Every now and then, a package lands on the Cydia store that can't help but appeal and also provides some confusion as to why it wasn't submitted to the official App Store to try and attract the mainstream user-base rather than just the jailbreak community. PreviewMaker is one of those packages, and we’re guessing that it doesn't fully meet the human-interface guidelines as specified by Apple, but whatever the reason is, it is definitely going to appeal to jailbreak fans.
JoinedDecember 18, 2011
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A technology enthusiast, former software developer, and current Head of Quality and Testing at a leading SaaS company. A developer of multiple apps. A lover of pleasing people and a believer in being your authentic self.
If you are a regular user of any social networking services like Facebook, Google+ or Twitter and you haven't posted an embarrassing status update or an inflammatory tweet, then quite frankly, you are doing it wrong. The behemoth that is Facebook and the fast growing Twitter micro-blogging services are fantastic mediums to interact with people from all over the world, but I think at one point or another we have all been guilty of saying something in the heat of the moment that we later regret.
Although companies like Apple and Microsoft are continuously tweaking existing versions of their operating systems and building next-generation software to power PCs and Macs, it would all be pretty much useless without a connection to the internet. You would actually be extremely surprised at how much of your day-to-day computing activity actually relies on being connected to the world wide web, meaning there is nothing more infuriating than a poor or dropped wireless connection.
If you pulled together a focus group of average smartphone users and gathered their thoughts on the platforms which they believe are most relevant at the current time, then it is unlikely that BlackBerry and RIM would get a significant mention. There was a time when RIM were on top of the world and riding on the crest of a wave, but the emergence of iOS and Android as well as some killer underlying hardware from Apple and other manufacturers has seemingly put an end to that.
It doesn’t happen very often that we actually take a step back and take a look at the way we go about doing our business on the move in the modern computing age compared to not so long ago. The emergence of powerful smartphones like the iPhone or Galaxy S III, as well as mobile tablets like the iPad or the poor old HP TouchPad have dramatically increased productivity by allowing us to be connected to our information no matter where we are. The hardware which we use on a daily basis is all well and good, but on some occasions, it is actually the available software that really push us forward.
Whenever we talk about and discuss tablets, we only refer to Apple's iPad, the Nexus 7 from Google and ASUS, as well as the Kindle Fire and Samsung's Galaxy Tab range of devices. While they may be the most popular and relevant devices in that category at the current time, we mustn't forget the tablets which at one time looked like they would make a great impact on the industry.
Although we love the iOS jailbreaking community and regularly cover the latest and greatest tweaks and enhancements that land on Cydia, you will notice that we don't often pay much attention to themes that are released to drastically change the overall look of iOS. One of the reasons for this is; the theming packages that are released daily make it pretty much a full-time job to interrogate them all and pick out the decent ones. Another, and possibly the main reason, is the fact that we think iOS is a pretty beautiful looking operating system out of the box, and in all honesty, most of the themes released butcher it to the artist’s personal taste, moving away from the underlying simplicity that should live within a mobile interface.
If you have been paying any kind of attention to the technology industry over the last week or so then you should be well aware about what is going on right now in the state of California. Two of the world’s largest technology companies, and the world's largest smartphone vendors, are involved in a legal wrangle that involves the alleged infringement of certain design patents, though which Apple is attempting to prove that they are due more than $2 billion in damages.
I think it’s a rare occurrence to find someone who doesn't agree that Apple's iPhone offers a superb amount of functionality for what is essentially a phone. When you put the stock features and software together with the fact that there are over six hundred thousand additional apps in the official iOS App Store, it makes up for an extremely functional and powerful mobile experience. Part of the iOS experience is the ability to play some great games on the device, but that experience might be about to get better with the BladePad Kickstarter project.
Now that we are officially into the month of August and are pretty much certain that Apple is planning on holding a media event during the first two weeks of September, I think we can officially start looking forward to what they might have in store for us. The event is looking like it will take place on September 12th with speculation centered around the possibilities of Tim Cook and his team introducing us to the new iPhone as well as a couple of new iPods and the much talked about iPad Mini. The jury is still out on whether the sixth-generation iPhone will make an appearance, but the rest seems a distinct possibility.
