No jailbreak for you, 4.0.2
The Dev-Team has announced that there will be no jailbreak for iOS 4.0.2 or 3.2.2. It stands to reason, as the release did absolutely nothing other than patch the security hole that
The Dev-Team explains that escalating the "cat and mouse game" doesn't benefit the users, so they're letting this one ride. That's reasonable, too, as I reminisce about radar detectors, laser detectors and the cat and mouse game that happened between lead-foot citizens and law enforcement. No one really benefited, other than the electronics manufacturers who fuel that battle.
It's noted that any future jailbreak for the upcoming 4.1 firmware update might be backwards-compatible with 4.0.2, but don't pin any hopes on it. If you're interested in keeping your firmware up-to-date with the latest goodness, you probably wouldn't be considering that, anyway. Right?
No jailbreak for you, 4.0.2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
No jailbreak for you, 4.0.2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 26 August 2010 | 3:00 pm
No Comment: Justin Long's jailbroken iPhone
First of all, the ad campaign is over, so the guy can do whatever he wants with his iPhone; second, per the theories floated over in the Engadget comments section, chances are the jailbreak was done at the behest of Jimmy Kimmel Live producers so that they could get TV out from the phone and put it up on the big display.
Thanks to Riyan for the picture.
Continue reading No Comment: Justin Long's jailbroken iPhone
No Comment: Justin Long's jailbroken iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
No Comment: Justin Long's jailbroken iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 18 August 2010 | 10:30 am
Don't get too excited about the App Store's Try Before You Buy
As Steve mentioned earlier this morning, 9to5Mac spotted a new section in the App Store called Try Before You Buy. Don't get too excited about the idea of demos finally coming to the App Store, however. As of right now, this is only an index of "Lite" or free versions of apps. If you were hoping to try OmniFocus for iPad without shelling out $40, you're out of luck. What you'll find are about 100 apps that developers purposefully made because the App Store doesn't have demo versions.
This oversight has been my biggest complaint about the App Store since it opened, and I consider it a big reason for the low pricing on most iOS apps. Almost every piece of Mac software lets you download it and try it before you buy it. Some are feature limited, but most are time-limited, which means that you are given full access to the app for a limited amount of time. If you download it and love it, you can buy it. But if you download it and hate it, you can simply delete it.
Continue reading Don't get too excited about the App Store's Try Before You Buy
Don't get too excited about the App Store's Try Before You Buy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Don't get too excited about the App Store's Try Before You Buy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 6 August 2010 | 10:00 am
Why Jailbreak?
I'm curious: why do people jailbreak?
Ever since the Library of Congress ruled in favor of jailbreaking although it may void your warranty and now there is a browser-based jailbreak, I've started to pay attention to jailbreaking, at least a little.
My friend Jeff Barszcz posted some of his reasons, and I found some of them really compelling.
The last time I really paid attention was before Apple opened the App Store, and I'm guessing a lot has changed since then.
Here is what I know about jailbreaking: 1) there's a program that lets you run any program in the background, 2) there's an app to turn your iPhone into a Wi-Fi hotspot, 3) there's a program that gives you quick access to turn things like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Data on and off quickly, as well as adjust settings, 4) there's an app that lets you access your iOS device via SSH and you ought to change the default passwords if you turn on SSH.
Let me be clear: I'm asking for specific examples of applications and uses that people find with jailbreaking which aren't available otherwise. I'm less interested in philosophical reasons involving the words such as "freedom" and "open" although I understand those are compelling reasons for some people.
So, dear readers, tell me: what jailbreak apps you think are "must haves" that might convince someone to become a jailbreaker?
Image via FHKE on Flickr.
Why Jailbreak? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Why Jailbreak? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 3 August 2010 | 1:00 pm
Will jailbreaking your iPhone void your warranty?
