Jailbreak 1.1.3 Problem -- Anyone Seen This?

I think the news on the jailbreak for update 1.1.3 has been adequately covered in a number of other blog posts. However, when I ran the Windows version (using iBrickr), it did not quite install correctly. Granted, I now have 1.1.3 on my iPhone and have the ability to add and run third-party native apps. However, when the update was installing, it took a script error. Then when I restarted the iPhone, the only third-party app that showed up was the installer.

At that point I went to reinstall the third-party apps I had previously placed on the phone and they did not show up! Out of curiosity, I went to the uninstall button on the AppSnapp application and the various applications showed up there. That is, they did not show as installed (and they could not be found on the Springboard), but they did show as able to be uninstalled.

At that point, I began uninstalling the applications. However, there were several that would not uninstall because of a "Main script error." Of the ones uninstalled, when I went to reinstall them, they installed and work just fine. There were a few exceptions where the application was designed for 1.1.2.

However, there are some really great applications that I would like that will not uninstall. Anyone have this problem? Anyone have any idea how to go about a fix without downgrading and starting all over again?

MobileCast

I would love to move to Update 1.1.3 because I don't particularly like being an "outlaw." The iPhone provides an outstanding user experience, but there are some features available through jailbreaking that I have become dependent upon. One of these is "MobileCast," a simple podcast downloader and player.

The reason it has advantages over iTunes? First, you don't need iTunes. MobileCast manages direct RSS podcast feeds. Second (and most importantly), MobileCast allows the user to download over Wi-Fi. This is a major advantage because the user can download content anytime and anywhere there is an Internet connection--even over EDGE although I don't advise it. The iPhone is about convenience and MobileCast is a major enabler.



posted from iPhoneSlide.com

MacWorld Prediction Accuracy

Okay, I took my guess just like a lot of other people. So how did I do? Let's see:

1. An iPhone 16 Gb. MISSED
2. Early introduction of the SDK along with the announcements of a number of new applications immediately available through iTunes (new release 7.7). MISSED Sort of. There was a new release of iTunes (7.6), but the SDK is now "late February.
3. iPhone email Exchange compatibility. MISSED
4. Update 1.1.3 (or perhaps a 1.2.0) that will incorporate the teasers seen in the leaked video of the release as well as much-needed enhancements. SPOT ON. Indeed, only the things in the leaked video were in the release.
5. Enhancements to the Wi-Fi iTunes store that will enable podcasts and videos to be downloaded wirelessly. MISSED
6. Among the videos that will be available, Apple will announce its agreement to carry movie rentals--they will be available through the Wi-Fi store or iTunes directly to a home machine or a souped-up AppleTV. GOT ALL EXCEPT THE WI-FI ACCESS.
7. Joint announcements by Yahoo!, Google, and perhaps others of significant extensions of their Web sites to accommodate the iPhone format. MISSED
8. Announcement of an agreement enabling extended Wi-Fi iTunes store usage at airports, certain hotel chains, and perhaps additional business establishments. MISSED
9. Joint announcement of the availability of the 3G iPhone along with AT&T's announcement of rapid expansion of its 3G network. MISSED

And the total is: 2 of 7 of 29%. Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful.

iPhone/Apple Goodies at MacWorld Expo

Well, since everyone else appears compelled to weigh in on what will be announced at the 2008 MacWorld Expo, I thought I might as well provide my prognostications to the pile appearing in the blogosphere. Herewith are my predictions:

1. An iPhone 16 Gb. This is logical allowing the top end of the iPhone line to be filled-in and perhaps allowing the 8 Gb to see a price drop, perhaps to $299. The phone will come standard with the 1.1.3 update. The 16 Gb iPhone will not have a replaceable battery.
   
2. No iPhone 3G. If one is introduced, it will be introduced as debuting with 3G service to Japan or a similar announcement. This will place the machine coming to market in the Spring at the earliest, Summer more likely, or Fall (before the Christmas rush) as the most likely. It also gives Apple time to determine whether to put it at a higher price point, or to retire the 8 Gb model. Either way, there will be both a 3G and a 2.5G model on the market at the same time. If the 3G model is introduced, it will not have a replaceable battery.
   
3. Early introduction of the SDK along with the announcements of a number of new applications immediately available through iTunes (new release 7.7). I would expect that many of these applications are available from installer.app developers (let's face it, some of this stuff is great, especially the games, and they pose no threat to Apple).
4. Flash availability on the iPhone. There doesn't seem to be much discussion of this topic anymore, but it would be an easy addition that would significantly extend the functionality of Safari considering how many sites use Flash. It would also be a logical early SDK-developed tool.
5. iPhone email Exchange compatibility. This one will come from either Microsoft or one of the many companies providing these capabilities to Palm and others today. Again, this is a logical SDK-developed tool.
6. Update 1.1.3 (or perhaps a 1.2.0) that will incorporate the teasers seen in the leaked video of the release as well as much-needed enhancements. Among this are: a) icon management as seen in the video; b) Google map location as seen in the video; c) custom pin placement as seen in the video; d) bookmark as icon application on the springboard as seen in the video; e) copy-and-paste; and f) flash-disk storage.
7. Enhancements to the Wi-Fi iTunes store that will enable podcasts and videos to be downloaded wirelessly.
8. Among the videos that will be available, Apple will announce its agreement to carry movie rentals--they will be available through the Wi-Fi store or iTunes directly to a home machine or a souped-up AppleTV.
9. Joint announcements by Yahoo!, Google, and perhaps others of significant extensions of their Web sites to accommodate the iPhone format. These would go far beyond what has been announced by Yahoo! and Google recently. Indeed, they may take the form of additional custom applications available as a result of the SDK.
   

