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The Google Glass headset has been rooted, shortly after it has started being issued by the search giant to developers. Jay Freeman, a hacker that goes by "Saurik" and creator of the Cydia app store for jailbroken iPhones and iPads, gained access to a level that he could theoretically prevent the device from being affected by Google's own restrictions.
An interesting hack for jailbroken iPads and iPhones has surfaced that may show off a future improvement in iPad text editing. YouTube user Daniel Hooper published his text editing concept video on Thursday. Rather than selection on the text itself, gestures move the cursor and allow for text selection without removing hands from the virtual keyboard. Developer Kyle Howells took Hooper's concept and released SwipeSelection on the unofficial app store Cydia Saturday.
A new tool for jailbroken iOS devices allows users to set up and draw a gesture to unlock the device, replacing the "slide to unlock" bar or passcode method currently used by the devices. Called Stride, it uses a pre-defined gesture drawn by the user to override the default lock controls, though the program has a bit of "fuzziness" built-in so users don't have to replicate the gesture exactly. It sells for $3 on the unofficial Cydia store.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is lobbying users to sign a petition in its quest to convince the US government that jailbreaking smartphones and tablets is legal. Back in mid-2010, the Library of Congress ruled that the act is legal, provided it doesn't violate copyright laws. That ruling will soon expire, some believe, and doesn't cover tablets; the EFF is concerned that both need to be address.
The Apple TV iOS app hack has been improved in the last hours of 2011 after updates by Steve Troughton-Smith and Canadian developer TheMudkip. Along with help of a launcher from Grant Paul, the team has managed to get full-sized iPad apps running on the TV. Apps can run windowed or at full screen, and proofs of concept have been used with Angry Birds, Cydia, Facebook, Safari, and YouTube.
Eric Day took advantage of hacked access to Siri on Sunday through a hack for jailbroken iOS devices. Siri0us (Cydia source link) adds voice dictation similar to that on the iPhone 4S, allowing the same accuracy and continuous dictation as in the official install. It's known to work smoothly on the iPhone 4, although it may take a speed hit on the iPhone 3GS and current iPod touch.
Mobile app writer Steve Troughton-Smith and Cydia developer Grant Paul early Sunday successfully created a fully functional implementation of Siri working on both the iPhone 4 and the fourth-generation iPod touch. The technique brings over files and a validation token from a jailbroken iPhone 4S to trick the voice recognition system into working as it would on its intended platform. Unlike some earlier hacks, both run at the full potential speed and connect properly to the network.
Hackers gave the iPad 2 its first simple, if not necessarily flawless, wireless jailbreak for the iPad 2. A video demo (below) points users to a web link [caution: don't try unless willing to risk voiding warranty] that, like other web jailbreaks, takes advantage of a browser hole for PDF handling to crack iOS 4.3.3 on the Apple tablet. The hack closes the browser, loads Cydia and, after a manual reboot, gives the device privileges to run apps from beyond the App Store.
Apple has signaled its intent to improve iOS' notification systems beyond what's expected in iOS 5 by quietly making a rare hire of a jailbreak app developer. MobileNotifier's creator Peter Hajas told fans in a blog post that he had "other opportunities" requiring he bow out of the project. He wouldn't say why but dropped several unmistakable clues that Apple was the hire.
A group called the Infini Dev Team is working on a webstore for users of jailbroken iOS devices, says MacStories. Called Lima, the store will let people find, download and install unofficial apps and themes. At present visitors will likely navigate to a dedicated homepage to log into a personal account. The store may also offer the ability to manage repositories and back up installed packages.
Toyota's Scion theme for jailbroken iOS devices has been pulled from Cydia as a result of pressure from Apple, according to a report. The theme was created by Velti, an ad agency working on behalf of Toyota. In asking for the Scion theme to be pulled, a contact from Velti is claimed to have explained that the order came from Toyota, which in turn had been pushed by Apple to remove the theme and end the campaign. Toyota complied so as to "maintain their good relationship with Apple," says the Velti contact.
Toyota is advertising the Scion brand through Cydia, the most common distribution platform for unofficial iOS apps, reports claim. In particular Toyota is said to have released a "Scion 2011 Theme" in the Cydia store; the code makes radical changes to the appearance of iOS, replacing original app icons and even the swipe-to-unlock bar. Outside of technical settings, Apple limits most official customization of iOS to wallpapers and ringtones.
Hackers have reportedly already managed to jailbreak iOS 4.3.1, despite the firmware being released just last Friday. The main technique so far requires a Mac running a special bundle of PwnageTool 4.2 including Universal Ramdisk Fixer, as well as a utility called tetheredboot. iTunes must already be updated to v10.2.1.
A Cydia app developer is close to bringing VoiceActivator, a full-featured voice control app to the Cydia store for jailbroken iPhones. While the iPhone currently offers Voice Control on the iPhone, the feature is relatively limited. Currently, iPhone users can use Voice Control to make calls, control music and use it for FaceTime. The new app for jailbroken iPhones extends this functionality considerably further as the video embedded below shows.
A new unofficial hack, RetinaPad, allows iPhone apps to be run in higher resolution on the iPad. Although the iPad does include a zoom option for iPad apps, this often results in ugly graphics. RetinaPad displays apps at a resolution closer to the iPad's native 1024x768, although this also requires that they have Retina Display compatibility.
Cydia creator Jay “saurik” Freeman has used the 360|MacDev conference to announce that he intends to launch a Mac App Store alternative within weeks. According to Freeman, the Cydia App store for jailbroken iPhone already caters for around 10 percent of all iPhone users, which amounts to approximately 10 million devices. Freeman plans to offer a platform for developers who are not happy with Apple’s Mac App store terms and condition, which includes the initial barring of in-app purchases.
Users disappointed with the current limitations of AirPlay on iOS 4.2 have discovered a means to get it working in any app. A new Cydia-based hack, AirVideoEnabler (Cydia link), lets users push video from apps that use Apple's standard video container, up to and including the embedded video player in Safari. The approach requires a jailbreak and isn't necessarily stable.
The emergence of unofficial app stores as an alternative to iTunes does not pose a serious threat to Apple's bottom line, according to Needham analyst Charlie Wolf. Services such as the Cydia Store could in theory deprive Apple of its 30 percent commission made via the App Store, but Wolf proposes that the alternatives will be unable to sell sanctioned titles, which already number over 25,000. Instead, third parties may be limited to potentially offensive or poor-quality apps.
Several new online stores are threatening to challenge the current rigidity of the iPhone economy, according to the Wall Street Journal. Opening today is the Cydia Store, an extension of the software associated with browsing and downloading unofficial iPhone applications. While most apps available through Cydia have been free, some Cydia Store downloads will cost a fee, with the creator of the service reaping a commission similar to the one taken by Apple from official iPhone apps.
A new option for tethering iPhones has become available through Cydia. PDAnet allows users to connect to the Internet on their notebook through the use of a jailbroken iPhone. Carriers generally charge an additional fee for this function, but in the iPhone's case, the option is not available; people are cautioned, therefore, that tethering may be against their carrier's terms of service, such as in the case of AT&T.
