Why haven’t people complained about this?

Does this imply Weather might have been built on a yet-to-be announced Dashcode iPhone workflow? Dashboard Widgets as iPhone Apps.

Seems like the natural course of mobile ecosystem evolution. Web Standards as native app dev to expand the developer market. Learning Cocoa Touch is tough. MobileSafari is sandboxes from so much functionailty. Dashboard Dashcode dev is the middle-ground between HTML and Obj-C. Location aware apps written in JavaScript, on the way?

It’s assumed that the Dev Team jailbreak tool currently cracks firmware 2.0. The tragically named “Pwnage Tool” is not yet publicly released. However, if the Dev Team decided to release “Pwnage” at this very moment, it would presumably bypass AT&T/Apple activation procedure.

In this scenario, perhaps millions of users would grab “Pwnage” and then back off Apple’s activation server. That would be a huge favor to Apple on behalf of the rogue development community.

Could it happen?

UPDATE: In retrospect, this was a dumb entry. Rather than retract it, we’ll just leave it as evidence of this day’s mass hysteria and leave it at that.

In a stunning sweep and a victory for Apple any way you slice it, an unnamed party has purchased the “iPhone DevTeam” Pwnage tool demonstrated on YouTube, widely announced for release today. The team has been disbanded and the jailbreak and unlock scene will probably never be the same again.

Surely the lawyers have locked this one down tight, and we’ll probably never know, but bets are on Apple using both the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the almighty, irresistible dollar to squelch these hackers once and for all. Their tool seems to violate the reverse engineering and copyright circumventions intrinsic to the DMCA, by allowing the customization of the firmware and operating system files.

We hope the term “pwned” is retired now. We didn’t think someone could come up with a word worse than “blog” and then see it leak into the vernacular. Perhaps the Apple legal team is defending not only their intellectual property, but also the English language?

April Fools?

Steve Jobs “just says no” to Flash on iPhone. Well, on first glance, that’s just what he says now, and we all know, like a good episode of Lost, there’s always more to unpack and nothing is what it seems. Considering Adobe’s product line, the so-called “missing middle Flash product” suitable for the iPhone doesn’t yet exist. The middle product refers to something between Flash Player for the desktop and Flash Lite for mobile devices. But, considering the pipeline, it’s only a matter of time before Adobe AIR Mobile hits iPhone and just about every other mobile device, smack dab in the middle of the entire mainstream interactive media ecosystem.¹

Despite all the nay-saying, Adobe seems determined to get Flash on OS X Touch.

The brilliance of both Apple and Adobe waiting for Adobe AIR Mobile to launch is that it addresses all issues and pleases both parties politically:

• AIR Mobile is likely to be built upon AJAX, WebKit and Flash Player with the ActionScript 3.0 VM, as it is on the desktop, so it will be robust, efficient, modern and support both Apple’s and Adobe’s standards. It will please developers, designers, open standards proponents, lovers of proprietary goodness, and every other regular user who just wants everything to just work.
• AIR Mobile will solve the installation and distribution problem inherent in Flash Lite. Flash Player for the desktop has never been about standalone application installation. AIR on the desktop bridges this gap. It’s only a matter of time before Adobe sends AIR into the mobile device space and allows creators to put mobile app icons on standby screens with a few clicks. Just think Apple AppStore, or jailbreak AppTapp for Adobe Mobile AIR.
• AIR Mobile will bridge the fading distinction between web – desktop – mobile by allowing creators to write software in one environment (eg. Flex Builder) and distribute codebase to all three of these crucial platforms in a truly hybrid sense.
• It’s really no coincidence that Apple and Adobe are both investing heavily in products named “Air” — the notion of the data-cloud, cloud-sourcing, everyware, and webware is nascent. Narrow-minded jargon-lovers will call it Web 3.0, but intelligent folks will hopefully leave this lame version number moniker behind and use the appropriately visionary language espoused here.

Multi-touch API is the key

The central unresolved issue that remains is a multi-touch API. Any version of Flash for iPhone will need to have its intrinsic APIs updated for multi-touch and that will need to translate to a higher-level ActionScript object so that designers and developers can trap events related to multi-touch gestures. Without gestures like pinch, flick, zoom and others, it’s really pointless to put Flash on iPhone.

At the end of the day, talk about politics, performance and battery life are probably just the red-herrings that both Apple and Adobe need to work out the vexing issue of multi-touch APIs. In fact, it will probably take a few years before all platforms (Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android and iPhone) all reckon with multi-touch on all levels of hardware and software.

The alleged YouTube Mobile Safari plugin in OS X Touch 2.0 beta is probably all the beehive needs to chill out and give Apple and Adobe the breathing room they need to get multi-touch worked out, and deploy Mobile AIR on a dizzying and divergent array of devices, platforms and crotchety carriers.

Previously:

• YouTube plugin for Mobile Safari Suggests No Flash in iPhone 2.0←
• Will iPhone Ever Run Flash?←

Footnotes

1. This is based only pure postulation and not informed by any confidential Adobe insight.

Specula-palooza Rocks On

The latest in Flash and iPhone rumor-mongering suggests a YouTube plug-in for Mobile Safari will accompany this summer’s Touch OS 2.0 update. An uncorroborated claim indicates that this plug-in is contained within the recently seeded developer iPhone SDK 2.0 beta firmware.

This would theoretically enable embedded YouTube movies to work on the billions of pages that currently flaunt the dreaded blue question mark icon. Presumably, a page with an embedded YouTube SWF player might show a thumbnail with a play icon that when tapped would load the clip in the native YouTube player or some embedded player within Mobile Safari. This would be similar to what happens when you load an embedded MP4 video file via the native QuickTime player within the iPod function.

In technical terms, Mobile Safari may parse the OBJECT and EMBED tags that point to the YouTube SWF player and redirect the path to the video into its own native player.

It’s important to note that not all YouTube videos would work. In fact, numerous clips not encoded to MP4 H.264 remain only available in the Flash codecs Sorenson Spark and On2 and therefore would not play in the Mobile Safari YouTube plugin. Although, Apple and Google seem to be colluding to convert the vast user-generated video library over into the H.263 format. It’s truly doubtful that OS X Touch 2.0 contains additional video codecs beyond H.263.

However, rather than subscribing to comment stream appearing below rumor sites, this YouTube Mobile Safari plugin is very likely not a clue towards a Flash player for iPhone. In fact, this could be the kiss of death for the chances of seeing it soon.

This kind of Mobile Safari plug-in access is precisely what Apple is shielding from Adobe (and other third-party developers, thanks to the sandbox intrinsic to the SDK). In many ways, a YouTube plugin acts as a trojan horse to usurp dominance from Flash in favor of WebKit and open standards. For most people who crave a Flash Player for iPhone, it’s the frequent dead-end to embedded YouTube clips that has them most irked. Once that kink is worked out, will users really miss Flash?

The other crucial importance of a Mobile Safari YouTube plugin is that it bypasses the main sticking point: how to implement multi-touch via an ActionScript API in the Flash Player!

We’re not suggesting Flash Player won’t ever appear on OS X Touch, but if a native YouTube plugin appears for Mobile Safari this summer, it has big implications for Adobe’s mobile strategy, and concerns the long-term viability of Flash as a de-facto standard if the mobile medium cannot be captured.

We’d love to see Flash on OS X Touch. There is a vast designer and developer community out there fluent in ActionScript that would thrive in a Touch world. It’s all about a multi-touch API from here on out. We’ve tinkered with both Mobile Safari web application design with WebKit and AJAX and also attempted to pick apart Cocoa Touch. There is no middle ground yet, and the Touch application market is nascent and fractured as a result. You’ve either got really crappy web applications or sketchy jailbreak apps. Yes, this summer’s launch of the AppStore will change the game forever. But, until the vast Adobe-enabled developer community is employed to create, the market will be constricted by limitations and learning curves.

