Apple Introduces Solution for “Cleaned” App Data in iOS 5.0.1

Apple added a subtle solution for developers in iOS 5.0.1 that addresses the issue of purged app data. In iOS 5.0, apps were suddenly restricted from caching large amounts of data in-app for offline access. Apps were effectively “cleaned” of temporary data when iOS 5 determined that the app was taking up too much space.

Previously, iOS would allow an app to store needed information, such as saved web articles for a news app, in a temporary cache that wouldn’t slow down iTunes backups, restores, and syncs. When Apple introduced iCloud, the company became more aggressive about not allowing apps to temporarily store too much information in-app.

In the recently released iOS 5.0.1 beta 1 and beta 2, Apple has provided developers with a new way to “specify files that should remain on device, even in low storage situations.”

Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, explains the situation prior to iOS 5.0.1:



“Instapaper has stored its downloaded articles in Caches for years, since I didn’t want to slow down iTunes syncing for my customers or enlarge their backups unnecessarily, and full restores don’t happen often enough for it to be a problem for most people. This new policy now locks me into using Caches: I no longer have a choice.

But in iOS 5, there’s an important change: Caches and tmp — the only two directories that aren’t backed up — are “cleaned” out when the device is low on space.”

A real world example of the policy:

“A common scenario: an Instapaper customer is stocking up an iPad for a long flight. She syncs a bunch of movies and podcasts, downloads some magazines, and buys a few new games, leaving very little free space. Right before boarding, she remembers to download the newest issue of The Economist. (I think highly of my customers.) This causes free space to fall below the threshold that triggers the cleaner, which — in the background, unbeknownst to her — deletes everything that was saved in Instapaper. Later in the flight, with no internet connectivity, she goes to launch Instapaper and finds it completely empty.”

While we’ll have to wait to see how the new method Apple implemented in 5.0.1 plays out for developers, we can only hope that Apple has indeed remedied the issue entirely. No one wants their app data mysteriously disappearing.

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Siri Successfully Connected To Apple’s Servers On iPhone 4

Siri on iPhone 4g, 3gs, iPod 3g, 4g, ipad 1, 2 finally coming.Yes, you read it absolutely right! A couple of hackers successfully got Siri connecting to Apple’s servers on an iPhone 4. The news comes from the iPhone developer Steven Troughton-Smith who was the first to be able to port Siri on iPhone 4 two weeks ago.

The well-known iPhone developer, @chpwn, worked with Troughton-Smith on Siri on iPhone 4. Chpwn tweeted that they’ve made great progress, then, after few minutes, he said “Actually, it just worked.”
Troughton-Smith posted a screenshot from his iPhone 4 showing Siri responding and fully connected to Apple’s servers. That’s great news to everyone who owns an old device and want to get Siri on it. And of course, it’s a jailbroken iPhone 4 running iOS 5.

Now what? Well, you’ll surely need to wait some more time but not a lot. We’ll be back with guides as soon as the essential tools available for download. Follow me on Google+ and Twitter to get the news the moment it’s on the web!

UPDATE 1: iPhone developer Chpwn showed Siri running on iPod touch 4G:

UPDATE 2: The guys over 9to5mac could get an exclusive video that shows Siri fully working on an iPhone 4 compared to the iPhone 4S too.

Moreover, Mark Gurman interviewed the developer. Full interview below:

Mark: Where do you go from here with the port?

Steven: At this point it’s all about confirming this works across devices, making it reproducible (we got it working on two devices today), and documenting everything. It does require files from an iPhone 4S which aren’t ours to distribute, and it also requires a validation token from the iPhone 4S that has to be pulled live from a jailbroken iPhone 4S, and it’s about a 20-step process right now.

Mark: In its current state, is the port 100% functional, is there anything you would like to see work better?

Steven: Yes, it seems to be 100% functional. I’m working on the rough edges, but everything that works on the iPhone 4S seems to work here

Mark: Do you ever see Siri showing up in Cydia (or another jailbreak store) for non natively supported devices?

Steven: No, I could not be a part of that. I have no doubts that others will package this up and distribute it quasi-illegally, or try and sell it to people. I am only interested in the technology and making it work; proving that it works and works well on the iPhone 4 and other devices

Mark: So, you also got Siri working on the fourth-generation iPod touch, how is that working out?

Steven: We got chpwn’s iPod touch up and running with Siri after proving it works on my iPhone 4. Unfortunately the microphone on the iPod is nowhere near as good as the iPhone – you will notice that the Siri level meter hardly moves when you talk to it. While it does work, you have to speak loudly and clearly to the iPod

Mark: How long did porting take you, what was the “I got it” moment?

