Developer Spotlight: CoolStar, the “Classic” Tweak Author [Interview]

Developer Spotlight: CoolStar, the “Classic” Tweak Author [Interview]
Getting an early start in developing when he was 8 years old, CoolStar began making simple apps for Windows XP in Visual Basic and later moved on to C++ then eventually onto Obj-C. He only regrets not starting with on-device development as it set him back a year trying to find the right tool-chain for developing for iOS on Linux and Windows (which is not easy). He recommends starting with high level languages like Python or Visual Basic for new developers as there is a lot of abstraction done for you like memory management, enabling one to focus on building a single skill at a time. This seems like really good advice since there is really no easy way to start learning programming languages. He has high hopes and aspirations for the jailbreak community going forward; planning on releasing some recovery utilities to help users who are stuck in infamous bootloop situations. Theses will allow users to perform basic functions to repair whatever damage they might have incurred due to installing a poorly written tweak or modifying the wrong system files. This could help people avoid having to update to the latest un-jailbreakable iOS firmware. This is an incredibly selfless motive and he doesn\'t get enough recognition for it. He\'s already made a name for himself developing something similar called Semi-Restore which is a Windows and Linux utility that performs a soft-restore, while retaining the jailbreak. The main difference is these new utilities will run on device and might not force the user to wipe the device and start from scratch. He (among others) has high hopes that Apple will open up their software to power users and release an "unlocked" firmware for which they don\'t provide official support. Only time till tell if Apple will ever do this, but then again they wouldn\'t get as much free security research. To see the full interview, be sure to click the following link and leave a comment letting us know what your thoughts are.

iOS 8 Now Running on 73% of iOS Devices

iOS 8 Now Running on 73% of iOS Devices

According to Apple, iOS 8 is now running on 73% of iOS devices. This is a small 1 percentage point higher than it was two weeks ago. The data also notes 24% of iOS devices are running iOS 7, and 3% running older firmware. Keep in mind, these are devices that are capable of connecting to the App Store. Analytics from MixPanel shows similar data, reporting that 75.74% of compatible devices. To put this into perspective, iOS 7 had an 80% adoption rate around this time last year. This shows that once again, the adoption rate for the new iOS is trailing behind previous versions of the operating system. These numbers are still astounding compared to other mobile operating systems.

Activation Lock has Reduced Theft in Major Cities

Activation Lock has Reduced Theft in Major Cities

Multiple officials report drastic decreases in iPhone thefts since Apple has introduced Activation Lock in iOS 7. A method that renders a stolen iOS device without the owner\'s Apple ID and password. Reuters reports that the number of reported iPhone thefts has fallen year-on-year by 25% in New York, 40% in San Francisco and 50% in London. iOS enables Activation Lock by default in iOS 8. The feature is so secure, Apple Retail employees cannot remove Activation Lock in the store. This makes your shinny new smartphone or tablet turn into a useless paperweight. It\'s worth noting that downgrading a device that is activation locked on iOS 7 to previous versions will still prompt for Activation Lock. That said, this is only applicable to the iPhone 4.

iOS 9 to Focus on Stability Improvements

iOS 9 to Focus on Stability Improvements

Let\'s be honest here, iOS 7 was a huge design overhaul and iOS 8 contained tons of new features. That\'s great, but the quality of iOS has been on a decline over the last several years. Does Apple need to take a breath, and bring a Snow Leopard like release to iOS? Apple thinks so. Since 2007, the company has pushed yearly iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch releases bringing a handful of new features every year. In 2013, Apple redefined the iOS design, adding Touch ID, Control Center and more. In 2014, the company added Health, Apple Pay, and soon, the Apple Watch. Now, in 2015, with iOS 9 Tim Cook and co. may simply be focusing on fixing bugs, maintaining stability, and boosting performance, according to 9to5Mac. Rather than focusing on shiny new features. Apple will be focusing on reducing the software size, especially with the millions of 16GB iOS devices in the world. It\'s unclear what devices will be supported in this new update. The company may be dropping A5 devices (the iPhone 5 and 5c, the original iPad mini, and the fifth-generation iPod touch). This would mean all of Apple\'s devices will be 64-bit devices. All being A7, A8, and A9 devices. Which would mean easier software development for Apple and third-party developers.

