Slashdot Mirror
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.
Really disappointing, why couldn't we have had a link to the story on a server running on an iPhone? Then maybe a video of it catching fire.
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
Something that's got good Cocoa bindings, anyway, so you can write native apps in them...
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.)
Instant Messaging!
Three days from now?? Thats tomorrow!! ~Peter Griffin
Will it blend...a web server / development platform / gaming system? Yes.
Since when do we ask permission to bend our gadgets to our will?
I can just see it now, your boss makes everyone in the company with an iPhone run a distributed backup web server in case 365 Main Datacenter http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/ 24/2210255 Goes down again.
Dan
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?
Erm. Anyone been able to make a phonecall on one of these yet? Didn't you all cancel your call agreements?
Apologies.
They didn't complain about the hacks of the iTV, so I haardly expect them to throw a tantrum over these few geeks willing to turn their iPhone into a webserver...
B.
Every experiment which ends in a big bang is a good experiment.
'Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail'. In that case every platform evolves until it can run Doom...
A doom( prboom?) clone runs great on open embedded with ARM cpus, but the iPaqs I played it on actually had buttons and a four-way toggle key for movement. I think playing an action game on an iPhone might be a little more difficult. Now, Day of the Tentacle with Scummvm would be neat...
I think AT&T is going to force Apple to lock this down. From what I hear (maybe I'm mistaken, I don't have one yet), the only texting available on the iPhone is SMS, and not iChat. If you were free to install AIM on your phone, there goes a large portion of AT&T's income from text messages. Again, I don't know the details of the forced AT&T plans . . . are unlimited text messages forced on you? If not then I suspect I'm right. =)
Is this something that can be patched in a forced software update?
----------------- Oink. Moo. rarr! -----------------
Anyone port VLC to the iPhone ? Its lack of RTP support was my biggest disappointment about it.
It's fairly thin on information but if true, this will lead to good things. Like hopefully permission from Apple.
Ah, the blind faith of a True Believer. I suppose the crippled nature of the device is a test, and by defeating it you are found worthy in Jobs' eyes? And the next time you plug it into iTunes, instead of silently patching these "flaws", it will release everyone's phone from bondage!
Pshaw!! *I* am waiting for iDuke iNuke'm iForever! <grin>
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)
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Call me when it can run Emacs.
Oh... Only 8Gb RAM. Never mind.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Could you imagine a Beowulf cluster of these?
The game.
reality check: "permission from apple"??
Why after spending what was likely loads of time locking down the thing because they didn't want anyone messing with it would they suddenly change their minds because someone took a crowbar to the thing?
I think from their point of view it's a bit like the roaches expecting you to lay out some cheese platters and stop spraying since they managed to get into your house anyway.
I'm thinking they're going to see a fumigation tent a lot sooner than a bucket of veggie dip.
But it has a 600MHz CPU and 128M DDR SRAM, 10 years ago, we ran servers on much worse hardwares.
There is a spark in every single flame bait point.
I don't know about anyone else, but one of the most useful features on my iPod (and I assume iPhone) is the shiny chrome backing. It's an iPod, it's a phone, an internet communications device, and a mirror!
Put the wifi in a peering mode and suddenly it makes a lot more sense.
Simple mobile myspace-type sites would be pretty huge for a mososo.
Particularly if it's integrated with file/stream sharing and a decent discovery app.
// "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
My all-time favourite text editor, with its plethora of keyboard shortcuts, on a device with no keyboard!
How have I lived so long without one?
When they come out in the UK, I'll buy an iPhone for sure now!
So.. it has come to this
People are completely misunderstanding what's going on with iPhone development. We have no means of writing apps for the iPhone with a GUI, or even apps that handle user input. We CAN access the iPhone via SSH and run things remotely; that's about it. Some people are working hard on reverse-engineering current apps and frameworks (myself included) so that we may be able to compile a GUI app, but at this point, there is no Doom "just around the corner". For a while, the main focus of the iPhone hacking efforts has been unlocking. Hopefully this will change, but while people are focused on unlocking, not much else is getting accomplished (aside from what Nightwatch is doing with his toolchain).
If a Game Boy's 33MHz ARM7 can run it, I'd think one with hundreds of MHz would be able to as well.
but can it run linux?
MAME in 10...9...8...
Dear Sir,
I have no idea why I would have 80 of these port things you keep talking about. It must have been damaged in shipping, as there was no physical damage to the phone when sent. In any event, please let me know when the phone will be returned fully repaired as per your warranty.
Just to speed the process along, I've cc'd a few people on my email who may also be interested. Thanks for your help.
Signed,
Customer
cc. State Attorney General
State consumer protection agency
Credit Card company
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.
Now, in addition to downloading full, non-mobile optimized versions websites (THE REAL INTERNET!!! WITH FLASH!!!) on your cell phone's horrible 9600baud-esque internet connection, you can host your own sites that will only take 2 hours to download!
sup
Good gravy. When did the iPhone become the Paris Hilton of gadgets? I don't want to hear about it every day, either. Just think back... how many "iPhone spotted at _____" stories have their been in the past 9 months?
Pretty soon we'll be seeing the iPhone being locked up and sent to rehab to get a fully functional SDK. Or maybe it will be hanging out with OLPC (Lohan).
Unavoidable and becoming just as painful....
TODO - Insert Creative/Witty Signature
The hard part about developing apps for the iPhone is working with a completely new environment.
For example, here are some of the problems with building a SSH client for the iPhone:
http://furbo.org/2007/07/02/beyond-sweet/
-ch
At last the debate is settled...
Apache beat IIS
Python beat Ruby
VI(m) beat Emacs
I am finally going to get a good nights sleep...
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.
I think AT&T is going to force Apple...
Just who do you think has the power in this relationship? I'll give you a hint, the name starts with "A" all right but doesn't end with "T"!
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
> Since when do we ask permission to bend our gadgets to our will?
Because the iPhone is from Apple and Cmdr Tack drank a full jug of the Kool-Aid. Seriously, replace Apple with ANY other entity and imagine seeing "It's fairly thin on information but if true, this will lead to good things. Like hopefully permission from _____." on the front page of Slashdot... written not just by an idiot editor like Zonk but by the Taco himself. If anyone didn't understand the power of the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field, here is your proof.
Since when did we need permission to run software on our computers? The vendors have been throwing up technical and legal roadblocks since the Atari 2600 but that hasn't stopped very many people from doing it anyway. Yes the iPhone will be cracked and allowed to run any software. Just like the XBox was cracked and the XBox 360 will eventually be. Just like the PS3 will get the GPU opened up. Just like every TIVO gets more advanced 'protection' and gets opened up anyway. No, just because Steve doesn't like it we aren't going to say "Well, if Steve doesn't want it we will not even try. Might make him cry or something and we can't have that."
Democrat delenda est
Apple represented it as running "True OS X". They even mentioned it supporting Cocoa. Why the hell would you talk about the programming interface if you don't intend to give your developers access?
For some strange reason the Sega Dreamcast popped into my mind with its Windows CE sticker right on the front. Since only licensed developers were allowed to make software for the system, it really didn't matter what the API was. Basically it was about as much useful marketing speak as "blast processing".
As I understand it, Apple wants to treat the iPhone (and iPod for that matter) in the same way that video game manufacturers treat their consoles. They are closed systems which run signed binaries which only a few elite people are allowed to make. You'll probably see a few third party apps pop up for the iPhone in less than a year, but it will be very tightly controlled.
SSH is easy. You can run SSH on *Windows* for god's sake.