After getting his hands on the Google Glass Explorer Edition headset, hacker Jay Freeman took just two hours to jailbreak the device and did so while having dinner with friends!
The well-known hacker, aka 'Saurik', used a jailbreak for Android 4.0, developed by B1nary, to root the wearable computing device, giving him full access to the Android 4.0.4 operating system it runs on.
Freeman, who obtained the device by pre-ordering it at Google I/O last year, announced his success on Friday via Twitter.
He wrote: "#ifihadglass I would jailbreak it and modify the software (obviously). As Google actually sold me one; I did my part."
It was simple...
In a phone interview with Forbes he explained: "It took me two hours while I was having dinner with friends at the time. The implementation from B1nary is for normal Android tablets and phones, I learned how it worked and then did the same thing on Glass…which was quite simple."
He told Forbes he's not sure what can be achieved by rooting the device, but is intent on finding out. However, the lack of compatibility with his prescription specs make it difficult to view the screen for long periods.
He said the hack may be a way for users to block Google's access to the device, such as the ability to remote brick the headset if users violate Ts&Cs.
It could also be used, Freeman speculated, to store information locally on the headset or on a device linked via Bluetooth. This would prevent all of that juicy data finding its way to Google's servers.
It's difficult to know what Google's response will be to the hack, but surely it had to know this was coming.
Via The Verge
