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IPhone 3G Jailbreak Released, Paves Way For Open Source Apps
Posted by
timothy
on Sun Jul 20, 2008 06:48 PM
from the coming-up-apples dept.
from the coming-up-apples dept.
PainMeds writes "iPhone Atlas is reporting that the first jailbreak for the iPhone 3G has been released, and includes the popular Cydia community installer for distributing free games and applications. Since Apple's SDK was released, web sites have criticized Apple for the restrictions placed on both what developers could write and what APIs they were allowed to use. Others have noted the SDK's incompatibility with the GPL. The Cydia installer has provided a distribution channel for both open source software and software that would otherwise be impossible to build using the restricted SDK. A few applications are already out, including MobileTerminal and NES.app, a Nintendo game console emulator. In just over a week, open development is finally here for the iPhone 3G!"
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Hackers Finally Unlock iPhone 3G 186 comments
nandemoari quotes a story at Infopackets:
"2009 has gotten off to a great start for a team of iPhone enthusiasts with little regard for Apple's licensing requirements. They've finally figured out a way to get the phone to work with any cell phone carrier (and not just AT&T). The iPhone Dev Team is best known for their work on 'jailbreaking;' the technique of altering an iPhone so that you can run any applications on it, not just those approved by Apple. Given the company's questionable vetting policy for entry to the official App store, it's not surprising many users approve of jailbreaking."
[+]
iPhone Jailbreaking Still Going Strong 166 comments
snydeq writes "Despite the productivity promises of Apple's forthcoming 3.0 firmware update, jailbreaking should continue to push the iPhone's productivity envelope, as users increasingly demand the Holy Grail of smartphone power use: applications that run in the background, InfoWorld reports. Copy and paste, video recording and streaming, Internet tethering, and content search are just a few of the features over which iPhone users have sought to jailbreak their devices — a practice Apple itself has done little to crack down on. Jailbreak apps circumvent hardware and software restrictions that Apple says ensure a consistent, responsive user interface and optimal battery endurance. In particular, jailbroken phones can run apps in the background, a capability Apple reserves for its own apps but prohibits in third-party programs. Jay Freeman, creator of the Cydia iPhone installer and Cydia Store, however, believes a free-market approach is the best way to satisfy power users' demands for features without compromising the performance of their iPhones. And given Apple's App Store overcrowding, it seems likely that jailbroken phones and app venues like Cydia Store will continue to be popular with iPhone customers and developers, even after the 3.0 firmware ships."
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Only on Mac (Score:5, Funny)
(picture in TFA)
On Mac, even exploits have user-friendly GUIs!
The SDK is not incompatible with the GPL (Score:4, Insightful)
Except in Canada... (Score:4, Informative)
Thanks to the upcoming C-61, anybody picking "digital locks" placed on their own damned phone is liable to a $20,000 fine!
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3025/125/ [michaelgeist.ca]
Assuming Apple allows you to buy it (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Assuming Apple allows you to buy it (Score:5, Informative)
This same situation was described on the first day by a TV reporter who was also refused as he also had a special discount. This is why potential customers were asked to come by a day or so before to check their eligibility for an iPhone 3G at the discounted rate. Clearly, thos on special discounted plans were not eligible for the full discounted rate. Thisincludes you as you could have determined by checking online before. However, it's human nature to want something and overlook the details. I'm sure you can find a solution by talking with AT&T and getting a phone from them since you are thiwr customer, however, don't expect to get the $199 or $299 discounted rate unless you give up your monthly discounted rate.
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Re:so (Score:5, Interesting)
Because OpenMoko looks like the iPhone's ugly cousin from Kentucky? How about the fact that the iPhone already has numerous apps and a lot of momentum in app development? How about the fact that the standard software on the iPhone is much more polished than anything the OpenMoko will produce?
