Complain, yes, but prepare to do it until you’re blue in the face, because the only capitalist solution to the problem is shopping elsewhere.

I understand that everyone likes what they like, and that’s cool. But if AT&T, T-Mobile, Google, or Apple want to “lock-down” the phone or the OS, that’s there prerogative. If you don’t like that, go find another OS that isn’t as locked down.

That doesn’t seem to be nearly as much of a conceptual problem when we talk about our PCs. Using Linux so that you can get more control over your OS than Windows/Mac provides is a completely understood concept. So, use Palm(ok HP) if you don’t like Android or iOS. Speak with you wallet, its usually what works the best anyway…

I’ll gladly put money in some guy’s tipjar for his indy mobile phone.

I just haven’t found anything like that yet.

I’ve had the g1 for a year and a half or more and never felt the need to root the phone or put a non stock os on it. I’ll be rooting the g2 as soon as it’s feasible though. Would prefer to leave the OS as stock, I just want to be able to remove some of the pre-installed apps and use the wifi-hotspot capability (with out an additional charge).

I just get bored reading people complain about what they’re smart enough to fix. Be that change cory. Be that change.

But as the article you link to suggests, this is by no means as big a deal as it was first made out to be. Not a scary ‘rootkit,’ but the same tech that was on some other phones without a similar kerfuffle; and all rooting of carrier-purchased android devices involves working through security holes against measures put in place by the manufacturer (in association w/ the carrier). Annoying, yes, but fundamentally the same thing that’s been in place since their very first Android phone, the G1… which, incidentally, I’m still using, rooted and upgraded to Froyo.

Now, if only the manufacturers and carriers would understand that this scene is the principal strength of their product, not something to be feared, and just leave the devices open… that would be wonderful. But then we’re getting into a kind of utopian fantasy-land that nothing any of the north american wireless carriers has ever done would indicate they’re willing to join in on. And so the arms race will go on… since even the upstart mobile providers (to whom we might imagine switching and thus ‘voting with our wallets’) don’t seem to deviate from the party line on locked-down devices.

Except that you then still don’t have the source code to the OS, so essentially all that the jailbreak allows you to do is sideload apps. Which you can do with Android even without rooting it.

if all T-Mobile cares about is stopping your phone from getting corrupted, they could give jailbreakers the keys necessary to open up their handsets.

The main form of corruption they care about is malware. Handing out keys to the general public defeats the purpose.

It’s not a ripoff. They simply cared more for those of their customers who value security higher than having a rooting option that they’re never going to use anyway. That is to say, the vast majority of their customers.

Also if you get a stock 2.2 phone without any crappy UI or crapware, there is very little advantage to rooting/romming anymore!

You confuse root access with the cryptographic keys needed to flash a new OS image from the fastboot menu (reboot while holding volume down button, select recovery).

It is a ripoff. They only care about their “customers” not being able to remove the carrier “customization” (=uglyfication and feature removal)

Because it is called a computer.

Hey, phone people, go ask Bill Gates if computers are profitable!

And do you think that it is possible that someone will ever invent a handheld computer? That can make calls, send messages, change OS?

Duh. I mean, it sounds so incredibly non-revolutionary it’s hardly worth mentioning.

Stop looking for “phones,” and start looking for small computers.

But it would be a lot fairer if you could somehow securely get into the guts of the phone, and change the key, then lock it off from allowing software to be able to modify it.

Then you could deploy your own code signed with your own key, or perhaps lock your phone to your favourite developer/jailbreaker who also keeps all their code signed.

I’m unsure what the best way would be to reset the key is, without coming up with its own security problems though.

That’s what makes it a ripoff. They could easily shield against corruption and other security issues without taking control from the users.

Also, an OTA update will be released in a matter of days that will enable tethering as well as wifi calling.

If you have a business model based on the attractiveness/utility of your software, it’s absolutely terrifying that the teeming hordes can produce strongly competitive *free* software for recreational use than you can. Frankly, they should be terrified. However, we should all be a little terrified at the prospect of no one getting paid to make recreational software… How much of the success of the open-source community is based on the tens of thousands of listless CS majors that will get a different degree in a future where the bulk of the recreational software market is coded for free?

Add to the mess that we’re inching closer to viable DIY/indy device manufacturing, and the future looks downright apocalyptic for Phone Manufacturers/Industry OS developers.