Today Zibri announced that a new version of Ziphone, version 3.0, is available for download from his site. ZiPhone is currently one of the more popular tools used for activating, jailbreaking,& unlocking the iPhone. ZiPhone also includes support for jailbreaking the iPod touch as well. Among various bug fixes, this new version fixes the “greyed out wi-fi” problem users reported in previous versions. Additionally, version 3.0 now includes a plugin system. Complete list of changes after the break!

* Added automatic installation of BSD subsystem, SSH and Installer (now working immediately after ziphone)
* Added PLUGIN system.
* Cleaned up code and ziphone main functions.
* Added (surprise)
* Added WiFi FIX workaround.
* People with a healthy baseband but corrupted seczone will have their wifi back.
* Removed FIX NVRAM. Now automatic.
* Debug version (a few minor bugs were found and killed)
* Cleaned up code and ziphone main functions.

Update - For those who downloaded and couldn’t find the plugin howto, here it is:

HOWTO:

———————————–

Here we are.
Well, the plugin system is as simple as powerful as you could imagine.
All you have to do is to put whatever you want to transfer to the iPhone in a zip file !
The zip file will be extracted to / (the iPhone root) so if you want for example add an application,
all you have to do is to create a zip file relative to / so it will contain:

/Applications/YOURAPP.APP/
/Applications/YOURAPP.APP/YOURAPP
/Applications/YOURAPP.APP/foo
/Applications/YOURAPP.APP/bar
/Applications/YOURAPP.APP/etc

Remember to zip the file on a unix system (even the iphone, a mac, linux, cygwin under windows, etc)
And remeber to set file permissions and ownership before zipping with the command:

zip -yr9 Blucher.zip /Applications/YOURAPP.APP

Then put Blucher.zip in the main directory where ziphone.exe,zibri.dat,Inga.dat,dfu.dat are.
That file will be automatically installed during all jailbreak operations.
If you just want to install that file without jailbreaking again, just run ziphone -P
For the plugin system to work you have to jailbreak at least ONCE using ZiPhone 3.0.

And what if you need to run a shell script after installation or INSTEAD of installation?!
It’s very simple:
Just add to Blucher.zip /tmp/Blucher.sh containing your script.
So your zip file structure will be:

/Applications/YOURAPP.APP/
/Applications/YOURAPP.APP/YOURAPP
/Applications/YOURAPP.APP/foo
/Applications/YOURAPP.APP/bar
/Applications/YOURAPP.APP/etc
/tmp/Blucher.sh

Now it’s just a matter of fantasy.
You could use the plugin system even to backup and restore part or ALL the filesystem.
You could use it even just to display and image or ring a bell or do any nasty things..
That’s why if you use the plugin system a big red WARNING will appear on your iPhone during installation.
ZiPhone will not be responsible for any 3rd party PLUGINS but I enourage it’s use.

If you think your app or your plugin is so good it should be OFFICIALLY put in the SUPPORTED ziphone plugins, drop
me an email at zibree@gmail.com and we can discuss it.

via http://www.iphonealley.com/news/ziphone-3-0-released?s=6d7aef4c759b80fd9275fb9eb42aeb81&

Posted on March 31st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, iphone applications | No Comments »

Poring through the latest iPhone 2.0 firmware that Apple has distributed to developers, The Boy Genius spotted that a new YouTube plugin for MobileSafari.app has been added. At present, video embedded into webpages won’t display in the iPhone’s browser, and only YouTube content is visible in a separate program. It’s unclear right now whether this new plugin will simply embed the separate YouTube app into the webpage, or is a sign of more advanced Flash development on Apple’s part.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has previously criticised Adobe’s Flash offerings, claiming the full desktop version to slow and the specially-formatted mobile version not good enough for the iPhone. In response, Adobe examined the iPhone SDK to see whether they could code a unique version of their embedded Flash viewer for the handset; however, Apple’s third-party software rules scuppered any chance of that, as they do not allow for Safari plugins, only standalone apps.

