rudis dot net

RDN should look a bit better on your iPhone these days. I migrated the whole site over to an updated version of Drupal and then made some tweaks to auto-check for the browser-type and render appropriately for mobile devices, with some special attention paid to the iPhone.

There were some "canned" solutions for this I had hoped to use that wound up not working. I am also a bit disappointed in the state of the Drupal 6 series and hope Drupal 7 kicks some serious butt, otherwise I'll be heading elsewhere for content management.

I'll be tweaking the iPhone rendering over time, but I wanted to get something up quickly in the event folks feel the need to visit the site while mobile (or if you're using a mobile Twitter client and click a link that goes to a post I made here on RDN). Once I get a decent base I'll see about submitting it to drupal.org and will definitely post a "how to" here.

If anything is broken that you relied on, let me know in the comments and I'll try to get it back in. I went light with the modules this time and disabled some features.

UPDATE: It should look even better now. Added some additional CSS and a few elements from the iUI toolkit.

I haven't been slackin'...just lots of Apple postin' on TAB...

• Twiterriffic 3.1 beta
• ScreenSteps 2 mini-review
• iPhone Development Preview
• iPhone Web Development Starter
• My Apple TV Upgrade Experience

Here is what was fixed, security-wise in the 1.1.3 update:

Foundation
CVE-ID: CVE-2008-0035
Available for: iPhone v1.0 through v1.1.2, iPod touch v1.1 through 1.1.2
Impact: Accessing a maliciously crafted URL may lead to an application termination or arbitrary code execution
Description: A memory corruption issue exists in Safari's handling of URLs. By enticing a user to access a maliciously crafted URL, an attacker may cause an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This update addresses the issue by performing additional validation of URLs.

Passcode Lock
CVE-ID: CVE-2008-0034
Available for: iPhone v1.0 through v1.1.2
Impact: An unauthorized user may bypass the Passcode Lock and launch iPhone applications
Description: The Passcode Lock feature is designed to prevent applications from being launched unless the correct passcode is entered. An implementation issue in the handling of emergency calls allows users with physical access to an iPhone to launch an application without the passcode. This update addresses the issue through an improved check on the state of the Passcode Lock.

Safari
CVE-ID: CVE-2007-5858
Available for: iPhone v1.0 through v1.1.2, iPod touch v1.1 through 1.1.2
Impact: Visiting a malicious website may result in the disclosure of sensitive information
Description: WebKit allows a page to navigate the subframes of any other page. Visiting a maliciously crafted web page could trigger a cross-site scripting attack, which may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information. This update addresses the issue by implementing a stricter frame navigation policy.

CVE-2008-0034 (bypassing of the passcode lock) is ugly and I hope this is the last time this feature has a vulnerability. CVE-2008-0035 is what was used by those "cool" folks to break their phones to run apps on it. I still stand by my position that it is unwise to publish the means to decimate the security of any device for the sole purpose of being able to make it do what you want it to do. Who knows how many folks were exposed to real iPhone vulnerabilities as a result of the work of these "fine" engineers.

The fine folks over at Simple Weather have kicked out a mobile version that looks great on your iPhone. Bookmark simpw.com and you'll have speedy, one-touch access to current conditions and local forecast info.

(It also works on more pedestrian mobile devices)

I kinda knew this was coming and it's great to see it finally in the wild. Nice job, guys!

Via: simpleweather blog

NewerTech announced a new iPhone dock & speakerphone combination gadget today that is priced right at $35.00 (USD) and looks pretty decent (though I hope that shiny, white polymer is not just a really cheap, plastic shell).

Drop a note in the comments if you pick one up. Very interested in the sound quality and how they've handled the GSM<=>speaker interference problems that plague these types of configurations.

My review of the Shure MPA-3C headset adapter is up on TAB.

A teaser for you:

One of the issues I’ve had with with Apple’s iPods is the inclusion of those annoying ear-bud headphones. From sound quality to comfort, they are without a doubt the worst part of the package. When Apple released the iPhone they did manage to enhance the wretched, white audible tether with a decent microphone and control mechanism that wound up being useless to folks like me who cannot use the earbuds. It drove some to hardware hacks (YouTube link warning) and others, like Shure to the design room and manufacturing line.

MacNN purports that the iPhone is in the top five of e-disappointments this year. Part of their argument relates to the problems folks faced after they deliberately cracked the security of their device to load unsupported apps and then tried to keep up with official patches. That's just silly.

I've written some poor posts, but that author really needs some time off to find that lost clue.

