Where have I been?

Hello my iPadawans,
I am sure most of you figured I had abandoned this site, but that is not true. The last three months have been very hectic for me. I quit my job as an IT Consultant and focused on finishing up some projects and finding a new job for myself. During that time, I chose to step away from all of my online duties, so I could better focus on my future. Well, I can now say I have completed that and I will be getting back to the regular updates that you have all been looking for!

On a personal note, I now am employed as an Information Technology Infrastructure Administrator for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Who are they? The largest public power company in the US.. That is who! I am really excited to have this opportunity to work for such a great company and I look forward to a hopefully long future here. The down side, I will no longer be working with iOS on a professional level. But that does not mean I won't still be involved in the community and keeping up with the news. So I will be continuing to share with all of you, the latest and most important iOS news.

Most of my personal projects have been completed and it is time to move on there as well. What does that mean? Just that I have to get some new projects going to keep me busy.. In the near future I I'll be designing and building my own CNC Router and my own Digital Pinball Machine. Once I start those I I'll share a quick link on here for anyone who might be interested.

So in closing, exciting times are coming! We can expect the iPhone 4gS to hit shelves in the near future and we can expect to see the production release of iOS 5 soon.. Which I might add is simply amazing! So keep your eyes peeled, exciting stuff is coming!

The End of Blackberry?

First of all, As you guys know I do not usually cut, copy and paste and article from another source into my blog. However, today's piece is an exception. It is so well written and informative that I just cannot help but paste it word for word and link for link... So I have quoted the original article from InfoWorld and Galen Gruman below.



I hate to kick someone when they're down, but since the wounds are self-inflicted, I'll get over it in this case. Yesterday at its BlackBerry World show, Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that the BlackBerry is dead. For the last few years, I've marveled in a horrified way as the once-top smartphone creator dug itself deeper into a pit of denial about the changes in the mobile market. It's hard for a company to adjust to a new reality, especially after a decade of success that bred complacency. But RIM isn't even trying any more.

Apple to release iPhone 4S in September.. NOT iPhone 5!

Forbes is reporting that Apple will NOT be releasing an iPhone 5 in September. Instead, it will be the iPhone 4S. And with it's roll out, Sprint, T-Mobile and China Mobile will likely be getting the iPhone 4S.

Flash is coming to iOS!!

The Apple Adobe war looks like it is finally coming to an end and Adobe is the one who caved. Since the beginning, Apple has been adamant about not allowing Flash onto the iOS devices. Why? Well because Flash Is a memory hog!

iOS 4.3.2 is Out!

Today Apple has released the latest in it's incremental updated for the 4th Generation iOS platform. According to Apple, this patch offers some minor bugs fixes and security patches. However, it looks like the majority of the reason for the patch, may very well have been to patch up the most recently released security hole that was allowing the untethered Jail Break.

Tic Tac BLAM!! Explosive Take on an Old Classic!

Not too long ago, an acquaintance of mine mentioned that he had just released his first iPhone app. So obviously I just HAD to check it out! And for $.99 I can certainly say I got my monies worth! When I got to the app store and realized it was a Tic Tac Toe clone, I will admit, I was a little less than enthused. However, once I downloaded it, all of that changed!

The iPhone Swirley

Oh NO!!!!! It happens every single day. Someone goes to answer their iPhone while in the bathroom and losses their grip... *SPLOSH* the iPhone lands in some very dirty water. This very scenario just happened to one of my clients. It always is a gut wrenching feeling, watching your shiny new iPhone quickly sink to the bottom of the porcelain bowl, as it still rings, low muffled tones from beneath the murky and questionable water.

So what do you do when this happens?

No iPhone 5 until 2012?

That's right! You heard it here first! Reports are coming in that there will be no iPhone 5 until early in 2012. Why is that you ask? And where do these rumors come from? Well they are based on several pieces on information that have bed coming down the pipe the last couple of days.

"Don't Panic!" A new animated Wallpaper for iPhones

*Click the image to the right to see the animation*

Along the same lines as the animated boot logo for jail broken iPhone's that I mentioned last week.. I have made a version to use as your wallpaper on your iPhones, you iPod touches.. However, for it to be animated, you will have to be jail broken.

The reason being, Apple does not let you use an animated Gif file as a background. It will display it, but will not animate it. The end result is, you background is the first frame of the Gif file. When you phone is jail broken however, we are able to use an HTML file as the wallpaper... and let that HTML file call and open the Gif.

