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Turn Your iPhone Into a Web Server
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Fri May 15, 2009 12:52 PM
from the because-you-can dept.
from the because-you-can dept.
miller60 writes "A Japanese company called Freebit has released ServersMan, an app that turns the iPhone into a web server. It debuted in Japan in February, has now been launched in the US, and is being touted as a 'Personal Data Center.' Freebit also has a video with additional information on server-enabling your iPhone. 'Once the app is installed, PCs on the internet can access the iPhone to upload or download files through a browser or they can use the webDAV protocol. If the PC and the iPhone are on the same network, the PC can connect directly. If they are on separate networks, then FreeBit's VPN software will engage the connection.'"
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Hah, you wish (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I dont know about you, but atleast here in scandinavia unlimited 5mbit 3g costs 30euros/month.
Now, power usage might be a different thing, but it doesnt matter either if you have it wired (like I did when I used it for normal web browsing and gaming etc)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
O2's definition of "unlimited" for cellphone plans is 300MB per month. They are the iPhone network in the UK.
Re:Hah, you wish (Score:5, Insightful)
if it does contain some limits, like they say unlimited* phone calls and sms (* max 3000 mins per month).
That just seems so deceptive it's terrible that it's allowed to go on. Basically: "Unlimited* internet and phone service! (*Not really, we lied.)"
I can understand that they don't REALLY want to sell unlimited, but in that case it should instead be listed as:
3000 Minutes per month and 10,000 SMS messages per month - $45
Or whatever, rather than stating it as unlimited and then "defining" unlimited as something clearly NOT unlimited. It's like telling your buddy that you just "hung out" with his girlfriend last weekend and nothing more, but then trying to hide somewhere you're redefining "hung out" to really mean "banged like bunnies". In all other walks of life that's just called a lie.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
iSpam in your pocket?
You need never worry about what to do for lunch again!
Re:yawnnnn (Score:5, Funny)
Apple today announced a revolutionary new upgrade for the IpHoNe. For years, people have only used phones for accessing the Internet, listening to music, taking photographs and playing games. Now Apple bring a new development to the market: the ability to communicate via voice with someone who is not even in the same room, as if by magic.
The initial version will only allow communication with other Iphone users, though rumours suggest users can get around this limitation by jail-breaking the phone, in line with Apple's "Works, Just" tradition.
Some have pointed out that a few phones have already allowed such a feature, but Apple fans have dismissed this. "Other phones may have done this before, but how many people used it?" commented such fan. "Apple were the first to integrate it properly. Thanks to this innovation, I no longer have to lug my landline around with me as well as my Iphone."
Parent
You're accurately describing next month's happenin (Score:3, Insightful)
Indeed. VoIP by Apple.
Why do you think they are reworking the iPod touch?
Apple has the way to relay from one market to another like noone else.
While all others still are working to duplicate iTune store they already switched to micro-application sales (iApps); similarly, they are preparing for a world where internet connections via GSM phones (call it 3G or what) will be more complex than via Wifi.
You can bet they'll be running their supersimple, proprietary VoIP solution for months when the others just beg
apache? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Well...
Once the app is installed, PCs on the internet can access the iPhone to upload or download files through a browser or they can use the webDAV protocol. If the PC and the iPhone are on the same network, the PC can connect directly. If they are on separate networks, then FreeBit's VPN software will engage the connection
From the summary... That is something apache does not do out of the box.
Re: (Score:2)
What, pray tell, is insufficient about https?
Difficulty of obtaining a certificate for each server from a commercial CA, for one.
Re: (Score:2)
Just use a self-signed certificate. Its better than plain http anyways.
And if I remember correctly such certifices cost like $5-$10 and can be automatically purchased too, atleast from some issuers.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Great! We get another random company's software and security vulnerabilities in the way. What, pray tell, is insufficient about https? Apache has vulnerabilities, but they are found and patched. Who is Freebit, and why should they be trusted over Apache?
