Who(Edit)

Anyone on Linux/Windows/OSX. Turns out the tools are very well ported for this.

What(Edit)

When you buy an Android phone, you are running programs as a prisoner.

When you root it, you become the warden.

Why(Edit)

You will have the ability to:

• Install apps from the Market that say they require root (which is many of the interesting ones)
• Uninstall irritating vendor apps (such as the evil ones that will charge you if you run them, but otherwise refuse to uninstall, sitting there like a trap) - http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Barebones
• su from a Terminal app.
• Install a new ROM - e.g., http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/

Why Not(Edit)

Because you're afraid of voiding a warranty, ruining your phone, your shadow, etc.

How(Edit)

I goofed around with some other tutorials, failing, until I found this (sarcastic) tool, which seems to work great (and on Windows, Linux and OSX, too):

The Advanced Android Hack Kit - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1259821

Note that on my HTC Inspire, I ran it once and got an error, but the second time it worked perfectly.

Process Overview(Edit)

1. Download a ton of little bits.
1. adb (Android Debug Bridge) - very important. Once you enable Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging, you can plug the phone in and push/pull files, start a shell, etc.
2. The exploit - This will vary from version to version of Android's OS + vendor setup. I tried several, unsuccessfully, for my HTC Inspire.
3. The ROM - CyanogenMod, etc. This will be the new software for the phone once you root it.
4. Other various parts.
2. Create a "goldcard", though I am still not sure what this special SD card does - http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Howto:_Create_a_Goldcard
1. This link is Windows-only. My suspicion is that you could accomplish this with dd if=goldcard.img of=/dev/sda1 #...but it needs to be tested. TODO
3. Downgrade the firmware to a crackable version. At the time of the writing of the docs, it was 1.32.405.6 - http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/AT%26T_Inspire_4G:_Firmware_Downgrade_%28Gingerbread%29
4. Root - Some kind of exploit (depends on the specific phone/OS/etc.) that will give you full superuser powers over your phone.
5. S-OFF - "S-OFF means that the NAND portion of the device is unlocked and can be written to." - http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/what-is-s-off-how-to-gain-it-on-htc-android-phones-with-unrevoked-forever/
6. ClockworkMod Recovery - "ClockworkMod – also known as Clockwork and CWM – is a custom recovery for Android phones and tablets that allows you to perform several advanced recovery, restoration, installation and maintenance operations on your Android device that aren’t possible with the stock recovery." - http://www.clockworkmod.com/
7. Engineering HBoot - ...
8. Enjoy! (such as by flashing CyanogenMod (or whatever other ROM you choose))