Wright This Way

Postfix and iPhones

My wife received an iPhone for Christmas this year, and she's been having fun playing with her new toy. She was very excited to find out that she could check her mail from the phone, and as I had never bothered to set up mail on mine, I took a few minutes to set her up. But, this simple exercise took a bit longer than I expected, since my mail server here wasn't set up for this just yet.

I have both POP and IMAP configured, but haven't tested IMAP extensively, and have only used it via the webmail apps I run, and the iPhone was trying to talk on ports that I hadn't set up yet.

The first order of business was to allow mail to be received on port 587, this is done by uncommenting the line starting with #submission in the postfix master.cf file. The submission port is a standard designation for port 587. If you would like to have postfix be able to receive mail on other ports, simply copy/paste that line, and change the word 'submission' to the desired port number, restart postfix, and postfix will now be listening on this new port. This may be handy for getting around certain networks that block the standard mail ports and want you to use their mail gateway. Having an alternate port you can send on may be handy to have in those rare occasions.

The next trick was editing the account setup on the iPhone. After entering all of the account info, the initial connection failed. I began tweaking settings on the mail server, but couldn't easily get back to change my wife's account setup on the phone. I found that by going to the phone's Settings, then Mail, I could select the account, and at the bottom of this screen was an Advanced option, that let me tweak all of the settings.

Despite declining to use SSL encryption, this option was still selected for both incoming and outgoing, very simple to turn off. This screen also lets the default ports be overridden, again, useful to get around certain network blocks.

Once I had tweaked the necessary settings on the iPhone, I had her mail running just fine. Thank goodness for unlimited data plans...

Otterbox Defender Review

Earlier this week, I received the Otterbox Defender iPhone case, a water resistant hard shell case with an outer silicone skin. I've taken my time checking this one out, read on for the pros and cons.

The polycarbonate shell has three catches that can be released with a small screwdriver, the iPhone pops in, then the case snaps shut around it. This shell (available in either a stylish yellow, or basic black) gets wrapped in a silicone skin, which then slides into the included holster.

I've not really been a fan of hard cases in the past, but having the flexible outer skin on this one gives it a great feeling, solid, yet slightly giving to the touch. My phone felt better in my hand than if I were holding it without any case at all.

The hard shell protects the phone very well, and the silicone skin has snap openings for the headphone and dock connections, keeping dust and moisture out of those sensitive areas. The volume buttons, power button, and home button are also skinned over, providing barriers for these openings as well. The camera lens is not covered, nor is the Apple logo on the back, nicely sized circular openings in the case allow these to show through.

For those of you paying attention, note that I made no mention of the side switch to enable vibrate mode, turning off the internal speaker. This switch is unfortunately completely covered by the hard shell case. Word from the manufacturer is that because of the size of that switch (and it is a small one!), even had there been an opening for it, it would have been impossible to activate by hand. The workaround for this is simply to use the volume controls to lower the volume to its lowest level. Note that this will not completely silence the phone, but even in a quiet room, the minimum volume can barely be heard.

The holster is likewise a very nice piece, the phone slides in easily, and can be removed very quickly as well. That is, as long as you slide the phone in with the screen facing inwards. I'm used to having my screen face outward, and didn't realize that it wasn't supposed to work that way.

If you insist on having the screen face outward, here's what you will face. If you slide the phone in bottom first, the home button may trigger as it slides into the case. Minor annoyance, the phone will go back to standby in a few moments. Sliding the phone in top first, through, is a different story.

The hard shell has a notch on either side, that will mate with ridges inside the holster, giving a very solid fit. If the case goes in top first, these parts don't line up, and the phone tends to stick in the holster. This makes it slightly difficult to remove, but not terribly bad. The more annoying thing is that the volume up/down buttons will be triggered as the phone slides into the case. If the phone is in standby, this isn't an issue, but if the phone is still active, you will note the volume level will jitter, as the up/down buttons fight for control. You may also note that the screen may blank, which the phone will do if both buttons are held down long enough (no idea why).

As much as I had been used to having my phone facing outwards so that I could simply glance at the display to see if I needed to take the call, having it facing inwards hasn't been that bad, and since it slides out so easily, I've adapted rather well to this way of doing things.