Previously: Will iPhone Ever Run Flash? ←

1. Existing 1.1.1 or 1.1.2 jailbroken phone — early upgraders or new owners may consider this guide to downgrading 1.1.3
2. Installer.app (AppTapp by Nullriver pre-installed)
3. Possible disabling of Google Maps “Locate Me” feature
4. The usual fearless audacity to perform authorized operations on a licensed device.

Similar to the iPhone 1.1.2 jailbreak and earlier ones, the process involves patching the Apple firmware files and then flashing the phone. The controversy around jailbreaking ultimately centers around copyright and maybe even DMCA concerns. Obviously, this is a developing story, evolving the continuing saga of cat-and-mousing.

The Google Map Location feature that comprises the most useful feature of 1.1.3 may not be available with the jailbreak for SIM unlockers according to the early reports, so this may be a deal-breaker for aspiring jail-breakers/un-lockers. As always, if you don’t know the difference between jailbreaking and unlocking, then you either need to educate yourself or run, far away from this stuff. Perusing the comment chatter out there, many are experiencing difficulties with the jailbreak and compatibility concerns.

Assuming you’ve got a 1.1.3 iPhone and need to downgrade before jailbreaking, this process promises to be a confoundingly elaborate process, probably consuming several hours of your time. If you just need to jailbreak to 1.1.3, the process is probably fairly quick and painless.

Get the iPhone 1.1.3 jailbreak » All the usual warnings and disclaimers apply. We publish this information for editorial and historical purposes and not as evidence of our actions. We have not tested the downgrade or Nate True jailbreak.

Via Erica Sadun via Nate True via the Dev Team

Original iPhone hackster extraordinaire Nate True has used some undisclosed means to peek into firmware 1.1.3 and discovered essential file system structural changes that will allow Official SDK based third-party applications to run and install easily. Notably…

1. SpringBoard appears to display whatever is in the /Applications directory. Earlier firmwares used a .plist XML configuration file. Then, at 1.1.1, Apple dropped the editable text file in favor of a locked SpringBoard, which, in turn, was quickly hacked with SummerBoard and other unofficial apps for re-ordering and adding. Perhaps, the SpringBoard home screen is even more efficient at 1.1.3 in that it simply renders the contents of the /Applications directory.
2. Applications run as the user “mobile” instead of as “root” which clearly sandboxes official apps and resolves numerous security concerns with opening up the platform for third-party development.
3. Preference files are stored in the “mobile” user directory (/var/mobile) instead of the “root” user directory (/var/root), a natural extension of implementation #2.

Via Nate True at cre.ations.net

Further consideration yields the basic assumption that Apple can release the SDK, and even launch titles from third-parties that will effortlessly install into iPhone 1.1.3 without additional updates required. The iPod Touch update purchased via iTunes is probably the essence of what’s to come.

The burning question remains, however. Will the jailbreak scene still thrive after officialization commences? What about the magnificent Nullriver AppTapp Installer? And the further exploits of his majesty Nate True?

It was a fun ride, and we certainly garnered a small portion of the incredible Google search term traffic related to iPhone hype in 2006. I’m afraid we’ll be waiting out the dark period until February 2008, when the official SDK is released and a new generation of extensibility emerges for Touch applications. We also anticipate a significant iPhone firmware update at MacWorld 2008 in January to tide us over. Not to mention all the brouhaha that will sound out when the 3G version hits the streets.

In short, the jailbreak process became too arduous and the reliability of some common applications became dubious. Naturally, this is no surprise, given the fact that Apple had no reasons to support these endeavors. Indeed, the post-SDK era will involve mediation through digital signatures, and the indy iPhone developer market will writhe in pain. But, if it means that applications will be sturdy, well designed, and accountable to performance and efficiency standards, we have to admit that it’s probably worth it, having learned the hard way. When it comes to a mobile phone, the basic functions are more crucial than on a desktop or laptop computer. Things like basic communications capabilities really do, just have to work.

With an 1.1.3 update rumored to be hitting the servers this week sporting voice recording and disk mode storage, the jailbreak process promises only to get more arcane.

Patience Required, Running 3rd Party Apps on iPhone OS X 1.1.2 possible.

Is Apple is winning the cat and mouse game against pre-SDK application development, despite best efforts on behalf of the dev community?

Our testing reveals that incremental downgrades towards 1.0.2 and then back up to 1.1.2 indicate success. Employ the TIFF exploit in 1.1.1 via Jailbreakme.com in Mobile Safari; Use AppTapp [in Tweaks (1.1.1)] to install the “OktoPrep” package prior to upgrading to 1.1.2; and finally run the Conceited 1.1.2 Jailbreak kit (Java .jar on Mac, Batch .bat on Windows).

That means that if you’ve upgraded or buy a new iPhone during the 1.1.2 release phase, you’ll need to follow an absurd downgrade-upgrade sequence:

1. Downgrade to 1.1.1
2. Downgrade to 1.0.2
3. Upgrade to 1.1.1
4. Jailbreakme
5. AppTapp
6. OktoPrep
7. Upgrade to 1.1.2

Disclaimer & Warnings

Some users may have luck skipping the 1.0.2 downgrade, mileage will vary. This information carries the usual caveats: These modifications may void your warranty, implied support by Apple and who knows what else. An iTunes-based Restore does not fully erase your iPhone and return it to its 100% pristine state from the factory. Indeed, preference files remain between restore and updates, from third-party apps. Use at your risk.

More on Jailbreak OS X 1.1.2

The downgrading process involves:

1. Obtain the Apple firmware files (no longer as easy to get directly from Apple)
2. Ensure firmware files have .ipsw extension (not .zip)
3. Enter Recovery mode (DFU)
4. Use iTunes to Option (Shift) – Update and choose appropriate firmware package
5. Endure with patience
6. Trick out of Recovery mode (with iNdepenence)

The tricks of doing this efficiently involve:

• Learning some nuances to getting into the proper recovery mode
• Then, how to get out of it; let iNdependence sit for a minute connected!
• Disable sync of your iTunes media and then re-syncing when you’re done, to save time during the restore.
• Kill the iTunes Helper process (Activity Monitor on Mac, Task Manager on Windows), preventing the auto-connect between iPhone and iTunes.
• Let iTunes re-activate your phone (if you’re on AT&T), at the right moment
• Or use iNdependence or the Conceited tools to activate,
• Or use the secret keypad code sequence (see Conceited Tools README) to sneak into Safari to use Jailbreakme, (without AT&T)
• Re-install your custom app selections with AppTapp
• Re-apply your SummerBoard mod,
• Re-order the icons through Customize,
• Re-install your NES ROMs with SFTP/SSH or the new Bonjour/AppleTalk file-system mount method

See the Instant One-Touch Jailbreak Method as a simple alternative to what’s described in detail below. It takes advantage of the TIFF Exploit in Mobile Safari to jailbreak simply by visiting a site. It then patches this scary loophole after installing the Nullriver AppTapp into your Springboard.