Steven: Basically, I already had everything I needed to make it work. I had spent a lot of time mapping out in my head exactly how Siri works on the iPhone. All I needed was access to a jailbroken iPhone 4S to put my hunch to the test. It literally took no longer than 10 minutes to put all the pieces in place and perform our first test on my iPhone 4, and it was an instant success.

Source: cydia help

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GEEK UP YOUR IPHONE 4, IPOD 4

These Housings are available for iPhone 4, iPod 4th Generation this time & also available soon for Coming iPhone 5 and iPad 2..Anyone that loves technology and spending money can get an iPhone, it takes a true cool kid to broadcast your geekery to anyone watching every time you take your phone out of your pocket. These decals by Killer Duck Decals are just the thing you need to dress up your fancy phone.

Ghost Trap Decal $6

Med Pack Health Pack Decal $6

Classic NES Decal $6

Crayon Decal $6

Deluxe Pokeball Decal $10

Game Boy Decal $6

R2D2 Decal $6

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iPad 2 Accessories You Need Right Now

Thanks to the Vogel Flex Mount, however, I can turn my tablet into a wall-mounted candid photo of Justin Bieber getting an allergy shot.

Vogel Flex Mount, $70

Now that the written word is completely obsolete, the days of taping up mini-posters of J.C. Chasez and Devon Sawa from my Tiger Beat subscription are gone (this may have contributed to everyone being gay all of a sudden).  The button can attached to most surfaces, and the mounted iPad rotated in any which way or direction. Pretty slick.

Miniot Wooden Cover, $70

Miniot’s ultra-suede lined wooden smart cover turns the iPad on and off when opened and closed, respectively, but it’s way better than the smart covers Apple’s putting out. The rolling wooden cover can be turned into an upright stand, folded over to give that book-readin’ feel, or put in a keyboard position. If you buy now, they’ll even engrave your cover with any image for free. Not too shabby. The whole thing costs 50 Holland dollars, which is equivalent to most likely $70 American or five tulip bushels.

DODOcase, $60

Don’t you love the smell of a new book, that feel of a well-wrought binding between your thumb and forefinger? Enjoy it, nerd, because that ship is sailing fast. If you really must prolong the inevitable digitization of things to look at, you can get yourself the DODOcase, which just came out in an iPad 2 version. It’s built from Moroccan cloth using actual book-binding techniques and feels like an honest-to-goodness hardcover. And for only sixty bucks, natch!

BookBook, $70 Apparently there is quite the market for iPad 2 accessories, as it can sustain at least two items that make your thing that cost hundreds of dollars look like a rummage sale, booger-covered copy of Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Also also a case that is a stand, the BookBook has a vintage leather look that will cost you $10 more than the new-appearing DODOcase, but this is the price you must pay to appear like you are too ethical to take your businessman father’s trust fund money.

ZAGGmate, $99.99

You could just buy a laptop, but that’s for poor people. Instead, please spend one hundred dollars on the ZAGGmate, which now comes in an iPad 2 version. Perfect for turning your iPad 2 into a holder for the embedded Bluetooth keyboard, the ZAGGmate case will also offer some protection against your stale PBR spills.

Nomad Brush, $24

Fancy yourself an artiste? Of course you do. Now you just have to prove to your parents that your Ivy League art major wasn’t a poor decision. The Nomad Brush isn’t going to do that, but it will be a helpful distraction when your parents are on the phone talking about your brother’s investment banking job. It is a magical paintbrush whose synthetic and natural fibers can tickle your iPad 2 into art submission.

Griffin Technology x Col. Littelton No. 42 Courier Bag, $695

Handmade by Lynnville, Tennesee’s finest whiskey-swilling leather workers, the No. 42 Courier Bag has a special pocket up inside of it just for your gentleman’s electricity reader. Gorgeous detailed include a lock and chain and a serial-numbered brass ID plate on the inside.

HP Photosmart e-All-in-One, $99.99

You don’t have to nab this HP Photosmart directly from Apple, but it may be just the extra influx of cash they need to save Steve Jobs’s life. Just saying.  Also, it’s got AirPlay, which lets you print directly from your iPad 2 without a filthy norm computer getting involved.

SmartFit2 Smoke, $29.95

If I’m going to spend nearly a grand on a new iPad 2, I am going to take absolutely every opportunity to make sure each and every person I encounter knows it. That’s why I am all about this smoky-clear case from the Joy Factory, a thin and durable protector that will ensure nobody mistakes your tablet for a Xoom.

Belkin FlipBlade, $29.99

The FlipBlade, coming soon in a model specifically for the iPad 2, is a hard-working, durable, and super-slim convertible stand. It’s got four different positions, which let you view and type on your tablet from all kinds of crazy angles, like straight up or straight up and a little backwards.

