Fanboy Advices
I realize the impending irony of writing this post right after my small hommage to Steve Jobs.. but somebody on the Internet is wrong. You know how that goes. Jim Darlymple recently blogged about his definition of an 'Apple fanboy':
Someone who is tired of technology being difficult and knows there is something better; someone that loves to get the job done instead of working on their machine; a person that isn’t afraid of breaking the status quo; someone that appreciates quality design and workmanship; a person that realizes cheapest isn’t always best. Apple fanboys are commonly confused with the sensible people of society.
I don't care much about his argument for quality design and workmanship, his affirmation that cheapest isn't always best or his stab at societal common sense. What transpires from the rest of his 'definition' is what I don't want to see happen with the world. Telling people to get an Apple product if they think technology is too difficult is how we'll end up enslaved to the fruit-people. It's supremely important in this day and age not to let technology become overwhelming. Technology, in the state it's in, is meant to be understood and played with, not merely consumed. If you have no understanding of what you're using, well first you're going to be in a world of hurt, then you'll have to rely on somebody who actually understands to help your sorry ass out. Technology isn't kind to neophytes. For every Apple fanboy there is, there's a geek who knows better.
Here’s to the crazy ones
An Era ended yesterday as the mighty Steve Jobs, who recently stepped down as CEO of Apple, passed away at 56 years old after a long battle with cancer. It's sad. It's really fucking sad. For Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad lovers it's sad. For compulsive audiophiles, digital historians and designers, it's sad. For the millions of people he and his disciples championed and inspired, the tech reporters and the business analysts, it's sad... But most of all, we've lost a a pioneer, a leader and an icon.
Announcing MobileCamp Montreal 2011
The MobileCamp Montreal project idea arose right after PodCamp Montreal 2010. We thought the timing was a perfect fit with the current state of the mobile industry. So many questions are left unanswered simply because most people do not know who (or how) to ask. That’s why we decided it was time to have a gathering of mobile experts, enthusiasts and users so that we can give an overview of the current state of things, what the options are and what’s hot or not.
We are currently in the organizational stage of the project and there are lots of things left to figure out. We need volunteers - that's one thing we know for sure. Should you have interest, do not hesitate to contact us with what you think you can bring to the organization. Keep checking the site and MobileCamp Montreal's official Twitter account for updates!
Android ported to iPhone
This is the single most important thing that's happened to the iPhone alternative market since the jailbreak came out. David "planetbeing" Wong somehow managed to run Android on an iPhone, dual booting with OpenIBoot. Check out the video below, then check out planetbeing's post about this, and get the files for what he calls iDroid! It's not clear yet whether this works on anything but iPhone 2G (as used in the video) - I wouldn't try this on a 3G or 3GS just yet. But still, this is pretty big!
Cydia’s Best Apps: My Top Jailbreak Applications
I've been rocking a jailbroken iPhone for a few months now, and I must say I absolutely love it. It feels just like when I switched to Linux: power to the community, freedom of choice and usage, open source spirit... and you're pretty much on your own if shit hits the fan. I've blogged about the best Cydia applications I found in the past (Top 10 Cydia Apps and Top 10 Cydia Apps Redux), but I feel it's time to update that list and share it with you all. "Why?" might you ask. Simple. My needs and interests change regularly. The software source being Cydia, applications can be harder to find than with the centralized Apple App Store. New apps are added to Cydia on a daily basis, and new repositories are created daily, so new stuff is easy to find - good stuff is harder. There are a few tools on the interwebs to help you by attempting to centralize the Cydia apps information (appRater, ModMyi, hackint0sh, iPhoneFreakz, BigBoss, iSpazio), but it's still more challenging than your search-and-tap routine.
Here goes a revamped list of my current essential Cydia apps for your jailbroken iPhone in no particular order. I'm gonna leave out the obvious like Cydia and OpenSSH.
Top 10 Cydia Apps Redux
About a month ago, I jailbroke my iPhone and made a list of my top 10 Cydia apps at the time. As everything else in life, that list has since evolved, and looking back at it today I felt like it needed to be revisited. The main reason why I need to write about that list is because some of the apps that I found cool at the time turned out to be inadequate in the long run. So I'll give you my current top 10 Cydia apps, now with 100% more knowledge!
My Top 10 Cydia Apps
I've had an iPhone for about 7 months. I've been a regular App Store user, buying all my stuff legitimately. This weekend, I decided to JailBreak it (how?). What convinced me to jailbreak it? I wanted control over my SMS alert. I just wanted a simple beep, no fancy 5 seconds long tone, just a goddamn beep. Apple didn't judge it important to give its users control over that. I actually didn't know much about the pros - but I knew everything I had to know about the cons. So, I figured I'd give it a try, for the sake of having more control over my device and just trying something different. I was pleasantly surprised! The whole "breaking" process was ridiculously easy - it just implied installing an application on my MBP, connecting my iPhone and running it. Everything went smoothly, and when my iPhone rebooted, it was jailbroken. That introduced me to a whole new world I wasn't aware of, honestly. First off, I had the option of installing yellowsn0w, which is an application that would allow my iPhone 3G to be carrier independant. I didn't need that, so I just didn't install it. It might be something interesting for other users though, and the possibility is there and equally easy.
Basically, jailbreaking your iPhone will give you more customization power and, if you're a Linux enthusiast, will allow you to SSH to your device and explore they filesystem. The great thing about it is that it doesn't affect everything you did before jailbreaking - you can still sync it with iTunes. Here are my favorite applications, the ones that made jailbreaking worth it for me.
