Jailbreakers hack iOS on Apple TV to run full-screen iPad ap
Source: Josh Ong
Steve Troughton-Smith and a developer known as "TheMudkip" published over the weekend photos and video of the hack, dubbed MobileX, for Apple's set-top box.
"MobileX is a window manager for iOS that replaces springboard with the added bonus of letting iPhone and iPad apps run on the Apple TV," Troughton-Smith said in the video, adding that "any apps just run and scale up to the 720p resolution adequately."
The hack appears to be in its early stages and has yet to be released to the public. In order to run the utility, the developers first performed the "Seas0nPass" jailbreak on the Apple TV. Apple has warned in the past that the jailbreak process, which allows users to run unauthorized code and apps on iOS, may void a device's warranty.
Given that the Apple TV doesn't include a full-featured input method such as a touchscreen, the pair used a combination of Virtual Network Computing (VNC), Secure Shell (SSH) and the Apple Remote to control the device. According to them, MobileX features a built-in menu that allows users to "quit apps, launch Safari, connect to Wi-Fi or show multiple apps side by side" from the Apple Remote.
Apple released the latest version of the Apple TV in September 2010. The $99 set-top box runs on the company's A4 processor and is a fourth the size of the first generation Apple TV.
The hack comes even as speculation on an upcoming Apple television set has heightened considerably. The release of late co-founder Steve Jobs' biography set off a flurry of rumors after revealing that Jobs believed he had "cracked" the secret for a connected TV interface. Since then, reports have suggested that an Apple television will run on custom-built chips similar to those powering the iPhone and iPad and may come in three sizes.
| }
|