Those of you with a Dremel that really want your phone to go in facing out can probably grind down the case just slightly to avoid the issues mentioned above. I do have a Dremel, and I love hacking things (regular readers will know this), but at this point I'm not going to mess with a good thing.

The hard shell of the case includes a built in screen protector, a nice feature. The protector doesn't interfere with normal operations of the phone, finger taps and slides work just fine. But since the protector is part of the shell and not actually affixed to the display, there is a very tiny gap, and this does slow the response slightly. I have a tetris-type game installed, and have found that I can't tap quite as quickly through the screen protector. But for normal use, as I said, this isn't an issue.

The Speck iPhone case I reviewed recently had a rather disappointing clip on its holster, very loose. The clip on the Otterbox case is very solid, and not prone to opening up when it isn't supposed to, it has a very tight spring and holds where it is supposed to. My only comment on the design is that the clip's hinge is too close to the edge, making it slightly difficult to release, having a bit more room to press down on the hinge would have been nice, but it still isn't that bad.

I will say this, in the week I've been using this case, I have not once had the phone slip out of the holster. This combination is very good at what it is designed for, it will protect your phone and keep it secure. It feels great, and it looks sharp too.

If you need a case with a holster, then this is a fantastic one to try out. If you're just looking for a nice hard shell case without a holster, then this is still a fantastic one to try out. The case works great without the holster, slip it into a pocket, pouch, or purse, whatever you've got. Use it with the holster and clip it to your pocket, belt, etc. Either way, this unit works great.

Otterbox Defender case received

Good news, the case from OtterBox has arrived, and I've swapped out the Speck case for this one, and will be giving it a whirl to see how it stands up. Watch for a review posting later this week.

Otterbox Defender case for iPhone

Just a quick head's up that the Otterbox Defender case for iPhone will be shipping soon, I should be having a model for review fairly soon, and will post the details of this as soon as I'm able. Until then, check out their product site for more info.

Posting from my iPhone

I finally took a look at the site from my iPhone, I was surprised (oddly enough) at how good it looked, considering how long ago I did the original layout, menus, and such. I even thought that it would be fun to post an entry from my phone while I was at it...

The touch keyboard works well, but I'd hate to have to type more than a few paragraphs. I am able to do some two fingered typing, though, so maybe with time this will be easier. But a bluetooth keyboard would be nice...

Speck update

Word is that Speck might be shipping a new holster for their iPhone case that I had reviewed recently, if this is true, I should have the revised version in a few weeks, and will post more on this as I get it.

iPhone hacking, first steps

Since before the iPhone first shipped, folks have been eagerly waiting to get one in their hot little hands, and break it. To tear it apart, find out what makes it tick, and make it better. I'm sure that many of you have seen the articles here and there about folks installing new applications onto the phone, a Terminal, then later games like Tetris and Tic-Tac-Toe, and now an actual Nintendo emulator and a version of DOOM. This is where things are now starting to get interesting...

Compiling applications and installing them on the iPhone is not for the faint of heart, but thanks to the hard work of many folks, it is now getting easier for lesser folks to get in on the fun. iPhone Central recently published an article called The iPhone Hacking Kit, step by step, and it is a great guide for those wanting to get in on the action. Even with this guide, I still had a few issues, though, but I will walk you through them.

First, I can't say enough good things about the developers who got this all working, and are still working to make things better. And the MacWorld folks did a great job at compiling information from several sources and bundling up a download that's easy to get and easy to use. The issues I had following the directions were minor, but had unexpected consequences. Please take a moment to review their article, and then my comments below.

My first problem was with the setafc command, part of the iphuc software, which is used to set the AFC (Apple File Connection) being used to talk to the phone. Normally, the AFC is restricted to only letting iTunes sync its data to the phone, and only a limited number of directories can be accessed. After jailbreaking the phone, the setafc command listed in the article opens up the phone so that all directories can be accessed.

Anyway, apparently you need to make sure that the values returned eventually get to zero for each parameter returned, even if you get no error message. Repeat the command a few times, exit iphuc and then Terminal, and try again, restart the phone if you have to. It is important to get these values to zero. My first time through, I thought I had everything done right, but ended up stuck in a mode where I couldn't get to the full file structure, and ended up restoring the phone's software. I think that if I'd worked it a bit more, I'd have gotten it, but it was late and I just wanted to get back to a fresh starting point.

