Mini vMac for iPhone

[zydeco]

I just deemed my port of Mini vMac to the iPhone worthy of releasing, so if anyone has a 2.x Jailbroken iPhone and wants to try it, you can post your opinions here.

To install it, add apt.namedfork.net/iphone to your Cydia repositories and it will show up.
You can also see the info page at http://namedfork.net/iphone/minivmac, it says where to place the ROM and Disk Images, and how to use the two finger gestures.

UPDATE: I added sound emulation and made it a bit faster, among other things. The sound can get a bit choppy, there's a switch to deactivate it in the settings. Also, it works in OS 2.2.

[superpantoufle]

Man, I just played Shufflepuck on my iPhone, I did it!
This is nothing but the HolyGrail, seriously. I love you! Thank you so much for that wonderful port!

Works great! A lot of clever ideas.
Can't think of a lot more to say right now, but I'll sure keep you updates with my thoughts as I play some more with it!

[Mac128]

I just deemed my port of Mini vMac to the iPhone worthy of releasing, so if anyone has a 2.x Jailbroken iPhone and wants to try it.

Assuming Apple's SDK Apps will not support Mini vMac? Have been hoping someone would look into this since Apple announced Apps.

[John8520]

Hmmm, this might be the final push I needed to re-cydia-ify my touch; after 2.1 came out I never bothered with doing it again.

Do you have any reports on battery life?

[zydeco]

Assuming Apple's SDK Apps will not support Mini vMac? Have been hoping someone would look into this since Apple announced Apps.

What do you mean by SDK Apps not supporting it?

Hmmm, this might be the final push I needed to re-cydia-ify my touch; after 2.1 came out I never bothered with doing it again.

Do you have any reports on battery life?

The battery life shouldn't be affected unless you install programs that run in the background, like Scrobbled or MxTube.
Also, 2.2 will be out soon and is predicted to be jailbreakable, I hope it doesn't break app compatibility too much.

Oh, and I made a video :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyS8lOBBk8I

[~Coxy]

I think he was asking whether it would be possible to build vMac using the official SDK, such that it could be used on non-jailbroken iPhones and release on the App Store.

[istar1018]

Yep, works great on my iPod Touch... pretty freakin' sweet!!

[Mac128]

I think he was asking whether it would be possible to build vMac using the official SDK, such that it could be used on non-jailbroken iPhones and release on the App Store.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was asking.

Actually, Apple would most likely NEVER allow Mini vMac to be posted on the App store anyway and it probably wouldn't do Mini vMac project any good to bring too much attention to it at Apple.

What I'm waiting for is a way around installing Apps on the iPhone outside of the App store, in much the same way there is software that allows ring-tones to be installed on the iPhone outside of iTunes.

What are the implications of Jailbreaking the iPhone these days ... ? I have so much trouble with mine as supported by Apple that I couldn't bear to deal with any more problems.

[slomacuser]

Mac128 great icon anyway I would use less glow and shadow and why platinum? is it platinum plus? is it too small to write Macintosh Plus on icon

I can't wait until Mac II emulator comes with colors

[zydeco]

It does not comply with the App Store agreement in several ways.

1. It uses private/undocumented frameworks (for drawing video, it's the only way to get decent speed)
2. It reads/writes out of the application sandbox (this could be changed by implementing a way to send/receive files within the app)
3. The icon isn't square (easily changeable)
4. It runs interpreted code (that's the purpose of an emulator)

And about installing unofficial apps without jailbreaking:
I don't think it can be done, since the iPhone only runs code signed with Apple's keys, and that is one of the things that jailbreaking patches.

[superpantoufle]

What I'm waiting for is a way around installing Apps on the iPhone outside of the App store, in much the same way there is software that allows ring-tones to be installed on the iPhone outside of iTunes.

I - sadly - don't think that will ever happen on a non-jailbroken iPhone…

What are the implications of Jailbreaking the iPhone these days ... ? I have so much trouble with mine as supported by Apple that I couldn't bear to deal with any more problems.

In my experience (iPhone 3G, jailbroken from a recent Intel Mac this summer), it's VERY straightforward, using the "official" Dev-Team tools. So easy I was nearly frustrated… :)

[gobabushka]

great job on the emulator!!! I've got a quick question. I made a 50mb disk image using hfv explorer, when i run it on minivmac on my windows laptop, it isnt locked, but when i run it on the ipod touch, it is. Any suggestions?

[zydeco]

great job on the emulator!!! I've got a quick question. I made a 50mb disk image using hfv explorer, when i run it on minivmac on my windows laptop, it isnt locked, but when i run it on the ipod touch, it is. Any suggestions?

If you copied it with SSH as root, you'll have to change the owner to "mobile" (and permissions to 644 if it still doesn't work)

[Mac128]

Mac128 great icon anyway I would use less glow and shadow and why platinum? is it platinum plus? is it too small to write Macintosh Plus on icon

Are you referring to my avatar or the Mini vMac icon?

My icon is of course the classic 128K and is PMS 423 beige.

