We have only 6 days left to help keep the jailbreaking exemption to the U.S. DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) alive and well, and we need everyone’s help to do it. The jailbreaking exemption was granted by the Library of Congress in 2010 but not codified into the law, meaning it’s set to expire now, unless the copyright office extends it.

If the jailbreak exemption is not extended, then modifying your iPhone or iPad could be considered a violation of the DMCA, and companies could theoretically sue or press charges against jailbreakers. We think the right to modify our phones for personal use, provided we take personal responsibility for the risks involved, is an important one and deserves protection. The EFF (Electronic Frontier Fund) thinks the same, which is why they’re fighting to get the exemption renewed, and are also pushing for tablets and game consoles in general to be included as well. iFixit.org recently spoke to the EFF about where things stand now:

iFixit: Has the Copyright Office made any comments on jailbreaking since the 2010 smartphone exemption? How likely do you think it is that they’ll renew that exemption? Why have exemptions for smartphones but not game consoles and tablets?

EFF: The CO hasn’t made any public comments that we are aware of. We are very hopeful that the smartphone exemption will be renewed, and we think extending it to game consoles and tablets is the logical next step.

bunnie: My understanding is that the CO is fairly conservative about granting such exemptions, so tightly scoping the exemption request increases the chances that the result has real impact. A broad request to exempt large swathes of technology from the DMCA would likely be denied; and such a denial would waste the infrequent window of opportunity to have such requests examined. Therefore, an incremental approach is being taken, allowing the CO to try small changes and become comfortable with them. Note that the request to the CO splits smartphone/tablets and game consoles into separate categories, so that the CO can have the flexibility to reject or accept individual categories.

The interview goes on to discuss the impact the DMCA has had on modifying gaming consoles and the rest of the jailbreak and homebrew communities. Sony, for example, infamously sued well-known iPhone jailbreaker George Hotz, aka Geohot when he jailbroke the Sony Playstation 3.

You can hit the link below to read the whole interview. We also urge you to sign bunnie’s petition and leave your own comments if you’d like to see the exception renewed. He plans to take all the signatures and comments to the Copyright office on February 10th at 5pm.

Remember, there are only 6 days left. Whether you jailbreak or not, if the legal right to jailbreak your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad is important to you, act now.

Source: ifixit.org; Petition: jailbreakingisnotacrime.org

Jailbreaking your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and need to know how to troubleshoot all those annoying little errors, bugs, and assorted problems that crop up along the way? Whether you’re having issues getting your device to jailbreak or running into problems after you’ve jailbroken, we’ve got the answers to lots of common problems.

First make sure you’re performing the process correctly. If you need a guide or tutorial, we’ve most likely got you covered.

• Guides to jailbreaking and jailbreak basics

If you know you’re performing the process correctly but you’re running into an error, we’ve got a whole list troubleshooting steps you can try and we add more to it all the time. If you find a new issue, let us know!

• How to troubleshoot common issues during the jailbreak process

If none of the guides or troubleshooting tips seem to solve your problem, you can check out our general jailbreak forums. We’ve got the answers to a variety of questions and a huge community that’s ready and willing to help you out.

• General jailbreak help forums

Have trouble making out the small icons and tiny text on iPhone or iPad and curious how you can zoom in for a better view? We’ve previously told you about 2 of iOS’s accessibility features and how you can use them, like reading White text on Black and using VoiceOver to read your messages and audiobooks. After the break, I’ll be showing you how you can zoom your iPhone or iPad screen as well.

If you find it difficult to see the screen on your iPhone or iPad or if you want to focus on a particular area of the screen then you can use the built in zooming functionality.

To Enable Zooming

1. Tap Settings
2. Tap General
3. Tap Accessibility
4. Tap Zoom
5. Turn Zoom to ‘On’

To Use The Zoom

• Double Tap your screen with 3 fingers
  • Scroll Up To Zoom In
  • Scroll Down To Zoom Out

To Move Around The Screen While Zoomed In

• Scroll around the screen with three fingers
• Drag one finger to the edges of the screen.