I'm more interested in Android and very interested in what platforms may support it. (You know if, if it gets out of Beta(tm) stage)
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Re:so (Score:5, Insightful)
Flamebait? By pointing out the OpenMoko's obvious downsides to the iPhone? Are you kidding me? The overzealous sensitive mods are out in force!
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of the OpenMoko, but the execution is poor considering the considerable competition. People are developing plenty of apps for the iPhone because it is popular and it does have a very polished user interface. The iPhone has staying power. The OpenMoko? Not so much.
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Re:so (Score:5, Funny)
The mods aren't overzealous, they're from Kentucky.
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Other way around (Score:5, Insightful)
Not buying a great product you can easily crack is even more retarded. If you limit your options only to fully supported models of distribution you'll never have anything. You'll also face a life of being totally ripped off by the people that have you at the mercy of limited options.
The car dealer recommends you change the oil at the dealership, do you do that every tie as well?
We live in the hackers age. Embrace that, and win.
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Re:Don't buy it (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Don't buy it (Score:4, Interesting)
Even without it being, it jailbroken, it is an enjoyable phone to use. Much more so than any Nokia / Samsung / Sony-Ericsson I've had over the years. And compared to WinCE it's a godsend, a Start menu on a phone? Seriously? Maybe the Blackberry is more functional... However I think that UI and aesthetics are a large part of functionality. The touch keyboard interface is good enough to write emails and I find it just as easy to use as a tinny qwerty keyboard.
At the end of the day I would have an iPhone regardless of whether I could jailbreak it or not. I've had some expensive phones in my time and this is the only one I've actually ever played with.
It's a well designed piece of hardware and I hope it spurs other companies and perhaps the next rethink of the OpenMoko into developing something better.
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Re:Don't buy it (Score:5, Insightful)
The reasoning is not very difficult:
1) I like the hardware
2) I don't like the software
If the cost of fixing 2 is less than the value of 1, then you buy the device.
I don't have an iPhone either, but I don't act like people with a different opinion are drooling morons.
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Re:Don't buy it (Score:4, Informative)
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Re:Don't buy it (Score:5, Insightful)
Awesome, so you're buying a product and deliberately cutting yourself off from software updates for it.
What could possibly go wrong?
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Re:Don't buy it (Score:5, Funny)
http://www.infopackets.com/news/security/2008/20080417_vista_security_update_bricks_usb_devices.htm [infopackets.com]
Lots! Automatically downloading and installing code from an untrusted party is pretty much the only way to make sure your software continues working as expected.
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Re:Nothing is wrong with the parallel chain (Score:5, Interesting)
There's nothing irrational about hating Apple. They are the kings of the proprietary and I like being in control of my own hardware.
And yes, buying an Xbox so you can hack it is also retarded.
Support the suppliers who are not trying to lock down the hardware.
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Nah, buy it. (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Nah, buy it. (Score:5, Informative)
Upgrade 1.1 irreversibly bricked phones.
No it did not. You cannot brick an iPhone (or iPod) just by installing customized firmware or messing about with the software on it - even if you try. Some people have a really hard time grasping that.
What happened to some people was it restored the status of the phone to "awaiting activation" from where they could only be used with the original SIM they were bundled with (or, technically, an already activated SIM on the appropriate locales network, taken from another iPhone).
Now that pissed some people off and meant that people who got phones and where using them with other providers couldn't keep using them anymore (as they phones wouldn't get passed activation without an activated SIM on the appropriate network for the locale being inserted).
People liked using the term "bricked" so that's how they described it, not least because many of the people in that camp didn't HAVE an original, already unlocked SIM to insert, because the bought the phones from a 3rd party and so were left with a phone that was of no use to them (but that was really still working just fine, as intended by the vendor - but not as they desired).
People in this category were impatient / foolish enough to rush out and install a largely untested update on a phone they'd already patched the software on. This is happening again with the latest jailbreak with people who have a very limited understanding of what they are doing running into problems they won't be able to fix, and I am sure there will be a lot of tears before bed time when they rush like lemmings to install the next official update over the top of their patched up date in a few weeks or so.
