The iPad has landed.

Join Obsessable Sign In

BlackBerry Curve 8900 now shipping in Canada Toshiba releasing 16GB microSDHC card, fast 8GB and 16GB SDHC cards

Linux on the iPhone

Digg del.icio.us Facebook StumbleUpon Twitter

Mobile | by C.K. Sample III | Sat Nov 29, 2008 10:13AM | 0 comments

Some enterprising hackers have managed to get the iPhone to boot Linux. The iphone-dev team announced the achievement yesterday and a new blog dedicated to the achievement has launched. The touch interface hasn't yet been implemented and for now it's a barebones terminal view of Linux that is controlled by a keyboard connected via SSH over a USB interface, but the video below nevertheless marks the beginnings of running a non-Apple OS on the iPhone.


iPhone Linux Demonstration Video from planetbeing on Vimeo.;

If after watching the video, you're still left wondering why anyone would want to run Linux on the iPhone, the team behind getting Linux on the iPhone answers that question here. There's even a webcomic about the news that the iPhone now boots Linux. The basic answer to why Linux on the iPhone matters is that this is good news for Open Source supporters everywhere. Running Linux on the iPhone also means that someday other open source operating systems, like Google's Android, may be portable to the iPhone.

This story around the web:

Trusted sources:
external link Linux for iPhone May Open the Door to Android… [digg: Tech Popular]
external link Linux for iPhone May Open the Door to Android… [Gizmodo]
external link Linux on the iPhone [Wired: Gadget Lab]
external link Linux ported to the iPhone [Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]
external link Penguins Rejoice: Linux on the iPhone [Ubergizmo]
external link Windows Mobile easier to use than iPhone… [Boing Boing Gadgets]
external link Linux runs on Apple iPhone [I4U News]
external link iPhone hackers achieve a milestone: Linux… [The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)]
external link Linux hits the iPhone! [Engadget]

Get more information on topics relating to this story:


Related company news:
Apple
Related glossary terms:
Linux, Open source, Android OS, USB, SSH
Related brand news:
Apple iPhone
Related devices and services:
Apple iPhone, Apple iPhone 3G, Google Android

Comments

Add a comment Inappropriate or promotional comments may be removed.

Add a comment

Click one of the three commenter types below. Member comments are added immediately once you confirm your email address. Anonymous comments are moderated by our editorial staff.

I want to comment as a new member an existing member anonymously

Email me

  

Comment Preview
Anonymous (5:19 PM on Mon Feb 8, 2010)

Preview your comment here.

Inappropriate or promotional comments may be removed. To create a clickable link, simply type the URL (including http://) and we will make a link for you. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags, but if you're into that kind of thing, you can use any of the following tags: b, i, strong, em, a (href only), p and br.