See One, Do One, Teach One

This probably will not last long, but it is fun for now. Much like our hacking the wii servers with firefox post, user agents are providing fun once again.

Starbucks and AT&T wifi recently opened up free access to the iPhone. By changing the user agent the browser, anybody can make their browser look like the iPhone to the servers. A couple of easy switches away and it is access for everybody.

Here is how to do it in Safari. Switching user agents in firefox is almost as easy. This documents the iPhone user agent information.

1. Open Safari while connected to a AT&T wifi
2. Enter the Preferences, select the Advanced tab, and then select Show the Develop menu in the menu bar
3. From the Develop menu select User Agent
4. Select the iPhone User-Agent
5. The page will reload and ask for a geniune iPhone number. Everybody has a friend with an iPhone, right?
6. Welcome to free internet from Starbucks

I did a quick demonstration of this at my local Starbucks. Forgive the stammering but I didn’t want to take a bunch of cuts sitting outside the coffee house. Screenflow is adding some pauses and slurring too… Nice, but buggish program.

High resolution pod cast available here. YouTube video available below.

Many people have assumed that once the official SDK was released that jailbreaking would die. I believe that the jailbreak process is something that will be linked to the iPhone for eternity. As long as Apple limits absolute and complete control, the jailbreak community will continue to flourish.

Let me take a step back for those less geek-inclined. Programs can be developed for the iPhone through two different methods. The official SDK that is being released by Apple will eventually allow programs to be released to users through iTunes. These applications can be purchased much like users purchase iTunes music or videos. Prior to the release of the official SDK, unofficial methods that were not approved by Apple were used to develop software for the iPhone. In order to use these applications, the user is required to “hack” or to jailbreak the phone. So now, two different, incompatible styles exist for iPhone application development — the official SDK and jailbreak methods.

Where is all the code being developed with the official iPhone SDK? As far as I can tell, there is only one SDK app, other than the examples, that can be found in the wild. Tons of jailbreak code and examples can be found. One of the reasons behind this is that the official SDK will allow programmers to make cash from their applications. Once money is added into the equation, suddenly people are less willing to show source code to the public.

One would assume that the promise of coding for dollars would make jailbreak methods die a quick death. However, it has not. Why? Here are the reasons that jailbreaking will be around forever.

1. Official SDK has coding limitations. The SDK will never allow full access to the iPhone’s complete capabilities. Cellular VoIP, background processes, wireless synchronization — these are just a few of the multiple limitations in the official SDK which are being explored (or exploited) with jailbreak code.

2. Users are passionate about hacking and unlocking their mobile devices. I think seamonkey420 hacks or mods a mobile device about once a week. Like tattoos, clothing, or jewelry, cellular devices are now part of a person’s style. Making the phone unique or using it in a locale where it is not supposed to work is part of the mobile hacking drive.

3. Until the iPhone is carrier independent, jailbreaking will be required. Lots of countries do not have an iPhone carrier. Unlocking the phone is tied directly to jailbreaking. People will pay good money to be able to use their phone with whatever cellular service they want. As long as jailbreaking is tied to cellular independence, it will continue to exist.

4.People will want apps that Apple will not allow. Free music, free “pictures,” and streaming technologies are all examples of applications that Apple will be unlikely to ever allow. AT&T (or whoever the iPhone carrier of choice is) cannot allow bandwidth to be drained from the system.

5.Apple may limit or repress application distribution. Applications with encryption may not be exported out of the United States in certain circumstances. Apple may require that apps have extensive testing prior to release. Such a process may prevent hobbyist programmers from joining the game. Apple could even require that applications not be distributed for free. The way Apple handles the iPhone application distribution could really change how excited developers are to use the official system.

I am sure there are other reasons that the process of jailbreaking will continue to exist. I do believe that the official SDK will gain traction. If iTunes allows small programmers to make money the way it has allowed small musicians to compete in the music marketplace, it will be successful.

Although Apple has little desire to make the official SDK compatible with the unofficial methods, the converse is unlikely to stay true. The unofficial methods will eventually develop and absorb SDK compatibility. That way if an app developed with the official SDK is denied access to the public through iTunes, it can still be released through alternative, jailbreak installers. If there are two ways to code something, most programmers will choose the official methods to keep their options open for later release.