Digital AV Adapter, $39.99

The official Apple AV adapter hooks your iPad 2 up to your TV (provided it’s got an  HDMI in-hole) so you can look at things on a small screen and a big one at the same time. Your iPad 2 will also charge up while it’s plugged into your television, so don’t let that be the excuse your girlfriend gives you for not wanting to join your marathon of the entire series of Soap.

Read more »

iPad 2 Accessories You Need Right Now

Thanks to the Vogel Flex Mount, however, I can turn my tablet into a wall-mounted candid photo of Justin Bieber getting an allergy shot.

Vogel Flex Mount, $70

Now that the written word is completely obsolete, the days of taping up mini-posters of J.C. Chasez and Devon Sawa from my Tiger Beat subscription are gone (this may have contributed to everyone being gay all of a sudden).  The button can attached to most surfaces, and the mounted iPad rotated in any which way or direction. Pretty slick.

Miniot Wooden Cover, $70

Miniot’s ultra-suede lined wooden smart cover turns the iPad on and off when opened and closed, respectively, but it’s way better than the smart covers Apple’s putting out. The rolling wooden cover can be turned into an upright stand, folded over to give that book-readin’ feel, or put in a keyboard position. If you buy now, they’ll even engrave your cover with any image for free. Not too shabby. The whole thing costs 50 Holland dollars, which is equivalent to most likely $70 American or five tulip bushels.

DODOcase, $60

Don’t you love the smell of a new book, that feel of a well-wrought binding between your thumb and forefinger? Enjoy it, nerd, because that ship is sailing fast. If you really must prolong the inevitable digitization of things to look at, you can get yourself the DODOcase, which just came out in an iPad 2 version. It’s built from Moroccan cloth using actual book-binding techniques and feels like an honest-to-goodness hardcover. And for only sixty bucks, natch!

BookBook, $70 Apparently there is quite the market for iPad 2 accessories, as it can sustain at least two items that make your thing that cost hundreds of dollars look like a rummage sale, booger-covered copy of Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Also also a case that is a stand, the BookBook has a vintage leather look that will cost you $10 more than the new-appearing DODOcase, but this is the price you must pay to appear like you are too ethical to take your businessman father’s trust fund money.

ZAGGmate, $99.99

You could just buy a laptop, but that’s for poor people. Instead, please spend one hundred dollars on the ZAGGmate, which now comes in an iPad 2 version. Perfect for turning your iPad 2 into a holder for the embedded Bluetooth keyboard, the ZAGGmate case will also offer some protection against your stale PBR spills.

Nomad Brush, $24

Fancy yourself an artiste? Of course you do. Now you just have to prove to your parents that your Ivy League art major wasn’t a poor decision. The Nomad Brush isn’t going to do that, but it will be a helpful distraction when your parents are on the phone talking about your brother’s investment banking job. It is a magical paintbrush whose synthetic and natural fibers can tickle your iPad 2 into art submission.

Griffin Technology x Col. Littelton No. 42 Courier Bag, $695

Handmade by Lynnville, Tennesee’s finest whiskey-swilling leather workers, the No. 42 Courier Bag has a special pocket up inside of it just for your gentleman’s electricity reader. Gorgeous detailed include a lock and chain and a serial-numbered brass ID plate on the inside.

HP Photosmart e-All-in-One, $99.99

You don’t have to nab this HP Photosmart directly from Apple, but it may be just the extra influx of cash they need to save Steve Jobs’s life. Just saying.  Also, it’s got AirPlay, which lets you print directly from your iPad 2 without a filthy norm computer getting involved.

SmartFit2 Smoke, $29.95

If I’m going to spend nearly a grand on a new iPad 2, I am going to take absolutely every opportunity to make sure each and every person I encounter knows it. That’s why I am all about this smoky-clear case from the Joy Factory, a thin and durable protector that will ensure nobody mistakes your tablet for a Xoom.

Belkin FlipBlade, $29.99

The FlipBlade, coming soon in a model specifically for the iPad 2, is a hard-working, durable, and super-slim convertible stand. It’s got four different positions, which let you view and type on your tablet from all kinds of crazy angles, like straight up or straight up and a little backwards.

Digital AV Adapter, $39.99

The official Apple AV adapter hooks your iPad 2 up to your TV (provided it’s got an  HDMI in-hole) so you can look at things on a small screen and a big one at the same time. Your iPad 2 will also charge up while it’s plugged into your television, so don’t let that be the excuse your girlfriend gives you for not wanting to join your marathon of the entire series of Soap.