There is an additional setting to turn your accessibility features on and off using the home button.

To Turn Zoom On and Off using the Home Button

• Be sure that accessibility options, ‘Triple Click Home’ is set to ‘Ask’
• Triple click the home button to bring up your options. From this menu, you can also turn on “White on Black” and “VoiceOver”.

Do you find this tip helpful and will you be using it? Let us know by commenting.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Curious how to use your voice to dial or control your iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS? Apple has built Voice Control right into the phone and while it’s still limited in functionality, it’s very easy to use. We’ll show you how after the break.

To activate Voice Control on your iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS just press and hold the Home Button (or the middle button on your headphones or Bluetooth headset if you’re using any). When you you hear a beep and the Voice Control UI appears on the screen, speak your command. Available commands include:

• Dial [Number]
• Dial [Contact Name] [Work, Home, Mobile, iPhone, etc.]
• Call [Contact Name] [Work, Home, Mobile, iPhone, etc.]

• FaceTime [Contact Name] [Work, Home, Mobile, iPhone, etc.] (iPhone 4 only)

• Play Music

• Play Playlist [Playlist Name]
• Play Album [Album Name]
• Play Artist [Artist Name]
• Pause
• Next Song/Track
• Previous Song/Track
• Shuffle
• Genius/Play More Songs Like This

• What’s Currently Playing? What Song Is This? Who’s Singing This?

• What Time Is It?

• Stop
• Help

So, for example, you could say:

• Call mom, home
• Dial Steve Jobs, mobile
• Play music, the Beatles

If you’ve made a mistake and the iPhone has recognised it wrong, it will ask you to clarify.

• Call Steven Jobs, Home

• Call Steven Jobs, Mobile, work, or Home?

You can say “No, Not That One, Wrong” or anything else of that nature that feels natural, and it will go back.

Bonus tip: The music and miscellaneous commands (everything that doesn’t involve a phone call) also works on the 3rd and 4th generation iPod touch. (Though strangely not the iPad…?)

Voice Control works no matter where you are in the iPhone, Home Screen or app, and even when you’re iPhone is locked. Now just imagine if Apple adds system wide, Siri-powered Voice Control throughout iOS 5…!

I hope this helped you guys with the Voice Control feature on your device in case you didn’t know what the controls were. Test it out now, by just holding the home button and if you have any questions, let me know in comments.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

AT&T had posted a of YouTube video to help customers transition to Apple’s new iPhone 4 titled AT&T data plans and upgrades for iPhone customers.

It’s fairly straight forward so check it out after the break and let us know if they answered all your questions, and if not, what questions you have left?

YouTube link

In today’s From the Forums we’d like to introduce to you our new forum look and layout.

First, you may have noticed our little name switch to TiPb and domain switch to tipb.com. Likewise, you can now find our forums at http://forums.imore.com!

Second, with some new great Apple devices right around the corner it was time to change things up a little bit — to help everyone find what they need faster and better.

Third, we’re doing a ton of great give-aways lately, and a lot of them happen right in the TiPb forums (like $260 worth of PowerMat last week, 10 Appigo Todo promo codes right now, not to mention our big iPad give-away coming up!).

Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few moments of your time, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now!

• iPhone Forum: This is the place to go if you are in need of help, how-to guides, and any news and rumors regarding anything iPhone related.

• iPad Forum: Visit this forum to converse about all things iPad including release news and feature rumorse.

• iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock: This forum is dedicated to all of your iPhone or iPod touch jailbreaking and unlocking needs.

• iPhone Apps and Games: Discuss iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch native App Store apps and games, and Web Apps. Share tips, tricks, and reviews.

• Jailbreak Apps, Games, and Themes: Here is the place to chat about jailbreak apps, games, and themes for your iPhone and iPod touch.

