Google Unveils Nexus One Smartphone!
Jan/100
The now famous image of the first Nexus One found in the wild!
I’ll keep this one short and sweet, go watch the commercial for the new Google Nexus One here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8442205.stm?ls
I will say; WOW! This is the first phone that looks exciting to me since the first generation iPhone hit the market! I think I’ll be getting one of these as soon as my contract is up… sorry Apple!
Oh a side note… Phillip K. Dick fans might recognize the name of this device. Interestingly enough, Dick’s daughter is not happy about this. I say take it as a tribute to the man, not a rip off… after all, it’s just a name and I am pretty sure it was meant to pay homage, not disrespect. Read more here:
Replacing The iPhone Glass/Digitizer & Adding A Custom Orange Back!
Dec/090
Okay, before you get too excited I should warn you; This is more so just a documentation of my experience doing this rather than an actual tutorial like I usually post. Before you jump in to a project like this you can save yourself a lot of headache (and avoid ruining your phone!) by doing your homework and watching videos on disassembling your model of iPhone. There are a lot more videos that just show you how to change the glass/digitizer than there are full disassembly vids (which is required to change the back), so take care of your due diligence before trying this at home kids! :)
My iPhone’s screen shattered one evening while it was changing on my desk and I received a phone call… unfortunately I wasn’t nearby and it vibrated off the table…
The good news; I ordered both the replacement glass / digitizer part and a slick new orange iPhone back for around 35 dolars on eBay. There are lots of sellers on there with these parts, so just find a reputable one with good feedback & positive comments for their iPhone parts. I had to wait two weeks to get the back part from Hong Kong, but it went smoothly and shipping was free! [FYI, the glass and touch sensor, which is called a digitizer, are one part, so you must replace them together]
Here, documented via somewhat blurry photos, is my attempt to do this without destroying my phone completely… luckily it was a success! The first thing you hear in the how-to videos for disassembling your iPhone is the importance of removing the internal connection in the proper sequence. So I carefully lifted up my digitizer panel and peaked in… yeah, the connectors just popped off all at once! haha. Thankfully the phone still worked in the end!
I apologize that I didn’t video this or put more time in to a proper tutorial, but this turned out to be more involved and time consuming than I had imagined… and to be honest I just don’t want people trying this solely on account that they saw my successful attempt here, as you will have many opportunities to ruin your while iPhone doing this!
Sorry for the burred images, the lighting I was working in sucked!
At one point later in the disassembly process I did get a bit overwhelmed trying to remember where screws went and how parts were oriented, so I did miss what probably would have been some interesting photos of lots of little parts lying around on my desk!
You’ll notice in the second to last picture that my case did not completely close evenly at the top! It looks worse here than in real life and so far no one has noticed it until I pointed it out. I am not certain if this is due to a part defect or if I did not seat the battery perfectly or something.
Secure Your iPhone Against the ‘RickRoll’ worm!
Nov/090
If you’re an iPhone owner, particularly if you’ve jailbroken your phone, you probably saw the news this morning of the first ever iPhone worm to appear in the wild. The good news is that it’s just a proof-of-concept virus written by white-hat hacker Ashley Towns to spread awareness about the default password vulnerability that we’ve all known was a potential security hole for ages now. This only effects iPhone users who have jailbroken their phone and have installed SSH (and keep it running on their device, as it does by default). While the worm does ‘infect’ your iPhone with with an annoying wallpaper change, that is about the extent of it.
For more info on protecting yourself from this and future woms/virii that exploit this vulnerability check out this great YouTube video by D7 [below]. If you don’t know who he is you will probably want to subscribe. He has a plethora of helpful iPhone videos on YouTube! In addition to changing the default password I’d also suggest you get the SBSettings module ‘SSH Toggle’, this way you only have to run SSH when you actually need to use it (which isn’t very often for most users).
Thanks for the video D7!
Accessory Geeks Discount Codes – Expires 7/31/2009!
Jul/090
Hi there. I know I haven’t been posting much recently, and I’ll be sure to update you all on what’s been going on soon enough, but this seems like a quick and easy blog post.
I just wanted to pass along these Accessory Geek discount codes that they share with me as an affiliate. Please use the the ad link at the top of this site to get to their website so we can get credit for sending them any business :)
Enjoy!
| Advertiser | Offer | Code | Expiration | Type |
| AccessoryGeeks.com | 8% off t-mobile g1 products | M-G1PHONE | 7/31/2009 | General |
| AccessoryGeeks.com | 8% off blackberry curve products | CURVE8OFF | 7/31/2009 | General |
| AccessoryGeeks.com | 20% off HDMI cables | HDMI | 7/31/2009 | General |
| AccessoryGeeks.com | 12% off datapilot products | M-DATAPILOT | 7/31/2009 | General |
| AccessoryGeeks.com | 25% off NFL pouches | M-NFL | 7/31/2009 | General |
| AccessoryGeeks.com | 8% off blackberry bold products | BOLD8OFF | 7/31/2009 | General |
| AccessoryGeeks.com | 10% off batteries | BATTERYGEEK10 | 7/31/2009 | General |
| AccessoryGeeks.com | 8% off blackberry curve 8900 products | JAVELIN8OFF | 7/31/2009 | General |
| AccessoryGeeks.com | 8% off blackberry storm products | STORM8OFF | 7/31/2009 | General |
| AccessoryGeeks.com | 20% off wired headsets | WIRED20OFF | 7/31/2009 | General |
You can also use the code Geeks1040 for $10 off $40 or more!
New Apple iPhone Exploit Gives Attacker Root Access
Jul/090
It was bound to happen… Apple users have long enjoyed a relatively smooth ride with regard to virus’ and malicious attacks, but this morning xaminer.com posted info on this serious iPhone expoit, discovered Charlie Miller:
It’s well-known that binary code can be sent to mobile devices using SMS. Normally the sent code isn’t executed, but Miller found that the iPhone operating system automatically processes the code without any user intervention. Not good. Knowing this, Miller developed code using the principle of Sulley Fuzzing, a method of injecting random data into program after first forcing the operating system to trust the new code.
And they go on to confirm the worst:
Another vulnerability that Miller found was the ability to use the SMS function to gain root access to the iPhone, more or less giving an attacker the “keys to the kingdom”.
On a positive note, Apple appears to already be working on a patch for this serious security vulnerability. We all know Apple’s history with timely updates though, so don’t hold your breath.
Get the full scoop here: http://www.examiner.com/x-14651-Minneapolis-Information-Technology-Examiner~y2009m7d3-Apple-iPhone-SMS-exploit-allows-attacker-to-control-phone
So… who’s gonna beat Apple to the punch with a security patch that jail broken iPhone users can apply? :)