Word is out: new versions of the iPhone SDK and firmware are available for download. Word about the details are still trickling in from developers. This is Apple's fifth beta release since the iPhone SDK was released in March. There's just under a week left until the end of the Apple Design Awards submission period. No word if iPhone developers who submitted under earlier firmware will be able to re-submit outside the 72 hour period that Apple allots for "re-dos".

Readers report that this is a smaller download (just over 1 GB) and details are trickling in through the comments.

Thank you everyone who sent this in!

Continue reading BREAKING: New iPhone SDK & Firmware released

I don't know if this is going to pan out or not, but TUAW reader Skaro (exterminate!) reports that he's been accepted into the iPhone developer program. Not a big deal until you realize that he lives in the UK and paid up his £59 fees.

If true, this is huge. Many important 3rd party Apple developers are located throughout the world. Are you an out-of-States developer who's gotten your acceptance email? Please let us know.

• iPhone Developer Showcase

  Highlights innovative and compelling new iPhone applications built using the Beta iPhone SDK. Entries in this category must be pre-release, feature complete versions which run within the iPhone simulator or on an iPhone or iPod touch. Apple reserves the right to award more than one winning entry in this category.

• Best iPhone Web Application

  Highlights web applications designed specifically for Safari on iPhone, which offers iPhone users innovative, compelling, valuable, and highly desirable capabilities.

• Best Mac OS X Leopard Application

  Highlights trendsetting, innovative, best-of-breed Mac OS X Leopard applications. Entries in this category must be release versions.

• Best New Mac OS X Leopard Game

  Highlights games introduced on Mac OS X Leopard after June 2007, which take full advantage of relevant Leopard technologies and offer the best entertainment value to all ages. Entries in this category must be release versions.

• Best Mac OS X Leopard User Experience

  Highlights excellence in design, aesthetics, ease of use, compelling and appropriate use of animation, and pervasive integration with built-in Mac OS X Leopard system services and sharing technologies. Entries in this category must be release versions.

• Best Mac OS X Leopard Graphics and Media Application

  Highlights best-of-breed Mac OS X Leopard graphics and media solutions providing unparalleled functionality, performance, innovation, and stunning visuals and/or audio. Entries in this category must be release versions.

• Best Mac OS X Leopard Student Product

Good news iPhone developer boys and girls. A brand new iPhone Beta SDK just went live. This is release #3 of the SDK for those of you who have been keeping count. No word yet as to what changes this new SDK brings but we're betting on two things: First, that it re-vitalizes all those PSOD iPhones and second that it will fix all those user 501 errors we've been hearing about from ticked-off developers.

The new release is reportedly just 1.4 GB--thinner than honking 2+GB initial first release.

Have you downloaded and installed the new SDK? Let us know what you've found. Drop us a note in the comments. Want anonymity? Our tipline is the best bet for super sekrit tips. Make sure you tell us to guard your identity.

What do you take when you mix mutant powers, the right to bear arms and a bad case of dysentery? Why, Rogue Amoeba of course! TUAW is delighted to host Paul Kafasis of Rogue Amoeba today as we chat about Apple and its developer program. Today we discuss how Apple makes third party development pure Heaven -- and pure Hell. Please join us in the chat, where we will be talking and taking questions from TUAW readers.

Note that if you want to disable the 'chirp' from the chat widget or turn off the autoscroll feature, those options are at the bottom of the chat window -- here's what they look like turned OFF:

Readers report that update 5A240d is now available on the Dev Portal

Reports are streaming into TUAW that official iPhone developers have been hit this morning by the Pink Screen of Expired Release. Their beta licenses for the current 1.2/2.0 firmware distribution have expired as of 12:01am April 8th. Both iPhones and iPod touches now display the pink-backgrounded "This device is expired. Please install a newer version of the OS" activation screen and will do so until Apple issues a firmware refresh.

You can easily downgrade your iPhone or iPod touch from the PSOD. Just restore your iPhone or touch to an earlier firmware release. You will not be able to use your unit for development until Apple updates the developer release but you should be able to make phone calls.

iPhone hacker Nicholas "Drudge" Penree reports that you can bypass 1.2/2.0 activation using the dev team's pwnage tool. He writes that he is aware of 1.2/2.0 iPhones that are still working today.

[Via iPhoneDevHelp]

Thanks everyone who sent this in.

Update: Straight from our blue & green super-sekrit source: "I got bricked as well. Called ADC and they told me there was a new SDK. They said it was still labeled as the old SDK but that if I hovered over the link would show the new one. Not sure how the SDK would fix it vs. a new firmware but I'm downloading it now." I personally can't see any updated SDK material. Perhaps its only available to those accepted into the dev program. Other readers report that they do not see any updates--in the dev program pages or the general iPhone dev center ones.

Update 2: Another blue and green birdie sent us this, which has apparently been posted since the developer program opened: "Important note: Once you install the pre-release iPhone OS on your device, such device may only be used for development and testing purposes until the final (GM) version of the iPhone OS is released. In addition, you will need to install new versions of the software from time to time throughout the beta period. Failure to install the most current version will, after a period of time, put your device in a de-activated state. Updating to the most current version will re-activate your device so that you may continue testing."

Update 3: Apparently the new (possibly 5A240d) firmware seed has only been released to Enterprise developers so far according to yet another blue & green birdie. This birdie tweets that the seed note is quite extensive and includes "unsettling" details. It looks like a lot of device hangs and system restores are in developer futures.