According to the manufacturer, maybe. Intrepid Apple blognaut Leander Kahney rang up Apple, asked the question above, and got a response. This was more than we got when several of us asked Apple multiple variations of the same question. Apple's statement, as seen on Cult of Mac:
Well that's clear as mud, isn't it?
Apple points to a knowledgebase article here, indicating how much instability you might expect after jailbreaking your iPhone. Of course, now that jailbreaking is legal, Apple can't really go after anyone doing it, but that doesn't mean they have to support your functionality habit, either. Because, as Apple has vaguely worded, it might void your warranty. Not that it will -- because if you don't mess with baseband and restore your phone, no one would be the wiser. A simple complete restore really does bring your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad back to factory conditions.
Continue reading Will jailbreaking your iPhone void your warranty?
Will jailbreaking your iPhone void your warranty? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Will jailbreaking your iPhone void your warranty? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 27 July 2010 | 2:30 pm
hacksugar: iPhone 4 jailbreak accomplished but not ready for public release
When we talk about "jailbreaking" the iPhone, that means opening up the underlying file system on the phone for full read/write access; on a vanilla iPhone, only the 'userland' data is accessible to users and apps. The term is derived from Unix jargon, where a "chroot jail" is the limited section of the file system that an underprivileged app can access.
A jailbreak allows third parties to install and run any software they want, rather than the subset of iPhone apps approved by Apple and distributed through the App Store. Before Apple's official SDK was released, jailbreak apps were the only native (non-web) apps on the platform aside from the built-in apps that shipped with the device.
As TUAW has posted about in the past, the jailbreak software community is a hotbed of innovation and creativity. Many iPhone technologies debuted first in the hobbyist jailbreak community before ever appearing in official Apple firmware. Jailbreak-first features included copy and paste, spell checking, application folders, rotation inhibition, multitasking, find-my-iPhone, and more. In terms of iPhone possibility and expression, the jailbreak community has led the way.
Over the weekend, Redmond Pie announced that the iPhone 4 was successfully jailbroken. This proof-of-concept jailbreak showed that the new iPhone model could be opened for general file access. It is not, however, a "production" jailbreak; because the proof-of-concept used proprietary Apple code, it will not be released to the public. There is no word yet as to when a more intellectual-property-friendly version will be finished, but one guesses "soon" -- with no rush for the all-volunteer development team.
Screen shots of the new jailbreak follow in the gallery below, to provide you with a sneak peek at what's coming up.
hacksugar: iPhone 4 jailbreak accomplished but not ready for public release originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
hacksugar: iPhone 4 jailbreak accomplished but not ready for public release originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 28 June 2010 | 1:00 pm
hacksugar: Wireless iTunes syncing makes it to jailbroken iPhones
Cables, schmables. Why occupy valuable USB slots when you can make iTunes data fly magically over virtual intertubes to and from your home computer? New to the jailbreak world, Wi-Fi Sync introduces over-the-air sync to iPhone devices.
The application works like this: you install a client app on your desktop computer (10.5 and 10.6 Mac only at this time), which you can download for free from the Wi-Fi Sync website. Then, run the $9.99 Wi-Fi Sync application on your iPhone. Your phone will appear in iTunes' sources list as a connected device. You can then sync your device, just as if it were plugged in at a standard USB port.
Continue reading hacksugar: Wireless iTunes syncing makes it to jailbroken iPhones
hacksugar: Wireless iTunes syncing makes it to jailbroken iPhones originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 14 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
hacksugar: Wireless iTunes syncing makes it to jailbroken iPhones originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 14 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 14 May 2010 | 1:00 pm
iPad running SNES, controlled with a Wiimote
I can't think of many things that top playing Super Mario Kart and being behind someone while in possession of the red turtle shell. Oh wait, I can: it's playing Super Mario Kart on your iPad and using your WiiMote to shoot the red turtle shell at those in front of you.
Provided you have a jailbroken iPad and the latest version of snes4iphone, you too can use your WiiMote to control Mario, Yoshi, Samus and the rest of the Nintendo gang.
