Breaking Out
More iPhone information: a term you may have run across is "jailbroke," referring to an iPhone that's been hacked to bypass the official Apple app distribution system, "App Store."
The point of jailbreaking a phone is exactly that: to be able to obtain applications not offered within the "system." The App Store not only allows users to browse, buy, and download apps, but it installs them on the phone's OS. There are several other distribution networks that will do all that for a jailbroke phone, notably, Cydia.
Reading the history of the Jailbreak Wars is almost funny (from Wikipedia):
July 10, 2007: first jailbreak released to provide a way to use custom ringtones, followed not too long after by a permanent jailbreak for iPhone OS 1.0
On the release of iPhone OS 2.0, a hacker group called the iPhone Dev Team released a jailbreaking application that used a graphical user interface named PwnageTool.
March 10, 2009, the untethered jailbreak was released for the iPod Touch 2G.
April 2009, jailbreak for iTouch 3G 0.1 was released.
June, 2009, the iPhone Dev Team released PwnageTool 3.0 and redsn0w 0.7.2, which allowed users of the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPod Touch running the OS 3.0 to be jailbroken on both Macs and PCs.
September 9, 2009, Apple released iPhone OS 3.1, again disabling the ability to jailbreak the device. Once again the dev team released a jailbreak for all devices (except for the iPod Touch 3rd Generation), called Pwnage Tool 3.1-3.
October 11, 2009, George Hotz, known under alias ""geohot"", released the tool ""blackra1n"", which allows the jailbreaking of all iPhones and iPod touch devices running iPhone OS 3.1.2 (although the iPod touch 3rd generation is tethered - it must be plugged into a computer every time it boots).
November 2, 2009 Hotz released a newer version of blackra1n "RC3", an update that was able to jailbreak the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. This included the most recently-manufactured devices that featured an updated boot ROM in which Apple had closed the "24kpwn" loophole exploited by previous jailbreaks. Hotz also released "blacksn0w" an unlocking application for the iPhone which was capable of unlocking the newest baseband version, "5.11.07".
Each time Apple releases a new version of the OS, it's the equivalent of a gauntlet being thrown down, and the hackers are busily breaking into that code to defeat its security provisions.
Part of the point is just doing it; part of the point is to enable users to install the applications they want, from whatever source they want. One of the problems, though, from the experience of a friend who did jailbreak his phone, is that you can't synch it to iTunes - so you have to be willing to go independent of that tool, at least where apps are concerned.
Interestingly, the first wild worm for jailbroken iPhone's has turned up: called iKee, it essentially "rickrolls" your background photo. Rickrolling, of course, was the famous YouTube bait and switch meme, in which users were enticed into clicking on an internet (notably YouTub) link with a come on like, "See Michele Obama beat her children," or "Pope caught in altar boy attack!" only to find themselves linked to singer Rick Astley's video "Never Gonna Give You Up." In this case, your background photo is replaced by a photo of the (then) boy performer.
All in all, while the legality of jailbreaking a phone is still a fuzzy area (conflicting papers have been filed and a decision is pending), it's still probably not a good idea unless you're willing to put up with the inconvenience and technical demands of an outlaw iPhone.
The point of jailbreaking a phone is exactly that: to be able to obtain applications not offered within the "system." The App Store not only allows users to browse, buy, and download apps, but it installs them on the phone's OS. There are several other distribution networks that will do all that for a jailbroke phone, notably, Cydia.
Reading the history of the Jailbreak Wars is almost funny (from Wikipedia):
July 10, 2007: first jailbreak released to provide a way to use custom ringtones, followed not too long after by a permanent jailbreak for iPhone OS 1.0
On the release of iPhone OS 2.0, a hacker group called the iPhone Dev Team released a jailbreaking application that used a graphical user interface named PwnageTool.
March 10, 2009, the untethered jailbreak was released for the iPod Touch 2G.
April 2009, jailbreak for iTouch 3G 0.1 was released.
June, 2009, the iPhone Dev Team released PwnageTool 3.0 and redsn0w 0.7.2, which allowed users of the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPod Touch running the OS 3.0 to be jailbroken on both Macs and PCs.
September 9, 2009, Apple released iPhone OS 3.1, again disabling the ability to jailbreak the device. Once again the dev team released a jailbreak for all devices (except for the iPod Touch 3rd Generation), called Pwnage Tool 3.1-3.
October 11, 2009, George Hotz, known under alias ""geohot"", released the tool ""blackra1n"", which allows the jailbreaking of all iPhones and iPod touch devices running iPhone OS 3.1.2 (although the iPod touch 3rd generation is tethered - it must be plugged into a computer every time it boots).
November 2, 2009 Hotz released a newer version of blackra1n "RC3", an update that was able to jailbreak the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. This included the most recently-manufactured devices that featured an updated boot ROM in which Apple had closed the "24kpwn" loophole exploited by previous jailbreaks. Hotz also released "blacksn0w" an unlocking application for the iPhone which was capable of unlocking the newest baseband version, "5.11.07".
Each time Apple releases a new version of the OS, it's the equivalent of a gauntlet being thrown down, and the hackers are busily breaking into that code to defeat its security provisions.
Part of the point is just doing it; part of the point is to enable users to install the applications they want, from whatever source they want. One of the problems, though, from the experience of a friend who did jailbreak his phone, is that you can't synch it to iTunes - so you have to be willing to go independent of that tool, at least where apps are concerned.
Interestingly, the first wild worm for jailbroken iPhone's has turned up: called iKee, it essentially "rickrolls" your background photo. Rickrolling, of course, was the famous YouTube bait and switch meme, in which users were enticed into clicking on an internet (notably YouTub) link with a come on like, "See Michele Obama beat her children," or "Pope caught in altar boy attack!" only to find themselves linked to singer Rick Astley's video "Never Gonna Give You Up." In this case, your background photo is replaced by a photo of the (then) boy performer.
All in all, while the legality of jailbreaking a phone is still a fuzzy area (conflicting papers have been filed and a decision is pending), it's still probably not a good idea unless you're willing to put up with the inconvenience and technical demands of an outlaw iPhone.
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