Month: January 2009

Up There is a Surprising Game

Guest Author ∙ January 30, 2009

OK, so the title sound weird huh? Well that's how I feel, really. I first heard of Up There on Twitter. I kept on saying what's the point?! Everyone kept saying it was a great game. Then the developer contacted me on Twitter. He told me he was going to send me a code just for my opinion (don't bomb him asking, guys). Boy was I surprised! The game is a beautiful game indeed just as everyone said. It features beautifully done artwork throughout the whole app.

Above is just a taste. The point of the game is to get the balloon "up there" as up as you can though the barriers that might block you, which is pretty hard. But this has become one of my favorite games. It features an online score board so that you can compete with people. The game is really fun. There aren't really many ways I can describe this well.

The app is normally $1.99 but is on sale for $0.99.

P.S: Just a little comment. One of the developers, Jeff, has agreed to sing us a song once the app reaches the top twenty. So, I'm looking forward to that Jeff ;)

Paper Pilot – A Show Off App!

Guest Author ∙ January 30, 2009

OK so I bet you are wondering what's so great about "Paper Pilot" due to the title right? Well I'll get right to the point. Although Paper Pilot is not a gigantic game that will keep you entertained forever and that you will get addicted to, it is a showoff.

This app uses the powerful Unity Game Engine and it shows off what the iPhone graphics can be. Paper Pilot has received criticism since it uses demos that come with the Unity Game Engine when you get it, but rest assure: Clever Coding (the dev of Paper Pilot) asked Unity for permission and they have allowed it.

The gameplay is pretty simple: you fly a paper airplane using the accelerometer, collecting paper clips and trying to do so in the shortest time possible to get ranks.

Here is a video of the gameplay (not by me):

Although the game is not yet a "wow" it is a very fun game showing off the iPhone's ability. The devs have planned for a future update:

- Weapons, like spitball guns and pencil missiles - Enemies, like the stapler and tape dispenser - Dogfighting other paper airplanes

The app is normally priced at $2.99 but is on sale for a "limited time" at $1.99. In my opinion Paper Pilot is a fun game to have. It's not anything you will be addicted to but is definitely fun and well made. You might want to get it at the sale price.

PwnageTool 2.2.1 Guide & Tutorial

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

This tutorial will show you how to use PwnageTool to jailbreak your iPhone firmware 2.2.1. Note that PwnageTool only works with Mac OS X. PwnageTool will create a custom 2.2.1 firmware that you will then load to your iPhone. This will allow you to update your iPhone without updating the baseband, which is a very important feature if you're considering using YellowSn0w to unlock your iPhone.

QuickPWN 2.2.1 Guide & Tutorial

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

If you like this post, please feel free to digg it, or subscribe to our RSS feed, or follow me on Twitter, or all of the above ;)

[digg-me]This guide will show you how to use QuickPWN to jailbreak your iPhone firmware 2.2.1. Please read carefully all the steps and warnings before attempting to use QuickPWN to jailbreak your iPhone. The following tutorial is for PC users.

UPDATE: I closed the comments on this post. If you have any question about QuickPwn, please ask your question in the forum.

Dev Team Updates QuickPWN and PwnageTool for 2.2.1

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 12, 2019

I thought the Dev Team would release updated version of QuickPWN and PwnageTool sometimes next week, but as usual, they were faster than I expected. In a blog post, the Dev Team gives us more info about these 2 jailbreaking tools and also tells us about the dos and donts.

I could try to paraphrase what they said but I think it's better I just copy/paste their post entirely. I do not like doing this but I believe it is very important information that shouldn't be disregarded.

I highly suggest you go visit the Dev Team blog and leave a nice comment over there. Click here to read this post on the Dev Team blog.

You can expect a QuickPWN guide and tutorial from me within the next couple hours, so stay tuned!

UPDATE:

Tutorial for QuickPWN: QuickPWN 2.2.1 Guide Tutorial for PwnageTool: PwnageTool 2.2.1 Guide

This is the low down on our tools for use with the 2.2.1 firmware from Apple, read the whole post in full before attempting anything.

GOLDEN RULE: If you have a 3G iPhone running 2.2 firmware and you want to keep your ability to use yellowns0w (or the option to use it in the future) do NOT use QuickPwn, and do not use the official ipsw or the iTunes update process without using PwnageTool. Yellowsn0w will NOT work with the baseband version (02.30.03) that is present in the recent 2.2.1 update - you will need to create a custom ipsw that will allow you to update safely without affecting the baseband. Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools. Read items 1, 2 and 3 again and again. At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the latest versions of PwnageTool and QuickPwn. These apps are suitable for the recent 2.2.1 release. The Yellowsn0w version has been updated to 0.9.7. Yellowsn0w is available from Cydia or Installer - this version allows compatibility with pwned 2.2.1 system (not baseband) - again - remember 0.9.7 yellowsn0w DOES NOT WORK WITH 2.2.1 (02.30.03) directly - you need to be running a ‘pwned’ version of 2.2.1 which doesn’t upgrade the baseband. Users of OS X 10.5.6 will be unable to use DFU mode correctly, please see the note towards the end of this post to easily fix this issue.

