WebbAlert a very interesting podcast about technology and all things related to it has a report on the iPhone. It states that Apple software upgrades are supposed to help you, but the latest one killed all third party software, such as GPS software that 80,000 people downloaded. This software isn’t technically illegal but Apple is allowed to make whatever rules it wants. Gizmodo and Machinist both say forget about the iPhone.

What’s your opinion?

I have been dying for an iPhone ever since its release that, but I can’t help to think that it’s rather ironic that Apple itself was created by two guys, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, that got money early on their lifes (1975) by hacking and exploiting AT&T, and selling a device called the Blue Box that used to let people dial over the AT&T network without paying. 32 years later and and they are now on the other side of the fence trying to forbid people from hacking their phones. Life is Ironic.

More on the Blue Box and the Original “Steves” from Apple…

In 1971 Steve ‘Woz’ Wozniak designed a device called the ‘Blue Box’. It allowed — of course illegal — phone calls free of charge by faking the signals used by the phone companies. His friend Steve Jobs instantly realized that there must be a huge market for something that useful. He bought the parts for $40, Woz built the boxes and Jobs sold them to his fellow students at the University of California in Berkeley for $150. To demonstrate the ‘product’ to some students, Woz once posed as Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and called the Vatican. Allegedly he played his role so well that they told him the pope was sleeping but if he requested they would awake him. Woz got nervous and hung up.
The Wozniak/Jobs blue boxes were perfected and the business partnership between Jobs and Wozniak was born with Jobs working with Wozniak to sell the blue-boxes. They had some success and decided to begin working on a personal computer. Jobs sold his Volkswagen, Wozniak sold his HP scientific calculator, together raising $1,300 to fund their startup - the rest is history.

One last question: How much time will it take until some kid, maybe some 15 year old named “Steve”, finds a way to revert Apple’s recently released update and put all the iPhone users out of their misery by letting them use their device the way they want to?

UPDATE: 9to5mac has released an explanation on how to downgrade your iPhone from version 1.1.1 (the non-hacked) to the 1.0.2 (the hacked). Here is the link.