Update 2009/07/06:
Looks like the unresponsive “slide to unlock” issue may be due to the unlock instead of jailbreak. After Mac OS X version of purplera1n was released, i did the jailbreak again but stopped short of performing the unlock with ultrasn0w. That problem did not reoccur.

Two days ago, iPhone 3GS was jailbroken by geohot, who was the first known person to unlock the original iPhone two years ago. The jailbreak tool purplera1n was initially released on the Windows platform only. The tool was simple enough to use: open iTunes 8.2, connect iPhone to Windows-based computer, run purplera1n, and while in the purplera1n tool, click on “make it ra1n”. After a few reboots, iPhone is jailbroken. As part of the process, a iPhone app called freeze is installed. Running “freeze” will install Cydia, which can then be used to install ultrasn0w to unlock the iPhone.

I managed to jailbreak and unlock my 32-GB iPhone 3GS using the method described above. Initially, i had problem with WiFi not working. I realized that it may be due to the bossprefs tool that i had installed. Upon uninstalling bossprefs, my iPhone was able to regain its WiFi functionality. The next problem i found, which can be attributed to either the jailbreak or the unlock, or both, was the unresponsive “slide to unlock” button. At times, i would say almost all the time, it would take more than 3 or 4 seconds before the i could slide to unlock my iPhone. It became quite irritating that i abandoned the jailbreak and unlock and restored the 3.0 firmware on my iPhone.

Before we got Mango, our breeder told us that Shiba Inu as a breed in general does not like water. Mango’s behavior around water since we took him home in July 08 certainly matches this trait. Specifically, Mango does not like to walk into puddle of water. If we come across puddles of water during our walk, he would always walk around them. He has absolutely no problem with rain, as much as we get them here during the wetter months between mid Fall and late Spring. One of my wishes for Mango is for him to be able to swim fearlessly. We have met owners whose Shibas love to be in water so we know it is probably a matter of getting Mango used to it.

The past few weeks, we have been taking Mango for his evening walk along Myrtle Edwards Park. Whenever we approach the small beach closest to the Sculpture park, Mango would always force us to make a detour to the beach area. When i took him a little closer to the water, he would literally jump when a wave hit the beach. No amount of encouragement or treat would entice him to be in the water.

Yesterday evening, as usual, i took him for a walk on the same route. Like the previous few days, we noticed several dogs swimming in open water while fetching items tossed by their owners. One of the dogs happened to be a French Bulldog and she was being trained to get used to being in the water. The owner took her shoes off, carried the dog and then dropped her in chest-deep (French Bulldog-wise) water. I thought this was a pretty good idea.

So i took Mango to a more isolated rocky beach further north. After getting into the water myself, i started encouraging Mango to follow suit. After a while, Mango finally took the courage to gingerly walk into knee-deep water! I was exhilarated. Mango was not jumpy toward the oncoming waves. When he was in the water, he did not tuck his tail between his legs, which meant he was not too nervous. I am so proud of him!

Here’s a video of Mango in the water.

You cannot open the application
“MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update”
because it is not supported on this
architecture.

So i posted a message on Apple’s discussion forum and a day later, a fellow discussion forum user karmapolice found the solution.

Apparently, when Apple created the firmware update, it did not take the file system format into consideration. My Mac OS X startup disk was formatted as case-sensitive journaled file system. According to karmapolice, launchd was trying to run ‘MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update’ while actual file is named ‘MacBook AIR SMC Firmware Update’. To fix this, right click on MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update (in Applications/Utilities) and select “Show Package Contents”. Go to “Contents” and then “MacOS”. Rename the file in the folder from ‘MacBook AIR SMC Firmware Update’ to ‘MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update’. After renaming it, you should be able to launch the firmware update.

MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update info screen.

MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update success.

1. Go to “Settings” and select “Mail, Contact, Calendar”. On the “Mail, Contact, Calendar” menu, select “Add Account…”.
   
2. On the “Add Account….” screen, select “Other”.
   

   iPhone 3.0: Add Account...

