The root of the problem...

[laurende]

Can someone please explain what "rooting" is? I see this term often but am clueless as to what is/does.

 

[willdogs]

http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=Why_Root

 

[CycloneFever]

In a Linux system (Android is based on Linux), the root user is the one with complete control of the system. No person can be the root user (well, technically it's possible) but any user can temporarily assume the root user privileges (through the sudo command) assuming they know the correct password. Rooting the phone means being able to access the root user privileges and basically gaining complete control of the phone. See the link above to see what that means.