My N95 got hacked. Sorry. What I meant was it got jailbroken. By me.
As
Mr.X points out in his comment to
this post, I've hacked my N95. Does this come in direct contradiction to what I've stated a while ago, in
this post? Do I feel bad now? Do I feel good?
Hardly either.
In what was a rare moment of ignorance (I've used tougher words on myself, not to worry), I published
a post describing a procedure to sign and install unsigned apps. Since that particular procedure had nothing in common (procedure-wise strictly, mind) with the 'hacking' method(s) described all over the internets, I obviously figured that it had nothing to do with that. And was actually very happy that I had found (rather quickly) a solution to an annoying problem.
The ProblemWhat to do when there are all this interesting (if not all very useful) apps floating across the net, but in unsigned form?Well, the simplest solution would have been to sit around and wait for them to get Symbian Signed. For days, weeks, maybe months, perhaps years. Until the Symbian gods decide "it's time". Time to care about freeware.
Not a good perspective. Not to me, at least.
So, off to find a solution.
Again, what to do? To hack or not to hack? Honestly, I couldn't be bothered with complicated "hacking procedures". Arguably, I can normally be bothered to do a lot more than your average normob would, but I have my limits. Admittedly, when news of the 'great hacking' first occurred, I scanned through the 'steps' and never got the urge to try. I might have, see as I'm what they call a 'power user', and, well, the more power (read: capabilities), the better. But that's just theory. I just couldn't be bothered.
So back to
the Problem. The most appealing solution to me? Use mighty Google (I say that with half-respect and half-fear of world domination, naturally) and find an alternative solution.
Which I did. Took 5 minutes to do
what I've described. It works. It just works. It is, therefore, probably developed by Apple.
SoI decided to blog my experience. Perhaps more people would easily get past the hurdle of not being to install unsigned apps.
And quickly and easily.
And thenMr.X said that despite all my claims, what I describe is basically a hack, because it takes advantage of something that was developed for hacking.
So do I now have access to C:\Sys? I don't know. I don't care. Haven't even checked. Don't plan to.
That's the whole thing. Being able to bypass Symbian's carelessness towards freeware is something I
do care about. A lot. Why? I don't earn anything out of blogging. And what I do is really a piece of cake compared to the work developers put into such freeware apps. Sure, they accept donations (most, anyway), but the software
is free. They do what they do out of sheer passion and I can relate to that. Which is
why I care.
And I must say (I think it was the All About Symbian forum where a while ago I said the same thing), I surely hope that the mess Symbian Signed is in right now (and has been for, literally, years) is not because when they imagined the software signing procedure, they didn't consider freeware to be a valid distribution model. I would definitely not agree with such tactics. We live in the always connected world, where content is more and more expected to be served instantly. And much of that content is and is expected to be free. Would you now be willing to pay for personal webmail bringing you, say, an amazing 6MB of storage? Didn't think so.
The expected ratio of freeware to non-freeware apps to be available in the upcoming Apple App Store for the iPhone should clearly point out (if anyone still felt the need for that) that pay-to-purchase is only one of many monetization strategies out there. And the one that's most rapidly decreasing its spread (see the desktop app vs. app in 'the cloud' dilemma and inherent difference in revenue model). Oh, and there are people with no immediate monetization scheme well thought out. Twitter, anyone? A VC's nightmare, no doubt, but still, such silly creatures, working only out of passion, still seem to exist.
Here's the thing, SymbianYou look like you're trapped in the '90s. And let it be clear that I'm only referring to the signing procedure. I
do enjoy the fact that there practically are no viruses out there to target Symbian because there would be no point for anyone to develop them - that is thanks to the signing procedure. But something has got to be done. Today. Now. Not in 'the long run', because in a few years there may well not be any 'long run' left.
Companies that are universally considered as innovative (and tend to outlive their non-innovative counterparts, strangely) do it quick. They respond to the way the market changes, they respond to the way people's needs and (more importantly) habits change. And they react quickly. That's also a great way to build brand loyalty.
So hopefully Symbian will not go the way of the recording companies and movie studios. The
stupid way that they react to something they will never be able to control anyway, namely torrent distribution. That's a classic
"how not to". Not to say such companies will disappear in the near future, but there is no way that they will be the ones to influence a change in people's habits. It's
ALWAYS the other way round.
So do I encourage jailbreaking your S60 phone?No.
The word hacking is panic-inducing to the normobs. I've seen a lot of use of it lately, and that's only so that a few people can brag. It's a powerful word, sure. But pushing it into the world of the normobs is dangerous for S60. That's why I'm 'afraid' of hacking, Mr.X. Of the word itself and how easily it can be misinterpreted. Not of the procedure. I'm not a fan of that, but I know many other 'power users' are. And there's no problem in that.
See this is the issue. This is something that is clearly appealing only to power users, and of those only to some. It's a niche inside a niche. And that's a really limited target.
And I am not going to encourage anyone to do anything that sounds that bad. Not enthusiasts, because I can't (yet) see a true gain. Not normobs because I don't want service centers flooded with hacked phones. There's just no point.
And one more thing. Learn from Apple. Please. Learn.
To jailbreak. Sounds so romantic. So idealistic. So...good!
Ok?
Jailbreak.
So will I change my earlier post?No.
Ok, so it's not as documented as it could have been, granted. Ok, that procedure may rely on hacking. Fine. But what it actually is is a simple and, frankly, useful, erm, use, of that.
Simple and useful.And it works.
You sure it isn't Apple's guys behind these hacks? Because if that was the case, even the use of the word
hack would make more sense (competition, you know...).
And I recommend it to anyone who wants to use unsigned apps in 2008. Next year, who knows...
So I guess I
am in favor of hacking after all.
If it is referred to as
jailbreaking and
if it turns out to actually be
useful.
Go ahead, blame me.
