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iPhone App Redux

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 9:36am — Matt

I've been doing some pretty slick stuff with the iPhone lately, though none of it is of my own creation (yet). I have a few good ideas though, and I've started thinking about a project or two.

  • Jailbreak
    Courtesy of the iphone-dev team, I've now installed a hacked firmware that allows me to run unsigned apps. This is good because it allows developers to use Apple's development tools to write kickass apps and distribute them for free. It's a bit more use at your own risk, but it's exactly what I'm looking for. The package manager is called Cydia and it's based on Debian APT. Very nice.
  • ScummVM
    It's a virtual machine that was reverse-engineered to play old Lucasarts adventure games. SCUMM was a scripting and multimedia engine that Lucasarts wrote so that they could release multiple games running on the same software. All they would need to do to release a new game was recreate all the content, music and events, then release it with the current version of SCUMM. ScummVM is a great idea, and it's very well implemented. I've used it to play through my old games before, and it's surprisingly good for the iPhone.
  • quake4iphone
    Okay, this is total eye-candy, and is barely playable, but it's a great demonstration of just what kind of power this device actually has. It wasn't until I downloaded it and ran it when I realized that the iPhone has better stats than the computer I took with me to college. It has a faster processor, more memory, more storage, and, oh yeah, IT'S A BLOODY PHONE AND IT FITS IN MY POCKET! Nuts. Anyway, I look forward to John Carmack's "graphical tour-de-force" for the iPhone that he's promising.
  • The Last Remote
    Basically, this doesn't exist yet, but this was an idea I had for a personal app (combined with a hardware project, I just can't do anything small, can I?) Basically, I want to Bluetooth(TM) enable several of my devices that aren't, then build a simple program for the iPhone that makes use of the AVRCP (audio/video remote control profile). It's a standard way to control devices, and if done right can be pretty bitchin'. Sadly, this is only useful if my devices have Bluetooth(TM), but more on that later. Let's just say I've been dusting off the old 200-in-1 Electronics Project Kit.

Other than that, Tianna, work and various kittens are all well. Huzzah's all around!