Original Post

We threatened to write this tutorial, and our own experimentation with AppTapp 3 beta on the latest firmware and the ensuing customizations like SummerBoard and Customize on iPhone 1.1.1 forced us to become very familiar with all the nuances of compatibility and the absurd downgrade-to-upgrade process. We’ve published our meticulous notes as a PDF guide where you too can install native third-party apps and customizations without using the command-line, as long as you comply with the following requirements:

• AT&T customer. No SIM unlocks.
• Mac. Intel or PowerPC. No Windows, but the iNdependence tool can be substituted for the PC equivalent.
• OS X 10.4.10 — Leopard support untested.
• iTunes 7.4.2
• iPhone 1.1.1 and 1.0.2 firmwares
• Novices, beginners, newbies welcome — patience required
• Experience modders may adapt this guide for other platforms, scenarios

Download the PDF guide which includes download links to the required tools, including iNdependence 1.2.4 (.dmg), the iPhone 1.0.2 firmware files (.ipsw) and the Nullriver AppTapp installer (.zip). Folks may groan about the PDF document as opposed to universal HTML formatting, but be assured that the PDF contains screen shots of crucial dialogs and is as detail-oriented as they come. It’s probably the best step-by-step tutorial out there at the moment. In the spirit of full disclosure though, it’s fifty steps long, but does not require any command-line. We’re not sure if this is step forward or backward, but it’s a reliable, well-tested method, either way.

Important notes that deserve republishing outside of the PDF guide:

1. Do not install both Trip1PogoStick and SummerBoard on 1.1.1 — you’ll get startup freeze (stuck on Apple logo), especially if you’ve used previous 1.1.1. upgrade methods, including iNdepenence 1.2.2. and/or Trip1Prepz. We made this mistake and that’s what inspired us to start fresh and document every step for you. Use iTunes to restore to a fresh 1.1.1 state if this occurs.
2. Do not install the 1.1.1 tweaks with SummerBoard. They are not compatible SummerBoard and Customize and will screw up your Springboard forcing to to restore to 1.1.1 and then start the 50 step process all over again. We attempted this and ended up with a blank Springboard, no icons, and no phone functionality. This is the closest we’ve come to a brick, yet, in all our of hacking tests.
3. Do not follow any of these steps and discard this document immediately if you are not prepared to void your warranty and any obligation of Apple or AT&T to support you in these endeavors. They have clearly stated that these modifications are in violation of their use agreements. In fact, it is not yet easy to even truly make a factory fresh iPhone, without any trace of third-party modifications, in the event that you might want to return your device. Although using third-party applications is far less risky than unlocking your firmware to run on other networks beyond AT&T, it’s still considered an unauthorized activity. No warranties are implied by these instructions. You follow these steps at your own risk as assume all liabilities herein. If you have any reservations about these activities, delete this document and forget about iPhone modding. We have no responsibility for your actions and provide this information for academic research purposes only.

Once installed, you’ll enjoy SummerBoard and its themes and customizations as well as the Customize program, albeit buggy on 1.1.1, does allow icon ordering. Anal Retentive iPhone Hackers rejoice! Note that the vertical flicking of SummerBoard on 1.0.2 is replaced with the horizontal paging that you may have already experienced on early versions of 1.1.1 exploits.

For those who cannot wait for an AppTapp 1.1.1 Update

See our Install AppTapp 3.0 beta in iPhone 1.1.1 without Command Line tutorial←

Certainly, at this moment, we can only assume that Nullriver is busy updating their AppTapp installer to integrate the revised jailbreak and install procedure required with the iPhone 1.1.1 software update. Only in the past few days have the new symlink technique tools been released in beta. Ironically, you use AppTapp in the process of preparing your iPhone 1.0.2 to update to 1.1.1 and then apply another third-party hack to get around the recent lockdown of the SpringBoard, which no longer uses the DisplayOrder.plist file to determine the visibility and ordering of icons on the main menu, rendering SummerBoard obsolete in favor of another hack which allows horizontal-style scrolling to add more icons.

What you’ll lose with 1.1.1

By gaining the 1.1.1 features such as the WiFi Music Store, Home button double-click shortcuts, and space-bar double-tap for a period feature, among other minor tweaks, you will lose certain things you might have enjoyed under 1.0.2 and under, with the third-party applications and enhancements. This includes losing the ability to order the icons in the SpringBoard with rSBT, applying SummerBoard themes, and perhaps most critically for some, the ability to create custom ringtones. iPhone 1.1.1 requires a strange ring tone file format (.m4r) and tools to create these files don’t seem to be available, yet. This is especially disappointing as it effectively eliminates your ability to create sound effect ringtones, or install the brilliant Cellphone sound that’s found deep the iLife sound library. Why does Apple think we only want musical ringtones? What if customers find them dreadfully annoying, and would prefer a simple ring that sounds like a cellphone, such as the one featured on the original iPhone TV commercials!

Update requirements

Once a step-by-step procedure was published by iPhoneAlley, we decided we would take the plunge and see if it works, rather than wait it out for Nullriver to release their elegant “next-next” wizard that handles the process easily and command-line free in a single fool-proof method that minimizes opportunities for error. We can confirm with amusement that, indeed, the 1.1.1 software update does allow third-party programs to be installed. Although the process is different, it’s not really any more or less scary than the original manual method we used before AppTapp was released with its novice-ready installation. In fact, the tools and methods have actually evolved since, and someone who fits the following profile could consider doing this also:

1. Have a Macintel (no PowerPC or Windows support at this time)
2. Have an AT&T account (no unlocked SIMs; free/open source unlocking tools aren’t ready yet)
3. Have about 30 minutes of patience to follow directions very carefully
4. Have some experience with AppTapp, Terminal, SSH and SFTP
5. Don’t mind potentially voiding your Apple warranty

Disclaimer, Warning, Caution

If you don’t qualify with all of the above conditions, you should definitely either wait for Nullriver to update AppTapp for 1.1.x, or think again about your inclinations to modify your iPhone.

Otherwise, all the usual warnings and disclaimers apply: Do this at your own risk. We assume no liability. Future updates from Apple are almost certain to close whatever loopholes were discovered at this point. Third-party applications make modifications to your iPhone, such as write preference files, that an Apple support technician might be able to detect, even after performing a Restore.

Further clarification

We followed iPhoneAlley’s step-by-step instructions, which are adequate for those of us that fit somewhere between a command-line hacker and a novice. The process takes about 30 minutes and seems to be reversible with the described downgrade feature. It’s important to make the clear distinction between “unlocking” and “jailbreaking,” the former is a far more risky endeavor where you modify the deep innards of the device to allow SIM cards and service providers other than AT&T. Inoperable bricked phones have been reported with the 1.1.1 in this case. Jailbreaking is simply opening up the iPhone’s file system to allow read and write access to allow the installation of third-party software and other customizations. Unlocking and 1.1.1 upgrades is probably still too risky at this point, while jailbreaking seems to be fairly safe.

Lean Machine

It’s worth noting that there are only two third-party applications that we ended up installing on our newly upgraded 1.1.1 system: NES and Chat. All the other programs are basically proof-of-concepts, raw experimentations, non-essential and easily forgettable. However, retrogaming and a genuine IM client, two things that might never be officialized by Apple (via AT&T) are considered indispensable additions to sorely lacking features of the factory feature set: games and IM.

UPDATE October 20, 2007

It turns out that the release of iNdepenence 1.2.2 was probably premature, as a later, greater version (1.2.4) emerged on October 18 that resolves some key issues with 1.2.2, that include how the Springboard is handled. Anyone who used 1.2.2 (us!) could have either used some patches released to resolve issues, or end up starting the whole restore, downgrade, exploit, upgrade, re-install process all over again. We’re compiling a tutorial and notes as we go through it. Stay tune for a posting on the subject.

UPDATE October 15, 2007

A new version of iNdependence was release today (v1.2.2) on Google code which supports Jailbreak on 1.1.1 firmware. It includes a special UI to perform and prepare for the 1.1.1 update which is not indicated in the iPhoneAlley step-by-step guide that we followed. Any users that have not yet updated form 1.0.2 to 1.1.1 should read the included Help documentation to learn the best method of preparing for 1.1.1 and then using their post 1.1.1 upgrade procedures available in the Firmware tab of this program. If you updated to 1.1.1 from 1.0.2 before this was released, you may need to downgrade with it, and then re-update to allow the ability to perform jailbreaks in the future. In the procedure outlined by iPhoneAlley, you really only get a one-shot-deal to jailbreak, so this new method is clearly preferred. We’ll comment on our experience preforming the downgrade and then re-upgrade using the new version of iNdependence.

