Hijinks Inc.

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  • Using a Micro SIM in an iPhone 3G

    There are countless videos and blog posts telling you how you can take your full size SIM card and cut it down to fit in your iPad, but frankly, that’s idiotic. I mean really, who’s going to cut up the SIM card they’re using in their $85+ a month iPhone to put in their iPad when they could just pay $30 a month for unlimited date on the iPad. Yes, you might be cutting up a T-Mobile SIM, but let’s face it… Do you really want to be using EDGE on an iPad?

    Anyhow, that’s not what this post is about. I’m going to show you how to do the exact opposite of that, how to take your Micro SIM and use it in your iPhone for cheap data only service. It’s easier than you might think.

    Update: Some sites are incorrectly reporting that you need a jailbroken iPhone for this to work, you do not.

    Update 2: You also watch this quick video walkthrough.

    (more…)

  • Things I’d Like to See From Apple

    [ More Back to School Rebate Options ]

    Every year Apple tries to bribe convince hoards of hipsters, wanna-be-hipsters, and just average American college students to make the switch (or upgrade) to a new Mac by throwing in an iPod touch for free (after rebate). They’re also greedy kind enough to let you upgrade to a larger capacity iPod touch and just pay the difference, but what I really hope to see this year is the option to cash that $200 rebate in on an iPad. Or hey, a rebate on the new iPhone would also be pretty sweet.

    [ Universal Update Manager ]

    Apple’s Software Update is ok, not great, but it at least beats Microsoft Update. However, I’d love to see Apple come out with Bodega like functionality (only better) for Software Update. Let me explain further.

    Bodega allows users to browse available applications for OS X but it also tracks current versions and shows you which of your installed applications has an update available. While this is nice,  it’s not as “stupid proof” as I’d like, which is what I want Apple to step up and provide. Clicking the “Get” link (which must be done for each individual app, there’s currently no option to download all updates) in Bodega opens your web browser and downloads the DMG file for the update, but then you have to actually mount and install it.

    I don’t really care if Apple provides an interface for browsing available applications for OS X (heck, they already have a downloads section on their website), what I’m looking for is an extension to Software Update that allows developers to incorporate the option of updates being available via Software Update.

    For example, most applications when first launched ask if you would like to check for updates automatically on start-up. What if instead/or in addition it gave you the option of having updates appear via Apple’s Software Update? That way when OS X checks for updates weekly it will notify you of all available updates both for Apple products and the third party software you’ve opted for it to keep tabs on.

    [ iPhone Apps as Widgets ]

    I’ve spent a lot of money on iPhone apps and I know I’m not the only one, and now that I have an iPad I’m turning into an app snob, I don’t like using apps on my iPad that aren’t native, it’s just plain annoying. I also find myself using my iPhone less and less, so what if Apple blessed us peons with the option to run iPhone apps as widgets (both standalone or in Dashboard). Might make me feel better about all that money I spent on apps.

    While it’s not a perfect concept, I admit, I think potential issues like multi-touch interaction with the apps could be easily over come with the use of those shiny multi-touch track pads all the new MacBook Pro’s have.

  • Cydia Apps for iPad – Working / Non-working

    Jailbreaking your iPad with Spirit is easy, one of the easiest jailbreaks I’ve ever used in fact. However, there aren’t a lot of apps that work on the iPad yet, which can result in totally borking your iPad and having to restore countless times. So here’s a list of what worked / didn’t work for me.

    While SBSettings works, your best bet is to grab the beta version of it from http://thebigboss.org/betarepo

    Working Apps:

    • Activator
    • Backgrounder
    • Clock Hide
    • CyDelete
    • iSteamy
    • OpenSSH
    • Rock app
    • SBSettings
    • Snes4iPhone
    • Veency
    • vlc4iphone

    Partially Working Apps:

    • StatusNotifier [Status icons are displayed in the status bar, but the StatusNotifier preferences app crashes]

    Non-working Apps:

    • Circuitous
    • Cydgets
    • iBluenova
    • Kirikae
    • Lockinfo
    • mQuickDo
    • Notifier
    • ProSwitcher
    • Winterboard

  • Oh snap, an iPad review. Shocker.

