My Guide to Jailbreak the iPod Touch

Published on February 2, 2010 in Apple, How-To, Mac, News, Operating Systems and Picture. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

I recently made a quick list of steps that I followed a while back to jailbreak my iPod Touch as I usually do to keep as a reminder guide in case I have to go back and do it again. You can use this on your iPod Touch and/or iPhone, however, the iPhone is a little more risky as you could potentially brick your device if you don’t create a proper restore point or backup prior to jailbreaking it.

I thought I would post it here so others can find it and use it as I most likely will again in the future. So…below is my “quick and simple” guide (copy/pasted from my bbPress forum post) as well as a few things you can do with your device after you’ve jailbroken it.

Index:
I… Preparation
II.. Jailbreak
III. Securing your jailbroken device
IV. Installing apps and customization
V.. iPod/iPhone with Ubuntu
VI. Previews of my iPod

Notes: It is no longer required to Jailbreak your iPod/iPhone in order to use it with Ubuntu. If you only wish to use your device in Ubuntu, simply follow the link in Step #10 and ignore the steps to Jailbreak your device.

Preparation
1. Update your iPod via iTunes to the latest firmware available.
2. Backup your iPod to allow future system restores (in case of an error).

Jailbreak – (more detailed guide)
3. Download “Blackra1n” http://www.blackra1n.com/
4. Open “Blackra1n” and click “make it ra1n”
5. Wait until you are prompted with a message similar to the following:
“Your jailbreak is done once the phone reboots.
If this was the simplest jailbreak ever, …”
6. Now simply wait for your device to reboot on its own. It can take a minute or two to reboot. (If you ever reboot or turn off your device in the future, you will simply need to connect it to a computer and click “make it ra1n” to reboot it after its been jailbroken. Also, iTunes must be installed for “Blackra1n” to work correctly.)

Installing apps and customization
7. Download the “Cydia” application from the new “Blackra1n” app that should now be on your device.
8. Download the following apps from Cydia (some require a reboot so don’t go too far from a computer…as noted above).
—1. Categories – This enables you to create folders on your springboard and better organize your icons.
—2. WinterBoard – This allows you to install (seperate) themes to further change the appearance of your springboard, unlock screen, icons and panels.
—3. MIM (Make It Mine) – This allows you to change the carrier name (iPod, iPhone or whatever it may be) to something more personalized. Mine is “kyPod”. You can also change the banner (where the time is usually displayed) to anything you’d like as well. I left my banner default (time).
—4. Install themes, navigate to the Winterboard app to find and activate them.

Securing your jailbroken device
As with any hack, there are risks. One of those risks is that your device can become infested with a few nasty viruses that have recently made news headlines. To avoid this, simply follow the steps to change your devices default SSH password. Steps are also provided in your Cydia application towards the bottom of the home screen labeled “Change Root Password”.

9.  Open the Cydia app. Scroll down to find the guide labeled ”Change Root Password”. Scroll down to Step #4 in the Cydia guide labeled “Change the mobile Password”. If you connect to your device via a terminal window (Mac or Linux will work or you can download the “Terminal” application via Cydia and use it) you can connect via SSH using the “su root” as the root user and “alpine” as the default password. You want to change “alpine” to something different so the typical virus won’t have your default password. After logging in via root, type “passwd”. You will now need to enter your new password twice (it will not appear as you type it as a security measure). After you’ve entered your new password, exit the terminal…you’re done! You may also change your mobile password if you wish by starting the password change with “passwd mobile”. This may or may not be beneficial to you.

iPod/iPhone with Ubuntu
10. Following the directions that I discuss and point to at the following location:

http://kyleabaker.com/2010/01/17/ubuntu-ipod-touchiphone/

It is no longer required to Jailbreak your iPod/iPhone in order to use it with Ubuntu. If you only wish to use your device in Ubuntu, simply follow the above link and ignore the steps to Jailbreak your device.

