Jailbreaking isn’t just for hackers anymore; it’s become a mainstream practice. When the Chronic Dev Team released the
Absinthe A5 jailbreak for the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2, there were more than a million downloads of the software within three days.
It’s not just about downloading free apps, though that is a perk of a jailbroken iDevice. Jailbreaking is also about being able to tweak your iPhone or iPad in ways that are impossible with Apple’s software, creating a truly customized digital experience.
In fact, our phones, tablets, game consoles and set-top boxes are equipped with computers that are limited by the manufacturer’s software that they run, and allowing a device to use independent software is important to a lot of people who like to experiment with the products they’ve purchased.
Back in 2010, the U.S. Copyright Office decided that jailbreaking smartphones did not violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and there are some device manufacturers that did not agree with that decision. Nevertheless, jailbreaking was declared legal, but that could change this year if Copyright Office does not renew the exemption that it gave to jailbroken devices.
The Electronics Frontier Foundation is
currently petitioning the Copyright Office to renew the exemption and expand it to cover tablets and game consoles as well. If you’re using a jailbroken device, or plan to, the EFF is asking for your help. It’s calling for people who depend on jailbreaking to write, use, or tinker with their devices, to contact the Copyright Office online. Even those of us who do not jailbreak our devices (for the record, I do not) may want to take a look at this information, because freedom to install any software on our purchased devices is an issue that potentially concerns all of us.
To get more info on the EFF’s campaign, visit the EFF website. To help, contact the U.S. Copyright Office before February 10th, 2012. There is also a petition on the website
jailbreakingisnotacrime.org.
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