Fix White or Missing Icons on Your Jailbroken iPhone

Ever since i jailbroke my iPhone4 by using Absinthe, it has been behaving a little weird, sometimes displaying white icons or even transparent icons for certain applications. It seems that this issue only affects Apple’s stock applications such as the Phone app, Calendar, etc.

I can’t really pinpoint the issue. Is it because of Absinthe? Or is it because of a package I have installed from Cydia? While I’m not really sure what causes this problem, I have found a simple trick to fix the blank or missing icon dilemma…

To fix this problem, simply download iWipe Cache from Cydia, and run the app. According to the app description, iWipe Cache allows you to:

Clear your SpringBoard Cache to ensure all images from any theme will work with WinterBoard. Due to Winterboard being very out of date, It does not clear springboard cache. This app will clear your cache, allowing new masks and overlays to be applied to Icons.

As you can see, iWipe Cache was apparently developed to fix WinterBoard problems.

Additionally, it seems that doing a respring temporarily fixes the problem. Respringing hasn’t proven very effective in my case, which is why I recommend the iWipe Cache option, over a simple respring.

If you’ve seen white or missing icons on your iPhone or iPad, try this fix and let us know how it works for you. 






[Via: idownloadblog]

ATM Gives Out Dead Mouse

You know the economy is really going to bloody hell when ATMs start to pay bank customers with dead rodents, which is exactly what happened to this guy on the right. He got his cash and the dead Mickey on the left.

His name is Gholam Hafezi and he was visiting his daughter in Ersboda, Umeå, in the north of Sweden. He wanted to take out 700 Swedish Kronor from this ATM located inside a Coop Forum, one of the shops of a famous Swedish supermarket chain: "I got my 700 kronor but I never got the receipt. At the same time, I saw a cord that was jamming the ATM slot."

Yes, you know where this is going. But Hafezi didn't at the time. He thought somebody may be trying to do something illegal, so he tried to pull the cord. He then realized it was a mouse tail.

He ran to the supermarket's customer service people and asked for help. They told him that the ATM was not their responsibility but the guys in charge of the shopping carts offered their help. One of them was finally able to take out the whole mouse: "he took out the mouse. His head was intact although a little bit bloody. Then I got my receipt."

[Via: Gizmodo & Forkbladet (In Swedish)]

RedSn0w Updated to Fix iBooks DRM Issues

The Dev Team has recently updated their renowned RedSn0w jailbreak tool to version 0.9.10b5 in order to fix the DRM issue for iBooks on jailbroken devices.

This fix, which was developed by PlanetBeing and integrated into RedSn0w, overcomes the jailbreak detection by iBooks that would cause some images to not display properly, if at all…

If you’ve had problems with iBooks, you may want to run RedSn0w on top of your existing jailbreak, making sure you do not select Cydia, should you decide to do that.

The Dev Team notes on its blog that:

If auto-detection fails and redsn0w tells you no identifying data was found, you can always pre-select the appropriate 5.0.1 IPSW using “Extras->Select IPSW”.
 

If you don’t want to use RedSn0w, Corona should be updated shortly to version 1.0-6 to incorporate this iBooks fix. When it hits Cydia, you can simply install or update the package.

[Via: idownloadblog]

What does iOSOpenDev do ?

Folks who have been wanting to get into developing jailbreak apps and tweaks will be happy to know that the process is about to get a whole lot easier.

ModMyi is reporting that users will soon be able to develop jailbreak packages using Apple’s easy-to-understand Xcode interface…

From ModMyi:

“A developer named Spencer James is nearing release of his project iOSOpenDev, which “sets up user environment, Xcode, and iOS SDK for ‘open’ development.” The project will come with Xcode templates for creating common types of jailbreak tweaks, including Activator listeners, command line tools, dynamic libraries, Notification Center widgets, SBSettings toggles, and Mobile Substrate tweaks. It will even build .deb files of the completed projects for when a developer wants to submit to Cydia for publication.”

This is huge news for anyone who has a little bit of programming knowledge, and wants to try their hand at creating jailbreak packages. James is thinking that iOSOpenDev should be available in the next week or so. 






[Via: idownloadblog]

Awesome iPhone-Compatible iWatch Concept

Digital wrist-wear has come a long way since calculator watches. Now there are products like the I’m Watch and multiple wearable cases that turn the iPod Shuffle into a high-tech ticker.

