iTechZine

Accelerate significantly speeds up iOS animations

2012-11-12T15:17:00.000-06:00

Are your finding the iOS experience to be a bit on the slow side? Are you using an olderiOS device, and finding it to be unbearably sluggish? If you’re jailbroken, and this has been your experience, then you might want to give this new tweak a go.

Accelerate is a recently released jailbreak tweak that speeds up the animations withiniOS. While it’s technically not making the experience any faster, the perceived speed increase may go a long way towards curing your blues.

Take a gander at our video inside for a demonstration that shows how it works.

Accelerate features a vast array of animation speeds to choose from, and it also has built in options to disabled the acceleration effect for specific animations. I found the disable feature to be particularly buggy with my jailbroken iOS 6 installation on myiPhone 4, but your mileage may vary.

The good news is that Accelerate is a free tweak, so it won’t hurt to give it a try. If you want a perceived speed increase on your iOS device, then head over to Cydia’s BigBoss repo where it can be had for free. Be sure to share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below.

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/accelerate/

New in iOS 6.1: Reset Advertising Identifier

2012-11-12T15:16:00.003-06:00

With the release of iOS 6, Apple replaced its controversial unique device identifier system (or UDID) with the Advertising Identifier. It’s a non-permanent, non-personal, device identifier, that advertising networks use to track your behavior.

Since its introduction, users who don’t like targeted advertisements have had the ability to limit ad tracking via a toggle in the Settings application. And in iOS 6.1, users will gain the ability to reset their Advertising Identifier as well…

Apple seeded beta 2 of iOS 6.1 today. And among other changes, the release notes point to a new button in the Advertising section of iOS labeled Reset Advertising Identifier. It’s kind of like resetting your browser history, but for targeted ads.

“In iOS 6.1, a new Reset Advertising Identifier button has been added to Advertising Settings. This button resets the Advertising Identifier so that future requests will return a different value.”

It’s worth noting that the first beta of iOS 6.1 actually has this button too. It’s a nice little addition that should help keep personal ads more relevant.

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/reset-ad-identifier-ios-6/

iPhone 5 shipping estimates improve to 2-3 weeks

2012-11-12T15:16:00.000-06:00

Availability of the iPhone 5 is finally improving as Apple, its suppliers and contract manufacturers bind forces to improve manufacturing yield rates. When Apple in September started accepting online pre-orders for the device, shipping times quoted on the online Apple Store fell to 3-4 weeks within 45 minutes.

Availability would not improve until today. Now, after admitting to falling behind the iPhone 5 demand, Apple’s contract manufacturer Foxconn has been hard at work with suppliers like Sharp to remove bottlenecks. Analysts who last week surveyed over a hundred Apple Stores, found out the device could be consistently available within 2 to 3 weeks.

We’re happy to report that today, estimated shipping times for new iPhone 5 orders on the online Apple store dropped to 2-3 weeks, another sign of the iPhone maker and its supply chain slowly beginning to catch up to strong demand for the popular device…

A quick glance over the iPhone 5 listing on the US online Apple store reveals a 2-3 week delivery estimate for new orders, down from the previously quoted 3-4 weeks estimate.

It’s welcome news to folks who’ve been on the lookout for Apple’s new phone.

It remains to be seen when Apple will reach the supply-demand balance.

Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts on a conference call last month that “the demand for iPhone 5 is extremely robust”, adding that Apple is “in a significant state of backlog”.

If history is an indication, it’s gonna be awhile before we see estimated iPhone 5 shipping times dropping from weeks to days. The iPhone 4S shipping times had been sitting at 1-2 weeks for nearly three months before inventory levels improved.

Let’s not forget that Apple has yet to release the iPhone 5 in China and a number of other markets worldwide. The aggressive roll-out should see the company launching the device in over a hundred countries and across 240 carriers by year’s end.

What’s important, I think, is that Apple is finally making progress toward meeting demand for the handset, no?

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/iphone-5-shipping-2-3-weeks/

New iOS-friendly Fender guitar spotted in Apple’s web store

2012-11-12T15:15:00.003-06:00

With the holidays just around the corner, Apple has been seen stocking up on app-enabled accessories. A few weeks ago we noted that the iPad-maker had started sellingiPhone-controlled lightbulbs, and now it’s added an iOS-friendly guitar to its inventory.

Fender, a long-time legend in the guitar business, has created a custom version of its popular Squier Stratocaster guitar with built-in USB and iOS connectivity. This means that you can plug into anything from a complex digital studio, to your iPad, and rock out…

Some of the guitar’s features include:

Pickup select switch
Pickup volume control
Pickup tone control
Headphone volume control
1/4-inch passive guitar output
1/8-inch (3.5mm) stereo headphone jack
Type Mini-B USB connector offering bi-directional audio streaming

You can use the Squier as a standard guitar, or, with the included cables, you can use it to record audio straight to your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Unfortunately there’s no Lightning interface, so new iDevice owners will have to shell out an extra $30 for an adapter.

If you’re interested, you can find the Squier by Fender USB Stratocaster Guitar in Apple’s web store (there’s no word if it’s in retail stores yet) for $199.95. We could certainly think of worse things you could find to spend $200.

What do you think?

[via 9to5Mac]

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/apple-online-fender-store/

Google faces FTC ultimatum over patent and search abuse

2012-11-12T15:15:00.000-06:00

Bloomberg reports that Google is facing an ultimatum from FTC on antitrust deal talks. Apparently, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jonathan Leibowitz is pressuring Google to make an offer and finally settle FTC’s antitrust investigation over whether the dominant search engine abused its market power in search and misused patent protection in smartphone wars. And should Google fail to “make an acceptable settlement proposal”, sources say, the FTC is prepared to mount a massive case against the search giant whose “Don’t be evil” motto has long become the subject of mockery…

Sara Forden, reporting for Bloomberg:

Google has been engaged in discussions with the agency for about two weeks and hasn’t put any remedy proposals on the table, said the people, who declined to be identified because the negotiations are private.

