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iOS code names head for the hills

Apple's modern desktop OS is famous for its feline monikers -- Panther, Tiger, Leopard/Snow Leopard and Lion, among others. But what about the other Apple operating system, iOS? While the code names for those versions aren't used in the public branding and promotion of the iPhone/iPod touch/iPad family the way Mac OS X leans on Lion, they still exist, and there's still a pattern to them.

iOS developer Steven Troughton-Smith tweeted the full list of iOS code names over the weekend, and while they might seem a bit random they actually have one thing in common: snow. Alpine, Kirkwood, Timberline, Telluride and the rest are all ski resorts in the western US. Does Scott Forstall enjoy some time out on the slopes?

These names are certainly cute, but they also have a dark side. The 'Alpine' code name was used as the default SSH password for earlier builds of iOS, and users who jailbroke their phones but didn't bother to change the password found themselves susceptible to a potentially malicious SSH worm.

[via TiPB]

Photo by laszlo-photo (cc)