But if none of the current offerings are doing it for you, maybe this one will. The iWatch 2 is an iOS-compatible wristwatch that has enough features to make James Bond himself jealous…

As the name suggests, the iWatch 2 is ADR Studio‘s second iteration of the product. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because these are the same guys behind the SJ iPhone concept we showed you earlier this year.

If its sharp looks don’t impress you, then maybe its feature set will. Not only does the iWatch 2 wirelessly connect to your iPhone or iPad, but it also has a built-in front-facing camera, a mini LCD projector, and a 32GB hard drive to store your media.

Keep in mind that the iWatch 2 is only in the concept phase, and there’s no word on if it will ever materialize. But we would love to see someone take this idea and turn it into a real product. They just might want to rethink the whole “slide to unlock” thing. We hear Apple owns the rights to that or something.

If available, would you buy an iWatch 2?

[Via: idownloadblog]

How to read the Serial Number of Your iPhone 4

Have you ever wondered what the letters stand for in an iPhone’s serial number? Whether you answered yes or no, the truth is that the code actually contains some pretty interesting information about the handset.

The folks over at OSXDaily have just published a legend of sorts that breaks down what each set of letters in an iPhone’s serial number mean. You can tell what size the device’s hard drive is, and even when it was made…

If you’re looking for your iPhone’s serial number, it can be found on its box’s ESN sticker or in iOS by going to Settings > General > About.

“Serial numbers come in the form AABCCDDDEEF which can be read as follows:

• AA = Factory and machine ID
• B = Year manufactured (simplified to final digit, 2010 is 0, 2011 is 1, etc)
• CC = Week of production
• DDD = Unique identifier (not the same as UDID)
• EE = Color of device
• F = Size of storage, S is 16GB and T is 32GB

For example, the serial 79049XXXA4S is from factory 79 (presumably Foxconn), was manufactured in the 49th week, and is a black 16GB iPhone 4.”

 Keep in mind that this pattern of serial numbers only works for the GSM iPhone 4. The structures for serial numbers on other iPhone models like the 3GS and 4S are fairly similar, but the above legend isn’t 100% compatible with those devices.

While this tip won’t likely change your life, it’s cool to look and see when your handset was made. If your week number reads anywhere between one and four, it means your iPhone was apart of the initial production run. That’s kinda neat, right?

[Via: idownloadblog]

iPhone 4S Battery Improvement Tweak Proven Fake

Over the past week or so, there has been a lot talk regarding a recently-released iPhone 4S jailbreak tweak that supposedly fixes the handset’s battery problem. We’ve neglected to mention the utility here on post for a couple reasons.

One, the tweak has only been available on the insanelyi repo — a Cydia repository known for hosting pirated applications. And two, it simply sounded too good to be true…

Just as we suspected, the battery tweak has been proven to be fake. The discovery was made by iOS hackers Dustin Howett and Sam Bingner, who found that the utility was nothing more than pointless lines of code:

“There has been a lot of hype recently about a 4S ‘Battery Fix’ – DHowett found that all it does is replace /System/Library/CoreServes/powerd.bundle/com.apple.SystemPowerProfileDefaults.plist

I looked for any possible impact of this

While this sounds good… we’re changing the power settings right? The reality is that it does absolutely nothing.”

This is a prime example of why you shouldn’t install random tweaks you find on sketchy Cydia repos. While this particular utility doesn’t appear to be malicious, it very well could have been.

This is also a good example of why the jailbreak community is so powerful. The fear of dangerous apps making it into Cydia is thwarted by the fact that talented guys like Howett and Bingner are around to point them out.

[Via: idownloadblog]

Foxconn Employee: iPhone 5 is Ready for Production

Rumors are part and parcel of an Apple device, but 9to5Mac just dropped something of a bombshell, with the news that a Foxconn employee has apparently told them that the iPhone 5 – or whatever it ends up being called – is ready for final production, leaving a summer launch a possibility.

Rumors of just what the iPhone 5 will be have been around for quite some time now, but this latest round comes with added weight, assuming this supposed Foxconn employee’s information is accurate.