As it stands, then, the only possibility for an official Adobe Flash solution with the current SDK is if Apple gives them special treatment and permits a version of their software to work with Mobile Safari. This new Firmware 2.0 plugin could be a sign of that, but it’s simply too early to say.

via http://iphonebuzz.com/iphone-latest-firmware-20-build-has-safari-plugin-for-youtube-302108.php#more-2108

Posted on March 31st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News | No Comments »

My refurb AT&T iPhone finally arrived and I found a chance to test out iLiberty+ this afternoon. After wasting a day jailbreaking and messing with my new iPhone, I just could not bypass that annoying activation screen. Yes, I could ssh into the unit and run stuff from the command line but I had to keep working my way around “Connect to iTunes” to get to the SpringBoard screen. So I gave iLiberty+ a try.

After a few false starts, it got going and worked brilliantly. I was able to track progress with the on-screen updates and not only did it activate my iPhone but allowed it to work with a disposable Cingular SIM I had on-hand. All in all, a great success.

After activation though, I could not get iLiberty to work with the iPhone still connected. I wanted to grab screen shots and the program would not launch and stay launched. (I have crash logs if any of the developers are interested.) So in the end, I unplugged the iPhone in order to get the one screen shot you see here.

Part of me wanted to deactivate the iPhone and try again for a screen grab gallery but a much smarter part of me asked “why mess with success?” Given how badly I messed up the phone several times today, that was the part I listened to. A later, complete reboot seemed to fix the problem but I was in no position to go backwards after a day fending off cranky children and an impatient husband, all of whom seemed to think there was a world outside of iPhone.

Update: No, I did not unlock my iPhone.

via http://www.tuaw.com/2008/03/29/iliberty-frees-my-iphone/

Posted on March 31st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, iphone applications | No Comments »

Whether you’re an iPod guru or an iTunes newbie, setting up the iPhone presents a new set of challenges. The underlying dilemma is that you’ve got an amazing convergence device with only a handful of storage. Unlike an iPod, the iPhone’s limited memory has to hold a robust operating system, applications, e-mail, and Internet downloads. The good news is that with just a few little tweaks, you can customize iTunes to squeeze the most from your iPhone.

With just 4GB or 8GB of storage, the iPhone does not afford you the luxury of holding your entire digital music library. Think of your iPhone as an iPod that needs to be kept on a strict diet. Because the iPhone does not allow you to manually drag and drop music from your iTunes library, you’re faced with three options–have your entire music library sync to the iPhone every time you connect to your computer; have only certain iTunes playlists sync to your iPhone; or prevent music from syncing at all.

Obviously, syncing your entire music library is impractical–in many cases, impossible–and is a surefire recipe for filling up your iPhone in a hurry. Syncing no music at all is really a non-option for music-lovers, but it’s a useful space-saving option if you’re just interested in podcasts or videos. What Apple really wants is for iPhone users to get used to the idea of syncing playlists–a technique we were initially hesitant to adopt, but slowly warmed to. If you want to keep your iPhone lean and mean–playlist syncing is the answer.

Playlists come in two flavors: regular, and smart. Regular playlists are a static list of songs, like a mixtape, that you can create and customize over time. Smart playlists are dynamic lists that automatically update themselves based on a set of customizable rules. You’ve probably already used a smart playlist without knowing it. iTunes already comes preloaded with a handful of smart playlists, including Top 25 Most Played, My Top Rated, Recently Added, and more. The included smart playlists are pretty basic, but power-users can create custom playlists that, for example, randomly pull from your library the 25 top-rated Salsa songs that have been added in the past month and were recorded before 1978. You can get real nerdy with this stuff.

We recommend a two-pronged approach. Make a regular iPhone playlist that holds your favorite desert island songs that you simply can’t live without, then use a few smart playlists to keep fresh content cycling in. After you made your playlists, simply connect your iPhone, open to the Music tab, and check off your playlists on the menu. Now, let’s walk through an example.

Step 1
Open up iTunes and create a regular playlist by going to the File menu and selecting New Playlist (or by clicking the “+” button in the bottom-left corner of the iTunes window). Name the playlist iPhone Playlist. This will be your list of music you simply can’t live without–be stingy!

