iPhone jargon, simply put. Refer to this if you're not sure what stuff means.
Jailbreaking
The process of allowing read write access to the filesystem of iPhone, allowing for installation of third party native apps like Installer, Cydia and SummerBoard. Tools used for jailbreaking include(d) XPwn, WinPwn, iLibertyX or iLiberty+, iPlus, iDemocracy 3 and ZiPhone.
Unlocking
The process of allowing your phone to be used on networks other than the official iPhone carrier. (AT&T, O2, Rogers, T-mobile, etc).
Bootloader
This is the software that runs on the
S-Gold chip that is responsible for booting up iPhone OS. This is what boots your phone into restore mode or DFU mode (explained further down) in the event of an emergency. Think of this as the foundation that your phone is built on. If you damage the bootloader, your phone
will not start. The bootloader version used to decide whether or not your phone was able to be software unlocked; early software exploited a bug in version 3.9 in order to unlock the phone, up until the release of the 4.6 bootloader in November, which blocked this exploit. Since this exploit was closed in 4.6, present day unlocking software downgrades the bootloader to 3.9 to make unlocking easier. iPhone dev team also released a 3.9 FakeBlank bootloader, a specially modified version of the original 3.9 that offers more potential for experimentation on the S-Gold CPU.
Baseband
This generic name for the chip and software that controls the radio functions of your iPhone (Phone, WiFi and Bluetooth and LocateMe). An iPhone baseband is what locks the phone to a single carrier. Baseband upgrades take place with virtually every firmware update, each update to the firmware fixes a bug or alters something, every update needs to be repatched by hackers in order to unlock the phone, obviously taking up time. This could be assumed as Apple's way to stem the flow of people who unlock the phone.
Problems with signal can be related to baseband
Baseband patching is relatively safe; if something goes wrong and the firmware gets corrupted, it can often be repaired by a simple flash of the chip (referred to as virginizing) which resets most settings and usually reverses any trouble caused.
Recovery Mode
This is the mode that you use when your phone is in desperate need of a restore. This is what you use in an "emergency" on when your phone doesn't want to start normally. To get into Recovery Mode, hold the power and home buttons for 20-30 seconds. Another version of Recovery Mode is
Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) Mode
DFU Mode
Like Recovery Mode, but it allows you to downgrade your current firmware to a lower version. To get into DFU Mode, plug ino your iPhone, Turn off your phone, hold Power and Home, and as the grey apple logo comes up, release the power button, but keep holding the home button and wait for iTunes to detect your phone in recovery mode.
Ramdisk and the role it plays in jalbreaking
The iPhone, like any computer system, has a special allocation of memory called RAM (Random Access Memory). This enables information to be stored in a temporary state for prompt use by the device's OS. RAM by default is not permanent. It retains information only for as long as power is supplied to it. During the jailbreak process, all methods use this temporary memory to perform required operations. Ramdisk in jailbreak-terms is where jailbreaking takes place. It can be manipulated using two concepts; the 1-Pass model, and the 2-Pass model.
The 1-Pass model works by allocating all operations and code needed to jailbreak your phone to the ramdisk, including Installer and other items.
This is the model that ZiPhone uses.
The 2-Pass model works differently to the 1 pass model; it uses the ramdisk, but not on the same scale as the 1-pass method: during 2-pass jailbreak, operations and payloads are added to the iPhone OS instead of the ramdisk, meaning less operations take place on the ramdisk and as a result, less memory is used up.
This is the method iLiberty uses.
In the diagrams above, the yellow represents memory used up on the ramdisk and jailbreak operations.
The more memory that is used on the ramdisk, the greater the risk of memory corruption.
2-Pass is the safer and more frequently used option due to this fact.
iPhone applications (apps)-Native and Web
Applications are simply computer programs designed to perform a certain task. iPhone applications can either be
Native or
Web based.
Any application that is described as "native" is one that is designed to run in the iPhone software environment.
Most if not
all applications that you get on Installer or Cydia are native applications. The opposite to Native applications are
Web apps.
Web apps are programs stored on web servers and accessed and run via the iPhone's Safari browser.
SSH (Secure Shell)
SSH, or Secure Shell is a network protocol used to allow secure remote data transfer between computers. SSH is one way of transferring files or commands to your iPhone, via WiFi. SSH sessions typically include-
An SSH client installed on the computer (Cyberduck for mac, or WinSCP for Windows), and the OpenSSH installed on your iPhone/iPod touch
Again, this is not complete, more will be added as time goes on.
Join Date: Sep 2007
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