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Tag: Cydia

  • Jailbreak Tweak Lets You Make Chrome Your Default iOS Browser

    Yesterday we told you that Google had announced Google Chrome for iOS during their second Google I/O 2012 keynote. Many iPhone users – myself included – have been wanting an iOS version of Chrome since Google unveiled the Android version earlier this year. Fortunately, it is exactly as awesome as we had hoped it would be. Unfortunately, it suffers from the same problem that plagues every other third party browser in the App Store: Apple doesn’t allow iOS’s default browser to be changed. So as awesome as any browser is, you’re stuck still using Safari for a lot of things: links in emails, apps, text messages, and such will all still open in Safari.

    Unless you jailbreak your phone, that is. Scarcely had the dust settled from Google’s launch of Chrome for iOS when a new jailbreak tweak hit the Cydia store. BrowserChooser was created by Ryan Petrich, and has one simple purpose: to change your iPhone or iPad’s default browser. And, like many single-purpose apps, it does it very well. Using the tweak is ridiculously easy: once you install it, you simply go into the Settings app and find BrowserChooser, which will be on the first page along with your other jailbreak app and tweak settings. When you tap it, you’re taken to a list of all the supported browsers you have on your iOS device. I only have Chrome and Safari, but the tweak also supports Opera Mini, iCab Mobile, Dolphine Browser, and Atomic Browser (sorry, Yahoo Axis). All you have to do is tap “Google Chrome” on the list, and you’re done.

    BrowserChooser Google Chrome iOS

    There is one notable thing that BrowserChooser doesn’t do: it doesn’t change “Open In Safari” menu buttons. So if, say, you’re browsing reddit in Alien Blue and want to open a link in Chrome, you still have to tap “Open in Safari.” You’re just taken to Google Chrome instead.

    The only catch is that BrowserChooser isn’t in any of the default Cydia repositories. You have to add Petrich’s repository manually. That’s pretty simple, though. In Cydia, tap the “Manage” tab at the bottom of your screen, the “Sources” button. From there tap “Edit” in the top right corner, then “Add” in the top right. Then just put in the address for Petrich’s repo – rpetri.ch/repo – and you’re done. Cydia will refresh, then you search for BrowserChooser, and install it (it’s free, by the way).

    Of course, BrowserChooser isn’t the only jailbreak tweak that lets you change your default browser. Browser Changer has been around for quite some time, and supports a whole lot more browsers. Chrome, however, is not one of them, though that will probably change in the not-so-distant future. So if you’ve already got Browser Changer and love it, then you might as well stick with it for however long it takes for the developer to get Chrome support added. If, on the other hand, you want Chrome as your default browser now, then check out BrowserChooser.

  • Get iOS 6 Sharing Menu Early With New Cydia Tweak

    When Apple unveiled iOS 6 at last week’s WWDC 2012 keynote, they showed off a lot of great new features. A revamped Maps app, Facebook integration, FaceTime over 3G, new privacy settings, and a whole lot more. One of those new features was a much-needed improvement to the iPhone’s sharing menu.

    With iOS 6, you’ll get a revamped revamped sharing menu that replaces the old stack of text-filled buttons with much more aesthetically pleasing grid of icons showing your various options – Twitter, Facebook, Messages, Email, etc. Unfortunately, though, iOS 6 is still a long way off, since it’s launching in the fall alongside the new iPhone. That means that if you’re sick of the boring old buttons and really want the new hotness, you’ll have to wait.

    Unless, of course, you’re a jailbreaker. For those with jailbroken iDevices, a new Cydia tweak gets you the features of tomorrow’s iOS update today. The update, creatively dubbed iOS 6 Photos Menu, changes the share menu on your jailbroken device to match the menu from iOS 6. With the tweak, you can easily upload photos to Twitter, Facebook, or Google+, send them in an email or MMS message, assign them to a contact, and more.

    iOS 6 Photos Menu

    iOS 6 Photos Menu is available free in the Cydia store. There’s no configuration necessary – just install, respring, and you’re good to go.

  • HackStore Brings The Cydia Model To OS X

    HackStore Brings The Cydia Model To OS X

    Earlier this month we brought you news of the HackStore, an app market designed to provide an alternative to the OS X App Store and its restrictions. Though the store was not live yet, creator Andrey Fedotov promised that it would be ready soon.

    Well, “soon” appears to be “today.” The HackStore went live this morning and is currently available for download from Hack-Store.com. Like the Mac App Store, the HackStore is a standalone app that provides access to a variety of Mac software. The difference, though, is that the HackStore is free of the kind of restrictions Apple places on the Mac App Store.

