Guest Author

How’s your APPetite?

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

I have a confession to make that might put my Fanboy status in jeopardy. I wasn't part of the iPhone click until the iPhone 3G veiled its beautiful body to us. It's a humbling revelation that I feel necessary to share. I have only been able to enjoy the iPhone with the App Store available. Having done my share of downloading and reviewing, (72 apps on my iPhone 4 today), I often wonder if I have maximized the potential that the App Store can cultivate.

It took me quite a while to break down and purchase paid applications. Probably too long. When I started adding iTunes credit to my account, it was if I was the conductor of entirely different ship. A much nicer ship.

I first hit apps which reflected the interests related to my lifestyle. Engadget, ESPN Radio, Echofon, Words with Friends, Tiger Woods, and those similar were the first to gain spots on my device. Then I gathered productivity enhancing apps like Docs 2 GO, Rowmote Pro, iStudiez, etc... Eventually I dabbled in games that already exist in "real life", then branched out to highly rated selections. I will admit I'm not much of a gamer, though I do enjoy a challenge as much as the next guy, (like eating 4 saltines in 60 seconds, minus water).

After a couple of years of wonderful, (and sometimes expensive) experiences, I noticed that the zealous downloading had subsided a bit. Don't get me wrong, the App Store is the single most important piece of the iPhone puzzle in my opinion. The ability to allow and include anybody with the ability and knowledge to develop, is a beautiful thing. My expectations are high, thus the reason behind the words you read. Does this leveling off of sorts include you?

I believe Apple has headed in the right direction with adding featured genres and categories now each week. I can honestly say it helps with both navigation, as well as keeping my wandering brain matter excited; believe me, this in itself can be a full-time job. Posting "Apps of the week" is another good utilization on Apple's part, though I might suggest adding a category-based App of the Week couldn't hurt.

All in all for the size of and population that App Store is, my concerns are very few. Let's not forget that most every credible source states that Apple's App Store is far ahead of any of its competitors. Perhaps my sometimes stagnant perception of the selection, is just simply the usual calming down effect that happens after a kid gets a new toy. Like that Tickle Me Elmo that has been sleeping under your kids bed for 2 years, untouched.

Let me know if you appetite is as intense as it once was. If not, there's always White Castle.

Woz Up?

Guest Author ∙ August 4, 2010

Our favorite Apple walrus, Steve Wozniak, gave a mini sized press conference in Valencia, Spain last week. It's hard to imagine the big, cheerful fuzz king doing anything in small proportions, however the entire YouTube clip lasts just over 3 minutes. Of the topics "The Woz" was asked about and answered were, Apple & Google, the iPhone 4 antenna, Steve Jobs, and a feel-good recollection of his success as a young-spirited Apple enthusiast.

While there is nothing earth shattering revealed, (except maybe that beard ), it's nice seeing the big guy continuing to take his jolly approach to whatever comes his way. My favorite part of the clip comes at 2:10 when Wozniak states "While I do receive a small salary from Apple, I do virtually no real work". Well damn, that must be hard to get out of bed for each day. /sarcasm. No wonder he is always smiling.

Got an iPhone, Do I Need a Mac?

Guest Author ∙ August 4, 2010

The last few days I have seen this very question posed around the web. PC owners who love their iPhone, now wondering if they are missing something by not coinciding their device with a Mac computer. The short answer is no, you don't need a Mac to utilize the features on the iPhone itself. That being said, you are missing out on some pretty convenient tools without the combination. Allow me to shed some light.

We can start with the basics, iTunes, the iPhone home base of sorts. As you now know, to set up and add items to your favorite handheld, you must use iTunes at some point. Don't think this is a coincidence. Some will go as far as to say it was designed so much with this in mind, that its purpose was to get the PC owners to switch. iTunes was created on and for Mac computers. The platform itself runs noticeably smoother on a Mac than any PC you can provide, I will guarantee you that. Once you're in Tunes, the ability to sync within the application is absolutely effortless.

There are other features that the Mac can sync that your PC just doesn't have. iCal, the calendar on your iPhone, has an identical twin that rests on the desktop of every Mac computer. Syncing your oh-so-important life events couldn't be any easier than if you designed it yourself. MobileMe, which is available for $99 a year, will also add much appreciated benefits with the combination of an Apple handheld and a Mac computer.

Mail, Contacts and your photo Gallery are all worthy features you will enjoy. The iPhoto application on a Mac is one of the biggest enhancements I have enjoyed after switching from PC to Mac. Again here, syncing is painless, and once the photos are moved on to your Mac, you can sync the iPhoto app with your MobileMe Gallery. Like I previously said, the coinciding of the devices is not a coincidence, it's designed to be like this to reward current owners, and lure those who aren't.