The Mini vMac icon is both a Plus and platinum as Paul Pratt prefers the Plus icon given that the Mini vMac technically emulates a Plus. It also emulates a 128K & 512K, but that is a build option. The default option is a Plus. Also, platinum is the universal color for all Macs after 1986 and was the color the Plus was the longest. There was room to write Mac Plus, but at the scale it was reduced to, it was completely unintelligible and Paul preferred the cleaner version. As for light and shadow, it was designed to match the OS X icon style and ultimately signed off on by him. It still remains a build option and not default, since Paul still clings to the smallest possible files sizes which OS X graphics inflate unreasonably.

[CaryMG]

Oh, and I made a video > "Mini vMac" On An iPhone

I just downloaded your awesome video !

Most excellent work, Sir !


:b&w:

[slimac55]

Sounds good but as my iPod touch isn't jailbroken, I won't have much fun with it.

[Flash!]

I'm a little hesitant of jailbreaking my ipod touch (v2.1), maybe you can answer a few questions for me......?

Will I still be able to use App store with a jailbroken touch? Are there any "bad side effects" that occur? (will it affect any Apps I already downloaded?) To "un-jailbreak" the ipod is it just a case of zapping it with iTunes? And finally....are there any "must have" apps that I can only get with jailbreak? (is it really worth it???)

[superpantoufle]

Slightly off-topic… But for the sake of winning a future mini vMac user:

Will I still be able to use App store with a jailbroken touch?

Sure. You won't loose any functionality, only win a lot more!

Are there any "bad side effects" that occur? (will it affect any Apps I already downloaded?)

No.

To "un-jailbreak" the ipod is it just a case of zapping it with iTunes?

Yes.

And finally....are there any "must have" apps that I can only get with jailbreak? (is it really worth it???)

Well… mini vMac for example! A complete Mac Plus in your pocket, sure it's worth it!
I myself use only two others apps: Cycorder (video recording) and PDAnet (iPhone as modem to surf anywhere with the laptop).

Edit: usual disclaimer… I can't be held responible, etc, etc. It worked great for me, as I used the official QuickPwn utility from the iPhone Dev-Team, followed all of their instructions and backed up my data first!

[Flash!]

well that's good to know! thanks!

[heebiejeebies]

BLAST

I can take or leave most gadgets, but I NEED this. My life without it is meaningless. Curse you, Apple !

[Mac128]

To "un-jailbreak" the ipod is it just a case of zapping it with iTunes?

Yes.

One follow up question: I assume in the jail-broken state, iTunes will back it up and make archive copies as usual? An occasional system restore has been de rigueur since I bought mine to keep it bug free. If not, then I would assume any data accumulated during the jail-break would be lost.

[Mac128]

UPDATE: I added sound emulation and made it a bit faster, among other things. The sound can get a bit choppy, there's a switch to deactivate it in the settings. Also, it works in OS 2.2.

Just out of curiosity, the Compact Mac screen is 512x342 pixels at 72 ppi which interpolates to 480x321 on the iPhone screen, which is 480x320 at 160 ppi. However, your emulated screen scrolls more than one pixel row beyond both edges of the iPhone screen. Wondered what factors affect the emulation screen size? Clearly you are maintaining the 512x342 aspect ratio rather than scaling it down to fit completely on the iPhone screen (I don't really consider the single pixel row to be significant). Is this an option that can be built-into Mini vMac or the iPhone port?

[superpantoufle]

One follow up question: I assume in the jail-broken state, iTunes will back it up and make archive copies as usual? An occasional system restore has been de rigueur since I bought mine to keep it bug free. If not, then I would assume any data accumulated during the jail-break would be lost.

Not sure about that. Actually I never restored my iPhone, since it works pretty well. But on upgarades, the jailbroken suff is wiped out. Be sure to backup important stuff (mini vMac disk image and ROM file, anyone?) via ssh or other before upgrading.

[slomacuser]

Mac128 great icon anyway I would use less glow and shadow and why platinum? is it platinum plus? is it too small to write Macintosh Plus on icon

Are you referring to my avatar or the Mini vMac icon?

My icon is of course the classic 128K and is PMS 423 beige.

The Mini vMac icon is both a Plus and platinum as Paul Pratt prefers the Plus icon given that the Mini vMac technically emulates a Plus. It also emulates a 128K & 512K, but that is a build option. The default option is a Plus. Also, platinum is the universal color for all Macs after 1986 and was the color the Plus was the longest. There was room to write Mac Plus, but at the scale it was reduced to, it was completely unintelligible and Paul preferred the cleaner version. As for light and shadow, it was designed to match the OS X icon style and ultimately signed off on by him. It still remains a build option and not default, since Paul still clings to the smallest possible files sizes which OS X graphics inflate unreasonably.

thx, for explaining, anyway I think the perfect classic icon is what mactracker has http://www.mactracker.ca/

it fits perfect in Leopard or Tiger user interface guidlines, ... the mini vmacs custom icon would be good in OS X 10.0 to 10.2 ... just mine opninion

well about your avatar I would put thiner border lines and change the gradient on screen it doesn't feel natural ... and sorry for my interfering in your icon design I just think your great icons can look even better

[heebiejeebies]

Nice home screen theme: (shame not all the icons work!)

http://www.installerapps.com/wp-content ... 841ii9.png