. All it is required to do under the law is enforce it's no reverse engineer or modify OS rules by terminating a person's license of use and this may mean no cell phone service. It is required to notify all violators of this violation and issue a cease and desist order, to remove the offending software or lose service. I'm sure Apple has an agreement with AT&T to shut down the phones in violation .

Apple has already demonstrated it's policy with the iphone after the first hack when they bricked the hacker's phones.


That is a myth or moth Apple never bricked the I phone. You cannot brick an Iphone.
 
Seems I recall a lot of hacked and jailbroken phones having issues when Firmware 1.1.1 was released.


The problem with Firmware 1.1.1 was that the folks lost the ablity to unlock their cell phone. That problem has since been corrected and work around has been found.

The Iphone through the DFU method can always be brought back to life. The Iphone cannot be bricked. I give kudos to Apple since they gave a pathway to restore the firmware of any IPHONE(the pathway is in ITUNES) that may have gone haywire.

One should not try and unlock the IPHONE and use another carrier as Apple will find a way to close the loop hole. I have heard of cases were Apple and ATT have gone after folks who unlock their IPHONE.

In fact the IPHONE DEV team has gotten endorsement from one of the apple founder whose iphone is jail broken.
 
In my response to the statement that Apple has a history of bricking ip[hpones that have been unlocked.


That is a myth or moth Apple never bricked the I phone. You cannot brick an Iphone.

?

This and hundreds of other articles, but what do I know, hundreds of other articles report the same:

By Stevie Smith Sep 28, 2007, 13:46 GMT

Earlier this week Apple Inc. issued wide-spread warnings regarding its upcoming iPhone software update and the potentially "irreparable damage" it could cause on those handsets that have been ‘unlocked’ by users looking to sidestep the phone’s AT&T exclusivity. That update has now arrived, and the damage it can cause was certainly no bluff move by Apple to keep people from seeking out other networks.

The new iPhone software update arrived, as scheduled, yesterday afternoon and various gadget blogs have since confirmed that its application has a distinctly detrimental effect on iPhone handsets that have been unlocked, reports the New York Times.

Some examples of exactly what happens to unlocked iPhones when the update is introduced include the phone completely freezing across the board in all of its functions, or "bricking" as it is also known, while some units are having any and all unofficial applications instantly disabled.

"People will try to break in, and it’s our job to stop them breaking in," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently on the subject of the "cat and mouse" conflict the California-based company is playing with hackers who are attempting to remain one step ahead and keep the iPhone unlocked.

Following Monday’s official press release from Apple, which outlined what its forthcoming update could potentially do to unlocked iPhones, the hacking community immediately went into overdrive in order to create software capable of temporarily reinstating the network lock prior to any such updates from Apple.

With this hacker reaction existing as a perfect example of the cat and mouse game referred to by Steve Jobs, the New York Times’ Saul Hansell commented that it’s like "kids at the slumber party turning out the lights and jumping under the covers each time mom thumps up the stairs."

Despite the appearance of Apple’s update, which conveniently turns network-free iPhones into iBricks, Phil Shiller, the company’s head of worldwide product marketing, has said: "We are not doing anything proactively to disable iPhones that have been hacked or unlocked."

While that statement remains somewhat hard to believe considering the monetary value linked between the iPhone and exclusive customer use on AT&T, Apple has also made it perfectly clear than any unlocked iPhones terminally affected by the new hack-busting software update will not be covered by the device’s warranty.
 
In my response to the statement that Apple has a history of bricking ip[hpones that have been unlocked.




?

This and hundreds of other articles, but what do I know, hundreds of other articles report the same:

Yes I have read this false article--like I have posted the IPHONE can be unbricked using the DFU method. The IPHONE DEV TEAM will show folks how to do this. Since that update has come out the dev team has found a way around the update to unlock the IPHONE.

Also this article we are talking about is kind of misleading. Apple will be coming out with the third gen IPHONE which is not jailbreakable since this will be done at the hardware level and as the dev team has stated this cannot be jailbroken.
 
We all know that is not the case as you can play any music from iTunes on the jailbroken version of the iPhone. There is no way Apple would give out their encryption for the music to be played on such software.

I dont know what you are talking about nor do I know if you know what you talking about. Jailbreaking has nothing to do with that. Jailbreaking just lets you run programs on your phone which Apple might not want you to.