Previews of my iPod

Ubuntu + iPod Touch/iPhone

Published on January 17, 2010 in Apple, Entertainment, How-To, Linux, Mac, Multimedia, Music, News, Open Source, Operating Systems, Picture, Ubuntu and Video. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

After spending a great deal of time researching Ubuntu and iPod Touch/iPhone sync issues, I’ve finally found a solution that isn’t a dreadful experience.

There is currently a project in the alpha/beta stages that, when completed, will provide sync support for the iPod Touch and iPhones that are using Firmware 3.

If you’re not using Firmware 3 on your iPod Touch or iPhone, then I’m not sure how much this guide will apply to you. You can try looking here for more information.

If you are using Firmware 3 (my iPod Touch is running OS 3.1.2), then I’d suggest you following the guide provided by A. Tres Finocchiaro (aka FatButtLarry) over on his blog.

Following his guide, which is comprised of two lines of terminal commands to copy-n-paste, I was able to have my iPod Touch sync’ing in no time!

While the transfer speed seems to be a bit slow, it is indeed working well! Cover art is transfered flawlessly, everything seems to be in order!

Remember that this project isn’t complete and you are likely to encounter bugs. My experience thus far has been positive, your mileage may vary. Good luck. ;)

Solution To WordPress getimagesize() Error

Published on January 14, 2010 in How-To, MySQL, Open Source, PHP and Web. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

If you’ve for whatever reason noticed that your WordPress website is generating errors similar to the following then I may have a solution for you.

Warning: getimagesize(/home/.some-dir/example.com/folder/httpd.www/wp-content/uploads/some-image.jpg) [function.getimagesize]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/.some-dir/example.com/folder/httpd.www/wp-content/blah/blah/blah.php on line 123

I noticed that some pages that generated image information were printing errors out on my pages with private server file structures included. Generally you don’t want to see this printed out to the public. ;)

I’m not guaranteeing a fix for you, but rather what worked for me.

If you are getting an error link the one that I’ve listed above, more specifically the “failed to open stream: No such file or directory,” then you may be about to fix it in only a few minor steps.

Things you will need:

  • FTP (I use FileZilla)
  • phpMyAdmin
  • Ability to add a new plugin to your site
  • Patience

Procedure

Single quotes must be the normal ascii quotes. Chances are, if you copy and paste from my blog, they will be the wrong type so double check that as it could give you problems. ;)

  1. First and foremost, make sure to backup your entire database to a safe place. I’m not liable in the case that you don’t backup your database and this procedure borks your blog (or any other case for that matter). ;)
  2. Create a new file named “abstest.php” and upload it to your blog’s root directory after entering the following code into it:
    <?php define('ABSPATH', dirname(__FILE__).'/'); echo ABSPATH; ?>
  3. Open a new browser tab and navigate to “http://www.your-website.com/abstest.php“. You should find a short page with the printout of your servers absolute path.
  4. Check that the path provided by this test file matches the base path printed out by the getimagesize() error exactly. In my case, my server had changed slightly so the differences were similar to the following:
    /home/.some-dir/example.com/folder/httpd.www/
    /home/example.com/folder/httpd.www/
  5. If you find a mismatch, then you’ve found your problem and the rest is simple. If not, then my tips will most likely not solve your particular WordPress error(s).
  6. If you’ve found a mismatch, then continue: Open a new browser tab and navigate to your phpMyAdmin interface. Select your WordPress database, then click Search. I searched all tables for a match of the path that was different, in my case it was “.some-dir/“.
  7. If there are matches found then you need to click the SQL tab at the top (preferably in a new tab) and paste the following (making sure to edit it to match the table and fields you need) and run it to find and replace that changed part of the path.
    update TABLE_NAME set FIELD_NAME = replace(FIELD_NAME, ‘find this string’, ‘replace found string with this string’);
    For more information on SQL find and replace, either search Google or read this.
  8. After replacing all of the affected tables and strings, your images should be properly address. You’re not done yet though.
  9. Open WordPress Plugins and add/install a plugin named “Regenerate Thumbnails“. After installing it, make sure to activate it. ;)
  10. In your Admin panel, find the Tools menu and expand it. You should see a menu item labeled “Regen. Thumbnails”…click it. This will open a page with a start button. Clicking this button will begin the process of correcting your thumbnail dimensions as well as other metadata. It will take some time depending on the number of thumbnails you have accumulated.
  11. After the progress bar reaches 100% it will notify you that it is complete. You’re all done! You may need to clear your cache to refresh any pages that still generate the previous error message.