Unless the search Goliath complies in the next few days, two people familiar with the situation said, it will face a formal complaint.

It gets worse.

The FTC has told Google it won’t accept a resolution short of a consent decree and is prepared to take action in the next week or two, one of the people said.

Make no mistake about it, the government won’t release Google off the hook and consequences could be more damaging for the Mountain View, California-headquartered company than first thought.

FTC took issue with Google prioritizing its services in search rankings, for signing exclusive agreements to provide search services to online publishers and for making it difficult for advertisers to compare Google campaigns to those on competing search platforms.

And this helps explain why Google has been tiring of patent wars lately.

The staff has also recommended the agency issue a complaint against Google for misusing patent protections to block rivals’ smartphones from coming to market, the people have said.

If you’re wondering why post this here on iDB, bear in mind that this is huge news, one that could drastically change Google as we know it.

What do you think of the development?

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/google-ftc-ultimatum/

AT&T to start offering Samsung’s 4G Android camera November 16

2012-11-12T15:14:00.003-06:00

Back in August, Samsung unveiled a handful of new products at the IFA show in Berlin, Germany. It showed off the Galaxy Note 2 phablet, a new Windows Phone 8 handset, and some Windows 8 machines. It also took the wraps off its new Android camera.

The Galaxy Camera is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a 16MP camera with a 4.8-inch screen, quad core processor, and built-in 3G/4G connectivity running Android software. And for those interested, AT&T will start offering the device this Friday for $500…

Here’s a breakdown of the Galaxy Camera’s features

4.8-inch HD Super Clear LCD™ screen
21x optical zoom lens
super-bright 16MP backside illuminated CMOS sensor
quad-core 1.4 GHz processor
1,650mAh battery
Android 4.1

The Camera will go on sale November 16 for $499.99. If that’s too steep, AT&T is currently running a promotion that knocks $100 off of any Samsung device, including the Galaxy Camera, with purchase of another Samsung smartphone. Here’s your data plans:

AT&T Mobile Share: $10 to share between 1 GB and 20GB
AT&T DataConnect 250MB: $15 for 250MB
AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $30 for 3GB
AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB

AT&T also notes that the Galaxy Camera will have access to AT&T Locker, the carrier’s free and easy-to-use photo and video sharing service for its subscribers. AT&T Locker users get 5 GB of storage for free – enough for about 5,000 photos, but can add more if needed.

It’s going to be interesting to see how consumers react to this particular product. $500 plus an additional monthly data fee on top of what you are paying for your smartphone and tablet just seems silly. Then again, maybe this is where those shared data plans come in.

I can kind of see the logic here. A 3G/4G-enabled Android camera would make it possible to snap photos, and quickly edit and share them with a number of apps and services. But I’m not sure if better Instagram and Facebook photos is worth the extra money,

And Samsung’s not the only one trying this whole Android-based camera thing out. Nikon has one, and word is that Fuji and Olympus are both mulling the idea. So obviously they think there is a gap in the market for these “smart” cameras. But what do you think?

Is there really a market for these things? Is this something Apple should be getting into?

[AT&T via 9to5Google]

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/samsung-4g-camera/

Apple posts iOS 6.1 Beta 2, new Apple TV beta

2012-11-12T15:14:00.000-06:00

Apple just seeded its registered developers with the second beta of iOS 6.1. The software follows November 1 release of the first iOS 6.1 beta which brought out MapsKit improvements and other tidbits.

Beta 2 has a build number of 10B5105c versus 10B5095f for Beta 1. Apple says iOS 6 Beta 2 contains bug fixes and improvements over iOS 6.0.1, in addition to tweaks like a new information card in the Passbook app.

A new beta of the Apple TV software is also available. The new iOS 6.1 beta is available for the various iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Apple TV devices. Apple’s registered developers can download them via the company’s developer portal.

The iPhone maker also released Xcode 4.6 Developer Preview 2 today (build 4H95e), its preferred development environment for third-parties that write Mac and iOS apps. Your release notes and additional info are right below…

And in response to user feedback, Apple added a new Passbook information card which explains what the software is capable of. Previously, launching Passbook was confusing because the app lacks sample cards or any viable explanation revealing its purpose.

The new information card in the Passbook app was first noted by RazorianFly.

The card’s appearance is substantially different to the information screen that used to greet users on first run.

The Panorama mode in the Camera app now works again and users - fortunately - are again able to download individual songs from iTunes Match (in Beta 1, you could only download whole albums).

Registered Apple developers can download an appropriate build of the new iOS and Apple TV software for their devices throught the Apple Developer web site. The second iOS 6.1 Beta build is compatible with the second, third and fourth-generation iPad, iPad mini, iPhone 3GS/4/4S/5 plus fourth and fifth-gen iPod touch.

Existing devices with iOS 6.1 Beta 1 can also upgraded to today’s software over-the-air, by choosing General > Software Update in the Settings app.

iPhone 5 owners can determine the proper download for their device here.

Today’s build expires on Friday, December 28.

The new beta software for the Apple TV is provided for both second and third-generation of the set-top-box.

Here are the full iOS SDK Release Notes for iOS 6.1 Beta 2.

Apple TV

Notes

None.

Known Issues

When browsing the iTunes Store, TV Shows is missing Networks, Genres, and Genius from the top menu.

The Top Movies and Top TV Shows grids are missing the featured carousels, as well as several featured shelves.

Podcasts is missing the Providers item from the top menu

Core Image

Notes

None

Known Issues

In iOS 6.0 and later, Core Image introduced new filters to the set provided in iOS 5. The complete set of filters can be found in Core Image Filter Reference.

Also in iOS 6.0 and later, Core Image allows for the creation of CIImage objects that reference OpenGL texture objects via the imageWithTexture:size:flipped:colorSpace: method.

iCloud

Notes

None.

