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Print 11 comment(s) - last by shortylickens.. on Jul 5 at 5:38 PM
Palm says if Sprint complains it would have to take legal action

The Palm Pre launched only a couple weekends ago and the developer and home brew community is hard at work making new apps and expanding the capability of the Palm handset. One of the key features that many smartphone users desire and many mobile providers ban is tethering.

When users can tether their smartphone it allows them to enjoy the mobile broadband access form the handset on a desktop or notebook computer. One of the new iPhone 3G S features is the ability to tether, but AT&T has blocked that feature in the U.S. and Orange in Europe charges more for tethering.

Palm knows that the Pre is its last chance to become popular and relevant again in the smartphone world and is treating all developers, even the home brew crowd, with kid gloves. Gizmodo reports that Palm has warned the gang behind the Pre Dev Wiki not to talk about hacking the Pre for tethering on their site.

The reason for the polite warning according to Palm is if Sprint complains about the tethering hack or talk that Palm would have to take legal action against the site and its owners. The Pre Dev Wiki removed tethering chats form their site and posted the following statement:

We have been politely cautioned by Palm that any discussion of tethering during the Sprint exclusivity period (and perhaps beyond-we don't know yet) will probably cause Sprint to complain to Palm, and if that happened then Palm would be forced to react against the people running the IRC channel and this wiki.

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Wait...
By nvalhalla on 6/15/2009 4:08:56 PM , Rating: 2
So talking about tethering is a crime? I can tell you how to make a shape charge to blow the hinges off a door, is that a crime? Doing it might be, but not talking about it. Tethering might be against the EULA and contract, but talking about it isn't.




RE: Wait...
By SunAngel on 6/15/2009 8:29:07 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I can tell you how to make a shape charge to blow the hinges off a door, is that a crime?


Yes it is. Ever heard of the class-A felony charge called conspiracy. Go ahead, tell me how to do it. If I go ahead and blow the hinges off of the Bank of New York, not only have you conspired with me, but your also a feloneous accessory to a crime. Total time in prison 32 years to life.


RE: Wait...
By eegake on 6/15/2009 10:00:35 PM , Rating: 2
Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer nor do I claim to be a paralegal expert in this area.

Even civil conspiracy requires that the underlying act be illegal. If Sprint's contract clearly excludes tethering outside of using the service they offer to achieve the same result, they might have a civil beef for violating the contract terms.

If violating the contract in such a fashion could be construed as conversion or theft of service, a felony might be possible.

All this of course might require legal research or a test litigation to determine. It is very commonplace for contract terms to be written in that are not legally enforceable, so I wouldn't assume any contract violation or crime claim exists simply because Sprint would like it that way.


RE: Wait...
By shortylickens on 7/5/2009 5:38:47 PM , Rating: 2
If the phone companies start influencing the courts like the RIAA and MPAA do, one day it might actually be illegal to violate the terms of your contract.

Incidentally, does anybody see how this would violate terms if I bought the phone unlocked and took it to Sprint with a month-to-month plan?


RE: Wait...
By iFX on 6/16/2009 5:27:48 PM , Rating: 2
You seem to be confused. Conspiracy to commit a crime != technical knowledge transfer.

Telling someone how to make a bomb is not conspiracy or a crime.

Telling someone how to make a bomb and then instructing them to make the bomb and blow something up is conspiracy to commit a crime and illegal.


RE: Wait...
By SunAngel on 6/17/2009 7:50:07 AM , Rating: 2
I'm going to help you out since I sounds like your heading for epic failure in life.

When you sign a contract your agreeing to the terms of the contract. At signing, your agreeing to have understood these terms and are capable of performing as agreed. When the contract says that you are not allowed to tether to a personal computer or laptop, then you have acknowledged that you understood the definition of tethering. It is true that if someone else informs you how to break the agreement they would not be the one responsible but only you.

But the poster was referring to a criminal act. Criminal law is quite different from civil and contract law. Try assisting someone in commiting a crime and see if you will not be included in the crime.


RE: Wait...
By iFX on 6/18/2009 12:39:53 PM , Rating: 2
You're an idiot and here's why.

Assisting someone commit a crime requires that the person doing the assisting be a willing and knowledgable partisipant. I already explained this in my last post but here it is again. If you tell someone how to build a bomb and then instruct them to blow something up or pass the knowledge after having been told the purpose of the inquireing (the recevier wanting to blow something up) you have indeed commited a crime. This should be easy to understand but then we have idiots like you who can't seem to grasp it.

On the flip side to that is knowledge transfer where no criminal conspiracy or crime is involved - for example, there is no conspiracy committed if a person tells another person how to make a bomb strictly as a knowledge transfer. This is called "educational purposes". It's like someone researching the methods used to carry out the holocaust - you aren't committing a conspiracy by learning how something occurred or works.

Try using your brain next time, kiddo.


iPhone Tethering
By monomer on 6/15/2009 1:11:14 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
One of the new iPhone 3G S features is the ability to tether


This should actually read one of the iPhone 3.0 Software features is the ability to tether, as this functionality will be available to previous iPhone generations as well.




RE: iPhone Tethering
By Alphafox78 on 6/16/2009 9:56:34 AM , Rating: 2
the switch to eanble tethering on the iPhone is in the ipcc file which ATT sends down to the phone via itunes. same goes for MMS. ever see a 'carrier update available' or something to that sort in itunes? thats what its updating. if you can change the file if you know what your doing... ;)


Something I don't understand
By InternetGeek on 6/16/2009 11:03:39 PM , Rating: 2
How is traffic generated from using your phone to browse the internet any different from traffic generated by your phone when tethering? Why do they feel the need to charge extra?

I can understand they don't want people to use their mobile network for p2p traffic. But why the hush hush and over-charging?

Next thing they will want to charge for synching my phone to Outlook regardless I'm using the USB data cable or something like that.




RE: Something I don't understand
By Darkk on 6/17/2009 2:22:18 AM , Rating: 3
Problem with tethering is the carriers would lose money. They rather charge you these insane data plans and only work with the wireless modem cards. Besides, I've used the wireless modem cards and they are NOT broadband speeds they claim to be. Certianly better than dial up but not enough for me to keep using it all the time. Also, stupid wireless caps these days of 5gig a month?!?!


"Spreading the rumors, it's very easy because the people who write about Apple want that story, and you can claim its credible because you spoke to someone at Apple." -- Investment guru Jim Cramer













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