Had to steal Jobs’ line for the headline. Just had to.

Here’s a link to VideoGamer.com with a great short interview with a hacker named DeepDark, discussing the recent consumer mods of the iPhone that render it completely useable without having to keep an account with the greedy treasonous bastards of AT&T.

I especially enjoyed this part:

VideoGamer: Do you think hackers have an unfairly bad reputation?

Deepdark: Listen, let’s talk about the iPhone situation. Apple has 10000 employees and they are against us because we are bricking them by hacking their protection. On another side are end users who are 1,000,000 strong maybe. They are happy. So like you see, it’s a big difference.

VideoGamer: But isn’t it Apple’s right to have their own protection on their products?

Deepdark: Yes, but you can’t sell a car and then say to the buyer, “hey listen, you must drive 50kmh”. It’s so stupid.

VideoGamer: So hackers are giving consumers what they’ve paid for? They should be allowed to use the iPhone however they like?

Deepdark: Yes, exactly.

Business models need to adapt as technology, and the culture(s) which emerge from it, evolves and advances. Just as the RIAA and the MPAA cannot force consumers to adhere to the enforcement of their outmoded, antiquated, monopolistic and usurious practices so too the tech industry (and legislations like Copyright Law) needs to recognize the consumer as the driving force behind the new economic model.

And this includes the right to copy, mod, alter, mashup, share and comment upon the technology and the content which forms the cultural existence and expression of the people.

So there.