Archive
iOS 4.2.1 released today with free Mobile Me Find My Device
The release of iOS 4.2.1 is imminent, and the surprise is that with it comes the first free Mobile Me feature. Find My iPhone is now available to all iOS users without paying a Mobile Me annual subscription, and is easily set up from an iPhone/iPad/iPod using an existing or new iTunes account. Here’s a quick walk through of the steps using an iPad. Read more…
JailbreakMe.com for iOS4 (and 3.2) devices
The iPhone Dev Team has announced that jailbreakme.com is now live offering a Safari based jailbreak for iOS4 devices, as well as iPads running 3.2.1. Their blog post states the site will jailbreak iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads so it may work with older software versions but details are a little scarce at the moment.
The screenshots above and below show the simple jailbreaking process on my 3.2.1 iPad which now has Cydia installed as well as the marvelous iFile. Read more…
iPad Jailbreaking and strange fixes
In the name of research my iPad has been jailbroken using the Spirit app. There hasn’t been much of a need for jailbreaking as the settings app sits in the expanded six place iPad dock, and provides much faster access to settings than the iPhone equivalent. SBsettings is now installed on the iPad, but Winterboard currently has some issues on the iPad. Changing the theme on the iPhone makes it look much better, but the iPad supports wallpapers and the apps look way better without any fiddling so the appeal of theming is much reduced.
There’s not much to report on the jailbreak, it’s just as simple as the recent iPhone attempt and results in Cydia on the iPad desktop. There’s a warning in Cydia that not everything works on the iPad yet, and some iPhone software may cause a crash that needs a software restore to fix.
Trying the iPad’s iPod app yesterday resulted in an instant crash that I initially thought may be related to the jailbreak, but posts on the Apple support forum showed the issue is not uncommon. The unlikely fix of launching the Videos app before the iPod app actually worked for me so all is back to normal.
iPod Touch 1st Gen to iPhone 3GS
For the past (almost) two years I have used my iPod Touch every day as a web browser. email client, PDA, eBook reader and even a music and video player. It’s been reliable, flexible and even better once jailbroken. As a computer user who’s experiences started with a one kilobyte ZX81 29 years ago I have never ceased to be amazed at what such a small package could do. Even after all this time I still turn it sideways and wonder how so much power can fit in such a thin case. Just like most of the iPod’s that came before it, the Touch will be remembered as a design classic.
The one thing I have missed all this time was a permanent net connection. The iPhone is an expensive proposition in the UK but I finally succumbed on Tuesday and visited the Apple store at Lakeside Thurrock intent on a 32Gb 3GS. I had initially been contemplating a pay as you go contract for an eye watering £540. This initially sounded a good deal, you put £10 a month credit on the phone and get 500 free minutes. Unfortunately these free minutes are only to other O2 phones and landlines, so it’s not quite as good as it initially sounded. Read more…
iPhoto/iPod import problem
I’ve been working my way through the iPod V3 firmware looking for new features, and got to the point where I wanted to copy the screenshots across into iPhoto. The problem was iPhoto gave an unrecognised file format error every time I tried copying the PNG files, and would show the iPod as docked even when it was disconnected.
A quick web search led to a page at the Apple support forums, and some advice to unmount the device in Image Capture. It’s not immediately obvious how to do this, so for anyone with the same problem here’s a few simple steps to the fix. Read more…