I think this is sooooo sad. Are developers already that desperate that they have to take these kinds of extreme measures? I know Think2k2 once had a similar destroying code (or was it a fake keygen released by the developer?, don't remember).
I know Tomov has the reputation of a great PPC software developer. I am not sure what he was thinking when he was implementing this code, but I am sure he has now learned his lesson. As far as I know, Pocket Mechanic 1.51 doesn't hard-reset any devices anymore.
Better stay clean and safe!