If you had any problems with the above mentioned procedure, I would suggest restoring your database using your backup copy and either trying again, paying someone to do it for you or just forgetting about it. ;)

If it works then great! If not then sorry you’ve wasted your time. It worked for me, so maybe it will work for you as well. :D

UserJS: Twitter-Rounded

Published on January 13, 2010 in CSS, How-To, JavaScript, News, Opera, Picture, Twitter, Web, Web Browsers and Web Design. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

I’ve thrown together a quick script for Opera that you can use if you’d like to see rounded corners (aka border-radius). It seems that Twitter currently sends Opera a style sheet with empty settings for rounded corners…

…so, all I did was write a script that will insert a link to a style sheet that’s stored here at kyleabaker.com which overwrites these empty styles with the correct ones.

If you’ve never used scripts before then you should first learn how to setup UserJS. After you’ve setup Userjs, you may need to enable UserJS for secure pages (https) in Opera’s internal configuration page….”opera:config#UserPrefs|UserJavaScriptonHTTPS“. Just check/enable that option. Make sure to click save!

Lastly, save the “Twitter-Rounded” script to your UserJS folder that you setup in the steps above.

Now you have a more pleasant looking Twitter page in Opera 10.5. ;)

WP-UserAgent and WP-TwitterBadge

Published on January 11, 2010 in News, Open Source, PHP, Web, Web Browsers and Web Design. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , .

I’ve just pushed a few updates to my WP-UserAgent and WP-TwitterBadge plugins. If you’re already using them then you should be able to update via your WordPress Admin area shortly.

If you’re not using them yet, feel free to browse around and check into them!

Dropbox has File Smarts

Published on January 9, 2010 in News, Product Review and Web. 1 Comment Tags: , .

I’ve noticed after uploading several files that Dropbox is now smart and can do an md5 hash check on other files that have been uploaded to their server.

How does this help you? Well, I’ll explain soon, but if you’re downloading a file that someone else has already downloaded and synced with Dropbox then it helps you tremendously!

Basically, Dropbox checks to see if anyone has previously uploaded the exact same file in the past. If they have then you’re in luck!

If the md5 hash matches (I’m purely guessing that they use md5 since it’s the commonly accepted standard for file checking) then they simply “copy n’ paste” what someone else has already uploaded into your personal upload space!

This means that the 347mb file that you want to sync could take 10 seconds to be synced with your account even over a dial-up connection if someone else has already taken the time to upload it for the first time!

If you’re the first person to upload your file then you will certainly have to wait the due time for a proper upload, so don’t expect it with every file.

This is an ingenious move by the Dropbox team as it saves them tons of much needed bandwidth performance and instead pushes the workload to the server side “copy n’ paste” routine…which will perform much faster than your dial-up or simple broadband connection.

Imagine the speed of uploading a 10mb file to Dropbox verses copying that same file from one folder on your hard drive to another folder on your hard drive. That is similar to the performance that you can expect.

It also obviously saves you time since you can sometimes drag n’ drop a large file…blink…then it’s done.

Don’t worry, your files are safe. Chances are slim that someone will upload a file that matches yours in filename and md5 hash code, …but it could happen.

It’s been proven that the md5 hash is insecure, but the chances of someone uploading a file that is recognized as one of yours is very very…(repeat as needed)…very slim.

Honestly, the biggest thing to worry about is the fact that if you delete a private file, someone else could happen to upload a file matching the filename and md5 hash and automatically have access to a file that you uploaded ages ago.

