In my column last month, I raved about the glorious state of iPhone hacks. I encouraged any iPhone user with even a minimum of interest to give them a try. I assured you that these hacks were now "safe."

Cancel all that.

Well, it’s not that anything I said was wrong. It’s just that the landscape has now dramatically shifted, thanks to the earthquake called iPhone Software Update 1.1.1. The update introduces some significant new features (as detailed in this video), but who cares? This update will be far more remembered for what it undoes than what it does. What it undoes is the ability to hack the iPhone.

Unless either Apple relents on their decision or hackers find a way to circumvent it, September 27 (the day the 1.1.1 update was unleashed) will go down as one of the saddest days in Apple’s history. Maybe not for Apple itself, but for users of its products.

In the short history of the iPhone, hackers have already come to expect that a new update would wipe existing hacks off of an iPhone. That’s what happened with the previous 1.0.2 update. However, it was a simple although time-consuming matter to get them back again. First, you had to Restore rather than Update your iPhone. This is what had the side-effect of wiping out all your hacks. Next, you had to get the newest version of AppTapp Installer, which included support for the new firmware, and use it to reinstall all your previous hacks. There might be some additional hassles to get hacked ringtones working again, but it was manageable.

The 1.1.1 update is a different animal. It not only eradicates all your existing hacks, it short-circuits the current methods for reinstalling hacks. This is because it blocks the very method (called "jailbreaking") that hackers use to install software on an iPhone. Jailbreaking is what allows you to read from and write to an iPhone from an application other than iTunes. Jailbreaking requires knowing the encryption key for the iPhone. With the new update, Apple has apparently made it much more difficult, if not impossible, to figure out the key. The situation is the same for the iPod touch, which is why it too has not been hacked.

This means that, should you choose to update to 1.1.1, you can say goodbye to hacking your iPhone. Say goodbye even to ringtone software such as iToner.

But that’s only half the story! When you select to install the update, a window appears that contains the following warning: "If you have modified your iPhones software, applying this software update may result in your iPhone becoming permanently inoperable."

Whoa! How does this translate into reality? In the worst case scenario, it means exactly what it says. Based on reports from the Web (such as at iPhone Central), the worst case scenario is a distinct possibility. However, it seems mainly reserved for people who have "unlocked" their iPhone. In such cases, you will need, at a minimum, a new SIM card for your iPhone. With luck, the card plus a restore of your iPhone software will get things working again. However, in some cases, even this does not succeed. What then? Do you simply throw your iPhone in the trash? As I am writing this, the answer is still not clear.

If your hacking has been restricted just to adding applications and ringtones, which is the case for most hackers, your prognosis is far better. Reports indicate that selecting to restore (or even merely update!) the iPhone usually works just finealthough you still lose any hacks of course.

Why did Apple do this?

I have no official reply from Apple on this matter, but it is not difficult to guess.

Consider this statement from Apple’s Greg Joswiak, as told to Gearlog, on the subject of third-party hacks for the iPhone: "Apple takes a neutral stance - they’re not going to stop anyone from writing apps, and they’re not going to maliciously design software updates to break the native apps, but they’re not going to care if their software updates accidentally break the native apps either."

That’s exactly what I believe happened here.

Apple’s main intent with the hack-blocking in iPhone Software Update 1.1.1 was to prevent "unlock" hacks from working. These are the hacks that allow iPhones to work with carriers other than AT&T. Clearly, if this became widespread (which is a big if), it would represent a significant threat to the financial arrangement Apple and AT&T have worked out. As such, I can understand Apple wanting to put a stop to it. As Steve Jobs has stated about these unlock hacks: "It’s a cat-and-mouse game. People will try to break in, and it’s our job to stop them." Unlocking an iPhone may not be illegal, but that doesn’t mean Apple has to make it easy to do. Personally, I have no gripe with Apple on this.