Known Issues

In iOS 6.1 beta 1, you will not be able to upgrade or downgrade your iCloud storage (5 GB is free). As a workaround, please use either the latest OS X or a device running iOS 6.0.

Maps

Notes

In iOS 6.1, the Map Kit framework introduces the MKLocalSearch, MKLocalSearchRequest, and MKLocalSearchResponse classes. Apps can use these classes to perform map-based searches for addresses and points of interest. The results are then delivered to the app as an array of map item objects. For information about these new classes, see Map Kit Framework Reference.

Known Issues

None.

Passbook

Notes

As of iOS 6.1, the relevance behavior has changed for boarding passes that include both a relevant date and a relevant location. The date must match for these passes to be relevant. If both the date and location match, they are relevant for a longer window of time. You are encouraged to provide both pieces of information when they make sense for your passes

Known Issues

None.

Settings

Notes

In iOS 6.1, a new Reset Advertising Identifier button has been added to Advertising Settings. This button resets the Advertising Identifier so that future requests will return a different value.

Known Issues

None.

Simulator

Notes

This release does not support testing In-App Purchase in iOS Simulator. For apps that use this feature, please test on a device.

Known Issues

None.

Social

Notes

Weibo shows up in the Settings app only if a Chinese keyboard is enabled.

When using the iOS 6.1 SDK on OS X v10.8 (Mountain Lion), if you use the iOS 5.0 or iOS 5.1 “Legacy SDK” in iOS Simulator, you will not be able to sign in to Twitter via the Settings pane and Twitter.frameworkwill not work correctly. If you need to test Twitter features, you will need to choose either the iOS 6.1 or iOS 6.0 Simulator run destination or test with iOS 5.x on a device. These problems do not occur when running Simulator on OS X v10.7 (Lion).

Known Issues

None.

Ping us in comments of any changes you happen to spot in iOS 6.1 Beta 2.

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/ios-6-1-beta-2-is-out/

In Italy, AppleCare products removed over warranty policy shenanigans

2012-11-12T15:13:00.000-06:00

Bloomberg in October reported of Justice Minister Viviane Reding pushing EU regulators into probing Apple over its ambiguous warranty advertising in the European Union. And earlier in the year, consumer groups demanded that eleven EU countries pressure Apple into complying with EU’s consumer laws. As a result, Apple’s warranty plans with extended device coverage are about to be pulled from retail channels in Italy. Better still, Apple is finally informing buyers that EU law entitles them to a minimum two-year seller guarantee, free of charge…

Apple was previously investigated by the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato over its warranty policy in the country.

Long story short, the company’s been heavily criticized for failing to prominently inform customers that their gadgets come with a EU-mandated two-year warranty. The sneaky, underhanded tactics was an obvious attempt to push Apple’s own extended coverage plans to the uniformed public.

Italian-language web site setteB.IT posted on Twitter an image suggesting that AppleCare protection plans are no longer available in Italian retail stores.

According to Google translate, an internal communication from Apple’s EU distribution center in Dublin, Ireland informs Italian resellers that AppleCare Protection Plans and services will no longer be available in Italy from third-parties or directly from Apple.

The Italian online Apple store had the protection plans on offer at post time.

In another tweet, setteB.IT points out Apple updated AppleCare terms to highlight the changes required by consumer watchdogs, including a non-ambiguous statement that “AppleCare plans benefits are added to the 2 year warranty of the seller, required by Italian regulators to protect the consumers”.

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding in October warned member countries of Apple’s unfair policy:

Apple prominently advertised that its products come with a one-year manufacturer warranty but failed to clearly indicate the consumers’ automatic and free-of-cost entitlement to a minimum two-year guarantee under EU law.

These are unacceptable marketing practices.

It’s not just Apple.

Back in March, Bloomberg reported that consumer groups from 11 countries demanded an end be put to Apple’s ambiguous warranty practices in EU.

I’m not really sure what Apple was hoping to achieve, but the firm’s evidently playing with fire.

EU is no US and the company will either have to play ball or risk inconveniencing customers while antagonizing regulators.

Local authorities in Italy previously found Apple guilty of selling the $99 a year AppleCare coverage when a two-year warranty is mandated by the European Union.

Apple was eventually fined $1.16 million over the snafu. Additionally, the company facedtemporary closure of its operations in Italy if it did not bring its warranty policies in line with requirements.

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/apple-pulls-applecare-in-italy/

Scuffed iPhone 5? Make it unique by scuffing it even more

2012-11-12T15:12:00.004-06:00

As always seems to be the case when Apple launches a new smartphone, the iPhone 5has suffered something of a dent to its reputation, at least in its early weeks post-launch. We are of course talking about scuffgate, the claimed issue of handsets suffering from paint chips around the phone’s antenna, especially on the black and slate version.

Some noticed the issue right out of the box, while others have found paint missing after days and weeks of ownership. While many have succeeded in getting Apple to swap out handsets with just this issue, one forum-goer decided to take a different route, and we have to say it’s pretty awesome.

Faced with a prematurely paint-less iPhone 5, MacRumors forum member travis.hansen decided to take matters into his own hands by actually polishing the remaining paint off, leaving a funky shiny metal finish that looks absolutely terrific…

As you can see from the photo and accompanying video, the result is a sort of silver bezel that borders the iPhone 5′s rear panel and, we’re sure you’ll admit, adds something a little different to a phone that is already one of the best looking devices around.

The matter of chipped paint seems to be dying down a little, with rumors that Foxconn has tightened up its quality control for recently shipped iPhone 5. We’re certainly hearing less and less reports of handsets losing their stealth paint jobs, so fingers crossed things are on the up.

How’s your iPhone 5 bearing up, and would you ever be tempted to try improving the appearance of a battered iPhone?