I’m current unaware of how long Dropbox caches the files that you store using their service, but I know that some files that I’ve uploaded in the past and deleted now have been removed from the server…so security is fairly assuring.

While it’s a little creepy and it sounds dangerous….it’s highly improbable.

On the Dropbox teams side, saving bandwidth means that you have that much extra bandwidth to upload content that you need sync’d. Bandwidth is very important these days especially considering that many of us are uploading videos (whether they be family or leisure) and music. Many of these files can range from 3mb for music up to 10gb for video (and blu-ray will bring even higher filesizes :P ).

Of the sync services that I’ve used (and it’s been a lot so far), Dropbox is by far the front runner. With the features that they offer that you’re not normally aware of, they already pass up the competition hands down. That’s just my own personal opinion.

I’m currently on the free service (2gb), but I would highly suggest that you purchase their pay-for service that gives you up to 50gb of online storage if you’re one to upload a lot or need a lot on the go.

At the very least give them a try and download the Dropbox application. I’m sure anyone could take advantage of the free 2gb package that they offer online to backup important documents or whatever it may be. ;)

Rest assured that if you’re using Dropbox then you’re also using one of the best available sync services to be established thus far! Free space never hurt anyone. ;)

Merry Christmas to all… and to all a good night.

Published on December 25, 2009 in Holiday and News. 0 Comments Tags: .

Travel safe and have a very Merry Christmas! I know I will, since we still have plenty of snow to make for a white Christmas!

Opera 10.5 Pre-Alpha Internal Release

Published on December 20, 2009 in Applications, Microsoft, Multimedia, Opera, Picture, Product Review, Web Browsers and Windows. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

I’ve just given a leaked release of Opera 10.5 Pre-Alpha a test drive and I must say that I’m very impressed with the changes I’ve noticed thus far!

I look forward to testing the Official Opera 10.5 Pre-Alpha release on Tuesday, December 22. However, until then I’ll be digging through this leaked version.

Note that Opera has officially warned against installing such leaked builds, stating that the official release will be “much better and you don’t risk getting nasty trojans on you pc.” ;)

Here are some screenshots I’ve taken. I don’t cover everything, but just enough to give you a good idea of what we should be expecting. I also won’t be detailing all of these pictures, but a picture is worth a thousand words right? Inspect them and see what you can find!

I did notice a lot of skin changes and a couple of bugs here and there dealing with the skin, but it’s overall very much improved. The internal “opera:*” pages also seem to be using a different style than previous builds, but then again they may have dropped using the Opera logo in the top of the pages.

Notice the border-radius support!

Try this build at your own risk!
http://rapidshare.com/files/323481638/Opera_1050_20192_in.msi
http://depositfiles.com/files/e01z2q5qp

Opera Google Wave Skin

Published on December 17, 2009 in Applications, Entertainment, Linux, Multimedia, News, Opera, Operating Systems, Picture, Ubuntu and Web Browsers. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

I’ve been using a new theme lately for Ubuntu that is based on the appearance of Google Wave. One thing that I hate about Opera in Linux is that it doesn’t automatically inherit the current themes appearance. The only way to make Opera match your current theme is to download a skin for that theme or to make one yourself.

I’ve decided to modify the standard skin by updating the background behind the tabs and changing the scrollbar images to match the rest of my current themes scrollbars.

There are still several more tweaks to make, but for now I’m very satisfied with the integrating feel that these small changes have made.

opera-google-wave-skin

I may upload this Opera skin later, but not while I’m still tweaking it. In the meantime, if you want this skin then just contact me and I’ll send you what I’ve made so far.

Last exam of the semester

Published on December 16, 2009 in News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

So I got up earlier than I expected to this morning, which leaves me with plenty of extra time to prepare for my last exam (that isn’t until 6pm).

Hopefully I can start finding some time to get some Christmas shopping out of the way, or at least make a shopping list to make things go fast! It seems like I’m late to get any shopping accomplished every single year, but then again…I’m broke every single year as well. :P

Back to the books after a quick break catching up on the news and social sites..

 

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