Rogue Amoeba. They're unicellular. They're Mac developers. They're armed. Please join us tomorrow morning at approximately 11:30 am ET as TUAW chats with Paul Kafasis of Rogue Amoeba and hopefully assorted colleagues. Our topic is: "How Apple Makes 3rd Party Development Pure Heaven. And Pure Hell."

As with last week's iPwned live chat, we'll be using CoverItLive's in-blog widget. You'll be able to participate directly from TUAW's front page. If you hear chimes during the chat, you should be able to turn off the sound within CoverItLive.

TUAW reader Scott writes that he's discovered how to grab screen shots from the iPhone or iPod touch running the new beta developer release. While attempting to reboot the phone, he noticed the "infamous" white flash I wrote about a few weeks ago. A little experimentation revealed the magic key combo was Power Button followed by Home Button. Unknowingly, he had shot about 5 of these due to several lockup-reboots.

We have no way to confirm this because none of us are running 1.2/2.0 but let us know if this magic key combo works for you.

TUAW has finally been able to confirm actual acceptances into the $99 iPhone developer program. This is what we have been able to learn:

The accepted developers were apparently among the first to apply. Rather than wait for the SDK to download, many of the developers applied as soon as they saw the application page.

The accepted developers previously received the rejection letter (aka what Mike beautifully calls the "limbogram"). While the acceptance letter arrived this morning, developers reportedly received their initial rejections as early as the first Friday after applying.

The program is firewalled. Unless you are authorized, you will not get access to Apple's documentation and support site.

Five iPhone limit. For anyone hoping to find a back door way to distribute software, tough luck. You may develop for up to five iPhones and that's it. So no distribution sans Apple.

Test devices are iBricks -- so to speak. Adding the pre-release iPhone OS to your iPhone seems to kill actual phone functionality. Update: We have unconfirmed reports that some developer phones continue to work as expected; as soon as we can clarify this we will.

TUAW congratulates the lucky developers who got into the program. If you got your happy note this morning and have more to add, let us know in the comments or use our tip line for confidentiality. Update: Unless you submit a working email address with your tip, we cannot get back to you. (Hint hint, T.W.)

"I'm busy washing my hair Saturday night. Why don't we get together some other time?"

"I'm concentrating on my career -- but let's be friends."

"Thank you for your letter. We have no openings at this time but we'll keep your resume on file in case a position opens up."

Sometimes it doesn't have to come right out and say it to, well, say it. We all know a rejection letter when we see one. Planet-iPhone claims to have the insider scoop on those developer program rejections, but with all due respect and courtesy my bogus-detector is pinging softly.

Their unnamed "executive" says that 10 developers were selected. (*ping*) That's awfully specific and if true might refer to developers who presented at launch. But 10? Apple never planned to launch and pick "ten" extremely selected developers. The application form just doesn't have enough information to pick that way. 10 random guys? No. He says they were "extremely selective." (So: *ping* *ping* *ping*).

Purported Unnamed Executive also says the huge SDK response did not allow them to scale their registered developer perks to the applicant numbers and they're working on that now. No *ping*. This is reasonable and what has been called by many bloggers. If one of our tipsters is to be believed, the certificate program isn't even in place.

So did Apple accept anyone last week? TUAW remains dubious. (And so, apparently, are others.) Apple would have done better sending out "we're swamped" as the message rather than "we have an exclusive limited beta -- and you're not part of it." Foot in mouth? Certainly. Secret acceptances? Probably not.

Thanks Kevin Sullivan

Readers report that Apple has sent out a new mailing. Full text after the jump.

Continue reading iPhone Developer Program Rejections: Take 2

SubEthaEdit, the high-power collaborative code editor from The Coding Monkeys, has been bumped to version 3.1 with new features to make collaboration easier than ever.

SubEthaEdit has always worked well for LAN collaboration, but many users found the manual setup for sharing over the internet to be cumbersome. The Coding Monkeys answered the call with a couple of new ideas. First, automatic port forwarding handles establishing your channel outside of your LAN transparently, supporting all routers with UPnP or NAT-PMP capabilities. Second, iChat invites allow users to drag iChat buddies onto a document to automatically invite them to share in your coding ecstasy. This feature is Leopard-only, although I'm unsure if that applies to the invitee as well.

The iChat invites go a step further with "Friendcasting." You can view and connect with your friend's friends with the click of a button in the connection browser. You can disable this feature at any time.

If you're not familiar with SubEthaEdit, but happen to use Panic's Coda, then you're already familiar with the engine it runs on as it was licensed to Panic in 2007 for the web development package. If you're looking for a code editor and haven't tried it, it's definitely worth a shot, especially if you work in pairs or teams. TextMate and I have a monogamous relationship, but I'm allowed to look. Fair enough.

If you've applied for Apple's iPhone Developer program, check email for your rejection letter. The twitterati are reporting widespread disappointment and anger as thousands of iPhone developer hopefuls have received a "Thank you but no thank you" message in their inbox. The emails are arriving with the subject of iPhone Developer Program Enrollment Status.

Did you get accepted? Do you know anyone who did? Let us know in the comments. Some readers are reporting acceptance -- if you've been accepted please send us some more details -- but they appear to be confusing the iPhone online developer SDK download with the "iPhone developer program," which you can learn more about at Apple's site. What we are talking about here is the $99 signup for the developer program, which includes a signing certificate to allow applications to run on physical iPhones and not just in the Aspen simulator. Just because you have downloaded the Xcode SDK components does not make you an iPhone dev Jedi -- if you haven't paid your $99, or you haven't been invited to pay it, you have no lightsaber.

Continue reading iPhone developer rejection letter mass mailing