[Luca]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Everybody wants something for nothing. Another by-product of the "I want it now, and I want it free!" Internet culture.

That doesn't apply here at all. People love the iPhone, and they want to be able to use it with other carriers. Some people are fine with AT&T, others aren't. And still others don't even have access to it. Whatever the situation, people are still paying for the phone and for the service. I agree with Banana's point about buying a computer but being forced to go into a 2 year contract with AOL in order to get internet access on that computer. Now imagine that computer is the coolest new thing on the block (the new iMac, perhaps). Can you really blame people for wanting to be able to use whichever carrier they choose?

This is not a case of hackers trying to get something for nothing. They're advocating freedom of choice, and freedom from corporate control of their lives. If AT&T can't handle a teeny-tiny amount of competition from people with unlocked phones, then they're in serious trouble indeed. Also, what about people overseas? The only reason they can't buy iPhones now is probably because Apple is in a bunch of negotiations with carriers over there. Can you blame people for not wanting to wait so long?

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Imagine if all these geeky hacker types actually put their time and energy into stuff that was truly meaningful and worthwhile, like designing a better space shuttle or coming up with a way to keep my Dr. Pepper cold after two hours. Instead, it's always lame-o stuff like trying to unlock some format or product and, eventually, having all their work be in vain once the legal teams get wind of it.

You're being pretty harshly critical of these guys. What about Folding@home, and the people who run it on rooms full of powerful computers? What about Child's Play, a charity run by the Penny Arcade guys (a couple of hardcore gamers) to provide games and toys to kids in children's hospitals? They've raised over a million dollars in just four years, which I'd say is pretty impressive. And I can't quite agree that "unlocking some format or product" is a totally ignoble cause - it's a way of keeping corporations honest, and preventing them from exploiting their customers unchecked. To some extent, it's the hacker community helping itself, since it can help them do things like share unlocked media, but with the big movie and music publishers all coming up with more and more intrusive ways of annoying you in the name of "piracy prevention," I think it's a good thing to provide legitimate customers an avenue to enjoy the content they bought in the way they want to, without arbitrary restrictions.