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20 Seconds to jailbreak Windows RT

Thanks to a new tool, it takes only 20 seconds to jailbreak Windows RT. In other Microsoft news: Samsung says no to making a Windows RT device. Teens say Apple is done, Surface and Galaxy are cool. Former Microsoft executives launch online shop for sex toys.

By Ms. Smith on Sun, 01/13/13 - 12:12pm.

There's not a whole lot you can do in half a minute, but thanks to XDA Developers "netham45," you can run a new tool and jailbreak Microsoft Surface in 20 seconds.

Microsoft's reaction to the first, more complicated Windows RT jailbreak attempt was pretty cool since the company said it wasn't a security vulnerability and even applauded the ingenuity of hackers. Now Netham45 automated the jailbreaking process with a batch file released as RT Jailbreak Tool Version 1 that is "an all-in-one program to jailbreak Windows RT tablets using the method recently released by clrokr."

There is a growing list of desktop apps ported to Windows RT, including TightVNC, PuTTY, 7-Zip, Notepad++, Python 2.7.3, and Quake 2. As The Next Web pointed out, "Steve Troughton-Smith managed to get an early version of Apple's OS X server operating system running on his on a Surface tablet."

There is a slight catch which is both good and bad; it clears on reset. However "it can be reapplied from the same device it's running on." Along with the jailbreaking tool downloads, Netham45 has a long question/answer list that includes:

Q) Can Microsoft patch this?
A) Yes and no. They can patch it through Windows Update, but since we have the ability to reinstall from recovery partitions we can revert any Windows Updates they release.

Q) Will this allow people to run viruses on my tablet?
A) Yes and no, if something malicious is compiled and ran while jailbroken it could act like a virus, yes. Once you reset, though, it'll be gone.

Q) Will this void my warranty?
A) Since it doesn't persist across reboots chances are the support center will never know, though it may be against the terms of your devices warranty.

Microsoft, according to Softpedia, is not pleased with the Windows RT jailbreak. As was hinted to in Microsoft's first jailbreak RT statement, the company may try to patch it. However, see question one above as to why that won't work, according to Netham45. AddictiveTips posted screenshots for "how to jailbreak Microsoft Surface and other Windows RT tablets."

Windows RT Jailbreak Tool

Flash Player tool for Windows 8 RT

Meanwhile, a Neowin forum user DroidKid has created a "Flash Player" tool to easily add websites to the Default Whitelist and display Flash content on any Windows 8 RT device. Neowin wrote, "By following the on-screen commands, you can easily add a new site to the white-list in about 2 minutes."

Samsung says 'no' to releasing Windows RT device

In other Windows RT news, Samsung had a change of heart and won't be releasing a Windows RT device. Mike Abary, the head of Samsung's PC and tablet business in the U.S., told CNET:

There wasn't really a very clear positioning of what Windows RT meant in the marketplace, what it stood for relative to Windows 8, that was being done in an effective manner to the consumer. When we did some tests and studies on how we could go to market with a Windows RT device, we determined there was a lot of heavy lifting we still needed to do to educate the customer on what Windows RT was. And that heavy lifting was going to require pretty heavy investment. When we added those two things up, the investments necessary to educate the consumer on the difference between RT and Windows 8, plus the modest feedback that we got regarding how successful could this be at retail from our retail partners, we decided maybe we ought to wait.

Teens love Surface and Galaxy, but no so much Apple

Conversely, according to a youth marketing agency, kids may actually prefer Microsoft's Surface to other tablets. Tina Wells of the Buzz Marketing Group told Forbes, "Teens are telling us Apple is done. Apple has done a great job of embracing Gen X and older [Millennials], but I don't think they are connecting with Millennial kids. [They're] all about Surface tablets/laptops and Galaxy."

Former Microsoft executives open online sex toy shop

Finally, in a bizarre bit of news somewhat tied to Microsoft, The Times of India reported that former Microsoft executives have joined together to start an online sex toys shop called Thatspersonal.com. Samir Saraiya, former head of business development for Microsoft Singapore, who now is the CEO of Digital E-Life, runs Thatspersonal.com. Other former Microsoft executives are co-founders and angel investors, including Neville Taraporewalla, previous Microsoft India senior director of emerging markets, and Jaspreet Bindra, former Microsoft India regional director of retail, entertainment and devices.

The products on sale on the site include erotic lingerie, lubricants, creams, literature, accessories and so on. Thatspersonal.com has tied up with several global brands to exclusively sell their products in India.

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