The Homeless Hacker

The story of Hans Moleman

2012-06-02T10:51:00.003-07:00

If you're a fan of the Simpsons, surely you've seen Moleman:

Well, I can't say for sure, but there's a very good chance he was named after me. Here's why.

Moleman's name was originally Ralph Melish. He first appeared in Season 2 (1992), and later, in Season 4 (1994), became a reoccurring character. But his first name was never mentioned, he was just called "Moleman". (This was because some of the writers thought he looked like a mole, obviously.)

Back in 1999, I started a little website for my streaming-video-over-broadband sales (which that technology was still in it's infancy back then), and I had one webcam. That quickly grew to 7 webcams, and a huge following (remember, this was before Facebook and Twitter, too.) Strangely enough, I got big in Japan - still am, but I don't know why. I never got naked, never did anything weird, just watched TV and lived my life. Also, being a huge Simpsons fan, I had their images all over my website (and since I knew the rules, they all linked back to Fox.)

Anyway, around early 2001, I got an email (and then an official letter) from Fox to Cease and Desist using any Simpsons images, and to remove them from my website immediately. I ignored it. A month or two later, I got an email from Matt Groenig - the creator of the Simpsons himself - who said he had been to my website, watched me on my webcams, and found me "strangely interesting", and that I had his permission to keep using the images, as long as they linked to the official Fox website, or to another part of my own.

Later that year, Moleman's first name was given in an episode of the Simpsons: Hans Moleman. Also, he claimed to be 31 years old - the same age *I* was in 2001. Not only that, but I was drinking a lot back then (I spent roughly $3,000 a month at the clubs on my favorite drink, Crown Royal), because, well, this was right after my divorce. Moleman uttered his now-infamous phrase, "Drinking has ruined my life!" in an episode of The Simpsons that year as well. Also, I walk with a cane, though that probably is a coincidence.

So, draw your own conclusions. ;)

Jailbreaing DOES NOT "void your warranty"!

2012-03-22T07:49:00.002-07:00

Recently, I was in a bike shop getting my tire fixed, and the girl behind the counter had an iPhone. When I asked her if she'd jailbroken it yet, she told me "Oh, we're with Verizon. We don't jailbreak our iPhone." When I asked why not, she replied "Because it voids our warranty. That's what they told us at Verizon." I corrected her, telling her that simple was not true.

Why is it not true? Because jailbreaking your iPhone (or iPad, or iPod Touch) is perfectly legal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (otherwise known as the DMCA.) In fact, it's expressly ALLOWED (see this MacWorld.com article for an explanation; also see the Electronic Frontier Foundation [aka EFF] page on this here.)

Jailbreaking your iOS device is nothing more than installing software. If the act of jailbreaking your iOS device did indeed "void your warranty", then that would mean that installing any software - even software you purchase from the Apple App Store - would also "void your warranty". Because that's all jailbreaking is - installing software. Don't want your iOS device to be jailbroken any longer? Just plug it into your computer, start iTunes, and tell iTunes to restore it to factory defaults. Sure, that wipes your device, but it also installs the factory iOS version that came with it, so that once it's done restoring, it's just like the day you bought it.

Now, way back in the day, when the very first iPhone came out, GeoHot opened up the case and physically soldered the iPhone's circuit board to jailbreak it. THAT would void your warranty, since opening the case and/or mucking around with the physical hardware is irreversible. But installing software? Even if said software isn't "authorized by Apple"? Nope, that doesn't void any warranty, regardless of what Verizon, Apple, or anyone else may claim.

It's just common sense.

iOS Financial Tracking Apps

2012-03-08T07:36:00.000-08:00

I've loved using financial tracking apps, ever since Microsoft Money debuted (which I preferred over Quicken.) But, having to keep all those receipts and remember to input them when I got back to my computer was a PITA. I've been checking out pretty much every financial/receipt tracking app on the App Store, and thus far, only two really stand out.

