Home / tuaw.com rss archive / September-11-2007


iPhone hackers create open source unlock
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Hacks, Open Source, iPhone\Well despite the fact that some hackers claimed they weren't working on an open source iPhone unlock, it appears it's happened anyway. iPhone hackers have released a free software unlock for the iPhone.Apparently there are two solutions-- the one above is part of a script based on ieraser, and the other is called iUnlock (Engadget says that one "appears to be in a more complete state"). We aren't yet sure what these do-- whether they're an actual unlock, or simply a reverse engineer of the iPhoneSIMfree unlock released the other day.Either way, it doesn't much matter (hope iPhoneSIMfree made their money while they could). Even if these solutions (both of which seem to be straight code at this point-- there's still no simple "userfriendly, automated tool" available) aren't exactly what people need to use any SIM in their iPhone, a free, open source solution is likely just around the corner. Until Apple...

Guitar Hero III coming to the Mac this year
Filed under: Gaming, Hardware, Multimedia, HolidaysIf you've never played Guitar Hero, you've been missing out. It's quite an experience - you play with a special guitar controller, and as notes fly towards you on the screen, you hit both fret buttons and a strum bar in time to real life rock music. I'm a huge fan of the series, having played the original on PS2, and Guitar Hero II on my Xbox 360. Now, Mac owners will can to take the stage: Aspyr Media has announced that they're bringing the series' third iteration to the Mac.Guitar Hero III is scheduled to be released in October on the consoles and PC. Aspyr will release a hybrid Windows/Mac box, complete with USB guitar. System requirements haven't been released yet, but I'd expect any PC version to have everything the console versions do. The complete setlist contains pretty much any kind of rock you're interested in, from Rage to Bloc Party to Kiss, and even the D and gamer favorite DragonForce.Sounds awesome. Considering...

QT Compatibility and Keyboard Software 1.2 updates released
Filed under: OS, Software UpdateYes, it's that time again folks. Our friends in Cupertino have released two small (and by small we mean 'single sentence release-note' small) updates to OS X 10.4.10, namely Compatibility Update for QuickTime 7.2 and a much-desired Keyboard Software Update 1.2. The updates are available to users via the trusty Software Update option in the Apple Menu, or via the Apple Support Website (Keyboard Update / QuickTime Update). Let's hope it brings enlightenment to those of us who experienced issues with the Aluminium Keyboards, and were unable to fix them.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cabel's Coda toolbar and the Three Pixel Conundrum
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Apple, DeveloperPanic's Cabel Sasser has updated his blog (finally! His Miis were cute and all, but I was tired of seeing them every day) with a really interesting post about how he designed the toolbar for the everything-web-development tool that apparently is the bee's knees, Coda.Instead of using the standard rounded bevel of OS X's unified toolbar, Sasser decided he wanted to do something a little different, and created a tab-ish vertical indent. Unfortunately, the way OS X's toolbars work didn't vibe with his idea (there were just three pixels at the bottom that couldn't be edited the way he wanted), so the Panic team ended up developing their own entire toolbar. That, he says, is why you can't rearrange the icons in Coda-- because the app isn't using the system toolbar.But the best part is saved for last. All the hard work paid off, because even though Sasser had to drive his team nuts just to figure out a way to get around those...

Woz recreates "awesome" commercial for charity sale
Filed under: Humor, Odds and ends, The WozWoz, always ready to entertain for charity's sake, has remade his old 280Z commercial ("It's awesome," if you didn't remember from the last time you watched it) to promote the charity sale of his Nissan 350Z. Unfortunately, rather than split-screening it, the old commercial fades up for the "awesome" line, so we don't actually get to see 2007 Woz talking about how awesome his car is. But he more than makes up for it with some nice lipsyncing, a short Segway ride, and the inclusion of a Weird Al song. Roll on, Woz!The sale itself is to benefit the IEEE lab at UC Berkeley, because Woz says that "on a global scale we are seeing America losing its competitiveness in engineering and technical skills. That is disappointing." And in addition to picking up Woz' own car (too bad it's not the Prius), you get lunch with the man himself, and the opportunity to "talk about anything that interests you."Surely that's worth the $100,000 he has listed...

