What do you think about this.. i don't see it illegal in any way.. because it is my device and i have paid for it.. and there is no way that it should become illegal.. besides, would they go and check every home if you have done it or not??? I can't see myself getting arrested for jailbreaking my ipad!!!! LOL.. what are your views about it!1

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If my understanding is correct, which it may not be due to the complexity of American law, it has been illegal for quite some time. The DCMA prohibits circumventing DRM/Encryption. There are just certain things the government has said they wouldn't pursue charges on.

My personal view is that if I bought the device, I'll do what I please with it regardless of what the law says I can do. That being said, this is why I don't own an iPod/iPad. I refuse to purchase a piece of hardware that tries to prevent me from running my choice of OS on it.

I am by no means an expert in law, but I would tend to think that while you own the device, that does not grant you exclusive rights to some components of the device to do as you wish.

What you could do is not buy the device and buy a competitors that does allow you the rights to do what the other does not. Or design and build your own device and do as you wish. I think its important to understand what you are agreeing to.

Take this forum as an example. When you join a member, you agree to the Terms of Service. When you post information, according to the terms... "Posts contributed to the community immediately become the property of DaniWeb upon submission." You have provided daniweb with the right to do as they wish with your posting.

Apple has not provided you with the rights to own their property. Owning an iPad doesnt mean you own the iOS.

When you buy an operating system off the shelf in the store, or rather just about any piece of software, you are not buying the ownership of the software, but rather a license to use it. That license may grant you the ability to do certain things and prohibit you from doing others. At the end of the day, though, you're just paying for the license.

That's a good point about only getting a license. It's one of the biggest reason I avoid proprietary software whenever possible, I enjoy the extra rights extended to the user by open source software.

Likewise, I think when you've bought a device the manufacter shouldn't be legally allowed to tell you what you can and can't do with the device.

i agree with you, but i dont think that they are telling you what you can and cant do with the device. They are telling you what you can and cant do with their software (iOS). Anyways...an interesting discussion.

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