Originally Posted by anotherbrian

Hack for what? I've been watching Hackint0sh and haven't seen any mention of anything new ... people have found ways to roll-back to the previous release (the OS code, but not the low-level phone related firmware), but their phone connectivity is still broken.

I did see someones conjecture that iTunes was using signed firmware with the iPod touches, and likely the same with the new iPhone release. If that is so, I think iPhone hacking on the latest and greatest firmware really will be hosed except for the most dedicated (and I wouldn't count myself in the dedicated). Apple has expertise in per-device DRM content protection, and treating the firmware similarly shouldn't be a big leap. If all else fails, it would cost Apple less than $1 in HW to add a TPM to the iPhone at which point they could guarantee themselves the phones would stay locked (barring HW mods).

I'm an architect for a popular embedded system and we've long considered using signed firmware images for integrity and feature activation licensing. We are big business, but thankfully don't have nearly the same visibility or interest as an iPhone. The effort hackers are putting into breaking into the devices, with no expectations of monetary gain, is worrisome though, since it isn't any different than what organized professionals out to make money could be doing.