Apple probably also wanted to put an end to hacked ringtones. They already showed their cards here when they released iTunes 7.4.1 within days of 7.4 coming out. Just about the only new feature of 7.4.1 was that it blocked certain methods for getting hacked ringtones on to your iPhone. The blockade did not last long. Apple has tried again, apparently with more success, with the iPhone 1.1.1 update. Once again, money is at the core of the decision: Apple charges for its officially-supported ringtones. The music companies (and Apple itself to a lesser extent) do not want to see the revenue stream thwarted by hacked ringtones. Personally, I am less sympathetic to Apple here. As I have argued elsewhere, it is doubtful that creating your own ringtones is illegal and, in any case, Apple’s prohibition against it makes little sense.

Regardless, it is unclear how much of an effect hacked ringtones would have on Apple’s ringtones sales. Consider the rest of the mobile phone market: Despite that fact that you can use Bluetooth to get your own ringtones on to almost any mobile phone, purchasing of ringtones remains a thriving multi-million dollar business.

Finally, we arrive at the third hacking category: adding applications to the iPhone. There is no direct financial interest at stake here, as Apple does not offer any alternative purchase option. That’s why I believe that, as suggested by Joswiak, blocking these application hacks was an indirect consequence of Apple’s primary goal to block the unlock and ringtone hacks. Apple did not set out to eradicate application hacks; it simply did not care that the update had this effect.

Actually, to the extent that Apple cares at all, it is probably pleased with how this all worked out. After all, if Apple truly wanted to support third-party applications on the iPhone, they would have provided their own method for doing so. Which leads to the obvious question: Why haven’t they done so? Apple claims it is because they do not want to risk degrading the user iPhone experience by poor quality third-party software. Eventually, at least so they imply, Apple may open the doors. But not yet.

Baloney. This explanation fails to hold water.

First, there is a ton of freeware and shareware for the Mac, and Apple doesn’t seem to worry about how all of this "degrades" the user experience. Why should the iPhone be so different? At a minimum, Apple could issue a warning about using such software, offering no official support for it, even asserting that installing such software could void your warranty, and then just let the chips fall where they may. Under such conditions, the vast majority of iPhone users would never hack their iPhone. The rest of us could happily hack away. No one is forcing anyone to hack their iPhone against their will.

The biggest untruth in Apple’s position, however, is the very idea that these hacks degrade the user experience. Quite the contrary. The hacks on my iPhone have become some of my most preferred and most often used features. I have several games installed, which I play when I am otherwise bored and stuck somewhere. I use Navizon to turn my iPhone into a virtual GPS device. I use OpenSSH so I can connect to my iPhone from my Mac via FTP applications. Perhaps most essential of all, for me, third-party hacks allow me to take screen captures of the iPhone. I have used this extensively for the book I am writing. It’s now all gone with a casual wave of Steve Jobs’ hand.

Apple, no doubt unintentionally, left the door to the iPhone open just a crack when it was first released. Hackers rushed through the door and showed the rest of us what a truly open iPhone could be like. Now Apple has slammed the door shut. In one sense, however, it’s too late. We’ve seen the way things can beand we will never be content going back. Eventually, I predict, Apple will have to relent on this matter.

For the moment, it’s a different story. With iPhone Software Update 1.1.1, Apple has accomplished two goals that run counter to any positive view of what supposedly makes Apple different from other corporations.

First, it has stomped on one of the most enthusiastically supported and creative aspects of owning an iPhone. There are literally dozens of Web sites out there devoted to iPhone hacking. This grassroot support is what Apple should be encouraging, not destroying.

Second, it has released an update that potentially permanently disables your iPhone when you attempt to install it, with no advice on how to prevent or fix this. This has to be some kind of first: an officially supported update whose major consequence may be that it destroys the very device it is supposed to update.

This is a sad day for all Apple users, even if you don’t own an iPhone. Ultimately, we all lose when Apple makes these wrong-headed decisions. I am not the sort that looks to start petition drives or boycotts or lawsuits, and I don’t intend to do any of that here. Still, I wish there was something I could do to impress on Apple just how strongly I feel about this matter. I’ve written this column. I guess that’s a start.

Caveat: As with everything in the universe of hacking the iPhone, much remains fluid. The status of anything written here may change significantly within the next few days, or even hours!

Ted Landau is the founder of MacFixIt, and the author of Take Control of Your iPhone and other Mac help books.  You can .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Ted Landau or post your polite comments below.