‘Keeper Security’ is Saving You Time and Now Securing Your Important Files

‘Keeper Security’ is Saving You Time and Now Securing Your Important Files

If you haven’t noticed already, smartphone users are interacting with numerous mobile applications continuously on a daily basis. Currently app usage accounts for nearly 86 percent of the average U.S. mobile consumers time. With that in mind, more and more applications are requiring passwords to protect your personal information. Entering usernames and passwords is time consuming, which results in some smartphone users repeating the same passwords across numerous accounts. In today\'s age, this is an unsafe practice in protecting the security of your accounts, personal information, and identity. Keeper Security wants you to continue to enjoy your favorite applications, except now with the safety, security, and convenience of a brand new feature called FastFill. Craig Lurey, CTO & Co-Founder of Keeper, states, “Logging in and out of apps was a major pain point for consumers and professionals until now. FastFill solves this problem - it’s easy to use, fast and secure.” Currently FastFill is only available for Android, but iOS users will see FastFill later this year on their iOS devices. So how does fast fill work? To find out, be sure to continue reading...

More About Jeremy

Jeremy “the Critic” writes for and owns iOS Etc. He’s a United States Air Force veteran, an air traffic controller, and an Apple fanboy. One day he hopes to expose the world to a groundbreaking iOS application from an unknown independent developer. In his mind, it’s important we share someones hard work with the world if it deserves the recognition. You can follow iOS Etc on Twitter as well asFacebook and read more about him here. Want to connect with Jeremy? Feel free to send him an e-mailor add him on LinkedIn.

How to: Jailbreak iOS 7.1.1 with PanGu on Mac using a Virtual Machine [Video Tutorial]

How to: Jailbreak iOS 7.1.1 with PanGu on Mac using a Virtual Machine [Video Tutorial]

Really want to jailbreak your iOS device with PanGu but don\'t have a Windows machine to do it? Well you\'re just in luck thanks to the folks over at iDownload Blog . Using a Parallels 9, a 90-day free trail of Windows Enterprise, a couple hours of time and patience, they have created a pretty handy video tutorial demonstrating how to use PanGu on Mac. Don\'t want to use Parallels 9? We are told that Oracle\'s VM Virtual Box works pretty good as well. But without any further to do, be sure to checkout the video above for all the details.

iOS 7.1.1 Untethered Jailbreak Released: Everything You Need To Know

iOS 7.1.1 Untethered Jailbreak Released: Everything You Need To Know

After a somewhat surprise release and a lot of anticipation, an untethered jailbreak for iOS 7.1.1 has finally been made public under the name of PanGu. Developed by what appears to be a Chinese group of people, PanGu seems to be using i0n1c\'s exploits which he failed to make public before anyone else made use of them. While a iOS 7.1.1 untethered jailbreak may sound great, users do need to take caution before proceeding. In a similar issue, the first ever release of Evasion7 came bundled with Chinese software/spyware called "Taig" which led to a lot of frustration from the jailbreak community. This time around, some software by the name of "PP Helper" has been packaged with PanGu but can be removed if wanted. Everything else aside, the jailbreak has been confirmed to be clean and comes with Cydia. As of right now Cydia does not "officially" support iOS 7.1.1, however, it still works without many adverse problems. Moving forward, the same goes for jailbreak tweaks from what we have heard. Most if not all tweaks should work without any problems on iOS 7.1.1, but some may have a few bugs or glitches that will need to be worked out. If you\'re on the fence about jailbreaking, time is running out quickly. Rumors have hinted that iOS 7.1.2 may land sometime here soon and who knows if that will patch any exploits used by PanGu and i0n1c. So what we recommend doing is to download the .ispw for iOS 7.1.1 just in case and see what happens from there. In the coming days we\'ll have more information on PanGu and various guides on how to jailbreak your device if you need help or are running into any trouble.