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White House responds to petition, says cell phone unlocking should be legalized
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Smartphones,
It started as a petition needing only 100,000 signatures requesting that the White House make an official response to the right of cellphone owners to lawfully unlock their cellphones. The Library Of Congress deemed unlocking one's cellphone illegal in October 2012; a ruling that would take affect in the new year. Now, the White House has officially announced that they too agree with the 114K petitioners. It recommends that cellphones be unlocked as long as the customers first meet their carrier's contractual agreement. The White House has even included tablets to the list of devices. Consequently, the Library of Congress has agreed and support the review their policy, which was strongly urged by the FCC.
"The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties. In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones. And if you have paid for your mobile device, and aren’t bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network. It’s common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers’ needs." - White House Administration
Read More | White House
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Jailbreaking your iPad and unlocking your iPhone ruled illegal by Library of Congress
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Software,
Somber news for the jailbreaking and unlocking community. Per rule of the Library of Congress, it will be illegal to unlock any smartphone (including iPhone) or jailbreak any tablet (including iPad) purchased after January 1, 2013. The only exception is jailbreaking or rooting a smartphone, which is covered by the DMCA for the next three years.
B. Wireless telephone handsets – software interoperability
Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the telephone handset.
C. Wireless telephone handsets – interoperability with alternative networks
Computer programs, in the form of firmware or software, that enable a wireless telephone handset originally acquired from the operator of a wireless telecommunications network or retailer no later than ninety days after the effective date of this exemption to connect to a different wireless telecommunications network, if the operator of the wireless communications network to which the handset is locked has failed to unlock it within a reasonable period of time following a request by the owner of the wireless telephone handset, and when circumvention is initiated by the owner, an individual consumer, who is also the owner of the copy of the computer program in such wireless telephone handset, solely in order to connect to a different wireless telecommunications network, and such access to the network is authorized by the operator of the network.This exemption is a modification of the proponents’ proposal. It permits the circumvention of computer programs on mobile phones to enable such mobile phones to connect to alternative networks (often referred to as “unlocking”), but with limited applicability. In order to align the exemption to current market realities, it applies only to mobile phones acquired prior to the effective date of the exemption or within 90 days thereafter. - US Library of Congress.
Read More | Library of Congress
More Films Preserved in National Registry
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Adaptation, Animation, Classics, Drama, Music, Musicals, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Awards, Lists,
The Library of Congress just announced its 2007 selections for the National Film Registry. The honor - bestowed on 25 American films each year - can be given to any picture, regardless of age. Those placed on the list will then be preserved for all time because they are deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. In total, 475 movies have earned this achievement.
The entries this year include:
- Back to the Future (1985)
- Bullitt (1968)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
- Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
- Dances With Wolves (1990)
- Days of Heaven (1978)
- Glimpse of the Garden (1957)
- Grand Hotel (1932)
- The House I Live In (1945)
- In a Lonely Place (1950)
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
- Mighty Like a Moose (1926)
- The Naked City (1948)
- Now, Voyager (1942)
- Oklahoma! (1955)
Click to continue reading More Films Preserved in National Registry
Library of Congress
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