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How to stream torrents to your Apple TV, no jailbreak needed

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 31, 2014

A new Mac app called TorrenTV was recently released to allow users to stream torrents directly to the Apple TV. The app, which begins playing movies immediately via a simple drag and drop of a .torrent file, streams to the Apple TV, even if the device isn't jailbroken.

Even better is the fact that TorrenTV requires zero setup. As long as your Mac and Apple TV share the same Wi-Fi network, TorrenTV will begin streaming video to your Apple TV almost immediately.

Of course, being that we don't condone piracy, the use of such an app would have its limits. Thankfully, there are legitimate videos available via torrents, which can thus be streamed directly to your Apple TV. Have a look inside for more information.

AboutUDID: a super-handy tweak for finding your iPhone’s UDID

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

AboutUDID is a relatively new jailbreak tweak that does something extremely useful for those of you who test beta software. It allows you to easily view the device's UDID from the General > About section of the stock Settings app. This UDID, which stands for Unique Device Identifier, is a 40 character hex value that is used by developers for registering test devices for apps.

The UDID can easily be retrieved by connecting to iTunes or by downloading third-party applications, but this tweak makes it even easier. In fact, AboutUDID allows you to copy and paste values from a device's About section, which makes sharing the ID with developers even more painless. Check out our video inside to see how it works.

BrightPlayer: add brightness slider and rotation lock to iOS video player

Timothy Reavis ∙ July 31, 2014

The idea for BrightPlayer originally came from a Reddit post in /r/jailbreak, where a jailbreaker pitched his tweak concept to any interested developers out there. The result is a handy little jailbreak tweak for adjusting display brightness and toggling rotation lock from the iOS video player.

BrightPlayer is a great example of a simple tweak that adds a small amount of convenience to a certain area of iOS. I've quite frequently found myself having to invoke Control Center to up my display brightness when launching a video, and all too often I'm toggling rotation lock to keep the video in landscape. BrightPlayer fixes these issues by adding options for both screen brightness levels and rotation lock directly into iOS's video player...

AgileBits shows off iOS 8 app extension feature for 1Password

Cody Lee ∙ July 30, 2014

The folks over at AgileBits are all over the new developer tools Apple introduced in iOS 8. Last month they previewed Touch ID support for their popular 1Password app, and today they posted a video showing off a new app extension feature.

Among the many new features announced for iOS 8 is one called app extensions, which allows developers to make some functions of their apps available in other apps via Share Sheets. And 1Password will take advantage of this in a big way...

Another video surfaces showing off alleged iPhone 6 back assembly enclosure

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

We're supposedly less than two months away from Apple's assumed iPhone 6 launch in September so little wonder that genuine-looking components continue leaking out of dorm rooms and factories left and right in China.

In collaboration with Evasi0nJailbreak.com and FreeAppLife, jailbreak tutorial writer Tanner Marsh claims to have received an alleged back housing part, in gold, of a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 from one of Apple’s suppliers in China and he has a video up to prove it.

Of course, we've thus far seen our fair share of various components though this particular leak seemingly corroborates that a pre-production version of the handset may indeed rock the somewhat controversial antenna breaks at the top and the bottom. Jump past the fold to give it a quick watch and join us in comments...

‘Mikoto’ is like Springtomize for apps

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Mikoto is a jailbreak tweak that allows you to customize various aspects of App Store apps and default iOS apps on the iPhone. It's similar to Springtomize in that you can alter loads of various features for a variety of different areas within supported apps.

You won't find Mikoto on the BigBoss repo or the ModMyi repo; it's only available by means of a third-party non-default repository. Have a look inside as we take Mikoto for a spin on video, and we'll show you how to score this free jailbreak tweak for yourself.

Upgrading to a 4K monitor: enjoy Retina quality graphics on an external display

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

As many of you know, I'm rocking a 13" Retina MacBook Pro, and I love it. The screen is killer, it's fairly fast, and it's portable.

But as I begin to take on more "intense" projects, I'm starting to realize that I simply don't have enough screen real estate to be the most productive I can be. I need an external monitor.

The problem is, and if you're a current Retina MacBook owner you've no doubt faced a similar conundrum, most of the popular external displays pale in comparison to the Retina display. Even Apple's mighty Thunderbolt Display, with its 27" screen and 2560x1440 native resolution, looks downright grainy when placed side-by-side with the Retina screen of a MacBook Pro.

So what to do? You could hold off until Apple finally decides it wants to get with the program and offer a Retina capable Thunderbolt Display, or...or...or! You could get a ultra-HD 4K capable monitor right now and enjoy a "Retina" experience.

That's exactly what I decided to do. Inside, I'll break down some of the pluses and minuses of my latest pickup, Dell's ($799 on Amazon) 24" ultra-HD display, the UP2414Q.

EqualizerEverywhere makes it possible to adjust audio in any app

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

EqualizerEverywhere is a recently released jailbreak tweak that makes it possible to create and activate custom equalizer presets on the fly. If you're someone who listens to a variety of different audio types on the iPhone, and you're looking for a way to customize sound based on the type of audio, this is a tweak that you should definitely investigate.

We've taken EqualizerEverywhere for a spin, and we were pretty impressed by what we found. Have a look at our video walkthrough after the jump.

Google reportedly buying streaming video platform Twitch for $1 billion

Cody Lee ∙ July 24, 2014

Google has reportedly reached an agreement to acquire Twitch for $1 billion. After several months of rumors that the search giant was courting the streaming video platform, VentureBeat says that it has confirmed with several sources that it's a done deal.

For those unfamiliar with the service, Twitch is a San Francisco-based company that enables people to broadcast video game sessions from their consoles, computers, and as of March, mobile devices. It also distributes content from CBS Interactive partners...

Easily theme your iPhone signal bars with ‘Meter’

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 23, 2014

Meter is an upcoming tweak that replaces the stock signal meters for the iPhone's cellular signal with custom themed meters. The signal themes, which are selectable via Meter's preferences, allow users to enjoy a different look in the iPhone's status bar.

Meter is developed by the same developer who brought us Circlet, a similar status-bar-item-altering tweak. While Meter isn't as ambitious as Circlet, it's a great compliment to the status bar, and looks awesome when paired together.

We got our hands on a preview copy of Meter to record a video demonstration to show how it works. Take a look inside for more details.

Brevity: send a quick canned response via the Messages app

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 23, 2014

Do you like the idea of being able to send quick canned text responses to your friends or family? Do you want a quick way to acknowledge the receipt of a text message? If so, a Messages app tweak entitled Brevity might be just what you need.

Brevity is an upcoming jailbreak tweak that makes it easy to send a single canned text message response in an instant. We've been able to test out a pre-release version of Brevity, and we like what we've seen thus far. Check out our video walkthrough inside for additional details.

Power Tap: add more options to the power off slider in iOS

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Power Tap is a jailbreak tweak with a simple premise that's executed to perfection. It allows you to perform a respring, reboot, power down, or boot into safe mode from the convenience of the stock iOS power down screen.

The great thing about Power Tap is that it reuses most of the assets already available on the power down screen. The result? A jailbreak tweak that could potentially pass as a stock feature. Check out our video walkthrough of Power Tap after the break.