Although Apple is finally opening up the iPhone platform to application development, the unofficial jailbreaking methods are not going to disappear. The terms “iPhone” and “jailbreak” will be forever linked in history.

Technorati Tags: sdk, iphone, apple, itunes

When we look back on 2007 in a few years, these ten topics and companies will be the milestones that will be referenced and debated:

• 1. Google Pushes Its Power
• 2. Aggregators Polluted by the Mobs
• 3. Mobile Web. Why?
• 4. User-Submitted Profits
• 5. Apple Leaps
• 6. Microsoft Tumbles
• 7. DRM. Die. Die. Die.
• 8. Main Stream Media Invasion
• 9. Politics’ Internet Fruitfulless
• 10. Social Network Assimilation

1. Google

Google is currently the most powerful technology company in the world. With dominance in search and advertising, profits and stock prices have been impressive.

This year will be remembered as the point that google starting flexing its power to change people’s actions on the internet. Matt Cutts confirmed that google would punish people buying and selling links to influence search engine placement.

Google decreased the clickable adsense area which decreased some publishers’ income by well over 50%.

Google has openly started attacking social networks such as Facebook by joining the smaller networks through the OpenSocial API and by socializing Google services such as Google Reader. This dilutes the power that any one social networking system has. Google’s purchase of Jaiku is a direct competitor to IM candy Twitter. Google’s Android dilutes the potential power of a cellular network as well.

Wikipedia and squidoo will soon be feeling the google crunch next. Collaborative content is one of the most amazing products being created and delivered on the internet. Google’s Knol wants to compete here as well. Like many others, TechCrunch is worried about the conflict of interest:

Google says that Knol pages will be indexed into their search engine but will have no special ranking. That’s a little bit untrue, since they’ll be hosted by Google and will have the advantage of Google’s hefty PageRank to lift them in search results. And since no one will be auditing Google to ensure that Knol pages are treated just like everyone else, there are bound to be claims of conflict of interest.

This first started by competing with Microsoft through online services. Is Google’s strategy to dilute any potential collection of power?

2. Web 2.0 Aggregators

Digg and Reddit have moved away from tech. Sad.

Mob Rule. Tyranny of the Majority. Ochlocracy. Whatever you call it, these sites are the weak, fluffy versions of what they used to be. As the less-geek have moved in, the content of these aggregators have followed. Even the creators cannot control the sites anymore.

Unless you have a large social connection within these sites, you have no chance of getting an article viewed… (unless you pay for it.) Socializing is more important than quality.

Although I view both of these sites on a daily basis, they are frequently gamed, overcome with political manipulation, often filled with spamish links, and are utterly unrealiable as news sources.

What’s the alternative? You can always read what the A-List boys’s club is echoing about on techmeme. Or you can watch the main stream news… which is frequently gamed, overcome with manipulation… You get the idea.

3. Mobile Web

The mobile web is growing and growing. However, unless you are selling ringtones, nobody has figured how to make money from it. Even mobile web experts are puzzled on the exact nature of making money through mobile devices.

Plus, does there have to be a special “mobile web” anymore? The iPhone displays regular web content through a cell interface. Instead of manipulating content to look pretty on tiny browsers, manipulate the cell web browser to view existing content well on the cellular interface. When was the last time you remember visiting a mobi site?

4. User-Submitted Profits

Everybody is making money on the back on the users.

NewsVine, Squidoo, Wikipedia, Digg, Reddit, YouTube, Facebook. If you really think about it, none of these companies would work without the public building content for them. You are building content for them. Congratulations! When do you expect your check?

Even blogs and forums get boost from comments and discussions created within their communities. (Please comment, please, please, please…)

How long will people continue to sow content in the sites of others for free?

5. Apple

I personally believe that this was an amazing year for Apple. Apple stocks are certainly booming.