You'll first need to install version 7.0 of snes4iphone, which provides support for the WiiMote via BTStack. The jailbroken app can be purchased for US$5.99 at the Cydia store. As jailbreaking is required to install Cydia and non-App store apps, you'll first need to jailbreak your iPad.
[via toucharcade.com]
Continue reading iPad running SNES, controlled with a Wiimote
iPad running SNES, controlled with a Wiimote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 06 May 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
iPad running SNES, controlled with a Wiimote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 06 May 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 6 May 2010 | 7:00 pm
iPad jailbreak released, works on iPhone and iPod touch
The current jailbreak, dubbed "Spirit," allows you to jailbreak all models of iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch running the latest firmwares available (3.2 and 3.1.3, respectively, as of this writing).
Also, the authors note that "On iPad, all this is still sort of beta," and as such if anything goes wrong you might need to restore.
[via Engadget]
iPad jailbreak released, works on iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 03 May 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
iPad jailbreak released, works on iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 03 May 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 3 May 2010 | 9:30 am
iPhone OS 4.0b1 jailbreak available -- for devs only
The fine folks behind redsn0w have released the second beta of a jailbroken iPhone OS 4 -- redsn0w 0.9.5b2. Right now the beta only works on the iPhone 3G and does not support carrier unlocking. The devs are quick to point out that in no way is this jailbreak targeted at the average end-user.
Many jailbroken apps are currently broken in the iPhone OS 4.0beta1 environment and this redsn0w release is intended to help get their jailbroken apps up to working order in the new iPhone OS. For those hoping to get iPhone OS 4 on their iPads early, the devs of redsn0w politely point out that this jailbreak is not applicable to the iPad -- sorry iPad owners!
iPhone OS 4.0b1 jailbreak available -- for devs only originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 18 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
iPhone OS 4.0b1 jailbreak available -- for devs only originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 18 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 18 April 2010 | 9:00 am
The iPad has been jailbroken
Just in case you missed it on Sunday, members of the infamous iPhone Dev-Team have been hard at work on a jailbreak for the recently released iPad.
[via Engadget]
The iPad has been jailbroken originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The iPad has been jailbroken originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 5 April 2010 | 3:15 pm
hacksugar: Putting iPod touch GPS to the test with roqyBluetooth
A few weeks ago, I wrote lovingly about GPS. For me, at least, GPS on the iPhone OS family is often more about the social features that location unlocks than about simple positioning. With GPS, you can track your trips to share with friends and family, see what people have been Yelp-ing about, and find what's happening right now, right near you.
When I heard about GPS for iPod touches, I got excited. For a while, I've been reading about roqyBluetooth (aka roqyBT). It's a system hack that allows you to connect an iPod or an early model iPhone to an external GPS receiver over Bluetooth. Yesterday, I finally got a chance to put RoqyBT to the test.
Retailing for 8 Euros (about $11), roqyBluetooth is a jailbreak application sold through Cydia and the Rock Store. Its Bluetooth stack implementation hooks into the iPod's Core Location system services. In use, any application that normally queries for Core Location data gains access to the Bluetooth-originated GPS data (including location, elevation, and so forth) just as it would normally receive WiFi positioning or, in the case of the iPhone, cell tower positioning.
It works. I bought a simple Bluetooth GPS unit from Semsons.com for about $20. After installing roqyBluetooth and pairing it with my BT GPS, I was able to run Trailguru and track my progress through several trips as I walked and drove to various locations. The Trailguru results were similar to the trails I recorded simultaneously on an iPhone 3GS using the same software. All in all, success.
So what were the ups and downs of the process?
Continue reading hacksugar: Putting iPod touch GPS to the test with roqyBluetooth
hacksugar: Putting iPod touch GPS to the test with roqyBluetooth originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
hacksugar: Putting iPod touch GPS to the test with roqyBluetooth originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 19 March 2010 | 3:00 pm
Apple bans hackers from App Store
"Banned" might not be the right word, but that's what user serif_hashim is saying.
