Apple could open up iOS by releasing alternate firmware for developers

Earlier this week, Tim Cook turned some heads when he told folks at the D11 conference that they could expect Apple to “open up more” in the future, in regards to 3rd party developers. The company, as you well know, currently rules iOS with an iron fist.

Unsurprisingly, Cook’s comment has sparked some speculation in the jailbreak community , on what Apple’s plans might be for opening up iOS more. And earlier today, Pod2g weighed in, and he thinks it could do it by releasing alternate firmware…

More specifically, the well-known hacker believes that Apple could release two versions of each firmware: one that is secure and doesn’t really let you do anything, like it is now, and one for developers and tinkerers that allows you to run unsigned code.

Those who download the alternate firmware, he says, would have to do so at their own risk. But this would be a way to give users the best of both worlds: a closed, secure platform, and an open, customizable one. You’d think this would be a no-brainer for Apple, right?

Not quite. Sure, OS X lets you run unsigned code. But the environment and circumstances are very different with iOS. I think Apple’s mobile products rely heavily, from a sales standpoint, on the ‘it just works’ mentality. I feel like if they lost their reputation for quality, and easy-to-use software, they’d have a hard time standing out in an increasingly crowded market. And I think [they think] they’d risk that happening with an ‘alternate’ firmware. Even if it was only meant for developers.

What I’d like to see is Apple give third-party devs access to things like Siri and the Notification Center, and give them further access to the Lock screen. I think they could get away with little freedoms like this, and not have to worry about the integrity of iOS.

What do you think?

source: www.idownloadblog.com

Best Free Apps of the Day on 5/31. Foldify, Trail Tracker GPS, Ninja Wrath, & More.

Friday, May 31, 2013

We have a popular iPad app gone free today that lets you easily create and print your own papercraft objects. There is also a trail tracker app to help you track your hiking trips. We also have a great photo app to help you make great collages, an ninja action game, and a must-have game for strategy game lovers. Don’t miss today’s Best Free Apps of the Day!

Please Note: All apps listed here are free in the U.S. App Store when this post was published. But since most apps listed here are only FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME, price changes by the developers can happen at anytime. Please double check the price in the App Store before your download.

Foldify

Foldify
(4 stars with 303 User Ratings)
iPad App
$1.99 â†' Free

In case you’re completely unfamiliar, the driving force behind Foldify is an artistic process called papercraft, in which 3D figures/objects can be formed using only paper and some precise folding… The Foldify app aims to make the whole process a lot more friendly, and also leaves more room for creativity, since the genius interface leaves it up to you to draw and color the design you’ll eventually be building.

The creation process moves from iPad to physical process with the help of Apple AirPrint. For many, this may be the first time you find good reason to use the feature. But don’t worry, Foldify has other options if you don’t have a compatible printer.

source: appchronicles.com

Auxo for iPad is coming in 6 days

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the wait is almost over. Yes, indeed, Auxo for iPad is coming to a jailbroken iPad near you in less than one week. In six days, according to a new teaser image on the tweak’s official site [1] , Auxo for iPad will go live.

The tweak, widely regarded as the best jailbreak release of 2012 , has been baking in the oven for quite some time. Many have complained about the long wait, but you can be rest assured that the wait is almost over. We will, of course, be back with a full review of Auxo for iPad.

In the meantime, why not check out our original review of Auxo . Its video has received well over half a million views to date.

What do you think? Are you excited about this news?

Links

1. ^{^} official site (images.a3tweaks.com)

source: www.idownloadblog.com

iPhone 5 – Best Free iPhone 5 Apps

Added by admin 4 weeks ago

32 Views0 Comments0 Likes

Stick Stunt Biker 2 für iPad und iPhone im App Check.

Added by admin 1 month ago

27 Views25 Comments0 Likes

BUSINESS CONTACT: http://www.appstorereviewer.com LIKE ASR FACEBOOK: http://on.fb.me/fLpL81 FOLLOW MY TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/asrisjon Swift Bill iPh...

