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Cookbook For Third-Party Apps On iPhone
a_skripko suggests this easy step-by-step procedure for adding third-party applications to an Apple iPhone. While the article claims "this procedure can be performed by the average user," it might at least have to be an average user with no fear of the command line.
I think I'll just wait until another iPhone type phone comes out. The openmoko, or something along those lines. Because something else with touchscreen and video and etc WILL come out, and I have no doubt it will be better, considering how many people are p.o.'ed about the restrictions on the iPhone (like 3rd party apps, restriction to AT&T, etc). Just a matter of time.
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. - Krishnamurti
http://iphone.macworld.com/2007/08/the_iphone_hack ing_kit_step_by.php
Anyone has an app that can make a phone call?
The danger here is that an iphone update could wipe out not only your changes, but also your ringtones, your address book etc. The reason is that the software update performs an integrity check. If the check fails the update reinstalls the operating system.
It happened to me, but I expected it. A "regular" user may not appreciate.
Imagine how valuable a smart phone is as a malware target: it's carried on your persons, has access to your home and office, it's always always on, has direct internet connectivity, a decent camera, sensitive microphone, and a great deal of your personal information.
Given the value of this target, why on earth are people installing random binaries on their iPhone when they have absolutely no way of ascertaining whether they can trust the original provider of said binaries?
Writing malware is not particularly difficult when you have a good SDK. The iPhone is, for most purposes, a fully functional and familiar UNIX environment, and the APIs necessary to build a SpyPhone are not a secret. Given the lack of insight the average user will have into the operating system on a handheld device, they'd likely never know of an infection.
While I *very much doubt* we'll ever see a mass malware infection, users need to be careful about what they put on their phone, who made the binaries, and how they verify the source. Even one compromised iPhone would be very valuable to a nefarious malfeasant.
http://plausible.coop
Is command line phobia a medical condition or is it related to a fear of typing? Do people actually get the shakes and start screaming "where did all the icons go"? An older Unix system must make them go fetal.
When someone figures out how to package these apps in an installer that can be just "clicked" (or tapped, or slid... what exactly is the operative gesture on an iPhone?), the iPhone will finally arrive as a platform, not just a product.
--
make install -not war
Why not buy an OpenMoko phone? Well, it's certainly poised to bring the same success to the mobile phone market as we've been seeing with Linux on the desktop.
...)
from http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Developer_preview
What you can expect
a functional bootloader with support for firmware upgrades
a functional Linux kernel with basic drivers for the various hardware subsystems, with small bugs here and there
a basic, simple linux distribution based on OpenEmbedded, that you have to install yourself as rootfs image using USB DFU
all the source code that we have at this point in time, and the corresponding build system
mailing lists
What you CAN NOT expect yet
reliable means of making phone calls, esp. not from the UI
reliable means of sending/receiving SMS, esp. not from the UI
integrated GPRS data access
bluetooth integration (basic bluez driver works)
proper power management (i.e. no reasonable battery life yet)
ringtone (or other) profile management
network preferences (call deflection, manual operator selection,
a complete application framework where third party application developers can write apps that easily integrate with the OpenMoko world
Maybe I'm just a stupid Apple fan-boy, but I'm willing to spend a little extra for a cellular phone that can, you know, make phone calls.
Is not going to be all that awesome. Without carrier support, which it will never get, it will never be able to use any faster data connection than GPRS.
+++ATH0
Actually, their latest update didn't do a thing about people's unlocked and otherwise hacked phones. Maybe in the future we'll see that, but Apple never did anything about iPod Linux either (Nevermind that iPL wasn't really a runaway success or anything).
Yes, you're missing the point, you and everyone else who fails to realize that it's not the feature list, it's the interface. And please don't talk to me about open alternatives; the average consumer doesn't care. Joe Sixpack only wants something that will work without fuss and look good doing it.
Ten years ago, I would have been all hot for something I could poke around and mess with. These days, I have different hobbies and greater demands on my time. I've become extremely miserly with my free time because I want to spend every possible second of it with my kids; they're teenagers now, and all three will be off to college over the course of the next three years. My priorities have changed, and I have neither the time nor inclination to spend hours digging into the guts of a machine or wading through configuration files. It is for this reason that I simply can't be bothered with Linux. I'm Mac user and I have nothing whatsoever against Linux; in fact I admire Linux and the Linux community, and I'm rooting for FOSS in general, so don't think that my personal decision not to use Linux is a rejection of Linux or open software. But when I weigh the time I would have to spend configuring everything to my satisfaction, including finding/testing/learning replacement software, against time I could be spending with my sons and daughter, there's no contest.
I should point out that I apply the same test to pretty much every single thing in the same fashion before deciding whether to embark on it: Is it worth the time away from my children? If I find an alternative that will produce the same result, with less demands on my time, then usually that's the path I take. With regard to operating systems, moral* and technical concerns aside, Linux and Windows both fail to meet that all-important criterion as far as I'm concerned.
* What exactly does "moral advantage" mean anyway, when used in a discussion of technology? How can an inanimate object be immoral? It's the use of that object that is moral or not. Is the iPhone somehow less "moral" than the computer I presume you're using? Does loading Linux on it make it somehow morally superior to a Mac or Windows machine, even if it was produced by a manufacturer with an extremely poor environmental record? If you're so concerned about the immoral nature of a product manufactured by a company that *gasp* doesn't hew to your party line, then how in the name of Christ do you even get through the day without using transportation manufactured by a greedy automaker and fueled by nature-raping oil companies; eating a meal of recombinant DNA patented by monstrous agribusinesses; wearing clothes and shoes bearing the fingerprints of Asian sweatshop workers; and -shocker!- using an evil, soul-sucking ISP to connect to the Internet so you can post your drivel to Slashdot? And if you think that your lifestyle and choices somehow insulates you from contact with "immoral" technology, then you're delusional. Like a right-wing politician seeking re-election, people who preach morality tend to do so out of convenience. Grow up.
Sounds like religion
Maybe. An elegant design reflects a deep understanding of everything it touches. Intensive study is necessary, but it goes beyond that. You have to know it so well that you instinctively feel what works and what doesn't. You can't grok something that way without caring a great deal about it. And while one person usually has a guiding vision, it takes the intense focus of lots of people to get the best possible outcome.
That's when the magic happens. The design starts to seem purely asthetic, because the functional design seamlessly helps you do what you wanted, without calling attention to itself. It's only if you stop and think about the amount of complexity that's hidden (beneath the apparent simplicity) that you really start to appreciate how elegant that design is.
So, like a religion? Well, perhaps like the good bits.