Hot on the heels of the activation hack, iPhone enthusiasts from the irc.osx86.hu channels #iphone-talk and #iphone-mac have deepened the cracks in the Apple device's armor by creating an application called iPhoneInterface, a Windows and Mac tool which allows you to manipulate the phone's state, fiddle with launch services, and interact with the iPhone's filesystem. With the new app, you will have the ability to scan the device's file structure, create and remove folders (which should open doors for those not feeling the sync options), and start iPhone services. Plans for a public server are underway, so fasten your seatbelts.

Update - The hack is officially available (Windows only right now) for your ever-lovin' pleasure, so get it here.

[Thanks, Chris V]

With Apple's iPhone release still set for next month, will the design and user experience win it legions of fans throughout the rest of 2007? Probably, but some folks in Redmond are holding their applause. Microsoft's "Shift" finger-based interface is set to clash with Apple's multi-touch sometime soon as the software titans do human interface battle (again). No, this is not the Microsoft oFone, but is Microsoft's "Shift" a copy of Apple's multi-touch or a homegrown Microsoft invention? The description Microsoft gives for Shift states that it is "possible to use a pointer on a PDA that can be guided by finger motion -- once the pointer is in position, the user simply lifts his thumb or finger to select the target." Does this sound revolutionary or evolutionary -- or neither? Shift apparently not only replaces stylus input but goes beyond it -- just like multi-touch. Still, should the iPhone feel threatened at all here?