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/save-a-scuffed-iphone-5/

Firing Forstall was a mistake, says former engineer

2012-11-12T15:12:00.001-06:00

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s decision to fire the architect of Apple’s mobile and desktop operating systems was a mistake, according to former senior Apple manager Michael Lopp. He is calling for a downturn for the company and predicting that “Apple’s doom will start quietly”.

You may have noticed trending Apple doomsday scenarios as haters are having a field day painting the company’s recent moves in negative light. Forstall, Lopp says, “was old school”, the closest thing the company had to Steve Jobs. Lopp goes as far to claim Forstall was the only legit successor to Jobs “because he displayed a variety of Jobsian characteristics”…

In a post over at his personal blog, Lopp opines Forstall channeled Jobs perfectly as both men shared similar character traits. For example, Forstall “was an asshole” and a very successful one, too.

As “the best approximation of Steve Jobs that Apple had left”, Lopp calls the former iOS boss “possibly the most talented operational leader on the planet”. Which is probably true.

Forstall, Apple’s former Senior Vice President of iOS Software, was ousted because hereportedly refused to accept responsibility in the Apple Maps fiasco.

“Apple needs a group of disruptors”, Lopp points out, and with Forstall’s departure the company has none of his caliber.

Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves here: after all, this is just one guy’s opinion.

Lopp in a 2008 Businessweek interview also gave a sneak peek at the Apple brainstorming process, it’s a worthwhile read. As for Forstall, nobody in their right mind would call his expertise into question.

Former iAd chief Andy Miller, who now heads 3D motion-control startup Leap Motion, calls him a miracle worker, praising the outgoing exec in an interview with Business Insider for his ability to meet Apple’s impossible software deadlines.

In hindsight, Forstall’s firing was long in the making as Apple’s youngest SVP was repeatedly described as too confrontational and hard to work with due to his abrasive management style. He often clashed with design guru Jony Ive and hardware boss Bob Mansfield.

Following his departure, Mansfield has been appointed the chief of newly set up division called Technologies which encompasses Apple’s wireless and semiconductor teams. Ive, with whom Forstall was reportedly rarely in the same room, has become the steward of Apple’s user experience, now encompassing both hardware and software design.

Analysts’ reaction to the shakeup has been largely positive.

The iDB team also believes Cook knows what he’s doing.

A more traditional manager that gets things done is necessary as Apple transitions from a monolith Steve Jobs structure to a more traditional corporation, which isn’t saying Apple will be less focused on innovation in the coming years – quite the contrary.

On the other hand, it’s indicative that Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal – both Apple’s unofficial mouthpieces – started pooh-poohing Forstall immediately after the shake-up announcement.

To me, this suggests a worrying trend, that Apple might be on a crusade to destroy its former executive’s reputation. Such a move is for sure going to antagonize engineers who used to work under him.

As for Apple naysayers, 2012 may have been Apple’s most important year ever. Giving Jony Ive too much power is a great idea, opines Mike Elgan on Cult of Mac.

And, a more pocketable Apple under Tim Cook has yet to see its finest years, writes Matthew Panzarino for The Next Web.

What’s your read on the future of Apple and Forstall’s departure?

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/michael-lopp-firing-forstall-mistake/

How to jailbreak iOS 6 and iOS 6.0.1 with Sn0wBreeze 2.9.7

2012-11-12T15:09:00.003-06:00

If you’re a Windows user, and you’ve been dying for an update to Sn0wBreeze, then your wait is over. As we posted earlier, Sn0wBreeze was updated to 2.9.7, and with it comes tethered support for pre-A5 devices running iOS 6 and iOS 6.0.1

For those of you who’ve been holding off until a Sn0wBreeze update, we’ve created a handy tutorial for you to follow, which shows you how to jailbreak iOS 6 and iOS 6.1 using Sn0wBreeze on Windows. Take a look inside for the full details…

Note: As always, let me reiterate a few things before you begin. This is a tethered jailbreak only, except for old bootrom 3GS users. This does not work at all with A5 devices like the iPad 2, or A6 devices like the iPhone 5. This only works with older pre-A5 devices like the iPhone 4, or iPod touch 4th generation.

Step 1: Download Sn0wBreeze 2.9.7 from our downloads page.

Step 2: Unzip the package and run sn0wbreeze-v2.9.7.exe as an administrator from the desktop.

Step 3: Click Okay > Next > and then Browse for IPSW. If you don’t know the location of your 6.0 or 6.0.1 firmware, you can download it by clicking the Download iOS Firmwares button instead. Alternatively, you can always download the necessary firmware for your device via our downloads page. It’s best to move any firmware file directly to the desktop for easy access.

Step 4: Once you select the proper IPSW file for your device, you should see a message stating that the file was verified. Click next.

Step 5: Click Simple Mode, and select Yes to Hacktivation. Your custom IPSW file will now be created, and it should appear on your desktop.

Step 6: Click OK, place your iDevice into DFU mode, and click Start to put the device into PwnedDFU mode using iReb. The screen on the iPhone should stay black.

Step 7: Once verified in PwnedDFU, open iTunes, and it should detect a device in recovery mode. Select your device from the list of available devices, and hold the Shift key on your keyboard while clicking the Restore. Select the custom IPSW file created by Sn0wBreeze i.e. sn0wbreeze_iPhone_4-GSM-6.0.1-10A523, and click OK.

Step 8: Your iDevice will restore like normal via iTunes, except this time you should notice a snowflake icon on your screen as it restores the custom firmware.

Step 9: Once your device is finished restoring, go through the normal setup process until you arrive at the Home screen. Swipe to the second page, and you should see Cydia. Since this is a tethered jailbreak, you cannot use Cydia until you perform a tethered boot.

Step 10: Place your device back into DFU mode.

Step 11: Open the iBooty folder located on the desktop and run iBooty.

