The Chronic Dev team has released Absinthe 2.0 which will jailbreak most devices on firmware 5.1.1. I’ll provide a list below of compatible devices. First, I’m going to jailbreak my new iPad (3). It’s current firmware is 5.1 so I am upgrading to 5.1.1. Before jailbreaking I recommend backing up your device. I use iCloud to backup but you can also connect to iTunes and under devices, right click the device and choose backup. It had been suggested to wipe/restore your device before running this jailbreak to save time. It may take up to 30 minutes if you don’t. I have so much on my device that it would take longer than that to restore so I’m trying it with all my apps, pictures and settings.
 GrabberApp – Open Any App with LockScreen Camera Icon |
The new Camera icon located on the LockScreen of firmware 5.1 is a quick and easy way to access the stock camera app. This is great for when you need to take a picture or video and you don’t have time to unlock your iPhone, enter a password, & tap the camera icon. GrabberApp is a new hack that allows you to customize this icon to open any app. Facebook may be a good choice if you are an addict but other options that might make more sense are include other camera apps, task lists, navigation, mail, etc. Available for free in Cydia.
April 14, 2012 
Douglas 
Calendar for NotificationCenter, Cydia, hack, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Notification Center  Calendar for NotificationCenter |
I love hacks like SBSettings that allow me to put the current date in my statusbar all the time. But, if you’re looking for a little more info, check out this hack. It adds a full calendar into your Notification Center. There are no settings for the hack but to turn it on and off. You can swipe left and right on the calendar to see other months. This app is free and can be downloaded in the Cydia App.
 AppUpdateNotifier – Push Notifications for App Store Updates |
This is an application that should have originally came with the App Store. This application sends you a push notification every time one of your installed apps has an update. You can configure the app under your Settings app to check hourly, daily, weekly or monthly for new updates. There’s also an ignore list so you can disable notifications for certain application updates. I use the ignore list for Apple apps that recently updated for iOS 5.1 that I do not want to update because I’m still on 5.0.1. This application is $1.49 in the Cydia Store.
 Camera+ – Update 3.0.2 |
Mostly bug fixes here but I thought it was pretty funny that they listed one of their update features as “- NOT owned by Facebook.” They say there are some new features coming soon but not until the next update. I’m sure they would have taken the 1 Billion from Facebook if offered…
 Hipstamatic – Update 251 |
I haven’t used this app lately because I have Instagram now and don’t use many other apps for photo effects. One of the recent features to be added is the ability to directly post to Instagram from Hipstamatic so I thought I’d give it a try. Here are some pictures I took:
 Groupon – Update 1.6.2 |
Groupon has updated their app with a few small features and bug fixes. Groupon is a “deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies.” Here are the new features:
 Instagram Acquired by Facebook for $1 Billion |
Instagram recently announced it was purchased by Facebook. In their blog post the current Instagram CEO said the app will “still be the same one you know and love. You’ll still have all the same people you follow and that follow you.You’ll still be able to share to other social networks. And you’ll still have all the other features that make the app so fun and unique.” It’s been said that the sale price was $1 billion dollars. Feedback so far from the community is not so positive expecting Facebook to ruin the app/service.
 ABC’s Nightline Tours Inside Apple’s Factories in China |
Look at the back of your iPhone. Like most things around you, it says, “Assembled in China”. Not a big shock, but due to the size of this factory (Foxconn), when bad things happen, like suicides and explosions, they get more media attention. I’m all for the audits and making things right and so here is ABC’s video of their tour and what they saw:
 Angry Birds Slap Bracelets |
There are so many toys and accessories out there for Angry Birds that most are junk, but these slap bracelets are so nicely designed I just had to get them. It doesn’t help that I’m from the era of original slap bracelets, so when I handed them to my kids they didn’t know what to do with them.
 MusicBanners – Music Tracks in Notification Center |
MusicBanners is a nice addition to the stock iOS Notification Center. This hack notifies you when a new music track is playing. It will show up in all the normal places regular notifications appear such as the banner at the top, the lock screen or the pull down notification center. The hack also works with Pandora and possibly other music apps but it’s originally made for the iOS Music app (formerly the iPod app) but when you open the notification it will always open the music app. Hopefully a future update can fix this but it’s still a great hack. This app is free in the Cydia Store.
 Jailbreak iPad 1 on iOS 5.0.1 with redsn0w |
For this jailbreak I will be using redsn0w for the Mac to jailbreak a first generation iPad running iOS 5.0.1. Most steps are the same on a PC and for other devices such as iPhone3GS, iPhone4, iPhone4-CDMA, iPod touch 3G, & iPod touch 4G. NOTE: iPhone 4S and iPad 2 are not supported at this time.
First you should make sure you are upgraded to firmware iOS 5.0.1. Just go to your Settings app, then General, then Software Update.
 Firmware Update 5.0.1 |
Apple recently released an update to the 5.0 software. The first issue they tried to address is battery life. I was defiantly having this issue on my iPhone 4S (AT&T) as my battery would be drained by about noon every day. I am a heavy user but my iPhone 4 always made it all day on one charge. This recent update did help and now I’m up to about 5:00pm each day. Apple has stated they are still working on more battery issues.
 Newsstand |
Apple came out with a new way to organize your newspapers and magazines a lot like how iBooks works. The app is called Newsstand and organizing everything into one place. Instead of having different apps for each they are all on a bookshelf within the app. New subscriptions also automatically download in the background. The App Store has also been reorganized so searching and buying newspapers and magazines are much easier. A couple nice features are magazine covers update to the newest actual cover and the newsstand app shows a badge number to alert you of new subscriptions. Newsstand is part of Apple’s new iOS 5 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
 iMessage |
Another new feature of iOS 5 is called iMessage. It’s like texting but you can only message to others with the iMessage app. Currently only the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch run the iMessage service. It’s great because it’s a part of the current Messages or Texting app. For iPads and iPod touches, you’ll get a new app that wasn’t there before. For iPhones, It’s part of the same app used before for texting but won’t cost as a text through your carrier if both parties have iMessage. This will not work for regular phone numbers.
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