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Musings on vinyl as a Makerbot build platform

Posted by natetrue 1.9 weeks ago

I had some clear vinyl from the craft store laying around and decided to test it out as a build surface. I used double-sided tape to mount it onto a spare wood build base and printed one of the elliptical gears with it.

It's not perfect, but shows promise.
Read the rest of this post (contains 7 more pictures)

Tags: 3d printing, abs, build material, build platform, makerbot, reprap, sorbet, vinyl, warping

Permalink | 1 Comment | 0 Linkbacks

In which I recount the history of Tap Tap Revenge and make shout-outs to those responsible

Posted by natetrue 49 weeks ago

I posted a short essay on the history of Tap Tap Revenge on the Tapulous blog: Tap Tap Revenge 2: A History. Check it out!

Tags: credits, history, iphone, release, shoutouts, tap tap revenge

Permalink | 4 Comments | 0 Linkbacks

25 things about me

Posted by natetrue 51.6 weeks ago

(I'm going to start posting more things non-iPhone related. If you only subscribe for iPhone stuff, follow my iPhone tag. I'd love you to stick around though. )

There's been this "25 things" trend on Facebook where people post 25 things about themselves and let all their friends learn a little more. I decided to post my 25 things here because not all of you follow me on Facebook.

I've been meaning to do my 25 things for a while. As a somewhat private person it's generally quite difficult for me to open up. But here goes.

1. My full name is Nathaniel Paul True. Nathaniel means “God has given” and Paul means “small”.

2. As I was growing up I was fascinated with how my toys worked and would take them apart all the time. I soon became interested in assembling my own electronics and dove into that.

3. I also took up programming early on (about age 8) with QBASIC on our old 8088 PC running MS-DOS 6. 22. Oh, the fun I had with that. . .

4. I became ashamed of my external nerd look early on in high school and changed my hair, clothes, got contacts, etc. By the end of high school I stopped caring about all that.

5. I interned at Microsoft as a Program Manager right before my senior year in college and really disliked it. I had so little work to do in the 8 hour days that I couldn't stand it.

6. I have a green-cheek conure (a small, quiet, very friendly parrot) named Erythema. The name means a reddening of the skin due to capillary dilation. I call her Birdy though.

7. Before Erythema I had a maroon-belly conure named Pistachio. I accidentally killed him in my sleep when I rolled on top of him. I don't let birds sleep in my bed anymore.

8. As I write this Erythema is sticking her head up my sleeve and grooming herself. It's very cute.

9. In high school and college I took a number of classes that taught evolution. It seemed so simple before but now I realize that there are a large number of things wrong with it, and that we could not possibly have arisen from the slime, and that has been proven to me far beyond a reasonable doubt.

10. I work at Tapulous, on my iPhone music game Tap Tap Revenge. Have you played it?

11. Believing that evolution could happen did not block me from believing in God; for a long time I believed that God invented evolution and brought us about that way.

12. I love to cook, and my favorite dish to make (and eat) is Orange Sesame Tofu. I posted a recipe for it on cre. ations. net!

13. A search for God brought me into the Mormon church in September of 2006. I fully believed in it as the true church, but never really dug into it, and never really felt a communion with God while a member. I felt like if I did my assigned duties that was enough.

14. I'm a vegetarian, and I love it. I am not categorically against killing animals (it's our right to do so as rulers of this planet, and for a long time meat was necessary to get a balanced diet) but if I can feed myself without having to kill animals, all the better.

15. My good friends Brenda, Jesse, Andru, Monica, and Roland started showing me what the Bible said about various doctrines that contradict the teachings of the Mormon church. It was proven to me that the Bible contradicted Mormon teachings, but I was stubborn.

16. I made my own watch from parts, and it displays the time in binary. People always ask me about it and want me to show off its cool writing-time-in-the-air feature but I'm not such a fan of the attention.

17. I stuck with the Mormon church for 9 months until I left in May of 2007. I left because I was convinced that it couldn't be the one true church, and thus has none of the powers it claims to have.