Step 2
Locate these must-have tracks in your music library and drag the files onto the icon of your newly created playlist (you can also right-click on the music selection to bring up a context menu, scroll to the Add to Playlist option, and select your playlist from the list). Try and limit this list to fewer than 50 songs at first. You can always go back and add more later.

Step 3
Create a smart playlist by going to the iTunes file menu and selecting New Smart Playlist. A smart playlist rule box will appear.

Step 4
Define your smart playlist. For this example, click the left drop-down menu that currently reads Artist and scroll down to select Genre. In the text box to the right, type in “Rock.” Now click the “+” symbol to the right of the text box to create another rule for the playlist. For this rule, use the left drop-down menu on the next line down to select Date Added, then use the middle drop menu to select “is in the last”, and then type 180 in the box on the right. Next, check the box under the rules that says “Limit to 25 items selected randomly”. Hit OK, and with any luck you’ve just created a smart playlist that will continually present you with a random selection of 25 rock songs that have been added to your music library in the past six months. If rock is not your taste, feel free to change this to whatever genre you prefer.

Step 5
Connect your iPhone. Select the iPhone’s icon in the iTunes Device list on the left side. You should now see your iPhone’s general information tab in the iTunes main window.

Step 6
Uncheck the Sync Entire Library box and select the individual playlists that you want to sync to your iPhone. In this example, let’s sync the playlists we created, plus the iTunes Recently Added playlist for good measure.

Step 7
Click the Apply button to sync your new playlist selections to your iPhone. When you’re done, just eject your iPhone and you’re ready to go.

via http://www.latestelectronics-review.com/how-to-optimize-iphone-using-playlists/

Posted on March 28th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Tips | No Comments »

One of Apple’s recent patents seems to be a new Nike+iPod system, using the iPhone as a “lifestyle companion.” The idea is to make the iPhone even more ubiquitous than the iPod. With the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer and smartphone functionality, not to mention, memory capacity Apple making it an all-around gadget doesn’t seem such a crazy idea. Extending the idea even further, Apple plans to use the iPhone’s camera as a calorie counter of sorts to scan the bar codes on food products, so if Apple adds a camera on the iPod Touch it’s only reasonable to expect that it can be a lifestyle companion too. It’s definitely a good idea to me and hopefully a new and more portable hardware will come with the implementation.

via http://www.pmptoday.com/2008/03/27/iphone-as-lifestyle-companion/

Posted on March 28th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, iPhone Fun | No Comments »

Don’t think for a minute that Microsoft is ignoring the iPhone. In fact, the software giant is probing the gadget for profit opportunities.

For a little more than a week, a team of the company’s Silicon Valley software engineers has been examining the iPhone software development kit (SDK for short), a set of tools Apple (AAPL) released this month that let outsiders build software for the iPhone and the iPod touch. Microsoft (MSFT) executives aren’t sure yet whether they’ll find worthwhile opportunities to sell iPhone software – but they seem eager to find out.

“It’s really important for us to understand what we can bring to the iPhone,” Tom Gibbons, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Specialized Devices and Applications Group, told Fortune on Monday. “To the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in that environment, we’re actually in the process of trying to understand that now.”

Though it’s typical to think of Apple and Microsoft as pure software rivals, their relationship is actually more complicated. For more than a decade, Microsoft has maintained a group of engineers whose sole job is to develop software for Apple’s Macintosh operating systems. Most of the engineers in Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit are based in Mountain View, Calif., a few miles from Apple’s headquarters. (They also happen to be quite close to the headquarters of archrival Google (GOOG)

via http://bigtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/03/25/microsoft-looks-to-cash-in-on-the-iphone/#office
The Mac unit’s work certainly isn’t charity – it delivers millions of dollars in profit for the company with its Mac version of the Office productivity suite. Microsoft doesn’t break out exact numbers, but we can extrapolate: Gibbons said the Mac Business Unit provides about a third of the revenue for the Specialized Devices and Applications Group, which also includes Windows Embedded, Microsoft Hardware, the Automotive Business Unit and Microsoft Surface Computing; the whole group did more than $1 billion in sales last year. So it’s reasonable to guess that the Mac unit provided about $350 million – and since Gibbons said the Mac group was one of the group’s more profitable units, it’s possible that Microsoft made somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 million in profit from Mac software.