I apologies. I see the point you are trying to make: homogeneous computing environments are better than heterogeneous ones because we all have the same vulnerabilities. The world would be a more secure place if we all ran one set of software, one operating system, and one computing architecture.
Right...
Re:apache? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
How long until... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Exactly. I'm surprised Apple are letting this fly as it is. They don't even want you running Flash on your iPhone, let alone using it as a web server.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:How long until... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, I don't see why they are referring to this as a "server", it's bad PR. No ISP technically lets you run a server, so why would a provider let you run one through their cell towers?
Instead, they should call it a personal data syncing app or something.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
*Homer Simpson Voice*: PATENT PENDING! =)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
http://worldnet.att.net/general-info/terms-dsl-data.html#useserv [att.net]
AT&T's DSL service agreement, section 10; be Fair subsction b.: You may not use your Service connection to host a DEDICATED INTERNET server site. (emphasis mine).
The AT&T iPhone agreement however states: "Examples of prohibited uses include, without limitation . . .downloading movies using P2P file sharing services, redirecting television signals for viewing on Personal Computers, web broadcasting, and/or for the OPERATION OF SERVERS, t
Re: (Score:2)
Nobody's going to use a phone-based web server to serve pages to other nodes. How would you even discover the address? Or get through the AT&T firewall?
It's for web applications where both client and server are on the same device. This is actually a very common use case. Google desktop is a good example.
Vulnerable. (Score:5, Funny)
Slashdotting Your iPhone? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Slashdotting Your iPhone? (Score:5, Funny)
So what happens when you've got several thousand people trying to get on your phone's server?
Hrm, lets take a guess...
A) You find out rather quickly at the end of the month when reviewing page 32,725 if your hardcopy AT&T itemized bill that arrived on a pallet that you went over your "unlimited" data plan.
B) You find out rather quickly that more than ten TCP streams to your phone prohibits voice sending and receiving.
C) AT&T takes about 37 more seconds to realize that they need to block port 80 after this story was slashdotted.
D) All the above.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
So what happens when you've got several thousand people trying to get on your phone's server?
Load balancing ... that is if you have a family plan.
.....why? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
who would put a web server on there?
Does the word "Epeen" mean anything to you?
Re: (Score:2)
Re:.....why? (Score:5, Funny)
It's ZuneLink for geeks. Your eyes meet over a darkened server room, you whip out your iPhone, she pulls out her G1, you whisper seductively "http://192.168.0.1/somewhere_in_time.mp3"...
And suddenly you hear "Never gonna give you up!" You totally rickrolled her!
Parent
Re:.....why? (Score:5, Funny)
you had me at colon slash slash
Parent
Is that a volcano in your pocket? (Score:2, Funny)
Or did someone just slashdot your iPhone?
Slashdotting some hipster to death (Score:2, Funny)
These have been around for a while (Score:5, Informative)
I've used an app that does this for a while now. It's called Data Case and provides WebDAV and FTP access. There's a bunch of other ones on the app store as well. I fail to see how this is news.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I fail to see how this is news.
Because you were trying to hard to get an early, highly-rated comment and didn't RTFA, WatchTFVideo, or even RTFSummary. Besides running a basic webdav server (which I, also, already have, with Air Sharing), "If the PC and the iPhone... are on separate networks, then FreeBit's VPN software will engage the connection." That is, you sign up for an account with them and you can access your iPhone from anywhere on the Internet by going through their server.
This article it's dumb (Score:2)
I fail to see how is this news and how is this interesting.
Any jailbroken iPhone has been able to do this ages ago, in fact I was doing some AJAX experiments on the iPhone using vim (which was the only decent editor the iPhone had as I had copy/paste and search/replace) when I was bored.
Btw, I did not buy an iPhone, it was given to me and the truth it's I dislike it, if only it were more open...
