Coming from a free software perspective, jailbreaking iPhones is pretty ridiculous to me. If you want a device that respects your freedom, wait for an OpenMoko, or even an Android phone. To pay Apple for chains just because you know how to break them off isn't really unifying money and mouth, and it's certainly not helpful the non-technical users that can't remove the chains so easily.

There's an important difference, I think, between technical users putting effort into jailbreaking iPhones versus supporting the Android or OpenMoko platforms. Most people won't get beyond the defaults… the former isn't helping most people while the latter options are improving the situation for everyone.

Another example… my ISP, Rogers, started hijacking failed DNS lookups over the summer. There was a lot of backlash from technical users, many posting instructions about how to switch to OpenDNS, and within a few weeks, Rogers semi-caved and provided an alternate DNS server that actually follows the standard. Except, only the advanced users are actually going to change their DNS settings. The majority are using the new default.

I don't know… I think it depends on the nature of the particular problem and solution in question. Sometimes, technical users can lead the way… it only takes a few people circumventing DRM and uploading to file sharing networks to make it available to all and to eventually cause the labels to question DRM altogether… but on the other hand, I'm very skeptical at what real good jailbreaking an iPhone does for most people.

Coming from a free software perspective, jailbreaking iPhones is pretty ridiculous to me. If you want a device that respects your freedom, wait for an OpenMoko, or even an Android phone. To pay Apple for chains just because you know how to break them off isn't really unifying money and mouth, and it's certainly not helpful the non-technical users that can't remove the chains so easily.

There's an important difference, I think, between technical users putting effort into jailbreaking iPhones versus supporting the Android or OpenMoko platforms. Most people won't get beyond the defaults… the former isn't helping most people while the latter options are improving the situation for everyone.

Another example… my ISP, Rogers, started hijacking failed DNS lookups over the summer. There was a lot of backlash from technical users, many posting instructions about how to switch to OpenDNS, and within a few weeks, Rogers semi-caved and provided an alternate DNS server that actually follows the standard. Except, only the advanced users are actually going to change their DNS settings. The majority are using the new default.

I don't know… I think it depends on the nature of the particular problem and solution in question. Sometimes, technical users can lead the way… it only takes a few people circumventing DRM and uploading to file sharing networks to make it available to all and to eventually cause the labels to question DRM altogether… but on the other hand, I'm very skeptical at what real good jailbreaking an iPhone does for most people.