Alex Heath

Colbert: “Siri is Clearly an Arch-Conservative Woman”

Alex Heath ∙ December 1, 2011

In a recent episode of The Colbert Report, comedian Stephen Colbert cleverly addressed the recent scandal involving Siri not recognizing abortion clinics. Several publications were reporting that Siri was unable to locate local abortion clinics, therefore suggesting that Apple was imposing some hidden, pro-life agenda.

Apple issued a statement to The New York Times saying that the whole issue was a glitch that's going to be resolved quickly, however, that hasn't stopped Colbert from hilariously spinning the story into a comedy bit you won't want to miss.

Why You Have to Turn Your iPhone Off During Take-Off

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Why do you have to turn your iPhone off during take-off? That's an age old question that travelers have likely wondered once or twice. On a commercial airline, passengers are required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to completely power off electronic devices while the plane ascends into the sky.

Surely smartphones and tablets emit radio waves of some kind that could potentially interfere with the pilot's instruments? As it turns out, there's no proven reason that you have to turn your iPhone and iPad off during take-off. In fact, the FAA doesn't even really know why it has the rule in place.

Apple Isn’t the Only Company Who Worries About Jailbreaking

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 25, 2017

There's a new jailbreak in town, and it isn't for the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Research In Motion PlayBook tablet has been jailbroken. For the first time in the Blackberry maker's history, hackers have gained root access to the OS.

Why is this a big deal? Not only is it the first official "jailbreak" to occur outside of Apple's ecosystem, but it's also a slap in the face to RIM's enterprise-minded, security-conscious mindset.

In Case You Were Wondering What iPad Case Obama Uses…

Alex Heath ∙ November 30, 2011

As the president of the United States, Barack Obama is a man that needs a good iPad case. We already know that Obama got his iPad early from Steve Jobs himself, and that America's boss is a fan of Apple.

In a recent photo on the official White House Flickr account, Obama is seen making a call to thank his troops on Thanksgiving. What looks like a book at first glance sitting there on the Oval Office desk is actually an iPad.

Meet Siri’s Competition on Android: Cluzee

Alex Heath ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

Android has its own Siri, at least that is what the creators of Cluzee would like you to believe. The new app is even called your "intelligent personal assistant," and Cluzee tries to mimic many features that Siri users will recognize, including the ability to dictate text in emails and set up appointments using natural, everyday language.

Cluzee is a third party service for Android, meaning that it isn't backed by Google. The service looks to work exactly like Siri, but the voice commands that Cluzee recognizes are much more limited than Apple's technology.

Siri0us Removed From Cydia While Developer Finds Another Voice Recognition Service

Alex Heath ∙ November 29, 2011

Siri0us, the jailbreak tweak that allows iPhone 4, 3GS, and iPod touch owners to use Siri dictation, has been pulled from the Cydia store. We exclusively showed you Siri0us in action a couple of days ago, and many have started using the hack to use a Nuance-flavored version of Siri's dictation feature on older iDevices.

After the Siri0us servers experienced several outages due to high traffic over the last 48 hours, the developer, Eric Day, has removed Siri0us from Cydia. Eric is looking for a different voice recognition service that he can use legally in his tweak.

TouchPad 4.0 for iOS Released, Use Siri Dictation to Send Text to Your Mac

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Edovia has announced the next major version of its popular remote iOS app, TouchPad. We've told you about TouchPad before, and this newest update brings many more features to what was already one of the best remote keyboard and trackpad apps in the App Store.

TouchPad lets you control your Mac from your iPhone and iPad. This 4.0 update brings with it the ability to use Siri on the iPhone 4S to interact with and send text to your Mac over a Wi-Fi network.

iTether App Pulled From the App Store [Updated: Official Statement]

Alex Heath ∙ Updated February 6, 2016

Well, that didn't take long. Apple has pulled the iTether app from the App Store.

We told you about the $15 app last night that let anyone have unlimited tethering from their iPhone's 3G connection to a desktop computer. The app bypassed carrier data plans and let anyone with a simple connection tether for free.

The iOS Hacker’s Handbook Reveals How Jailbreaking and Exploit Research Works

Alex Heath ∙ November 28, 2011

Some of the greatest minds in the security research and hacking community, including a couple of prominent jailbreak developers, have put together a new book called The iOS Hacker's Handbook.

The book is a collaboration between infamous security guru Charlie Miller, Dion Blazakis, Dino DaiZovi, Vincenzo Iozzo, and Ralf-Phillip Weinmann. Stefan Esser (better known as "i0n1c" in the jailbreak community) is also listed as an author. The Dev Team's MuscleNerd served as the book's Tech Editor.

How to Jailbreak iOS 5.0 and 5.0.1 with Ac1dSn0w [Updated]

Alex Heath ∙ Updated December 5, 2011

We've told you about Ac1dSn0w, the new jailbreak tool from the Pwn Dev Team. Ac1dSn0w is a Mac-only app that jailbreaks iOS 5.0 and 5.0.1. The jailbreak is tethered, meaning that you will have to re-jailbreak every time you reboot your iDevice.

Ac1dSn0w is in its first beta, meaning that it has a few bugs and should not be considered as totally stable. We have already heard that it does not jailbreak the CDMA iPhone 4 running iOS 5.0.1. There are probably more bugs to be found.

We've got a full tutorial on how to jailbreak with Ac1dSn0w Beta 1 after the break...

Ac1dSn0w: A New Jailbreak Tool is Here

Alex Heath ∙ Updated July 17, 2017

A new jailbreak tool is here, and it's not from the Dev or Chronic Dev Team. The Pwn Dev Team has released Ac1dSn0w, a new tool for jailbreaking iOS 5 on the Mac.

Ac1dSn0w currently offers a tethered jailbreak on iOS 5.0 and 5.0.1 for users running OS X Snow Leopard or Lion. As an alternative to popular jailbreak tools like RedSn0w, PwnageTool and Sn0wBreeze, Ac1dSn0w is available for free right now.