Crackulous, while surrounded by some initial humor, wasn’t funny for developers who work night and day to feed their families only to see their work ripped off. (Come on, how many of us would like it if developers walked off without paying for their ultra-sized combo meals at our work!). Well, now it looks like some of them are fighting back.
Christina Warren over at TUAW talked to the folks behind the new Kali Anti-Piracy service and liked what she saw:
Essentially, Ripdev has figured out how to put an extra wrapper around iPhone apps, which not only prevents the app from launching or functioning properly if it has been cracked, but also prevents the current cracking tools from working on the app at all. Even better, this process only uses documented and allowed calls, making it SDK compliant. Oh — and if the app is legitimately purchased, it can run on a jailbroken iPhone without a problem.
Daring Fireball, for their part, argues that the best anti-piracy doesn’t make itself immediately known, but also doesn’t simply kill a pirated app from running: that might just spread rumors that the app is unstable instead of protected. He references one of my favorite anti-piracy stories of the recent age, involving developer Panic.
In general, however, the iPhone has a unique ID, knows who you are, and where you are, so we have to wonder if even the idea of “corroding the soul” isn’t enough to stop piracy, the threat of angry developers pwning the pirates might constrain it slightly?
So you’ve been on the fence about Jailbreaking recently, maybe this is enough to sway you? Once again, a 3rd party developer has come through for all of us and has delivered a working turn-by-turn GPS solution!
xGPS uses Google Maps and add it’s own real-time navigation readout and a voice. Seriously, how hard could this have been for Google or Apple to add for us? Another nice feature is the ability to download maps ahead of time. So that means even first generation iPhone users can get in on some turn-by-turn action.
So how many of you are going to Jailbreak now? Let us know!
*UPDATE: The newest version with vocalization is expected to be available within the next week. Be sure to check out the xGPS Blog.
Ridiculously funny exchange between Adam from Gizmodo and the developer of Crackulous — the jailbreak app meant to pirate legitimate apps, see Jeremy’s post this morning — who’s complaining that someone is illegitimately pirating his hard work.
Adam, you are linking to a pirated version of the app. Please link to REMOVED (the official Crackulous site) instead of supporting the pirates in the crackulous article. Thanks.
Are you serious? This isn’t a joke? You’re seriously trying to stop an app designed to pirate apps from being pirated?
No but I need people to support my work… I deserve appreciation.
But the people who have legit apps that Craculous will help pirate don’t? You honestly don’t see the irony here?
[UPDATE: Erica Sadun of Ars Technica weighs in on Crackulous, and the humor of pirating pirate software... - Rene]
Let me start out by saying none of us here at TiPb condone any type of piracy. You think you deserve to get paid at the end of the day for your work? So do developers and their hungry children.
That being said, Apple must be saying Uh-Oh right about now. Crackulous, which is now available via Cydia, enables you to strip the protection off most apps from the App Store. What this simply means is if a single person purchases an app, he or she can put the app out there — for free — for anyone who has a Jailbroken iPhone to grab.
Of course, it was simply a matter of time before someone in the Jailbreak community came up with an app such as Crackulous, and we can just imagine how many new Jailbreak artists there will be because of this new app.
You can pretty much count on the fact that Apple is already addressing this issue with a FairPlay (their DRM that wraps all iTunes App Store apps) fix that will turn up in the next software update. Another cat and mouse game has just been born.
The iPhone dev team have posted a tethered “redSn0w” Jailbreak for the 2nd generation iPod touch. They are providing it with expert-only instructions, and a strict warning that they won’t be providing ANY support for it (if you ask for help, it means you shouldn’t be using it, and they’ll literally ban you from their site).
However, they also say they’re working on an un-tethered Jailbreak, which will hopefully be both much easier to use, and enjoy some level of support.
If you’re a supra-command-line ninja, however, and absolutely can’t wait, go get it now…
The illustri-notorious Dev Team has blogged about Jailbreaking iPhone OS 2.2.1, released by Apple earlier this week.
Simple version: You can now Jailbreak, if you haven’t already upgraded to 2.2.1 via iTunes, are using a Mac, aren’t affected by the OS X 10.6 DFU-mode bug, and — if you want to keep using yellowSn0w for unlock — are happy to spin your own custom firmware.
Complex version: involves closing the barn door — see here.
(For community-based jailbreaking advice and support, please check out our Jailbreak Central Forum)
Hopefully an easier solution will surface when the Dev Team has spent more time hacking away at iPhone OS 2.2.1. Until then, the cat and mouse game continues!
First Jeremy tells us about Jailbreak getting (yet another dose of) cut/copy and paste love, now it’s Bluetooth File Transfer. What’s next, A2DP Stereo Bluetooth? iSigh. Spazziocellulare (via BGR) says:
iBluetooth application is not yet finished. As soon as will be complete, it will be hosted in Cydia throught the iSpazio Repository.
Just goes to show whatever vacuum Apple leaves, the hackers will fill! Check out the video and let us know what you think. Anyone itching to try this functionality out?
Well here is yet one more attempt to get cut/copy and paste going via a Jailbroken app from iSpazio. Clippy inserts two buttons into the iPhone system keyboard, one for copying and the other for pasting. One major gripe is that it only accepts user-entered text. So there is no copying any text from web sites or emails, etc…
It’s very easy to use this app. Once installed, start typing text, then select it with your finger, and tap the “123″ key to show a new line at the top of your keyboard. Now tap copy and then enjoy yourself to paste your text in every other app you want!
Again, this app is available for free if you have a Jailbroken iPhone. To try it out, simply go to the iSpazio Repository in Cydia and download it straight to your phone. While this app is not perfect, it is a much better attempt than the previous tries
TiPb: We’ve been spending a lot of time lately discussing the App Store
and what business model(s) it will evolve From launch, you took the
route of having both a premium paid version of Twitterrific and a
free, add-supported version. What made you settle on that idea, and
how effective has it been for you?
Craig Hockenberry: The desire to have both a free and paid version of Twitterrific came from our experience on the Mac. It’s the best of both worlds for everyone: we get some funds to pay for the development of the product, and users get to choose how they want to support us.
We decided on having ads before the final details of the App Store were
revealed. Since there are no demos in iTunes, the ability to have a free
version for people to evaluate has been a big benefit. A lot of my fellow
developers are now looking at this model.
So you’re still debating whether or not to jailbreak your iPhone? Hopefully after reading this you will have made your decision. Back in October we brought to you the first Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps, well today we bring you round two of the series. Now keep in mind, all the seasoned veterans of Jailbreaking will or should know about all the apps listed here. This article is for the sole purpose of swaying those still on the fence to the darkside…
***All of the following apps can be downloaded via Cydia on your Jailbroken iPhone.
