More on the iPhone Jailbreak

The Library of Congress' Copyright office announced that "jailbreaking" an iPhone (the process of opening it for uses beyond those that Apple intended, is not a copyright violation, but "fair use." Jailbreaking iPhones has been a cottage industry since the device's introduction in 2007. In fact, the concept of outside apps was once part of the jailbreaking process. Originally, the only apps that were part of the iPhone ecosystem were the ones that the device came with. Apple launched its App Store later, as a reaction to the pressure from users who wanted access to all of the outside apps that were being created for it.

Various forums can walk users through the jailbreaking process. Reasons for doing this include unlocking the phone to be used on other carriers; running outside apps (ones not downloaded from the official App Store); syncing music and video clips using Wi-Fi connection rather than via a cable; and tethering, which is the ability to share an internet connection between the iPhone and another computer in such a way as to make the iPhone the computer's modem. This is a function that was just recently introduced (officially) to the iPhone and the authorized U.S. carrier, AT&T. The official tethering function costs users $20/month.