Tag: software review
The 10 Best iPad Jailbreak Apps and Tweaks
Author BradPosted on Categories Miscellaneous While the iPad is useful for many things, it’s also limited by the built-in restrictions created by Apple. To overcome these restrictions an app called Cydia has been created, which provides a pseudo app store for unauthorized tweaks and apps. Cydia is not available in the regular app store, but can be downloaded for free from www.jailbreakme.com.
For those choosing to go this route, I have put together a list of the top ten apps for jailbroken iPads. This list is compiled from lists created by several other Web sites. From those lists, I chose the apps which appeared most often for this list of top ten jailbreak apps.
1. SBSettings (Free)
Using Activator (see #5), SBSettings creates a handy user interface for frequently-changed settings, such as turning on and off Bluetooth.
2. iFile ($4)
iFile is a file manager and viewer for your iPad’s file system. It allows you to have direct access to the files and folders in iOS and allows you to attach files to email.
3. Winterboard (Free)
Winterboard allows you to change and modify themes on your iPad, even allowing the customization of app icons.
4. RetinaPad ($2.99)
RetinaPad is a handy app when you have apps on your iPad which were only built for the iPhone. RetinaPad smoothes the graphics of the apps, so they aren’t pixelated when blown up to iPad size.
5. Activator (Free)
Activator is an app which allows you to create gesture shortcuts. With this app, you can assign gestures to different apps or actions and increase the usability of the touchpad interface.
6. Infinifolders ($0.99)
Infinifolders was designed to overcomes Apple’s 12-app limit inside folders. With Infinifolders, you can put as many apps as you want inside a single folder.
7. FullForce (Free)
This app does just what the name suggests. It forces applications to show in fullscreen iPad mode, even when they aren’t certified as compatible.
8. PDF Patcher 2 (Free)
To Jailbreak your iPad, Cydia exploits a vulnerability in the way iPads handle PDF files. This tweak fixes that vulnerability so hackers can’t take advantage of it.
9. LockInfo ($7.99)
LockInfo provides on-screen access to certain information, even when your iPad’s screen is locked.
10. CyDelete (Free)
CyDelete provides an easy way to uninstall apps installed using Cydia by placing a black X in the corner, just as if they were regular iPad apps.
The 10 Best iPad Apps
Author BradPosted on Categories Miscellaneous When I first bought my iPad, I spent some time researching, trying to discover what types of apps I wanted and which apps of those types were the best. Based on that research, I have put together this list of which apps are considered the ten best apps. In compiling this list, I used several lists compiled by various Web sites and picked the ten apps which appeared most frequently. Your choices may vary depending on your individual needs; I, in fact, only use six of these ten apps.
1. Instapaper ($4.99)
Instapaper is listed in the News category in the App Store, but it can be useful for almost any time of reading. This app allows you to save a Web page for later offline reading. Handy for when you find a long article or post, but just don’t have time to read it at the moment.
2. Netflix (Free)
While this app is free, to use the Netflix service you must have a Netflix streaming subscription. Otherwise this app is useless to you. It’s great for watching streaming videos, although the Netflix selection can sometimes by limited.
3. Flipboard (Free)
Flipboard is a news and social media aggregator. It takes feeds from Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, Flickr, Instagram, and many news and entertainment sites and combines them into one interface, allowing you to get your news and check your friends’ statuses in one easy place.
4. Kindle (Free)
Kindle is Amazon.com‘s ereader. The Kindle app allows you quick and easy access to every Kindle book you have purchased through Amazon. Unfortunately, you can no longer purchase books directly through the Kindle app; instead you must visit Amazon.com and have them sent to your iPad.
5. Epicurious Recipes and Shopping List (Free)
Using the Epicurious.com Web site, this app allows you quick and easy access to your favorite recipes. The app also allows you to create shopping lists based on those recipes and e-mails both the lists and recipes to your friends.
6. Star Walk for iPad ($4.99)
Using your iPad’s camera, Star Walk is an app that provides a graphical overlay of the sky, showing you the constellations and locations of satellites in wherever direction your camera is pointing.
7. Dropbox (Free)
The Dropbox app requires a free account with Dropbox.com. It provides you with a place to store files for easy access and sharing, similar to an FTP site. Once downloaded to your iPad, the files can by opened in any app supporting that file’s type.
8. Adobe Photoshop Express (Free)
While not as powerful as a full blown version of Photoshop, this app allows you to perform quick, simple edits and share photos on Photoshop.com. It’s great when you need a photo editor on the go.
9. Twitter (Free)
The Twitter app gives you instant access to your Twitter account. From the app, you can perform all the basic functions of Twitter without having to use a computer.
10. Marvel Comics (Free)
If you’re into comics, especially Marvel comics, this is the app for you. The app includes several free comics, as well as an easy interface to purchase and download many more comics and graphic novels.
First Monthly Newsletter e-Mailed
Author BradPosted on Categories Miscellaneous My first monthly newsletter went out today! I started the series with a brief history detailing how and why I started Artistic Imposter Design and the various incarnations my portfolio went through before becoming the finished product we all know and love. For those who have not yet subscribed to my newsletter, the history is available here.
Each monthly newsletter will include a software review featuring a freeware or open-source design related software product. I will to spend about eight hours each month using the selected software, then review it based on how quickly I was able to pick it up, as well the quality of the documentation and the portability to various OS platforms. These reviews should not be considered a definitive statement on the quality of the software; merely a guide based on a cursory examination. For the first newsletter, I reviewed the open-source 3d modeling software Blender. My full review and criteria is available on the Software Reviews page of this site.
I am also including links to various conferences and events that are applicable to the design community. If anyone happens to notice an important event which I have overlooked in the calendar, please let me know.