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Unlocking your smartphone may be illegal now, but you wouldn’t know it. When the iOS 6 jailbreak “evasi0n” was launched earlier this month, the tech community responded by using it to unlock seven million iPads and iPhones, definitive proof that the internet wasn’t kidding when it managed to wrangle up over 100,000 signatures asking President Barack Obama rescind the law. Evasi0n was always going to be successful, but there’s something unique about this success: it’s doubling as protest.

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There’s only one thing worse than buyer’s guilt after you plunk down a couple hundred bucks on your brand new smartphone and that’s the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach after it mysteriously vanishes. That horrible numbness is soon replaced by anger when you realize that your warranty doesn’t cover a stolen device and that the police have no way of tracking down the thief and your missing property. And that’s a huge problem. Smartphones and tablets are becoming increasingly vital to our day to day existences, but their personal value is matched by their monetary value and they’ve become some of the most solen objects in the world.

But there are ways to protect your property…and it looks like the authorities are stepping up, too.

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The last time we talked about the sticky issue of smartphone jailbreaking, the Rocksauce Studios team was split on the issue. Q Manning thought that the recently passed law that makes unlocking your mobile device illegal was a terrible idea, saying “This is absolutely, ridiculously stupid. What I do with the device that I own, that belongs me, shouldn’t matter. If I want to unlock it, jailbreak it or do anything else to it, I should be able to.” Meanwhile, Peter Yoder fell on the other side, countering with “The laws that protect these big companies are the same laws that allow companies like Rocksauce Studios to operate and stay in business.”

But the internet has spoken and you can guess which side of the fence they ended up on. With over 100,000 signatures, the petition to legalize smartphone jailbreaking now requires a response from the White House.

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There is no way the new generation of video game consoles don’t take a note or two (or three or four) from mobile devices and the world of apps. Earlier this week, I rambled about some worst case scenarios since I immediately assumed Sony and Microsoft would learn all of the wrong lessons. After all, the Nintendo Wii U is a perfect example of an out of touch gaming company assuming that people find iPad games compelling just because they have a touchscreen.

Anyway, the official announcement of the PlayStation 4 wasn’t lacking in cringeworthy moments — Another Killzone game? Really, guys? — but I found myself impressed by how subtle the mobile influence was. The PlayStation 4 isn’t being shy about what its makers have learned from the mobile world, but at least the integration seems to be subtle and smart.

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There was a time, many moons ago, when I used Microsoft Office on my MacBook Pro. To be specific, I used Microsoft Office on my old MacBook Pro, the one that shuffled off its mortal coil a few years back, prompting the purchase of my current loyal machine. But when I opened up my new laptop, I didn’t install Microsoft Office. I didn’t see the point. For my purposes, TextEdit and Pages were all I needed in a word processor. For my purposes, Numbers did everything that Excel could do. And then there’s PowerPoint — I haven’t made a PowerPoint presentation since high school, so what was the point? Why waste money on Microsoft Office when my Apple computer literally came with everything I needed? I know that I’m not alone. Heck, I’ve worked with people and companies who exclusively use Google Docs because it’s cheaper and easier to share, a completely different experience than the archaic principles practiced by Microsoft.

Which brings us to Office 365, which at first sounded like Microsoft’s attempt to enter the 21st century and is now starting to sound like a public relations nightmare.

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There’s no denying it: the possibilities for Google Glass are endless. Like that transparent smartphone I wrote about earlier in the week, this isn’t just a cool gadget — this is some real sci-fi sh*t. This is the kind of thing you’d expect see Tom Cruise wearing in a science fiction action movie scheduled for the hot summer months, not something that your annoying neighbor can walk into a store and buy and wear everywhere that he goes. Much like Google’s proposed (and testing) driverless cars, Google Glass has been something that I’ve always admired from a distance, never quite believing that it was actually a thing that would one day exist.

And then came a new commercial for Google Glass that doesn’t sell the gadget as much as it sells the experience of using it and what it will be like to actually use it. Color me impressed. Also color me super annoyed.

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Every so often, I’m reminded that the entire nation of South Korea has access to free, high speed wireless internet and I get bummed out because it truly feels like the United States of America is falling behind in the “Keeping Up With The 21st Century” competition. I understand that there’s a huge difference between hooking up a small nation like South Korea with instantly accessible internet and somehow wiring the vast American countryside, but you’d think that some progress would have been made by now.

As always, the why’s and the why not’s are more complicated than you’d initially imagine. It turns out the war over free wireless internet in America has been going on since 2004 and involves the clashing of two impossibly powerful groups. It’s going to take a ridiculous amount of cash to bring free internet to America, but it’s also going to take a few fortunes to stop it.

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Crowdfunding is a relatively new phenomenon whereby individuals can post a project on a number of sites such as Kickstarter, Crowdtilt, or RocketHub (there are a lot to choose from). Basically, you come up with an idea, post it to one of these crowdfunding platforms, and hope the crowd comes to your project’s rescue in the form of donations or pre-orders.

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There was a time when the thought of a computer that could fit on your desk with hardcore science fiction. After that, the thought of a computer tablet that you could carry around from place to place was literally something out of Star Trek. In recent years, movies and video games have depicted the distant future as having transparent devices, computers and phones that are ultra thin and completely clear. Well, it looks like we need to find another new way to depict the future: the first prototype for a transparent smartphone has arrived.

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What is LTE Advanced? It’s a new word you’re going to start hearing about in advertisements from the carrier of your choice and you’re bound to hear about it the next time you visit your local Sprint or T-Mobile. It sure sounds fancy, doesn’t it? It’s not just LTE, it’s LTE Advanced. You know, new and improved, super-futuristic LTE that’s going to change everything.

Except that it’s not. It’s bogus. It’s an empty buzzword that doesn’t mean anything at all.

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