The source also shared some other interesting information, including the size of the screen and other structural tidbits that could alter the smartphone landscape considerably…

According to 9to5Mac’s source, the new iPhone is currently floating around in a selection of slightly different guises. One thing is true of all of them – they all sport a 4-inch screen. There has been talk of a new form factor for the new iPhone, with an increased screen size very much at the center of it. It seems Apple may finally be getting ready to follow the lead of the competition by ditching its current 3.5-inch dimensions.

The expected teardrop shape does not appear to be on the cards however, with the source claiming that none of the prototypes follow such a design. All are wider and taller than the current iPhone 4S, which is to be expected given the increased screen size.

With none of the prototypes being final versions, it is entirely possible that aspects will change, but with all of them apparently having a 4-inch screen, we think that it’s a good bet.

As always, we’ve no way of verifying most of this, though we’re not sure what 9to5Mac would gain from posting inaccurate information.c

[Via: idownloadblog]

"Belfry" tweak make Stock,Weather,Clock apps on your iPad

Back when the iPad launched in 2010, many people complained that it didn’t have any of the native apps found on the iPhone and iPod touch. However, a new jailbreak tweak by Ryan Petrich called Belfry is about to change that.

Belfry is a simple tweak that will install 6 stock apps on your iPad: Clock, Calculator, Compass, Voice Memos, Stocks, and Weather…

Stocks and Clock apps work in native resolution, while the rest are stuck in the infamous “2x” mode.

This tweak was released with great timing, especially now since the untethered jailbreak for iPad 2 was released last week. If you’re interested in installing Belfry on your iPad, you can get it from the Big Boss repo for free.






[Via: idownloadblog]

Jailbreaking Could Become a Legal Violation This Year

Back on July 26th of 2010, the US government made the act of jailbreaking electronic devices legal by federal law. This cleared up a lot of the confusion surrounding jailbreaking, and opened the door for folks worried about its legality.

Over the last two years we’ve been enjoying this freedom, most recently hacking our iPhone 4S and iPad 2 devices. But according to the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), we could lose that freedom this year if we don’t act…

The EFF writes:

“Smartphones, tablets, and video game consoles are powerful computers with lots of untapped potential. Yet many of these devices are set up to run only software that’s been approved by the manufacturer. Modifying a device to run independent software – known as jailbreaking – is important to programmers, enthusiasts, and users. But jailbreaking creates legal uncertainty. Some device manufacturers claim that jailbreaking violates Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which carries stiff penalties.”

But if the U.S government already made jailbreaking legal, what are the folks at the EFF worried about? Well the ruling handed down by the Copyright Office in 2010 is due to expire this year and the EFF is looking to convince the Office to renew the exemption. Otherwise jailbreaking falls back into a murky semi-illegal state giving device manufacturers the power to pursue legal action against jailbreakers at will.

The EFF provides this link to the Copyright Office’s comment board. The Office needs to hear why folks think that jailbreaking is so important. Here are some suggested elements to include: 

• Which jailbreaking exemption are you supporting—smartphones/tablets, video game consoles, or both?
• What’s your background (are you a developer, hobbyist, user, independent researcher, etc.)?
• What device do you want to ensure you have the legal authority to jailbreak?
• What limitations would you face if you weren’t able to jailbreak?

Comments should be marked as class “5″ and are due by 5 PM ET on February 10. We’ll obviously keep you updated on the EFF’s progress and will keep a watchful eye out for the Copyright Office’s decision.

Have you sent your comment in yet? 






[Via: idownloadblog]

Virgin America’s Tribute to Steve Jobs

Image: Virgin America

Steve Jobs’ recent passing on Oct.5 sparked intense reactions all over the world, ranging from musical tributes to moving gestures by competitors to tributes from fans and late night talk shows. More than two and a half months later, it is still heartwarming to see big brands pay respect to the values Jobs stood for and to his achievements.

Virgin America adorned the side of their Airbus A320 jet with the now famous “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” quote famously used in Steve’s 2005 Stanford University commencement address (from earlier quote from Stewart Brand, who used it in the farewell edition of the Whole Earth catalog in 1974 – thanks Josh). A spokesperson for the Silicon Valley-based airliner owned by British tycoon (and fellow entrepreneur) Richard Branson told MacRumors that it chose the quote “as part of an internal plane naming competition.” 

There are clearly legions of Steve Jobs fans at Virgin America, too.  Or at least one big fan.

The tail N845VA has been seen on the Orlando to SFO route, and it seems to be based in San Francisco.

