I recently had to get my iPhone restored at an Apple store because I was away from my home computer and my phone was stuck on the loading screen (with the pretty metal apple). I was a little pissed because I knew they were going to upgrade me to the newest firmware (3.1.3) and I didn’t know there was a jailbreak out for it, but I needed my phone!

When I got home, I started sniffing around for a 3.1.3 jailbreak and came across sn0wbreak (ih8sn0w.com/index.php/welcome.snow). I started the app and followed the instructions to get into DFU mode, but the app never moved on from there… always stayed at the DFU Starter Help screen. Realizing sn0wbreeze is not an “official” dev-team release, I went to their blog to see what was going on: that’s where I learned about the Spirit hack.

The Spirit hack (spiritjb.com/) is a small download and a simple screen. You run it with your iPhone attached (some stipulation if you’re using a 3GS) and when the process is over, you have a jailbroken iPhone. Done. The people rejoice.

I recently had a moment of clarity with regards to my historical stance on downloading software that I have not paid for. It wasn’t the sort of clarity that helps me to pass on my point of view to others, but the sort that is more or less self-defining.

A new jailbroken iPhone application has been released into the wild that allows users to install cracked versions of pay apps as if they paid for it. It’s no different than using a cracked version of Photoshop or Premier or any other pirated software, but it’s new because it’s on th iPhone! The new app is called Installous (available at www.hackulo.us) and it is a great idea.

I saw my friend using a very expensive application ($70) that he hadn’t paid for and I though, “I want to do that too!” I downloaded the app and installed a couple games that are normally pay-only. I was messing around a little more today and it dawned on me again, after many years … I don’t want to pirate software.

This was particularly poignant because I was recently speaking with someone about the importance of revisiting semi-religious decisions like this with some regularity. I don’t know that I can take a stand against the moral implications of piracy, because I’m honestly not against the concept of learning how to use an application from the cracked (i.e. pirated) versions. But I can say that I have followed-through with my conscience regarding my desires to “have” and to “be able to resist”. I have learned to do without these toys this long, and I can do without them longer if I don’t want to pay for them.

What are your thoughts on piracy? Do you feel you’re just saving money? Do you care?

(Written from my iPhone)

As I posted most recently, I got the iPhone and have been using it (fairly) happily for a couple months now. I have some issues with it like its propensity to crash when performing a particularly challenging task such as opening a web site. I figured that I couldn’t lose much by jailbreaking that damn thing other than making the phone completely useless and having to stick with my Motorola Razr for the next few years while I save up enough money to buy a new one when it comes out.

But for some strange reason I trust in the hacking community to provide a stable enough world such that I don’t have to worry too much… If I broke something I probably shouldn’t have been playing with it in the first place. So I downloaded Winpwn (2.5) (www.winpwn.com) and followed the online guide linked from the website.

The jailbroken iPhone is not “unlocked”. The iPhone 3G has been unlocked yet, opening it to other network subscribers. Jailbreakomg basically allows me to install applications to my phone that would otherwise be unavailable. These apps include an NES emulator, OpenSSH, new UI controls and other sweet little tidbits. I’m happy I did it — I have experienced no negative side effects of jailbreaking.

My thanks to the iPhone-dev team and all the contributors that make jailbreaking fun.

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Sent from my iPhone