Backgrounder, a hack that allows applications to run in the background, has been updated to version svn.r432 (and svn.r436). The new version actually makes a decent amount of changes to the hack (full change log below).

The overall settings of the app have changed… including more description about each setting… which is nice.

In the Global option of the settings, you will find quite a few more features including the ability to choose the type of Backgrounding Method (Off, Native and Backgrounder), choose the Backgrounding State (Enable at Launch or Stay Enabled – previously Backgrounding Persists), the ability to turn on a Status Bar Icon and the options to Fallback to Native and Minimize on Toggle.

All settings can now be set per-application using a new option in the settings called Overrides (this replaces the previous “Application-specific” option). You are able to add applications to the Override option and then choose specific settings for that particular application. If you have an application in the Overrides option, it will override the settings in the Global option.

The Control and Documentation options in the settings are basically the same as the precious version.

Another new feature is the ability to reset all the settings. This can be done with the Reset button on the top right of the main settings page. Check out the change log below for the rest of the new features and bug fixes.

svn.r436 Change Log:
* svn.r436 FIX: Old iPod settings were not correctly converted to new format.

svn.r432 Change Log:
* svn.r432 MOD: Major reworking of preferences
* All settings can now be set per-application (by creating an “override”).
* “Backgrounding Persists” has been renamed to “Stay Enabled”.
* The former blacklisting option is now acheived by creating an override and setting “Backgrounding method” to “Native”.
* The former always-enabled option is now acheived by creating an override and enabling both “Enable at Launch” and “Stay Enabled”.
* MOD: Preferences app now supports iPad-mode (Portrait only).
* NEW: Prevent apps such as Safari from backgrounding by setting “backgrounding method” to Off.
* Most people will want to do this via an override, as global settings would affect *all* apps.
* NEW: Button to reset settings to default values.
* NEW: Option to show a backgrounding status indicator in the status bar.
* NEW: “Minimize on Toggle” option; disable to prevent current app from minimizing when enabling/disabling backgrounding.
* NEW: “Fallback to Native” option; disable to force even apps such as Mail, Phone, Safari and iPod to quit on minimize when backgrounding state is disabled.
* FIX: Fixed support for modifying badge via WinterBoard.
* File to theme is Backgrounder_Badge.png in the com.apple.springboard bundle.
* FIX: Fixed iPad badge position.
* Badge origin is {-12, 39} for iPhone/iPod, {-12, 53} for iPad.

ScreenShots

Be sure to read the instructions if you decide to contribute to the list.

You can find the iPad Jailbreak Compatibility List HERE.

About Apptizr.com:
Apptizr asks for basic information about your demographics and interests. It then uses that information to make suggestions about applications that you might be interested in downloading from the App Store. As it makes suggestions, you can thumbs up or thumbs down the apps thus making the search even more targeted toward the apps you would prefer.

“With over 100K apps approved by the Apple App Store, finding high quality apps that match your interests is like finding a needle in the haystack. Apptizr does the heavy lifting through our proprietary algorithm that matches the users’ interest with the right apps. The engine is smart enough to learn more about our users’ preferences over time as they tell us whether they liked the recommendations we made. We also evaluate the applications for quality and only recommend the best apps in each category to our users.”

An additional feature of the website is the ability to sign up for a weekly email that includes new recommended applications.

Overall, a nicely designed website that can be very helpful in sorting through 100,000+ applications!

Press Release:

Apptizr Launches Personalized iPhone App Recommendation
Service

Apptizr serves up free personal app recommendations from website and via email to iPhone users based on their tastes.

Mountain View, California (PRWeb) December 9, 2009 — Apptizr announced the beta launch of Apptizr.com (http://www.apptizr.com), a free service providing iPhone users with personalized app recommendations based on their tastes. Targeting the over 60 million iPhone and iPod Touch users worldwide, Apptizr provides an easy way for them to discover high quality apps for their mobile devices. With its proprietary algorithm, Apptizr captures the users’ tastes and learns more about users’ preferences over time, resulting in highly relevant and personalized app recommendations.