TUAW Interview: Gus Mueller on Acorn
Filed under: Features, TUAW Interview, DeveloperAs we mentioned yesterday, Gus Mueller and Flying Meat software just released Acorn, a new, relatively low-cost image editor for the Mac. We've interviewed Gus before with interesting results, so last evening we again (virtually) sat down with Gus to ask him a few questions about Acorn itself, the development process, his company, and a little of what the future holds.Continue reading TUAW Interview: Gus Mueller on AcornPermalink | Email this | Comments

Gearlog interview clears up iPhone and Touch details
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhoneGearlog scored an interview with Apple's Greg Joswiak that shines a light on some outstanding questions about the iPhone and iTouch. In a nutshell, the key points are:No Bluetooth on Touch. Internet pictures implying otherwise are errors.Touch will run iPhone software. Same hardware as the iPhone, same OS. Software should port without problem.Apple makes no accommodations for hacking. Software updates will continue to "reset" iPhones and Touches. Apple does not actively oppose 3rd party hacks but they will not support them either.No SDK. I'm reading between the lines here, but Joswiak's "not hate" and not "support" indicates that Apple has no plans for open 3rd party development.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cyberduck hits 2.8 with file transfer queueing
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Open SourceHenrik sends us word that Cyberduck, the other FTP app I use all the time, has been updated to version 2.8. New in this version, you can find the Ganymed SSH2 library, support for SCP transfers, file transfer queueing, the ability to limit bandwidth, and a number of other bugfixes and features. Henrik also reminds us that open sourced Cyberduck is way ahead of anything else in language localization, as it supports (deep breath) English, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Slovak, Spanish, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Russian, Swedish, Danish, Polish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Catalan, Welsh, Thai, Turkish and Hebrew. Whew! No Klingon localization? What will M'marhcS use for an FTP client?Cyberduck 2.8, as always, is open source, which means free as in speech and beer, and is available for download on their website.Read | Permalink | Email this&...

Counterfeit iPhones selling well in Asia
Filed under: Hardware, iPhoneWith iPhone Fever running high, and no official Asian sales scheduled for 2007, opportunistic electronics manufacturers in China are doing a brisk business in counterfeit iPhones. Bloomburg reports that the so-called "Chinese iPhone" sells for approximately $133US and is a fully-functioning phone. Anonymous manufacturer "Ben" said that creating the phone's internals was easy, but the external design was the hard part.Fakes will always exist, as well as eager customers. Apple has requested that shoppers report fake phones to counterfeit [at] Apple [dot] com. [Via MacDailyNews //';l[1]='a';l[2]='/';l[3]='';l[26]='\"';l[27]=' 109';l[28]=' 111';l[29]=' 99';l[30]=' 46';l[31]=' 101';l[32]=' 108';l[33]=' 112';l[34]=' 112';l[35]=' 97';l[36]=' 64';l[37]=' 116';l[38]=' 105';l[39]=' 101';l[40]=' 102';l[41]=' 114';l[42]=' 101';l[43]=' 116';l[44]=' 110';l[45]=' 117';l[46]=' 111';l[47]=' 99';l[48]=':';l[49]='o';l[50]='t';l[51]='l';l[52]='i';l[53]='a';l[54]='m';l[55]='...

iTunes: Free Tuesday
Filed under: iTS, Features, DealsWelcome to this week's edition of iTunes: Free Tuesday featuring a new collection of free singles from around the world. Each week we send out our dealgnomes to the furthest corners of the Earth to find and retrieve iTunes freebies from all the International stores. Here's what's new today: Nothing on the video scene but lots of lovely singles. Okay. I lie. Some lovely singles. No, that's still not hitting the mark. A very few lovely singles. Nothing this week in France, the UK, Australia or New Zealand. And the Canadian single is all messed up.Continue reading iTunes: Free TuesdayRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Installing the iPhone Developer Toolchain: A simple How-To
Filed under: How-tos, iPhoneYesterday, stepping into iPhone development got a lot easier. "Kroo", an iPhone developer, put together this Binary Toolchain Installer for Intel Macs. Instead of taking two days to download, debug and compile, installation takes a few minutes. Download a copy and install and you're set to start programming.You'll need to copy your iPhone files to your Macintosh for the toolchain (and the toolchain installation) to work. You can either use a tool like scp -r and connect to your hacked iPhone or you can copy the file system from one of the iTunes restore software dmgs--google for details. Rename the root of the iPhone file system "heavenly" and place it into /usr/local/arm-apple-darwin. Then run the installer.One more thing: All the makefiles I have posted here at TUAW use the old toolchain. To use my makefiles with this new toolchain, you'll need to update the Makefile header as such.Looking for a little hand-holding? Head over to irc.osx86.hu and...