The iPhone has changed the cellular landscape that parallels how the iPod changed the portable musical player market. Apple’s commericals are painfully clever in their attacks against Microsoft. Leopard’s problems have been far less damaging than Vista’s which has helped as well. Overall, more and more people are considering moving to Apple’s platform.

Apple has shown areas of weakness, however. The AppleTV push has really died for the general public. With an anorexic iTunes movie selection, the AppleTV has little appeal to the nongeek. iTunes itself is having growing pains with content providers. NBC/Universal have decided to play hardball with TV shows and music. It’s difficult to know how it is going to play out. Apple is understandingly becoming weaker and weaker for DRM as well.

Being less ambitious than Vista has played well for Leopard. However, the new OS X is still causing growing pains for a lot of people. Feeling the vapor, we are still wondering where the much promised ZFS is?

6. Microsoft

As a one time Microsoft zealot, I am pained to see what has happened to Microsoft this year. Vista is failing because it has taken users too many steps as once. We all had to throw away most of our old hardware when XP rolled out. Most of us accepted this because the pre-XP experience was so unstable. XP was the successful promise of easy usage and stability. I wanted to install XP for my parents because I knew it would make things easier for them.

Today the market is different. Things worked pretty well before Vista. People do not want to sacrifice most of their hardware to get things working correctly. Plus, now we have 32-bit versus 64-bit discussion and “ultimate” products that add little except confusion.

Away from the OS, Microsoft’s search engines and ad networks are stagnant, and Microsoft certainly seems to be trying to kill html email usability. From my experience at FOWD, Sean Siebel is not an impressive “User Experience Evangelist.” At least Scoble tried.

Microsoft has made a few positive steps this year. The Microsoft Home Server is a new idea for a new market. If done well, it could be an essential box in every household. IE7 is a large improvement over IE6. Microsoft is investing in Facebook. Even the second Zune release (and the free software upgrade to the first version) is finally generating a little positive Microsoft buzz. Silverlight and Surface are sexy and innovative.

7. DRM

Could 2007 be the year that DRM finally starts to die?

Die. Die. Die.

Shawn Fanning’s original idea of drm-free Napster could exist in several different forms over the next few years. iTunes Plus and Amazon’s DRM free shows that the big guys are creeping into this direction. Steve Jobs thinks this way, too.

Radiohead’s In Rainbows “pay us what you want” experiment is exciting. Saul Williams and Trent Reznor are doing something similar.

Give them the music for free and sell them on the other stuff. It’s coming.

8. Main Stream Media

How about give them the content for free, too?

The New York Times is finally free. Online circulation is having to make up for the dying dead trees distribution:

Nationwide, average daily paid newspaper circulation declined 2.6 percent in the six months that ended Sept. 30, compared with the previous year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, an independent organization that monitors the industry. Sunday circulation dropped 3.5 percent nationwide during the same period.

As the main stream media looks to supplement eyeball views with online content, their articles are appearing more and more in news aggregators. How long until we figure out that some of digg’s top users are on the payrolls of popular newspapers or public relations companies?

As advertising dollars move from TV and newspaper to the internet, the main stream media is following. How much this will drown out the current boom on citizen journalism is unclear.

9. Internet and Politics

Howad Dean’s success and subsequent failure seemed to grow from within communities within the internet. Was online activism a good idea too early? Will the traditionally nonvoting, young, internet crowd actually play any role in the upcoming elections? These are the questions that campaigns are asking .

Campaigns are on MySpace, FaceBook, and YouTube. You can not read digg or reddit without reading about Ron Paul or Kucinich. Of course, strike911 received active buzz throughout the internet without getting support from the general public or receiving any real main stream press.

This campaign cycle should be a great test to see if online voting and protesting will cause any offline results.

10. Social Networks

Online social networks have continued to grow throughout 2007. The large players like MySpace and Facebook are ubiquitous. How they are changing our interactions with our personal worlds are staggering. The influence and entertainment role of TV is being largely supplanted by these social networks. For many, offline social interactions are first initiated and planned online. Small niches of personalities and beliefs can find like-minded partners.

The success of YouTube and Flickr is obviously dependent on their social interactions. Digg and reddit are driven by social interactions. Dating networks are thriving.