With over 100K apps in the iPhone App Store, finding high quality apps that match a user’s specific interests is like finding a needle in the haystack. Apptizr does the heavy lifting through its proprietary algorithm which matches user interests with the right apps. The engine is smart enough to learn more about users’ interests over time based on what they do with the recommendations. Apptizr also evaluate the applications for quality and only recommends the best apps in each category to the users.

“We decided to develop Apptizr because of the personal frustrations we experienced in trying to find high quality iPhone apps from the App Store,” said David Li, the CEO and Co-Founder of Apptizr. “There are lots of great apps out there, but it’s too much work to filter out the not-so-great apps to find the right ones. There are multiple apps for nearly everything you can imagine. Apptizr does the hard work to find the best apps that fulfills your needs.”

Unlike Apple’s Genius recommendation engine, which is useful only after users have already downloaded lots of apps, Apptizr can be used by experienced and brand new iPhone users alike. The algorithm Apptizr uses takes into account users’ stated interests, demographic profile, as well as behavior. Unlike other services which require active user participation, Apptizr serves the recommendations to the users on the Apptizr website and via a weekly email. After the initial setup, users can simply sit back and relax and wait for the recommendations to be served to them!

Apptizr launched the Alpha release in October of 2009 and was available by invitation only. The service is now in public Beta and is available for free at www.apptizr.com.

About Apptizr:

Apptizr was founded in 2009 with the mission of making it easy for iPhone and iPod Touch users to find great mobile applications based on their’ interests. Apptizr was developed by mobile and web industry veterans from Danger, PayPal, eBay, and Oodle. Apptizr is not affiliated with Apple Inc. or any mobile carrier. Apptizr is a product of Third Ave Labs. More information about Apptizr can be found at http://www.apptizr.com.

]]> http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/12/10/apptizer-com-app-recommendation-website-no-longer-invite-only/feed/ 1 http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/12/01/categories-2-29-bug-fixes/ http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/12/01/categories-2-29-bug-fixes/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:49:46 +0000 Brooke http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/?p=21385 Available In: Cydia       Price: Free  

Categories, an application that allows you to organize the applications on your SpringBoard into folders, was updated yesterday to version 2.29. This comes quickly after the previous update to version 2.28. The new version seems to be mostly bug fixes. The main fix was for a bug in which icons were duplicated and not removed off springboard. Below is the full change log for 2.29. I had no problem updating Categories on my iPhone though, I didn’t have any problems updating to version 2.28 either. You can get Categories via the BigBoss source.

2.29 Change Log:
- Fix: Fixed issue where icons wouldn’t delete from SpringBoard when no icons were ever hidden before.
- Added check for libhide
- Added a small icon for Spotlight
- Fix: Failed to recognize recent folder created with Categories 2.28
- Fix: Unable to save default settings to be applied to new folders
- FIx: If an application in a category is uninstalled, remove it from the category

ScreenShots

]]> http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/12/01/categories-2-29-bug-fixes/feed/ 3 http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/11/11/apptizr-com-application-recommendation-site/ http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/11/11/apptizr-com-application-recommendation-site/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:55:03 +0000 Brooke http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/?p=20747 Apptizr.com is a website that, based on the information you give it, will suggestion applications that you may be interested in. The suggestions become even more refined as you respond to the recommended apps.

Apptizr asks for basic information about your demographics and interests. It then uses that information to make suggestions about applications that you might be interested in downloading from the App Store. As it makes suggestions, you can thumbs up or thumbs down the apps thus making the search even more targeted toward the apps you would prefer.

“With over 100K apps approved by the Apple App Store, finding high quality apps that match your interests is like finding a needle in the haystack. Apptizr does the heavy lifting through our proprietary algorithm that matches the users’ interest with the right apps. The engine is smart enough to learn more about our users’ preferences over time as they tell us whether they liked the recommendations we made. We also evaluate the applications for quality and only recommend the best apps in each category to our users.”

An additional feature of the website is the ability to sign up for a weekly email that includes new recommended applications.

The website it currently in Alpha and is invite only. We have 50 invites for those of you who would like to give the website a shot. Below are instructions on how to sign up.