Which brings us to the iPhone. With the Mac Business Unit, Microsoft has long prided itself on having one of the largest groups of Mac developers outside of Apple. With that expertise in Mac software, and knowledge of the Microsoft Exchange protocols the iPhone will use for business e-mail, the chances are good that Microsoft will be able to develop extra iPhone goodies.

“We do have experience with that environment, and that gives us confidence to be able to do something,” Gibbons said. “The key question is, what is the value that we need to bring? We’re still getting comfortable with the SDK, right? It’s just come out. So we had a guess as to what feasibility would be like, now we’ll really get our head wrapped around that.”

The Mac Business Unit isn’t the only Microsoft group eyeing the iPhone as an opportunity. Voice recognition unit TellMe, which Microsoft purchased a year ago, also sees potential in the device. Of course, TellMe now spends much of its time developing for Microsoft’s own Windows Mobile operating system. But as long as the iPhone SDK will allow software to take advantage of voice recording and location-based information, said general manager Mike McCue, TellMe will be all over it.

“If the SDK supports these things,” McCue told Fortune in February, “we’re absolutely going to get a version out there as soon as we can, get TellMe out there on the iPhone.”

The iPhone software update that opens the door to such third-party software is due at the end of June; that’s also when owners of the iPhone and iPod touch will be able to purchase the new programs. Until then, you can bet that developers everywhere – even at Microsoft – are hard at work.

Posted on March 28th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, iphone applications | No Comments »

Yesterday, Firefox creator Mozilla invited a select few technology writers to participate in a question-and-answer session at its headquarters in Mountain View, California. Although the majority of the discussion revolved around Firefox’s growth, the release of Firefox 3, and the features that will appear in the next version. None of this really concerns us iPhone fans. Luckily, someone asked the question, “Will Firefox be coming to the iPhone anytime soon?” The Mozilla execs leading the conference responded with a “no”. Why? Well, it appears that the restrictions Apple has placed on SDK-created applications are too restrictive to allow for a full-fledged browser. Here are their exact responses:

CEO John Lilly: “Apple has not written a license which allows Firefox to run on the iPhone.”

VP Mike Schroepfer: “Android and iPhone are closed platforms. There are carriers and device manufacturers who are more open with their platform, and we’ll do well there—the Nokia N810 internet tablet, for example.”

via http://www.iphonematters.com/article/will_firefox_be_coming_to_the_iphone_anytime_soon_243/

Posted on March 27th, 2008 by admin
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A new service converts any well formed XML RSS feed to an iPhone-optimized version with the typical sliding style interface. For instance (if you’re on an iPhone right now) here’s the iPhone Atlas feed, and here’s the Google News feed.

Jim Liddle, one of the creators of the service, told iPhone Atlas “You can book mark the generated site and use it to host your own content and reference it from your own site.”

via http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/03/25/automatically-convert-any-rss-feed-to-an-iphone-web-app/

Posted on March 27th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Tips | No Comments »

Apple released a new version of the free iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) which now includes Interface Builder.

Interface Builder is a tool for developers to visually create their user interface:

Interface Builder makes creating an application’s user interface easier by allowing developers to use its graphical editing environment to manage virtually every aspect of creating a well designed user interface that adheres to the Aqua user interface guidelines.

Apple released the first version of the iPhone SDK on March 6th. The SDK allows developers to create their own applications which will first become available to the general public in late June 2008

Posted on March 27th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone News, iPhone SDK | No Comments »

Happy Birthday to international iPhone hacker of mystery Nicholas “Drudge” Penree–but props to Drudge’s girlfriend. She put together this iPhone-themed cake, complete with it’s tell-tale jailbroken Installer.app icon. It looks too beautiful to eat but we’re told the cake was delicious. The silvery bits on the side of the phone/cake were created from edible paint. Mmmm. iPhone.

via http://www.tuaw.com/2008/03/23/iphone-pic-of-the-day/

Posted on March 27th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: iPhone Fun | No Comments »