Simultaneously, Like, Brilliant and Dim

Plenty of people are brilliant in some areas and downright stupid in others. When you're a teenager, it's merely more common. Take George Hotz, age 17, iPhone cracker.

The hack, which Hotz posted Thursday on his blog, is complicated and requires skill with both soldering and software. It takes about two hours to perform. Since the details are public, it seems likely that a small industry may spring up to buy U.S. iPhones, unlock them and send them overseas.

"That's exactly, like, what I don't want," Hotz said. "I don't want people making money off this."

But George, dude, don't you know how economics works? People are always trying to make a buck off something. You just handed them a goldmine!

My first IT job in the 1980's saw me soldering at least once every 2 weeks. Now it takes me 2 hours to find my soldering iron at home, and I've never even seen one at any of my clients. And I'm willing to bet the faster you can find a soldering iron at your house the less likely it is that you own, or will ever own, an iPhone.

If Hotz really doesn't want anyone to sell their mechanic services performing this mod, then it's yet another example of how the "livin' out loud on the 'net" mentality can be detrimental to one's goals.