I dont even know what rooting is.
On linux some commands can only be made as root... isnt the phone open source? Why would we need a crack to have root access... or what is the point?
Whew... loaded question. I'm going to slaughter this in my sleep deprived state, but here goes...
You're correct, root is a superuser account, meaning it can literally do anything with the system. Hardware, software, files, etc.
The operating system on the phone is indeed open source, but that doesn't necessarily include root access out of the box like a linux disto would. Obviously, it's in T-Mobile's best interest to keep the phone pretty locked down, to prevent people from bricking them, from messing with the network, and a multitude of other reasons.
So, onto the meat of the question... Why is having root so important? Modders, application developers, and all of the people that just want to mess with every little byte on the phone need it to be able to access all of the hardware/software as they choose. I've also read (and believe, being a developer myself,) that it will be a huge pain, if not near impossible to install applications onto the SD card and use them without issue without obtaining root access.
