Year: 2014

How to use Activator with Touch ID

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 3, 2014

A couple of days ago, we told you about Virtual Home–a brand new jailbreak tweak that allowed users to simulate a press of the Home button using Touch ID enabled hardware. Virtual Home was one of the first jailbreak tweaks that modified the behavior of the iPhone 5s' Touch ID sensor, and because of that, it proved to be very popular among jailbreakers.

Adding to the popularity of Touch ID tweaks is a recent update to Ryan Petrich's Activator—an absolute staple of a jailbreak tool that all users should have installed from day one. Petrich's latest 1.8.3 update brings support for a single press of the Touch ID sensor.

But Activator goes far beyond the scope of Virtual Home, because you can, in theory at least, assign any Activator action to a Touch ID gesture. Have a look inside to see how it works.

How to use your new Mac Pro on its side

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

So you've shelled north of $3,000 for a brand spanking new Mac Pro so you could edit 4K video in real-time and I imagine that, as a bonus, the machine would help declutter your desktop due to its drastically reduced footprint (MacWorld has a nice gallery comparing the system to every day objects).

If for some reason you prefer to use your Mac Pro on its side instead of its default upright position, you can do so because Apple's engineers have designed a fan system to support cooling in both orientations, provided you follow the company's guidelines listed in a newly published support document...

Google to demo 4K YouTube streaming at CES via its new royalty-free VP9 codec

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 3, 2014

Google's hasn't enjoyed much success with VP8, a video codec it developed back in 2010 as a H.264 replacement for efficient video streaming. The Chrome browser supports VP8 codec out-of-the-box (so no plug-in required), but Google's plans for VP8 domination were shattered by literally non-existent support from major industry players.

As a result, VP8 has never gained hardware-acceleration because chip makers opted to stand firmly behind H.264, an industry-standard video codec Apple's devices support natively and on the silicon level.

At next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Internet giant will be showing off YouTube streaming in a 4K resolution of 3,840 pixels by 2,160 lines via its brand new royalty-free video codec, VP9.

This time around, Google has lined up an impressive list of industry players who will back the new format. Notably absent: a certain fruity company...

Fancy: an upcoming tweak that colorizes iOS 7

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 3, 2014

It's tweak paradise for jailbreakers right now; tons of tweaks and apps have been hitting the wire as of late, and there's no sign of it slowing down any time soon. You know that things have gotten back to normal when you start to see previews of tweaks—unreleased items that are teased as they're being worked on.

One of the first unreleased tweaks that I've gotten to play with is Fancy. Fancy is an upcoming jailbreak tweak that allows users to colorize certain prominent iOS 7 features. This means that you can colorize things like Notification Center, Control Center, banner notifications, Volume HUD, the dock, and more.

Fancy is one of those tweaks that may not seem very cool when hearing it described, but changes your mind completely after seeing it in action. For that reason, I urge you to have a look at our full video walkthrough that's been posted after the break.

AT&T luring T-Mobile customers to jump ship with up to $450 credit

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 3, 2014

T-Mobile's upcoming Uncarrier 4.0 initiative must have instilled the fear of God into AT&T because the nation's second-largest wireless carrier just announced it will offer up to $450 worth of credit to T-Mobile customers who jump ship.

The limited-time offer is in direct response to T-Mobile's upcoming Uncarrier 4.0 moves, set to be revealed at next week's CES in Las Vegas.

The carrier is hoping to poach T-Mobile customers by partly offering a gift card worth up to $250 for trading in their old phone, with the difference made up in the form of a credit rebate. The full reveal is after the break...

Starbucks now lets you use your iPhone’s camera to redeem Pick of the Week cards

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 2, 2023

Starbucks, a Seattle-based global coffee company and coffeehouse chain and Apple's longtime marketing partner, started offering 'Pick of the Week' promotion via its recently Passbook-enabled App Store app back in 2011. The tie-in allows Starbucks customers to download paid iOS applications for free as they sip on their beverage of choice.

The company has now upgraded its backend system to allow folks to scan these redemption codes using their iPhone's iSight camera, a feature Apple added to iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices as part of its iOS 7 software release in September 2013...

Day 9 of Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts: Kings of Leon EP

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

We are now on day 9 of the big 12 Days of Gifts event, meaning Apple has removed the Diary of a Wimpy iBook and has posted a new free item for download. Today’s gift is an EP (or extended play) from the American rock band Kings of Leon.

The band is widely popular in the UK, and more recently the US, taking home 3 Grammy Awards in 2010 thanks to hits like 'Use Somebody.' And today's free EP includes some of those hits, which it played at Apple's iTunes Festival this year...

CES Scavenger Hunt to utilize Apple’s new iBeacon tech

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

The Consumer Electronics Association has announced that next week's CES will feature a promotional scavenger hunt featuring Apple's new iBeacon technology. The group issued a press release last night explaining how it's utilizing the tech.

Attendees will use the CES Mobile apps to explore various areas of the conference, and collect badges for each iBeacon they encounter. And the first 3 to collect all of the badges will be rewarded with prizes such as tablets and other gadgets...

TetherMe jailbreak tweak updated with iOS 7, ARM64 support

Cody Lee ∙ January 2, 2014

Good news this afternoon for jailbreakers: another popular tweak has been updated to support iOS 7 and A7 processors. That tweak is called TetherMe, and it allows you to—you guessed it—tether your cellular iOS device to a non-cellular device.

Though it's not mentioned nearly as often as MyWi, its functions are very similar and it's much less expensive. Users can choose to share their iPhone's Internet access with other devices over USB, Bluetooth, or via your standard Wi-Fi hotspot...

Assistant Unrestrictor: use Voice Control when Siri is unavailable

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 2, 2014

I don't use Siri nearly as much as I used to, so maybe I'm in the minority when I state that I rarely have problems with Siri not working; I simply don't use it enough to encounter any problems. But for those of you who use Siri day in and day out, you're more likely to experience the issues that Assistant Unrestrictor—a new jailbreak tweak available on Cydia's BigBoss repo—tries to solve.

Assistant Unrestrictor is a tweak that forces the old-school Voice Control to come into play in the instances where Siri is unavailable. For example, when Siri is down due to the lack of a network connection, Voice Control can step in and handle some of the light load. Obviously, Voice Control is nowhere near as robust as Siri, but for light duty, it's adequate in a pinch. Have a look at our full video walkthrough inside to see how it works.

Apple says new Mac Pro uses 68% less energy than previous generation

Cody Lee ∙ January 2, 2014

We all know that Apple's new Mac Pro is smaller than its predecessor, and in most instances more powerful, but did you know that it's also far more green as well? The Cupertino company released an Environmental Report today on its latest desktop saying just that.

According to the report, the new Mac Pro uses less than half of the allowed energy limit under Energy Star requirements, thanks to its various power-efficient components. And it also requires 68% less power than the previous-generation Mac Pro while in idle mode...

Readdle’s ‘Scanner Pro’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ January 2, 2014

Apple has named Readdle's popular 'Scanner Pro' its App of the Week for this week. This means that through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the application for both your iPhone and iPad, for free—a sizable savings of $7.

For those unfamiliar with the app, Scanner Pro essentially turns your iOS device into a portable scanner. It can scan documents, receipts, notes, photos, and more, and then upload them to Dropbox, Evernote, and other web services...