SIM Unlock iPhone 1G/2G with 2.1/2.2 firmware for Free using Quickpwn

I just successfully unlocked and jailbroken an original iPhone (2G or 1G as some call it, with the aluminum back) after having upgraded it to 2.2 firmware.

Using Quickpwn 2.2 for Windows to jailbreak and unlock the iPhone. The Mac OS X version doesn't seem to have the unlock option, and Quickpwn doesn't support running inside of VMWare/Parallels. Follow the on-screen instructions and make sure you select at least the Cydia and Unlock options. For more guidance, see these instructions.

After going into DFU mode, rebooting, and updating the bootloader, then another reboot. If you're lucky, you're done. Or you may encounter the error message "Different SIM Detected", which means the SIM unlock isn't completed yet and you need to do the following:

1. Open Cydia and scroll down to OpenSSH and install it.
   
2. Follow these instructions to delete the Lockdown folder on the iPhone, recreate the folder (mkdir lockdown), and scp the 3 files into the new Lockdown folder.
3. Reboot
   

Database / Sqlite on iPhone

Here's a tutorial discussing how to create and read a simple sqlite database on iPhone.

There are several ORM efforts to make it easier to easier to access the db without writing SQL. For example: Persistent Object

Beta Testing on the iPhone

The current supported method for beta testing iPhone apps is through Ad Hoc distribution. You need the Device ID of each iPhone that you want to test your app on, then sign the apps.

I had trouble getting the ad hoc distribution profile to show up under "Code Signing Provisioning Profile" in Xcode, until I tried the following:
"Apple's instructions have two steps reversed. The step that says "In the project window, select the Distribution Active Configuration from the overview popup and set the Active SDK to Device..." must be done FIRST, before you can choose your provisioning profile." (original thread)

Fixing iPhone Xcode (0xE8000001) Error

It took me several hours to figure out how to sign an app and deploy it to my iPhone. Apple's developer documentation is still stuck in the 2.0 beta firmware days (as of today).

What solved the problem for my "verifying application" error in Xcode was:

• In Xcodes project organizer expand the Resources section.
  
• Find the Info.plist file and double-click to open it.
  
• Enter your App ID into the Bundle identifier field. Do NOT include the 10-character random string Apple generated for you.
  

Travel time map

Travel time visualization from the Flickr office in San Francisco.
http://flipzagging.livejournal.com/465859.html

Django cron jobs

A script to set up Python environment properly to get to Django view/model/templates for cron jobs.

Unlocking iPhone and Reconfiguring Home Screen

If you need to unlock your iPhone, ZiPhone is a one-click solution that works on both Macs and Windows PCs. To modify files, including system files, on the iPhone, iFuntastic, works well. 

Updating X500 to WM6 in any Language

E-ten X500 is a light-weight GPS-enabled Pocket PC that comes with Windows Mobile 5 installed. They provide updates to WM6 but the download page limits you to downloading the language version that comes with your device.

Here are the direct links to the World-wide English WM6 and Traditional Chinese WM6 ROMs. Or you can try these custom ROMs.

To cross-flash your device to another language, say English (WWE) to Chinese (CHT), you'll need to flash the ROM using the microSD card technique instead of using the PC-based USB approach. You'll also need to patch the ROM (temp.bin) file at offset 0x38 with the bytes: 0A 3D 72 F4 to disable the device check. You may be able to use the technique in this thread if you're not comfortable with patching the binary file.

Saving money when starting a company

17 tips:

http://www.calacanis.com/2008/03/07/how-to-save-money-running-a-startup-17-really-good-tips/

Ajax wait icon

http://ajaxload.info/ generates custom wait icons in a variety of form, color, and shapes.