    According to Fedotov, the HackStore was developed using Cydia (the jailbreak “app store”). Cydia provides a safe, centralized, but restriction-free marketplace for those who have jailbroken their iOS devices to find tweaks and apps for their devices. Fedotov’s goal is the same. The HackStore is populated mainly with apps you won’t see in the Mac App Store. Fedotov’s goal is to provide Mac users with a piracy-free, malware-free, centralized marketplace for the kinds of apps that, for various reasons, Apple has decided aren’t fit to go in the Mac App Store.

    Of course, the lack of Apple oversight in the HackStore means that it does carry a bit of a caveat emptor factor: while Fedotov is determined to keep the HackStore free of harmful software like malware, that doesn’t mean that all of the apps in the HackStore are of the best quality – or even work like they say they will. It also includes some apps that alter some of the basic functionality of OS X. For example, an app called Monolingual clears up space on your Mac’s hard drive by removing all the OS X files for foreign languages – a move that can’t be undone short of reinstalling the operating system.

    All told, though, the HackStore represents a pretty important step in Mac software discovery. While the Mac App Store is great, there are many who are concerned that Apple is taking the Mac toward the same “walled garden” model that it employs for iOS: only apps that have been vetted and approved by Apple are allowed. The Gatekeeper feature on the forthcoming OS X Mountain Lion does little to allay such fears. The HackStore’s purpose is to preserve user freedom by providing users an easy way to find and install software that, for whatever reason, Apple may decide not to let into the Mac App Store.

    As mentioned above, the HackStore is available as a free download. Unfortunately the store’s server is currently down, which means that although you can download the app itself, you can’t actually access the store. Apparently, though, this is just a case of growing pains: Fedotov posted on the HackStore site that when the server went down there were 15,000 people using the store. Considering that this is the HackStore’s first day, that’s not too shabby.

    Head on over to the HackStore’s site and download the app. Once the server is back up and you can access the store, check it out and tell us what you think in the comments. In the meantime, here are some screenshots of the HackStore in action:

    OS X HackStore

    OS X HackStore

    OS X HackStore

  • Lingual Jailbreak Tweak Turns Siri Into A Translator

    Last week we brought you news of the release of the long-awaited jailbreak for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. Now it looks like jailbreak developers have wasted no time in preparing some amazing tweaks for the iPhone 4S’s most notable feature: Siri. A tweak has appeared in the Cydia app store that turns Siri into a translator.

    Lingual is a free tweak that allows users to say an English phrase to Siri and have it translated into whatever language they choose. At present Lingual supports more than 30 languages, including French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Russian, Vietnamese, Ukranian, Estonian, and more. Lingual requires that the AssistantExtension tweak already be installed.

    While Lingual isn’t quite a Star Trek-style universal translator, it’s a step in that direction. Here’s a video of Lingual in action, courtesy of iJailbreak. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments.

  • Siri Comes To Older iPhones

    Siri Comes To Older iPhones

    Siri, the killer app for Apple’s latest iPhone, has finally come to older iOS devices. Thanks to Grant Paul (aka chpwn), a developer in the iOS jailbreak community, a free (and legal!) port of Siri called Spire was released late last night to the Cydia store (the App Store for jailbroken phones). The port is not quite perfect, as Siri’s servers require identifying information from an iPhone 4S. So people who want to install Spire will have to obtain identifiers from a 4S before they can get it set up on their phones. Paul has several suggestions on how to do that on his blog, where he announced the release.

    This new app capitalizes on what appears to be a pretty significant mistake by Apple. Two weeks ago we ran a story on a mysterious update to the iPhone’s operating system. Though it was eventually found to be a fix for a SIM card problem, no one was quite sure what this update – a newer build of the current iOS 5.0.1 software – was supposed to do. One thing was clear however: Apple had left the iPhone’s file system unencrypted. That meant that the jailbreak community could get to iOS’s basic files without breaking Apple’s encryption, and therefore without breaking copyright law. In effect, Apple had gift-wrapped Siri, which has been giving jailbreak developers fits since the iPhone 4S released earlier this year. The unfettered access to the file system allowed direct access to the files underlying Siri, clearing the way for the software to be ported to older iOS devices. Spire reportedly runs on a range of devices, including the iPhone 4 and the first-generation iPad.

    Here is Paul’s announcement on Twitter:

    @chpwn
    Grant Paul (chpwn)    Introducing Spire (for Siri): http://t.co/SXNJJIp6 — a simple Siri installer for all iOS 5 devices. 13 hours ago via Twitter for Mac · powered by @socialditto

    Older iOS device users, would you jailbreak your phone to get Siri? Let us know in the comments.