The Library of Congress and the Registry of Copyright have enacted changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which, among other things, officially makes the act of unlocking and jailbreaking your phones fair use.   Yesterday's new rulings for DRM circumvention included two exemptions that concern mobile phones.

The first one, which relates directly to the jailbreaking issue, states that "Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset."  Yep, that's the exact ruling in legalese, so it's a little tough to read.

After straining your head a little, though, the point is pretty clear: you can circumvent Apple's (or any other manufacturer's) DRM to enable interoperability of legally-obtained software applications (that means jailbreak-friendly apps you didn't steal) with the phone's native code.  During the hearings, the Register concluded that "when one jailbreaks a smartphone in order to make the operating system on that phone interoperable with an independently created application that has not been approved by the maker of the smartphone or the maker of its operating system, the modifications that are made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses."

The second exemption, which relates to unlocking, goes "Computer programs, in the form of firmware or software, that enable used wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telecommunications network, when circumvention is initiated by the owner of the copy of the computer program solely in order to connect to a wireless telecommunications network and access to the network is authorized by the operator of the network."  Stripping the obtuse language, the essence is that you can unlock your phone to use a different network than the default carrier, provided that  "access to the network is authorized by the [new] operator."

Apple actually showed up at the hearings, claiming that jailbreaking was, to summarize, terrible and illegal.  The Register, however, sided against their case, stating that "such alleged adverse effects are not in the nature of the harm that the fourth fair use factor is intended to address."

What does this mean?  Other than the fact that jailbreak-related businesses can now set up shop without fear of getting sued, not much.  Apple has reiterated that jailbreaking can still void warranty.  However, everyone can now do it without having to sit through Apple's baseless threats.

[via Ars Technica]

This week, Apple has been reported to be shipping iPhone 3GS handsets using a new bootrom, one that's expected to keep jailbreaking hacks at bay.  However, a source from the popular hacking group iPhone Dev Team, which publishes jailbreaking tools for the platform, says it only makes the process a little more cumbersome.

That means earlier news of a jailbreak-proof (seriously, though, nothing's ever exploit-proof at this day and age) iPhone 3GS isn't even close.  With the new hardware, users will be required to connect to a computer before being able to power up a jailbroken iPhone 3GS that's been shut down.  Obviously, if you never turn off your handset, you won't be affected.

In a conversation with Wired.com, team member Eric McDonald explained that the current set of tools will continue to work for the latest batch of shipments.  While the new bootrom disabled the "24kpwn" exploit currently used in the process, he said that the tool merely made it easier to boot up the phone after shut down.  With the change, you can no longer boot solely via the handset.

Is it a hassle?  Most definitely.  Imagine running out of power on the road.  Sure, you can charge at the nearby Starbucks, but without an available computer, you can't turn the phone on.  At the least, jailbroken devices will feel like an impractical burden.  Will it discourage people from jailbreaking?  I doubt it.

According to the Dev Team, they have also found a new exploit that can potentially be used to jailbreak the new hardware without dealing with a tethered boot.  Implementing it into a new PwnageTool may take some time, however.  I have to say, though, that was exceptionally fast.

[via Wired]

The iPhone Dev Team, who were behind most of the key iPhone 3G and iPod Touch unlocking tools in the past, have had their iPhone 3GS Jailbreak ready for several days (or weeks?) now, but have held off unleashing it until Apple releases the official OS 3.1 software. The reasoning makes sense - releasing it now might allow Apple to patch it along with the impending update.

George Hotz, the first person to originally unlock the first iPhone, has broken rank and released the tool into the wild anyway. "That isn't how the game is played. We release, Apple fixes, we find new holes," Hotz wrote on his blog, adding that "It isn't worth waiting because you might have the 'last' hole in the iPhone. What last hole... this isn't golf."

The jailbreak tool is called "purplera1n" and can now be downloaded from George's website. If you're looking to jailbreak your brand-new 3GS, simply grab a copy of "purplera1n" on a Windows PC (only Windows Vista and below are supported - no Macs). After you get the necessary applications, install iTunes, run "purplera1n" and run Freeze (which will install Cydia), in that exact order. Simply reboot afterwards and you should be good to go.

Once jailbroken (and with the Cydia installer in tow), the old "ultrasn0w" app can be used to unlock the phone from its mobile carrier. As always, proceed at your own risk.