[Via: 9to5mac]

Consider Donate to the People Who Make Jailbreaking Possible

On Friday, the first ever iPhone 4S-compatible jailbreaking utility, Absinthe, was released to the public. And although it bears the Chronic Dev Team’s moniker, a lot of folks contributed to the app’s development including pod2g, Saurik, MuscleNerd, and others.

Recent Cydia data shows that more than 1 million people jailbroke their A5 devices over the weekend, thanks to the work of the above-mentioned hackers. Can you imagine if they would have charged USD$1 to download and use their software? They’d all be rich!

But they didn’t charge us a dime, and probably never will. It blows my mind to think that so many people would put so many hours of work into creating something, and then just give it away for free.

For those interested, however, there is a way to contribute to these guys. The group has set up a shared PayPal account for donations — which are distributed among the members in pre-arranged proportions.

No, this isn’t an abused animal commercial with Sara McLachlan’s ‘Angel’ playing in the background asking for money. If you don’t want to donate, that’s cool. It’s not mandatory, but it’s always appreciated.

[Use this button to donate]

[Via: idownloadblog]

Cydia Was Installed on 953,232 Devices Over the Weekend

Earlier today, Chronic Dev Team was reporting that Absinthe, the first iPhone 4S-compatible jailbreaking utility, was downloaded more than 1 million times last Friday. That’s huge.

 

And the Dev Team seems to back up that theory with a new blog post entitled “Welcome new A5 jailbreakers!” The post breaks down how many people installed Cydia over the weekend, and on what devices…

“Here’s a quick breakdown of how many A5 owners have jailbroken their devices since Friday morning. The numbers as of Monday afternoon are:

• 491,325 new iPhone 4S devices
• 308,967 new iPad 2 devices
• 152,940 previously jailbroken (at 4.x) iPad 2 devices

Total: 953,232 new A5 jailbreaks in a little over 3 days.

The reason these numbers can be so precise is that one of the housekeeping activities that happens when you launch Cydia is a query to @saurik’s server for the list of available SHSH blobs. (Even if you have none on file, the query is still made).”

So around 800,000 devices were jailbroken this weekend for the first time. That’s pretty cool.

[Via: idownloadblog]

This is Why iPhones Are Made in China

In a recent report from the New York Times, the newspaper gives us great detail about why Apple outsources iPhone manufacturing to China, and how Steve Jobs changed the iPhone 2G weeks before the release.

The report features many short stories from Apple employees who give first-hand accounts of why Apple decided to move their manufacturing overseas. The article also gives a very interesting look of President Obama’s Silicon Valley Dinner back in February of last year . At the dinner, many Silicon Valley executives attended, including Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.

Many executives were able to ask President Obama questions. While Steve Jobs was talking, President Obama interrupted him and asked him “what would it take to make iPhones in the United States?” Steve Jobs simply replied with “Those jobs aren’t coming back”.

The article also goes in depth about how weeks before the iPhone 2G was supposed to release, Steve Jobs had the screen changed from plastic to glass:

In 2007, a little over a month before the iPhone was scheduled to appear in stores, Mr. Jobs beckoned a handful of lieutenants into an office. For weeks, he had been carrying a prototype of the device in his pocket.

Mr. Jobs angrily held up his iPhone, angling it so everyone could see the dozens of tiny scratches marring its plastic screen, according to someone who attended the meeting. He then pulled his keys from his jeans.

People will carry this phone in their pocket, he said. People also carry their keys in their pocket. “I won’t sell a product that gets scratched,” he said tensely. The only solution was using unscratchable glass instead. “I want a glass screen, and I want it perfect in six weeks.”

Most of us probably already know why Apple outsources their manufacturing. Money. Not only is it cheaper to outsource to China, you can also hire workers much faster than in the US. Jennifer Rigoni, Apple’s former Worlwide Supply Demand Manager said “They could hire 3,000 people overnight. What U.S. plant can find 3,000 people overnight and convince them to live in dorms?”.

“The entire supply chain is in China now,” said another former high-ranking Apple executive. “You need a thousand rubber gaskets? That’s the factory next door. You need a million screws? That factory is a block away. You need that screw made a little bit different? It will take three hours.”

The article overall gives a good look at why Apple decides to manufacture their products in China. You can check the full 7-page report over at the NY Times.

[Via: idownloadblog & The New York Times]