UPDATE October 16, 2007

Some experiences in using iNdependence 1.2.2 to manage the migration to iPhone 1.1.1 while preserving AppTapp and jailbreak access (not SIM unlocking) follow. The built-in Help provides the step-by-step directions, however, it still needs some work, as it confusingly refers to itself in a circular fashion. We would still recommend waiting for Nullriver to release AppTapp for 1.1.1 if you’re at all weary of needing to carefully follow an arcane set of instructions or avoid using the command-line altogether. This update to iNependence achieves jailbreaking capabilities on the new firmware, but that’s about it.

Helpful Hints

Things to watch out for, not well documented in the built-in Help, when working with iNdependence 1.2.2 and the 1.0.2 to 1.1.1 upgrade process with jailbreak:

• The built-in Help documentation does not cover how to install AppTapp. However, you can use iNdependence or an SFTP client like CyberDuck to copy the Installer.app file found within the AppTapp installer package. Once copied, you can SSH into your 1.1.1 iPhone and trigger launching it via the command-line. Then you can enter the conceited software beta installer link into your MobileSafari, adding the required Trip1PogoStick hack, to allow the 1.1.1. SpringBoard to display programs, including Installer. Refer to the iPhoneAlley tutorial steps that cover these aspects, and ignore the steps that are covered by the new iNdependence method, which precludes the need to preform the installation of the Trip1Prep step. That seems to be the symlink trick that allows the 1.1.1 upgrade, but iNdependence handles that during its Pre-1.1.1 and Post-1.1.1 steps. On the iPhoneAlley tutorial, they say not to use iNdependence or use the traditional AppTapp installation. Although true in the case of the AppTapp installation, this tutorial needs to be updated to account for the reality that iNdependence has since been updated, and can be used to update to 1.1.1, in fact, offers a preferred method which retains the jailbreak. By following the iPhoneAlley method, you lose the jailbreak after completing the upgrade. It’s gotten very confusing, indeed. Apple is doing an excellent job of altering the infrastructure just enough to disrupt our efforts significantly.
• Be sure to kill the iTunes Helper process using Activity Monitor. Otherwise, iTunes will launch during many of the required reboots, and could interfere with the crucial timing of the re-activation.
• Temporarily deactivate your media syncing in iTunes, especially if you have downgrade. This will save you lots of time as the iPhone gets “erases” and re-built. Re-check the boxes for your songs, photos, videos, etc. after the process has been completed and sync up.
• We discovered the hard way, that you really want to let iTunes perform the Activation, rather than use iNdependence. It appears that if you use iNdependence to activate the phone and then deactivate it, iTunes does not appear to successfully re-activate, and thus you become dependent on iNdepedence. Yikes!
• Although the built-in Help claims that your YouTube will be fine during this process, we found that it did not work after the process. Fortunately, we easily found this reference, where you can download the appropriate security key files and upload them to the correct place on your iPhone file system (/var/root/Library/Lockdown/), and this seems to restore YouTube functionality.
• You’ll need to re-sync one additional time after the process is complete to get your Apple iTunes Music Store account properly associated with your WiFi Music Store in order to purchase music on the iPhone.
• Don’t forget to change your SSH passwords from the defaults, to help prevent getting truly hacked by a malicious user on some WiFi network. iNdependence does make it easy to change these passwords in the SSH tab.

Indeed, we could work on a write-up that combines the best of what’s offered on iPhoneAlley and the iNdepenence built-in Help, but by the time we finish that, Nullriver might have their brilliant AppTapp Installer updated, and then, like before, it’ll be a waste of time, thankfully. It’s very likely that some other passionate modder has beat us to the punch, by now.

Specula-palooza

Risking iPhone coverage overexposure, today we ponder one of the most interesting questions about the future of Flash, iPhone and web standards. Despite assurances by Uncle Walt that Apple and Adobe are hard at work on a Flash Player for iPhone, plenty of naysayers, skeptics, and player-haters have voiced strong speculations that Flash will never appear on the iPhone for strategic, practical and technical reasons. A quick scan of comments on various iPhone related entries across the web reveals an almost universal plea amongst everyday users indicating that a dearly missed feature from Mobile Safari is the presence of a mainstream multimedia plugin. In fact, the world’s most popular piece of software in history, is well known to be absent from iPhone.¹

Mobilizing the Means of Production

Those who have written about why iPhone should not have a Flash Player don’t mask their agendas. These voices are usually programmers and developers who have always been hostile to Flash, mostly because it threatens their grip on the means of production, by bringing software and interface design to the masses. Indeed, we’ve seen the worst and the best of the web, as a result. Furthermore, because Flash has always been a mainstream, populist, albeit proprietary media format, it has been deployed for reach and ease of creation, rather than robust performance. When imagining a Flash Player for iPhone, its high-octane thirst for processor cycles does not bode well for battery life.

Monopolizing Web Standards

The second significant argument against iPhone Flash is Apple’s strategy to deploy its WebKit “web standards” platform for all third-party application development. Indeed, the recently redesigned Apple.com site has reduced its use of Flash significantly, in favor of JavaScript and browser based features, so-called AJAX. The argument goes that Apple doesn’t want to forsake its influence on the consumer-level interface design market by inserting Adobe’s trojan horse into the battlefield.² This perspective does make a lot of sense, but leaves out a tremendous amount of nuance, that we’ll investigate here.

A Muted Voice

The assumption that web standards based technology, such as JavaScript, can wholly replace Flash functionality is only somewhat true, especially on iPhone.³ Certainly, the support of JavaScript and its embrace by the web developer community over the past three to five years has changed the face of the web, earning the popular title of version 2.0. However, Flash offers some essential multimedia capabilities that JavaScript alone cannot yet offer. This includes audio support. It’s no coincidence that Bejeweled for iPhone is mute. Especially considering that many iPhone users may have stereo headsets plugged in during use, there are unimaginable uses for audio based applications, especially when combined with locative media technologies. Imagine a sort of audiopedia. The differences don’t start and end with audio support, however. Even Apple’s newly touted Web Gallery feature, part of a .Mac subscription with the iLife personal media suite needs to use Flash for its carousel photo browsing interface.⁴ Indeed, only the Flash Player offers the multimedia engine to manipulate the images as a responsive interface with the reach required on this consumer grade product.

I Want My MTV

Certainly, the most common deployment of Flash Player on the web recently is for web video. It was almost shocking to watch the FLV video format surpass RealPlayer, Windows Media and QuickTime as the most important, influential web video format, in what seemed like a matter of months, with much thanks to YouTube and others. A recent Adobe Flash Player 9 public beta featured H.264 video support, which seems part of its strategy to preserve the dominance of Flash video, especially as Apple and Google migrate towards this non-Flash based video standard. However, until the myriad of embedded SWF FLV players on perhaps billions of web pages get updated to auto-detect the client and deliver the appropriate video by codec, the web will still appear to be littered with missing plugins on Mobile Safari.

Assumptions and Speculations

Let’s proceed with the assumption that Walt Mossberg was correct, and indeed, Apple and Adobe have reached an agreement to release Flash Player iPhone in some manifestation, at some time. Of course, he could be blindly speculating like the rest of us, just running on the fact that it feels crazy for Flash not to be there. But, let’s hope he’s as well-connected and respected as they say he is.⁵ There are several scenarios for the future of Flash iPhone, which should only contribute to the over-saturated discourse by further complicating the biased opinions with an understanding of Adobe’s perspective, previously, and conveniently left out of the discussion.