1. Go to http://apptizr.com/invite/vip
2. When prompted, enter the code GoToSchool

When I tested the site, it did a decent job of recommending applications that I would be interested in downloading. I think as I use it more and make more suggestions it will become even more targeted to the apps I prefer. The only thing I would like to see is the ability to sort between free and paid applications. Other than that, a nicely designed website that can be very helpful in sorting through 100,000 applications!

]]> http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/11/11/apptizr-com-application-recommendation-site/feed/ 0 http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/11/11/categories-updates-internal-rewrite-of-app/ http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/11/11/categories-updates-internal-rewrite-of-app/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:10:42 +0000 Brooke http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/?p=20742 Available In: Cydia       Price: Free  

Yesterday, Categories, an application that allows you to organize the applications on your SpringBoard into folders, received a few updates. The update to version 2.27 was the major one which basically includes an internal rewrite of the app making the app perform much quicker. Updates 2.27.1 and 2.27.2 were basically bug fixes. See the complete change log below.

After updating, I definitely notice an improvement in the app’s functionality. It is MUCH quicker and just feels less bulky. So far, I have not had one crash… which is great! Normally, Categories will crash a few times on me. I also love that when adding an application to a folder, the apps are now in correct Alphabetical order! It makes adding applications so much faster and easier!

Overall, a great update… you will want to be sure to update to update this one. You can get Categories via the BigBoss source.

Change Log:
Version 2.27.2
- Fixed issue on update that caused some users to see no folders after update from 2.26. (Sorry, while this should solve the issue, it wont undo what was done for you that already experiences it meaning you have to set folders up again if this happened to you).

Version 2.27.1
- Fixed issue where editing name or icon only edited first folder in the list.
- Reworked the package, itself, so that it won’t install with CategoriesSB version less than 1.1. This caused some updates to lose contents of the folders because they update Categories but not CategoriesSB.

Version 2.27
- Complete Internal rewrite with help from ashikase
- Reworked how apps are added to be based off bundle ID rather than folder names. Should solve issues like taptap2 and taptap3 not being able to be in a folder together.
- Improved UI (added transitions and such)

You can check out BigBoss’s article about the update HERE.

ScreenShots

]]> http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/11/11/categories-updates-internal-rewrite-of-app/feed/ 5 http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/10/28/ea-mobile-command-conquer-red-alert/ http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/10/28/ea-mobile-command-conquer-red-alert/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:38:12 +0000 Brooke http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/?p=20410 Available In: App Store       Price: Coming Soon  

EA Mobile has been talking about their upcoming game Command & Conquer RED ALERT for a while now however, today they have launched a website with more information about the app – http://www.commandandconquer.com/iphone/.

Command & Conquer RED ALERT is due to be released this month which means it should hit the App Store in the next three days! No info on the price but, I’m guessing it will be another $9.99 release. Check out the video, screenshots and app description below.

Video Demo:

ScreenShots:

App Description:

The Cold War is hot again with COMMAND & CONQUER™ RED ALERT™ for iPhone® and iPod touch®.

Experience real-time COMMAND & CONQUER™ strategy as the Soviet or Ally factions. Control the battlefield with touch-screen power in up to 12 combat levels. Create and command war squads in realistic environments. Manage supplies with an intuitive combat system, and escalate the game with hi-tech weapons you develop.

KEY FEATURES

ACHIEVE VICTORY WITH TOUCH-SCREEN POWER
Drag and scroll to gauge the battlefield. Pinch-zoom in and out of the action. Select and move units with a tap. Control multiple units at once!

CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE FACTION
Fight for Soviet domination or battle to restore peace with the Allies. Deploy military might unique to each side and engage in different campaign storylines.

BATTLE THROUGH 12 COMBAT LEVELS
Fight in Skirmish Mode on two different battlefield maps with war squads you create and control.

MANAGE TROOPS ON REALISTIC BATTLEFIELDS
Command units in different environmental conditions. Build your base and manage supplies with a new easy-to-use combat system.

