I hate itunes.

I hate itunes. Instead of developing software with the user in mind – Apple has been unbeatable on this field in the past – itunes seems to be written with a different main goal: protect intellectual property, so that it be difficult for the users to “share” the tunes bought on line. I do not have anything against this goal – but the result is that simple things (like e.g. moving pictures into the iphone, or managing synchronization among multiple machines - home, office and iphone) become more difficult than necessary. Yes, I hate itunes.

iphone tools

I've just got my iphone from USA - thanks Alberto for your help!

I'll keep here a list of useful tools I found.

Essential tools

• First of all, install Sources/Bigboss's Recommended... !

System Stuff:

• Make sure that you have BSD Subsystem
• OpenSSH
• Term-vt100
• AFPd. It allows you to mount your iphone wirelessly from the mac, and view its content as three external disks. This way you can e.g. transfer the pictures taken with the iphone - they are in Mobile's Home Dir/Media/DCIM/100APPLE - That's good for exporting pictures - but not for importing (they must be referenced in some database updated by itunes, so that's not so trivial - yet).

• ToDoList (how can a similar tool be missing from the standard distribution ?)
• BossPrefs allows to quickly en(dis)able Edge, Wifi, BT, SSH (note that in 1.1.3 you cannot change your pwd, so having ssh always on is a real threat!)
• 1.1.3 Safari Patch allows viewing local files in Safari (therefore it allows e.g. viewing local pdfs)
• SysInfo 1.0b - info about your hardware and processes

• Fring
• AVPlayer (requires Docs, which requires 1.1.3/4 Safari Patch)

• The Apple development kit! http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/

Useful tools

• HP-11C is a nice emulator of an HP scientific calculator - there are other flavors too!
• Contacts|HomeScreen allows having an icon on the Springboard to access directly your contacts
• Search allows you searching into your contacts and events
• LocateMe uses GSM cells to find your (approximate) location
• Converter converts among a lot of different units (including clothing)
• RemoteNote (requires JiggyRuntime)
• Snapture
  

Not essentals, but somehow nice things

• Categories (to be installed together with Poof) allows having "folders" into the Springboard
• Summerboard enhances a bit the Springboard look
• Sensors gives you feedback from the accelerometer.
  

Most wanted:

It would be nice to have:

• an EDGE/GRPS modem to use the iphone as a modem for accessing the web from the laptop! There are several ways to hack this through an ad-hoc network between laptop and iphone, but setting them up requires some time and my experience with them wasn't great:
• I followed without success some instructions (here)
  
• a method based on a SOCKS (see here) worked with some web sites, and not with others (why?)
• I've found a third possibility, not tested yet.
• the possibility of accessing a BlueTooth GPS!
• a browser that remembers the passwords and fields (Firefox is under development)
• the possibility to do cut and paste (apple is working on it?)
• Flash...
• the possibility of viewing the iphone as an external disk when connected to the laptop via USB (I've found but not yet tested a commercial solution: Megaphone )
• the possibility of synchronizing Calendar and Contacts over the wireless without using itunes (Funambol does it only for contacts right now)
  
• the possibility of loading music and photos without using itunes
  

WebApps

• List of webapps maintained by Apple
  
• accessing Skype
  

Some general info

here is a selection of info (mostly taken from "la guida completa su iphone" - in italian)