He says he's been denied access to the App Store from their iPhones by Apple. When sherif_hashim tried to connect, he was greeted with the image at right, which he explained via Twitter:
"Your Apple ID was banned for security reasons", that's what i get when i try to go to the app store, they must be really angry :) )))) and guess what my apple ID was, "sherif_hashim@yahoo.com", what a fool was me not to notice :) )), can't help laughing, they are babies :) ))"
Sherif Hashim recently found an exploit in iPhone OS 3.1.3 to unlock 05.12.01 Baseband for iPhone 3G and 3GS, which was later confirmed by the iPhone Dev-Team.
Hacker iH8sn0w was the second to report the issue, saying on Twitter:
"@sherif_hashim lol, they did that to my ih8sn0wyday[@t]googmail.com too. (right after I posted XEMN)..."
iH8sn0w is the user behind Sn0wbreeze, the jailbreaking tool for Windows. It should be noted that these users aren't typical jailbreakers. One has publicized an exploit and the other maintains a jailbreaking tool. Plus, they used their handles in the account emails, which wasn't the best choice. We'll see if the issue becomes more widespread.
We question serif_hashim's used of "banned" because this message can be triggered by entering a bad password several times across any service that uses your Apple ID, like the App Store, iTunes, Apple Photo Services and MobileMe. It's not likely that he entered a bad password enough times, but it's possible. Users in this situation can use iForgot to regain access.
[Via 9 to 5 Mac]
Apple bans hackers from App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apple bans hackers from App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 16 February 2010 | 9:30 am
Dev team releases PwnageTool 3.1.5 to jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3 firmware
Jailbreakers ahoy! Yesterday brought the release of the Dev Team's pwnage tool for jailbreaking and unlocking iPhones equipped with the new 3.1.3 firmware. As usual, though, there are a few catches: first, if you don't need to update to 3.1.3, the dev team says you shouldn't bother anyway -- it doesn't do much that the old versions of the firmware doesn't, so if you don't need to upgrade, just leave your jailbreak as is.
3G and 3GS users especially should be leery of this one, since if a mistake is made, there's a chance you could upgrade your firmware and then not be able to unlock it again. They also have all sorts of other warnings and exceptions on their blog post. As they say, don't download and run those files without seriously thinking about what you're doing with your iPhone.
If, after all of that thinking, you decide it is time to crack open your iPhone with the 3.1.3 firmware, the jailbreak will put together a custom 3.1.3 IPSW for you to restore back on to your iPhone -- here's a quick how-to to start with. Good luck, and be careful out there!
[via Engadget]
Dev team releases PwnageTool 3.1.5 to jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3 firmware originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Dev team releases PwnageTool 3.1.5 to jailbreak iPhone 3.1.3 firmware originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 8 February 2010 | 1:30 pm
Found footage: Jailbreak BTstack support extended to 1st gen iPod touch
The BTstack project that we've covered before on TUAW, offers a way for iPhone and iPod touch units to communicate with arbitrary external Bluetooth devices. To date, it's been used to connect keyboards, mice, and wiimotes with iPhone software.
This system has now been extended to the first generation iPod touch, bringing all six iPhoneOS models into the Bluetooth arena. Since the 1st gen touch does not provide its own built-in system, it requires an external module. This video uses the dongle described at this blog post to demonstrate the keyboard connection functionality.
Although the 1st generation touch is an increasingly deprecated system, it's nice to know that it hasn't been left out of the Bluetooth picture. Old touch units make excellent hobbyist systems. When jailbroken, access to a full suite of Unix tools offers a budget-priced platform with great prototyping potential. With this new Bluetooth stack support, the 1st gen touch has just become an even more exciting system for projects like remote monitoring.