Not so much free as "unavailable". (Score:2)
It's not available from the Canadian iTunes Store.
So either someone messed up when they submitted the application, there's a delay before it shows up in the Canadian store, or Rogers is screwing everybody including iPod touch owners.
Which one of the three is it, I don't know.
my iphone into a webserver? (Score:5, Funny)
And...? (Score:2)
Jailbreakers have been able to do this for a while, and I haven't seen much come from it.
Seems pointless. It would hurt battery life, would have a poor uptime, and would be slow to interact with.
So why is this even on here?
-Taylor
iPhone App Saturation... (Score:4, Insightful)
their sign up is either retarded or broken (Score:2)
log on my mailserver says:
May 15 13:37:00 mydomain postfix/smtp[384]: E91D1242E9AA: to=, relay=shrike.dti.ad.jp[202.216.228.218], delay=2, status=bounced (host shrike.dti.ad.jp[202.216.228.218] said: 550 5.1.1 ... User unknown (in reply to RCPT TO command))
May 15 13:37:01 mydomain postfix/qmgr[27465]: E91D1242E9AA: removed
hmmm... to=
I wonder how they expect THAT to work. (yes I did put in my email address on the ipod) I'm sure that's supposed to be in the FROM.
Re: (Score:2)
apparently slashdot convulses if you put a greater than in your text...
May 15 13:37:00 vftp postfix/smtp[384]: E91D1242E9AA: to=(GREATERTHAN)signup-noreply@serversman.com>, relay=shrike.dti.ad.jp[202.216.228.218], delay=2, status=bounced (host shrike.dti.ad.jp[202.216.228.218] said: 550 5.1.1 (GREATERTHAN)signup-noreply@serversman.com>... User unknown (in reply to RCPT TO command))
May 15 13:37:01 vftp postfix/qmgr[27465]: E91D1242E9AA: removed
This already exists, and it's called Air Sharing (Score:5, Informative)
It's called "Air Sharing", and its new big brother, "Air Sharing Pro".
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=312686749&mt=8 [apple.com]
Highly recommended; well worth the $5.
Been there, done that, didn't get a T-shirt.
No, it's called Mobile Web Server (Score:3, Insightful)
It's been done before and it's $0.
My mobile webserver [nokia.com]
My mobile site [mymobilesite.net]
Stupid iPhone Apps from the Future (Score:5, Informative)
Automobile Oil Temperature Monitor (includes supply of flexible, heat-resistant oil-tight enclosures)
App for monitoring money under matress (includes jumbo external battery pack)
Tire pressure monitoring and reporting app (you'll need at least 4 iPhones + contracts; includes generous supply of foam rubber padding; includes plug-in pressure transducer)
Very common, not noteworthy at all (Score:3, Informative)
There are lots of web servers for the iPhone. Lots of audio recording applications use a web server to allow you to transfer recordings off the iPhone. I'd suspect there are other categories of applications that also provide a web server.
Not sure you'd want to us the iPhone as a general purpose web server though. That seems dumb.
Nokia has it for ages (Score:3, Informative)
While people arguing if it will be banned today or tomorrow, Nokia offers such web server for Symbian phones for years now with features making sense.
http://mymobilesite.net/screenshots/ [mymobilesite.net]
It is Apache/Phyton and several other technologies combined. In fact, it is also a great multi platform phone remote same time for local usage. They solved the NAT/Web robots problem very interesting way too, a real server routes and filters the calls to the phone subdomain so Google doesn't come to your phone as a robot.
The features of it (check screenshots) makes sense, it is not something like 'my toaster runs web server'.
Re:just because you can (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I have an iPhone. I also have an OpenBSD firewall, a Debian FTP/NFS/SMB server, a LAMP server running on a toaster, a Hackintosh, and a spare system with Windows 7 on it. I guess now I'll have to get a social life or something. This not being a geek thing is going to screw up my schedule.
Re: (Score:2)
You must be new here.