Dan's space

iPhone or iPod Touch (iTouch) jailbreak!

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:00:30 Z

Last Friday, I had a sudden urging to jailbreak my iPod touch. I looked all over the internet on a simple blog on how to and where can I find the tools to do this, but to no avail. So I decided to write a blog entry all about how to Jailbreak an iPhone or iTouch, on a PC or a Mac, with simple instructions on how to restore it if you run into any problems.

Step 1) Download Jailbreaking software, I prefer iLiberty+ (http://ipluspwns.com/downloads/iliberty_mac/iLibertyX.dmg for macs, http://ipluspwns.com/downloads/iliberty_pc/iLibertySetup_1.2.0.65.exe.zip for PC's). Another program that you can use are ZiPhone (http://www.ziphone.org/).

Step 2) Restore your iPhone or iTouch in iTunes. Restore to firmware 1.1.4, which is currently the most recent. Yes this will delete all of your music, videos, pictures and what not on your phone/iPod, so be sure to have all of this backed up.

Step 3) Open Jailbreak program (iLiberty+ or ZiPhone) and check or uncheck options that you want or dont want. For an iPod touch, uncheck activate and unlock. For an iPhone, if you want to bypass iTunes activation, check activate and if you want to unlock your iPhone to use on other carriers that use GSM technology (AT&T and T-Mobile in the US), check unlock.

Step 4) Wait for the program to finish. Grab some food or a drink or something, but don't mess with your computer, its not too favorable to stop the process unexpectedly at this point.

Step 5) Once the program finishes, grab your iTouch or iPhone and check it out. Go to installer.app and install some applications. There are thousands out there, you are going to find a few that you like! For the iTouch, you must be on a WI-FI network to download the applications. For the iPhone, you must be on EDGE or WI-FI to download the applications. Have fun!

Restoring!- Do you not like what has happened to your iPhone or iPod touch? Go into iTunes and click restore. Thats it. Jailbreak GONE after you restore.

*Disclaimer*- I am NOT liable for any damages, fees or any events that you may incur from jailbreaking and/or unlocking your iPhone or iPod touch. Read up on the programs on their respective websites before attempting a jailbreak. After this, your iPod/iPhone will still work in iTunes like before.

Earth hour/day

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:47:56 Z

Maybe you knew, maybe you didn't, but yesterday was the day for earth hour. That meant that you were supposed to turn off lights and other electronics. Well, I didn't do that, but during earth hour I kept my 360, TV and stereo system off. Dang I feel good about myself!!!

Looking back on Spring Break

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:08:03 Z

This past week was spring break for me. Want to know what I did with my life this (very short) week? I did absolutely nothing productive. I sat around, used my computer, set up a couple of my new computers, watched TV and I jailbroke my iPod touch. Pretty uneventful eh?

Jarod's Law

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:26:09 Z

Jarod’s Law?

In 2005, a quite important piece of legislature was passed, mandating inspections and severely limiting the amount of chemicals a school can have. Not only does the origin of this tragic fatality have nothing to do with science of any nature, it really causes us as students to be able to learn less! One of the people who brought this law to the forefront at Sycamore High School was a Junior by the name of Nate Eckman.

“Well to those of you who don't know, Jarod's law is, it is a new law being passed in Ohio to "protect" students from apparently unknown dangers in the classroom. It was an effort spearheaded by the parents of a child named Jarod who was killed in an unfortunate accident involving a Lunch table.
While this is a very unfortunate accident, accidents do happen and it must be understood that everything in life is dangerous. It is all very good and nice that legislatures are attempting to look out for us, but this law has taken safety way too far; it has invaded High School science classrooms and is quickly on its way to halting learning in Ohio schools.

This law has outlawed many, many chemicals which are frequently used in classrooms. It has outlawed most everything which could be flammable, poisonous, or otherwise harmful to the students. Affected chemicals include, but are certainly not limited to, Sodium Fluoride (the main, active ingredient in toothpaste), tanic acid (AKA tea), and potassium (which, while flammable in water, is also found in large quantities in fruits such as bananas), Silver Nitrate (used in various experiments), and various indicators (used heavily in titration). There are many, many, many more restrictions, but these are ones I happen to know off the top of my head.

This is truly a travesty as now Chemistry and Biology classes are unable to do (or at least correctly do) many important labs. Especially for AP level classes, this will severely disrupt the learning process. In these classes, there is inherent danger, and students understand that entering the class and are warned of the safest ways to handle dangerous substances. Labs are necessary parts of taking these science classes, and questions about specific labs are even asked on the AP tests. It will be hard to effectively teach these classes without the specific chemicals to do the labs with. Ask most any chemistry teacher, and surely they will confirm this.

Safety is a wonderful thing, folks, but this law requires giving up large amounts of knowledge for small amounts of safety, and is simply an outrage! No offense to anyone involved with the law, but I hardly see how a 6-year-old being crushed by a table relates to high school chemistry labs. In two words, it doesn't. Perhaps a new law making for safer tables is necessary, but as it currently stands, Jarod's law is not. It is simply an unnecessary hindrance for educators in a vain attempt to make our schools "safer."

For all who are outraged about the implications of this law, and who suddenly find themselves unable to brush their teeth in school and wish to say something about it, this group is for you. Hopefully when we get enough support, we can actually start to see some action taken against this law in the form of petitions or some such action. we must stop this law before it ruins education not only in this state, but all throughout America.

Safety is an important goal, but we cannot let it interfere with schooling and education. We must take a stand against Jarod's Law!”

This is the description that Mr. Eckman posted on a Facebook group named Jarod’s Law? Whats that?

Multiple people have contributed to this group, adding a wealth of information on this subject. Following are a few links regarding Jarod’s Law and the implications it places on high school students and teachers.

Warning: PDF files!

http://www.odh.ohio.gov/rules/final/f3701-54.aspx
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/17310/jarods_law_should_be_established_in.html
http://www.epc.esu.k12.oh.us/Additional%20Information.htm

www.odh.ohio.gov/ASSETS/A081EB4DD95445A0B3EE20257DEA3328/FR54-08.pdf

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=126_HB_203

http://www.epa.state.oh.us/ocapp/p2/mercury_pbt/School%20Guide.pdf

thanks to Hilary Egan for the EPA link, Paolo Gabriel for the first 3 links and Nate Eckman for the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio Legislature websites.

New website!

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:32:25 Z

Earlier this week, I registered a Webpage, hosted for free by Microsoft. check it out, www.dtkeith.com