A Straight Port of Flash Player 9

In this scenario, Adobe compiles the current version of the desktop Flash Player 9 for the ARM processor of iPhone. This scenario would allow all of the existing web-based Flash content to function within Mobile Safari. Authors who create content in ActionScript 3 would enjoy a noticeable improvement of performance and energy efficiency on the iPhone, since this type of content would play in the more recent Flash Virtual Machine, a marked improvement over previous runtime environments, across Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. However, the vast majority of Flash content on the web right now was created in ActionScript 1.0 and 2.0, and so does not take advantage of the improvements to the runtime. Indeed, the skeptics are correct when they assume that running web pages with Flash content, even animated banners, would put an unfortunate drain on the battery.However, what’s crucially missing from a simple straight-on port of Flash Player 9 for iPhone is a substantial confrontation with the multi-touch interface. This is likely the deal-breaker for this scenario. Although, ActionScript and Flash button symbols might offer some means of developing and designing for the iPhone’s multi-touch interface, it’s more than likely that despite the best efforts of Flash coders, the existing means to respond to mouse-based interactions will fall short of the requirements needed to respond to multi-touch. Gestures like pinch, tap-zoom, and flick are difficult to imagine as ActionScript events. Indeed, Adobe probably needs to reckon with the reality that ActionScript needs a true multi-touch API. This could be one of the many reasons why we can only assume that iPhone Flash is in development now, and may be for quite some time, especially based on Apple’s delay in releasing an official iPhone SDK.

Probability: Very Low

Flash Player 10

Looking into 2008, perhaps third or fourth quarter, we have to assume that Adobe will continue to release improved versions of the Flash Player. Version 10 is likely to provide Adobe with the required release cycle needed to fully contend with Apple’s native iPhone application API and SDK release schedule. It’s much more likely that ActionScript libraries will be written that allow true response to the multi-touch gestures, such as pinching, flicking and zoom-tapping. It’s really difficult to imagine a Flash Player on iPhone without this crucial ActionScript API.Furthermore, this allows Adobe to potentially release new versions of the Flash and Flex authoring tools that will compile in Flash Player 10, and subsequently, support a runtime environment that is tuned to the needs of the ARM architecture and precious battery life. It’s been frustrating to read the Flash iPhone haters and their blatant neglect for Adobe’s expertise in the area of building a Flash Player for mobile devices. There has simply been no mention of the possibility of Flash Lite for iPhone.

Probability: Medium

Flash Lite 2.1

Flash Lite is a very special version of the Flash Player for mobile devices, such as Symbian Series 60, Windows Mobile and others. It is not the Flash Player that typically sits in an embedded browser, like the vast majority of Flash content out there. Instead, Flash Lite content exists as standalone, full-screen, mobile applications, or more appropriate mobile media implementations such as a standby screens, wallpapers, screen-savers, and even the device’s native UI.Not only is Flash Lite compiled to the particular device, and so is limited by its processing and memory capabilities, but it also has proven to be very energy efficient, accordingly. Indeed, authors must specifically design and code for Flash Lite. It is in no way, a conversion from desktop Flash content. In this manner, designers and developers alike, are rightly forced to contend with the requirements of mobile media, in terms of interface, content and use-case considerations.It’s possible that Adobe could port Flash Lite to iPhone instead of the expected desktop Flash Player. In this regard, Flash Player would exists as a widget on the SpringBoard home-screen of iPhone, and not as a Mobile Safari plugin. Although it would not fix countless broken plugins in pages that use Flash Player, it would offer mobile media design opportunities for Flash on iPhone. Specifically, Flash Lite already offers APIs to interact with mobile phone specific features, such as triggering the vibrate, detecting battery life, and cell network signal strength. These capabilities are not offered on the desktop version of Flash Player, and may or may not be available in Apple’s official native iPhone application API or SDK. Only time will tell.In this scenario, Flash Lite becomes an avenue for designers and developers familiar with Adobe’s toolsets to create applications that exist as standalone native experiences, rather than embedded modules of Mobile Safari. In many ways, this supports the special needs of mobile media more appropriately than simply making the familiar Flash just work. Imagining a port of Flash Lite for iPhone could mean the opening of a vast market for native iPhone widget applications, designed by designers, and not restricted to hard-core Objective C programmers. Indeed, this is a threatening prospect for those that are eager to carve out a niche in iPhone application development. However, Flash Lite 2.1 probably does not offer the means to react to multi-touch gestures like pinch, flick and tap-zoom, and so it’s probably not the version we will eventually see.

Probability: Low

Flash Lite 3

Just as the desktop Flash Player is constantly updated, the mobile Flash Lite player is also expected to be evolving. It is said, that a forthcoming version of the Flash Lite player, perhaps 3, will bridge the gap between the embedded browser Flash content and the standalone mobile specific Flash Lite content.⁶ In other words, Flash Lite 3 could play not just in the mobile device’s web browser, but could also run within its native operating system environment. This jives with Adobe’s efforts to seed the use of Flash outside of the browser and distribute a desktop based native runtime, called AIR, the Adobe Integrated Runtime. In addition, a Flash Lite 3 would address the concerns of a multi-touch API, and the required energy efficiencies for battery life, memory usage and processor cycling, as well as provide ActionScript to trigger mobile device specific features intrinsic to Flash Lite.In this case, Flash would exist in two manifestations on iPhone: as standalone native applications on the SpringBoard home screen, and as a Mobile Safari plugin, playing the usual desktop based content. This gives developers, designers and end-users the best of all worlds. Flash content can be created with mobile use in mind, considering the unique user interface and energy efficiency required. Everyday users will enjoy not only the full multimedia web they’ve grown accustomed to on the desktop, but also will enjoy a market of native mobile applications that arguably, the Objective C programmers of the world, simply cannot singlehandedly service.

Probability: Medium-High

Conclusions

Flash will appear on iPhone eventually. There is no doubt that Adobe will roadmap this device into its strategy for Flash Player, Flash Lite, or both.Yes, there are significant performance, interface and user considerations that must be addressed as Flash appears on iPhone. Adobe has already demonstrated an accomplished ability to service the mobile media market. It’s only a matter of when, and what form iPhone Flash takes as it appears beneath our beloved glass multi-touch screens.One can only imagine the pressure Adobe’s product planners are putting on its Flash Player team to fit iPhone into the needs of the short-term and long-term strategy. In the short term, Adobe needs to get Flash on iPhone within the next three to six months to capture the required developer and designer audience, and compete with the ascendancy of Mobile Safari and native iPhone applications. In the long term, Adobe needs to get it right, and release a iPhone Flash Player that addresses the specific needs of both mobile media and the vast legacy of desktop Flash content out there. A premature release could spell long term disaster for Flash, as it needs to compete with the rapidly expanding Open Source and Web Standards movement. We haven’t mentioned Microsoft’s entry into the web media space with its recently launched Silverlight platform, but until we stumble upon a site that actually uses it, it’s irrelevant.Although there are many who would like Flash to just go away, because it’s not open source, not free, and tends to be used to bombard us with annoying banner ads and horrible interface design models, Flash is not going away anytime soon. However, how Apple and Adobe navigate the uncharted territory of merging mobile and desktop user experiences along with multi-touch interfaces, will certainly determine the relevance of Flash in the years to come.

Footnotes

1. See Adobe statistics on Flash Player downloads.
2. See Roughly Drafted’s analysis.
3. See A List Apart’s analysis.
4. See Cabel Sasser’s Twitter which claims dibs on this observation.
5. See the profile of Walt Mossberg in the New Yorker.
6. Speculative, but based on reliable, but undisclosed interactions with Adobe. Also, see Bill Perry’s entry on the subject.