Thankfully the Apple restore functionality for iPods and iPhones is reliable and robust. Even if you fuck one to the point where it won't boot still doesn't mean it's "bricked" - because even after doing that you can still access the restore mode and restore full functionality, loading up factory firmware on the device.
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Re:Don't buy it (Score:4, Informative)
I don't know about the iPhone, but as an iPod touch owner, I'm pretty sure this is a no-risk proposition. If I install an update that breaks the device, I can just do a factory restore. All my purchased apps are backed up to my computer, so all I can lose is any jailbreak apps I've installed.
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Re:Don't buy it (Score:5, Insightful)
The same way you'd buy an HP and throw Ubuntu on it. You like the hardware, but despise the software (or part of it), so you do what you can to change that.
I don't think anyone is going to get through to you though, you've apparently already convinced yourself that the only reason to own an iPhone is for superficial trendy reasons. Personally, I feel that the UI is far superior to any other phone on the market, particularly when compared to similar smartphones that run Windows Mobile. Let's not talk Blackberry, their UI is so woefully behind both WM and iPhone that it's really a bit pathetic.
I jailbreak mine because I like the responsiveness of the OS, I like the UI, I like how many things are taken for granted (the media capabilities out of the box are excellent, as opposed to other smartphones, where they feel grafted on, and do not integrate well with other apps). I also want to run 3rd party software on it, because there's some really good stuff out there.
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Re:I don't want a device I have to "jailbreak" (Score:5, Insightful)
Posting on Slashdot must automatically remove all of your ability to sympathize with other human beings too.
Let's go through why most people don't care about the stuff you raised.
1) Most people don't do anything that's restricted anyway. This is less true of being restricted to a single carrier, but people generally have very little loyalty toward an individual carrier.
2) People really do not feel that it's a big deal to connect their phone to their computer one time in the 2+ years that they will own it.
3) People don't have "many different types of media", they have MP3s. The iPhone plays MP3s.
4) $200 US does not seem overpriced to me. As for overhyped, most people don't have this weird reaction where they feel that they are obligated to dislike anything that's popular.
5) Most people simply don't care about replacing their battery.
6) Most people simply don't care about storage expansion.
Your complains are all legitimate and it's fine that you don't like the thing (I don't own one either), but it's silly to act as though the device has no merit whatsoever.
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Re:I don't want a device I have to "jailbreak" (Score:4, Informative)
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Re:I don't want a device I have to "jailbreak" (Score:4, Insightful)
That's fine. That's a reason why you don't like it. It is not, however, a reason why everybody with any sense at all shouldn't like it. There's a big difference, and people on this site have a very difficult time understanding that.
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Re:I wonder... (Score:5, Informative)
Really? I applied as an individual developer without any released Apple products, and have paid my $99 and got in. They were very restrictive until release day, but at this point I don't know anyone who's applied who hasn't gotten the invitation email. I got my email the day after the App Store was opened, and am halfway done with my first app.
And as there are enough applications in the Apple Store already that it's hard to track them all, I don't think lack of apps is anything anyone's worrying about. Jailbreaking will definitely be good for GPL fanatics (as that's the only one of the open source licenses that's incompatible), but I suspect 99% of the users won't care and will stick with the convenience, support, and variety of the official store.
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Re:This "incompatible with FOSS" FUD is annoying (Score:5, Insightful)
Get on with the news, zealots: the final SDK has been released July 11, so the NDA has been lifted for more than a week now.
You'd think so, but no. If you check Apple's Cocoa mailing lists you'll see multiple nastygrams from the moderators stating that the iPhone SDK is still under NDA. It's an exceptionally stupid situation where anybody in the world can download the SDK, but nobody can talk about it, and presumably publicly posting code that uses it would be in violation.
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