18. Yes, the sleeves in my jacket light up like flashlights. I do enjoy attention from that. And my watch can also double as a flashlight. Do not look directly into either when they are pointed at you. They are spectacularly bright.

19. I now believe God is not some mystical mysterious force that requires all sorts of rituals to be done to the letter. I believe He seeks to connect on a personal level, and detests useless rituals done in his name again and again (see Amos 5:21-26).

20. I enjoy making cool things and founded a modest business with it where people can buy kits to make the cool things that I made.

21. I am a Christian now, a Seventh-Day Adventist. I believe that the human consciousness is implemented entirely in the brain, and dies when the body dies; but God can resurrect the body and the mind, and He will do so as He has promised.

22. I believe the human race as it stands right now is degrading, both morally and physically. As more and more generations separate us from the Creation, our hope in our own power increases and our genome gets corrupted with more and more destructive mutations. Nothing can save us but God.

23. I made adapters for my iPhone earbuds that make them sound like they're expensive $100 in-ear headphones.

24. Only in the last few weeks have I really discovered what it means to have a relationship with God. I spend time morning and evening in prayer and communing with Him.

25. I always chew gum after eating, and feel odd if I don't. I chew it for about 5 minutes and spit it out. I can't stand chewing gum for longer.

Thanks for reading. If you publish your 25 things, make sure to link to it in a comment here!

Tags: 25 things, bird, birdy, christian, evolution, god, nate, personal, religion

Permalink | 4 Comments | 0 Linkbacks

Me in front of a huge TTR banner at Apple HQ

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

I took a trip down to the Apple HQ last week (I was down there for a Tapulous developer summit), and heard rumors of a three-story tall banner bearing my game, Tap Tap Revenge, in one of the buildings.

And of course, I had to get a picture with me in front of it.

Yes, the photo is photoshopped - I had to brighten my face due to bad lighting and covert photography practices :D

Tags: apple, banner, game, iphone, tap tap revenge, tapulous

Permalink | 4 Comments | 0 Linkbacks

QuickGold for iPhone - Jailbroken iPhone app recommendation

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

This one's not one of mine, but an app made by Zachary "zataang" Taanges really hit the spot. Using the Dock 3.0 source code as a reference, Zach created a beautiful text-based app launcher called QuickGold that runs right on top of SpringBoard.

It's available now in Cydia (hosted by Shaun "Ste" Erickson).

This thing is great, just hit the Home button while already at the home screen and start typing what you want, then tap the result that matches. So fast (even faster than Dock)!
Read the rest of this post (contains 1 more pictures)

Tags: app, iphone, jailbreak, jailbroken, quickgold, slow motion, water balloon, zacharytaanges, zataang

Permalink | 3 Comments | 2 Linkbacks

What can code injection do on an iPhone?

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

Pretty much anything.

Tutorial coming soon!

Tags: code injection, dylib, hacking, iphone, jailbreak, keyboard, rhythm

Permalink | 1 Comment | 5 Linkbacks

SMSNotify for the iPhone 2.0 jailbreak: Make your phone buzz you more than once

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

One thing about the iPhone that has annoyed me has been that once it notifies you of an SMS or Voicemail once, it just waits for you to pick it up and look at the home screen.

That's why I made the original SMSNotify, which scans your SMS database for unread messages, and vibrates your phone periodically when it finds any.

I'm pleased to announce SMSNotify for the iPhone 2.0 firmware, with the following features:

- Now supports voicemail. A voicemail will buzz you twice, an SMS buzzes you three times
- Only buzzes when the phone comes out of sleep, for example, when it checks your e-mail, or checks in with the cell network.
- Full GPL source included in the package install (look in /usr/local/smsnotify).

My good friend Shaun Erickson is doing the package handling, and it is now available for installation via Cydia.

I'm working on a Dock for firmware 2.0 but that's considerably more difficult. Stay tuned!

