Jeff Benjamin

Jeff has been with iDownloadBlog since 2010, acting as resident video specialist, and tutorial expert. He earned his degree in Computer Network Systems back in 2001, but decided Cisco routers and the like just weren’t for him. Since then, he’s been heavily involved with online writing. He’s written for numerous tech and video game sites since the late 1990′s, and has a knack for explaining things in a simple, clear, and concise manner. Jeff works primarily from the east coast on his Retina Macbook Pro, and shoots video with a Canon DSLR. During downtime he likes to travel the world, visiting the various Apple Stores across the globe. You can email him at jeff [at] idownloadblog.com and follow him on Twitter @JeffBenjam or on Google+.

HUDSpeed: speed up the volume HUD fade out animation

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 16, 2014

One of my personal iOS pet peeves is how long it takes for the volume HUD to fade away after adjusting the volume. It seems to linger there for an absurd amount of time, wearing out its welcome in the process.

A new jailbreak tweak called HUDSpeed has been released to combat the extended presence of the overlay. HUDSpeed is a tweak that takes a logical approach to fixing this issue—it speeds up the HUD animation forcing it to disappear quicker.

Does it work? Have a look at our video walkthrough past the break for the answer.

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BookSong: make the Music app remember where you left off

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 15, 2014

BookSong is one of those jailbreak tweaks that sounds a bit silly in description, but turns out to be fairly interesting when you begin using it. It's a tweak that allows you to automatically reestablish the spot where you left off on a song even if you kill the stock Music app or perform a respring.

Without this tweak, iOS will not remember where your song left off, regardless of where you were mid tune. With BookSong, iOS remembers exactly where you left off, and picks up the jams from that exact spot. Have a look at our video walkthrough after the break to see BookSong in action.

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Hermes: a lightweight cross-platform quick reply solution

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 15, 2014

Are you itching for a lightweight quick reply solution, and feel that existing tweaks don't work for you? What about being able to quickly reply to WhatsApp, Kik, and iMessage messages from the same quick reply interface. If you answered yes to one or both questions, then you may want to check out Hermes, a brand new $0.99 quick reply solution for jailbreakers.

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SwipeExpander: a new keyboard shortcut tool for jailbreakers

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

SwipeExpander is a new jailbreak tweak that brings powerful keyboard shortcut gestures to the iPhone à la AltKeyboard. The tweak employs swipe-up and swipe-down keyboard gestures to invoke a variety of different actions, from mundane copy/paste shortcuts, to insert text shortcuts.

One of the cool things about SwipeExpander is that lowercase and uppercase keys are deemed separate, meaning you can have a large variety of keyboard gestures across the 26 letters in the english alphabet. But that's not all, SwipeExpander plays nice with well-known and respected keyboard related tweaks like SwipeSelection, PredictiveKeyboard, and more. Check out our hands-on video inside.

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xNotiLockColor: change the colors of Lock screen notifications

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

xNotiLockColor is a new tweak that allows you to change up the colors present on Lock screen notifications. It's a simple tweak that allows you to individually alter the primary color, secondary color, subtitle, time/slide, and separator colors for Lock screen notification messages.

Each section contains over a dozen different color selections to choose from and you can combine multiple colors to come up with some pretty wacky Lock screen looks. Have a glance at our video demo inside to see how easy it is.

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PopSearch adds new search options to Action Menu

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Ryan Petrich's Action Menu is such a classic jailbreak tweak that many developers continue to make add-ons for it years after its release. Case in point, PopSearch, an add-on that brings new search options to the classic tweak.

PopSearch allows users to highlight specific text and quickly search that text using a pop-over menu. Search engines include Google, Wikipedia, Amazon, and Bing. Settings can be configured from Action Menu's settings. Take a look inside for a video demonstration of PopSearch in action.

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TapToSnap brings LG G3-like picture taking functionality to iOS

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 11, 2014

Have you ever wanted to tap the viewfinder while in the Camera app to take a picture? LG's flagship phone, the LG G3, includes a similar feature, but if you don't want to go out and buy a new smartphone just to experience it, we've got good news.

TapToSnap is a jailbreak tweak for jailbroken iPhones that mimics the LG G3's tap to snap feature. All you need to do is install this new jailbreak tweak, and you'll be well on your way. Have a look at the video after the break to see it in action.

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OneThumb: a universal thumbs up/down tweak for Spotify, Pandora and iTunes Radio

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 11, 2014

OneThumb is a unique new jailbreak tweak that works with Spotify, Pandora, and iTunes Radio. It allows you to use a universal Activator gesture to input thumbs up or thumbs down ratings across all eligible apps.

Instead of having different manners and methods for curating radio stations, OneThumb brings it all under one umbrella. We've tested it out, and we can vouch that the tweak works exactly as it is described. Take a look at our video inside for all of the details.

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Vestigo: an awesome way to manage Wi-Fi networks from anywhere

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 10, 2014

Vestigo is a great-looking upcoming jailbreak tweak that makes managing Wi-Fi networks on your jailbroken iPhone a breeze. It's a well-designed tweak that incorporates Activator gestures to access Wi-Fi management from anywhere.

We've got an early look at Vestigo—a tweak that should be touching down on Cydia any day now—and we really like what we've found. Want to see how Vestigo works in action? Take a glance at our video walkthrough after the break.

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Let’s Talk Jailbreak 64: Make me a Sandwich, Siri

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Episode 64: A deluge of brand new jailbreak tweaks hit Cydia in the past week. Tune in as Sebastien, Jeff, and Cody break down Auki, TypeStatus Plus, Aslock, Acute, Springtomize 3, TapTheAt, and much, much, more.

Sponsor: Use hired.com/jailbreakpodcast to get 5-15 job offers in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, and also get a double signing bonus of $4,000 bonus when you accept a job by using the hired.com/jailbreakpodcast url.

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MarkAsRead7: Remove icon badges when clearing Notification Center

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 8, 2014

Are persistent app badge notifications getting you down? Do you wish they'd just go away after clearing alerts from Notification Center? If this sounds like a problem you experience, then you'll definitely be interested in MarkAsRead7.

MarkAsRead7 is a free jailbreak tweak available right now on Cydia's BigBoss repo that helps you keep your Home screen looking fresh and clean. As its name implies, it features iOS 7.1.x compatibility out of the gate. Take a gander at our video demonstration inside to see why you may find this tweak to be useful.

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