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Any word on an SSH client?
- Thread starter yg17
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Apparently Mochasoft, the same people who release that VNC client, have one submitted but there's some crypto export law thing that's a bit problematic. I don't really know the details.
/in before n00bs say Apple wouldn't allow an SSH client.
/in before n00bs say Apple wouldn't allow an SSH client.
Awesome.
So we might see a reverse netshare where the app is available for US customers but not those outside of it.
Ironic.
The crypto export laws were effectively abolished in 1996 and haven't been a problem since, so that won't be the problem (back then there were things like two independently developed streams of PGP and a special OpenSSL that didn't have the same encryption strength etc. even windows had two crypto modes.. strong (128bit) and export (40bit)).
Provided it's not available on the Iran AppStore they'll be fine.
Provided it's not available on the Iran AppStore they'll be fine.
There was another that has one in the works however he too has mentioned the export laws... If they are indeed abolished then someone needs to tell apple.
http://www.zinger-soft.com/
thread here
http://www.zinger-soft.com/
thread here
Not everyone wants to jailbreak it. I got tired my self of finding out if version X can be jailbroken or not. Plus there always seemed to be a nuance or two with jailbreaking...
true, all im saying is there is a solution if he jailbreaks. depends how bad he needs it i suppose
Apple can make any of their own rules regarding encryption and it's entirely their own choice.
OSX itself ships with WEP 128bit encryption, SSH, Kerberos, etc. Heck, the iPhone ships with an uncrippled OpenSSL library.. (which, if you're smart, you can build the ssh client right on top of* so you're not actually doing the crypto yourself - which makes more sense anyway simply from the point of view of maintainability).
I thought everyone knew the sordid history of US export laws, but just in case see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography
We have shipped crypto based software from US distribution servers for years and there's never been any legal issues. They don't give a crap about the stuff that ordinary punters use (they can probably break it anyway).
* Top Gun SSH for example is only 39k as it is just a series of calls to the openssl library. Easy to port too.
The whole issue is the classification and exemption of software (and hardware) that contains encryption. Those regulations still exist and software that contains encryption that's exported still needs to follow the regulations and get classification.
DISCLAIMER: Shameless self-promotion follows:
The SSH app that was released is not a terminal emulator. Per their support website, "While it's possible to support terminal emulation, we decided not to for TouchTerm. The iPhone is a very different device than a computer terminal, and trying to emulate that seemed like an ugly solution."
That being said, zinger-soft's app is complete and is simply awaiting government approval. It includes VT100, VT102, VT220, ANSI, xterm, and xterm-color emulation. It supports dynamically resizable terminals, fonts, and portrait and landscape mode (and, depending on the font, anywhere from 40x21 to 80x40). All the exotic key combinations (Ctrl-Shift-Up, for instance) are there. It has support for multiple simultaneous connections and maintains a list of open connections (as well as a default connection configuration list) that one will be able to reference and reconnect to on reopening the application. There is a scroll back buffer implemented in the standard iPhone scroll view interface, along with gesture arrow keys. Finally, it contains an X Server so one can switch between graphical and console input as necessary (and possible). Of course, for all the open sessions, the X Server is the same, so multiple machines will send their X clients to the same X Server.
There in kind of lies my frustration. I could have released a crippled not-worth-two-dollars "terminal" or simply focused on compiling a list of basic features integral to any terminal emulator. I'm curious to see which strategy fares better.
At this point I'm more or less set on $4.99. Any less and I risk appearing "too cheap". Any more expensive and I risk turning away customers who simply want to compare the available terminals.
appearing too cheap ?? that's classic.
there's some amazing free apps out there and some low priced apps .99 - 1.99 that sure as hell don't appear "too cheap"
So, what you're really saying is: any less than 4.99 "won't generate me enough cash" even though at 1.99 you might sell twice as much, and free would just make too many people happy.
No, it means canadacow knows something about business and marketing while you do not.
You can in fact price something "too cheap" as to make the buyer wary of the purchase and the fact is an SSH client is a 'niche app' that will never see as many users as say a entertainment or grocery list app. For certain people, however, this would be a value at twice the cost, and to criticize someone for not wanting to give away their time and effort is just plain stupid.
On the flipside, people will refuse an application because they percieve it as too expensive for an iPhone (PDA) application.
While i'm sure some of the $20 apps are amazing, I won't pay for it and wait for a free/very cheaper app to make a showing.
Putty is a great example of a free application that is highly successful. I don't think anyone has turned it down or are weary of it because it's free.
Well unfortunately there is an entry price to become an official iPhone developer so you don't see the denizens of open source hackers making apps available except for jailbroken iPhones.
Some of the other posters already responded for me for the most part. At $1.99, being a niche app, I probably won't sell more copies than at $4.99. And at $1.99, because I'm competing with other SSH apps, a psychological mindset comes into play that people then automatically perceive my offering as being of less quality simply because it is cheaper than the others (Heck, mine will still be $1.00 cheaper than Mochasoft's VT220 Telnet terminal).
Case in point... I can get a Bombay Saphire Martini from a local bar (American mid-west) for about $8. However, if you happen to order the same martini from the Ritz Club, London ( http://www.theritzclub.com/bar/cocktail/ ), it'll set you back about $25. This isn't necessarily because the owners of the Ritz are greedy, but instead there's something in the perception of the quality of the establishment, purely on price alone.
As far as giving away the application... I was completely for that strategy, right up until I needed to retain a lawyer with expertise in export regulations. I personally have a legacy of contributing to open source projects (DosBox, MUNT, PearPC, to name a few), but since I'm prevented by Apple's EULA from releasing any source code relating to the iPhone SDK, there's simply no incentive to release an application for free, with the intent of course, being that it would also be open sourced. I don't like the idea of proprietary freeware and I never will.
I definitely hear where you are coming from I just find it aggravating to pay any price for an app without being able to demo it.
Since I do not have that luxury, if I am just looking for a SSH app to run some commands on my machine at home would this allow me to do so?
Since I do not have that luxury, if I am just looking for a SSH app to run some commands on my machine at home would this allow me to do so?
I'm still in shock that people complain about having to spend a measly $5 on an app! And this mentality of the iPhone only being a "cellphone so no app should be more than a couple of dollars..." just wow, never seen so many cheap people in my life! Especially you gamers, have you never owned a Playstation, Nintendo, Sega, etc.? You couldn't "try out" a game with these systems. You payed $50 for a game and your stuck with it whether you liked it or not! Sheesh!
And how did you all buy the iPhone if the first place? If you can afford the iPhone you can afford a couple of bucks here and there to try a few apps. There are also plenty of sites that are reviewing these things so...
Anyway, this app seems like it could be what the Terminal/ SSH crowd has been waiting for (me included) and at $4.99, it's a great deal. I found their site that has a couple of screenshots:
http://www.zinger-soft.com/
And how did you all buy the iPhone if the first place? If you can afford the iPhone you can afford a couple of bucks here and there to try a few apps. There are also plenty of sites that are reviewing these things so...
Anyway, this app seems like it could be what the Terminal/ SSH crowd has been waiting for (me included) and at $4.99, it's a great deal. I found their site that has a couple of screenshots:
http://www.zinger-soft.com/
How come you cannot release the source, when it appears that wordpress is working with their app in an opensource model?