Sorry for the lack of news...

...but I will get back to daily blogging as soon as school gets off my shoulders on June 10! In the meantime, read some MacNN, TUAW, or Engadget articles :P.

TUAW
MacNN
Engadget

Cheers!

Enable native mirroring on iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4, and Original iPad

Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated this blog in a long time, but homework, school, science fair, robotics competitions, and other stuff have been taking up all of my time. But anyway, I have a cool tip for users of iPhone 4's, iPod Touch 4's, and the original iPad:

Apple only permits display mirroring on the new iPad 2 (probably because of its blazing fast A5 chip), but that doesn't mean we (original iPad owners) can't have fun with this as well. Enabling display-mirroring on an older iOS device is as easy as:


1. Restore and jailbreak the device using PwnageTool (or sn0wbreeze for Windows users) with iOS 4.3.

2. Use iPhone Explorer to browse the jailbroken's iPhone's root filesystem (you may need to install afc2add from Cydia to be able to see the root FS)

3. Go into "/System/Library/CoreServices/Springboard.app/" and find a file labeled either N90AP.plist (iPhone 4), N81AP.plist (iPod Touch 4), or K48AP.plist (original iPad).

4. Grab that file and put it on your desktop.

5. Open it up in a text editor, plist editor, or Xcode 4, and add a capability called "display-mirroring" and set it to "true"

6. Save the file onto your device and respring.

7. Plug into the TV via the VGA dock adaptor or the HDMI dock adapter and enjoy!

Apple's built-in mirroring method is smoother and more responsive than DisplayOut on Cydia, and it's also free (because it's built-in). I've tried this with intensive games on my iPhone 4 (Real Racing 2) and it isn't exactly console-quality, but it's pretty darn good. Plus, if you use the HDMI adapter, you gain sound output functionality. So, essentially, you can carry around a gaming console in your pocket that only needs one cable to be able to play games on any HDMI equipped TV  :)   Oh, and seeing your iPad/iPhone's screen on the TV (and or projector) lets you give "Stevenotes" (Steve Jobs-style presentations) to an audience :P

Cheers!

Open Source 3D: Blender

Anyone interested in 3D design and animation (and wants  to avoid paying $300+ for 3DS Max) might want to look into this nifty little program:

http://www.blender.org/

Websites for geeks!

I have a two websites in particular that entertain me in my spare time.

The first is Hatetris. This is a very spiteful Tetris clone that is designed to give you the worst possible piece. WARNING: very addicting, frustrating, and I am not responsible for any damage that may occur from your insanity after playing this game. My high score is 5. I have friends who have reached 12 points. Can you beat it? Play HATETRIS.

Then there's this thing: http://www.hackerskills.com/ Any geek out there that has a little spare time will have lots of fun with this website. There are 100 levels that you must hack your way through. Have fun!

Cheers!

Another discovery about iOS 4.3 and downgrading...

The iPhone 4 Baseband version is 03.10.01 on iOS 4.2.1. (or at least it should be *eyeing ultrasn0w unlockers* :P)

Normally, when you update an iPhone, its baseband is updated to the newer version and cannot be downgraded. But after updating my iPhone 4 to iOS 4.3 beta 1, I expected a baseband firmware change, and it happened the way it should have: 04.xx.01 (can't remember all of the numbers).

But...


Upon downgrading back to 4.2.1, I expected iTunes to throw an error at the end of the restore, indicating a baseband issue (since it technically cannot be downgraded). Instead, I got no error, went to "Settings" --> "General" --> "About," (on my iPhone) scrolled down to the bottom, and, as impossible as it might seem, my baseband version is back to 03.10.01!

I've never seen this with a beta before, and didn't think it could happen because of my past experience with my iPhone 3G (upgrading to 4.1 beta, and then downgrading back to 4.0).

But anyway, that's it for now.

