Apple has released a statement saying that iPhone unlocking programs cause irreparable damage to the phones and voids their warranty. The company is poised to crack down on iPhone unlocking, by cutting off unlocked phones from future upgrades, suing the crackers, or both.
Reportedly, Apple gets a cut of AT&T's exorbitant fees (especially for international users who have to go with roaming charges). It's understandable why they don't want people unlocking their phones to switch to local networks.
Not so long ago, however, Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were the ones screwing AT&T, assembling and selling "blue boxes" that enable people to get free long distance charges. Reportedly, some of the proceeds of these sales enabled them to start up Apple in Woz's garage.
It's just what Lessig said in the opening chapters of "Free Culture": Yesterday's pirates become
today's captains of industry, and it'd be their turn to hunt down the next generation of entrepreneurs.
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