Tags: iphone, sms, smsnotify, vibrate, voicemail

Permalink | 4 Comments | 4 Linkbacks

How to tether your iPhone 3G and browse the web using your 3G connection

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

Thanks to the excellent work of the iPhone Dev Team and the porting work of Jay Freeman as well as the authors of 3Proxy, it is now possible to "tether" your iPhone 3G and use its Internet connection on your laptop.

Warning - Tethering your iPhone is against the iPhone data plan terms. AT&T could slap you with huge fees if you overuse this. I recommend only using it during emergencies.

Here's the basic rundown:
- Jailbreak your iPhone 3G
- Install 3Proxy and Terminal
- Create an ad-hoc Wi-fi network using your laptop
- Join the network with your iPhone
- Find the iPhone's IP address
- Open Terminal and run the proxy program
- Open Safari on your iPhone and open a web page
- Configure your browser to use the proxy

I will be using a Mac and Firefox to demonstrate, but the principles carry over to other platforms.

Step 1: Jailbreak your iPhone
Read the rest of this post (contains 10 more pictures)

Tags: 2.0, apple, cydia, dev team, iphone, iphone 3g, jailbreak, jailbroken, proxy, saurik, socks, tethering

Permalink | 18 Comments | 171 Linkbacks

Tap Tap Revolution coming to the iPhone App Store as "Tap Tap Revenge"

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

I know I've been silent for a while on the Tap Tap front, but now I can break the news! Tap Tap Revolution has been bought by a new company called Tapulous, and they've hired me on as a developer to maintain TTR.

Suffice it to say, their push for more features definitely works out better for you guys. Here's a low-quality leaked video demonstrating the sweet new features and look:

Check out the rest of this post for some exclusive screenshots.
Read the rest of this post (contains 3 more pictures)

Tags: fun, game, iphone, tap tap revenge, tap tap revolution

Permalink | 2 Comments | 31 Linkbacks

Greetings from Berlin

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

This travel is taking its toll, but I'm still alive and kicking. After a great Bible study Friday night and a short Sabbath rest, Sparky picked me up and we headed over to the airport for 16 hours of travel.

The flight to Amsterdam lasted about 10 hours, most of which I spent watching movies in the in-flight video screen thingy. On a related note, the movie Solaris is very confusing.

We got into our hotel and went on a quick photowalk, the results of which shall follow presently:
Read the rest of this post (contains 9 more pictures)

Tags: berlin, chapel, old building, photography, stereogram, travel

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The last of Taipei photos

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

I've been out of Taiwan for a day and a half now but only just now have had the time to post.

The night before our departure, Jake and I plus another Jake from AMD headed to a night market, which is apparently like a swap meet but it takes place at night and it has many more food vendors vending unsanitary and unidentifiable foods that smell bad.
Read the rest of this post (contains 14 more pictures)

Tags: huge moth, photos, taipei, taipei 101, taiwan, tourism

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Living it up in Taipei

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

It's 5 AM in Taipei and I'm wide awake.

Yesterday was a long day, starting on Sunday with a lot of packing and tying up loose ends, and continuing with a 13-hour flight at 1 AM non-stop to Taipei.

I was also coughing a lot because I'm getting over this throat infection and I'm still coughing more than I'd like to. The dextromethorphan isn't working like it's supposed to.

Anyway, we got into the Grand Formosa hotel and I must say, AMD/BuzzCorps really went all out. The room is huge and sports a fantastic view:
Read the rest of this post (contains 11 more pictures)

Tags: 101, city, computex, dragonfruit, long exposure, sponsored by amd, taipei, taipei 101, urban, wiring

Permalink | 3 Comments | 0 Linkbacks

Going to Taipei!

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

If you've been following me on Twitter you will already know. I'm traveling to Taipei tomorrow, to attend Computex 2008. Apparently AMD is launching something at Computex Taipei and Gear Live is going to be all over it, naturally! I'll be the video tech/producer with Jake Ludington as the host.

It's going to rock. Hard. Yes, I will be taking lots of pictures and posting them!

