What does it mean to jailbreak your iPod touch?

What does it mean to 'jailbreak' and iPod Touch?

• and what do you do when you hack it??

• Answer:

  When Apple builds an iPod touch, it's designed to be able to only fetch applications from Apple's own online store. Some creative hackers felt this was unfair and set about "freeing" the iPod from the "jail" Apple had created for it. Thus the name "jailbreaking." Applying the hack to an iPod touch allows the device to download apps that have not had to pass Apple's quality and content controls. However, it also voids Apple's warranty on the device, so what you give with one hand the other hand takes away. Is it worth it? I don't know. If you absolutely must have the apps that you can't get from Apple, and don't mind the possibility that you'll turn your iPod into a useless brick, then the answer is, "Yes." On the other hand, there are tons of apps (a good percentage of them free or very cheap) from the App Store, and they don't void your warranty (and Apple keeps a backup so if you do something that erases them, you get them back).