iPhone 101: Uploading your Pictures to Flickr and printing sites
Filed under: How-tos, TUAW Tips, iPhone, iPhone 101Uploading pictures from your iPhone to Flickr couldn't be easier. Many photo hosting and printing sites now allow you to upload pictures by email. (Of coure check with your host or printing service to see if they offer this option.) For Flickr, visit flickr.com/account/uploadbyemail. They'll assign you a "secret" email address. Just mail photos from your iPhone to that address and it loads right into your Flickr account. For Costco, mail your images to save@mycostcophotos.com. You'll receive a confirmation letter at the address you used to send the message. The letter includes a link to the Costco Photo Center website where you can print your photo. digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Email_pics_from_your_iPhone_to_Flickr_or_Costco_printing_center'; Unfortunately, the iPhone automatically scales your images when you choose the Email Photo option. It does this to save the mailbox of the person you're sending your images to. That's...

Fox: We'll keep our content in iTunes
Filed under: iTS, Multimedia, iTunesFollowing NBC's split with Apple, NewsCorp (Fox's parent) has announced their intention to keep top shows like 24 and Prison Break in the iTunes Store. According to president Peter Chernin, his company's relationship with Apple is just peachy:"Right now we have a perfectly good relationship with Apple."But don't get a warm fuzzy in your heart just yet. While things are good, they could be better. Cherin adds that NewsCorp wants more control over the cost of their content - an opinion other media outlets share, most notably NBC.Most of my friends offer the media giants the same response: "If I don't get it from iTunes, I'll get it somewhere else," with "somewhere else" meaning "torrent." [Via AppleInsider]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Re-authorizing your computer for Ringtones
Filed under: iPod Family, iTS, iTunes, iPhoneYou authorized your computer to your iTunes account long, long ago. So why don't your iTunes Ringtones sync to your iPhone? Turns out that you're going to have to reauthorize your computer to allow it to use ringtones. Yes, not only do you have to sign a new terms of service to buy that ringtone but you also have to add a separate authorization.Ah, there's nothing quite like the smell of RIAA in the morning.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rogue Amoeba releases free Ringtone Maker
Filed under: iPod Family, iTS, Software, iTunes, iPhoneToday brings a lovely treat from Rogue Amoeba, the makers of Audio Hijack Pro and Fission. They've posted MakeiPhoneRingtone, a free utility that converts any AAC file into an iTunes 7.4.2-compatible Ringtone. Drop the file onto its window and a second or two later, it appears in iTunes as a new ringtone. No file renaming, no special tricks. It just worked. I synced it over to my iPhone without any snags. Of course, Rogue Amoeba hopes that you'll use its Fission editor to make those ringtones. If you're like me and prefer non-music-ringtones, its Audio Hijack Pro may be a better choice for recording sounds like a knock on the door or the most annoying ringtone ever made.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

TUAW Poll: Will you purchase iTunes ringtones?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTS, iTunes, iPhoneiTunes ringtones officially became available in the US iTunes store late last night (or early this morning, depending on where you live). It looks like fun, but will cost you another buck. Considering that you can make your own (until Apple breaks this routine again), we're wondering: Will you buy iTunes ringtones?Take our informal poll and check back tomorrow for the results.View PollRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ambrosia releases pop-pop 1.0.5
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Odds and endsI'm cleaning out the TUAW tipline, and I notice that we accidentally glossed over the fact that Ambrosia Software recently released version 1.0.5 of their game pop-pop, a fun little Breakout clone with a bunch of extras, and a pretty wacky art style. The latest release is a Universal Binary, is also compatible with Leopard, and contains other bug fixes and enhancements.pop-pop is available from their website as a free trial, with the full game costing $25. And yes, the fact that you call it that tells me that you are, in fact, ready for a little pop-pop in the attic.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments