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+.

How to view a map via the Spotlight search page

Mappr is a recently released jailbreak tweak that replaces the traditional Spotlight search with that of a map. The map can be configured in the Settings app to track your location or to change the map type.

Although the idea of Mappr sounds interesting, its execution leaves a bit to be desired. Check out our video walkthrough to see what I mean.

‘PatternUnlock’ brings Android inspired security to iOS

PatternUnlock isn't the first jailbreak tweak to hit Cydia that features an Android-like pattern unlock pattern, but it is, perhaps, the best. Other jailbreak tweaks like AndroidLockXT can lay claim to being the first, and some may prefer the vast amount of options offered with that tweak.

I prefer PatternUnlock, however, because of its ease of use, design, and impeccable documentation. It's a tweak that plays nice with stock iOS, and compliments the standard experience instead of making it feel obtuse and disjointed. Take a look inside as I go hands-on with PatternUnlock on video.

TimeForAlarm: show how much time remains before your alarm sounds

TimeForAlarm is a recently released jailbreak tweak, and it provides you with a readout of the remaining amount of time before your alarm is scheduled to sound. The tweak, which is free on Cydia's ModMyi repo, displays a real time readout of the time remaining for all of your configured alarms in the stock Clock app.

Take a look inside for our hands-on video synopsis of TimeForAlarm...

‘HomeDisplay’ adds a secondary status bar to the Home screen

HomeDisplay is a brand new jailbreak tweak that places a second status bar beneath the stock iOS status bar on your Home screen. The secondary status bar includes the current date on the left-hand side of the bar, with the current temperature on the opposite side.

HomeDisplay also features the ability to showcase the now playing track, and it works with streaming services like Spotify. We have a full video walkthrough of HomeDisplay in action. Take a look inside to see how it works...

BannerSwipe: dismiss banner notifications with a simple swipe gesture

BannerSwipe is an extremely simple jailbreak tweak that allows you to quickly dismiss banner notifications using a swipe gesture. The tweak includes a fluid banner dismiss animation to go along with its gesture.

While it's true that you don't necessarily need a tweak like this to quickly dismiss banner notifications with a swipe gesture, BannerSwipe's main draw is the included dismissal animation. Want to see how the animation looks in action? Check our our video walkthrough...

How to use a ‘pull to refresh’ gesture to disable your alarms

Looking for a quick method to disable all of your iPhone's alarms in one fell swoop? If so, then look no further than Pull To Disable Alarms, a recently released jailbreak tweak.

As you have probably gathered by now, Pull To Disable Alarms is a tweak that allows you to perform a pull to refresh like gesture to quickly disable all of the alarms configured in the stock Clock app's alarm tab. Want more details? Check inside for our full video hands-on...

Slide2Kill Pro: kill apps with swipe gestures

Slide2Kill Pro is a recently released tweak that allows you to perform swipe gestures on the apps running in the app switcher. Slide2Kill serves as a way to remove apps from the app switcher in one fluid motion, instead of the stock iOS method of tapping and holding to enable wiggle mode, etc.

Obviously, iOS 7 will eliminate the need for tweaks like this, but until it goes public, Slide2Kill Pro is a decent alternative to the stock method of killing apps. Check out our brief video demonstration after the break...

Let’s Talk Jailbreak 16: The show must go on

Welcome to the sixteenth episode of Let's Talk Jailbreak. This week, Sebastien discusses his conversation with pod2g regarding iOS 7, the latest iOS 7 beta 2 running on the iPad, OS X Mavericks beta 2, and a whole host of new jailbreak tweaks. The tweaks for the week include NCEnough, Vox, The Quick Brown Fox, NativeQR, and more. We also discuss Sebastien's upcoming trip to France, and the possibility of a special guest host.

‘Space+’ brings desktop spacebar functionality to iOS

When you press and hold the spacebar on your desktop or laptop, it causes a space to be continually inputted until you release the spacebar. On iOS' virtual keyboard, it doesn't work quite that way. Instead of continually inputting a space, tapping and holding the spacebar inputs a single space and then stops. If you want to put in a series of consecutive spaces, you must continually tap the spacebar key on your virtual keyboard.

Space+ is a new jailbreak tweak that allows you to adapt desktop spacebar key functionality. Take a look at our full video walkthrough inside.

A hands-on look at iOS 7 on the iPad

iOS 7 beta 2 is the first iOS 7 to feature support for Apple's iconic tablet, and we've got a hands-on demonstration of how it looks and feels. The first word that came to my mind when I initially fired up iOS 7 on the iPad was “modern.” The iPad feels more spacious, and lightweight with iOS 7 installed. Whereas iOS 6 felt heavy and weighed down by skeuomorphism, iOS 7 feels light free.

I think you're going to like the way that iOS 7 looks and performs on the iPad. Check out our full video demonstration inside...

Preview: PatternUnlock

PatternUnlock is an upcoming jailbreak tweak that brings Android inspired Lock screen security to the iPhone. It features user customizable unlock patterns and various Lock screen themes that can be user customized as well.

The tweak, which will sell for $1.99 on Cydia's BigBoss repo, is due to touch down some time this weekend. For now, check out our brief preview video of the tweak inside.

‘PostOffice’ forwards all iOS notifications to Google Glass

Adam Bell, the iOS developer behind jailbreak tweaks like Stride and the Facebook Chat Head enabling MessageBox, is back at it again. He just released PostOffice — a new jailbreak tweak that allows Google Glass users to forward all of their iOS notifications directly to Google Glass.

Unfortunately, I don't own Google Glass, so it's impossible for me to personally test out exactly how the tweak functions. At any rate, take a look inside for a screenshot of the tweak's settings.