Installer App and iPHUC

Enthusiasts have successfully streamlined the processes of both installing third-party programs to the iPhone and command-line access to its inner workings, according to updates from both developer communities. A new beta of the Installer.app utility is now said to completely automate the process of derestricting (or jailbreaking) the iPhone's file system and uploading a software package manager to the Apple device. Once installed, the Mac OS X app allows the iPhone to download and install Books or any of the other unofficial third-party programs already written for the device simply by using either local Wi-Fi or an EDGE connection.

The designers of iPHUC have also claimed to have simplified terminal access to the phone. Through a new Universal Binary, the software can now be run through a single program that allows both Intel and PowerPC Macs to open a UNIX prompt that can manually send files, run scripts, or otherwise change the functionality of the iPhone by hand. This avoids the use of MacPorts and other intermediary tools just to get to the core of the iPhone's OS, the developers have said.

Both utilities may accelerate the growth of hobbyist software development for the iPhone as well the ease of completely unlocking the handset, the latter of which has been almost fully realized through the Turbo SIM hack that enables all but EDGE data support on the phone. The new techniques work the most recent versions of Mac OS X, iTunes, and the iPhone 1.0.1 update and therefore don't require users to revert to earlier code. Apple has yet to comment on or respond to these hacking attempts.

By Electronista Staff