Mint.com Personal Finance - manage your money, budgets, expenses and bills
- Pros: it's free. It auto-updates your transactions (if your financial institution is supported.)
- Cons: Can't really track cash accounts, or financial institutions that are not supported. It auto-selects the category for the transaction based on the type of place you are at (which, while sometimes useful, can often be incorrect), and cannot be changed in the app. No way to really track a budget.
PocketMoney - checkbook, budgets, expenses.
- There are two flavors: the paid version ($4.99), and PocketMoney LITE, which is the free (albeit ad-supported) version. Both are identical (except for the fact that there are no ads in the paid version), so you don't lose any features. Try out the LITE, and if you want to get rid of the ads, purchase the full version.
- Pros: lots of them in this app: the ability to track any type of account (cash, checking, credit card, savings account, investment, et. al), an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, budgeting, etc.
- Cons: Unlike Mint.com Personal Finance, PocketMoney does not automatically retrieve your transactions, meaning you have to manually input each one.

I prefer PocketMoney, especially since my credit card is not supported in Mint.com, and thus I'm unable to effectively use the Mint.com app to track my purchases. Speaking of which, the Mint.com app is really designed to be used along with the Mint.com website online, which is the only place you can choose a different category for any expenditures.

Top Cydia tweaks to install after jailbreaking

2012-02-06T05:56:00.000-08:00

Coming on the heels of the iPhone 4S / iPad 2 (aka A5 devices) untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1, here's the list of the top Cydia tweaks to install, in my opinion. As with the App Store apps list I made, this is broken down into FREE and PAID categories.

FREE

Action Menu
Activator *
CyDelete
FolderIcons
KuaiDial
Lockscreen Multitasking
MultiIconMover
NewTabSearch
Pull To Dismiss
Pull To Refresh Mail
Pull To Refresh Safari
SBAdBlockToggle (requires SBSettings)
SBSettings
SiriToggles
Unified Ipod for IOS 5
Update Hider for iOS 5
WeatherIcon
Katra-based Weather Icon theme (requires WeatherIcon)
WiFiFoFum
Winterboard

PAID

Action Menu Plus Pack
AdBlocker
FolderEnhancer
iBlacklist
My3G
Navigate From Maps
Springtomize 2 - iOS 5+
WiFi Booster

The "Dream Team" for the A5 (4S/iPad 2) has been assembled!

2012-01-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

Pod2G, the man who made the iOS 5.0.1 untethered for A4 devices (iPhone 4, 3Gs, first-gen iPad) a reality has announced that the "Dream Team" for the A5 jailbreak has been formed.

After announcing that an untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4S/iPad 2 should be released in about a week, Pod2G announces that he joined forces with planetbeing, MuscleNerd and p0sixninja and they are all working together now to find a way to release the iPhone 4S/iPad 2 jailbreak.

Yesterday, the hacker issued a FAQ on why the jailbreaking isn’t available yet. The main reason is that right now, we would need a developer account to inject the untethering files into our iPhone 4S/iPad 2. Hopefully that will change, and soon we will be able to jailbreak our A5 devices.

"@planetbeing, the legendary hacker behind iPhone Linux and lot of jailbreaks has joined the A5 research!

The famous @MuscleNerd, the leader of the iPhone Dev Team, who did a lot of tests for Corona and whom integrated it and made it simple in redsn0w is willing to help also.

And last, but not least @p0sixninja, the leader of the Chronic Dev Team, and my partner for years on iPhone security research has started to code and fuzz the Apple sandbox.

We now have a dream team to find a path for a public release of the A5 jailbreak.

Cross your fingers."

Wonder TRIPLET powers...ACTIVATE!

Excessive battery drain on the iPhone 4S / iOS 5

2011-12-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

Interesting tip over at LifeHacker: battery drain in iOS 5 (and/or the 4S) could be a bug in the Time Zone settings that causes location services to go nuts and poll way more often than it needs to, draining the battery.

The solution for now seems to be manually switching off the automatic time zone updates located at Settings → Location Services → scroll to bottom to see System Services → Setting Time Zone, switch to OFF.

Most people don't need this on anyway; it's function is to automatically adjust the time zone when the iPhone crosses into a different one (say, if you're flying from Florida - EST - to California - PST.) You can always re-enable this, or just manually change the time zone if you happen to be traveling to a different time zone.

Even if it this setting isn't affecting the excessive battery drain that Apple IS investigating, turning this off will definitely make a difference, probably between 3-7% per day and upwards, and we all kn ow that every bit of battery life counts.

Yes, I know, "old news" for some, but I'm just now catching up on the iPhone 4S / iOS 5.x info, seeing as I got my 64GB 4S yesterday.

iOS 5.0.1 untethered jailbreak is live!