    Yeah, I’m one of those guys… I had an iPad delivered to my door on day one. In my defense though, it was free, and it was for software development. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

    After a little over a week with the iPad, here are my thoughts on it.

    [ The Good ]
    Nice and solid construction. Heavier than expected, but still light enough to comfortably hold with one hand.

    Great battery life. Easily getting 10-11hrs on average, and that’s with a lot of NetFlix streaming. Though if you crank the brightness to max you will sacrifice an hour or two of battery life.

    Fantastic screen quality. Native apps look amazing on this screen, websites look better, movies look crisper. And with the added screen real estate (not to mention added processing power) app developers really have an opportunity to bridge the gap between mobile and desktop applications.

    Speaking of native apps, Mail is finally useful and once 4.0 hits this fall it’ll be even more so. Calendar is a major upgrade, and in my opinion outshines its desktop counterpart iCal.

    NetFlix streaming is awesome. The navigation could use some improving, but the video playback is solid. Even playback over 3G was tolerable (using my iPhone as a 3G hotspot, I did not get early access to a 3G iPad). Now all we need is for NetFlix to expand their instant streaming selection.

    [ The Bad ]
    Up-scaled iPhone apps. They just don’t cut it, some apps are usable, but most look darn right ugly. Not to mention that an apps control interface might work on the iPhone, but doesn’t fair so well up-scaled to the iPad. Then there’s the higher price point for iPad specific apps, which is a little annoying considering you just spent a minimum of $499 on the hardware.

    Remember that fantastic looking screen? Yeah… That’s only if you’re in doors. Sunlight is the death of this screen, fingerprints suddenly obscure ever inch of the screen, the glare is almost enough to blind you. Even using it in the car is risky, you constantly need to reposition the iPad to compensate for glare.

    Application availability. Yes, compared to other contenders, the iPad launched with a handsome 1,500 apps, but most developers didn’t have early access to an iPad for actual testing so some of the software was a little rough around the edges. Over the next few months this should be easily remedied.

    Did I mention app pricing? I have no real problem paying $15 for a quality app, but it would be nice if that at least included cross compatibility for both the iPhone and iPad. And this kind of pricing might be a deterrent to casual gamers.

    Wasted space on the lock screen. Seriously Apple, why can’t we rock some widgets on the lock screen at least? I was hoping to see this resolved with iPhone OS 4.0, but sadly no.

    [ The “Say-what?” ]
    People always find something to complain about, and it may or may not be relevant.

    No Flash. Who cares?! I don’t love Flash, I don’t hate it. But truth be told, in a mobile device I don’t miss it. Now if hell did freeze over and Apple allowed Adobe to bring Flash to the iPhone/iPad I wouldn’t mind, but I can easily live without it.

    No camera. Again, not really an issue. Unless you really want to rock the Chatroulette scene with your iPad. Besides, we all know Apple will include a camera in the second gen iPad.

    No multitasking. I do see this as a significant shortcoming. But come this fall it will be taken care of with the iPhone OS 4.0 release.


    [ The Bottom Line ]
    Good first generation product. But it’s not for everyone. For myself personally, I’m actually able to use the iPad for work. But the average user will likely find it more useful for casual gaming and web browsing (nothing wrong with that).

    I think for the iPad to gain more traction it needs to be priced a bit lower, that being said, I was very surprised that it was launched at $499, for an Apple product that really is a competitive price. And if you have $500 to burn, it could be well worth it.

    At this point, developers are the ones who will really make this platform work. So holding out for a 2nd gen iPad is a pretty solid idea since it will give developers more time to get comfortable with the platform and release more awesome/useful software.

  • iPad Preorders to go Live March 2nd?

    Word on the street is that Apple might open up preorders for the iPad as soon as March 2nd.

    Which would be pretty great, but there’s been no sign of the iPad being approved by the FCC yet.

    If this rumor is true, only the WiFi version would be up for preorder, since the 3G equipped version is slated to release 30 days after the WiFi only model.