Tag Archives: touch

iPod Nano 6G Jailbreak

The iPod Nano hasn’t been “jailbroken” as some sites claim but it has been hacked. Hacker, James Whelton, claims to not have root access over the device. He did not “install” an app. He figured out how to remove an app and insert a blank space into the springboard.

What he’s also done is figured out a way for the iPod to boot with modified files (i.e. the SpingBoard plist), bypassing the procedure it takes to stop this, he hope this will allow us to figure out a way to jailbreak it. Whelton is primarily focusing on exposing some of the (for now) hidden features of the device.

Next is the discovery in some of the device’s plists of reference to support of Movies, TV Shows, Apps, Games, vCards, Calender events and so on, with a few other cool things like a passcode lock.

Below are some screenshots of the code. Be sure to follow us and our YouTube channel for information and tutorials on this story. If you happen to own an iPod Nano 6G, will you be hacking when it’s available? Let us know by leaving a comment!

dock case

Why Apple Only Lets You Dock Your iDevice With No Case

If you’re like me you want your iDevice protected so you put it in a case, but you love to use Apple’s accessories rather if it is the iPad Keyboard Dock, Universal Dock, or even down to non Apple products like iHome. Well from doing some research it is because Apple provides accessories for stock iDevices. For example your iPad doesn’t come with a case, you have to buy one on your own. Well how does Apple know your going to buy a case? So they only accommodate their docks to fit without a case. Even if they did accommodate to a case say you have a Barely There case that is 0.9 mm thin or an Outter Box Defender case that is 5 cm thick that means basically for every iPad or iPhone or iPod case out there Apple would have to specialize a new dock for them. This is the answer to every time we complain about Apple not having their docks fit our cases.

kickstarter watch

Best iPod Nano Watches Coming Soon

We recently came across two amazing designs for iPod Nano 6G watchbands, the TikTok and LunaTik, which completely transform the new iPod Nano into a fully functioning multi-touch watch. The designer, Scott Wilson, was asking potential customers/investors for a mere $15,000 via their Kickstarter page. Thanks to the astonishing number of people who invested in them (about 7,600 thus far), they were able to collect close to $600,000 with still 13 days to go as of Friday, December 3.  The watchbands will now be produced and hopefully TechGeec.com will have the opportunity to review these amazing accessories.

They are targeting to have the TikTok ($35 retail) shipping to backers by late December and the LunaTik ($70 retail) by mid January.

If you’d like to learn more information about these magnificent watchbands for the iPod Nano, you can visit the site, HERE.

Here’s the video that Wilson made and published via Kickstarter to describe his new design:

Interview With Epic Games



Guys I recently emailed the developers of the demo app Epic Citadel that is currently in the iPhone and iPad App Store that demos Epic Games Unreal Engine on the iPhone or iPad. This is the app was also demoed on the September 1st Keynote at Apple HQ.

But anyways I emailed them to ask them when they think when the app would go live in the App Store.

Here is the entire conversation:

—–Original Message—–
Hey guys! This is the Senior Editor for TechGeec.com Conner and I just had a quick question for you. Can you give us any date to when “Project Sword” will be submitted to the App Store?

Conner Owen
Senior Editor | TechGeec.com
conner@techgeec.com

—–Responded Message—–
Hi Conner,

We haven’t announced a date yet, when we do it will be posted on http://epicgames.com and our social media outlets.

Thank you,

Stacey Conley
————————————-
Community Coordinator
Epic Games, Inc.

Well there you have it! I assume this means that it is still in early development and it wont be released until at least mid 2011.

Offcial Twitter App Goes Universal Finally!

Great news, Twitter fans! The official Twitter application, which we’ve known and loved on our iPhone handsets for some time now, has just gone universal. A recent update (version 3.1, which was released today) means iPad owners can now use the app on their 9.7″ iDevices.

And, as you can see from the screenshots below, the familiar app looks markedly different on the iPad. First up, it takes advantage of the iPad’s screen brilliantly. Twitter on the iPad displays your timeline in the center of the screen, adding helpful lists at the side when in landscape mode. By tapping on any tweet, related content will open in the foreground. By sliding panels, you can swiftly navigate through this content.

In addition to this, users can pinch on a tweet to reveal information and further actions. A two finger drag opens up a list of reply options. These new features are simple but very helpful, and we’re sure you’ll really appreciate them.

So, the ultimate question: was Twitter’s universality something worth waiting for? In my opinion, yes, it was. And, let’s not forget this is a free application, so you have no excuse not to download it!

Twitter (for iPhone and iPad) is available now in the App Store for free! Let us know your thoughts on the app in the comments box at the bottom of this article.

LIVE Coverage & Updates of Apple’s September 1 Event

Tomorrow, September 1, TechGeec will be updating this post LIVE during Apple’s media event. That means that you won’t have to constantly hit the F5 key or refresh this page, it will update automatically. The event will be taking place at 10:00 AM PST (1:00 PM EST). Make sure to bookmark this page and come back tomorrow to be updated LIVE on what Apple will be releasing/announcing.