As more of our social lives are played out online, more of our personal information is accessible online as well. More of our personal actions and characteristics are targeted by advertisers. More of our actions can be collected and used against us. Will an insurance company be able to find out that you are a member of a tobacco social group or a Huntington’s disease facebook group? The ultimate balance between profit and privacy will be difficult.

11. Memes?

Oh wait.. I left out lolcats. I am not sure if that’s a trend or a plague, but 2007 is certainly the a year of it. Or maybe it’s not a trend, maybe it is a meme. Who knows anymore…

Conclusion:
As I reread my article, my overall feeling is that our experience on the internet is becoming more complex. The name “google” no longer gives most people warm and fuzzy feelings. Digg and reddit are often manipulated more than main stream media. Facebook is looking to trade privacy for profits.

The idea of a “do no evil” company is more likely an untruth than an oxymoron. Previously, we thought it was possible on the internet. No more.

Of course, I would not want to do without Facebook, Digg, Reddit, or Google. We all benefit from the battles between Apple and Microsoft. Companies need to make money to survive. The balance is tough.

The real world continues to invades our idealist internet utopia. “Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” but I would rather be here than anywhere else.

My wife and I ran out to get iPhone cases yesterday. We tried two different cases at the Apple store. One was a hit, and one was a disaster…

Initially, we got a two-pack of the Speck SkinTight. We debated and debated, and finally we decided that getting two covers for thirty bucks was a good deal in our situation. Although the package contains two kits, only one holster is included. Since my wife keeps hers in her purse, she really did not want a holster anyway. The holster allows the phone to be placed screen inward for better protection.

In the car we opened them up and slipped them on. Immediately, we were both disappointed at the fit. The plastic across the front on the top and the bottom was very loose. The overall fit was secure, however, the plastic made a little wave across the front it was so untight. It really looked cheap. On top of that, my case was already starting to split at the seams at the top. Yuck.

We took our devices and cases back into the Apple store. They immediately refunded our money and apologized profusely.

Burned on the plastic cases, we decided to go leather instead–the Incase Leather Sleave specially. We have found them to fit much better. The bottom of the case ever so slightly seems to get in the way when you are trying to use the bottom of the screen. I notice it the most when trying to tap that bottom balloon on the SMS screen. It really does not bother me. I got brown, and T got pink.

It has a camera hole. The belt clip is a simple clip mechanism but seems very secure. Unlike some of the plastic cases, there are no covered buttons. I am sure some of the plastic cases work well by actually pushing through the case; however, that just bothers me.

We are very pleased.

If you have impressions about iphone cases, please leave a link. I’ll be glad to keep a running list…

On July 3 both my iPhones were finally turned on.

I skipped all time on hold by going through apple’s iPhone support first. She locked my name and email address to my phones’ serial numbers. She said that usually this was done automatically but that it has seemed to help speed up the process in a few cases. Next, she transferred me directly to an AT&T support manager.

He apologized profusely and asked me for my home phone so he could call me back if disconnected. During the “sending activation” downtime, I peppered him with questions.

He said that there were problems on both Apple’s and AT&T’s sides. He said a lot of the fixes that he was trying were just “little tricks that support had figured out” and that he did not know exactly why they worked. For example, he said that I probably would not get an activation email through his technique. He was right. He got one of two phones activated, and he said that he honestly did not know why the second did not activate. He wanted me to wait a few hours and call back.

I asked him if he wanted an iPhone. He said that he was stressed just hearing the word. I laughed. He didn’t.

I called back a few hours later and spoke with a nonsupervisory support staff. She said she was just starting her shift and I was her first iPhone support call ever. She was literally asking me questions and verbalizing the support pathway: “user says ‘no’ so go to question 7.” Quickly she ran out of support pathway and needed to find her supervisor.

With my first iPhone activated, I was more cheerful and we were joking and kidding about the process. The one movement of awkwardness…

Support: I get more training on this in three hours. You just called too early for me this morning.
Me: Hmmmmm… I could just say that you are getting training three hours too late.
S: Ohhhh, true.