Baseband 101

The ‘baseband’ is the generic name given to the internal components of the iPhone that handle the phone calls and Internet access. This ‘baseband’ is a tiny and unique independent computer system that runs inside your iPhone, it is separate to the main system that handles the applications (such as email and google maps) and it talks to the main part of the phone over an internal communications network. Think of it like a cable modem or other peripheral that is attached to your home PC that needs occasional updates. When a software update is released and presented to you within iTunes the baseband is sometimes updated (to fix bugs or add new features). The 2.2.1 update for the iPhone 3G contains such an update, so running the vanilla updater straight away with iTunes will reprogram and update the baseband. This could be bad for certain people, depending on your ultimate aim.

SIM Free/SP Unlocked/Factory Unlocked iPhone 3G

This applies if you bought your iPhone 3G for $$$$$$$. This model of iPhone 3G doesn’t have an Service Provider lock (aka factory unlocked) and you are able to put any SIM card into the phone and get service. Your phone is already unlocked so you do not need to worry about baseband updates, simply upgrade to 2.2.1 using iTunes and then use QuickPwn to Pwn and Jailbreak. This will add Cydia and Installer too.

Locked iPhone 3G - Preserve Baseband

This applies if you have a locked iPhone 3G and you wish to update to 2.2.1 but preserve the iPhone’s current baseband software. Preserving the baseband will ensure that you can still use “yellowsn0w” the iPhone 3G unlock application. To upgrade your phone to 2.2.1 and preserve the state of the baseband you need to create a custom .ipsw with PwnageTool. This custom .ipsw will not contain the baseband update but of course will still give you any new stuff from 2.2.1

There are plenty of tutorials about this process on the web, but PwnageTool contains intuitive graphics and easy to follow prompts that should have you up and running in no time at all. Please note: PwnageTool is only available for Mac OS X.

Locked iPhone 3G

If you are using your iPhone with one carrier and have no interest in the possibility of an iPhone 3G unlock in the near future then just restore or upgrade to 2.2.1 using iTunes and use QuickPwn to Jailbreak and add Cydia and Installer.

iPhone 2G (1st Generation)

Update or Restore your iPhone 2G with iTunes then run QuickPwn to do the magic, ‘nuff said, you don’t need to worry about anything. iPod Touch 1G (Original iPod Touch)

Update to 2.2.1 with iTunes and run QuickPwn. iPod Touch 2G (New iPod Touch)

Sorry, no support at this time, but Redsn0w is being actively researched and developed.

Fixing DFU mode on 10.5.6

As noted previously OS X 10.5.6 introduced a bug that affected the use of DFU mode. with some Macs. There have been previously published hacks and techniques to fix this, but here is another method that can be used to easily restore functionality.

You will need an account with ADC (Apple Developer Connection) this is free and takes a few minutes to sign up, you should read the terms and conditions carefully and you should only sign up if you are thinking of developing applications in the future - http://developer.apple.com/mac/ Download the disk image “IOUSBFamily Log release for Mac OS X 10.5.5 Build 9F33” (yes, that is a “5” in 10.5.5 - this is a developer debug package of the USB kernel extension). Install IOUSBFamily-315.4.1.pkg from within the disk image Reboot your system!

Official Bittorrent Releases -

PwnageTool 2.2.5 for Mac OSX is here SHA1 Sum - 8fe2f20c00f48b37d8262d6872a12166c6e165ba QuickPwn 2.2.5 for Mac OSX is here SHA1 Sum - 2f1353242ef10dc408e95786643e497fcd04e4ea QuickPwn 2.2.5-2 for Windows is here SHA1 Sum - 82aae63218316af42e4fa20f8c69d9eb4fe9d4ee

Click here for the official blog post by the Dev Team.

Sorta QuickPWN 2.2.1 Is Out. I Say Stay Away

Sébastien Page ∙ January 29, 2009

I knew it wouldn't take long for some hacker to come up with an unofficial version of QuickPWN to jailbreak the new firmware 2.2.1. This time, it's Russian hacker Vortex that created the bundles and if I can give you a piece of advice, STAY AWAY from it.

People using this unofficial QuickPWN had varied results. So again, wait for the Dev Team to come up with an official version. They are most likely already working on it and I bet you we'll have updated versions of QuickPWN and PwnageTool within a week.

As usual, I will give you the heads up when I have more info!

If you really can't wait and want to take the risk of messing up your iPhone, then you can download this unofficial version of QuickPwn here.

UPDATE: Just got a tweet from MuscleNerd saying "iphone users in particular (even 2G) can do permanent damage running "untrusted" bundles (either broken or intentionally bad)"

If I wasn't clear enough before... DO NOT USE unofficial versions of QuickPWN or PwnageTool!

App Store to Get $19.99 Premium Games Section

Sébastien Page ∙ January 29, 2009

Don't you love rumors? Well, here is a new one for you, and I think it is more than a simple rumor. Apple is supposedly considering creating a $19.99 section in the App Store for "premium games". According to PocketGamer, "it's thought only a relatively small number of publishers would be partners in the new section, although in fairness, relatively few are currently geared up to create games with $19.99 production values."

If you think about it, it totally makes sense that Apple would want to create such a section in the App Store. Apple is not hiding its ambitions of having the iPhone and iPod Touch take over what your Nintendo DS or Sony PSP are doing, namely, be a kick ass portable gaming console.

Mike at TUAW says that "it's an interesting idea, and actually, though obviously it would cost consumers more, the bottom line in the App Store has always been worth, not price -- there are currently premium games being sold on services like Xbox Live and the Wii's Virtual Console for $20, and gamers are willing to pay, as long as they get the bang for the buck that they expect."

I'm not a gamer at all so, as far as I'm concerned, I couldn't care less, but I think it's very interesting to see where Apple is heading to. You gotta love Apple business model!

Heads Up On Firmware 2.2.1 And Jailbreak/Unlock

Sébastien Page ∙ January 28, 2009

Since firmware 2.2.1 was released yesterday, a lot of concerns were raised whether or not you should update. The quick answer is NO, do not update if you care about your jailbreak or your unlock. MuscleNerd released a video on Qik giving us more info about the situation. Below are notes from the video.

About the iPhone 3G:

If you use YellowSn0w, you do not want to update to 2.2.1 as it will remove the possibility to install it. The only way you could do it is my installing a custom firmware that doesn't update the baseband. PwnageTool and QuickPwn do just that but they haven't been updated for 2.2.1 yet so wait for them to come out.

About the iPod Touch 2G:

The 2.2.1 firmware doesn't affect your ability to jailbreak your iPod Touch 2G. It didn't remove the ability for the Dev Team to do a tethered jailbreak. The Dev Team is still looking for an exploit to allow an untethered jailbreak. In other words, hang in there, they are working on it.

About iPhone 2G and iPod Touch 1st Gen:

2.2.1 doesn't affect your ability to jailbreak or unlock but again, wait for an updated version of QuickPwn and PwnageTool to do that.

As usual, I will report to you as the news come about 2.2.1 and jailbreaking/unlocking so you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed to be notified in time.

iPhone Firmware 2.2.1 Available. Jailbreakers, DO NOT Update!

Sébastien Page ∙ January 27, 2009

Apple just released firmware 2.2.1 and as usual, if you are on a jailbroken iPhone, do NOT update!

According to MacRumors:

iPhone Firmware 2.2.1 Update

This update contains bug fixes and improvements, including the following:

Improved general stability of Safari Fixed issue where some images saved from Mail do not display correctly in the Camera Roll

Products compatible with this software update:

iPhone iPhone 3G

The baseband has been updated too (Modem Firmware: 02.30.03) so again, do not update your iPhone if you are jailbroken/unlocked.

Apparently, there is no major features added to this update. I will keep you posted as the news come.

As usual, you can download the latest firmwares for all iPhones and iPod Touch in the iPhone downloads section.

Thanks @dannyswrld for the tip and for this update on what's up with 2.2.1:

Faster and snappier! Less crashy. All Safari bugs I know of have been fixed. RAM is definitely better. Apps don't eat it up as much as before. Bug fixed where saved images were pixelated and blurry. Bug fixed where when you turned on an app on a flat surface the accelerometer would turn off. Emoji's still work.

Leave a comment about what you think is new in this firmware.

Search Cydia Repos From The Web

Sébastien Page ∙ January 27, 2009

ModMyi recently created an online directory that lets you browse Cydia apps directly from your computer. It's something I had thought about doing for a long time, but didn't have the technical skills or finances to put it in place.

Cydia apps listings show basic information about each application as well as a screenshot.

I find this tool much more convenient to use than your iPhone/iPod Touch when simply browsing apps. Note that you won't be able to download any app from the site.

Try it out here!

New Apple iPhone Commercial “Read”

Sébastien Page ∙ January 26, 2009

Apple has a new ad airing on TV called "Read". They use the same format/structure as usual, which makes this ad not really interesting. The moral of this ad? There is an app for everything!

Watch the video below and tell us what you think in the comments.

Hotmail POP3 Support For iPhone Now Available In Select Countries

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 20, 2016

Windows Live Hotmail now supports POP3 in a few select countries including United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Japan, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.

According to SoftPedia:

First off, the POP server needs to be pop3.live.com (port 995), while the SMTP server is smtp.live.com (port 25). Users will have to provide their full Windows Live ID (username@hotmail.com), and then the password that they have associated with the account. They have to bear in mind the fact that the Windows Live Hotmail POP3 service must use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) both with the POP and SMTP connection, as well as take advantage of SMTP authentication. Thus, users will have to specify that POP SSL and Authentication are indeed required, with the same being valid for TLS/SSL.

Sorry folks. It's not available in the US yet! If you're using Hotmail in the US and want to set it up on your iPhone, read my tutorial called How To Set Up Hotmail On The iPhone or check out the mBoxMail app.

Via iPhone Alley