Although the talk of new iPad and updated Apple TV will undoubtedly dominate the headlines concerning Apple's media event in Yerba Buena, that doesn't necessarily downplay the rather significant software releases bundled into proceedings.
Tim Cook and his Apple team took to the stage in San Francisco as expected to announce the launch of the new iPad, throwing in a new Apple TV set top box for good measure. The announcement pretty much came as everyone had predicted, with no specifications or inclusions to blind side us. But while there has been plenty of talk about what hardware the company would introduce, little time was spent wondering about the software side of things and what the upgraded device would mean for the applications that we all know and love.
For those iPhone owners are who big fans of Siri, you will no doubt be interested in all of the extensions and additional functionality that developers are releasing into the Cydia store for Siri lovers who also enjoy the benefits of being jailbroken. The Siri modifications, like most tweaks, some to be broken down into two distinct categories - those that provide an actual tangible enhancement, and those that are designed and released purely for entertainment purposes.
It has hardly been a secret that Apple Inc. have been fighting a patent war on multiple fronts against multiple companies, which most notably include the soon to be Google-owned Motorola Mobility Holdings, as well as the Korean based Samsung Electronics. Motorola and Samsung are arguably two of the largest producers of Android-powered handsets, and with Apple believing both companies are heavily infringing upon company owned patents, they have been relentless in their pursuit of justice through the European legal system.
It's always interesting to see how our console favorites fare when ported through to mobile devices - particularly those which have been around for years.
When Apple officially launched the public version of iOS 5 alongside the iPhone 4S in October 2011, the new and improved system wide notification system was generally perceived as a much needed and long overdue addition to the operating system. Previous versions of iOS came with an extremely ugly, and intrusive way of handling notifications by slapping a big blue alert view onto the device’s screen. Not only was this system not in-keeping with the beauty of the OS, but it also provided a terrible user experience, with the alert view making sure that the user was interrupted in whatever they were doing.
When it comes to mobile operating systems, most of the talk is centered around iOS and Android, with Apple and Google’s OSes generally considered to be the two most advanced offerings out there. That isn't to say that the competition doesn't have something to bring to the table, with the likes of Windows Phone gaining a small amount of traction in the marketplace and definitely looking likely to feature heavily in the future.
While Apple employees have been out in force adorning the Yerba Buena Center for Arts with company logos and getting the insides ready to welcome the world’s media on Wednesday, those good old anonymous, but reliable sources have been out in force again spreading their teasing exclusives. The information in this instance is two fold, with iLounge citing one of their "repeatedly reliable sources", claiming that Apple are to their launch own in-house case for the new iPad which takes inspiration from the Smart Cover as well as actively working on a new design for the next-generation iPhone which comprises of a fully glass rear.
One of the beautiful things about the World Wide Web is the fact that it provides a home away from home for people, making the world seem like a much smaller place. Individuals from all over the world, who share the same passions and interests and would otherwise never get a chance to meet each other, can indulge in and share in their interests through the formation of communities all over the internet. In recent years, the growth of communities which fall under certain categories has been amazing, with little pockets of the web dedicated to sharing knowledge and information for any topic, ranging from things such as design, coding and even dog grooming if that's your thing.
Regular jailbreakers all have their individual reasons why they wait patiently for the development teams to develop the required software to liberate devices. Some love the freedom and the ability to say they have defied the might of Apple, while others do it just for their one favorite tweak that they can't live without. On a personal level, I fall into a few of the individual categories and religiously jailbreak my devices not only for some must have tweaks which make using an iDevice a more pleasurable experience, but also because I truly believe that after paying many hundreds of dollars for hardware I should have the liberty to do what I want with it within the confines of the law.
