Comment Re:Is your microwave hostile? (Score 1) 281
But these devices all can do everything I want to do with them, why bother modifying them? If you're happy with what your iPhone can do out of the box, the same applies to you and your iPhone. But I don't remember any washing machine manufacturer trying to keep the buyers of their machines from trying to "jailbreak" them and turn them into something the creator didn't intend them to be. If I think my washing machine should turn with more RPM, I doubt Siemens or Hoover are going to sue me over it, not even if I create a kit and sell it to others (not give it away. SELL it, for profit).
What else is there that has a microprocessor with "locked down" code? Well, e.g. cars. And for cars there's chip tuning. Not only do people sell that service, but as far as I can tell car manufacturers don't even try to keep them from doing it. Why bother? If anything, it might make the car break faster and people need spare parts, so more power to them!
Care to inform me about any device or appliance that has a microprocessor capable of running arbitrary code that has been locked down AND where the manufacturer is acting like you're a criminal if you try to change that? Aside of i$Devices and cellphones?
The auto manufacturers may well regret that decision if someday someone starts distributing seriously malicious car computer code. If modded cars suddenly began starting themselves and running over pedestrians, if electronic steering assist units start straightening the wheel midway through some random left hand-turn, or if they started flooring the accelerator and disabling the breaks, gear selector and off switch, I suspect the lawsuits which followed would cause them to reconsider.
Of course the risks of a cell phone aren't nearly as bad, not so long as the main goal of the bad guys is just to steal your passwords and money. It's not like a trojan horse would ever be able to geolocate you using GPS then place a 9-1-1 call from your phone. And it's not like they can play an MP3 file with a panicked voice describing a violent attack or threat. Right?
