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+.

LockInfo: iOS 5’s Notification Center inspiration stands the test of time

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 10, 2012

LockInfo is one of the few jailbreak apps that could single-handedly convinced people to jailbreak their iDevices over the past few years.

It's arguably the primary inspiration behind iOS 5's Notification Center. IntelliScreenX, one of the most popular jailbreak apps at the current moment replicates some of its features.

Without a doubt, LockInfo is a staple in the jailbreak community on a variety of levels. If you're new to the iPhone, or you've just never given LockInfo a try for whatever reason, we recommend that you take a look at our video walkthrough inside...

‘WeKillBackground Pro’ makes killing apps a walk in the park

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 9, 2012

WeeKillBackground Pro is a very robust app management tweak that allows you to kill all backgrounded apps in one fell swoop.

Residing in iOS 5's Notification Center, WeeKillBackground Pro is always at your fingertips when you want to quickly kill all of your running and/or backgrounded apps.

But that's not all, this tweak lives up to its "pro" designation by featuring a generous helping of options along with its basic settings. Check inside for the full scoop...

i4Siri: a promising 3rd party Siri server

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

Ever since the possibility of a Siri Proxy server was first unveiled, it's been all the rage. The promise of being able to run Siri on older devices? Count me and about a million other people in.

Now you can hardly look around without seeing some blurb about a 3rd party Siri server, and although security (or lack thereof) is still a big concern, it's apparently not concerning enough to keep the masses of pre-iPhone 4S owners away.

Andrew Sheridan, one of the primary folks behind the i4Siri project reached out to me about a month ago asking me to try his Siri server. Here are some of the results of that trial...

Simplexity: A Simple Yet Complex Method for Viewing the App Switcher

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 7, 2012

Looking for yet another alternative to the stock App Switcher? I know, there's no shortage of alternate app switchers, but there's always room for one more, right?

Well, on second thought, maybe not. Simplexity is a recently released jailbreak tweak on Cydia that wholeheartedly lives up to its name. While it's simple in some aspects, it can make what should otherwise be a no-brainer function overly complex...

How to Check Where Jailbreak Tweaks Are Installed

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 7, 2012

Have you ever wondered what files a specific jailbreak tweak places on your device? Have you ever wondered where the files are stored?

If so, you could always fire up iFile or use an FTP utility to go digging around in your file system. Or, you could just head to Cydia and utilize a provision that's available for every package you have installed on your device...

How to Use Activator Actions Via Terminal

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 7, 2012

Let's just chalk TerminalActivator into the "I do it just because I can" category.

TerminalActivator, as its name might suggest, allows you to execute Activator actions via a terminal emulator.

It works well, but the developer is obviously targeting a very small audience. Full video demonstration inside...

Alter Your App Switching Animations With ‘Jepit’

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 7, 2012

Jepit is a jailbreak tweak that attempts to add new app switching animations to your iDevice.

Along with animations, Jepit also includes the ability to change the speed of said animations.

Sadly, its lack of polish hinders what could otherwise be an eye catching tweak. Take a look as we go one-on-one with Jepit inside...

The Best Looking Siri Theme Yet

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 6, 2012

Neurotech Siri is an absolutely amazing looking theme for Siri, and really, the pictures and video don't totally do it justice.

This is a WinterBoard theme that features almost 300 frames of animation on the Siri logo, and you can tell from the fluidity and smoothness when invoking Siri.

Other Siri themes have changed the mic color, or added an Apple logo, but those all pale in comparison to this...

How to Install Plex on the Apple TV For Free

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Plex is a simple way to access both local media stored on your PC or networked drives, along with online media on a variety of devices.

There are Plex apps for the Mac, PC, iOS, and even Android devices. Being the ubiquitous app that it is, it's not surprising that it runs on a jailbroken Apple TV.

Inside we'll show you how to install Plex on your jailbroken Apple TV for free...

AnyRing: A Simple Way to Create Custom Ringtones

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 6, 2012

Creating custom ringtones is possible without jailbreaking, but it's still not the simplest feat in the world.

Jailbreaking, on the other hand, makes creating custom ringtones extremely easy.

AnyRing is one such jailbreak app dedicated to creating custom ringtones, SMS alerts, and mail alerts. Check out our video highlights of the recently updated app inside.

‘ColoredKnob’ Updated With a Host of New Colors

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 5, 2012

ColoredKnob is a tweak that we covered in the past, and it was met with a fairly warm reception. We really liked it; in fact, the only thing holding us back from absolutely loving it was the limited amount of colors available in the initial release.

Apparently the developer heard our cries, because ColoredKnob has just been updated with a ton of new colors, making it much more appealing that it was before...