For the ambitious iPhone owners who are interested in contributing (and collecting) from the App Store mania, for you it's a must. XCode, which is the format used to develop apps for the iPhone, only works on a Mac machine. I don't suspect this will ever change, so if you're thinking of writing an app, stop waiting and make the purchase.

At the end of the day I've only given you a few of the compatibility enhancements of using your iPhone with a Mac. The neat part is the hands on workmanship and productivity that seems to come almost too easy. What you will like best will ultimately come down to the functions you most desire. So, do you need to buy a Mac to enjoy your iPhone? No, but Apple would sure appreciate it if you bought one, and so will you.

The Art Of iPhone Customization

Guest Author ∙ August 3, 2010

Customization is probably one of the biggest reasons people jailbreak their iDevices, I know personally I love the ability to make my iPhone mine. There are endless possibilities for customizing you device starting from the smallest things such as battery themes to full blown all out UI custom themes. There is a plethora of themes to choose from on Cydia and all of them are beautiful in there own right. Some of them are free and some you have to pay for. In my experience the paid themes are usually worth the money because they are 100% original and are normally a work of art.

I have recently got into building themes which started of as just graphical but I soon realized that it went a lot deeper. I started learning a little HTML and .css (style sheets that simplify HTML) and springboard strings, just to name a few non graphical modifications that can be made. I soon had created my own complete theme, Carbon OS which has a lot of extras (and is available in Cydia).

I thought I would share some easy and effective methods for learning to build these themes in case you guys want to get into doing it too. I have compiled a small list of things you will need to do so and some pointers to help you get started. First things first though lets make sure we have a jailbroken device with Winterboard installed and have the ability to SSH into your device. If you need help with any of this check out our forums or our jailbreak section on this blog. Now on to what you need.

Fanboys Headed to Jail(break)…

Guest Author ∙ August 3, 2010

Let me preface this with saying that I'm as much of an Apple junkie as the next fanboy. After all, I do find time to write, tweet, & discuss all things Apple, all for the satisfaction of it.

However, it has come to my attention through various forums, tweets, and other internet media, that many iPhone owners (and some not), plan to march into their nearest Apple store and jailbreak the displayed iPhones, iPads, etc. This of course is in lieu of the recently released jailbreak via Safari at Jailbreakme.com. Didn't we learn at age 5 not to disturb other people's property?

Quickly Change Wifi Network With YFiSelect

Guest Author ∙ Updated February 5, 2016

Do you hate the fact that you have to exit out of your app and go into the settings just to change your wifi network? Well now there’s an app for that!

From the developer that brought you jailbreak apps such as Music Controls, Calendar Pro and Resupported comes his latest app called YFiSelect. YFiSelect gives you quick access to your wifi network options from anywhere.

In order to get YFiSelect to work you just simply hold your carrier down until you get prompted to change your wifi network or you hold down the wifi button in SBSettings. It is also compatible with Activator and WiCarrier.

YFiSelect is available on Cydia for $0.99. It is compatible with the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

iBye – An Easy Alternative to Back Up Your iPhone Data

Guest Author ∙ May 28, 2010

Recently released by a developer named EvilPenguin under the ModMyI repo is a pretty cool and useful app called iBye.

iBye can replace iTunes as far as backing your data. If you’re on the road and don’t have iTunes nearby or if you’re one of many anti-iTunes individuals out there, then iBye is perfect for you. iBye will backup your data and store that data on a FTP server of your choice . iBye will restore this data from the backup on that FTP server as well.

In order to do this, you just need to get yourself an FTP server if you don’t already have one. Windows users can get one here. Mac users here.

If you do not want to use a FTP server, then iBye will do a local backup and local restore on the iDevice itself.

iBye supports your basic applications such as Mail, Notes, Safari, Calendar, Photos and Contacts along with your system log.

It's a great application to backup your important information on the fly (ie. your contacts).

iBye also gives you the option to remove your data from the application of your choice if that’s what you want to do. This is helpful if you want to clear your calendar but don’t feel like going through each and every entry.

For a little bit under what you usually pay for a gallon of gas in California, you can get iBye $2.99.

Apple: Taking Over The World One Bite At A Time

Guest Author ∙ April 16, 2010

By the looks of all of Apple's announcements last week, it seems they will literally control all forms of technology in 10-15 years. iAd replaces Google Adsense and HTML5 replaces and ruins Adobe.