2011-12-27T06:19:00.001-08:00

pod2g's untethered iOS 5.0.1 jailbreak has been successfully done and released by both the Chronic Dev team (greenpois0n) and the Dev Team (redsn0w), for all A4 devices (anything besides the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2, both of which use the A5 dual-core processor.) pod2g is hard at work on the A5 jailbreak, and has done it already; he's just waiting on iOS 5.1 to make sure he doesn't burn an exploit that took him months to develop.

edit: Chronic Dev's info on this: http://greenpois0n.com/?p=150

If you're already tethered jailbroken on iOS 5.0.1, all you have to do is install the Cydia package to become untethered jailbroken. Those of you who are doing an upgrade to iOS 5.0.1 (like me, who was waiting to upgrade my iPhone 4 until an untethered jailbreak became available) will have to use redsn0w to do the upgrade (which is normal.)

Terry Pratchett's "Hogfather"

2011-12-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen Terry Pratchett's "Hogfather", from the BBC SkyOne presentation, YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS! Especially this time of year. It's an awesome adaptation of his book, and is sure to become a timeless Christmas holiday tradition. Great for kids, and for adults. Here's the DVD cover of it:

To my knowledge, this only aired in the UK and Japan, not in the USA, and was shown back in 2006 - and got not only rave reviews, but a HUGE airtime following. I love Teatime! (It's pronounced tee-AH-tim-EH, thank you very much.)

Here's the Amazon review for it, which is a pretty good description:

"Based on a fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, The Hogfather is an extraordinary satire-adventure set in the mythical realm of Discworld, a kind of parallel-universe version of Earth. Discworld’s alternative to Santa Claus is the Hogfather, who also chases around in a sled delivering gifts to children (on a Christmas-like night known as Hogwatch), but who looks like, well, a wild hog and is pulled through the skies not by reindeer but a bunch of grunting porkers with long, dangerous teeth. Just as the Hogfather is about to complete his annual mission to leave toys for kids under their Hogwatch trees, a specter makes a deal with a professional assassin to kill the jolly old fellow. The job is farmed out to a psychotic monster named Teatime (Marc Warren), who sets about trying to get to the Hogfather through, of all things, the Tooth Fairy. While danger stalks these immortal characters, Death (Ian Richardson) himself takes the Hogfather’s place on his magical rounds, with comic consequences. Meanwhile, a governess named Susan (Michelle Dockery), possessor of a strange secret and awesome powers, determines that the Hogfather is in danger. She sets about trying to find him and discovers Teatime’s plot, while a cluster of clumsy wizards (led by Joss Ackland) try to make sense of what has happened and what they can do about it. It’s hard to explain the charm and wit of The Hogfather, which is full of quirky, ironic humor, except to say that it’s easy to fall in love with this British television special and its dark delights. (Some a bit too dark for younger viewers.) The cast includes a very funny Tony Robinson of Black Adder. --Tom Keogh"

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, I've uploaded the two parts (from a DVD rip), here are the specs:

Part 1: AVI, 16×9 MPEG-4 XviD MP3 Stereo, 700mb, length: 1:35:25
Part 2: AVI, 16×9 MPEG-4 XviD MP3 Stereo, 700mb, length: 1:35:51

These are on MultiUpload.com, so there should be multiple places to download it from.

I have the 720p HD rips as well (from the SkyONe HD channel; to my knowledge, this was never sold as a BlueRay DVD), but they're considerably larger; if you like the movie, and want to watch it in perfect quality, I'd recommend buying it from Amazon:

Regular DVD
Limited Edition DVD (only available on the UK Amazon site)

(Of course, I might be convinced to upload the files, or burn them to a disc...)

I also have the Colour of Magic, which was really good as well (also only shown in the UK on SkyOne, in 2008.) Definitely worth a watch!

Portable power for your iOS device

2011-12-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

I've found two really good products that can recharge your iOS device (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad) on the go. One is cheaper, but has two major advantages, and the other is, of course, a bit more expensive but has a major advantage. Let's take a a look:

The first one is the cheaper alternative of the two: The Scosche solBAT II - Solar Powered Backup Battery and Charger. Major advantages:

Price. MSRP is only $29.99; if you search around, you can find it for as little as $15-$17 or so.

