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The DRM-hacking Norwegian programmer Jon Lech Johansen has figured out a way to use the Apple iPhone without activating it with AT&T. His Phone Activation Software (Windows) allows the iPhone to be used for media playback and Web access via Wi-Fi without paying for the two-year service plan, although voice calling is not possible under the hack.
It's easy to understand why someone might want to use an iPhone without an AT&T plan -- after all, Steve Jobs said it's "the best iPod ever," and who doesn't need another way to access the web? What's harder is installing the hack. In order for it to work, the user installing it must understand three "magic numbers" as well as an "add hosts entry":
In addition, users wishing to install the hack must have the MS .NET Framework on their PC.
I assume that the last line adds the ability to contact Apple's activation server without going through AT&T, but the "magic numbers" are a bit more opaque to me. I suppose they could be some sort of cryptography key that unlocks iPhone activation, but I'm not a programmer.
Anyone care to venture a guess as to how DVD Jon's iPhone hack works (source code here)?
(image from commongate)