These latter predictions are the result of this being Apple's show, but they will not want to leave out the content providers that make the iPhone so functional. Therefore, they will be involved in some type of joint presentation. Then there are the reach predictions. Not sure whether they are realistic at this time, but I would predict they are coming:

1. Announcement of an agreement enabling extended Wi-Fi iTunes store usage at airports, certain hotel chains, and perhaps additional business establishments. The latter would be tied to Apple's existing contracts with AT&T, O2, Deutche Telekom, and Orange.
2. Joint announcement of the availability of the 3G iPhone along with AT&T's announcement of rapid expansion of its 3G network.

Those are my thoughts. What do you think I have wrong. What have I left out?

Blogging from the iPhone

I just happened to come across a nifty little Web 2.0 (sort of) application that is optimized to take emails from an iPhone and post them to a variety of different possible blogging sites. The service, called "iPhoneSlide," is especially nice is that it allows the blogger to insert photographs into the blog posting. Below is a screenshot of the iPhoneSlide Website found at http://www.iphoneslide.com.



posted from iPhoneSlide.com

My Favorite iPhone Games Roundup

In my last post, I described "jailbreaking" the iPhone in order to install native applications. Well, it wouldn't be much fun if some of those programs were not games. Face it, one of the biggest negatives to the iPhone is what can you do with it when in "Airplane Mode" if you don't want to listen to music or watch video? Once in airplane mode, all the advantages of Safari-based Internet applications are left on the ground. The solution? Native games.


So here are my favorites:

1. iSolitaire by Chris Miles satisfies anyone's desire to have a substitute for the Windows Spider Solitaire game. While lacking in features such as statistics and undo, it is surprisingly well-designed and Chris has been very active in updating it. Needless to say, at its present state, it can make a very long trip fly by.







2. FiveDice from Conceited Software is Yahtzee! ported to the iPhone. In doing so, the developers have taken advantage of the iPhone's features to make game-playing really enjoyable. If you get tired of playing Solitaire, FiveDice should get you the remaining distance on that long flight.







3. Block Puzzle by soneso is that rare combination of simplicity and challenge. The objective is to move a large red block to the bottom of the puzzle by moving different-sized around in the limited space. The puzzle provides three difficulty levels and the third level can keep you busy on a very long flight.







4. Tetromino (Mobile Tetromino) by Ste is a nice port of the Tetris game. It is generally well done, but I would like to see the buttons a little larger and the ability to change the background. Other than that, if you like Tetris, you will be happy with Tetromino.







5. Lights Off by Ste is sort of a combination of a chess game merged with a block game. The game board is a 5X5 set of squares. Some of the squares are lit and some are dark. When you touch a lit square, the square turns dark, but all adjacent squares light up. The objective is to manipulate the board to turn off all lit squares on the board so that it is completely dark. Once this is achieved, the game proceeds to the next level. I have been able to make it to level 8 and could probably take a rather long flight before I advance. It eats up time and its fun.

Why Hack the iPhone?

I resisted the urge to hack the iPhone for a few months, but after hearing about all the bricked phones after update 1.1.1, I became very interested in what it was that so many people wanted that they would be willing to brick their phone. My worry was that I did not want to dip into the innards of Mac OS X (even though I am quite at home with UNIX and Linux) and I sure didn't want to brick my phone.

Then I read about the site www.jailbreakme.com. The people at jailbreakme are to be congratulated on their ability to jailbreak the phone. But more importantly, they are to be congratulated on designing a jailbreak approach that is truly user-friendly. First, you don't need to know anything under the hood of Mac OS X. Second, you don't need to remember or follow any complicated directions. Third, you don't need anything but your iPhone and access to the Internet. The result is a jailbreak process that is as simple to perform as the iPhone is simple to use. But it doesn't stop there. The access to applications, the process of installing selected applications, the process of upgrading those applications, and the process of deleting applications are all ... simple. The result is an outstanding process for adding and managing applications on the iPhone that I highly recommend. With such a simple process, why not hack just to see what's available?

I have included a picture of page 1 of my "Springboard" (iPhone home screen). There are two more pages of applications that are not shown. No more complaints about lack of a "Todo" list. There's an application for that. No more complaints about lack of a search facility--there's an application for that. The screenshot is from an installed application. I have games galore. You get the idea, these applications truly extend the capability of the iPhone.

What's missing? I would still like to see a hack that will allow me to copy-and-paste. I figure it is only a matter of time before someone ports a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation package to the device: OpenOffice would do just fine. Finally, file uploading and saving capabilities would bring the device to a true portable computer level.

With that said, I am waiting for a "simple" upgrade that will enable the hack to work on 1.1.2. To date they have provided a package that can be installed on a 1.1.1 phone that will then allow upgrading to 1.1.2, but since it does not have the simplicity of the original 1.1.1 hack, I have not upgraded. I would dare say that until Apple provides something truly valuable, there is no reason to upgrade.

Try out www.jailbreakme.com and let me know what you think.