Found footage: Jailbreak BTstack support extended to 1st gen iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Found footage: Jailbreak BTstack support extended to 1st gen iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 24 January 2010 | 11:00 am
Pirates make away with $450 million in App Store booty?
24/7WallSt. reports that Apple and third-party developers have lost approximately $450 million in revenue from App Store piracy since the store opened in July of 2008. Out of this, $140 million of this counts as lost revenue for Apple - a huge chunk of the $500 - $700 million in revenue the App Store has generated for the company so far - with the remaining $310 million revenue loss falling on developers.
Their analysis is based on several assumptions, however, any one of which could easily be wide of the mark. They argue that with three billion downloads on the App Store (not an assumption), 17% of those are paid apps (assumption), with a piracy rate of 75% (assumption), and the number of pirate downloads at 1.53 billion. If the average price of a paid app is $3 (assumption), then there's $4.59 billion in losses. Assuming that only about 10% of the pirates who downloaded apps would have actually bought them, that makes the total $459 million. Still with us?
According to 24/7WallSt.'s analysis, around 10% of iPhone/iPod touch users have chosen to jailbreak their devices, and it's only about 40% of these jailbroken users who are responsible for this torrent (ahem) of piracy. This means that, according to 24/7WallSt.'s numbers, out of a rough total of 75 million worldwide iPhones and iPod touches, a mere 3 million devices are responsible for the 1.53 billion apps 24/7WallSt. is claiming have been downloaded illegally.
For those of you calculating along at home, that works out to an average of 510 pirated apps per device. That snap you just heard was suspension of disbelief.
[Via MacRumors]
Continue reading Pirates make away with $450 million in App Store booty?
Pirates make away with $450 million in App Store booty? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Pirates make away with $450 million in App Store booty? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 13 January 2010 | 7:00 pm
TUAW Tip: Veency remote controls your iPhone from your Mac
Reader Kevin C. sent us a tip the other day -- he recently got a Bose SoundDock II, which is a nice little speaker dock, as a Christmas gift, and he wants to know: with his iPhone sitting all the way across the room, is there any way he can control the iPhone from his Mac? Obviously there are lots of ways to control your Mac with your iPhone, from Apple's official Remote app to multiple VNC programs on the App Store. But in this case, we want to go the other way: control your iPhone's iPod app with a Mac.
Turns out there isn't a way to do it -- unless you jailbreak your iPhone. Using Veency, a jailbreak app that Erica covered about a year or so ago, you can head into your iPhone from your Mac and do anything you want, from changing tracks in iTunes to even sending text messages. Here's an older how-to on getting it working.
Unfortunately, other than that (according to our research -- commenters feel free to jump in, of course), you're out of luck -- Apple is fine with sending commands from the iPhone to the Mac, but not the other way around. Maybe Bose needs to come up with a way for you to stream music over Bluetooth to their speakers so you can keep your iPhone with you.
Update: Our commenters come through as always: Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil will supposedly send audio from your Mac out to your iPhone, and while I haven't tried it myself, we're told that the Bose dock will then play that audio for you. So instead of playing sound on your iPhone, you can just send it music from the Mac and control things that way. And Jeff points out that Belkin makes a Bluetooth dongle, so you can stream music that way as well (and just carry your iPhone with you). So there's a few solutions to try.
TUAW Tip: Veency remote controls your iPhone from your Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
TUAW Tip: Veency remote controls your iPhone from your Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 12 January 2010 | 9:30 am
Found Footage: iPhone/Mouse integration
What happens when you combine two amazing jailbreak utilities on the iPhone? You achieve remote mouse based support! iPhone developer Lance "ashikase" Fetters, author of the amazing Backgrounder jailbreak app, wrote a VNC style extension for the iPhone called MouseSupport. It provides a floating window with a virtual cursor that can be controlled with synthesized pointer events.