Too complicated? No worries. If your phone IS jail broken, you can open up Cydia and search for "dont panic wall" you will find it. If you are not jail broken, all is not lost! You can still use one of the non animated versions of this image if you want. I have a few over at Deviant Art.

At the time of posting, the package has not made it onto the Cydia servers yet. Give it until tomorrow.

Verizon States: LTE iPhone is coming and iPhone Launch, Biggest Ever

Verizon Wireless's Chief Executive, Daniel Mead, spoke with the Wall Street Journal recently. In this interview, Mr. Mead takes a moment to refute the claims in the media, that Verizon's iPhone 4 launch, was less that they had expected. These reports come from the observation that Verizon did not encounter incredibly long lines of people on launch day to purchase the iPhone 4.

Daniel Mead countered this by stating, the short lines were a result of an "intentional strategy aimed at spreading out the purchasing activity." Mead pointed out that unlike AT&T, their web servers did not melt down and force everyone to visit a retail store. Instead they had a 3 stage launch, which efficiently distributed the phones to the masses in stages.

Don't Panic Animated Boot Logo

Yesterday I made and released an animated boot logo for the iPhone 4. In order to use this, you MUST be jailbroken and you must have animate installed. Once installed, reboot your iphone and you will see your Apple, transform into the "Don't Panic" Smiley from "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Universe" by Douglas Adams.

Version 1.1 of my animated boot logo is already uploaded and awaiting approval. The animation is smoother, longer and has better color in the new version.

So go download greenpois0n, JB your iPhone and check this out at http://modmyi.com/info/dontpanicanimatedbootlogo.php

iPhone 4, Wins Best Mobile Device!

I received an invitation for the Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona. However, due to work, I was unable to attend. But that does not stop me from reporting the news from there to you. Especially when that news is Apple related!

The Mobile World Congress is a trade show geared towards mobile devices, much like CES

iPad2 Coming Soon.. iPad3 Right Behind?? Not Likely..

By this point, we have likely all heard the rumors. The ones that say Apple will release an iPad 2 AND an iPad 3 this year. This is obviously outside of apple's Standard Operating Procedure of An update every 12 months or so. Nor does it really make sense from a marketing point of view. I mean, would you buy a 2011 Corvette, if the 2011.5 Corvette was going to be redesigned with more Horsepower? Nope.

Verizon and the iPhone: First Impressions

Early on Tuesday the 10th, I received my very own Verizon iPhone. FedEx diligently brought it right to my door, where my wife collected it and in turn, promptly called to give me the good news. I took off for home and collected my new phone. Getting it up and activated, was of coarse a breeze. Just plug it into your iTunes and wait a moment. Within moments of activating it, my text messages started flowing in. That familiar SMS app sure is a nice treat, after using a LG EvoTouch for the last year.

Verizon Asking Employees Not to Buy iPhone yet.

Verizon has sent out a memo Asking all of their employees and the families of their employees, to please not buy the iPhone until they have met with customer demand for the device on their network.


In a recent email sent to their employees, Verizon said the following....

"Focus on Customer Is Key to Verizon iPhone Launch. To help ensure we meet customer demand for iPhones, Verizon is urging employees and their families to postpone purchases of the popular smartphone, whether online or in retail stores, for the time being."

“Customers and non-customers alike have waited for years to see this product on America’s most reliable wireless network,” notes Verizon Wireless Chief Operating Officer John Stratton. “Demand will be unprecedented.

“Now it’s here. This is our chance to show those millions of people what it means to be a Verizon customer — providing them the best network, joined by the very best customer service and support, all adding up to a world-class customer experience.

“Part of that experience is ensuring we’re able to meet our customers’ needs in the midst of what will surely be unprecedented customer demand.

“I know customers aren’t the only ones who are excited – employees are, too. While I share your excitement, over the coming weeks we all need to do our part to meet our customers’ needs — this means putting our customers first.

“After all, that’s the way we do business. That’s the Verizon Credo in action.

“This is an historic moment in time to rally together and show our loyal customers and new ones what our culture is all about.”

Personally, after the run around I have been given by Verizon today, I am HAPPY to see they are at least trying to make sure the iPhones are available for their customers first.

Source TIPB

A look at Business Apps: LockInfo

As I have mentioned before, a big part of my job the last four years, has been to find new and innovative ways to incorporate iPhones and iPads into Microsoft Exchange environments. Most of my users are accustomed to Blackberries and they expect their iPhones to behave in the same manner. One of the largest complaints I received from my users early on was, there was no way to see your email and calendar at a glance. So being the good little Consultant that I am, I went in search of an answer. What I found, is nothing short of amazing!