It’s a pretty bold statement but let’s take a deeper look. You might compare Apple’s actions to the likes of Google. Google’s motto over the past few years has been "if you can’t beat'em, buy'em". Google is perhaps best known for its business acquiring capabilities. Quite often there are jokes about Google taking over the world.

Google’s actions, however, are usually widely accepted by the public and encouraged. Admit it, you kind of like it when Google acquires a new company, probably because Google has a good track record of bettering acquired services and offering them free for public consumption.

When Google acquires a service, it usually means new and innovative things are coming soon. Apple, on the other hand, is not so friendly.

Apple knows that no matter what kind of business practices they use, consumers will still buy their products since they create desirable products. So Apple decides to not incorporate Adobe Flash into the iPhone OS. Let’s consider a few reasons as to why Apple might not want to allow Flash to run on their devices.

Virtually all forms of multimedia online today can be delivered through the Flash platform. From Hulu to illegal streams of newly released movies, Adobe Flash powers all forms of media on the internet. Using Flash, you can illegally listen to new music that is being streamed through a peer to peer website. You can also find tons of sites that offer streaming of new release movies via Flash. You can play thousands of graphically advanced games via Flash as well. So why does Apple not want to allow Flash on their device?

If the previous few sentences have not made it apparent yet, here’s why: Apple makes a killing selling movies, music, and games. Billions of songs have already been downloaded from the iTunes store, and billions of games have been downloaded from the AppStore. You read that right - that’s BILLIONS (1,000,000,000++). I would say that’s a pretty profitable source of income.

If Flash were to be allowed on the iPad and the iPhone, then there would essentially be no use for Apple’s iTunes Store. Why pay $9.99 for an album and over $15 for a movie or TV show when I can stream it online for free? If Flash were to be allowed on the iPad, then they would not be profiting from their App Store or iTunes Store, at all.

So they decide to make the iPad HTML5 friendly, which is essentially a new Adobe Flash, but newer technology and less memory intensive. All of today’s dynamic online advertisements are delivered with Flash. So Apple is trying to become the father of HTML5, meaning in the future they'll essentially control the content of every website, because website creators will want to conform to Apple's rules so that their own content will be allowed to be viewed on the iPad.

Several sites have already posted an HTML5 version of their website such as TED.com, WSJ, NYTimes, MSNBC, ABC, and CNN. They all already have HTML5 friendly videos, instead of Flash, and all this only for the iPad (and it’s only been what? A few days since the release of the iPad?).

Imagine 5 years from now the control that Apple will have. Adobe itself admits today that Apple is ruining their business. Today Apple says they don't want Flash on their device. So everyone conforms. Tomorrow they'll say they don't want Google to work on their device, so everyone conforms.

iPhone, Text Messaging & Trouble

Guest Author ∙ April 10, 2010

My absolute #1 use of my iPhone is text messaging. I am an admitted text junkie. I awaken to texts, go to sleep to texts, and spend a good part of my day replying to friends, coworkers, even my daughter from the yard or bedroom rather than yelling out to each other. But sometimes, texts can get you into trouble...

No, I’m not talking about embarrassing drunken texts to exes, or things accidentally sent to the wrong person. What I’m talking about here is inflection. A simple matter of getting your point across, whether it’s sarcastic, serious, funny, etc. This weekend yet again, things with a text buddy got a little strained because of lack of inflection. And so... we back up, explain ourselves, and wish we had called instead.

So this made me wonder, as I have wondered before, why is there no app, be it jailbreak or legit, that allows us to enable bold and italics on the iPhone? There are literally tons of text related apps, apps that allow me to change the fonts and colors, apps (and the actual phone itself) offering dozens of languages and emoji icons.

But so far I have found no app that enables bold or italics. All caps (which tends to be my go to) can be worse because then I’m yelling. But really, I’m not yelling, I just need emphasis or some inflection for the idea I am trying to convey. Granted, I’m no techie, so perhaps there is a simple technical reason that this can’t be done, but with all the amazing things this phone can do I am pretty surprised that this isn’t one of them. And, I am even more surprised that I don’t hear more people expressing an interest in wanting this kind of app.

Every once in awhile I look through the new font/text apps to see if anyone offers it but with the sheer volume of things available maybe I am just not finding it? I will say this, it is something that I would pay a decent price for if it were available.

Feel free to reply if you have alienated someone via text message... just be careful how you word it!

Multitasking 101: Activator

Guest Author ∙ Updated March 27, 2018

>When it comes to multitasking, the Apple line of iDevices falls short. Very short. Apple's claims are more or less valid; multitasking drains the battery. While this may be true in some cases, it doesn't completely hold up to that claim. There are millions of people who jailbreak their devices just so they can multitask.

