SendFile
Latest
Mobile Safari plug-in downloads files to your iPhone/iPod touch
Now this is just amazingly cool. iPhone hacker hachu developed a download plug-in for MobileSafari. Once installed and customized, it allows you to download data off the Internet and store it on your iPhone or iPod touch local disk in the /var/root/Downloads folder. I downloaded the package (it's variously on RapidShare and BadOnGo; see the hackint0sh thread for links) and gave it a whirl. Following the instructions on the thread for modifying the Info.plist file, I told the plug-in to download MP3 files. (I had to disable playback as well in the QuickTime plug-in--so make sure to read the entire thread!) Now back in Safari, when I navigated to an MP3 file and selected it, this green Download button appeared. I tapped it, and the file downloaded perfectly. Before, the QuickTime plug-in would have just played the file back in Safari. iPhone enthusiast RohitK asked if there was an easy way to play back these downloaded files using my software. As there wasn't at the time, I went ahead and modded my SendFile application to search ~/Downloads as well as ~/Media/Documents. You can grab a copy of the modded app here. This allows you to email, share and play back the downloaded media on demand, whether or not you are connected to the Internet. Thanks to RohitK and Xadacka.
Send files directly from iPhone to another
Today I spent far too much time again investigating Bonjour zero configuration networking. Starting with my code from yesterday, I have now updated SendFile to allow you to share any file in your Media/Documents folder with another iPhone or iPod touch. The hardest part of the effort was trying to figure out how to send the name of the file along with its data; I ended up using simple property lists to send both. Another big hurdle involved Objective-C'ifying the Core Foundation code so that it would run as a separate "mdns" class rather than as part of my main application. If you want to give this a try, you can download SendFile (version 0.22) from my FTP site. Select a file on one phone or touch and "share it". Then "scan" on the other. To switch roles, just quit the app (tap Home) and run it again. So what next? It would be nice to have some features like passwords and choosing which file to download. Also, I think I may add the sharing (not the scanning) part to SendSong, if people are interested. I also need to figure out where I messed up in terms of switching from scanning to sending. I'd like people to be able to do both without having to restart the app. Now that I have a relatively easy to use mdns class that can both send and receive, I think it would also be cool to start building apps that communicate with each other, like Chess or Battleship. And, of course, I still want to finish my Push-to-Talk toy. Got other requests or suggestions? Let me know in the comments. Thanks to NerdVana, Chasehx, az1324 and Luke!
