iPhone Dev Team
The iPhone Dev Team are a hacker group in the iPhone OS community who have developed a number of tools to enable use of applications unauthorized by Apple Inc on the iPhone and iPod Touch and to enable use of the iPhone on GSM carriers unauthorised by Apple. These applications provide owners with the ability to sidestep the limitations placed on the devices by the manufacturer, allowing for activities such as deep customisation and easy international roaming. The group and their tools have become emblematic for these activities,[1] which are termed jailbreak and SIM unlocking respectively, to the extent that the Electronic Frontier Foundation have made them the primary example used in their petition to create a DMCA anti-circumvention exemption for jailbreaking[2] and Apple executive Greg Joswiak has quoted them in his countering comment to the same petition.[3]
The Dev Team's tools have been used on at least 1.6 million devices worldwide[4] and their blog garners thousands of comments within hours of postings during major release periods.[5][6]
Software
Members
The iPhone Dev Team have undergone several changes in membership and philosophy throughout their existence. Their history is frequently punctuated with public disputes with their own former members who they claim to have ejected for failure to uphold their tenets of secrecy, legality, and collective credit.[7][8] Members of the team contribute to various projects depending on their own interests and skill sets.[9]
References
- ^ http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/07/06/the-iphone-3gs-hacking-debate/
- ^ http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2008/comments/lohmann-fred.pdf
- ^ http://www.copyright.gov/1201/hearings/2009/transcripts/1201-5-1-09.txt
- ^ http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2008/responses/jay-freeman-saurik-54.pdf
- ^ http://blog.iphone-dev.org/
- ^ http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=713763707060529304
- ^ http://www.intomobile.com/2008/01/25/nate-true-leaked-iphone-v113-jailbreak-kicked-off-iphone-dev-team.html
- ^ http://linuxoniphone.blogspot.com/2008/08/similarities-and-differences-between.html
- ^ http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2008/12/31/interview-pytey-of-the-iphone-dev-team/