Thoughts on Tech

Hacked iPhone

To Jailbreak or not to jailbreak.  That’s the question.

No longer.

For a while my iPhone 2G was jailbroken.  It was a neat novelty back when there wasn’t an app store and there were a few cool features you could add via a simple web hack in iPhone OS 1.1.  Some days I miss the customization of the lock screen and the ability to change the icons and background – enough that I was considering the really quick and simple blackra1n for my 2G.

Two things happened over the course of this past weekend.

First – my trusty iPhone 2G finally bit the dust through no fault other than my own (dropping it firmly and matter of fact on a ceramic tile floor).  No worries – blackra1n jailbreaks 3GS just the same.

Second and more concerning – rootkits have now appeared for jailbroken iPhones.  The first being harmless (rickroll, anyone?), but this iPhone banking exploit showing just how nasty the potential really is.

So, jailbreakers – change your password.  Now.

Me, I’m not jailbreaking my shiny new iPhone 3GS.

Reality check.  I’m a customer in good standing with AT&T and have been for over 15 years now.  For some reason, and I guess I should consider myself lucky, I don’t seem to have all the other nasty problems people claim they have.  Perhaps it’s because I don’t live in New York or San Francisco.  I can’t speak to others’ experiences, only my own.  Jailbreaking your phone will, indirectly so, violate your contract and void your warranty.  I like both and want to keep both.

Big deal? Who can tell?  Take me as pessimistic if you would, but it would trivial to add a check to iTunes to see if the root password has been changed (and you did change it after you jailbroke your phone, right).  I expect as word of this malicious hack trickles down to Apple and AT&T that they’ll be doing just that.  I certainly would.

This sort of exploit allows Steve Jobs’ original concern to come true.  Maybe he was smarter than we gave him credit for.

I’ve recently taken the plunge and purchased a new aluminum macbook, the first mac I’ve owned in nearly 16 years. This article is the first in a series on my return to Apple as my primary computer.

Many years ago I was an avid fan of the “other” computers out there. I’ve had, over the course of many years, several variants on Atari and Amiga computers. I even spent a short stint with a few homemade devices. The first machine I really enjoyed using, however, was my Mac.

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Google announced today during Macworld the immediate availablity of Picasa for the Mac.   While I’m beginning to become a little pessimistic the Google matra (I have yet to actually use Chrome for more than a passing hour), Picasa is a solid photo library management utility that will certainly keep iPhoto on its toes.

I’ve not quite jumped over the fence with Random Gemini, but this is another reason why I may consider it.

A new study by ChangeWave research (as reported in Information Week) puts the iPhone as the contining leader in customer satisfaction amount SmartPhone users, though this article says not to count RIM out quite yet.

Here’s the truth of it tho.  RIM has spent years focusing their products on the business customer.  Blackberrys do email very well.  Their browsing experience is, well, lacking.  Even on the new Storm.

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The LA Times Technology Blog reports that iPhone developer Craig Hockenberry doesn’t like that there’s lots of free and inexpensive apps on the Apple App store.  Apparently the 2 million downloads a day that Apple claims to be supporting just aren’t his cup on tea.  On his blog he writes:

We have a lot of great ideas for iPhone applications. Unfortunately, we’re not working on the cooler (and more complex) ideas. Instead, we’re working on 99¢ titles that have a limited lifespan and broad appeal. Market conditions make ringtone apps most appealing.

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