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+.

Samsung to iPhone users: come test drive our newest phones for just a dollar

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

As first noted by Engadget, Samsung is so confident that iPhone users will find its newest smartphones compelling enough to switch, that it's letting iPhone users test drive them for 30 days for just a buck.

Coined "The Ultimate Test Drive", Samsung, doing its very best T-Mobile impression, is letting current iPhone owners take the Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy Note5, or Galaxy S6 edge+ for a 30-day spin.

All you need to do is visit Samsung's The Ultimate Test Drive website via the Safari browser running on your iPhone, select your current carrier, the Galaxy model you wish to test, register with Samsung, and provide delivery and credit card information.

By registering, you're more than likely opening yourself up to all sorts of future marketing strategies, but if you really want to test drive one of Samsung's new phones, this is probably one of the easiest ways to do so.

Hours after the BigBoss repo endured an outage, ModMyi is experiencing similar problems

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

In what appears to be a coincidence, the popular ModMyi repo now appears to be suffering from an outage. This comes just hours after the BigBoss repo waded through extended downtime.

When trying to refresh the ModMyi repo from the Sources tab in Cydia, it hangs and never actually refreshes. Trying to download a tweak from the repo results in a black screen with an eventual timeout—just like what happened with the BigBoss repo yesterday.

Like I said, it could be just a coincidence, but I have to admit that the timing of these two outages is a little odd. Both ModMyi and BigBoss rarely suffer from extended downtime, so it's weird to see them both suffering from similar outages back to back like this.

Final Fantasy VII is now available for iOS

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Final Fantasy VII, the legendary Japanese RPG that first launched on the original PlayStation back in 1997, is now available for download from the App Store for $15.99. It's been called one of the most influential RPGs of all time, and now it's available in handheld form as a universal app for iPhone and the iPad.

It's been a long time coming for this release. Back in October 2013, Square Enix director Takashi Tokita stated that such a release could be "years away" citing storage space limitations. Well, it's August 2015, and the game is just now arriving, so he wasn't too far off the mark...

BIM: a new jailbreak tweak that lets you view links without leaving the Messages app

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

I've always lived by the idea that simple jailbreak tweaks make the best jailbreak tweaks, and BIM is the perfect example of that. BIM is a tweak that lends a convenient web browsing experience directly inside of the stock Messages app.

When someone sends you a link, tapping on it will open a web browser directly inside the Messages app. This means that you can check out the links sent to you quickly without needing to leave the Messages app for Safari.

Review: Sennheiser ClipMic digital and Apogee MetaRecorder

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

As many of you guys know, I’m fairly involved in audio and video when it comes to producing content for iDownloadBlog. As someone who co-produces multiple podcasts each week, I’m especially fond of audio, and any new product that surfaces that could possibly give my audio game a boost is on my radar.

One such product is Sennheiser’s new ClipMic digital ($199 on Amazon). It’s a lavalier mic that connects directly to the iPhone via its MFi certified Lightning connector. With the ClipMic digital, you can basically transform your iPhone into a high quality audio recorder...

No, it’s not just you, the BigBoss repo is currently down

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

If you've recently tried to install a tweak hosted on the BigBoss repo, then you've probably encountered issues doing so. It's not something wrong with your phone, or with your Internet connection. The BigBoss repo is currently down, and have been for at least 45 minutes.

20 recently released jailbreak tweaks for iOS 8.4

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

I think it's safe to say that jailbreaking doesn't seem to be slowing down much, despite the just-released iOS 8.4.1. Jailbreak developers are still putting out tweaks at a blistering clip, as evident by our tweaks of the week post this weekend.

Just in case you may be a little behind on what's new, we're showcasing 20 recently released jailbreak tweaks in less than five minutes. Watch this video for a quick refresher of what's recently been put on Cydia, and remember, this is just a portion of the releases to land over the last few weeks.

Let’s Talk Jailbreak 121: Watch transmitted disease

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Episode 121: The death of the iOS 8.4 jailbreak, our jailbreak gameplans going forward, running tweaks on iOS 9, a discussion of iMods, and the upcoming Multiplexer multitasking jailbreak tweak.

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Review: BatteryBox – a good charging solution for your MacBook?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

I’ve been using Gbatteries’ BatteryBox ($219 on Amazon) portable MacBook-enabled battery charger for several months, and now I’d like to share my thoughts on the device.

The BatteryBox is a dense, yet small compact box that’s almost exactly as wide as of pack of playing cards, and about as tall as two and a half packs of playing cards.

Needless to say it’s a very small device, but it’s also extremely dense and a little awkward to travel with. It’s essentially like carrying around a power brick from your favorite game console in the mid-90’s.

The BatteryBox is dense because it packs in a whopping 60 Wh rechargeable li-ion battery. That’s a lot of juice, and as such, it can power a MacBook Air for 13 hours straight. As a user of a MacBook Pro, the amount of time I get from the BatteryBox is obviously reduced, but I still came away fairly impressed with the results.

The BatteryBox can also charge other items, like iPhone and iPads, via a standard USB connection. In fact, it can fully recharge an iPhone up to 11 times, which makes it great for traveling where you power outlet access may be limited.

But what makes the BatteryBox stand out is the fact that it can connect directly to a MacBook’s charging port via a specially designed connector. Since Apple owns the patents to MagSafe connectors, Gbatteries had to come up with a different method for connecting to the MacBook. The BatteryBox is the result of its efforts, and it works well from my experience.

If you’re a MacBook user who’s often on the go, should you consider supplementing your MacBook’s battery with a BatteryBox? Find out inside…

Hacker adds custom watch face to the Apple Watch

Jeff Benjamin ∙ August 18, 2015

Hamza Sood, a well-known member of the jailbreak community who likes to dabble in code, just tweeted a video of an Apple Watch running a custom watch face. The video, which is 23 seconds long, shows a custom watch face with running on a stainless steel Apple Watch with Milanese loop. Check out the full video and tell us what you think.

Apple is still signing iOS 8.4…install it now or forever hold your peace

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple is still signing iOS 8.4. That's not an anomaly, as Apple usually waits a while before it slams the door for good on older firmware. It's now been nearly a week since the exploit-killing iOS 8.4.1 was released, so time is definitely not on the side of those wishing to downgrade (or upgrade) to iOS 8.4 and enjoy a crisp new jailbreak.

We've emphasized this several times already, but now it's really serious and now it's really crunch time.

What should you do?

Let’s Talk iOS 095: Dial-up and mousepads

Jeff Benjamin ∙ August 18, 2015

Episode 95: Should Apple update the iPad Air 2? More on Apple's upcoming iPhone event. iOS 8.4.1 is released with tons of bug fixes. Jeff goes back to minimalism...sort of.

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