As of this writing, all generations of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch cannot multitask applications that are not part of the stock firmware. This means that you cannot download applications from iTunes App Store and minimize it (run it in the background). Have you ever become frustrated that you can't listen to Pandora radio and surf the web with Mobile Safari? Yeah? So have many of us.

Rumors are piling up that Apple will finally allow these 3rd party applications to run in the background. On white paper, this means you can run applications such as Pandora and play games simultaneously at the expense of a generous battery tax. At least the choice would exist. We own the devices after all.

The intriguing part of the iPhone is the fact that there is only one main button. Equally as important is the power button and the volume controls. This opens up new questions as to how to activate backgrounded applications. It's clear that Apple invents but it's also clear that Apple sometimes "borrows" code from the open source projects.

Enter Activator. A free and open source library and Mobile Subtract extension, developed by Ryan Petrich (better known as @rpetrich on Twitter), available to any developer to include with their development projects. That's great for developers. What about the average user?

To the average user, the only catch is Activator is a forbidden fruit and only available for jailbroken devices and only available in the Cydia Store. Anyone using Overboard and/or Snappy is already familiar with the library since Activator is a required library for both applications and is automatically downloaded and installed when either application is installed. It can also be installed as a stand alone application so there is no obligation to install anything else. Just do a search for "Activator" in Cydia and install. Then go to Settings.app and scroll down to your jailbreak settings table and configure your gestures.

Activator installs a handful of gestures, or activation methods, that can be assigned to any application, even applications from the App Store. How cool is that? This allows users to quickly access, or activate, background processes by simply swiping a finger or quickly tapping the home button. Of course, this genius developer also included support for using the volume buttons and the power button.

Assuming all said rumors of multitasking are true, what are your thoughts on handling backgrounded applications? Will Apple develop their own gesture code or "borrow" and close the doors? Activator is there... in all its glory. Free and open. One thing is certain; the current gesture API will need to be updated because one home button cannot do all the work.

My Thoughts On The iPad On Release Day

Guest Author ∙ Updated March 5, 2018

I'm usually up this early for work so it was no sweat for me to get up at 3:00 a.m. and have breakfast with a group of Twitter enthusiasts to get the new Apple iPad. I was one of the few people in the group who was actually not sold on the iPad. I have an iPhone. Why do I need an iPad? I listened to Steve Jobs and watched Apple's series of videos but nothing so far convinced me to buy one. I knew I had to have it in my hands to know if I really could use one. So, I tagged along.

Apple employees were willing to let me try the device even though I told them I had no intention of buying it.

Unfortunately the Wi-Fi at the Apple Store I was at in Hawaii was so flooded I couldn't use apps on the iPad that needed the internet and I couldn't browse Safari. But, there was still plenty to check out.

I immediately wanted to try a racing game and the iPad I was using had Real Racing HD [iTunes link]. I actually didn't like Real Racing on the iPhone and preferred other racing apps like Asphalt 5. I found the learning curve to be tougher. But, on the iPad I quickly learned how to drive well. I didn't even read the instructions so I didn't even use the brakes. Plus, the more recent racing games are notorious for slow loading (especially on the iPhone 3G) but the iPad handled the game with ease.

Another highlight: Pianist Pro [iTunes link]. I know how to play a variety of instruments including the piano. And the iPhone has been almost worthless when it comes to simulating a real instrument. But, Pianist Pro comes pretty darn close to at least a workable toy keyboard. The touchscreen was sensitive enough to handle the chords and arpeggios I threw at it. A drum machine is built-in. There's a dual keyboard mode for playing both the left hand and the right hand notes. The only real drawback to the app is that the white keys will only trigger when hit below the black keys making a chord like A-flat a little harder. Pianists and keyboardists will know what I'm talking about. If that can be fixed, it would be a near-perfect piano app for the iPad.

My favorite new native feature is the ability to use your photos as an animated picture frame when your iPad is locked. It's called Picture Frame. Use it and love it.

I'm definitely a lot more intrigued by the iPad now that I had a chance to have one in my hands. If I do get one, I'm more inclined to use the iPad at home and use my iPhone when I'm out on the road. If I do get an iPad I would rather get the 3G version so when I go on trips I'll always have the internet. Family that I visit in the continental U.S. doesn't have Wi-Fi. I can just activate the unlimited 3G for that month since there is no contract required.

Leave a comment to let us know what you think about the iPad after trying it out.