by Simon Ng on November 12, 2009
I love YouTube but I also love the high quality videos on vimeo.com. Same as other video sites, due to the lack of Flash support, you originally can’t view the vimeo videos on iPhone.
But today, Vimeo announces a great news to iPhone and Andriod users on Twitter that the site now supports both iPhone and Android devices.
All of the site’s content from the staff picks and HD video showcase have now been converted to formats optimized for these two mobile handsets. For the initial launch, video conversion will be limited to videos picked by the company. But as Vimeo’s director of community told CNET News, they will soon let the premium member (i.e. Plus user) to transcode their videos to an iPhone version. Hopefully, it’ll be available in the next few weeks.
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by Simon Ng on November 12, 2009
Sparkz Products introduces the world’s first iPhone & iPod dock projector. Featuring up to 1024×768 resolution, 15 lumens brightness and a 3M LCoS lens, the projector allows you to slot your iPhone into the dock and play video directly projecting a 60″ viewing area in a dark room.
The sparkz supports all models of iPhone including 2G, 3G and 3GS, as well as, video equipped iPods. It can also play a range of multi-media devices such as camcorders, laptops and game consoles via AV and VGA inputs. Here is the feature list as described by Sparkz Products:
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by Simon Ng on November 11, 2009
In the previous post, I urged every jailbroken iPhone user to change the root password to avoid any malicious attack via SSH. Yesterday, it’s reported widely in the blogsphere that the world’s first iPhone virus debuts. And this virus targets to infect those unsecured jailbroken iPhones with SSH enabled and which are still using the default root password (i.e. alpine).
Despite it’s classified as a virus, it does not do any harm on the infected iPhone. The worm only changes the home screen wallpaper to an image of 1980s pop star Rick Astley and displays the message “Ikee is never gonna give you up”. Then it starts to replicate itself by looking up other vulnerable iPhone around. This process goes on and on.
The virus is created by an Australian hacker, as he told ABC online. The hacker mentioned the primary purpose of the virus is to raise the issue of iPhone security. Other than changing the wallpaper of home screen, the virus does not come with any malicious intent. But as he said, the virus can actually do anything as it already gains the root access:
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by Simon Ng on November 10, 2009
By jailbreaking your iPhone, it opens up lots of opportunities to add some amazing features that you’ll never find on a normal iPhone. Just quote a few examples, jailbreaking lets you use Winterboard to change the iPhone theme. Or you can use Twidget to view your tweet on lock screen. And, jailbreaking opens the door for iPhone unlocking and full control of iPhone file system.
However, at the same time, jailbreaking may make your iPhone less secure and you need to take extra measure to secure it, especially you enable SSH on the jailbroken iPhone.
Earlier, as reported by Ars Technica, a Dutch hacker made use of the well-known root password (i.e. alpine) of iPhone and hacked into the jailbroken iPhone. The hacker does not intend to distribute any malicious code or damage your iPhone. He developed a port scanning program to identify jailbroken iPhones on T-mobile Netherlands with SSH running. When the target jailbroken iPhone is found, the program used the default root password to gain access of the iPhone. He then sent an SMS-like alert to the hacked phone that reads, “You iPhone’s been hacked because it’s really insecure! Please visit doiop.com/iHacked and secure your iPhone right now! Right now, I can access all your files.” Originally, clicking the link will direct the victim to the hacker’s site and you’ll need to pay €5 for trading with the instruction to remove the hack. Later, however, the hacker changed his mind and post the instructions for undoing the hack without any cost.
Though, this incident doesn’t do any harm on jailbroken iPhone, it signals every jailbroken iPhone users should take extra care to secure their iPhone. To prevent this kind of hack, what you need is to change the default root password. For those who have installed OpenSSH on iPhone, it’s highly recommended to follow these instructions to change the root password.
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by Simon Ng on November 9, 2009
Other than the YouTube, GPS, Wifi problems, some AT&T users reported they lose the Internet Tethering option after jailbreaking with blackra1n. If you haven’t heard of Internet Tethering, it’s a feature on iPhone that lets you share the 3G connection with your laptop (PC or Mac) to connect to the Internet. With tethering, your iPhone acts just like a wireless modem to provide your laptop with Internet connection.