• Info about unlocking - see iphone.unlock.no
• Come faccio a controllare che Firmware ha il mio iPhone? Basta digitare sul tastierino numerico *3001#12345#* e premere CALL.
• Come mai anche se ho es. 5 giga liberi sull’iPhone mi viene detto “memoria in esaurimento” oppure “spazio su disco insufficiente”? Perchè i programmi che si scaricano dall’installer vanno ad intaccare una memoria particolarmente ridotta (quella della partizione firmware di circa 23 mb) e non quella dell’iPhone.
• Esiste un modo per aggirare questo ostacolo?Sì, bisogna 1. installare Terminal - 2. digitare mv /Applications /private/var - 3. digitare [attenzione sono “elle” e “enne” minuscole] ln -s /private/var/Applications /Applications -4. Riavviate. Così facendo le applicazioni vanno in /privata/var che non è altro che la partizione degli 8 giga. Oppure spostare la cartella Applications manualmente (via ssh) in /private/var e poi da terminale digitare ln -s /Applications /private/var/Applications. Prima di riavviare controllare via ssh che il collegamento nella root ( / ) sia presente e che il collegamento ti porti effettivamente alla vera cartella Applications.
• Quali differenze ci sono tra Attivazione, Jailbreak e Sblocco?L’Attivazione si fa per accedere al menu principale di iPhone senza usare iTunes, per attivarlo in modo da utilizzarlo come un iPod Touch.Il Jailbreak è l’operazione che permette di scrivere il File System, dove risiede il Firmware. Necessario per consentire l’uso di applicazioni terze.Lo Sblocco è l’ultima operazione, quella che permette di accedere, con l’aiuto di applicazioni terze, alla parte telefonica di iPhone in modo che sia fruibile con qualsiasi Sim.
• Non ho il Wi-Fi, come faccio?Puoi utilizzare il tuo Mac come access point, andando in Preferenze di Sistema >> Condivisione >> Internet e settare come “uscita” Airport. Metti una password ed è fatta! Naturalmente se hai un Mac con Airport integrata). Una descrizione completa la trovi nel blog di APNIBI
  
• Posso mandare sms multipli?Non direttamente da iPhone, ma con l’ausilio sempre di WeTool o SmsD questa operazione è ora fattibile. [ WeTool si ottiene scaricando la Source http://app.weiphone.com/installer/ ]Tra parentesi WeTool può anche eliminare le chiamate singole.
• Posso fare video con l’iPhone?No, per il semplice motivo che l’iPhone non è dotato di una video camera, ma solo di una fotocamera da 2 mpixel. Ora hanno creato un piccolo programma (Drunknbass) che registra, tramite fotocamera, video della durata di 5 secondi; esiste la possibilità di rivederli, ma non di registrarli.
• Posso leggere/modificare documenti Word, Excel, Pdf?Li puoi leggere se allegati alle mail che ti mandano, ma non puoi modificarli. Esiste poi un programma che si chiama PdfViewer che permette di leggere i file pdf che vengono inseriti tramite SSH in un’apposita cartella interna dell’iPhone.
• E posso scaricarli dalle mail?All’inizio no, così come per le foto, potevano essere visualizzati solamente nelle mail. Ad oggi si è aggiunto un programma che si chiama MNPLight ( http://movenplay.gforge.inria.fr/iphone ) che permette di scaricarli e visualizzarli anche off-line.
• Posso inserire allegati nelle mie Mail in uscita?Sì se si tratta di foto che hai sincronizzato con iPhoto e se si tratta di foto scattate direttamente da iPhone. Per allegare documenti, devono essere presenti nelle cartelle interne di iPhone (cioè inseriti preventivamente tramite ssh).
• Posso allegarne uno solo alla volta?Per quello che riguarda iPhone sì. Con SendFile (programma terzo) puoi aggiungerne anche fino a tre (testato) attraverso un abbastanza laborioso lavoro a ritroso dopo aver salvato ogni volta la Mail.
• iPhone apre i siti Flash?No, al momento non è possibile.
• EDGE configuration in Italy - see configurazione EDGE
• Logging in via terminal - Using username root and password alpine does not work - here is why: When vt100 launches it runs the login command with a flag to login as root. The mobile user is not allowed to login as root. You basically have to launch vt100 with root permissions. Big Boss has a package that fixes this. Install SUID Lib Fix under 1.1.3 tweaks. That sets the suid bit on login which will fix the problem. Now you will be able to use the root password to login when terminal prompts you. You might also want to install the BSD Subsystem 2.0 Term fix under Tweaks. This fixes the problem where backspace submits a space instead.