Now that’s not all, feel free to browse our other forums to find one that interests you! See you in the forums!

From the Forums is a great way to see what all of the current hot topics are on the TiPb forums. Today we would like to go over some of the popular sub-forums for those of you who may not be familiar with our forum setup. Becoming a member is fast and free, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now.

• iPhone Social & Off Topic: If you are new to the forums and would like to introduce yourself or maybe you want to discuss something that’s not iPhone related, this is your place.
• iPhone Help: This is the place to go to post general questions you may have or view countless of other threads that already may contain the answer you are seeking.
• iPhone Apps and Games: This particular forum is a must if you are interested in anything App Store related. Whether you are a developer or a user, be sure to check it out.
• iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock: The title of this one says it all. If you are looking to jailbreak or unlock your device and are unsure of how to go about it, look no further than this forum.
• All iPhone Accessories: You guessed right, all iPhone related accessories should be discussed here.

See you on the forums!

Today’s the day — Microsoft is officially launching Windows 7! If you’ve been using the beta and release candidate for a almost a year already, then maybe today will be just another day. If, however, you’ve just received your party pack, or upgrade box, or just bought a shiny new machine and your next step is to figure out how to move all your iPhone content over — well, we have a fresh new iPhone Help Forum thread for you!

Whether you’re a newcomer to Windows 7 and/or the iPhone looking to fix a problem, or a seasoned Microsoft Guru with iPhone already sorted and willing to help, head on over and let us know your issues and your advice.

Have fun and happy launch day!

Welcome to From the Forums. If you are curious as to what all of the hot topics are on the TiPb forums, this is the place to be. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the following threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you haven’t already, head on over and register now.

The first thread for today was created by anjo and he wants to know – will Apple release a new iPhone in 2010? Now while some of us may already know the answer to this question, this thread has turned into a very detailed account on what exactly what you the consumers are looking for in the next generation of iPhone. Apple are you listening?

Next we have an excellent new poll thread that was just started by our very own forum reviewer, cjvitek – Do you use a bluetooth headset? Swing by this thread and let Chris know how you feel about bluetooth headsets in general and if you do use them, share with everyone which headset you prefer and why.

Here we have a thread from iPheuria and he poses the question regarding your data usage and do you really need carrier supplied data on your iPhone? Most of us here at TiPb feel that a good data connection is necessary to get the full potential out of Apple’s iPhone but what do you think?

So you are having an issue with your iPhone and need some help? Perhaps you have some time to kill and feel like helping others with their iPhone issues? If you answered yes to either of these questions then please stop by and visit our dedicated iPhone Help forum.

See you on the forums!

It’s that time again — time for us to pick out some of the hot topics on TiPb’s forums. In order for you to reply to any of the following threads please be sure to register. It’s a painless process that will only take a moment of your time.

Forum regular, Duvi, started an interesting poll recently, does anyone believe there will be more than one iPhone next year? My personal feeling is we will be seeing a similar situation as we did this past June 19th. One new iPhone with the 3GS possibly sticking around at a lower price. Thoughts?

This next thread was started by yet another forum regular, cjvitek, who wants to know how many of you actually use the spotlight search feature? Personally I’ve found the more apps and music I put on my 32GB 3GS, the more I find myself using the Spotlight Search. How about you?

Clg82 started an excellent thread for those of you who are looking for all of the Push Notification applications available in Apple’s App Store! Be sure to check this thread out for the latest apps that push. Don’t see one listed? Feel free to add it to the list!

With over a million new iPhones sold recently, most of you probably are in need of some sort of help and/or basic tips to get the most out of your new iPhones. Well TiPb has got just the place for you. Have a question? Look here: iPhone Help. Search here for help and If your search comes up empty feel free to post a question in your own thread. You’ll have an answer in no time!