If you find the Internet tethering option is missing after blackra1n jailbreak, try to follow these procedures to bring it back.
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by Simon Ng on November 8, 2009
As Facebook surpasses 325 million users, it’s very likely you’re also a Facebook user. Earlier, a reader told me that he’s a regular Facebook user and asked if there is any way to subscribe to this blog via Facebook.
First, thanks for the question and all those readers who keep coming back to Simon Blog. It’s you that support Simon Blog to grow bigger and bigger. Starting from today, Simon Blog offers you another way to subscribe to iPhone news and other iPhone tips. Yes, Simon Blog is on Facebook with a Fan Page! You can get iPhone update by becoming a Fan of Simon Blog.
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by Simon Ng on November 8, 2009
When you go for hiking, trekking, running or have a bike trip, have you ever thought of tracking your trip or trail? If you’re using iPhone 3G or 3GS, with EasyTrails GPS, you can fully utilize the GPS ability of your iPhone to track your activities.
EasyTrails GPS, developed by Zirak Srl, is an iPhone app that lets you track your outdoor activities (e.g. trekking, running, etc). Say when you went out for a run, the app can keep track your run and tell you how far, how fast and how long of your run. It also displays the elevation profile and your track on the map in a street/satellite/hybrid fashion. The results can be stored, so it is very easy to retrieve them at any time to verify your progress.
The interface of the app is very simple and intuitive. After launching the app, what you have to do is to tap on the “Rec” button to start tracking. That’s it. EasyTrails then starts tracking your distance, altitude, speed of your walk or run. You can even put your iPhone into sleep mode and continue with your activity. The app can still work in background. After you finish your hike or run, tap the “Stop” button and EasyTrails will store the data (e.g. total distance, average speed) of your trail.
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by Simon Ng on November 7, 2009
Blackra1n is a great jailbreak tool for iPhone 2G, 3G or 3GS running OS 3.1.2. It’s simple and quick. But it does come with some bugs. If you have already followed my guide to jailbreak your iPhone with blackra1n, you may encounter one of the below issues:
- Fail to launch YouTube
- GPS doesn’t work if you’re using iPhone 3G/3GS
- WiFi is not working
I guess GeoHot, the developer of blackra1n, will fix these bugs in the next version update. However, at the mean time, you can follow these workarounds to fix the issues.
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by Simon Ng on November 6, 2009
Previously, I have posted up the jailbreak guide for iPhone 2G running OS 3.1.2. Here is the complete jailbreak guide for iPhone 3G/3GS using blackra1n and blacksn0w.
For starter, blackra1n is the popular jailbreak tool, developed by GeoHot, that lets you jailbreak iPhone OS 3.1.2 on all models of iPhone. For blacksn0w, it’s the only iPhone unlock tool available to unlock iPhone with baseband 05.11.07.
This guide will walk you through the necessary procedures to jailbreak and unlock iPhone 3G and 3GS.
Before you dive into the jailbreak process, please read through the note carefully:
- Make sure you use iTunes 9.0 or up for the jailbreak. If you are using older version of iTunes, please upgrade it first. You can download the latest version of iTunes from Apple.
- Before jailbreaking, make sure you have backup all your contacts, sms, photos, etc via iTunes. Simply sync your iPhone and backup the iPhone data.
- For those using a new iPhone 3GS coming with an updated Bootrom, blackra1n only supports a tethered jailbreak. That means once jailbroken you should not let your battery runs out. If it does run out of battery, you need to reconnect it to the computer and use blackra1n to boot it.
- What if you have jailbroken it with PwnageTool before, can I upgrade to OS 3.1.2 and use this guide to jailbreak? Yes, it should work.
- I have accidentally upgraded to iPhone OS 3.1.2 and lose unlock, can it fix my iPhone? Yes, go ahead and use blacksn0w to unlock it!
- Let me highlight again. This guide is for iPhone 3G or 3GS. For iPhone 2G jailbreaking, please refer to the previous post.
- Disclaimer: Jailbreaking may void your warranty of iPhone. Again, jailbreak it at your own risk.
Okay, let’s go straight to the jailbreak procedures.
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