Read more »

iPad 2 Accessories You Need Right Now

Thanks to the Vogel Flex Mount, however, I can turn my tablet into a wall-mounted candid photo of Justin Bieber getting an allergy shot.

Vogel Flex Mount, $70

Now that the written word is completely obsolete, the days of taping up mini-posters of J.C. Chasez and Devon Sawa from my Tiger Beat subscription are gone (this may have contributed to everyone being gay all of a sudden).  The button can attached to most surfaces, and the mounted iPad rotated in any which way or direction. Pretty slick.

Miniot Wooden Cover, $70

Miniot’s ultra-suede lined wooden smart cover turns the iPad on and off when opened and closed, respectively, but it’s way better than the smart covers Apple’s putting out. The rolling wooden cover can be turned into an upright stand, folded over to give that book-readin’ feel, or put in a keyboard position. If you buy now, they’ll even engrave your cover with any image for free. Not too shabby. The whole thing costs 50 Holland dollars, which is equivalent to most likely $70 American or five tulip bushels.

DODOcase, $60

Don’t you love the smell of a new book, that feel of a well-wrought binding between your thumb and forefinger? Enjoy it, nerd, because that ship is sailing fast. If you really must prolong the inevitable digitization of things to look at, you can get yourself the DODOcase, which just came out in an iPad 2 version. It’s built from Moroccan cloth using actual book-binding techniques and feels like an honest-to-goodness hardcover. And for only sixty bucks, natch!

BookBook, $70 Apparently there is quite the market for iPad 2 accessories, as it can sustain at least two items that make your thing that cost hundreds of dollars look like a rummage sale, booger-covered copy of Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Also also a case that is a stand, the BookBook has a vintage leather look that will cost you $10 more than the new-appearing DODOcase, but this is the price you must pay to appear like you are too ethical to take your businessman father’s trust fund money.

ZAGGmate, $99.99

You could just buy a laptop, but that’s for poor people. Instead, please spend one hundred dollars on the ZAGGmate, which now comes in an iPad 2 version. Perfect for turning your iPad 2 into a holder for the embedded Bluetooth keyboard, the ZAGGmate case will also offer some protection against your stale PBR spills.

Nomad Brush, $24

Fancy yourself an artiste? Of course you do. Now you just have to prove to your parents that your Ivy League art major wasn’t a poor decision. The Nomad Brush isn’t going to do that, but it will be a helpful distraction when your parents are on the phone talking about your brother’s investment banking job. It is a magical paintbrush whose synthetic and natural fibers can tickle your iPad 2 into art submission.

Griffin Technology x Col. Littelton No. 42 Courier Bag, $695

Handmade by Lynnville, Tennesee’s finest whiskey-swilling leather workers, the No. 42 Courier Bag has a special pocket up inside of it just for your gentleman’s electricity reader. Gorgeous detailed include a lock and chain and a serial-numbered brass ID plate on the inside.

HP Photosmart e-All-in-One, $99.99

You don’t have to nab this HP Photosmart directly from Apple, but it may be just the extra influx of cash they need to save Steve Jobs’s life. Just saying.  Also, it’s got AirPlay, which lets you print directly from your iPad 2 without a filthy norm computer getting involved.

SmartFit2 Smoke, $29.95

If I’m going to spend nearly a grand on a new iPad 2, I am going to take absolutely every opportunity to make sure each and every person I encounter knows it. That’s why I am all about this smoky-clear case from the Joy Factory, a thin and durable protector that will ensure nobody mistakes your tablet for a Xoom.

Belkin FlipBlade, $29.99

The FlipBlade, coming soon in a model specifically for the iPad 2, is a hard-working, durable, and super-slim convertible stand. It’s got four different positions, which let you view and type on your tablet from all kinds of crazy angles, like straight up or straight up and a little backwards.

Digital AV Adapter, $39.99

The official Apple AV adapter hooks your iPad 2 up to your TV (provided it’s got an  HDMI in-hole) so you can look at things on a small screen and a big one at the same time. Your iPad 2 will also charge up while it’s plugged into your television, so don’t let that be the excuse your girlfriend gives you for not wanting to join your marathon of the entire series of Soap.

Read more »

Hilariously Dumb Parkour Fails

Everybody's trying to get in on the parkour craze - the French sport of "free running" is in movies, video games and more. But you know how they say "don't try this at home?" These dummies didn't listen.

Read more »

Hilariously Dumb Parkour Fails

Everybody's trying to get in on the parkour craze - the French sport of "free running" is in movies, video games and more. But you know how they say "don't try this at home?" These dummies didn't listen.

