The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

At times, iPhone developers might like to test out applications without going through the formality (or challenges) of ad hoc distribution. Ad hoc distribution was introduced by Apple to allow software testing on up to 100 registered devices. It is, admittedly, a bit of a pain.

Developers must collect device information (the "UDID", aka their unique device identifiers), register that device at the iPhone developer portal, create an special provisioning certificate, add a special entitlement, and build an ad-hoc only version of their software to distribute along with that certificate.

If all that seems like a hassle, well, yes it is. It is, however, the proper, authorized, and recommended way to distribute pre-release software, whether for testing or reviews. But there is another way.

If you know for sure that your target audience is another developer, the process becomes way easier. You can simply compile a normal development build of your application and send a copy of that build to another developer.

That's because each registered developer has the ability to sign applications. Although the app was built to work with just the in-house devices you've registered for development, another developer can re-sign that application using the simple command-line script shown here.

#! /bin/bash 
export CODESIGN_ALLOCATE=/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform\
/Developer/usr/bin/codesign_allocate
 
codesign -f -s "iPhone Developer" $1.app

This script uses Xcode's codesign utility to sign the already compiled version of the application. Once applied, you can then install the application through Xcode.

So is this a general distribution solution? No. And thank heavens for that; free trading of app binaries would rapidly lead to piracy. This approach allows developer-to-developer testing and collaboration only. The development signing is limited to the units you have personally registered.

If you want to try this out, follow the link at the start of this post. It leads to a testing folder I keep around and occasionally stock with software that I need tested. It also includes a copy of the script, which you must make executable (chmod 755 signit).

WWDC isn't all about iPhone apps. Long before the iPhone was a twinkle in Steve's eye, WWDC was all about developing for the Macintosh. I had a chance to sit down with the guys behind QuicKeys, a venerable Mac app that will save you a lot of time on repetitive typing tasks. I got a look at the beta, but the full version is now available for $59.95 ($29.95 if you are upgrading from version 3).

For example, if you are constantly typing your email signature, QuicKeys can auto-complete the typing when you type "szm" or any other character combo you like (in a similar fashion to TextExpander). QuicKeys can also create keyboard shortcuts for darn near anything, and record actions for later use. That's really just the tip of the iceberg. QuicKeys has MIDI triggers, a powerful search tool, web actions, an online repository for shortcuts and tutorials, and the company is set to release a QuicKeys remote app for the iPhone/iPod touch (so yeah, you just can't escape that little platform).

Luckily, you can try QuicKeys yourself and get a feel for how powerful it truly is. There's a 30-day trial mode, but Startly (makers of QuicKeys) has a generous "unlimited" trial period, which extends the trial app indefinitely. I know I've often downloaded an app, installed it, then come back close to 30 days later to realize I can't dig into it within the timeout period. Give it a try and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. If you are a power user, this thing is a lifesaver. If you're a casual user, there's still benefit to typing less throughout the day.

For your early-afternoon entertainment, I have the story of Mike Giepert, who happened one day to spell something clever with the icons in his dock.

His website, in fact, has a whole raft of these sets, including those submitted by his readers, to spell everything from "vamp" to "agoraphobic."

What can you come up with? Feel free to take your own screenshots, add them to our TUAW Flickr Pool and leave a comment!

Caveat Emptor: This is for newbies only. If you've been around, you probably don't need this.

When I bought my last Verizon phone, it came with about three quarters of a pound of paper housed in three manuals allowing me to find just about anything through the index. Yeah, it was overkill -- but at least I knew where to go to learn about an option or feature.

When I opened my iPhone 3GS, I quickly searched for the documentation to show me how use this puppy. All I found was an accordion-pleated piece of paper, titled Finger Tips, telling me all the wonderful things my new iPhone could do... but it was awfully skimpy on covering just how to do anything at all.

On the last page of Finger Tips there were some links to get more information. Following the links would give you almost what you need. But I question how using a software-based paradigm of digital manual delivery relates to a hardware-based product like an iPhone 3GS.

Perhaps that's why an industry has sprung up to print instructional books. David Pogue's massive 'Missing Manual' series speaks to my point. If a good manual were to be included in a hardware product, 'Missing Manuals' would be superfluous.

Apple's manuals have been shrinking for many years; they have come a long way from that of the Apple ][+, in which Woz printed the entire ROM code of its 6502 processor.

The Apple way is to compactly package hardware. This seems way more elegant than being handed a big honking box. But adding half an inch to the height of the iPhone box, to accommodate a concise manual, wouldn't damage the minimalist look.

I don't feel quite right about having paid a goodly sum of money for the box and then having to download a 213-page manual using my own resources. My preference would be to have a manual the size of the iPhone 3GS right in the box, for immediate reference. With that, I could get started right away. After all, if you buy a new piece of technology, you don't want to be slowed down by needing to download and possibly print hundreds of pages along with reading a bunch of sites. You just want to push some buttons and play.

For those who have either lost the brochure or want some more information, see below for links where you can get it. Of course, you can always start with the "iPhone Help" section under the Help menu in iTunes.