SOLAR POWERED! Yes, that's right, the solBAT II can charge itself by either solar power, or using the miniUSB adapter (included.) So if you're a hiker/camper/outdoor-sy type, this is a great option.

The battery in the solBAT II is a 1500 mAh battery, which is slightly larger than the one included with the iPhone or iPod - but much smaller than the one in the iPad, so this is not a good option for iPad users.

(Geek Notes: the iPhone 3G had an 1150mAh battery; the 3Gs had a 1219mAh battery, the iPhone 4 has a 1420mAh battery, and the 4S has a 1432mAh Li-Polymer battery, while the iPad 2 has a 6930mAh battery, so you can see that this might not be the best option if you have an iPad you want to charge on the go.)

The second one is the ZAGGsparq 2.0 from ZAGG. A bit more expensive at the MSRP of $99.99; however, you can watch their website and Facebook page, and you might be able to catch it on sale for as much as 50% off. Major advantages:

The battery. The ZAGGsparq 2.0 has a massive 6,000mAh Lithium Polymer battery, which is more than enough to fully recharge any iOS device, and adds 5 to 6 hours of video playback to the iPad® - which is great if you're a frequent traveler, and want to watch movies on a flight or something where there isn't an electrical outlet to plug in to.
Multiple USB ports. The ZAGGsparq 2.0 has two USB ports, so you can recharge multiple devices at the same time.

I've used both of these, and found them to both be excellent battery backups for my iPhone. I carry the Scosche solBAT II with me in my backpack wherever I go,and it's come in handy on more than one occasion. I've been able to recharge my iPhone 4 from less than 10% battery to over 75% battery life in around an hour or so, giving me almost double the battery life of the iPhone 4 by itself - and the Scosche solBAT II is really small, so it fits in your pocket or bag really easily. The ZAGGsparq 2.0 is larger, obviously, but the bigger battery is a HUGE advantage, especially if you're stuck on an airplane or somewhere else where an electrical outlet isn't handy. I only carry it when I'm traveling, but it's quite useful as well.

There are other portable battery chargers, but these are two that I recommend. Of course, if anyone would like to send me one of theirs for testing, I'll review it as well. ;)

Turn your iPad or iPod Touch into a phone - for free!

2011-12-22T06:58:00.000-08:00

Here's an easy way to turn your iPad or iPod Touch into a REAL, fully functional phone, able to make and receive phone calls and texts, WITHOUT having to pay for a phone bill.

As with anything, there's a catch; in this case, it requires you to have a WiFi connection (at home, free WiFi hotspots, etc.) If you don't have a WiFi connection on your iOS device, it won't work. Other than that, it's easy! (Also, Google Voice℠ might not be available in your location, especially if you live outside of North America.)

First, sign up for Google Voice℠ - it's free, and it's an awesome service.
- Make SURE you use a Gmail address to sign up for Google Voice, NOT a different account! (Create a Gmail account if you don't already have one.)
- Google Voice℠ has TONS of features; for a full listing, take a look at the Google Voice Account Types on the Google Voice blog. The majority of people need only to concern themselves with the first column, Google Number.
- You have to have access to a regular phone to setup Google Voice℠. You only need it once, so you can get the phone call and type in the confirmation code. You can then unselect it in the settings for Google Voice℠.
Next, download Talkatone in the Apps Store.
- It's also free, though it does display ads in the interface (easily ignorable, though you can pay a fee to remove them if you so desire.)
Follow the steps in Talkatone to setup your Google Voice℠ account in the app.
- Make SURE you log into your Gmail email account, and LOG OUT of the Chat & SMS (it'll be located on the left-hand side of the screen, about half-way down.)

That's it! As long as you have WiFi, you can use Talkatone and your Google Voice℠ account to make and receive calls and text messages. If you need details, step-by-step instructions on what to do, let me know in the comments, and I'll write up a blog post for it.

There are other Google Voice℠ apps, such as the official Google Voice app from Google (free), and GV Mobile+ (paid); while they work fine, Talkatone is the only one that I've found that will let you both dial out and receive incoming calls without having an actual phone (3G/EDGE) connection on your device. If you've found another app that will do it as easily as Talkatone, let me know in the comments section.

And yes, iPhone users can use this as well, to have multiple phone numbers. I use Google Voice℠ as well as my cellular service, so that I can have a personal phone number, and a business phone, both ringing to the same phone.