Step 12: Select your device from the drop down menu, and click Start. The device will now tether boot, so that Cydia will be usable once it arrives back at the Home screen.

Step 13: Once at the Home screen, try opening Cydia. If Cydia opens, congratulations, you’ve successfully jailbroken your device using Sn0wBreeze 2.9.7 on Windows.

Again, if you need some of the more advanced features like iFaith, be sure to search iDownloadBlog for other tutorials based on Sn0wBreeze.

What do you think?

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/12/how-to-jailbreak-ios-6-and-ios-6-0-1-with-sn0wbreeze-2-9-7/

Sn0wBreeze 2.9.7 updated with iOS 6.0 and iOS 6.0.1 jailbreak support

2012-11-12T15:09:00.000-06:00

iH8sn0w just updated his popular Windows jailbreak tool, Sn0wBreeze, to support the latest public firmware for pre-A5 iOS devices. The update brings support to iOS 6.0 and iOS 6.0.1 tethered jailbreaks for those devices.

Eligible hardware includes the iPhone 4, and the iPhone 3GS. Sn0wBreeze does not work with A5 devices like the iPad 2, or A6 devices like the iPhone 5. This update lends support for the newest public firmware on older devices only. Take a look inside for a taste of what’s new with Sn0wBreeze 2.9.7…

Per iH8Sn0w’s blog post:

Added 6.0 (10A403)/6.0.1 (10A523) support. (Only includes iPhone 3GS & A4 devices).

The 6.0/6.0.1 is currently a tethered based jailbreak via iBooty (except for iPhone 3GS old bootrom users).

SAM is built-in for iOS 6 hacktivations. (Hacktivated phones can reboot to a semi-tethered state after being activated [rather than just hang at the Apple Logo]). Kudos @sbingner!

You can download Sn0wBreeze 2.9.7 from our downloads page located here.

We’ll be back with a full tutorial that shows how to jailbreak iOS 6.0/6.0.1 on Windows with Sn0wBreeze 2.9.7. In the mean time, tell us, are you happy to finally have iOS 6.0/6.0.1 support for Sn0wBreeze?

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/11/sn0wbreeze-2-9-7-updated-with-ios-6-0-and-ios-6-0-1-jailbreak-support/

InstaSafe can quickly boot your iPhone into safe mode

2012-11-12T15:07:00.005-06:00

If you need to quickly boot your iDevice into safe mode, there are quite a few options available on Cydia in order to do so. One of the latest tweaks available via Cydia isInstaSafe, which places a dedicated safe mode button conveniently on theSpringBoard.

Take a look inside as we show you how InstaSafe works in this video demonstration…

As you can see, InstaSafe is about as rudimentary as it gets. A simple tap on the safe mode button throws your device into safe mode.

InstaSafe is far from a pretty tweak; it’s a bit of an eyesore due to the fact that it’s always present on the Home screen. I recommend sticking with something like SBSettings if you’re looking for a way to quickly boot into safe mode.

At any rate, for those still interested, InstaSafe is a free download from Cydia’s ModMyirepo. What do you think?

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/11/instasafe/

Apple airs two new iPad mini ads highlighting iPhoto and iBooks apps

2012-11-12T15:07:00.002-06:00

Apple Sunday afternoon posted a pair of television commercials for the iPad mini. Unlike the inaugural ad which focuses on the GarageBand app, these new clips highlight Apple’s own iPhoto and iBooks apps for the tablet, the former provided as a $5 download. Using the effective side-by-side format, the first commercial, named Photos and see above, takes us through the various photo management and editing capabilities of the iPhoto app.

The other is called Books and shows off various iBooks. As you’d expect, both apps behave exactly like on full-sized iPads. The ads are available as QuickTime streams fromApple’s home page and via Apple’s YouTube channel. I’ve included the Books commercial right after the break…

And here’s the Books commercial.

MacRumors has more about the iBooks and background music used in the commercials.

Spoiler: the Photos commercial taps the 60′s classic song ‘Two of a Kind’ by Bobby Darin and Johnny Mercer.

The Books clip is a bit confusing, if you ask me, but they nailed the Photos ad, it’s very effective.

Let us know what you think of these new commercials down in the comments.

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/11/ipad-mini-ads-photos-books/

NoNewApp removes “new” badging from newly installed apps

2012-11-12T15:06:00.001-06:00

Do you find yourself hating the “new” badge that appears on newly installed apps fromthe App Store? I must admit, that even if I have no intentions of using a newly downloaded app right away, I’ll at least open it once to rid it of that ugly badge.

If you happen to jailbroken, there’s an even easier way to get rid of the eyesore, and it’s called NoNewApp. NoNewApp is a recently released jailbreak tweak that prevents the “new” badge from appearing on newly downloaded apps.

Want to see how it works? Take a look inside for our full video walkthrough…

As you can see, NoNewApp is a simple tweak with no settings or options for you to configure; just install it and go. If you want to give it a try for yourself, then head over to Cydia’s ModMyi repo where it can be had free of charge.

Remember, you’ll need to be on iOS 6 for this tweak to be of any use to you. That’s because the “new” app badges are a relatively new addition that first appeared with iOS 6.

Be sure to let us know what you think about NoNewApp in the comment section below.

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/11/nonewapp/

Weaponize your iPhone with Yellow Jacket case that doubles as stun gun

2012-11-12T15:05:00.003-06:00

Do you have a Taser and if so, is it on you all the time? See, personal safety is a tricky thing. Most people don’t carry any kind of pepper spray or an electroshock weapon until they happen to find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I’ve been attacked twice in my life, once as a collateral victim of a silly bar fight and the other time I got robbed and beaten badly as a bonus in a shady suburb in a foreign country. It’s an ugly experience I wish to never go through again.

Nonetheless, my Taser is still in my drawer most of the time. I find it inconvenient to have the damn thing on me all the time. But what if your iPhone could double as a 650-Volt stun gun?

