Hackers have been customizing smartphone firmware for years. After figuring out how to gain root access to a phone, you can go in and modify key files, unlocking certain settings, adding software, or making other changes. These so-called cooked ROMs aren’t for everyone. You’ll invariably void your warranty if you install one on your phone (or rather, if you get caught installing one). But the benefit is that you can do more with your phone that you would if you stuck with the software that shipped with it.
Unfortunately, some of those cooked ROMs include proprietary software, which kind of makes them lawsuit-bait. So it’s not surprising that shortly after starting a web site for users looking to download custom ROMs for Windows Mobile, Google Android, and other phones, the guy who started Shipped ROMS got a cease and desist notice from HTC, a company that makes a large portion of the phones that hackers have been offering custom ROMs for.
sA few weeks have passed, and it turns out that Shipped ROMS doesn’t have to remove all of the custom images from its site. HTC just wants it to remove Test and Carrier files, which were developed for T-Mobile or other carriers.
In other words, HTC doesn’t have a problem with hackers offering custom disk images based on the company’s software. The only thing HTC doesn’t want is for people to illegally distribute software that belongs to T-Mobile or other carriers.
And in other, other news, it means that Shipped ROMS is still active, and the site is one of the best places to find alternate ROMS for your phone.
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