Year: 2016

Jailbreak tweaks of the week: NotificationPop, Notifications10, & more…

This week was an improvement over last week in terms of jailbreak tweak release volume in Cydia, but things are still slow as we continue to go on without a jailbreak for iOS 10, Apple's latest mobile operating system.

In this roundup, we'll discuss all of this week's jailbreak tweak releases, starting by showcasing our favorites and then talking about the rest afterwards.

The top stories of the week on iDB (and the best deals still around)

Like every Sunday, we get to take a look at some of the most popular posts that were published on iDB during the week that just ended. Whether it is a news item, a new jailbreak tweak, a tutorial, or an app review, we sum it all up in one convenient place for you.

As always, if you like what you're reading, please feel free to spread the love by sharing our posts on your favorite social network.

We're usually hanging out a lot on Twitter and Facebook, more rarely on Google+.

Don't forget to listen to the latest episode of our new podcast, Let's Talk iOS:

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Noise, Write.as, BeCasso and other apps to check out this weekend

If you're looking to relax this holiday weekend with leftover turkey and a new app or game, you've come to the right place. In the latest edition of our Apps of the Week roundup, we've selected some awesome titles including a music-making app, an anonymous blogging client, a paint-style photo editor, and some great new games for you to check out.

Review: the high quality leather cases from Nodus Collection

Nodus Collection, which I reviewed exactly one year ago, is back in-action with updates for iPhone 7 and their wallet collection. If you remember the article regarding the iPhone 6 versions, it was a gushingly positive exposé about their high quality leather, excellent craftsmanship, and attention to detail.

Be warned, this is another one of those glowing reviews. However with a Black Friday twist, you can nab one for yourself at 25% off, or donate the savings to ShelterBox, supporting relief in areas hit by natural disaster or global conflict.

This tweak keeps Google Maps from nagging you when Location Services are disabled

While most people grant Google Maps access to their location for navigation purposes, not everyone uses Google Maps for navigation. Other users primarily use the app for region exploration and keep Google Maps from accessing their location for privacy reasons.

If you're one of these people, and you hate seeing the location services warning alert every time you open the app, then you should install a new free jailbreak tweak called Google Maps - No Location Services Alert right away.

Five ways to make the most of a file manager on jailbroken iOS

The vast majority of non-developers who jailbreak do it for the tweaks, and use Cydia almost exclusively to find, maintain, and update them.

However, jailbreaking your device brings much more than the ability to install tweaks; its real power lies in granting unfettered access to the filesystem, which allows you to make almost any change you like.

In this article, I’ll go through five of the most interesting and ubiquitous uses for file managers on iOS.

Here’s a special tool Apple uses to recover data from MacBook Pro’s non-removable SSD

iFixit's teardown analysis of both the 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has found a non-removable SSD inside soldered to the logic board. In contrast, non-Touch Bar Pros use a removable PCIe-based SSD, simplifying upgrades.

iFixit discovered that Touch Bar Pros include a hidden connector on the logic board that leads nowhere which, as reported by 9to5Mac, works in conjunction with a special tool to let service technicians rescue data in case of a hardware failure.

Apple has stopped disclosing how much it spends on advertising

Apple has stopped disclosing how much it spends on advertising, as revealed in its annual report (10-K) filed with the United States Securities and Exchange (SEC) commission in October.

Apple's motives behind this move are unclear and the SEC filing makes no mention of its advertising expenses for the whole 2016. In 2015, Apple's ad spend rose fifty percent to a record $1.8 billion.

The decision to stop reporting how much it spends on advertising may have something to do with the fact that the iPhone maker ended 2016 with its lowest operating margin since 2009, partially due to spending more ad dollars to drive total revenue.

Ottm is a stunning hardwood wrist band for your Apple Watch

Back in March, a really sweet Indiegogo campaign for a trio of Apple Watch wrist bands made completely of wood dubbed Ottm was announced, and now the first units are making their way from the production line over to the hands of consumers.

We've finally got ours after months of waiting, and we've excited to show you what we think about them.

Open source Darwin code for macOS 10.12 Sierra now available

Apple today released open-source Darwin code for macOS 10.12 Sierra, 9to5Mac reports. Darwin, for those unfamiliar with it, forms the core set of Unix components upon which macOS, iOS, watchOS and tvOS are based, including drivers and the unencrypted kernel along with its BSD portions.

Apple typically releases Darwin code shortly after major macOS releases, and Sierra is no exception. Anyone interested in the intricacies of Sierra's inner workings can now grab a copy of Darwin via this direct download link.