Updated: Google Android G1 Jailbreak ("That Didn't Take Long")

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: November 6, 2008 11:00:19 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: Updated: Google Android G1 Jailbreak ("That Didn't Take Long")


   Updated:

   Google says a patch to close the G1 jailbreak described below
   will be pushed out soon ( http://tinyurl.com/g1-jailbreak-patch ).
   Will we see a repeat of the PSP/iPhone root battles after all?


  [ A few years ago, I discussed the "arms race" that developed
    between Sony and PSP portable game console users, with Sony
    wanting to keep the platform closed, and users repeatedly
    opening it up to other applications.  We've seen a similar war
    between Apple and users of the iPhone.

    Now the HTC Google Android G1 is added to the list of "cracked"
    platforms, but given its much more open status to begin with,
    there's reason to believe that the situation may be significantly
    different from those earlier examples.

    But this illustrates yet again how quickly information of this
    sort flows, and how rapidly and effectively associated
    collaboration can be initiated, given the realities of the
    Internet.

    Keeping tech secrets in the Internet age?  Don't bank on it!

        -- Lauren ]

- - -

            Google Android G1 Jailbreak ("That Didn't Take Long")

                http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000460.html


Greetings.  Well, we knew it would happen, but you gotta give the
gang over at "xda-developers" ( http://www.xda-developers.com )
credit for moving at warp speed.  Looks like the HTC Google Android
G1 has already been "jailbroken" -- that is, a procedure developed
to grant full read/write "root"-level privileges on the device.

This potentially opens up capabilities not presently available to
users on the G1, such as running applications from storage cards
(instead of from limited internal memory), true daemons, and ...
well, all kinds of useful and fun stuff.

The article at http://tinyurl.com/g1-root-jailbreak gives more
background on this development, and accurately (in my opinion)
explains why it seems relatively unlikely that a serious iPhone-like
"arms race" between Google and G1 users will develop to try
repeatedly close (and crack) this sort of access to the G1's
internals.

After all, the G1 is vastly more open than the iPhone to begin with,
and apparently the G1 root crack was also (as one might expect) far
simpler to implement than was the case in iPhone-land.  Still, time
will tell.

Have fun.  But if you've never played Linux sysadmin, please don't
complain to me if you brick your phone!

% su
#

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
  - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
  - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com







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