We were way overdue for a site redesign! As you can see it's much better than it was before. That's because instead of doing the design myself, I actually hired a professional to do it. The layout is pretty much the same so you should find your way around pretty easily.
There are Twitter and Facebook buttons on every page so you can easily share the articles with your buddies. We also have a new logo, which I really like.
A couple weeks ago I added this topic to my Evernote list of non-news stories to write about. In fear of this topic circulating the web waves I figure now is as good a time as any to open this topic up for clarification and debate. What actions or attitudes must an everyday Apple supporter exhibit before they are justly (or not) called a Fanboy?
Often I read comment sections on sites like ours and when Apple products are written about this term flies around like beach balls in a sports stadium. Showing your appreciation and opinion on why you proclaim your iPhone, iPad or other device as being the best, will instantly grant you the Fanboy label. Rarely is the term assigned to someone with any other intention than to call them a blazing idiot (which is much worse than just a regular idiot).
I have said before that I cannot see myself ever owning any phone but an iPhone. I have reasons with little relevance to this piece but will say that if for nothing else my devotion is confirmed by the sheer ease of synchronization with my other Apple products. I admit it's a circular argument (meaning I say I won't stop using Apple products since they work so well with other Apple products), but that is my experience.
It's like Christmas for me right now. One of my favorite jailbreak apps, Action Menu, has been updated to bring support for iOS 4, the iPhone 4 and the iPad. I've always confessed my love for Action Menu, which saves me tons of time in my everyday usage of the iPhone.
For those of you who don't know about Action Menu, let me give you a quick glimpse at what it does. Action Menu takes a stab at enhancing the copy/paste function of your iPhone by adding a bunch of add-ons to it. The lite version is free but for $2.99, you can get the full-featured app, which I think is well worth the money.
Whenever I show my iPhone to someone who has very limited care or information regarding mobile technology, it never gets old hearing them gasp at the reality that the device they are looking at is indeed a phone. And why should it? The gadgets and basic household items that have since been replaced (or thrown away) by the hand of my iPhone is an ever expending list:
Earlier this Month the 3rd round of Beta was handed out to developers and the list of fixes doesn't technically include some of the biggest issues people have had with the iPhone's operating system. The proximity sensor or Bluetooth Connectivity don't make the list, but I have beliefs that Apple is working on them secretly to keep the issues asleep.
Neil Hughes from Apple Insider mentions increased performance in both of these important areas and points out a few obscure fixes as well. Steve Jobs said in July that the proximity sensor issue would be dealt with in an update but hasn't said a word about the topic since. Again I say to keep the issue quiet.
As usual Apple has been patent happy. Just as usual is the breakdown of what sometimes may be considered by outsiders as minimal or trivial. This isn't one of those times.
If you're the paranoid type, you just might want to check your peep-hole twice tonight. Mac Life has the entry and it reads:
Want to send SMS from your iPad? There is an app for that, assuming you have a jailbroken iPad 3G. SwirlyMessage is a new jailbreak application by the developer of SwirlyMMS that allows you to send and receive real SMS and MMS on your iPad 3G.
In order to use SwirlyMessage, you need a jailbroken iPad 3G, and make sure that your carrier data plan allows for sending sending SMS and/or MMS. I don't have an iPad 3G so I wasn't able to try this application but from what I understand, SwirlyMessage simply provides an interface to send SMS through your carrier. If that's the case, extra cost for each SMS sent/received might apply.
You can download SwirlyMessage from Cydia for $12. Please let us know what you think of this application should you decide to give it a try.
Are you tired of using the "Slide to Unlock" thingy on your iPhone to get access to its homescreen? Then VUnlock might the jailbreak app you've been waiting for. VUnlock allows you to use the volume button of your iPhone to unlock the screen.
Using the volume key to access your phone might be a faster way than turning on the screen and swiping your finger across. The downside is you might accidentally unlock your iPhone more often now it's just one push of a button away.
Some of you with iPhone 3G who updated to iOS 4 and up have noticed how performances have been degraded. The most common symptom is how slow you iPhone 3G becomes. Apple recently said they are looking into it, and in the meanwhile, we provided you with a quick fix that works for many of you.
A frustrated iPhone 3G user asked Steve Jobs about it:
As iDB covers the possibility of a Verizon iPhone, most everyone thinks having a choice of carriers would be good for the consumers. However it's that very exclusivity that makes the awesome device more affordable than other smartphones in its class, says 9 to 5 Mac. They have a point.
AT&T's position as sole carrier in the U.S. doesn't come without a hefty price. By being lone wolf they have to fork over subsidies that make the iPhone cost just $200-$300. In fact the mobile provider pays out more in subsidies for the iPhone than any other phone they offer. Don't feel too bad for them because in reality it has been AT&T's personal cash cow.
Do you remember last year when Mobile Mechatronics released a physical keyboard that attached to the iPhone 3G and 3GS called the iTwinge? It turns out that it was a big enough hit for another company to put the click button feel to the iPhone 4.
A designer by the name of Altamash Jiwani has created a prototype that is a bit more complex than the previous accessories. The design resembles the Apple Bumper with the keyboard on rails that make the home button clearable with a slide. It would disable the functionality of the keyboard by way of its dock connect-ability. Not stopping there, the bottom would serve as a female dock port which would allow syncing without removing the keyboard.
Continuing in my short lived residency here at iDB is my Friday rant that is usually based off a particular story in the week that rubbed me the wrong way. When we reported about Facebook adding GPS check in capabilities I knew my topic had been sealed. I will preface my outburst by informing you all that I am one of the few individuals I know who doesn't have a profile in the world's biggest social platform. I had one for less than a month and every lousy expectation I envisioned came to life.
I have no bones to pick with users who have Facebook accounts. If I did I would have almost no one to talk to. My beef comes from the irresponsible undertones involved with the new Places feature embedded within the iPhone app. I have yet to hear a responsible or even reasonable explanation for desiring to participate in sharing your location with your "friends". The whole memories still not being captured song and dance that Facebook cites as motivation is as corny as a field in Iowa.