I've been eyeing the root subforum for some time now, internally debating with myself whether to root or not. Ultimately,I realized the only reason I'm feeling compelled to root is to get the free WIFI tethering. And I'm torn over whether I should take advantage of this or not?
I'm not here to make judgments on anyone. Nor am I here to claim some moral high ground. And I realize that for many people, any of this is fair game as long as you don't get caught. But I'm torn over two aspects of this:
1) Whether I feel it is right to take advantage of free WIFI tethering by rooting when Verizon obviously makes this available as a paid service. I'm assuming, but do not know for sure, that using this "feature" is a violation of their TOS? And though I realize that rooting and jail-breaking has been declared "legal", is it not going a step further when you use it to make a paid service free?
2) Obviously, Verizon and the other carriers know this stuff goes on. Rooting to customize your phone or remove "bloatware" is probably not going to compel them to relentlessly try to stop us from rooting. But rooting and obtaining access to paid services for free certainly gives them further motivation for locking these phones down even further. Yes, I know that for every tightening of the locks, there is a hacker out there who can break it. But eventually, will our behavior cause the carriers to make things even more expensive and more locked down?
I already know my answer, I guess. I should just pay the $20/mo and use Verizon's Hotspot service. It works great, doesn't require root, and works with multiple devices. Heck, I could just cancel my iPad's data plan and use the Droid's Hotspot feature and still break even - plus have the ability to use it with our laptops.
Of course I'm tempted to just root and use the free WIFI tethering. But upon further reflection, it seems no different to me than getting the local cable guy to set up free television service. That's not something I would feel comfortable doing, so I shouldn't feel comfortable doing it on the Droid just because it may be easier and more private. After all, I feel it's the things that we do in private that define who we really are! ;-)
Again, I'm not judging anybody here. Just thinking out loud, and wrestling with myself over whether this is something I might do. I would feel no remorse over rooting in order to customize my phone, but if I'm being totally honest, the free WIFI tethering was the only reason I was considering it.
Thanks for your time.
I'm not here to make judgments on anyone. Nor am I here to claim some moral high ground. And I realize that for many people, any of this is fair game as long as you don't get caught. But I'm torn over two aspects of this:
1) Whether I feel it is right to take advantage of free WIFI tethering by rooting when Verizon obviously makes this available as a paid service. I'm assuming, but do not know for sure, that using this "feature" is a violation of their TOS? And though I realize that rooting and jail-breaking has been declared "legal", is it not going a step further when you use it to make a paid service free?
2) Obviously, Verizon and the other carriers know this stuff goes on. Rooting to customize your phone or remove "bloatware" is probably not going to compel them to relentlessly try to stop us from rooting. But rooting and obtaining access to paid services for free certainly gives them further motivation for locking these phones down even further. Yes, I know that for every tightening of the locks, there is a hacker out there who can break it. But eventually, will our behavior cause the carriers to make things even more expensive and more locked down?
I already know my answer, I guess. I should just pay the $20/mo and use Verizon's Hotspot service. It works great, doesn't require root, and works with multiple devices. Heck, I could just cancel my iPad's data plan and use the Droid's Hotspot feature and still break even - plus have the ability to use it with our laptops.
Of course I'm tempted to just root and use the free WIFI tethering. But upon further reflection, it seems no different to me than getting the local cable guy to set up free television service. That's not something I would feel comfortable doing, so I shouldn't feel comfortable doing it on the Droid just because it may be easier and more private. After all, I feel it's the things that we do in private that define who we really are! ;-)
Again, I'm not judging anybody here. Just thinking out loud, and wrestling with myself over whether this is something I might do. I would feel no remorse over rooting in order to customize my phone, but if I'm being totally honest, the free WIFI tethering was the only reason I was considering it.
Thanks for your time.