Nate True has discovered some interesting changes in 1.1.3

From Nate True:

So I’ve had the chance to examine the 1.1.3 firmware on a deeper level (using a technique not developed by me and which I can’t release so don’t ask) and have noticed some interesting changes behind the scenes that are quite blogworthy:

– SpringBoard no longer needs to be modified (via SummerBoard) in order to show extra applications in the /Applications folder.
– All applications now run as the user ‘mobile’ instead of as root.
– Preferences are now stored in /var/mobile rather than in /var/root.

What does this all mean? I’ll tell you what it means.

The iPhone 1.1.3 firmware is ready for official installable applications.

Even though there are no applications available for purchase (besides the iPod Touch’s $20 “upgrade package”), the installation architecture appears to be there already.

It also appears that the frameworks have undergone many changes, ostensibly to make it easier for official SDK developers to make programs. It does, however, break many of the existing applications including most of mine (Lights Off still works though :D).

Additionally, the SpringBoard app appears to have widget support – it contains a class called SBWidgetApplication which manages the package location and icon.

I will update this post with more details as I find them, so keep checking back.