First I would like to say, Apple made a HUGE mistake when they chose to not allow Apps and Developers to use the lock screen. The lock screen can do so much more and SHOULD do more. But nope. It just sits there with a clock on it and a pretty background. If you have an iPad, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that you have a HUGE chunk of prime grade A digital real estate sitting right there.. And what is on display? Your geeky Star Trek background and a clock. Well no more! This app changes all of that! And how do they do it, when Apple strictly forbids this type of behavior? Why they sell it on Cydia, that is how. Cydia is the Jail Broken App store, filled with themes and all manner of Apps that Apple would not allow onto the App Store. So first things first, you gotta Jailbreak your iDevice.

Once that is done, head on over to Cydia and buy LockInfo It is a steal at twice the price! Lockinfo allows you to display all kinds of information on your lock screen. For example, you can display you calendar, mail, text messages and missed calls on it right out of the box. That's not enough for you? Want to display the Weather or any other bit of info? No problem! LockInfo has a plugin system and people are all the time developing new plugins for all your favorite apps. I now run LockInfo on my iPad and just love it! It has never been easier to see if I have anything pending, or an important email has come it. I highly recommend this to everyone!

I was going to write you up a tutorial on how to install and use it, but iClarified has already beaten me to it and done a very nice job at that! So click this link and check it out!

Moving from ATT to Verizon? They will buy your iPhone!

Are you one of the expected Millions who will be moving from ATT to Verizon in the coming weeks? Then you may just be in luck!! Verizon announced through an email to some of their corporate customers, that you will be able to trade in your old ATT iPhones for a credit towards a shiny new Verizon iPhone.

Verizon has said they will pay $60 for a 16GB iPhone 2G, $105 for a 16GB iPhone 3G, $160 for a 32GB iPhone 3GS, $280 for a 16GB iPhone 4, and $360 for a 32GB iPhone 4.

The iPhones will be available in limited numbers to early customers on February 3rd. This is however a VERY limited number. So only a very few of us will get them. The rest of us will have to wait until the official launch on the 10th. It is still unknown if Verizon will actually have enough iPhones on the actual launch day to meet the demand.

Source Mac Rumors

Meet Apple's New Global Head of Security

Meet the new head of Apple's Global Security... David Rice. Mr Rice will be responsible for getting the iPhones and iPads up to snuff in Security. Apple is pushing them hard at Corporations and Government. However, they have expressed concerns over the devices security. Namely the lack of encryption and lack of options as to how to deal with a lost or stolen unit. These are problems that have kept the iPhone from seeing a large scale roll out across many large corporations. Many of my own clients have balked at using them for the very same reasons.  This is one area where the Blackberry is still king. But not for long.....

XBMC ported to AppleTV, iPad and other iDevices

Today is a joyous day indeed! The number one Media Center software suite has been ported to iDevices!! XBMC, or Xbox Media Center, as it was originally called, is in this blogger's opinion the best Media Center money can buy... And it is Free!!! This will be especially great on the AppleTV. It will make it the best $99 media computer you can buy!

 

As for how does it perform? Well, this is just the first version. With that said, it runs sluggish on my iPad and has some issues over all with functionality. I was unable to get it to connect to our media server, so I could play content across our network. However, knowing the XBMC team, this will just be a matter of time before it is working perfectly! It needs some polishing to work on the current A4 chips without all the lagging. I would recommend that you wait a couple of revisions before you actually try this out for mainstream usage. But if you want to see a great and mostly functional proof of concept, then hop on Cydia and give it a test!

Yes, that is right.. you DO have to be jail broken to enjoy this little morsel. However, as simple as it is to do anymore, why wouldn't you be jail broken?

New Driver Bundle Discovered in iOS 4.3 Beta

A recent discovery in the newest iOS beta has shown us yet another glimpse of the future to come! The driver bundle discovered is for the PowerVR SGX543, the smallest OpenCL-capable graphics core. This chip is not used in any of the current iDevices, so it is reasonably safe to assume that it will be in the next generation of iDevices, starting with the iPad2. The current GPU used with the A4 CPU in current gen iDevices is the PowerVR SGX535. The SGX543 would give the iDevices performance on par with current notebooks!

This is exciting news indeed!!!