Also most of the music being sold by Apple via iTunes is now DRM free. (In fact over the past month I have spent over $200 upgrading my music on my iPhone to higher quality DRM free versions through iPhone.)

You really should find out what Jailbreaking is before you try saying its illegal and immoral, as by reading your post you have no clue what your talking about.
Jailbreaking is not stealing, in fact a number of Jailbroken apps are commercial applications and require registation or a subscription to work.

Just think of Jailbroken apps as ones Apple did not approve to sell in its store. These apps are not pirated applications in any ways, just unofficial. :)

I bet you didn't know it but even Apple Co Founder Steve Wozniack supports Jailbreaking.
 
I dont know what you are talking about nor do I know if you know what you talking about. Jailbreaking has nothing to do with that. Jailbreaking just lets you run programs on your phone which Apple might not want you to.

Also most of the music being sold by Apple via iTunes is now DRM free. (In fact over the past month I have spent over $200 upgrading my music on my iPhone to higher quality DRM free versions through iPhone.)

You really should find out what Jailbreaking is before you try saying its illegal and immoral, as by reading your post you have no clue what your talking about.
Jailbreaking is not stealing, in fact a number of Jailbroken apps are commercial applications and require registation or a subscription to work.

Just think of Jailbroken apps as ones Apple did not approve to sell in its store. These apps are not pirated applications in any ways, just unofficial. :)

I bet you didn't know it but even Apple Co Founder Steve Wozniack supports Jailbreaking.

Scott, I know 100% what it is. I had my phone jailbroken at one point to see what it was all about. I never once said that it was stealing. I was talking about the changing of a propritary OS that is running on your phone. That is the illegal part not the apps that you can get from the repositories.

In the part about the encrypted music I was refering to the OS that you replaced on the phone. You know that it does include copyrighted code from Apple as it will still play the encrypted iTunes music. That is what I meant by that and the only part IMO is illegal. If you can show me that nothing of the Apple code was modified then I would change my tune on the subject. Until somebody proves it one way or the other I will just stay with the provided software.

So you don't feel that modifying a copyrighted program to make it do what you want is wrong? That is what the whole idea around jailbreaking.
 
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I bet you didn't know it but even Apple Co Founder Steve Wozniack supports Jailbreaking.

I bet I did know that and what does this even matter since he ended his employment with Apple back in the 80's. Now if you said that a current high ranking employee did this that would be a different story.
 
So you don't feel that modifying a copyrighted program to make it do what you want is wrong? That is what the whole idea around jailbreaking.
There are plenty of us that do this exact thing every day as part of our jobs. IT people have to do all sorts of things to copyrighted software to get it to do what we bought it for.
 
There are plenty of us that do this exact thing every day as part of our jobs. IT people have to do all sorts of things to copyrighted software to get it to do what we bought it for.

You don't modify the source code without the consent of the owner. So if you are a Windows admin you will modify the Windows source to get it working the way you want? Do you really think Microsoft would allow this to happen? I am not stupid when it comes to this as I am in IT as well.
 
tomcrown- My point was not that in a future date Apple will aid hackers to unbrick the phone. If you read what I wrote correctly, I stated Apple had a history of bricking the iphone. I can't believe you would deny the thousands of reports, including a whole podcast from Leo Laporte and John Dvorak on this back in 2007 when it happened. I think you just didn't understand my point of it being historically accurate.

Scott- I would not be surprised about The Woz, supporting hacking, illegal hacking at that. Anyone who is as old as I am ( not that old) will remember back in late 60's, early 70's legendary stories about "The WOZ" the infamous hacker who developed the "black box" used to get free long distance phone calls. It was a very simple device and later he developed the "Blue Box" which used a more sophisticated double set of push button keypads to route long distance phone calls for free via AT&T's inward circuit using a simple 2300 Hz tone to activate the route tones. Then he published the secret inward circuit code numbers in the form of a chain letter. Point being that you can't justify a hacking software from the likes of a person who grew up becoming notorious world wide for his practice of illegal hacking. It would be like justifying hacking satellite smart cards because a guy who publishes directions on how to get free satellite and cable TV said it's OK.
Want some more? I happen to have proof! I tape recorded an actual demonstration of this blue box on quarter inch reel to reel audio of the Woz routing phone calls complete with verbal instructions how he was doing it around the country and then to Hawaii and Alaska for over 30 minutes broadcast on 75 meter ham band. I also don't think he was a ham radio op, legally, either. But he was often on using a fake broadcast station like call sign, guess what? WOZ. What else? :D For awhile I heard he was using W4OZ but stopped when he discovered that real ham like call sign was already in use by a real ham. He poses as a telephone operator hacking his way through the phone system. The tape is a classic piece of history. Some day I may dig out my reel to reel tape recorder and play that tape convert to an MP3 file, if it still works.

