Monthly Archive for October, 2007

Umberto Eco on Mac vs. PC

Posted October 30, 2007 0 Comments

…the fact is that the world is divided between users of the Macintosh computer and users of MS-DOS compatible computers. I am firmly of the opinion that the Macintosh is Catholic and that DOS is Protestant. Indeed, the Macintosh is counterreformist and has been influenced by the “ratio studiorum” of the Jesuits. It is cheerful, friendly, conciliatory, it tells the faithful how they must proceed step by step to reach - if not the Kingdom of Heaven - the moment in which their document is printed. It is catechistic: the essence of revelation is dealt with via simple formulae and sumptuous icons. Everyone has a right to salvation.

DOS is Protestant, or even Calvinistic. It allows free interpretation of scripture, demands difficult personal decisions, imposes a subtle hermeneutics upon the user, and takes for granted the idea that not all can reach salvation. To make the system work you need to interpret the program yourself: a long way from the baroque community of revelers, the user is closed within the loneliness of his own inner torment.

You may object that, with the passage to Windows, the DOS universe has come to resemble more closely the counterreformist tolerance of the Macintosh. It’s true: Windows represents an Anglican-style schism, big ceremonies in the cathedral, but there is always the possibility of a return to DOS to change things in accordance with bizarre decisions…..

And machine code, which lies beneath both systems (or environments, if you prefer)? Ah, that is to do with the Old Testament, and is Talmudic and cabalistic.

from SimonGrant.org, via Stephen Fry’s Guardian Introductory Article.

Dreaming of Berlin

Posted October 27, 2007 0 Comments

I went to my iPhoto archive and the photos were not there. But just hours ago I had been admiring my shots of industrial railway sidings, litter strewn, snowy berlin. I had started across the field out the back of my house, followed a bridge and then an aqueduct- crossed a railway track and taken some daring shots while I was at it, the railway was in use by Cold War style mega-trains the amazing assortments and variations on the colour black was astounding. The snow was falling and the amazing light and fleeting patterns of grey and slashes of black cloud on an overcast canvas made for an excellent shot of railway tracks in perceptive, a dull arc of a bridge cold as the bitter wind which blew snow drifts in alternating directions. I watched the trains take similar alternating tracks, mmh mathematical. A whole roll of film. Lost.

Or rather- they were never taken, I dreamed the whole thing… what a let down. I’m going to Milan next weekend, anyone been? Where should we avoid if looking for interesting snaps? & then Berlin is next.

iPhone 1.1.1 Unlocking

Posted October 26, 2007 0 Comments

Update: Here’s a new thread for 1.1.2 (if you have a retail UK iPhone from O2 / Apple it running 1.1.2). So if you have the newer firmware; see this post.

I took a deep breath and made the jump to firmware 1.1.1… after following anther straight-forward guide from modmyiphone.com (my previous iphone upgrade post is here). The update is not intended for use by anyone who has modified their iPhones (I have both bypassed activation and hacked the phone to work in the UK on any network). The process was not simple, there were hiccups, I couldn’t find much help on google when I ran into the first issue so I thought I’d note them here.

My iPhone came with 1.0.2. I used the modmyiphone.com [IPhone_unlock_OS_X_Part_1] guide (as noted in my previous iphone post that hack was really easy). So, YES if you followed the mod my iphone guide linked here, then you can safely move on up using their new guide here.

1. Safe to Stick with ModMyiPhone Guides
If you used the earlier modmyiphone guide (to unlock and activate on 1.0.2) at this link. You can upgrade. No problem. Why it doesn’t say this on their own site I don’t know- there are many people asking for confirmation in their forums. Yes; its safe- I’ve done it.

2. Norz, and “Waiting For Data…”
Next up, during the backup of my baseband (not a required step, but very much recommended) using the norz code - I followed the steps as noted in the guide to the letter… but on entering the code:
launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.CommCenter.plist
followed by
./norz seczone.backup 0x3FA000 0x2000
I did not receive the dump from my base-band, as expected. But the terminal told me it was
Waiting for data...
I waited 10 minutes. Then panicked, looking through the Google Code Wiki for the tool that ‘revirginizes’ the base-band I found a tip that fixes this little bug.