Enter Yellow Jacket’s new iPhone case, designed by a man who was attacked in his home. It’ ll protect your device from scratches and elements while providing an effective form of self-defense via a built-in 650K volt stun gun.

What’s best, the case will provide up to an additional 20 hours of battery life for your iPhone. So, protect your iPhone, get a whole day worth’s of charge and defend yourself from assailants – tough to beat that sales line.

The case is charged via the same cable as your iPhone. It comes in black, white, pink and limited edition gold and can be pre-ordered for a hundred bucks over at the Yellow Jacket webstore (Android models are “coming soon”).

Isn’t this the craziest iPhone case you’ve seen so far?

[via Cult of Mac]

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/07/12/yellow-jacket-iphone-case/

Protect yourself and your iPhone with this unique case

2012-11-12T15:04:00.000-06:00

Multi-purpose iPhone cases are a dime a dozen these days. Some of them house anexternal battery, others have built-in credit card holders; we’ve even seen a case that doubles as a bottle opener.

But we don’t remember ever seeing a case with a built-in pepper spray compartment — until now. Meet the Spraytect iPhone case, the iPhone case that can protect both you and your beloved handset…

TechCrunch points to the Spraytect case, which was invented by an Arizona man shortly after his daughter left for college. Concerned for her safety, he built the iPhone case-pepper sprayer combo.

It seems easy enough to easy to operate. You just snap the pepper spray canister into the back of the iPhone case, pull the safety clip, make sure it’s aimed at your attacker, and press the side actuator button.

For those worried, the Spraytect has multiple safety mechanisms, ensuring that it only fires when you want it to. Plus, each case comes with a habanero spray canister, so you can practice a few times if needed.

The case itself starts at $40, and comes in multiple colors for both the iPhone 4 and 4S. And if you ever want to purchase more pepper spray canisters, Spraytect sells them for about $18 a piece.

While the case won’t appeal to everyone, we can definitely see parents buying this for their kids as they go off to college, or even for their younger kids who have to walk home from school or the bus stop.

Us? We’ll stick to our Yellow Jacket case with built-in 650K volt stun gun.

What do you think about the Spraytect?

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/11/protect-yourself-and-iphone/

Apple Seeds iOS 6.1 Beta 2 to Developers

2012-11-12T14:59:00.006-06:00

Apple has released the second beta of iOS 6.1, as well as new Apple TV software to developers, now available on the iOS Dev Portal. This update also comes with Xcode 4.6 DP 2, so that developers can use the latest beta software for development.

We will be sure to update you with more details when people have dug through the software for all the new little secrets Apple has added. Stay tuned!

Source : http://www.jailbreaknation.com/apple-seeds-ios-6.1-beta-2-to-developers

Sn0wbreeze 2.9.7 Released to Jailbreak iOS 6.0/6.0.1

2012-11-12T14:59:00.001-06:00

For those of you that are concerned about upgrading your baseband, we have good news for you. The popular custom IPSW tool Sn0wbreeze has received an update that brings support for iOS 6 and 6.0.1. As opposed to redsn0w, which loads a payload on to your device to jailbreak it, Sn0wbreeze is a tool that actually constructs a jailbroken IPSW which you can then use to restore your device. The changes are as follows:

What is New?

Added 6.0 (10A403)/6.0.1 (10A523) support. (Only includes iPhone 3GS & A4 devices).

The 6.0/6.0.1 is currently a tethered based jailbreak via iBooty (except for iPhone 3GS old bootrom users).

SAM is built-in for iOS 6 hacktivations. (Hacktivated phones can reboot to a semi-tethered state after being activated [rather than just hang at the Apple Logo]). Kudos @sbingner!

Downgrading:

Use iFaith mode after selecting/downloading the appropriate IPSW for your device. You will then be prompted to browse for SHSH blobs for the IPSW you have selected.

Remember to enter a PWNED DFU state with sn0wbreeze’s iREB button in the top bar of sn0wbreeze prior to (SHIFT + Restoring) the custom signed IPSW!

iREB & iOS 6:

Due to some changes in iOS 6, the current public standalone version of iREB will NOT enter a proper PWNED DFU state for restoring to custom iOS 6 IPSWs. An update for the standaloneversion should come sometime this week. In the meantime, use the iREB tab located in sn0wbreeze’s top status bar to enter a proper PWNED DFU state.

iH8Sn0w, Sn0wbreeze’s creator, also warns that it could be a long while before we will see any sort of untethered iOS 6.0/6.0.1 jailbreak. The download for Sn0wbreeze 2.9.7 can be found on our downloads page, and the full release can be found on iH8Sn0w’s blog.

Source : http://www.jailbreaknation.com/sn0wbreeze-2.9.7-released-to-jailbreak-ios-6.06.0.1

Apple Dishes out $21 Million To Swiss Rail for Clock Design

2012-11-12T14:58:00.003-06:00

For how concerned Apple is with design stealing, they didn’t have much issue with copying the clock design. Apple has been involved in a legal dispute with the Swiss Rail over the use of their clock, brand named Mondaine, since Apple used the design in iOS 6. You can see a comparison of the two above, and it is prettly clearly the exact match. According to AP:

US tech giant Apple has dished out 20 million Swiss francs ($21 million, 17 million euros) to compensate Swiss national rail operator SBB for using its famous clock without permission, a Swiss daily reported Saturday.

For a total sum of $21 million, with 210 million devices on iOS 6, Apple paid out about 10 cents per device, as realized by 9to5mac. This payout marks another loss in a series of legal battles for Apple, preceded by the defeat against Samsung in the UK. Apple undoubtedly hopes that the worst of it will be over soon, but we will keep you posted.