[liveblog]

CopyTrans Manager Overview [UPDATED]

CopyTrans Manager is a FREE iPod/iPhone/iPad manager which will allow the managment of all media located on the preferred device. You can do all the features with it that you can do with iTunes, except CTM is faster, lighter, and there’s no need for any installation. It wouldn’t hurt, however, if the UI was updated.

CopyTrans Manager, by WindSolutions, is a FREE iTunes replacement for Microsoft Windows. It’s much faster and lighter (uses less memory) than iTunes, however, it is also much simpler. It does, though, still have all of the important features that iTunes has – adding media to your device, edit song tags, album artwork, create/manage playlists, play music, etc.

There are many great features that CopyTrans Manager has, however, there are also some (not too bad) down sides to it. The newest version, v0.919, is now compatible with both iOS 4 as well with the iPhone 4 which is great considering the fact that already 3 million+ people now own the iPhone 4. The Manager is great for (very) simple use. There’s no fancy buttons or menus with endless options to go through which makes it extremely easy for non-computer savvy people to use (like my mother :D). It does offer some other benefits, however, like it’s usage of less memory than iTunes (not to mention there’s no installation needed).

Now this is not a complete iTunes replacement. You can’t buy music from it and your device must be plugged in for you to use it. The reason why you need to plug in your device, though, is because it’s an iPod manager, not an iTunes manager. This program isn’t meant for you to just open it up and listen music from it like you would with iTunes. It’s specifically meant to manage the media that’s stored on your devices.

Also what I found, was that I had to run the program as an administrator (right click the icon and select “Run as Administrator”). This is most likely due to the fact that I’m running on a 64-bit machine. I didn’t like the UI (user interface) that much just because it seemed a bit out-dated (don’t let the UI reflect upon how the program performs). In the next version, I’d like to see a new UI, one that possibly resembles and works with Windows Aero theme that is present in both Vista and 7. Other than that, though, the program works just as advertised – fantastically, but be sure not to mistake it for an iTunes manager, it’s an iPod manager (two completely different things). You can download it for free from www.CopyTrans.net.

iPhone OS 4.0 Rumors and Event Date

Apple has announced an iPhone OS 4 event on April 8th at 10AM PT for a “sneak peek of the next generation of iPhone OS software.” So if you’re wondering about the future of the platform… your answers will appear sooner than you think. It’s also pretty unusual to see such a big event coming from Apple right on the heels of something like the iPad launch.

Here Are Some Rumors That Might Be Talked About At The Event:

The upcoming 4.0 reference release of Apple’s iPhone OS will deliver new support for running multiple concurrent third party apps, and allow users to switch between them using a windows management mechanism similar to one made popular on the company’s Mac OS X operating system.

The technology, detailed by people familiar with Apple’s plans for the new firmware, will finally allow users to launch multiple apps in the background and quickly switch between them, as AppleInsider exclusively reported earlier this month. Currently, a running app must be quit when the user returns to the Home screen.

Apple initially avoided an app model supporting multiple apps running at once to help preserve battery life and simplify the user experience. Other platforms that do support the launching of multiple apps, including Android and Windows Mobile, require users to manually manage system resources and kill off performance robbing background tasks.

Today’s iPhone 3.x firmware is a fully preemptive multitasking operating system, but it artificially restricts apps (other than specific ones bundled with the system by Apple) from running in the background.

Iconic Expose

Those familiar with the design of iPhone 4.0 said that the user interface will resemble Apple’s desktop Expose feature, in that a key combination — reportedly hitting the Home button twice — will trigger an expose-like interface that brings up a series of icons representing the currently running apps, allowing users to quickly select the one they want to switch to directly. When a selection is made, the iPhone OS zooms out of the Expose task manager and transitions to that app.

Apple patented the Mac OS X Expose concept in 2005, but the desktop implementation relies upon scaling each application’s widows so that they all fit into the screen in a single layer without any overlap.

On the iPhone, scaling down several screen views to fit into the relatively small display would be problematic, and apps never have multiple windows, so the new mechanism currently presents just each app’s icon. This renders the feature more similar to the basic Command+Tab app switcher than Expose itself as a desktop feature, but people who’ve been privy to pre-release builds of the iPhone 4.0 OS say it exhibits several characteristics of the Expose brand.

Two other features seen in pre-release builds of iPhone 4.0 are a global mailbox view and the ability to add individual contacts to the iPhone’s home screen, such as a button that will call “Mom” or “Dad” directly. Since the software remains under active development, there’s always the possibility that either or both of these enhancements could be chopped in the coming months.

