Ability to run portable apps?

Posted Sun, 08/03/2008 - 19:52 by joepez

Is it possible to run portable apps (the kinda written for thumbdrives) via TouchFS?

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Apps can't run other apps

  

    by Tom - 08/04/2008 - 13:09  

  

    
The iphone only supports running native iPhone applications; it's not possible to run applications written for other platforms.

      

    

      

  








      
That wasn't what I was

  

    by joepez - 08/04/2008 - 16:06  

  

    
That wasn't what I was asking. What I wanted to know was, could I access the files stored via TouchFS via WebDAV to run an app locally on my XP box, much like I can with an portable enabled app on a USB key. Ex. Could I install the portable version of GIMP and run it via WebDAV access from my XP box talking to my iPhone via TouchFS.


From reading over some other sites about WebDAV, it sounds like the answer is no. WebDAV doesn't support the ability to run an app, just the reading and writing of files.


So it sounds like while TouchFS can meet 50% of my need to access the iPhone like a HD, it doesn't meet the other 50%, because I'd like to be able to both store data on it like Word/Excel/Text files, and be able to run portable apps like GIMP.

      

    

      

  








      
It may be possible w/net use command or WebDrive

  

    by Paul - 08/04/2008 - 19:28  

  

    
Windows' WebDAV support is a little rough out of the box, although some XP and Vista users have been able to get their OS to assign an actual drive letter to the WebDAV share using the  net use command.


If that doesn't work, there's always WebDrive (albeit not free) which will provide an honest to goodness drive letter on Windows with which you might be able to run portable apps.


For the record, we don't know if you'll be happy w/the performance or if it will work in most (any?) cases, and it's not exactly portable if you need to install WebDrive everywhere you go...so tread carefully here.


It may be worth it to see if you can figure out how to get net use to assign a drive letter first.

      

    

      

  








      
So no-one has tested this?

  

    by joepez - 08/05/2008 - 07:53  

  

    
So no-one has tested this? I'm a little hesitant to pay $15 to test it out if the either the speed access or WebDAV won't work. Unfortunately I'm on a windows box (work) and don't have anything to test on. I've got network drives, and USB, but that's not the same as testing from the iPod.

      

    

      

  








      
Testing has been done...just not successful.

  

    by Paul - 08/05/2008 - 18:46  

  

    
I'd error on the side of caution here, and assume it won't with what I know of Windows WebDAV support out of the box.  Meaning, if you can only connect with Windows "Web Folders/Network Places", it won't work.


Can anyone else here share an experience with this, or otherwise shed some light on this topic?


We'll be purchasing our own copy of WebDrive to test what's possible with that product in the future, but since the whole objective of TouchFS is to copy files (and view some) to your iPhone with no extra software required, that hasn't been a priority for us.


As for mapping a drive with net use, in the testing I've personally done here on XP and Vista, I can't get the command to work–although there's anecdotal evidence on the net that others have.  We're looking into whether this is something we can provide by making some changes to our WebDAV server, or if it's solely caused by some Windows configuration we've goofed up.   I wish I could give you an answer one way or the other, but I don't want you to be unhappy w/your purchase, so will have to say, "it won't work".  


In the future, we'd like to implement Microsoft's SMB protocol so your iPhone shows up as an actual Windows server where launching apps would work, but that's a ways off.