The 213 page manual for the iPhone 3GS
Quickstart guides for various iPhone 3GS features
A video guided tour of major features of the iPhone 3GS

And here are some other resources to get you started:
Macworld's App Guide: Searchable by category
19 instructional books on how to manage your iPhone
Apptism - catalog and reviews of over 53,000 apps
Macworld's general listing of 3.0 features
TUAW's iPhone 101 series

I'm sure that many more resources are currently being written, but the links above are more than enough to get started.

I wonder how many agree with me that leaving out a decent manual is a poor idea, and how many of you consider this a non-event.

Last night Apple released a firmware update for Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n. Here are the fixes:

• Fixes some problems with extending and maintaining connectivity with extended networks
• Fixes an issue with clients that enable 802.11 "Power Save"
• Fixes connectivity issues with some third-party devices
• Fixes an issue when the base station is configured for PPPoE
• Fixes some Back To My Mac issues with connectivity and support for third-party routers

All of those sound like issues that could affect quite a few people -- especially those with (gasp!) "third-party" devices. I've certainly had issues with Back To My Mac using a Netgear router, so we'll see if this helps. In any event, firmware updates are recommended especially if you've had any of the above symptoms.

In this round of Ask TUAW we've got questions about connecting a MacBook to a plasma TV, using a Bluetooth headset with an iPod touch, backing up online, ripping DVDs to watch on an iPhone and more.

As always, your suggestions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X (we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!

Read more →

Late last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Steve Jobs had a liver transplant in April. As of this morning, however, we still hadn't received confirmation from either Apple or any of the hospitals at which the procedure might have been performed. That's changed. Earlier today, Methodist University Hospital in Memphis released a statement confirming the surgery, with Steve's permission:

"I am pleased to confirm today, with the patient's permission, that Steve Jobs received a liver transplant at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in partnership with the University of Tennessee in Memphis ... Our one-year patient and graft survival rates are among the best in the nation and were a dominant reason in Mr. Jobs's choice of transplant centers."

James D. Eason, M.D., Program Director at Methodist University Hospital's Transplant Institute, composed the statement and explained that Steve went through the typical transplant eligibility process; in order to receive a donor liver, he had to be the sickest person on the list when the matching organ became available.

This statement stands in contrast to the theories considered in today's New York Times piece about Steve's surgery, which noted that past preferential treatment for celebrities and wealthy patients has largely been ended but there are still ways in which someone with Jobs's resources could try to game the system. The Memphis transplant center has one of the shortest waiting periods in the US for liver patients.

Let us extend a "Well done" to the medical team and "Speedy recovery" to Steve.

Users of NewsGator's NetNewsWire iPhone news reader have been waiting with bated breath for the next iteration of the application, with the promise of the ability to mark news items unread and send articles to InstaPaper Instapaper, amongst other enhancements. As time has gone on, it became clear that Brent Simmons was working on other projects that are related to (but most decidedly not) the next iteration of NetNewsWire for the iPhone.

So what has been keeping him busy? As it turns out, NewsGator is rolling out an entire iPhone framework called TapLynx, which will allow its users to create content-rich topic-focused newsreader applications. The first such application, the All Things Digital iPhone app, was created by Simmons himself.

The goal of TapLynx is to offer users a framework that allows them to simply choose some images, set URLs for content feeds, and generate a media application for the iPhone without requiring any programming.

TapLynx is currently not even yet in beta, but you can sign up to get an alpha invitation on the TapLynx site.

By the way, for the NetNewsWire iPhone fans out there, it turns out that the next iteration of the app will be based on TapLynx, so even though it doesn't seem like there has been much recent movement, things are still progressing. We may even see the ability for NetNewsWire (both the Mac and iPhone versions) to synchronize with Google Reader accounts.

iTreadmill (App Store link) is a pedometer app for your iPhone or iPod touch. I spoke with the developer, who demoed the app for us at WWDC. It looks nice, appears to perform well, and features a respectable number of ways to customize and tune the readings. Pedometer apps may not save the world, but if you're looking for something much less expensive than the Nike+iPod device, this will do in a pinch. There's also a Lite version (App Store link) if you want to try it yourself.

A Miami television station aired a story completely shot on an iPhone, as they covered the launch of the iPhone 3GS. The video looks pretty good, and once it was shot it was uploaded to Final Cut Pro for editing. Although you can trim the beginning and end of clips on the iPhone itself, you really can't edit.

The story aired on WFOR's 5PM News. The reporter, Gio Benitez, also used the iPhone Voice Memo app to record his narration, so the piece really was a true iPhone production.

Here's a link to the WFOR web page and that contains a link to the video as it aired on the news. If you want to go directly to the video it is here.

Of course there is nothing new about video on a cell phone. It's been around for quite a few years, but with a faster processor giving the user a nominal 30 frames per second, decent video is now a reality.

Don't confuse the video from the iPhone with what a good consumer camera can do, and my Flip minoHD cam looks a bit better, but for capturing something on the fly, it's a nice thing to have.

One other note. If you upload the video to MobileMe or YouTube the phone will compress the video before you upload and it won't look nearly as nice when you get it right off the phone before that compression step.

Thanks to John in Indianpolis for the tip.