ARM YOURSELF FOR WAR
Employ classic units like Kirov Air Ships and new units like the Paladin Tank. Or R&D new technologies to destroy your enemies.

Release Date: October, 2009

]]> http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/10/28/ea-mobile-command-conquer-red-alert/feed/ 5 http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/10/14/rename-ii-rename-stock-jailbroke-and-app-store-applications/ http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/10/14/rename-ii-rename-stock-jailbroke-and-app-store-applications/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:05:54 +0000 Brooke http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/?p=20059 Available In: Cydia       Price: Free  

Rename II is an application that allows you to easily change the name of Stock, Jailbroke and App Store applications.

Rename II is very simple to use. The application gives you three options; /Applications, Appstore Apps and About. The /Applications option lists apps that are in your /Applications folder. This will include both stock and jailbroke applications. The Appstore apps option is where you will find a list of all the App Store applications that are on your iPhone or iPod touch.

To change the name of an application, just select it from the list. You will then get a pop-up where you can enter what you would like the new title of the app to be. Once you are finished renaming the app you can select Ok and then hit the Home Button, your device will respring and the apps will be renamed on your SpringBoard.

There are a few things I like about this application. I like that it displays the application’s original name on both the list and the pop-up where you can change the title of the app. This makes it much easier to change the app back to it’s original title. I also think it is cool that you can rename applications with emojicons. It would also be sweet to have a Rename All option that would put all icons back to their stock titles. When I was testing the app, I changed quite a few app titles and now I have to try and remember which ones they were! Or, maybe some sort of indicator next to the apps that are not their stock titles.

I have found that Rename II does not work perfectly for me. I am not able to rename any of my stock applications (besides Voice Memos). I can however rename all my jailbroke and App Store applications.

You can get Rename II via the SOS iPhone source.

ScreenShots

]]> http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/10/14/rename-ii-rename-stock-jailbroke-and-app-store-applications/feed/ 18 http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/10/05/adobe-brings-flash-applications-to-the-iphone/ http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/10/05/adobe-brings-flash-applications-to-the-iphone/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:52:08 +0000 Brooke http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/?p=19854 ]]> It seems that at this year’s Adobe MAX event, Adobe has decided to announce a few applications. The applications use the new Flash Professional CS5. Some of these applications are already available in the App Store.

Along with the new applications, Adobe also announced the ability for developers to use CS5 to start developing their own apps using Flash. “Adobe now makes it possible to create applications for the Apple iPhone using the Adobe Flash Platform. You heard right: We’re really excited to bring this new capability to Flash designers and developers—the ability to target the iPhone with ActionScript 3 projects. You will be able to test this functionality in the forthcoming beta release of Adobe Flash Professional CS5 on Adobe Labs.”

According to TechCruch, Flash Pro CS5 “allows developers to use Flash technologies to develop content for iPhone and iPod Touch devices that were previously closed to them. The Flash developer tool converts Flash apps into ones that can work on the iPhone, since the iPhone still does not support Flash. So this is a workaround. But developers can write new code or reuse existing web content to build applications for the devices, and because the source code and assets are reusable across the Flash Platform runtimes (Adobe AIR and Flash Player) it is aimed to also give developers a way to more easily target other mobile and desktop environments.”

See the full article by TechCruch HERE.

What does this mean for viewing web-based Flash? According to Adobe…

The new support for iPhone applications in the Flash Platform tooling will not allow iPhone users to browse web content built with Flash technology on iPhone, but it may allow developers to repackage existing web content as applications for iPhone if they choose to do so.

Flash Player uses a just-in-time compiler and virtual machine within a browser plug-in to play back content on websites. Those technologies are not allowed on the iPhone at this time, so a Flash Player for iPhone is not being made available today.

Flash Professional CS5 will enable developers to build applications for iPhone that are installed as native applications. Users will be able to access the apps after downloading them from Apple’s App Store and installing them on iPhone or iPod Touch.

You can check out Adobe’s full “Flash on the iPhone” FAQ HERE.

More good info HERE.

Video:

]]> http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/10/05/adobe-brings-flash-applications-to-the-iphone/feed/ 6