iPhone hackers restore some functions after Apple bricking

Comedian Bill Murray, in an early Saturday Night Live skit, posed as a Spanish-language game-show host with the tagline: “Who is muy macho?” He would offer two studly Hollywood actors for contestants to choose from.
Murray should reprise his skit with new contestants:
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., and hackers who’ve decided to wrest away control of their iPhones from the vendor and its exclusive partner AT&T Mobility.
The latest: Now hackers apparently spent the weekend-this is where the phrase “get a life!” would be justly applied-restoring some functionality to their bricks. Bill Murray’s contest is not yet over.
Apple warned last week that modifications to iPhones-such as unlocking them or adding unauthorized applications-might render them brick-like after an Apple software update. Days later, reports flashed across Web sites that unlocked phones indeed were “bricked” by the update, which also wiped out unauthorized applications. Some reports indicated problems with iPhones that had not been modified.
Apple’s spokesperson, Jennifer Bowcock, last week advised brick owners to buy another of the $400 devices.
The ongoing story may well represent the beginning of a new thread in convergence. The intersection of personal, portable telecommunications and computing-particularly with a high-profile device such as the iPhone-naturally attracts the hacker, focused on liberating devices from whatever parties attempt to control them.
Hackers’ success or the degree to which Apple will pursue the matter-and the manner in which it attempts to quash hacking-has effectively highlighted issues related to locking and unlocking devices. Using unduly harsh tactics against individuals to stop unlocking or hacking also has the potential to tarnish Apple’s brand luster, according to brand expert Alan Siegel of Siegel+Gale.
The issue also stretches to the federal level, where questions of locked devices have spurred lawmakers to reconsider the commonly used practice.