Cheers!

iOS 4.3 Beta 1 jailbreak is possible without PwnageTool

So iOS 4.3 beta 1 has been released to iPhone developers. And the claimed PwnageTool jailbreak came with it. BUT! The PwnageTool jailbreak does not work (at least not for me), and I've confirmed this with numerous restores, consistently receiving 'Error 1600'.

But that's not the end.


I have just found out that redsn0w 0.9.7b4 is perfectly capable of jailbreaking the new iOS version (albeit Cydia cannot be installed) on the iPhone 4. I can confirm this only on a Mac (I'm using OS X 10.6.6). There is a baseband update (04.08.00), so unlockers don't you dare continue reading.

I have a guide on how I did it (remember, Mac-only, I cannot confirm this method on Windows). But before you carry out these steps, remind yourself that, unless you are a geek, don't try this. I am not responsible for your brand new, shiny iPhone 4 exploding, setting your house on fire, or turning off gravity. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK! 

Prerequisites:
1. Download iOS 4.3 beta 1 for iPhone 4 (I'm sorry, I cannot provide a download link as I am not authorized to redistribute Apple's beta firmwares, but google is your friend).

2. Download redsn0w version 0.9.7b4 (I have only confirmed this with 0.9.7b4, nothing else) here.

3. Download iOS 4.2.1 for iPhone 4 (as this is what redsn0w recognizes and retrieves the files to patch) here.

4. Make sure iTunes is up to date with version 10.1.1 (just go to  --> Software Update).

5. You'll need PhoneDisk to do this (I couldn't get it to work with iPhone Explorer, but someone may be able to do it).


The process (if the terms DFU mode and root filesystem mean nothing to you, you're not a geek, leave now, because you aren't ready to do this :P):

1. Fire up iTunes, plug in your iPhone 4, put it in DFU mode (you better know what this means if you are attempting this tutorial).

2. Do a custom option-click restore and restore the device to the iOS 4.3 beta 1 firmware that you somehow obtained.

3. Wait for the restore to complete.

4. When the phone reboots, you'll see the usual 'Slide for Emergency call screen'. This is normal.

5. If you aren't a registered developer, iTunes will reject your device as 'unregistered' and your device is officially bricked (JUST KIDDING). Here's where the actual jailbreak to bypass this locked screen comes in.

6. If you have ever jailbroken a beta firmware to bypass UDID registration, you may recall chaning the SystemVersion.plist file to achieve this hack. We will be performing this hack on this firmware as well.

THE JAILBREAK (the scary part)

7. Launch redsn0w and browse for the 4.2.1 firmware. This is the firmware that redsn0w uses to extract and patch the boot files.

8. Click 'next' and uncheck everything (including Cydia because installing Cydia does not work, I have found out from experience.) Make sure your device is off and click 'next'.

9. Click 'next' again and follow redsn0w's directions on getting into DFU mode. Then wait patiently as it exploits the device.

10. Wait for the scrolling machine output on the iPhone. You will eventually get to a blank screen, the device will freeze. Don't panic. Hold down the home and power buttons to reboot the device.

11. Launch PhoneDisk (or iPhone Explorer, whichever you are using). Wait for the device to finish booting. It will get to the 'Slide for Emergency Call' screen again. Don't worry about it now. Go to PhoneDisk (or iPE) and navigate to '/System/Library/CoreServices/' and in here you will find a file named SystemVersion.plist. Open that file in a text-editing program and delete the following strings:

<key>ReleaseType</key>

<string>beta</string>

Deleting these strings will trick iTunes into thinking that this is an official firmware release, and not a beta.

12. This part is what got me stuck at first, but this was because I checked 'install Cydia'. Reboot the device now. iTunes should let you access it now without bothering you about UDID registration.
You can now hit 'restore from backup' and enjoy using the device as usual.