Source : http://www.jailbreaknation.com/apple-dishes-out-21-million-to-swiss-rail-for-clock-design

Apple and HTC reach final patent settlement

2012-11-12T14:57:00.003-06:00

Handset makers Apple and HTC have been involved in a worldwide patent dispute for the past two years, but it looks as though that fight has finally come to an end. The two companies agreed to a big deal that included the dismissal of all current lawsuits. A joint statement was issued by Apple and HTC that discussed the final agreement.

“HTC and Apple® have reached a global settlement that includes the dismissal of all current lawsuits and a ten-year license agreement. The license extends to current and future patents held by both parties. The terms of the settlement are confidential.

“HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC.

“We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC,” said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. “We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation.”

In addition to all patent disputes being dropped, all patents owned by the two companies will be cross-licensed for ten years. With both companies holding such large portfolios, this could be huge for both of them. With the threat of possible litigation hanging over the two companies, it is no doubt a big relief that they no longer have to worry about it.

Apple still has many companies to resolve disputes with, particularly Samsung, but its great news to see such a huge, non-damaging step forward in Apple’s position.

Source : http://www.jailbreaknation.com/apple-and-htc-reach-final-patent-settlement

6.0.1 Untethered Jailbreak Almost Complete

2012-11-12T14:56:00.004-06:00

P0sixninja from the Chronic Dev Team just tweeted out some good news regarding the untethered iOS 6 jailbreak. After arguing about how the teamwork was being managed he stated that he had found the “BootROM and decryption keys for A5/A5X/A6/A6X” followed by a tweet that helps clarify ”it’s at least a starting point for finding a new bootrom exploit, and makes userland jailbreaks 1000% easier.” He then stated that despite working on his own he has gotten far. This is great news as it shows that at least someone is hard and work and progressing to make the jailbreak. He even states at the end that finding a few more addresses is essentially all that is left in the process.

The jailbreak to be released will for for all devices (iPhone 5, 4S, 4, 3GS, iPod Touch 5, 4, iPad 3,2) and it will most likely be untethered.

[img: via]

Source :http://www.jailbreaknation.com/6.0.1-untethered-jailbreak-almost-complete

Apple Patents Show Plans For iDevice Fans, Packaging That Serves As A Dock

2012-11-12T14:55:00.002-06:00

It’s always big news when Apple patents a technology that is yet unseen in their current devices, and often gives clues as to what upcoming features we could be seeing in the near future. Today, two patents were published that show two very interesting new concepts that we could see in upcoming products.

iDevice Fans

If you’ve ever seen the above screen on your iPad, then you know that overheating is sometimes an issue, especially with iPads. This is primarily due to the fact that iPods, iPhones, and iPads don’t have fans to cool themselves down like Macs do, so they have to rely on being thin enough to naturally cool off in the air. Unfortunately, as Apple ads more computing power to their devices, this becomes less and less viable. According to Consumer Reports, the new iPad runs an entire 12 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the iPad 2.

Fortunately, Apple’s new patent details a design for a small motorized fan that would help cool off the device when it begins to overheat, keeping it functioning longer and faster. While it is unclear exactly how a moving component like this would fit in an iPad or iPhone, leave it to Apple to figure out how to make this as thin as possible. Read the full patent here.

Dock Packaging

Another interesting patent, uncovered by PatentlyApple, details a new form of packaging for iDevices, that would not need to be thrown away after unpacking the device, because the casing itself would actually serve as a dock. Considering Apple docks are usually pretty expensive, this would be a very cool addition to the packaging.

That essentially sums up the new Apple patents today, but stay tuned for any more news, because Apple is always trying to protect their intellectual property.

Source : http://www.jailbreaknation.com/apple-patents-show-plans-for-idevice-fans-packaging-that-serves-as-a-dock

Philips Hue personal wireless lighting review

2012-11-09T15:06:00.004-06:00

$199 for a lightbulb? Are you crazy?

Well, first of all, there are three lightbulbs included with the package, not just one.

Secondly, these aren’t your parent’s lightbulbs.

Lastly, yes, I’m a little crazy when it comes to tech.

Indeed, the Hue personal wireless lighting starter kit from Philips is expensive; we’ve established that both here and here already. But disregard the price for a minute, and check out our full video review inside to see exactly how these bulbs work…

Key features of the Philips Hue

They’re LED so they’re incredibly bright
They last for 15 years
They’re cool to the touch while in use
You can control them with your iPhone via Wi-Fi
You can control your lighting even when away from your home via cellular connection
You can make them change into a rainbow of different colors
You can set specific timers for them to turn on and off
You can match lighting from colors found in your favorite photos
You can control up to 50 Hue bulbs from a single connection

And really, that’s just the beginning. There are a ton of promising capabilities for the future: Think about possibilities like location based awareness, meaning that the Hue knows when you’ve arrived home and automatically adjusts the lighting. The possibilities are seemingly endless.

Now consider for a moment that a single LED bulb can go for as much as $40 at your local home improvement store, and it has none of the wireless, or color capabilities. True, that’s on the high end of the scale, but it wasn’t that long ago that prices at these levels and above were the norm, not the exception.

LED Lightbulbs at Home Depot

What you get

Inside the Philips Hue starter kit you get the following for $199.95:

Three 8.5W (600 Lumen) LED bulbs operating at 2.4GHz
A wireless bridge
Power cable
Ethernet cable

Extra bulbs can be purchased for $59.95 a piece.

The Setup

Setup was extremely simple, as there are only three steps involved. First, screw in the bulbs at the desired location just like you would any normal light bulb. Second, connect the wireless bridge to your wireless router via ethernet, and plug in the power. Lastly, download the app, and it will auto detect the bridge and configure the settings. It’s a totally mindless effort to setup the Hue. In true Apple fashion, it just works.

The App

The Hue app is necessary to complete the setup, and can be downloaded for free from the App Store. Once the automatic configuration is completed after first launch, you’l be presented with a group of scenes that can automatically adjust the intensity and color of your lighting. The scenes vary greatly from things like Sunset, to Pencils, Deep Sea, etc. There’s also an “all off” button to quickly kill all of the lighting connected to the wireless bridge.