The Zune isn't exactly a wholesale failure or disappointment either (tho the iPod Touch wins with a KO in round #1 of any battle between it and the Zune).

Apple is slowly rolling out features for the iPhone that people have been pining for. Their forthcoming API takes center stage, but an innocent end-of-year update to GarageBand makes it possible for folks to createcustom ringtones (I can hear the teeth gritting of the RIAA executives as I type).

I've always considered ringtones something that should have died in the 90's, but folks seem to like them (they spend tons of cash on them every year) and they aren't going away any time soon.

The downside is that we will all be subjected to the wretched sounds inspiring compositions of self-described prodigies on buses, trains, ferries and elevators since Apple has now made it far too easy to get your own frequencies on your iPhone (anyone can use GarageBand...it's a cool app).

While it's great that Apple is turning the cell phone industry on its collective ear, I for one, hope Jobs gets coal in his stocking this Christmas for the "joy" we're all about to receive.

Erica over at TUAW posted this from a tip by NerveGas. You may disclose PII from your lost or stolen iPhone without even realizing it (and the bad guys can get to it even if you've been a good Apple citizen and not hacked your device):

Secure Your iPhone: What's in that data file? - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW): "f you've hacked your iPhone for disk access, have you ever peeked at the dynamic-text.dat file in /var/root/Library/Keyboard? You might be surprised at the contents. All your personal words that don't show up in the default dictionary get stored in this file. If you're using a business iPhone, you may want to especially monitor this file. It's not a keylogger but there's a lot of personal data that ends up there."

Packet Storm just posted four iPhone and/or iPod Touch exploits, the last of which can do a simple DoS by killing your battery.

When you rely on breaking the security of your device to do "cool" things with it, you get what you deserve. i'd like the phone to be open now and be able to write apps for it, but I'm not desperate enough to hack it and expose new vulnerabilities to the world.

Hopefully the next firmware will be out soon with fixes and some new features.

You probably know that iTunes 7.4.1 kills the simple ringtones hack for the iPhone. You may also know that Apple finally added that ringtone-creation functionality today. If you didn't bother to upgrade (I didn't since it was obvious why the update was released) then you'll be glad to know that you can still purchase/make ringtones using iTunes 7.4.

Now, the only question left would be *why* you want to make/use ringtones in the first place.

Found some time to optimize rudis dot net for the iPhone. I created a custom iPhone.css for Drupal's itheme that gets rid of everything but the content div (no search, navigation, background image[s] or sidebar). I'd prefer it if those bytes were never sent to the client, but hiding them works well. (I may re-add search once I can figure out a pleasant way to display the box)

The actual "code" is after the jump. It requires two additional lines in the itheme page.tpl.php:

<meta name="viewport" content="width = 545" />
<link media="only screen and (max-device-width: 480px)"
      href="/themes/itheme/iPhone.css"
      type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" />

Yesterday, I received my AT&T bill (just as poorly designed as the ones from Verizon Wireless) and noticed it was way too high. After some inspection, it was blatantly obvious they charged me an activation fee *again* for the two iPhones we purchased.

It took 30 minutes talking to a customer support rep - and eventually threatening legal action - to get it straightened out. Ultimately, they removed the charges.

So, keep an eye on those bills, especially if you decide to enroll in auto-bill pay with them.

A couple more things:

• Chat client. The need Jabber & AIM connectivity @ least. If only on wi-fi.
• Full Bluetooth headset support. I paired my Motorola HT820 stereo headset with the iPhone and could use it for phone conversations, but not for music. Just plain dumb. No good reason not to support this.

I also wasn't thrilled that my car charger/dock that also has a line-out connector doesn't work with the iPhone (the device said so via a nicely formatted popup). It said it was charging it, but the phone got extremely warm, so I won't be plugging it in there again.

I also had to turn the phone on-and-off again today (day 3 of ownership) since the response from the touchscreen was almost nonexistent.

I'll keep documenting issues/requests. It was good to see that there may be Flash support coming soon.

Two additions to theprevious post:

• Streaming radio. While they claim to have support for streaming media, it's only through certain protocols and formats. Like the Apple TV, I still cannot play iTunes-listed or manual-playlist-generated streaming radio links through the iPod portion of the iPhone. Trying to play the stream from WHYY via Safari gave me an error message as well. I don't think folks would mind if this were limited to wi-fi only, especially given the slow EDGE speeds.
• Blogging client. While relying on internet access and site forms for blogging is not unreasonable, a local client would be much more useful (i.e. think ecto on the iPhone).