   
3. On “Other” screen, choose “Add CalDAV Account”.
   
4. Enter “google.com” for Server. It will be automatically changed to “www.google.com” as you go to the next field. For User Name, enter your Google Mail account username, without “@gmail.com”. As you go to the next field, “@gmail.com” will be padded to the username. If you are setting this up for an account on Google Apps, enter the full email address name, ie, name@domain. When you are done entering the password, click on “Next”.
   
5. Google Calendar CalDAV account information being validated:
   
6. Once your Google Calendar CalDAV account is validated, it will show up in Calendar.
   

1. Ohhhhh…..he’s so cute!
2. He looks like a fox.
3. What kind of dog is he?
4. Is he a Basenji or is he a Husky?
5. Shiba Inu!!!

Update 6/18/2009 21:13:

Finally, after not having any update for more than 24 hours, the status finally flipped from Exception to In Transit.

Update 6/17/2009 19:43:

The delivery status changed again in the matter of a few hours. This time, not for the better.

Update 6/17/2009 15:20:

The iPhone 3G S delivery saga continues. Looks like the “custom hold”, as described by a UPS customer rep, is no longer there and my iPhone 3G S is again showing a delivery date of 6/18, instead of the delivery date of 6/19 by 1030 as told by the same UPS customer rep.

Update 6/16/2009 23:19:

WTF!!! I, as in THE RECEIVER, never requested a hold. I want my iPhone 3G S now! Looks like Apple is making sure that everyone, including those that pre-ordered for delivery, will not get their iPhones until 6/19. That means i have to go to work on Friday instead of working from home. This sucks!

Update 6/16/2009 10:17:
Looks like i am getting my iPhone 3G S one day before it goes on sale.

Update 6/15/2009 22:05:

There is now a new “Find My iPhone” icon on MobileMe’s Account settings page. Clicking on the icon takes me to the “Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe” page.

Find My iPhone page on MobileMe.

A map powered by Google displays the approximate location of my iPhone. Since my first generation iPhone does not have any GPS-capability, the accuracy is based on the nearby Wi-Fi signals and cellular signal.

If i have lost my iPhone, i can send a message to my iPhone.

Find My iPhone: Display a message.

The message shows up on my iPhone seconds later.

The same message persists on the home screen even after iPhone is unlocked. It will only go away by pressing OK. The Display a Message tool also has the ability to play a sound on the iPhone for 2 minutes, even if the iPhone is on silent mode. I suspect this feature will be very handy for those who can’t remember where they have placed their iPhones at home.

Another feature available on the Find My iPhone page is the ability to perform a remote wipe of an iPhone. According to MobileMe, doing a Remote Wipe “will permanently delete all media and data on your iPhone, restoring it to factory settings.” I may give this a try later.

I have been wanting to replace my 6-year old 17-inch Powerbook G4 1 GHz for quite some time. It had been extremely unstable since i installed Leopard on it. I frequently get Mac OSX’s equivalent of BSOD (Blue Screen of Death in the MS Windows world). I got tired of waiting for the updated MacBook Pro last year so instead of getting a portable replacement, i bought a Mac Pro to use as my web server. The Mac Pro has been working beautifully but it is no replacement for the portability of my Powerbook.

The past few months, i have been sifting through the local Craig’s list for a good deal on either a MacBook or a MacBook Air. Last Friday, i noticed a great deal on a barely-used second generation MacBook Air. I bought it from the seller on the same evening.

I was planning on giving my Powerbook to my younger sister so i thought if i re-install Tiger, i could help it gain back its stability. The Tiger re-install went well but as i was updating a Java package, it hung. No amount of reboot and resetting the PMU could revive it. Even when i was able to boot it up, it would hang almost immediately. My guess is one of the hardware components (probably memory) finally broke. I can’t figure out what is wrong since i can’t get it to run long enough to load the diagnostic tool.