Jailbreak - what is it?

2011-12-16T06:14:00.000-08:00

"Jailbreak" is a term meaning to hack your iPhone (or iPod, or iPad.) Basically, it allows the user - you - to run applications and do thing that Apple doesn't normally allow the user to do. Hence, you're "breaking" your iOS device out of "jail". (This is actually a misnomer, which I'll go into later.)

Contrary to what Apple says, jailbreaking your iOS device does not void the warranty! It also does not harm your device in any way; it's a software hack; if jailbreaking your device voids your warranty, so does installing ANY application (even those authorized and sold in the App Store.) It's that simple! If you don't like the jailbreak, if you want to revert back to the "stock" operating system for any reason, it's completely reversible: you simply connect your device to your computer, and do a restore in iTunes. That's it. That's the same advice ("troubleshooting") that every Apple "Genius" will tell you to do if you have ANY problems with your device.

And it's completely free!*

What can jailbreaking your device do for you? First of all, it allows for a TON of tweaks and options. You use Cydia - the jailbreak community's version of the App Store - to install tweaks, applications, and whatnot. You can:

expand the options available from Apple; the native folders now become full-screen and hold more apps, for example (that's the tweak FolderEnhancer in Cydia.)
You can "skin" the native folders, so they each have a custom icon (that's the tweak Folder Icons in Cydia.)
You can have the Weather app (or any other app) show the ACTUAL, REAL-TIME temperature in your location (that's the tweak WeatherIcon in Cydia.)
You can "fool" every application into thinking it's on WiFi. Why is this important? Well, you can make FaceTime calls on 3G, even when you're not connected to WiFi! Or you can play games that require you to be connected to WiFi while you're on the go. (That's the app My3G in Cydia.)
And, literally, dozens, if not hundreds or even thousands, of other options.
Yes, you can even UNLOCK your device (some of them) to use on other carriers, and yes, you can get free apps (although this is a highly gray area, what with it being considered software piracy...)
Last (sort of), but not least, the jailbreak community fixes many of the problems Apple devices have, and enhances many of the existing features.

How do you jailbreak your device? The easiest thing to do is go to http://www.JailBreakMe.com ON your device (using Safari.) It will tell you if you can use the website to implement the jailbreak, or if you have to go through the more lengthy process of creating a custom restore file. (Not every device and/or iOS has a jailbreak available, so results may vary.)

* Some tweaks, apps, and themes in Cydia do require payment.

iPhone apps every iPhone user should have installed.

2011-12-16T05:29:00.000-08:00

** NOTE: I periodically update this list, if I happen to find any new apps or there is newer information about apps listed. They'll be marked with a next to the name. Check back often! **

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm an iPhone hacker, and I stay pretty much up-to-date on the scene. Seeing as there are a lot of new iPhone users, and several people I know keep asking me "What apps should I install on my iPhone?", I thought I'd put together a list of iPhone apps I think every user should have installed. Sure, everyone knows about Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, even Google+ (does anyone actually /use/ Google+?), but what else should you install?

The majority of these are free, but there are a few paid apps I recommend as well; thus I broke this list into three categories: Free, Free with Paid versions, and Paid-only apps. Many of these apps work on the iPad as well, and the majority of them work on the iPod Touch, so you can use them on pretty much any iOS device. Links included (shortened by is.gd!) - just copy the links to your web browser, and you can open it directly in iTunes for easy install.

NEW! Since some of these apps will/would use a LOT of data, and most people will have the 2GB data plan on AT&T, I've decided to mark apps with a symbol in brackets (with color) to indicate certain things, like:

[*] WARNING! Apps marked with this WILL use a lot of data - you can easily exceed your monthly data cap (most people are typically on the 2gb/month plan), which means you'll end up paying $10 for each additional gigabyte, and that can rack up the charges. Use these apps on WiFi, or sparingly on 3G (unless, like me, you have the old grandfathered-in Unlimited Data Plan.)

[-] Portions of this app contain streaming video or other high-bandwidth features that can use a lot of data, and using these features can cause you to easily exceed your monthly data cap. Use these features sparingly on 3G, or go wild on WiFi.

Also, I've shortened all the "official" iTunes links with is.gd, just to clean things up a bit. Don't worry, each link will take you to the official iTunes link, not some malicious website or anything. Please note that is.gd links ARE case-sensitive! (You can just click the name of the app if you don't want to copy & paste the URL.)