Multiple apps without broken security

Controversy over “multitasking” within the iPhone OS has been brewing ever since Apple launched iPhone 2.0 with the ability to run third party software titles. While often reported as being a technical flaw, the iPhone OS really has no problem with multitasking. The system’s phone, SMS, email, iPod, voice recorder, Nike+, and certain other bundled apps can continue in the background while the user launches another app.

However, third party titles obtained from the App Store (including apps from Apple, such as Remote or iDisk) can not be launched at the same time. This is currently only possible after jailbreaking the system, where the iPhone OS security model is compromised via an exploit, allowing the user to launch and run multiple apps.

This also opens the door to both malware and widespread piracy, both of which have been contained by the default security system put in place by Apple. At the same time, Apple’s signed app model in iTunes with its mandatory certificate security mechanism means that iPhone users will be able to run multiple apps from the App Store without fear that their software will spy on them, pop up ads, or send out spam.

Other platform vendors do not mandate rigid security for their software libraries, with Android permissively allowing users to install apps from any source, something that will likely serve as a welcome mat for malicious hackers once that platform gains enough visibility.

Notifications pay off on the way to multitasking

Rather than immediately jumping to a multitasking environment for the iPhone, Apple introduced a system-wide push notifications service to enable third party apps to appear to respond to outside updates (such as incoming messages or news alerts) even when they were not actually running.

The company has worked to refine this mechanism before moving to a fully multitasking model, which means that existing apps with notification support won’t necessarily need to be launched in the background just to continually poll for updates. Additionally, third party apps that are running in the background will be less likely to drain performance and battery compared to other platforms because the notification mechanism is more efficient than having multiple apps each polling a remote server for their own updates.

For example, RIM’s BlackBerry OS has long offered multitasking support for apps but the company only recently opened up its push delivery infrastructure to third party developers. As a result, most of the relatively small library of BlackBerry apps are designed to inefficiently poll a server for information rather than avail themselves of the BlackBerry’s famous push messaging features.

Google provides no standard mechanism for system-wide push on Android, forcing developers to all roll their own support. Meanwhile, Microsoft is planning to roll the clock back with Windows Phone 7 later this year, erasing its existing multitasking support for third party apps in Windows Mobile to deliver a model patterned after iPhone 2.0.

Apple Releases the iPad Finally

Apple Inc. began selling its much-anticipated iPadon Saturday, drawing eager customers intent on being among the first owners of a tablet-style device that the company is hoping to convince more people they actually need.

Some of these initial iPad buyers were drawn by the ability to read electronic books, watch video and run a myriad of useful or fun applications, including Scrabble.

Ray Majewski came to an Apple Store in Freehold with his 10-year-old daughter, Julia, partly as a reward for getting straight A’s in school. He decided on an iPad over Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle electronic-book reader.

“I like the electronic books, and my daughter is really getting into them as well,” Majewski said. “I was thinking of getting a Kindle but then said to myself, `Why not get an iPad because I can get so much more from that than just reading books.’”

The iPad is essentially a much larger version of Apple’s popular iPhone, without the calling capabilities. The new device is a half-inch thick, weighs 1.5 pounds and has a touch screen that measures 9.7 inches on the diagonal — nearly three times the iPhone’s. Also like the iPhone, it has no physical keyboard, but sports an accelerometer, which lets gamers tilt the device to control what’s happening on the screen.

For now, Apple is selling versions of the iPad that can only connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi. Those models start at $499. Versions that also have a cellular data connection will be available by the end of the month. They will cost $130 more, with the most expensive at $829.

Scores of people lined up outside many Apple Stores and Best Buy outlets well before the iPads went on sale. Apple’s store on New York’s Fifth Avenue had a party-like atmosphere, with employees cheering and clapping as customers entered and left.

Although Apple is adept at generating frenetic buzz for not-yet-released products, it may have to work extra hard once the initial iPad excitement settles. Many companies have tried to sell tablet computers before, but none have caught on with mainstream consumers.

Apple will need to persuade people who may already have smart phones, laptops, set-top boxes and home broadband connections to buy yet another Internet-capable device with many of the same functions.

And while early adopters who pre-ordered an iPad in recent weeks gush about all the ways they hope to use the iPad — casual Web searches on the couch, sharing photo albums with friends, reading books — skeptics point to all the ways the iPad comes up short.

They argue the on-screen keyboard is hard to use and complain that it lacks a camera and ports for media storage cards and USB devices such as printers. They also bemoan the fact that the iPad can’t play Flash video, which means many Web sites with embedded video clips will look broken to Web surfers using Apple’s Safari browser. And the iPad can’t run more than one program at a time, which even fans hope will change one day soon.

Full Specs for Apple’s New “iSlate”

I recently found this image of the supposed “iSlate” that lists all of the known specs as of now and whether they’re likely or unlikely to happen. I figured looking at an image would be better than reading a full post plainly listing the specs of the new tablet. Here’s the image (click on it for a larger view):

Image via The Green Blog