Enthusiasts bring Linux to the iPhone

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Open source enthusiasts have successfully installed Linux on Apple's popular iPhone.

According to a Linux on the iPhone blog post the hacker group has succeeded in booting up an iPhone using a Linux 2.6 kernel.

The kernel supports both first and second generation iPhone's and the first generation iPod touch.

The group has created a bootloader that lets users choose between booting Apple's iPhone OS or Linux.

However, the project is only at a proof of concept stage and the current list of functions that are working is very limited. There is currently no support for writing to the NAND memory, the touchscreen, the audio, the accelerometer or accessing the baseband. Commands are written using a Busybox terminal but with no touch screen support all interaction with the phone is done using an external computer connected via USB.

A video of the group's work can be seen here. The original post also expresses interest in hearing from Android developers suggesting that the ultimate aim is to bring multiple operating system choices to iPhone users.

The iPhone Linux project is run by the same group that were responsible for 'jailbreaking' the original iPhone, enabling it to be used on other networks.

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