FREE APPS:

Adobe Photoshop Express - edit and share photos directly from your device. http://is.gd/pRQorn
AroundMe - Surprisingly useful to find many things around and near where you're at, you'll use it more than you think. And it integrates to the built-in Maps program to provide directions very well - or NAVIGON (or TomTom GPS, if you went with that app instead.) http://is.gd/aJhQ4W
- Ad-supported, but has an option to purchase the "No Ads" version for $2.49 via an In-App Purchase. If your device is jailbroken, iAP Cracker [in-app cracker] works to give you the full, no-ads version for free.
Bump - just start the app on two iPhones (or iPod Touch!), start the app, then "bump" them together to share each others contact details. Easy! (Also has an Android version, so iPhone-to-Android works as well.) http://is.gd/hPVX1F
Cell Minute Tracker for AT&T - a better version of the stock AT&T app. http://is.gd/qeyncZ
CNN [*] [-]- Cable News Network, 'nuff said. http://is.gd/EAbVw5
Contacts Sync - Backup ALL your contacts to the cloud, and restore them with ease - even across different platforms (they make this for ALL smartphone platforms, so you can manage your contacts cross-platform!) I've used this, and it is literally a snap, totally easy to use!
Crackle - Movies & TV [*] - free, full-length TV shows & movies. http://is.gd/elBtYR
Data Usage Defender - Unless you have the unlimited plan (only older AT&T users who are grandfathered in, and Sprint users), you have a monthly cap. Exceed that cap, and you pay; for example, on AT&T, it's $10 for every 1gb you go over. That can add up quickly! Especially if you use streaming services, such as Pandora, Spotify, et. al. Data Usage Defender is totally free, has a slick interface, and tracks your data usage, quickly alerting you when you approach your limit, and if/when you exceed it.
Dropbox [-] - share files, pictures, and videos between your phone and any computer
- Get the Dropbox iOS app here: http://is.gd/7AZlHz
- Sign up for Dropbox, it's free. If you do this, please use this link; yes, it's my referral link, but we both get extra space for free: http://db.tt/nf8GeN8
- I also recommend that you install the Dropbox app on your computer, so that you can easily drag-'n-drop documents to your Dropbox folder, and have access to them anywhere.
Emojii Free! - enables cute Japanese image emoticons to your texts and emails. There are many paid apps that this; don't fall for that trap - this free app needs only to be installed once, which enables Emojii, and then you can delete it from your phone (Emjoii stays enabled.) http://is.gd/1JgJDh
- NOTE FOR iPHONE 4S and any device with iOS 5 USERS: You do NOT need to install any apps to enable Emojii. Apple finally included it by default. Just go in SETTINGS, then GENERAL, then KEYBOARD, choose INTERNATIONAL KEYBOARDS, choose ADD NEW KEYBOARD, and scroll down until you see the one that is named EMOJII (they're sorted alphabetically, so look for the E's.) Choose Emojii, and you're done - it's enabled instantly.
- To use Emojii icons, on your iPhone's keyboard, look for the world symbol directly to the left of the space bar (the 123 key is there as well, lower left-hand corner.) Touch the world key, and you'll see the Emojii icons you can use.
- Also note that people who do *not* have Emojii enabled-devices typically CAN see the icon displayed properly, but if not, it'll look like gibberish to them (like if they have an el-cheapo cel phone.) You can't post Emojii to Facebook or Twitter, for example, but an Emojii-enabled iPhone can send Emojii icons properly to an iPhone that doesn't have Emojii enabled.
Find My Friends - Great for families, kids, good friends, or stalking that special someone.
GasBuddy - find the cheapest gas around. http://is.gd/aHRVL2
Google Earth [*]- it's just plain fun, and you can pretend you're Jack Bauer, especially if you tell Siri to "get you the satellite photos." :D http://is.gd/B9k2rE