Oh and as for jailbreaking being illegal, it is not criminal law, unless a case can be made on the DMCA argument, but also and rather, civil contract law where you are in violation of your license agreement. As long as the owner of the software/firmware in the iphone says it is a violation of the terms of their contract with you, it is a case that may stick. It all depends on the judge / jury decision. At best, you can say it is a gray area as are all civil cases. At worse you lose and suffer the loss of your phone and service. out of warranty etc.

Jail breakers are not alone on this. I believe the use of software like PDANet may be a violation of Verizon's license forbidding tethering except through Verizon subscription service add-on. Haven't heard any public statements on this, however. Apple is different as they have made their case claim and now violators will have the opportunity to argue the case claim in court. Criminal for DMCA and civil for license violation.
 
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Jail breakers are not alone on this. I believe the use of software like PDANet may be a violation of Verizon's license forbidding tethering except through Verizon subscription service add-on. Haven't heard any public statements on this, however. Apple is different as they have made their case claim and now violators will have the opportunity to argue the case claim in court. Criminal for DMCA and civil for license violation.

I don't know anything about PDANet but does it physical change or modify the OS that is running on the phone. If not I have no problem with it as it is just being in violation of the Verizon license and terms of use as these are not laws.

Like I have said above, I would personally love for Apple to open up the iPhone to all of these apps as if we should have the ability to run any app on the phone that we want as long as they are legal. Treat it just like a computer and let us install any application that we want. It should not matter if they find the content objectionable.

I guess we will just have to wait and see what the DCMA rules on this matter.
 
The rundown....

T-Mobile:

700 Min Family Plan $59.99 for 2 iPhones
T-Zones $5.99 internet $5.99 x 2 ($11.98) I get about 150 - 200kps in Phoenix.
T-Mobile @ home VOIP $10

$81.97 p/m BEFORE my company discount (~12%) and taxes.

ATT

700 Min Family Plan $69.99
Data Plan $30 x 2 ($60.00)
No VOIP option
No company discount.
Lame ass Gayor colors

$129.99 p/m before taxes.

Apple & AT&T can go suck it!

Add In T-Mobile allows tethering.

I have a grandfathered $19.99 unlimited internet plan (T-Zones is limited internet)
 
You don't modify the source code without the consent of the owner. So if you are a Windows admin you will modify the Windows source to get it working the way you want? Do you really think Microsoft would allow this to happen? I am not stupid when it comes to this as I am in IT as well.
Here's a simple example. c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Code:
# Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server
#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host

127.0.0.1       localhost
::1             localhost
Have you ever modified that file to get the OS to behave differently, i.e., map a hostname to an ip address that is different from what DNS reports?

Granted, this is somewhat different than reverse engineering the boot binary in order to unlock some hidden "feature" or is it really? Just because this file's provided in plain text form and contains comments regarding how it should be modified, is no reason the copyright notice at the top is any less valid. By modifying it I have in effect done "reverse engineering" of how the Windows TCP/IP stack works, and by distributing it here I'm probably in violation of the license agreement somehow.
 
I used to have T-Mobile with T-Zones. I thought T-Zones were time free internet wifi connections, like at Starbucks, Panera Bread etc. The wifi connections were often at 802.11b speed. The GPRS was not T-Zones but dialup based connection and it was often at 100kbps spped in most places when it worked. OK for download text e-mail but anything else and there wasn't enough minutes in the day to open up satelliteguys.us.

Jag, the PDANet actually runs on your computer, not on your cellphone. It uses active sync on the XP OS and Vista works without it or uses Windows MObile device center. Once you sync the phone to the computer, you launch PDANet on your computer is it sees the EVDO Rev A connection just like a cable modem.