Technology Speed Track

I just got the new (to me) old late-2007 model of Macbook Pro. Here are some small things I like about Apple’s hardware… briefly

• Keyboard: automatically adjust back-lit (it doesn’t matter much to me since I am a 10-finger typer )
• Monitor: automatically adjust brightness as ambient light changes
• Trackpad: multi-touch, and gestures (even though Synaptics does have this technology, somehow they disable this feature (???) )
• Battery: nice compromise between powerful and mobile (lasts up to 7 hours), indicators in front (with new model), able to be swapped to another when laptop in sleep
• AC adapter: magnetic-safe, nice design to pack up wires
• Heat air vent: hidden in the back (with my late-2007 model)
• Sensors: ease to monitor all the values (iStat)
• Speakers: loud enough, and louder with software amplifier (mPlayer, VLC)
• Body: aluminum case, unibody (late 2008)
• Remote: IR remote for media, alarm (nice feature with discontinued iAlarm software)
• Nice close/open lid mechanism
• Nice Apple logo in the back of monitor with light
• Nice slot-loading DVD/CD drive

Here are what I don’t like or need to get used to:

• Keyboard: lack of insert key (I used it a lot to paste text in Terminal in Linux), combined keys (page up, page down, home, end), less sensitive (even though it’s very soft-pressed), small arrow keys
• Less of USB ports (might be essential to some people, i don’t need that much)
• Does not have nice touch-sensitive buttons (I like these buttons from other laptops’ manufactures)
• Mini DisplayPort (in new models): free, but less popular than HDMI interface, need adapter

• Flash 10 beta will come in October at Adobe MAX 2009 for Google’s Android, Nokia’s Symbian, Windows Mobile, Palm WebOs and companies including ARM, Nvidia, Broadcom, Intel, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm are optimizing Flash Player for their proccessors and platforms. There is no information about flash support for Apple’s iPhone Os and RIM’s Blackberry.

• Nokia Ovi Suite 2.0 beta is released today.

I’m having 3G iPhone 8GB v2.2.1 (5H11) with 02.30.03 firmware, or baseband, and I’m using a Toshintosh v10.5.7, which is what I call for a Toshiba laptop running a Hackintosh. This is a little advanced instruction how-to:

1. Require iTunes 8.1.1 (not latest 8.2), or uninstall and downgrade here
2. iTunes > restore iPhone to original 2.2 firmware, download here
3. PwnageTool > customize your own firmware 2.2 with Cydia and at least 700MB root partition.
4. Terminal > $ mkdir ~/Library/iTunes/Device\ Support > if that directory is already existed, remove any file in it
5. (PwnageTool) > choose NO when prompted and continue in iTunes
6. iTunes > restore customized firmware
7. Cydia > Section > System > install Fuzzyband Downgrader
8. iPhone Home > Fuzzyband Downgrader > if using Bootloader 05.08, downgrade baseband to 02.28; otherwise if 05.09 or later, you are out of luck right now and skip the rest
9. Cydia > Manage > Sources > Add source: http://apt9.yellowsn0w.com/
10. (Source) > apt9.yellowsn0w.com > install yellowsn0w
11. iPhone Home > power off and power on
12. iPhone should be unlock now. Enjoy!!!

Here are my result and some troubleshoots:

• My iPhone’s bootloader is 05.09 and I’m still waiting for next release.
• Do not download firmwares using Safari (Mac). It will extract them into folders.
• If you get error 1600 from iTunes, redo everything from beginning.
• If you get error 1013 from iTunes when restoring original firmware, it’s ok.

The new iTunes 8.2 will add support to new iPhone Os 3.0 but also kill Jailbreak and connection to iPhone via SSH. Apple changed some protocols in MobileDevice framework and implemented some security checks on the device hardware/software (Security Epoch, Chip Id, Security Domain, Production Mode, Board Id, BB Chip Id)

1. Quit iTunes and iTunesHelper from Activity Monitor

2. Launch Terminal and type-in or copy-and-paste it exactly 


sudo rm -rf /Applications/iTunes.app /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DeviceLink.framework /System/Library/Extensions/AppleMobileDevice.kext /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iTunesAccess.framework /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreFP.framework /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MobileDevice.framework

3. Type your admin password when prompted.
4. Download iTunes 8.1.1
5. Install iTunes 8.1.1 and replace iTunes Library file in username/Music/iTunes with your latest backup iTunes Library folder