Read Packing Lite: A mobile media interface design primer on Adobe’s Developer Center to get my perspective how to adapt to directional-pad based devices in Flash Lite. I detail the process of transferring SWF files to Nokia Series 60 devices and analyze a 4-way menu example from Adobe’s Content Developer Kit (CDK).

» Packing Lite on Adobe.com

Article to be published on Adobe Developer Center

Packing Lite: Getting Started Designing Interfaces for Mobile Media

I wrote an article/tutorial for Adobe’s Developer Center to be published at the end of August covering how to get started designing interfaces in Flash Lite on Nokia Series 60 devices. It details how to get equipped for mobile media design using Flash and the Flash Lite platform, install Flash Lite content on Nokia S60 phones with Bluetooth or Nokia’s PC Suite, discusses the unique interface design challenges, and looks at an example, highlighting the issues.

Stay tuned, as I’ll be sure to post the link to the article when it goes live. Article pushed live at 5 PM PST, August 17, 2007←

• Introduction↓
• Getting Started↓
• How to install NES Game ROMs↓
• How to get sound working in NES↓
• How to get PICO working in iPhone Remote Terminal↓
• How to change the SSH root password↓
• How to Remove (Uninstall) applications↓
• How to Find your iPhone’s IP Address↓

Introduction

This guide is written for Mac users who are not familiar with using UNIX, but are very interested in getting third-party applications installed into the Springboard home screen of their iPhone (not Safari web apps). There are several guides and wiki sites out there at the moment that detail this process. This guide has not yet been updated for firmware 1.1.1 and only applies to 1.0.2 and under until it is updated. In the meantime, iPhoneAlley offers one of the first step-by-step guides for the recently announced 1.1.1  third-party application installation technique. It is not meant for novices, but could  be what you’re looking for.

Since the original posting, installing native iPhone applications has become easier than ever, thanks to the amazing Nullriver software Installer. → It gives you a beautiful iPhone style multi-touch interface to install emerging 3rd party applications handling all the tricky stuff for you. Furthermore, it automatically checks for updates and makes sure you can keep up with the rapid pace of development. It is already clear that the Nullriver Installer is going to fuel the growth of this exploding scene.Nullriver has created AppTapp, a Mac and Windows graphical wizard← to get you started automated script that allows you to bypass all the instructions on this guide! You will need to issue a single command in Terminal, and so the gentle primer to using that below may no longer be required since this installer installer (I know, unfortunately, redundant, but true) handles everything and gets you started. An open source alternative to Nullriver Installer has emerged called Breezy that I’ll be testing a reviewing. Clearly, Nullriver is bound to be one of the first commercial (shareware) programs available for the native iPhone application market, eventually. Apparently, Nullriver and the PXL package development group are joining forces to bring aspects of open source to AppTapp.

This guide also addresses some of the most frequently asked questions that I’ve been seeing in the comments and threads. Most of them, I’ve also had myself at some point during this process. This guide is the result of working through these challenges, doing the research, trial-and-error. It may try your patience, but be reassured that it’s all very possible, and the hardest part is just getting set up. This guide relies on some of the excellent guides that have emerged at ModMyiPhone.com, but attempts to update, augment and clean up things.

Contributions

It is my hope that this helps out the iPhoneDevTeam by fulfilling the overwhelming need to teach so many new users basic UNIX and other tricks to get these mods working. Instead of wasting time teaching newbies the basics, these amazing folks can stay focused on delivering us amazing new tools to make the most of our beloved devices. Consider this my donation to the cause.

Disclaimer and Warning

If you run into problems during modding, such as losing sync capabilities with iTunes, you will need to go through the Restore process through iTunes, which should make your phone factory fresh, but you will lose your customizations. Hopefully, this guide will help you quickly rebuild your mods, in case that happens.Set aside several hours to go through everything in this guide. However, when you’re done, you will have a nice setup for enjoying third-party iPhone applications.

Of course, this guide is provided AS IS, and use it at your own risk. I do not condone, endorse or warrant any of the actions suggested here. You are advised that altering the software on your iPhone is consideration a violation of the legal agreement you enact with Apple, and hence, they will no longer be obligated to support you. This means that you will likely void your warranty.

Modding from iPhone 1.0.1 to 1.0.2

If you have made modifications prior to the iPhone 1.0.2 software update, it is strongly recommended that you:

1. Sync to iTunes to backup your settings
2. Choose “Download” instead of “Download and Install” when prompted to update your iPhone to 1.0.2
3. Run a restore process, which will reset your phone to factory settings. Then only things you should lose are your voicemail password and WiFi access point passwords. Everything else, including SMS and Notes should be restored and you’ll have iPhone 1.0.2
4. Re-sync to iTunes. Quit iTunes and then run the Nullriver Installer script (the included README file gets you going)
5. Install Launcher, through Installer on the iPhone
6. Proceed to install items such as BSD Subsystem and OpenSSH, and then you’ll be in good shape to get NES, Lights Off and many of the other great tools and programs emerging.

Getting Started

Refer to this handy Glossary by Erica Sadun to have some of the common terms of iPhone modding translated into plain language.

1. Get comfortable with Terminal

Open what’s called a UNIX shell by finding /Applications/Utilites/Terminal on your hard drive and practice using some basic commands. If you’ve used Terminal before, you can skip this step.You’ll need to issue lots of these commands during the process, so it’s worth understanding the relationship between the command-line actions and the equivalent familiar actions that is second nature when clicking around in the Finder.Try out these commands, hitting enter after each line. See if you can figure out what’s going on.

lscd /lscd /var/root/lscd ../../cd /usr/ls -lacd ~

cd means change directory. ls means list the files in the directory, with -la you get all the file information and show hidden files also. This is what’s happening behind the scenes when you click on icons and folders in the Finder. Note that ~ means your user’s home directory.Tip: If you’re ever lost in the Terminal file paths, you can always drag-and-drop a file from the Finder into the Terminal and it will convert the path for you.

2. Get started with iActivator

http://www.modmyiphone.com/wiki/index.php/Getting_Started_iPhone_ModdingFollow the detailed guide on this page, which includes download links. In this step, you’ll create a local “phonedmg” directory on your Mac’s user account, download the restore files from Apple, and go through the “jailbreak” process, which makes your iPhone writable. You’ll always need to go back to jail to make it work with iTunes. If you have any trouble with iActivator, or it suddenly becomes unavailable for download, you can perform a jailbreak in Terminal on the command-line.

3. Install iPHUC

http://www.modmyiphone.com/wiki/index.php/Installing_iPHUC_iPhoneThis process is complicated, requiring several programmer’s tools and libraries including XCode from Apple, the MacPorts open source kit and others. All of it is free and open source, and this tutorial does take you through each step very carefully. iPHUC is required to install SSH, which will allow you to copy and manage files on your iPhone much more elegantly. Luckily, you only have to go through this and the next step once. Seriously, this is the most elaborate step, but you’ll only have to go through it once.

4. Install SSH

http://www.modmyiphone.com/wiki/index.php/Installing_ssh_on_iPhone_using_iPHUC_in_OS_XFortunately, after completing this next step, you’ll be able to easily install a more robust version of SSH, with a better security setup, as you’ll create unique security keys for your device. In addition, it is strongly recommended that you change your root password after you’ve gotten things in order. This may help prevent an attack on your phone by a malicious program that looks for iPhones with SSH enabled on public WiFi networks. Be aware that by enabling SSH, you are making your device prone to malicious attacks by downloading software that may contain malware or worse. In other words, by enabling SSH, you open the possibility of allowing software to connect to servers behind the scenes. This could involve allowing your private data being sent to servers without your explicit knowledge, or worse. There were many reasons why Apple removed SSH from the iPhone’s UNIX system in the first place. But keep things in perspective — you probably have SSH enabled on your Mac right now and so you’ve been living with these risks all along. When you realize you can wirelessly connect to your iPhone from anywhere and transfer files and do other powerful things, you’ll appreciate the potential that you’ve unlocked.