I just hope this sore throat goes away soon.

Tags: computex, flying, mysterious cat, sore throat, taipei, taiwan, trip

Permalink | 0 Comments | 1 Linkback

Testers for a new top-secret iPhone Twitter app needed

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

Yo, I need 100 people who are both jailbroken iPhone users and active Twitter users to test out a new top-secret Twitter client app for the iPhone. I can't say much here but if you're interested, send your Twitter username to ultratopsecret@natetrue.com - only the first 100 responders will get in.

Yes this is serious.

Tags: client, hamster, iphone, secret, testers, twitter

Permalink | 6 Comments | 6 Linkbacks

1.1.4 analyzed - the news? No significant changes!

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

Okay, so I've finished my preliminary examination of the iPhone 1.1.4 firmware. And what's new?

Bug fixes. Like three of them. No new features, no new apps, nothing.

Not even any significant changes that would render the current jailbreak methods unusable.

So it looks like the official iPhone SDK and the hacked SDK will live in harmony, at least to begin with. That seems like a mixed blessing - on the one hand we will have developers and iPhone users remaining free to do with their phones as they wish - something I am very passionate about.

However, it will likely also mark the rise of the market for pirated iPhone applications - bought through iTunes, then copied off using one of the many ways to get files off the phone. Then shared through various channels, as usual.

I for one am hoping that the developers of paid applications will get their dues - for people like myself who make a living off of their creations it's important to get money for things we put up for sale.

What I do hope is that the iPhone SDK will allow publishers to develop and publish applications for free, like the hack SDK does now.

But for now all we can do is wait and see.

Tags: 1.1.4, changes, iphone, sdk

Permalink | 13 Comments | 8 Linkbacks

1.1.4 class-dump header files posted

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

Just dumped header files for the 1.1.4 apps and frameworks. I'm crawling them now for changes. If you'd like to crawl too, I have posted them yonder:

http://devices.natetrue.com/114headers

Happy hunting!

Tags: 1.1.4, headers, iphone, sdk

Permalink | 0 Comments | 1 Linkback

iPhone firmware 1.1.4 out now, still jailbreakable

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

Yo guys, just a quick post. iPhone 1.1.4 firmware is still out, and Zibri's fantastic jailbreak utility, ZiPhone, still works great, at least for jailbreaking. I have not tested unlocking or activation.

Zibri, you are an excellent iPhone hacker!

I'll be looking for changes in the firmware and posting what I find soon.

Tags: 1.1.4, iphone, jailbreak, ziphone

Permalink | 3 Comments | 9 Linkbacks

New cool thing I did - Binary / POV wristwatch

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

Yo peeps, I just published my latest cool invention. It's a wristwatch that tells you the time in binary, or you can swipe it through the air to make it write the time out for you. It's mad awesome.

Full details and assembly guide at http://cre.ations.net/creation/binarypov-custom-wristwatch

Tags: binary, invention, kit, pic, pov, watch

Permalink | 1 Comment | 0 Linkbacks

WAY EASIER iPhone 1.1.3 jailbreak released by Zibri

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

Master iPhone hacker Zibri has released ZiPhone, a utility that can jailbreak and unlock any new iPhone (as of firmware 1.1.3) directly, without any complicated upgrading or downgrading steps. Way easier than my crap.

Hats off to Zibri for this one.

Check out Zibri's blog for all the instructions.

Tags: 1.1.3, awesome, easy, iphone, jailbreak, unlock, zibri

Permalink | 11 Comments | 1 Linkback

New out-of-the-box iPhones now software unlockable

Posted by natetrue 1 year ago

This is NOT my release, but enough of you e-mail me about unlocking iPhones that I figured I should blog about it. Thanks to George Hotz who released this method.

So, if you're looking for how to unlock your new iPhone right out of the box (as of the 1.1.3 firmware), head to this post at The Unofficial Apple Weblog:

Software-only Unlock for iPhone

UPDATE: Zibri released an even easier unlock. http://zibree.blogspot.com/