Meebo - Remember chatting on your computer with your friends? Do it on the go with Meebo, the free integrated all-in-one instant messaging client that supports ALL major IM networks (even Facebook and Gmail chat!) http://is.gd/KckgO5
- Sadly, Google has acquired Meebo, and it shut down on July 11, 2012. Will it come back? We can only hope.
offGRID™ BatStat Battery Monitor - the best battery monitoring app out there, from the makers of the best cases - Incipio. Designed to work with the Incipio® offGRID™ case (http://is.gd/8mDeJy), it works well without it, too. http://is.gd/2E2yii
Onavo - if you don't have the unlimited data plan (which is no longer offered by AT&T), Onavo will compress your data and let you do more. http://is.gd/4DvNVU
Pandora Radio [*] - If you haven't heard of this already, well, get with the century. 'nuff said. http://is.gd/E3qK28
RedLaser Barcode SCanner & QR Code Reader - scan *any* barcode, compare prices locally AND online. Way useful!
- This has been updated to include a new version: http://is.gd/aatNDS (linked above)
- The "old" version is now called RL Classic, and is available at http://is.gd/RfkK0G
- Reason for the change? It looks like eBay has purchased Red Laser from Occipital. The new version appears to integrate bar code scanning with eBay look-ups.
Square - Accept credit and debit card payments using your phone! Free to sign up, they even send (at no cost to you!) a small card reader that plugs into the headphone jack. Sign up on their website at http://www.squareup.com - from the man who created Twitter, you might have seen Stephen Colbert using his Square to accept donations from a crowd earlier this year. Even if you think you'll never use this, it's free - so what have you got to lose? Perfect for those garage and/or yard sales you hold, now you can advertise that you accept credit & debit cards as well as cash.
- Get the iOS Square app here: http://is.gd/ABLo9N
- Sign up for Square (and get your free Square reader) by going to http://www.squareup.com
Skype [*] [-] - Everyone knows what Skype is. 'nuff said. [1] http://is.gd/aqaCdS
Talkatone - free incoming and outgoing phone calls over VoIP. The *biggest* reason for this is to allow you to use Google Voice - a feature-rich, fully-functional, FREE VoIP service that has features that no cell phone provider provides (or if they do, they charge a hefty fee for it), which work on any iOS device (iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.) The biggest advantage is that even devices that DON'T have cellular services - like the WiFi-only iPad and the iPod Touch - becomes full-fledged phones. You can even have MULTIPLE numbers enabled! (Requires the paid version for this.)
- Get the Talkatone iOS app here: http://is.gd/qqZgQW
- Sign up for Google Voice here: http://voice.google.com/
- Google Voice is FREE - and you can select your own phone number, though many area codes - like 813, here in Tampa - are unavailable since they're all taken. Hint: you can make your Google Voice number *spell* something, so think of interesting phrases to make your number! Try to spell your name or something!
- Also note: the basic Talkatone app has ads, and have a yearly fee to remove them. Jailbreak your device, and use iAP Cracker [in-app cracker] to get the full-fledged, premium, no-ads version for free.
- Lastly, Talkatone with Google Voice is the simplest way to turn your iPad or iPod Touch into a real, feature-laden phone. I'll do a separate blog post on that later.
- UPDATE: See my blog post: Turn your iPad or iPod Touch into a phone - for free!
Trapster - Speed Trap Alert. Useful if you drive a lot. http://is.gd/4Pq7gq
UScape.it [-] - create 3D 360° panoramic views from your camera. http://is.gd/zK4Z3T
VEVO [*] - YouTube's "official" artist release platform for music & videos. http://is.gd/EMJasd