The next trick, when you get to doing the putfile commands, you do need to specify the full destination path and filename at the end. So, when copying files to /System/Library/LaunchDaemons, for example, make sure that you add the filename at the end that you're putting there.

I ended up using Stickies to copy/paste a command to get the structure, then duplicated this a few times and copied/pasted in the file/path names to make sure they were all right.

Later in the article, you do some scp commands to transfer files to the phone. This is not a command you enter while in iphuc, or while ssh'd to the phone. Open a new terminal window, and enter those commands here.

With those tips, you should be able to get through this easily, and you'll be well on your way to overloading your iPhone with fun new things to do.

Speck iPhone ToughSkin

I recently picked up a Speck ToughSkin case for my iPhone, there are a growing number of cases available now, and I just couldn't stand having the phone in my pocket one more day...

A trip to the local Apple store only turned up a few varieties, and after scouring a number of sites for information, decided to order the ToughSkin.

The case itself looks great, from the pictures and information I could find, the case seemed like it was made of a fairly hard rubber or plastic material, and I expected it to be fairly rigid. Actually, it's a fairly flexible rubber, but is thick enough to provide ample cushioning which, it turns out, is a good thing.

The holster for the phone is nice, overall, and has a clip that can be locked in place to act as a stand, so that the phone can stand on a desk in either landscape or portrait mode, so you can surf or watch a movie easily. In fact, the clip is the best, and worst, feature of the case...

What I do not like about the clip is its total lack of clippiness. The amount of tension keeping the clip closed is negligible, the lightest touch can open the clip, which means that the simple act of bumping the phone can cause the clip to open, and in some cases cause the phone to drop to the floor. In the week that I've been wearing this, my phone, clip holster and all, have dropped to the floor twice. But, thanks to the nice rubber enclosure, has survived nicely.

My phone also dropped a third time when it became separated from the holster. This was likely partly my own fault, for not having the phone pressed into the holster properly. There are two tabs on either side of the phone case that fit into openings on either side of the holster, if you aren't careful, and do not have both of these firmly seated, the phone can pop out rather easily.

If you have no interest in a holster, this is definitely a nice case, it is available in both black and clear, I bought the black one and I think it looks very sharp. And as long as you can be careful, the holster isn't that bad, but as I'm always on the go, this may not be the optimal holster for my needs.

iPhone hacking, fun!

OK, I've got a few entries that I hope to bang out later tonight, I've been having a lot of fun/frustration tweaking my iPhone, and after finally having some successes today, wanted to get some of it down to hopefully help others.

Also a review of the Speck ToughSkin case for iPhone.

Ringtone length

While working on creating some new ringtones for my iPhone, I realized from looking at ringtones for other phones that they varied wildly in length, music could be 30 seconds or more, and short clips might be only a few seconds. From past experience, I knew that my phone would only ring about 4 times before going to voicemail, and that this wasn't 30 seconds, so, how long should I make my ringtones for maximum effect?

After some digging online, it seems that the phone carrier controls how long your phone rings before going to voicemail, and that this option can be changed through some cryptic codes.

Query: *#61#[SEND]
Set: **61*destination*11*nn#[SEND]
Cancel: ##61#[SEND]

Doing the Query above, I found that my delay was currently set to 20 seconds before going to voicemail. This delay can be set to a number from 5-30, in 5 second increments.

The destination above is the number your phone uses get to your local voicemail system, it will be +1, followed by your area code, followed by the 7 digit local voicemail number.

What exactly the *11 does, I have no idea, and some guides have this parameter omitted, so you can try it either way.

To cancel forwarding completely (no more calls going to voicemail, use the Cancel command above.

So, armed with this info, you should now be able to create your own ringtones of an appropriate length, and set your delay to match your ringtones a bit more closely.

Custom iPhone ringtones

The folks over at www.hacktheiphone.com have a great link to info on adding custom ringtones to your iPhone via a GUI interface. Pretty sweet, while we wait for iTunes to gain this feature... Check it out.