Added by admin 1 month ago

21 Views0 Comments0 Likes

Sarah Hanlon takes a look at Crossfit WOD Programmer, a brand-new fitness app for iPhone. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crossfit-wod-programmer/id632011414...

Added by admin 1 month ago

61 Views25 Comments0 Likes

Funny Babies - Compilation of hilarious baby videos from around the web PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!!! Watch the Funniest & Cutest Babies on Youtube making the darndest...

source: www.iambi.opole.pl

Hands-on with the new 16GB iPod touch (video)

Apple yesterday phased out the fourth-gen iPod touch in favor of a new entry-level  $229 16GB model . Basically the fifth-generation, it includes EarPods and has the same four-inch Retina screen, Lightning I/O and the A5 chip as other models â€" sans the iSight camera and the lanyard hook.

However, there’s one more major difference between this iPod touch and the more capacious models. Ben Pasternak of Sydney, Australia was one of the first buyers and posted a quick hands-on video…

Here’s the video â€" actually, it’s more of a video slideshow.

And as you may have guessed by now, Apple’s “new” 16GB fifth-gen iPod touch is only offered in the black-and-silver combination (it’s actually a brand new colour scheme) whereas 16GB and 32GB models come in a variety of color options.

Price at $229, it’s Apple’s most affordable iPod touch and $70 cheaper than the $299 16GB model, or $170 cheaper versus the $399 64GB model.

Oh, and for the nitpicking types: dropping the camera and wrist strap holding button has resulted in a device that’s a hair lighter.

You’ll have to decide for yourself whether the lack of the lanyard hook, color choices and five-megapixel iSight camera with 1080p video capture is worth saving $70.

By the way, if Apple was willing to drop the iSight camera to shave costs, I’m not really sure why they kept the FaceTime camera out the front.

In a rare confirmation, Apple confirmed yesterday it sold a hundred million iPod touch units since its inception in 2007. As for the iPhone, it apparently sold 352,292,000 units since day one through the most recent quarter, per Apple’s filings analyzed by Stupid Calculations [1] .

Links

1. ^{^} Stupid Calculations (www.stupidcalculations.com)

source: www.idownloadblog.com

Stilly Is A One-Button GIF Maker For iPhone That’s Even Easier Than Vine

Like GIFs? Tumblr? Got an iPhone? $2.00? Okay, good, then you’ll probably like this new app called Stilly [1] , which is either the most ridiculous thing ever or the most fun you’re going to have all weekend. The app, in a nutshell, turns anything you capture with your iPhone’s camera into a jiggling, wiggly, color-flashing GIF.

Well, you know, kind of!

Because it seems primarily designed for use with Tumblr for now, the company promoted [2] it on its official blog today, saying just “this is addictive.”

And it is.

The app is dead simple to use. It has only one button to create the GIF, and another toggle to turn “Colors” on. The end results aren’t exactly the same kind of professional GIFs (oh wow, I’m writing that?) that you might find elsewhere on Tumblr, however, but it will do in a pinch.

Tumblr is already filling up with people posting using the pre-populated #stilly tag [3] , which probably needs some sort of seizure warning.

The app is kind of reminiscent of Vine, but Vine was getting too high-brow for us anyway, what with its movie trailers , short films, comedic experiments [4] and all. I mean really, Vine for filmmakers [5] ? C’mon. Can’t we just have a stupid toy every now and then?

Stilly will do.

The app was created by longtime Tumblr user Ian Broyles, who has been on the site since 2007 and loves GIFs and photography.

“I have been making GIFs in some form since 1995 and got my first digital camera the same year. I love playing with images, and moving ones are even better,” he explains.