Downloading videos from Youtube

(and saving them on your HD). There are web sites providing such service. See e.g.

http://get2pc.com/post.php

http://keepvid.com/

On the iphone this can be done with MyMedia (to get it, add to the iphone installer the source http://studio-psk.com/app).

Chronicle of buying an Apple iphone from chronochrono.

Last update of this report: Feb. 1, 2008.

This is the story of my attempt of buying an iphone from a small Boulder based company called chronochono (www.chronochrono.com). It might be of interest for other people considering to to the same.

Chronochrono sells iphones with several options (locked, unlocked, activated with a stealthsim).

On Dec 13 I bought an iphone with a stealthsim from them. On their web site they wrote they would be shipping within the day, but my unfortunate experience is that after several days they kept saying that they were waiting for the stealthsim to arrive (therefore at least their statement about immediate availability is not true!).

On Dec 19 I had a mail exchange with Chris Wentz (probably the only person behind this company) and he tried to reassure me. We agreed that he would have shipped the iphone immediately, and the stealth sim when available. On Dec 20 I did get a message form USPS - but it was only to say that Chris had requested a shipping - I never got the confirmation from USPS that they actually got the shipment.

On Dec.23 still the USPS site did not give any sign of having received the shipment (you can still see here the current status...). It might be that USPS is sloppy in updating its site, but that's a bit hard to believe... Chris sent me an email: "I don't know what else I can do to convince you it was sent. I will try to have usps cancel the shipment. If you get the phone please send it back to me. I gave you a refund through Google Checkout so you would not be worried, and I don't want to risk any legal hassles.".

On the evening of the same day Chris sent me another mind-boggling message: "Marco, I wanted to make sure you have your USPS #- ec 930 079 600 US. It should update with new information once your package is in Greece at customs. One of my assistants put in the wrong number when entering it into Google. I guarantee it will be there By new years, and if not I will refund you $40 for the delay. I appreciate your business and if there is anything I can do to make it better please let me know."
Now - if he actually sent me a refund - and requested to cancel the previous shipment as he said in the morning - why was he shipping once more? (btw, I'm not living in Greece...)

I had another element of suspicion: on their home page they have a PayPal logo. However when you buy from them , you do not really have the option to go through PayPal, but can only go through the Google Checkout option (which does not really fully protect you from fraud like Paypal does). Unfortunately I did notice that only after buying, when I became suspicious... I also told Chris that if that's the case he should remove the Paypal logo - but he never did. (Note: after the whole story ended I've got an explanation for this - see the Addendum below).

January 6, status update, end of the story. After coming back from a short ski vacation (Jan 2-6, in Stubai Tal, Austria), I had the news from our offices that Chronochrono fully refunded us on Dec. 24. That's good. About the shipments of Dec 19 and Dec 23, there are no other traces on USPS, you can check on your own by using the link above and the code.

What did I learn?

All is well that ends well. Well, sort of. I did not get the iphone but at least I've got the money back.
It looks like some people have been luckier: I found a forum where a French guy says he bought an iphone from them. On the other hand, if you take a look at the comments to this posting, and you'll find that other people went through the same troubles I had (they did not get the iphone - but in the end both of them had their money back as I did).

Well, I might have been paranoid. But to me, the bottom line is that if you write "we ship the same day" you have to do it. Or at least, you should immediately take the initiative and explain to your customer why you did not. Especially if you run a small, little know business without an established reputation.

February 1, 2008 - Addendum

I've got an e-mail from Chris:

At your suggestion I have done two things- I have added a current stock status to the top of most products. Also, I have added a business line for customers to call and ask questions or leave messages.

I looked into having the paypal logo removed, but since the webstore is made with a template, it is there permanently. Paypal pays my hosting company to put it on all the webstores. Because of this I am unable to edit the logo from the site. I would also ask you to remember my communication with you and prompt refund when I realized I could not deliver the product well.

Good to see that things can somehow improve. The text on the chronochrono's website is also clearer now about the fact that the you can only pay via Google Checkout (or bank transfer for larger orders).