5. Install Installer.app (aka AppTapp)

http://iphone.nullriver.com/beta/Note: Nullriver’s AppTapp no longer requires the manual command-line installation detailed below, instead offering a GUI wizard style installer for Mac and Windows. This installation occurs over the USB dock cable, so if would like to install over wireless.Once you install this, adding and updating software becomes very elegant and easy. However, the documentation for this is very poor, assuming you are already familiar installing programs manually. Unfortunately, this is probably the best app to install first if you’re a newbie! Here are detailed steps, assuming you have already completed the installation of iPHUC and SSH, above.

1. Download Installer.app ZIP file from Nullriver, unzip, and move into your local “phonedmg” folder with your usual drag-and-drop Finder interactions. Make this folder, if necessary: ~/phonedmg/Applications/
2. Shut down iTunes, and use Activity Monitor to quit iTunesHelper. (see iActivator guide for details, it should be familiar from step #2 above)
3. Open iActivator, and do a Jailbreak
4. Open Terminal on your Mac
5. Find your iPhone’s IP address↓: iPhone > Settings > WiFi > blue-arrow on current network > 10.0.1.4 (sample address)We’ll use the IP address 10.0.1.4 in this guide. Your IP will probably vary, so remember to replace it with yours each time you see in the code examples.
6. Type (replacing with your iPhone’s IP address)

ssh -l root 10.0.1.4

7. When prompted, enter default password (unless you’ve already changed it)

dottie

8. Type (hitting return after each line):

       cd /Applications    mkdir Installer.app    cd Installer.app    exit

9. Type:

       cd ~/phonedmg/Applications/Installer.app

10. Type: (replacing your IP address)

    scp * root@10.0.1.4:/Applications/Installer.app[password "dottie"]

11. Type: (replacing with your IP address)

        ssh -l root 10.0.1.4    [password "dottie"]    cd /Applications/Installer.app    chmod +x Installer    chmod +x ditto    exit

12. Hold down Sleep button and slide power off. Restart iPhone
13. The Installer widget icon should appear in the Springboard. Use it to install the available packages, especially, Launcher, BSD Subsystem and Open SSH. You’ll probably find dozens of interesting native applications to try, all of them constantly being updated and easily maintained with Installer.
14. You’ll always need to be jailbroken to allow Installer to write to the iPhone file system. Keep this in mind if you get any installation errors when using Installer.

How to install NES Game ROMs

Game ROMs are .nes files. Note: No one is going to tell you how to obtain these files. Learn about what ROMs are on NerveGas’s NES project page.

1. Make sure iPhone is jailbroken
2. Copy ROMs to ~/phonedmg/var/root/Media/ROMs/NES on your local drive. (Create directories if necessary)
3. Open Terminal and type (as always, replacing with your IP address):

        ssh -l root 10.0.1.4        [password "dottie"]        cd /var/root/Media        mkdir ROMs        cd ROMS        mkdir NES        exit        cd ~/phonedmg/var/root/Media/ROMs/NES        scp * root@10.0.1.4:/var/root/Media/ROMs/NES        [password "dottie"]

1. Restart iPhone, games should appear in NES

How to get sound working on NES

UPDATE September 1, 2007

Nervegas’ NES app no longer requires further hacking to get the sound to work as of its version 1.0 release, so you can disregard the tutorial below, as it is now obsolete.

Erica Utility Method — UPDATE August 26, 2007

If you install the Erica Utilities package with apptapp Installer from Nullriver, you already should have the command to disable and en-enabled the system sound, which allows the NES sound to work. You can also manually install the Erica command-line utilities if you don’t use apptapp. Use Mobile Terminal and type:

sound no

When you’re done playing NES, return to Mobile Terminal and re-enable the system sounds, so important things like calls will work:

sound yes

The program gives you textual confirmation of sound status. This new method is much easier than the old method

Manual Method

At the time of this writing, sound support was very glitchy, but may be improving with the rapid updates of NES.app thanks to the hard work of NerveGas. Although having sound is very appealing, if you have difficulties with this step, realize that it may not be worth the trouble.

1. Make sure iPhone is jailbroken
2. Create a text file in your local drive here: ~/phonedmg/var/root/.profileDon’t use TextEdit. Download TextWrangler or TextMate if you don’t have a true plain text editor.
3. Contents of .profile text file should be:

    # Aliases    alias pico='pico -w'    alias rm='rm -i'    alias ssh='ssh2'    alias nosound="launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/coreaudiod.plist"    alias sound="launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/coreaudiod.plist"    # User specific environment    PATH=$PATH:/sbin:/usr/sbin

4. In Terminal:

       cd ~/phonedmg/var/root    scp .profile root@10.0.1.4:/var/root/.profile

5. Make sure ‘login’ is present in ‘/bin’

   cd /bincurl http://iphone.natetrue.com/login

6. Make sure you installed MobileTerminal with Installer by Nullriver
7. Restart iPhone, as needed. Unplug earbuds.
8. Open Terminal on iPhone and type:

   nosound

9. Go Home, and Launch NES. Sound should work.
10. When you’re done playing, dont’ forget to return to Terminal on iPhone and type:

sound

11. Regular sound functions should be restored

How to get pico (text editor) working on iPhone Remote Terminal:

pico is a very basic text editor that works in the Unix command line. Although it would be cool to be able to edit files in Mobile Terminal, this is actually more useful for the occasions when you have connected into your iPhone via SSH on your Mac Terminal and want to make an edit to a configuration file directly.I haven’t been able to get pico working on the Mobile Terminal, on the iPhone itself, but through an SSH session on your Mac it works well. It appears that it’s a problem with the Mobile Terminal application, rather than with the UNIX configurations. Recent updates to the Mobile Terminal native application suggest that we are very close to being able to enable pico on the iPhone directly. However, there will be tricky interface issues to contend with because the iPhone keyboard lacks essential things like arrow keys. Running on your Mac Terminal, however, is useful to cut out the step of editing the text file on your computer and then needing to copy it to the phone.

1. Make sure you’ve installed the BSD Subsystem, either with Installer.app, or manually. Using Nullriver’s Installer is by far the easiest way to get the BSD Subsystem, which in turn, help makes your iPhone work like a full-on computer.
2. Open Terminal, and type (replace with your iPhone’s IP address):

       ssh -l root 10.0.1.4    [password "dottie"]    mkdir /usr/share/terminfo    mkdir /usr/share/terminfo/76    exit    cd /usr/share/terminfo/76    scp vt100 root@10.0.1.4:/usr/share/terminfo/76/vt100    [password "dottie"]    ssh -l root 10.0.1.4    [password "dottie"]    csh    set term=vt100

How to change the SSH root password:

Since the root password “dottie” is now very public knowledge, it’s a security hazard to be walking around with SSH enabled on your iPhone, roaming around on public WiFi networks. You should change your root password once you’ve got the basics installed.