Read more »

Hilariously Dumb Parkour Fails

Everybody's trying to get in on the parkour craze - the French sport of "free running" is in movies, video games and more. But you know how they say "don't try this at home?" These dummies didn't listen.

Read more »

Game-Changing PCs of Tomorrow: Today!

Time to trade in your Gateway 2000 for one of these machines that could change the way we make our compu-time.

Google Chrome OS Laptop

This summer, we should be getting our hands on retail versions of the first computers to run on Google’s Chrome operating system. The first batch will be made by Acer and Samsung and feature 12.1 inch display screens, standard full-sized keyboards, and—wait—no hard drive. Could this machine totally change the way we compute? Maybe not, but weirder things have happened. Look, millions of people bought those fruit-flavored iMacs.

Razer Switchblade

The Razer Switchblade could be the hardware to reach the unicorn: portable World of Warcraft. Besides boasting the toughest PC name ever, the Razer Switchblade is a portable gaming device with a dynamic tactile keyboard whose keys change based on different game control schemes. You don’t have to do any fanciful programming, either: it automatically recognizes the specific game’s icons and control schemes and transfers their visuals directly to the keys.

Clover Systems Sunbook, $795

There are situations, granted very few of them, when I get to computing outside without an accessible parasol. Clover Systems’ Sunbook could rectify this with a quickness. Its specs are nothing to write home about, but if you’re not sun-averse, you can use it outside without the damn glare getting in your business. I can see this being incredibly useful in outdoor situations you are forced into but don’t want to participate in, such as mediocre high school football games, you can just dial up some Netflix and get lost in Nicolas Cage’s eyes.

Dreamplug PC, $150

The inventor of the Dreamplug PC had a dream. A dream that one day the PC and the electrical plug would be fully integrated. For no apparent reason, the Dreamplug is a four-inch PC shoved inside of an electric plug without a GPU. It’s only $150 (as it should be, with its skimpy specs), but what I am excited about is that it supposedly reduces electrical costs by up to 96%.

Toshiba Dynobook Color-Changing Qosmio T750

The only thing unique about this PC is the cover, which changes colors with a shimmer effect. Yes, this is a game-changer. Anything that moves this industry in an aesthetic direction that matches John Travolta’s TVR Tuscan in Swordfish is a revelation. Although you should’ve been sold at “Swordfish”, specs include an LED backlit display, 2.66 GHz Intel Core i5 processor, and four gigs of memory.

MSI Butterfly

With days spent primarily gaming and typing, I have developed the snarling, wizened hands of a 90 year-old finger puppeteer. My carpal tunnel stings practically every time I use a touchscreen, so I’m grateful to see MSI’s Butterfly PC. The Butterfly all-in-one PC has a repositionable display that slides up and down like an architect’s desk, reducing touchscreen fatigue.

PlayStation Tablet

Word on the street (well, Engadget) is that Sony will be releasing a PlayStation Tablet in September. I don’t know if the already-crowded tablet market can accommodate another one, or if Sony will just have a PSPGo-style hardware burnout. I am curious about this curvy prototype design, though, as well as playing classic PS1 games on a tablet. I am more optimistic about the former.

Fujitsu Esprimo FH99/CM

The Fujitsu Esprimo is being touted as the world’s first glasses-free 3D computer. It’ll launch at a staggering $3100, which, when you think about it, is a small price to pay for not having to don shutter shades alone.  Besides the 23-inch full HD 3D display, the PC boasts a 2Ghz Core i7 processor, four gigs of memory, and a 2TB hard drive.

CompuLab Trim-Slice

Israel’s CompuLab has a tiny new PC that it claims can give you the full-size PC experience with at least eighty times the adorability. It’s extremely energy efficient and runs on NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor. It also boasts HDMI and 5.1 digital audio outputs, meaning it could be quite lovely as an alternative multimedia device. I look forward to checking it out when it hits retail in April.

Motorola Xoom

It’s got more features than the iPad and will run on the newest Android OS.  Word though is that it’s going to cost about $800. It sounds like a lot, but the comparable iPad is fewer than a hundred bucks cheaper.  It’s got a bigger screen and better resolution, too, along with stereo speakers and a front and back camera (all of which the iPad lacks). Whether or not the iPad 2 comes out of the gate looking so sexy will ultimately determine the unpronounceable Xoom’s success.

Eurocom Racer

The Eurocom Racer is being touted as the world’s most powerful 15” notebook. I can neither confirm nor deny, but I can tell you that it is a beast. It can support Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors, up to the Intel Core i7 2920XM Extreme Edition with 8 GB of L3 cache. It’s only a matter of time before the line between desktops and laptops is erased completely.

Read more »