Each scene can be easily deleted, renamed, or edited using the edit button located in the upper left-hand corner of the app. You can also add a new scene using a button in the opposite corner, and you can base these scenes off of photos — either from your camera or photo library — or base them off of a few built in photos that Philips bundled with the app.

Also included with the app is an option to create a new scene from something Philips dubs as a “Light Recipe”. These are four basic types of light for Relaxation, Concentration, Energizing, and Reading. As you might expect, all of these scenes forgo the crazy colors in favor of more traditional lighting.

The scene library contained within the app acts very much like the traditional Home screen on your iPhone. There are different pages to store all of the scenes, and each individual scene has its own icon located on the page. Tapping and holding on a scene enables wiggle mode, which allows the scene to be edited, moved, renamed, or deleted. You can also rename each page, or change the background of each individual page using a photo from your Library or Camera.

Using and editing Scenes

You can instantly enable a scene, and hence activate your lighting, by tapping on a scene icon within the scene library. The interesting thing about scenes is that lighting can be grouped, or used individually within a scene. That means that one scene could result in three different colors and three independent levels of intensity for the three lights included in the package. In theory, it’s totally possible to have one scene control 50 lights with different colors and intensity levels for each light! Needless to say, you canreally concoct some far out combinations using the scene editors.

While it’s nice to be able to individually configure each light bulb for a scene, there’s also an option to group your bulbs so that they all emit the exact same type of light. This is good news for those of you who plan on using Hue for a more modest approach to lighting. There are also provisions to completely disable certain bulbs within certain scenes. It’s all highly customizable.

Editing scenes lends the ability to set alarms — times when scenes are automatically enabled and disabled. There are three types of alarm settings: Instant on/off, and 3 or 9 minute fade ins or fade outs. The fades allow you create less jarring scene transitions based on certain times of the day. In the end, it’s basically just a glorified timer.

On the fly editing

Sometimes you may not feel like messing around with scenes, and that’s okay. The Hue app contains an on the fly editing provision that allows you to control each light independently of one another. There you can adjust the intensity of the light along with its colors. The on the fly editor is accessible by swiping up on the Notification Center like panel resting at the bottom of the app.

Configuration

The panel talked about in the previous paragraph is also where you can access the Hue’s configuration settings. Once you open the editor, you’ll notice a little settings cog in the upper left-hand corner. Tapping that cog reveals settings for the wireless bridge, the ability to search for additional bridges and light bulbs, and the ability to edit the names of individual lights. Philips came up with a great way to identify lights that you wish to rename, as the light bulb selected flashes to identify itself until the new name is selected.

Areas for improvement

If there’s one place where the Hue stumbles a bit, it’s with the app. Unfortunately since is the only way to interface with the lighting system, it can be a bit frustrating at first. It’s not a horrible experience by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s certainly nowhere near as straightforward as the actual setup process is.

I noticed a few bugs within the app, like being able to adjust the dimmer while individually configuring a bulb, or when trying to snap a photo for a scene I was creating. Neither of those bugs are deal breakers, but it does make the interface feel a bit more clunky than it needs to be. Being that it’s the first iteration of the app, you should expect Philips to refine it over the next few updates.

Worth it?

Obviously, the price will be the biggest barrier to entry for most consumers. It’s really hard to justify dropping $200 on a few lightbulbs, no matter how cool or convenient they may be. Make no mistake, I love my Philips Hue, and totally don’t regret the purchase, but the price needs to go down to make this a viable long term product.

I’m also not sure how many people will actually value the ability to be able to add color to their interior rooms. It’s a nice thing to show off to friends and family, but it’s not something you’re going to want to use day in and day out.

I’m using the Hue for more traditional means, like being able to control lighting when I’m away from the house, turning on lights when I pull into the driveway, and setting timers to adjust lighting at certain periods during the day. I just don’t think the color phenomenon has enough legs to carry the Hue into mainstream success. The best part of the Hue is simply being able to control your lighting via your iPhone with just a few setup steps.

If Philips released some non-colored LED lights that were compatible with the wireless bridge for a cheaper price, then I could see the whole idea becoming more practical, cheaper, and therefore more valuable to consumers. It’s a cool system, and a hoot to show off occasionally, but unless you just have money to blow, I’d wait it out for the price to drop.

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/09/philips-hue-review/

Apple named most innovative company for third straight year

2012-11-09T15:05:00.003-06:00

Apple doesn’t get a whole lot of respect from the tech world when it comes to innovation. The company is seen more as a re-innovator than an innovator, as it typically builds its products on top of previous inventions.

But according to a new report by Global management consulting firm Booz & Co, Apple is the most innovative company in the world. The iPad-maker finished ahead of the likes of Google, 3M and its rival Samsung…

This is the management consulting firm’s eighth annual survey, and the third year in a row that Apple, Google and 3M landed in the No. 1, 2 and 3 spots. Samsung, on the other hand, climbed from #7 to #4 this year.

It’s interesting to see Apple in the top spot, despite the fact that it spent the second least amount in research and development this year at $2.4B. By contrast, Samsung and Microsoft both spent $9B on R&D costs.

Fortune points to the Booz & Co report for more insight into their methodology (viaTUAW):

“Year after year, our Global Innovation 1000 study has demonstrated that it is not how much companies spend on research and development that determines success — what really matters is how those R&D funds are invested in talent, process, and tools.”

In addition to Samsung’s three-spot jump, Amazon found itself in a top 10 spot on the Global Innovation 1000 list for the first time ever, knocking out Facebook. Booz & Co says the social network has lost its initial luster.

Whether you agree with the list or not, it’s hard to deny that Apple has found a winning formula. The company recently announced that it sold 3 million tablets last weekend, more than most companies do in a quarter.

Source : http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/11/09/apple-named-most-innovative/