To begin, lets say you’re going through the guide right now- you’ve entered the code above and following the request for iPhone to backup the ’seczone’ you’ve got the “Waiting for data…” line. First off, cancel that by pressing CTRL+C. Next enter a command to restart iPhone’s CommCenter:
launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.CommCenter.plist
now we’ll stop commCenter again, with a -w thrown in for good luck (”UNIX! I KNOW THIS SYSTEM!” - Lex) It may even be a good idea to restart your iPhone at this point… do that and then enter:
launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.CommCenter.plist
Now run the norz command
./norz seczone.backup 0x3FA000 0x2000

And that should be that. Go back on to the guide… another tip: restart your mac, restart the iPhone (you won’t damage it at this stage). Switch off Cyberduck and logout of terminal: logout. Try plugging the iPhone into its dock / charger, these tips have worked for others.

3. iNdependence : “Pre 1.1.1 Upgrade” Button Grayed Out
A strange problem- my Pre 1.1.1 Upgrade button would not click. The faq’s online put this down to having SSL (I installed this via Installer.app back when I did my original unlock) disabled or uninstalled. Even if it is installed AND running you’ll need to use iNdependence’s own SSL installer, this will require restarting the iPhone and then iNdependence.app. But things will work after that.

4. Set Up Your iPhone
Really, no messing around- make sure you are on the “Set Up Your iPhone” Screen, not the sync- let that finish, restart iTunes if you have to- you’ll need the screen that is in this screenshot to be active in iTunes or your upgrade won’t work.

5. Cleaning Up
After jailbreaking, activating and unlocking - all necessary and simple if you read the How To’s - you can delete Unlock.app via iNdependance and might want to install Installer.app for installing apps straight from the iPhone via Wi-Fi. Its really nice.

6. iPhone forgets EDGE Settings
There’s a fix for this here.

7. Non-US Number Formatting
SSH into the iPhone, go to:
/System/Library/Frameworks/UIKit.framework/PhoneFormats/UIPhoneFormats.plist
Then replace the US segment by following the tip in this forum.

There are some fixes in 1.1.1 that I’ve noticed: speaker is louder, double-tap ‘home’ to view contacts / song playing. The Auto-Brightness is working again, Safari is a little faster I think. Also- after all that hacking and cracking, my recent calls, sms’, emails etc. were all exactly where they should have been. Even my “Usage” deets were still in place. Wow! I love the dev team. Only wish Apple weren’t being so ‘difficult’ with this box of fun. Tying it down till February isn’t encouraging.

Starred Review 2

Posted 3 Comments

I’ve made Starred Review (a plugin now unsupported by its author) play with Wordpress 2.2+ [Download Starred Review 1a]. It still needs a little tinkering, but I really love this little plugin, this weekend I should get round to clearing up. If you’re interested drop me a line. There was a little interest last year when I released a ‘patched’ version, and although there are other plugins out there that do the same thing- but since I’ve got my database setup for Marc’s “Starred Review” it seems to make sense to carry it forward. Any requests?

Short Term Goals:
- Support for Wordpress 2.1+
- Images (Album Artwork)
- RSS
- Built in Amazon / iTS [automation of linking]

Long Term:
- Multiple Pages / Search
- Widget for OS X [add reviews from Dashboard / iPhone]
- A word or two [space for a mini 'review' rather than just stars]
- CSS control from the options panel

For now, I’m sorry I lost the original patched version- the file doesn’t exist on my hard disk, and I don’t have .Mac anymore… that was where the file was hosted. I do have the Archive.org version of the original how-to / files.

Update: You can now Download Starred Review 1a. It sort of works too.

Pilgrimage

Posted October 24, 2007 0 Comments

Just for Kids

Apple Store, Glasgow is very nice and shiny. Staff were helpful and things were mactastic to the ninth level… had a shot of an iPod Touch (yikes, quite a drop in quality from its big brother the iPhone). Like good little consumerists making the pilgrimage we left with little white bags (but no receipts; apple e-mail you a receipt “y’know for the planet” is how the saleslady explained it). Got a Bluetooth Mighty Mouse and Bill grabbed some CDs, continuing on the silly-vain I changed the demo ‘touches to run you tube videos of billy being silly, and there’s billy being silly above also. what a kid.

Anyway nice place. Just wanted to mention it here. See what an image looks like in the site’s new styling really… la-di-dah.