So there you go, jailbroken iOS 4.3 using a 4.2.1 firmware bundle. It's kind of useless right since you cannot install Cydia, but the proof-of-concept is there: iOS 4.3 beta 1 is still vulnerable to the same exploit that jailbreaks 4.2.1. The root file system is accessible to the user now. And you have 4.3 beta 1 without UDID registration. And it's untethered. This is the process that worked for me, but it may not work for everyone. And again, this is ONLY on a Mac.

Go ahead and post comments, corrections, rants about how this didn't work for you :P and success stories. Go discover new features in 4.3 that weren't in 4.2.1. I'd love to post screenshots, but at the time of writing this post, my iOS 4.3-powered iPhone 4 is syncing with iTunes (re-syncing everything back from the restore).

Cheers! (and please don't burn your house down or anything)

Thanks to iPhone Dev-Team for their super-awesome redsn0w program :)

Apple Listens

Remember when the first iPhone came out? It had no video recording, no MMS capability, a 2 megapixel camera, couldn't run third-party apps (officially), had only EDGE (no 3G), and lacked GPS. But yet it revolutionized the cell phone industry by introducing an extremely competitive device with a good, capacitive touchscreen and an intuitively designed operating system based on Mac OS X. People were overwhelmed by what the iPhone could do, not what it couldn't do.

The iPhone 3G came along and added these missing features. But not all of them. Critics of the iPhone still rubbed the existing drawbacks in Apple's face. The list of questions was something like this:

Where is the video recording?? My old cell phone can do it!
Where is voice dialing?? My old cell phone can do it!
Are we going to get a way to install apps on this thing? My old cell—(you can fill in the details)

But there were improvements: 3G data speeds, GPS (for navigation and geotagging photos), and the iPhone App Store (this being the biggest).

Then the iPhone 3GS came out with a much faster processor, video recording, a 3 megapixel camera with tap-to-focus and autofocus, voice control,  and a compass for more accurate GPS navigation. And guess what? It added almost everything that the iPhone 3G lacked. And then came the criticism:

No multitasking? Seriously?
No HD video recording??
No 5 megapixel camera??
No Verizon iPhone still?
We still can't set a wallpaper for our homescreen?


Then Apple announced iOS 4, which gave the iPhone 3GS multitasking capabilities, tap-to-focus video recording, and you could set the homescreen wallpaper to whatever picture you wanted to. Following the sneak peek of iOS 4, the iPhone 4 was released and was much faster than the 3GS, could record 720p HD video, and had that longed-for 5 megapixel camera.

And just recently on 1/11/11, the Verizon iPhone 4 was announced.

See a pattern? Apple addressed almost every user concern over the years. All it took was time.
People just couldn't wait. They thought Apple was an arrogant control-freak and that they could care less about their users' complaints. But it was, in fact, the opposite. Sure, Android could multitask from day one, but could it do it efficiently? Not really.

The reason it takes Apple quite a bit to implement something that should be there already? Quality. They are focused on doing the job right – the first time. This is why it took Apple 3 years to implement multitasking on the iPhone. It took them 3 years to research the flaws in traditional multitasking methods (Android, Backgrounder). It took them 3 years to come up with a method that wouldn't drain your battery in 2 hours and wouldn't bog down the performance of the phone. It took them years to work with Verizon to get a CDMA version of the iPhone out. It took them years to get a very accurate, easy to use voice control system. You get the idea (hopefully :P).

An example is the iPad's orientation lock switch/mute switch conflict. When Apple switched the orientation lock switch to become the mute switch, people groaned and moaned, but Apple was listening. Proof? iOS 4.3 Beta:

So Apple did in fact listen to the user complaints, but instead of reverting the functionality of the switch to its previous state, they now give you a choice of whether or not you want it to act as a mute switch or an orientation lock.

It takes time for technology to get better. Things like that don't happen at the speed of Google. Speaking of Google, they keep improving Android as well. Android 2.2 Froyo, for instance, offered a huge performance boost to most Android devices running 1.6.

Bottom line, be patient! :P

Cheers!