Another open letter to Chis Ziegler, (Engadget)

Chris,

You know that this is a complete cop-out, right?

You're surely aware that this is exactly what everyone meant when they said it would "brick" their phones.  That as far as software goes: it if don't run, it's broke.

C'mon Chris, this is Motorola saying *exactly* what I'm upset about: that we are not allowed to install custom software on devices that we pay hundreds of dollars for.  Make no mistake the average cell-phone geek upgrades their phone, on average, about every 6 months.  Thus, barring the occasional social-engineering gambit, we're paying full price.

Almost every time.

So, unless Motorola *officially* provides a way to install "test" RSA keys ("dev", "engineering", etc.) so that flashing a custom ROM is safe for the end-user they've also made the process of flashing custom ROMs illegal.

Now, before you delete this email and dismiss my rantings a those of a tinfoil hat wearing lunatic, please, hear me out.

This whole fiasco revolves around a couple technical points about how these devices are set up.  When Motorola says that they're encrypting things for "security" and that the bootloader just "won't boot up" without properly "signed" software.  This means that when the software is put together, they use an RSA key to digitally "sign" it, proving where the software comes from.  What this means for an end-user is that unless an update comes from Verizon or Motorola, it can't be installed.  Sounds good, right? Except legally they've got really REALLY goood reasons for not allowing anyone but Motorola or Verizon use those RSA keys.  It's been long-standing practice to hack bootloaders to accept non-signed ROMs, the WinMo folks do this, I can't remember if Droid uses an unsigned or test-signed bootloader.

The problem is that RSA encryption, breaking that is a serious crime.  Not to mention that it's proven to be a very difficult standard to break.  Now, do we really want to break the encryption that keeps millions of credit transactions secure and the basic security of the web just for people who want to modify their personal hardware?  Hardware which they've paid for, one way or another; even when subsidized.

Hacking your personal hardware should not be a crime.

If you can't personally take the time to write passionately about this subtle, mostly meaningless issue.  I understand.  Engadget has a lot going on.  For most people this issue isn't going to rank very highly at all, possibly even lower than whether or not there's a giant conspiracy to hide the iphone4's antenna woes.  #justsaying

But please don't leave it up to the android-specific sites like Phandroid , this isn't an issue that should be brushed under the rug as just affecting android fanpeeps.  It's real, and it affects our right to tinker.  one which we should take very seriously as gadget geeks.

--Nate Olsen

"Gotta count the atoms!  Conservation of mass...It's the Law!"
                        --Homer Jay Simpson

A letter to Chris Ziegler (Engadget)

Chris,

You don't know me, and I don't (really) know you, but I'm hoping that in the deluge of email you're likely to get from angry, illiterate youth railing against "the Man" you might be able to include another point-of-view in any update to your Droid X review.

Motorola's "recent" (02-10-2010, I believe) comments in a forum regarding encryption and locking of the bootloader has many Android fanpeeps up in arms, more or less literally. Numerous accusations and perceptions of conspiracy abound, and not only are the interwebs filled with the few angered people, so is IRC.

However...I don't personally think this is an offense that deserves cries to request Motorola leave the OHA (Open Handset Alliance), as there are actually a couple pretty good reasons why they might decide to encrypt and lock the bootloader.

I don't think that it's too much to ask that a company be allowed to utilize technology designed for safer computing. We're all aware of the current panic surrounding "cyberwar"; cyberextortion and cybertheft are more accurate terms, but let's move on. I don't think that Motorola is part of some GIGANTIC CONSPIRACY to replace our beloved Android phones with unthinking, unfeeling iClones. At worst, Motorola is working with Verizon in an attempt to maximize profits at the expense of innovation.

This isn't new territory, we've seen this time and time again in the last decade from companies that should know better.

Verizon's announcement of Skype on Android: completely neutered.

Apple's repeated rejection of any and all apps which might possibly offer new functionality (or pr0n, besides Safari).

In any case, there is no shortage of examples we can all cite ad nauseuem which leave us feeling disenfranchised and disappointed after shelling out wads of cash for our beloved gadgets; not to mention the incessant fees for monthly access!

(Has anyone else ever calculated what percentage of their net income goes just to internet ACCESS each month?)

However, let's be gracious and assume for the moment that their motives are less sullied. Let's assume that the only reason they're locking and/or encrypting the bootloader is to prevent warranty return that could be prevented.

FINE: give us a method to opt-out of the warranty and keys to allow unlocking and/or safely flashing custom ROMs. WE DON'T CARE! For those who will be dissuaded by the inability to return a product they have knowingly broken...so be it.

I personally can take care of myself and my gadgets; I knowingly engage in practices that might damage it beyond repair. However, in the process, I've learned an AWFUL lot about how NOT to do so. And I've learned some pretty good tips and tricks for getting things to run smoothly. one such tip is to wipe the shipped rom and immediately replace with cyanogenmod.

For ME, this is how I want my phone to work.

There is a social change at work these days, a Revolution if you will...with iOS, BBOS, Palm (?) and other Mobile Operating Systems, a user must *learn* how to work the OS. With Android and Android alone (so far) the power user shapes the OS to their needs. You can stare, you can give me the fish-eye (my wife does), but my "phone" is increasingly becoming an extension of ME.

It might be weird, but it's happening.

No one can tell me what works best for me. Only I decide that. If I wanted an iPhone, I'd buy one, but I don't want to live in a walled garden no matter how fun it is to visit disneyland. I want to live and breathe in a place that *I* shape, however *I* want.

Finally, you were almost bankrupt a couple years ago due to an inability to grow and adjust to the marketplace. You could do yourself a MAJOR favor by embracing the "hackers". I know that hackers only comprise, at BEST, a very very very minor portion of your sales...but we are also the best evangelists; we travel the world, we push the boundaries of what is possible, and we tell everyone we meet about the fantastic things we're able to do...because we have the freedom.

Please, please, PLEASE consider providing tools to allow hackers to fully customize and personalize their phones. It's as easy as registering a given phone as a "dev phone" and voiding the warranty. I don't mind, and I'm sure most others like me wouldn't mind either.

--Nate Olsen

"Gotta count the atoms! Conservation of mass...It's the Law!"
--Homer Jay Simpson