iPhone Can Now Run Apache, Python, Vim

An anonymous reader writes "After the first Hello World application, hacker NerveGas and the people at #iphone-shell have built Apache, Python and other Open Source apps for the iPhone using NightWatch's toolchain. Yes, your iPhone can now be a Web Server and do all sort of 1337 things. This also means that third-party applications for iPhone will happen no matter what. People, iPhone Doom could be just around the corner." It's fairly thin on information but if true, this will lead to good things. Like hopefully permission from apple.

Comments

my thoughts

[catwh0re]

I think the demand for a SDK caught apple by surprise (possibly because the iPod didn't have many people hollering for a SDK, and since it's easy to see the iPhone as an iPod + phone functionality I can see how this was given a low priority.)

I do however believe that apple will now release a SDK for the iPhone (apple pretty much do anything the consumers want these days, even managed some drm music, something i thought would never come while the RIAA existed.)

I also believe apple stated ajax/web apps as the SDK because they didn't want to give people any reason to think the iPhone was incomplete (and hence to put off the purchase.)

Re:my thoughts

[toleraen]

How could they be caught off guard? 90%+ of the operating systems in the smartphone/pda phone market have SDKs. They obviously did a little poking around in the market before deciding to make the thing...and if it really is based on OSX, it shouldn't have been terribly difficult to provide one.

Re:my thoughts

[phoenix321]

Apples claims of only wanting to "ensure the best possible user experience" by locking out SDK and user created software, they're no more credible than HP when they say the same about the chips and DMCA-spiked firmware in their ink cartridges.

This is because foreign code may not only affect stability and "user experience" but the monopoly you have on that hardware. And reducing the monopoly means commodization of some sort and that's what Apple hates more than anything: fixed, exclusive, expensive 2-year contracts, secrecy around new products, higher-than-expected prices, strict limits on the user (changing the battery? a memory card?) - it's all oriented around their central marketing aim of being in THE special position among all hard- and software manufacturers.

People are buying it, Apple is profitable like nothing and has a crowd of fans silencing all critics - it seems to work, I admit.

I have quite some respect for their marketing and product strategy - they are doing everything right from a shareholder's perspective. (Stock inflation for unreal expectations is not that important)

But don't make the mistake to consider Apple a corporation totally different from its arch rival Microsoft. They're following a different path, but their goal is comparable. If Apple's and MSFT's market shares were reversed, we had the same problems with Mac OS than we have with Windows right now, except their design and safety record wouldn't suck half as bad. But concerning anti-competitive maneuvers, vendor lock-in amd user restrictions, they'd be just the same.

First Application . .

[donaggie03]

Instant Messaging!

s/permission/official blessing/

[ajlitt]

Since when do we ask permission to bend our gadgets to our will?

Re:s/permission/official blessing/

[Klaidas]

When we still want to be able to use the warranty.

No way Apple will go for it

[JeremyGNJ]

I see voided warranties in people's futures! There's no way Apple (or AT&T for that matter) is going to give the "OK" on 3rd party applications. Apache web servers and python scripts? If people really wanted to try to get acceptance they would have started with a diet-calculator or bowling-score manager. Forget it now, I can see AT&T and Apply's lawyers scrambling for ways to avoid the maelstorm of hacks and scripts that could threaten their good name. Windows based phones have allowed 3rd part apps since their inception, but somehow it seems much less ominous. Perhaps because they're mostly used in corporate deployments, and pure geek-types?

Jamie Zawinski said...

[simong]

'Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail'. In that case every platform evolves until it can run Doom...

First cool app for apache

[Lumpy]

iphone webcam. See the world from someone's hip or side of their head.

honestly though, how long before AT&T starts deactivating phone accounts for "data plan abuse" because people are actually using their data plan with these hacks and apps? they already try their hardest to scam their customers into buying the full data plan for their smartphone instead of the cheaper smartphone plan.

I had a AT&T rep threaten me that if I dont change my plan he will have my service shut off.

cingular and now AT&T pride themselves in the absolute crappiest customer service they can give. Threaten customers, scamming them into getting service plans they do not need (All I want is email, websurfing on a phone sucks and who cares about MTV videos on a phone)

Re:First cool app for apache

[Mattintosh]

a decent SMS plan

I think we differ in what this part means.

Your definition seems to be: "I send SMS messages frequently enough to use 100 to 150 of them a month. It doesn't bother me to pay extra money on my plan to get these."

My definition is: "SMS messages are annoying and I've never sent one, though I have recieved a few of them. I don't want to pay for crap I know I won't use, especially overpriced crap. Cut them out of the plan and save me some $$$."

See? Those of us complaining about the plan aren't unreasonable either, we just have different needs. Needs that aren't being catered to by AT&T. That's why there's so much bitching. One size does not fit all.

Re:How about Applescript or Fscript?

[wicks0r]

How about SSH?

Might be time to bite the $600 bullet.

Also design process

[alexhmit01]

Every analyst figured out that MP3-player Cel Phones were a threat to the iPod, obviously Apple knew that as well. The iPhone no doubt started simply as an iPod/Phone combo, and some basic Internet features probably evolved into the beautiful little device that you see now.

There negotiations with Cingular/AT&T probably focused on getting iTunes activation, and AT&T focused on controlling the feature set.. The first phone I had with an AIM client was back in 2001, it's not a rare feature, but Apple probably yielded on iChat because AT&T was yielding on WiFi and didn't want people to avoid paying SMS fees.

I think that Apple wanted to move product first, then aim for smartphone competition. If they move millions, then Apple, not AT&T, has the power in a renegotiation. Apple wanted to get the iPod-Phone out there and prove demand, then they can go after the pocket computer market.

Re:Disappointing

[phoenix321]

Please don't confuse any "webserver" with a potentially full-blow apache. Answering GET requests by streaming out plaintext html files is accomplished by freshman's programming examples - having a real webserver is much much more.

Given that the iPhone is running some variety of MacOS X, it's highly likely that we see the full potential of this thing unlocked pretty soon. Having a fairly standardized environment, a fairly powerful CPU and a sleek form factor is good.

Being turing-complete isn't good enough for the real world of computing. Any PCL printer is, but do you see anyone here breaking out the champagne over that?

great!

[oohshiny]

I can now run Apache on a phone that's more expensive than my desktop system, and void my warranty and likely have it bricked on the next sync.

Folks, if you want to have iPhone-like features with a programmable device, invest your time and effort into helping with one of the actually open phone platforms, don't waste it on trying to battle with Apple's DRM. Apple doesn't want you to run apps on the iPhone, period.

Of course, recompiling Apache requires so much less smarts than actually creating a nice phone app.