One of the coolest apps to ever hit Apple’s App Store (in my opinion) is iDOS, an emulator that allows gamers to relive some of their DOS favorites. Unfortunately, like many other emulators submitted to the App Store, Apple deemed iDOS unacceptable due to its ability to execute code. To get its app back up, the developers bundled six games with the emulator and dropped the whole “play your own games” idea.
For those perturbed about not being able to play their favorites, don’t fret… there’s a solution. In order for people to run their DOS games on this emulator, they were required to use iTunes to copy the folders over. That’s the feature that’s been disabled, but thanks to the fact that there are other file copying methods available, such as by using an application called iPhone Explorer, the ability to copy over your DOS collection is re-enabled.
The best part of this “hack” is that it doesn’t require a jailbroken iPhone, and neither does it really seem to break any sort of rule. That goes for the developer, too. It has no control over third-party applications that its users might be using, so it’s hard to be held accountable. If Apple does have a beef, though, and it well could, we’re sure there is some loophole that could get it back off of the App Store. So, if a DOS emulator interests you at all, get it while it’s still safe to.
iDOS originally allowed users to copy arbitrary DOS executables (.exe files) using the iTunes file syncing capability. The .exe files would be copied to the app’s sandboxed file space, which the emulator used as its C: drive. However, since that ability essentially allowed users to download code, it put the app on the wrong side of the iOS developer agreement. Apple subsequently pulled iDOS from the App Store.