PAID apps with a FREE version:

Music identification apps: there are two major players: Shazam and Soundhound. Both have their pros and cons, both have free and paid versions. (For those who've asked: I prefer SoundHound over Shazam, but that's just me.) Check out the free versions, decide if you want to pay for the "full" version.
- Shazam (free version) [-] : http://is.gd/U7ufjd
- Shazam Encore (paid version) [-] : http://is.gd/ZrPPUm
- SoundHound (free version) [-] : http://is.gd/vgXhwn
- SoundHound ∞ (paid version) [-] : http://is.gd/W7XKyo
Panoramatic photos: there's a few apps that do this, which are really cool and fun.
- PanoMinute: completely free, it's part of the Gyrorama app as well (below.) http://is.gd/QRFV2v
- Gyrorama [-] : comes in two flavors, Lite (free - http://is.gd/97NBgC) and Pro (paid - http://is.gd/97NBgC). What Gyrorama does is convert ANY panoramic photo (such as those taken with PanoMinute) into an interactive Gyrorama photo that users can scroll, pan, zoom, and more.
- Panoramatic 360 [-] : It's a paid app - http://is.gd/YqFUc3 - but there is a free viewer-only app called Panoramatic World, so you can see the potential of the paid app: http://is.gd/yt86rT
myTunz+ - iPod, the way Apple *should* have made it. Has a few drawbacks, IMO, but includes features such as gesture controls, a sleep/playback timer (including volume fade-out!), YouTube videos related to the currently playing song, and Twitter and Facebook integration, and more.
- Free version (shows ads in the app): http://is.gd/pA9QAg
- Paid version (no ads!): http://is.gd/73Qh7Q
The Weather Channel® [-] - Sure, the iPhone comes with a basic weather app - "basic" being the key word. If you want more, The Weather Channel® has both a free and a paid version (called Max.) Both have interactive maps, severe weather alerts, hourly & 10-day forecasts, uses GPS for exact location, access to videos for breaking news &weather coverage, and a Hurricane Central within the Maps section. The major difference between the free vs. the paid version is the lack of ads displayed in The Weather Channel® Max (paid) version, which the free version has as banners across the top of the screen.
- Free version (shows ads in the app): http://is.gd/wYpRJA
- Paid version (no ads!): http://is.gd/4qrPzq

PAID APPS:

NAVIGON MobileNavigator [*] [-] - simply the best GPS app for the iPhone, and rivals or beats many stand-alone GPS units. Full turn-by-turn voice instructions, which READS the street name (as opposed to many other GPS apps that just say "make a left"), it's worth every penny. I highly recommend the Panoramic View in-app purchase for an additional $9.99, though it's not necessary. MAKE SURE YOU UPDATE THIS APP OVER WIFI! It's a very large update after installing the latest version of the app, and WILL cause you to exceed your data plan if you try to download it over 3G!
- The newest version, 2.0 (now owned by Garmin - you should recognize that name, as they're huge in the GPS world), is a very small app initially - 34.9MB - because, on the first launch, it has to download both the required core files (203.6mb; ostensibly core files removed to make the .ipa smaller; the previous version, 1.8.2, was ~1.68GB in size) for the app, plus whatever maps the user wants to download (various sizes; the full North America map load brings it back up to 1.72GB.) NAVIGON has several options (aka "flavors"), including:
  - NAVIGON US MyRegion: the cheapest option at $29.99, it only covers certain states. Useful if you don't travel much, and only want to pay for the area you use. Search for your area if you want this
  - NAVIGON MobileNavigator USA: Covers all 50 states, for $49.99 http://is.gd/y8aPQY
  - NAVIGON MobileNavigator USA & Canada (also includes Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands): $59.99, this is the "North America" version. http://is.gd/HLpEb8
  - NAVIGON MobileNavigator is also available for Europe, and many other countries. Just search for NAVIGON in the iTunes Store and find your location.
Another GPS app to consider is Sygic: GPS Navigation. Main advantage to the Sygic GPS app is that it includes Live Traffic for free (which is a $19.99 in-app purchase in NAVIGON); however, to make this app look really good, I recommend purchasing the 3D Cities and Landscape in-app option, which is an additional $19.99.
- Sygic US [-] : http://is.gd/4qeN0j
- Sygic: North America [-] : http://is.gd/9zb0vs
There are other GPS apps, such as TomTom, et. al, some of which are considerably cheaper, but the reviews have NAVIGON beating the others every single time. You'll stop using your stand-alone GPS in favor of NAVIGON! (I know I did.)
Groups: SMS, Mail and Manage Contacts - iOS by default comes with two groups for your contacts, but doesn't let you create any more. Why not? No clue. But Groups by Guided Ways Technologies Ltd is the best app to do this with; so good, in fact, that it was featured in Apple's official "iPhone Quick Tips" podcasts as contacts manager of choice. Relatively expensive at $4.99, it's worth it if you have a lot of contacts to work with - this creates a virtual Rolodex that makes managing your contacts much easier.

This is by no means an exhaustive list; as Apple said, if there's something you do (online OR offline), no matter how important nor how trivial:

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Coming Soon: Top 10 reasons to jailbreak your iPhone - and the tweaks that you should have installed when you jailbreak.

Don't forget to check out the rest of my blog for other useful posts and information! http://thehomelesshacker.blogspot.com