— Awkward pause —

Then I started to laugh and we both just laughed it away.

Finally the supervisor did a trick or two and the second phone was activated. The supervisor actually told me to call back in a few days because my account now was “shredded” from all the various support staff trying to change various things to get it to work over the last few days. He told me to call back after the holidays to clean up the account. He also suggested that when I call back that I ask for a discount for all of my troubles.

Throughout the process when I actually got to speak to a support staff, they were as friendly and helpful as possible. Considering I had to wait almost 4 days for activation, I stayed polite at all times — which is honestly not typically my style.

More thoughts on the actual phones later…

MightyQ, who introduced me to the world of Apple, is very worried that this event is going to taint my view of the company. Each morning my family and I wake up without cell service, it gets a little harder to continue with a smile.

<Bad Analogy>

Imagine your kids having to wait a few days after Santa visited to get to play with their toys…

</bad analogy>

 Who is to blame?

As I have been bounced from person to person, I think there is plenty of blame to go around. AT&T obviously is having problems with certain plans more than others. The support numbers and validation computer delays show that AT&T was under prepared.

Surprisingly to me, it is becoming more clear that Apple is having a large role in the failed roll out as well. Support message boards are filled with people describing Apple correcting problems by resending validation. AT&T has checked my account multiple times, and each time have assured me that it is out of their hands.

Despite having plenty of devices for opening day, Apple also went out of their way to build excitement above and beyond what the system would allow. If they had anticipated the problems, they could have rolled out more slowly. Introducing less devices into the network at a time certainly would have allowed them to stay on top of problems.

Why would Apple roll out a device on a weekend night and then use that as an excuse why their support systems are overwhelmed?

Many people no longer have traditional land lines. How are they suppose to call into support? I need my cellular service for my job, but my phone service has been disconnect since I first tried to activate my phone. If cellular service is such a reliable and needed media, why are many users being told that they will have to wait for days?

I surprised my wife with a beautiful iPhone. We rushed to her MPR to activate it. Over 48 hours later, the excitement is wearing off. I think at this point she would probably rather have a way for the babysitter to contact her in an emergency.

I called the iPhone Activation Assistance Line tonight:  1-877-800-3701.

After being on hold listening to a painful piano music loop for 52:01, the music suddenly stops and I hear the phone going through.

A boy’s voice came on the phone and said “Hello?”  In the background, I can hear the voices of many support staff chatting in the distance. 

Surprised to be speaking with an obvious child, I said, “Hi, there.”

He said, “Oh” like somebody who did something they should not have. 

Click.  Dial-tone.

My enthusiasm for this beautiful, little, black, currently-useless device in my hand is waning…

Some of Apple’s strength comes from the warm, fuzzy feelings they instill through their products.  Somehow I think the fanboyism of a bunch of Apple faithful is going to be bruised from this rollout.

You finally get your iPhone (after maybe waiting HOURS) and what happens during activation?  Error city!  Many people are reporting various errors… the one I have seen a couple of times is the following:

We’re sorry, AT&T has determined that your current account cannot be used with the iPhone.

Other people are seeing this error:

Your activation requires additional time to complete. 

Argg….

I called the support number.  The lady there told us that they were having bugs with validation and that we should retry every 30 minutes or so until it works.  What the heck kind of advice is that?  Some people have reported that support at 1-866-907-3484 will correct it; however, that number is currently dead at 2225 EST.

Some people at the store were discussing that they had been trying to activate the phone for the last two hours without success.

This thread at macrumors has a discussion about this issue as well…

Did I predict this or what?

Here is a screenshot of one of the errors.

During this time, you CAN sync your music library with your device.  Just drag songs or playlists to your iPhone as listed under Devices in iTunes.   You can also brush up on your skills reading through these iPhone tutorials and tips.

A few iPhone tutorials and tips are starting to filter into tech-recipes.  Hopefully some of our authors will have good luck in getting one and drop some new iphone tweaks and hacks for us soon.

As always, validated and accepted tutorials will be rewarded with cash, prices, and swag.  If you are now in the iPhone crowd, show off your newest trick and earn yourself some fun.