1. Visit this site to get your new root password encryptedhttp://iphone.simbunch.com/crypt.php
2. Make a backup of your original master password. In Mac Terminal, type:

   ssh -l root 10.0.1.4[password "dottie"]cp /etc/master.passwd /etc/master.passwd.bakexit

3. Optional: While you’re in there, consider changing your default shell to ‘bash’ from ’sh’ which will do a better job of honoring the changes to your .profile and other nice things. See this tutorial on the iPhoneDevWiki to change your default shell.
4. Copy the contents of the result of the password form on the above page into a new blank text file. Save it to your local drive at ~/phonedmg/etc/master.passwd
5. Upload it your iPhone. In Mac Terminal type:

       cd ~/phonedmg/etc    scp master.passwd root@10.0.1.4:/etc/master.passwd    [password "dottie"]

6. Restart your iPhone
7. In Mac Terminal, test the new password:

   ssh -l root 10.0.1.4

8. Enter your new password at prompt

How to Remove, (Uninstall) applications:

If you’ve installed a 3rd party application with Nullriver’s Installer, just use its Uninstall feature.If you need to uninstall by the command-line, follow this example where we’ll delete an installed application called Tetris.appThe trick is to go into the .app directory, and delete the files first, then go up, and delete the enclosing .app directory.

1. In Mac Terminal, SSH into your iPhone

       ssh -l root 10.0.1.4    [password]    cd /Applications/Tetris.app    rm *.*    cd ../    rmdir Tetris.app    exit

2. Restart iPhone. Application widget should be gone, no longer appearing on the Springboard.

How to Find your iPhone’s IP Address:

You need to be connected to a WiFi network.

1. At the Home screen…
2. Click Settings
3. Click WiFi
4. Click the blue arrow of the network you’re connected to
5. IP address is displayed

As companies embed full-fledged computers into consumer entertainment products, such as Sony PSP, Apple TV, and iPhone, and then proceed to lock them down to restrict their functionality in the name of stability and security, legions of enthusiasts heed the call to open them up again, to enjoy the computer hidden within.

At the time of this posting, iPhone Modding is very difficult for the inexperienced — not for the faint-of-heart or command-line averse. After a lot of trial-and-error and hours of research, we have installed some third-party standalone applications into the Spring Board (iPhone Home Screen). We can only assume that as modders enjoy more success, and more true third-party programs are written, more user-friendly applications will be released to streamline and simplify the process. That said, crude, but essential tools are starting to appear that allow a patient, persistent and somewhat fearless enthusiast to get started modding.

As you can see from the screenshot, the highlight of the modding is the installation of a Nintendo NES emulator which can put hundreds of games at your fingertips. Although, obtaining the game ROMs is of dubious legality, and the games lack sound and many have buggy graphics. The real lesson learned in this exercise is that there’s probably a very good reason why iPhone didn’t launch with any games — the multi-touch interface truly requires a comprehensive rethinking of game design and controls.

A Do-It-Yourself Work Ethic Required

Only recently, a step-by-step iPhone modification guide suitable for beginners→ emerged for getting started. Since, then, we’ve written our own guide← that consolidates and adds detail, especially for beginners. By far, most articles out there at the moment, assume you are familiar with UNIX and know about toolchains.→

At posting, the modding possibilities are nascent, including adding the following new applications and features into an iPhone:

• Custom ring tones
• Custom graphics and skins
• Screenshot tool →
• Sound recording application →
  
• Tetris →
• TicTacToe →
• Nintendo NES Emulator →

Where To Begin

The iFuntastic↓tool, while crude, is a good place to get started and become familiar with the Jailbreak process. → It’s helpful to install this first, as it does get you started with the ardous process of setting up the toolchain. Use iFuntastic to do simple, but high-impact modifications, such as alter the Spring Board (home screen), customize iPhone UI graphic files, and easily add custom ringtones. iFuntastic only supports Mac Intel machines at this time.

An essential alternative to iFuntastic is iActivator↓, which also peforms the Jailbreak process and manipulates the activation process, and works on Mac Intel and older PowerPC systems.

In addition, we figured out iphonedisk→, which mounts some parts of the iPhone file system as a network drive for easy drag-and-drop file installation.

But first, there are so many dependent programmer tools that must first be installed, including subversion and specialized iPhone modding tools like the unfortunately named iPHUC→. A decent guide for installing iPHUC→ is available.

The main key to gaining access to your iPhone is enabling SSH→, which allows secure command line access to the iPhone’s UNIX file system. However, this should be carefully considered, as enabling this feature certainly opens your iPhone up to future hackers who will now have a way into your handheld computer as you wander through open WiFi networks.

At the moment, the various executives at AT&T and Apple have nothing to worry about. This mod movement is restricted to the realm of enthusiasts. But it’s only a matter of time before refined GUI interfaces for iPhone customization and third-party application development and management emerge. Remember that modders got Windows to boot on the Mac Intel machines very quickly. Apple responded with Boot Camp offering native, official support to be offered in Mac OS X Leopard (10.5). It’s not a matter of if but when a truly open iPhone platform appears.

Doesn’t the iPhone look even better with a full set of buttons?

Adobe Integrated Runtime demonstrated by Big Spaceship.

This afternoon, Joshua Hirsch and Jamie Kosoy from Big Spaceship, here in Brooklyn, presented Building Adobe AIR Applications with Flash CS3 on the Adobe Connect presentation service. They did an excellent job of introducing the new capabilities of Adobe’s new desktop application delivery platform. In particular, they focused on how Flash CS3 can be used to compile AIR programs. Although still in Beta, AIR remains un-implemented in Flash CS3. The online seminar walked us through the tricky process of configuring for AIR development and introduce us to the command-line tools required to build and test AIR projects. However, Grant Skinner apparently has an extension set for Flash CS3 that assists with this process as we await Adobe’s full integration into the Publish Settings of Flash CS3. The links and notes of the presentation are posted here for reference. This post is likely to be updated and fleshed out as I process and try things out myself.

What is AIR?

AIR brings Flash and other web formats to desktop standalone applications. We should start to see more ‘downloadables’ once this catches on. Probably the best way to figure out AIR is to look at some examples on Adobe Labs→I’ve been a fan of kuler→ ever since I started following the Adobe Labs, and discovered Apollo, the codename for AIR. This is a great example of how being able to break out of the browser will encourage creative technology to engage with us more deeply.

Presentation Links

How to get started with AIR and Flash CS3

• Presentation Event Details
• About Adobe AIR
• AIR Developer FAQ
• Download AIR SDK
• Download FLEX Builder
• ActionScript 3.0 Language Reference
• Get the Flash Debug Player
• Get FlashTracer extension for Firefox
• Get Grant Skinner’s AIR Panel for CS3
• Big Spaceship’s Lab

Raw Notes from the Presentation

Here are the raw notes from the presentation. I’ll try to decipher them into more sense once I get my head around it all myself.

 airglobal.swc locations: MAC:    /Applications/Adobe Flex Builder 3/sdks/moxie/frameworks/libs/air/airglobal.swc PC:      Program Files/Adobe Flex Builder 3/sdks/moxie/frameworks/libs/air/airglobal.swc move and rename to MAC:    /Applications/Adobe Flash CS3/Configuration/ActionScript 3.0/Classes/playerglobal.swc PC:      Program Files/Adobe Flash CS3/Configuration/ActionScript 3.0/Classes/playerglobal.swc (you should make a backup of your old playerglobal.swc) AIR SDK: MAC:    Place all files in /Users/[you]/ PC:      Place files whereever you want. (I use c:AIR_SDK) Set environment variables: Right click "My Computer" Hit Properties. Go to the "Advanced" tab Click "Environment Variables" In "System Variables", under Path add path you put the sdk. If there is no Path var, you can add it. ADL syntax: adl myApp.xml Flash Tracer: After installing extension, Tools --> FlashTracer Click "Options" in the bottom right of the AddOn. PC Path MUST be: C:Documents and Settings[YOU]Application DataMacromediaFlash PlayerLogsflashlog.txt Mac Path MUST be: Hard Drive:Users:[YOU]:Library:Preferences:Macromedia:Flash Player:Logs:flashlog.txt If no Logs directory or flashlog.txt file is missing, you need to add them. ADT syntax: adt -package myAirFile.air myApp.xml foo.swf bar.swf icons videos etc