“When I was 19, I made a site [6] with my brother, David Broyles, that got a blurb in Time Magazine and was mentioned on the Today Show during the Bush/Gore tie up. It was based on funny GIFs I made out of candidates’ heads on dancing bodies from TV/Film. It was shared all over the web before social network via send-a-friend forms. I made a decent chunk of money for a teenager and moved out to Los Angeles to work in film as I didn’t care for school.”

“GIFs have been good to me,” he adds.

Broyles says he starting working on Stilly in December 2012, before he had heard of Vine and before it was released. He doesn’t think the two apps are all that similar, not only because of the creations’ length, but also because Vines are harder to make and send to friends.

Stillies, though, can be sent via iMessage, SMS or Tumblr for now, with more sharing options in the works along with a few other features, too. However, the core experience will remain very basic. And now that the app is launched and people seem to be enjoying it, Broyles says he will work on building an Android version too.

Stilly is $1.99 here in the Apple App Store [7] .

Links

1. ^{^} Stilly (itunes.apple.com)
2. ^{^} promoted (staff.tumblr.com)
3. ^{^} #stilly tag (www.tumblr.com)
4. ^{^} comedic experiments (mashable.com)
5. ^{^} Vine for filmmakers (filmmakermagazine.com)
6. ^{^} site (tvdance.com)
7. ^{^} Stilly is $1.99 here in the Apple App Store (itunes.apple.com)

source: techcrunch.com

Google updates iOS Search app, rolls out nutritional information in search results

I really, really wish Apple doubled down on Siri. When the intelligent personal assistant debuted as an iPhone 4S-exclusive back in October 2011, Siri was likened to a seismic shift that would vastly improve our interactions with the devices in our lives. And it did.

But merely nineteen months later, Google has leapfrogged Siri with Google Now, which combines the power of Google search with the company’s Knowledge Graph and top-notch voice recognition to deliver relevant info before you even asked for it.

But Google isn’t standing still. Today the firm has updated its native iOS Search app with “location improvements and bug fixes.” And just yesterday, it announced that nutritional information will start cropping up in search results across platforms, including iOS and Android applications that incorporate Google Now…

While today’s refresh of Google’s native iOS Search app [1] is just a maintenance update, a far more interesting development is the roll-out of nutritional information in search results on the web and in Google’s native search apps on iOS and Android.

You’ll be able to ask Google questions like “How much protein is in a banana?” or “How many calories are in an avocado?” and get the answer right away, presented via a nicely laid out information card.

Depicted below are two such examples.

Banana protein data on the left and nutritional information on the right.

Of course, you’ll also be able to retrieve nutritional information on Google.com, by typing in your query or using your voice (see the below image), thanks to the latest Chrome browser update  that incorporates Siri-like conversational voice search.

According to Google’s Inside Search blog, you’lle be able to “hear the answer to your specific question, see relevant nutrition information under an expansion and switch to other related foods or serving sizes.” [2]

Tapping the power of Google’s Knowledge Graph which brings together bits and pieces of information that weren’t easily accessible, the system can even distinguish between foods that have a completely different sounding name.

Case in point: asking for “summer squash carbs” will include “zucchini” as a relevant food in the dropdown menu, because it is a type of summer squash.

Other types of nutritional-related queries include questions such as “How many calories are in popcorn?”, “What nutrients are in breadfruit?”, “Is there sugar in granadilla?”, “How many carbs in corn?” and so forth.

Nutritional information in search results is rolling out gradually in English to U.S. users over the next ten days, so don’t panic if you’re unable to research your favorite foods yet. The Internet giant says it’s going to add more features, foods and languages in the coming weeks and months.

I appreciate Apple enhancing Siri â€" it recently tweaked her to respond to longer queries with quotes on brevity â€" but there’s no denying that Google has the upper hand here and is moving at a faster pace.

Just out of curiosity, do you prefer Google Now over Siri?

Links

1. ^{^} native iOS Search app (click.linksynergy.com)
2. ^{^} Google’s Inside Search blog (insidesearch.blogspot.com)

source: www.idownloadblog.com