iPhone OS 3.0 bricking pirated iPhones

Some nefarious (and impatient) iPhone owners that just can't wait to get their grubby little mitts on iPhone OS 3.0 have resorted to installing a pirated version of the OS. But beware: pirates are being greeted by this screen after attempting to take the cheap way out:

In case you don't recognize it, this is the iPhone's activation screen -- which loosely translates to "you're hosed."

The problem isn't that the version of iPhone OS 3.0 floating around the Web contains a trojan or anything, the new OS simply checks with the mother ship to make sure that the user has an active and paid up Apple Developer Connection account.

And once you go 3.0, there's no turning back.

According to an L.A. Times story if you don't have an ADC account your iPhone is effectively bricked because there's no way to roll back to version 2 of the software.

A few YouTube videos have sprung up purporting to offer solutions. One suggests that you can simply disconnect from the Internet when interfacing with iTunes to bypass the authentication process. Another involves data files and appears incredibly confusing.

The good news is that you can get your iBrick swapped out under warrany at the Apple Store, or you can stop being a cheapskate and pony up the $100 for an ADC account.