Bonus poll thread! A war of words seems to be brewing between the Dev Team and George Hotz regarding both of their respective jailbreak solutions. Now that the Dev Team released their jailbreak software (redsn0w) after purplera1n, which piece of software do you prefer – redsn0w or purplera1n?

See you on the forums!

iTunes 8.1 brought us some snazzy improvements to Party Shuffle iTunes DJ and the iPhone’s Remote app. That wasn’t the only iPhone-related improvement, however, as Ars Techica notes, there’s a new feature that used to be reserved for the iPod Shuffle that you can now use for the iPhone: Autofill.

Autofill essentially lets you just fill up the empty space on your iPhone with some randomly chosen music (you can choose to leave some space open for installing apps and the like later on). As somebody who’s not really into constantly creating playlists and managing albums, it’s a nice option. A nice option that’s squirreled away in a pretty difficult to find place.

After the break, we walk you through the steps (courtesy of the Ars Article) screenshot-by-screenshot.

Step 1: Set iTunes to manually manage your music on the iPhone

In the “Summary” tab for the iPhone, check “Manually manage music and videos.” This shouldn’t erase any of the previously-auto-synced music, but it will mean that your previous auto-sync settings won’t work anymore.

Step 2: Find that darn Autofill button

Now that you can manually manage music on your iPhone, you’re free to create playlists on the device, drag and drop albums, the whole shootin’ match. Additionally, you can, yes, autofill the sucker. To do all that, just click the little triangle next to the iPhone to get a drop down of all your device playlists. Select the Music section and then you’ll see your Autofill settings on the lower-right.

Step 3: Adjust Settings

Before you go ahead and auto-fill, you’ll want to take a moment to visit the autofill settings:

The setting for “reserve space for disk use” is a little unclear, as you likely are already using plenty of disk space for your previous video, music, and apps. Adjust as you like to choose how much music you’d like to auto-fill with and then decide whether or not you’d like iTunes to give priority to highly-rated songs. Click ok, click “Autofill” and watch your music fly on into your iPhone.

The forum community here at TiPb keeps growing in numbers every day! With more and more great threads getting posted it’s been hard to try and keep up. Today on the forums, we have a few more good ones that you should definitely check out!

First thread up was started by Dizzy, Google Sync (Beta). For more information about Google Sync for iPhone be sure to check out Dieter’s post from the other day. I’m sure a lot of Gmail users are happy campers at this point.

Next thread comes to us from a new forum member, fallingsenses, he seems to think a lot of people have the iPhone 2G rather then the 3G. What do you usually see? More 3G’s than 2G’s or vice versa? Be sure to chime in!

This thread is pretty straight forward, Will you renew MobileMe? I know without hesitation I will be giving more money to Apple when the time comes. How about you?

Lastly, I’d like everyone to know about our iPhone Help forum. If you have any questions regarding the iPhone please head into this forum and post your issue or question. There are a so many knowledgeable forum members that are always willing to help you out.

In order to get in on the forum action you must register. It’s a quick painless process which can be done at this link right here.

See you on the forums!

Just a reminder that voting ends tomorrow for TiPb at Work Week 3! Vote for your favorite remote desktop/VNC apps for your chance to win! Free apps people! What are you waiting for?! Go ahead and vote!

With all this talk about the economy being in the dumps lately, Rene wants to know what, if any, cutbacks will the economy make on your iPhone usage? There are some interesting replies in the thread so far, check it out and add your own opinion!

So you recently jailbroke your iPhone by following some of our “how to” guides and you installed Winterboard… well show us your creative side and post screen shots in the thread started by schartzr of the Winterboard iPhone themes you are sporting.

Having any issues with your iPhone or iPhone 3G and cant not seem to get a answer? Well have you tried our forum for iPhone related issues? Post your question here in the iPhone help forum and a friendly forum member will be sure to lend you a helping hand.

Before you can start posting the our forums be sure to register, it only takes a minute or two, very simple process. It’s about time you joined our growing community and get in on the action!

See you on the forums!