A second utility, developed by Matthias Ringwald, is called BTstack Mouse. It integrates with ashikase's MouseSupport and Ringwald's open source BTstack implementation to provide iPhone/mouse integration. The video shown here uses Apple's Magic Mouse to demonstrate the BTstack Mouse extension. BTstack Mouse will shortly be available on Cydia and will retail for free.
So why does this all matter? Who cares about using a mouse with an iPhone when most people have perfectly usable fingers? Where does a mouse fit into the iPhone world? This effort is part of a larger project to create a nomadic computing environment on the iPhone. To put yourself into the right mindset, try thinking of an iPhone as a portable pocket-sized Unix system instead of as a mobile cell phone.
Practical work-ready peripherals that can move as you move, without need for carrying along a laptop, act as an important part of that vision. You can be on the go with just the phone itself -- as you know, a naked iPhone offers a perfectly usable mobile solution for light computing needs -- or you can start accessorizing to upgrade your computing efficiency.
By providing hooks for these accessories, the iPhone opens itself up to better desktop-style computing in addition to its existing mobile tools. In the end, when the vision of this project is fulfilled, you'll be able to move the iPhone between desktop set-ups where it can connect itself into a "dockable" Bluetooth-enabled work system, to your pocket on the go, to a lightly-accessorized system for coffee house use.
Found Footage: iPhone/Mouse integration originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Found Footage: iPhone/Mouse integration originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 4 January 2010 | 1:00 pm
Using a Wireless Keyboard with an iPhone using BTstack Keyboard
Since the iPhone was first introduced, there have been efforts to bring support for external accessories. The iPhone 3.0 external accessory framework allowing accessories that connect to the universal dock connector or use Bluetooth has been closed, and only a few companies have developed accessories using the framework. The BTStack project by Matthias Ringwald offers a more complete and open Bluetooth stack for jailbroken iPhones. The stack has even been used with an iPhone and a Wii Remote over Bluetooth. To use a Bluetooth keyboard for quick and easy data entry into your iPhone, you'll need to jailbreak your iPhone, which can be done with an application like blackra1n.
Read on to find how I set up my iPhone to use the Apple Wireless Keyboard, and how it works with the iPhone.
Continue reading Using a Wireless Keyboard with an iPhone using BTstack Keyboard
Using a Wireless Keyboard with an iPhone using BTstack Keyboard originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Using a Wireless Keyboard with an iPhone using BTstack Keyboard originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 26 December 2009 | 3:30 pm
BTstack Keyboard jailbreak app provides iPhone text entry
Due to hit the Cydia store momentarily, Matthias Ringwald's BTstack Keyboard app allows users to type text into any iPhone application using an external Bluetooth keyboard. Built on the open source BTstack project, BTstack Keyboard runs a daemon in the background of any jailbroken iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS or iPod touch with Bluetooth support. As you type text on the keyboard, the daemon generates synthetic keyboard tap events; the effect is the same as if you'd typed that text using the on-screen keyboard.
You will need to install BTstack and the BTstack Keyboard packages on a jailbroken 3G or later iPhone or 2nd generation or later iPod touch. The software has been tested with an Apple Bluetooth keyboard, a Think Outside Stowaway Universal keyboard, and a Palm Wireless keyboard. There's no reason to think it won't work with any standard Bluetooth keyboard, i.e. one that uses standard BT protocols.
With this small utility, users will be better able to take notes on the go using a standard keyboard in any text-based iPhone application. Yes, you'll have to haul around the physical keyboard, but the availability of folding on-the-go Bluetooth solutions makes this an exciting development for anyone who wants to expand their text entry possibiilities.
Expect to pay $5 for BTstack Keyboard when the software goes live. For more details, see Ringwald's Keyboard information page at his website. Ringwald is the same developer whose BTstack work brought iPhone-Wiimote integration into play recently.
BTstack Keyboard jailbreak app provides iPhone text entry originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
BTstack Keyboard jailbreak app provides iPhone text entry originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on 23 December 2009 | 4:45 pm