The iPhone / iPod Touch is about convergence of UI with hardware.
Yes it's nice you can run linux on the iPhone, but turning your iPhone into a busybox brick with SSH somehow doesn't get me excited.
Hackers boot Linux on iPhone
Summary
A new front has opened in the ongoing arms race between Apple and iPhone hackers, with one hacker group making the iPhone boot with a Linux 2.6 kernel.
Topics
A new front has opened in the ongoing arms race between Apple and iPhone hackers, with one hacker group making the iPhone boot with a Linux 2.6 kernel.
The announcement of the successful kernel porting was made on the Linux on the iPhone blog, complete with instructions and source code.
Although a bootloader, kernel and a Busybox terminal are able to be loaded - many features of the iPhone remain unimplemented: touch screen, sound, accelerometer, and networking. Input to the terminal must be made via a USB interface from another device that the iPhone is attached to (humorously summed up by Geek Hero Comic).
The group that ported the kernel is derived from the iPhone DevTeam group which has been responsible for jailbreaking previous iPhone software.
Talkback Most Recent of 15 Talkback(s)
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croberts1st Dec 2008 -
RE: Why should anyone care?
There are some that do and others who have an interest. If you neither care nor have an interest, why are you here?
richdave1st Dec 2008 -
We all should care....
We should all care simply because this is an alternative to the very limited proprietary OS that Apple uses. Now, I'm not saying that they didn't do a good job with the iPhone OS; however why do they take so long to address issues they know about, and why do they dismiss feedback from customers? When you have a team of developers that make the iPhone how they want to use it without regard for what the consumer base wants, then you end up with people figuring out how to make it work the way they want.
Soon, you will be able to boot into Linux on your iPhone and forward SMS messages, tether the data service, download podcasts, copy and paste text, and install whatever app you want!
Apple had their chance to address these issues, but they chose to ignore what the consumer wanted.
And Linux has been installed everywhere for the sole purpose of proving it CAN be done. Phones, camera, Nintendo DS, etc...
EdNetman3rd Dec 2008 -
RE: Hackers boot Linux on iPhone
What a wonderful way to waste the power of an iphone
by installing linux on it. If you want something that
was expensive and just want to turn it into a
paperweight, then by all means install linux. If you
want a iphone that is functional you will stay far
away from putting linux on it.
Loverock Davidson1st Dec 2008 -
Eradicating MacOS...
Why would anyone waste their money on a proprietary OS
based Apple product. The joy of formatting Apple's OS
and putting anything but it on the iPhone only makes
the thing more functional. It just opens the doors to
more possibilities that the basic iPhone is incapable.
PsyBeats1st Dec 2008 -
RE: Hackers boot Linux on iPhone
I would imagine it would not be hard since OsX is based on a
*nix.
cashaww1st Dec 2008 -
A great way to fix Apple bugs...
A great way to get rid of the Mac bugs that keep on multiplying that's for sure.
progon1st Dec 2008 -
But....
since Lover doesn't have a clue about Linux, he wouldn't know that.
todbran@...1st Dec 2008 -
Cut and Paste
Now these iPhone users have cut and paste - which Mr. Mobs does not think the users need (and he charges you for peeing on the $8 worth of hardware before seeing his lover Bill Gates - you just have to see last night's Simpsons).
stevejg611st Dec 2008 -
I could care less.....
Why????? is the biggest question I would have, if I even GAS. So? What good is it anyway? I am just at this moment, throwing both hands into the air, and screaming at the top of my lungs "Whooo Whooo"... why you ask; just because I can... I guess this is the same thing.
profsmichael@...1st Dec 2008 -
Because iPhone uses a closed system
and some people like the hardware but despise the closed environment. So they use the good hardware and install an open system on it.
Michael Kelly1st Dec 2008 -
RE: Hackers boot Linux on iPhone
What is linux? just kidding, i know it is a waste. But why are hackers doing this? They are just making the iPhone safe. I would like to see a fraud story starring the iPhone so we can understand that a beautiful phone is not a great thing. By the way apple sucks!
ealgar1st Dec 2008 -
RE: Hackers boot Linux on iPhone
I moved to Linux to get away from closed system. My HTC S710 mobile is still Windows operated but when it dies I will buy a Google G2 phone. I am just hoping it will last until the next version of the G1 comes out. If I buy an iPhone and successfully port Linux to it, I am still getting some of my hard earned money over to a company that not only supports closed systems, but dictates which companies can write add-ons for it.
ampers@...1st Dec 2008 -
To those dinosaurs that ask "Why?"
Here is a blogged response:
http://rarsa.blogspot.com/2008/12/after-i-read-some-news-about-hackers.html
rarsa1st Dec 2008 -
Maybe, but I think it's more along the lines of...
Maybe, but I think it's more along the lines of "cuz we can." It's sort of a hobby to see what you can stick Linux on no matter what it is. They also install Linux on some cameras. Not only is the camera still fully functional, but they also have MAME running on them (for all it's worth on a 2" LCD. :P)
olePigeon1st Dec 2008
Talkback - Tell Us What You Think
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