My Walk to the Wild Side - Jailbreak w/Bennies

[Mickey330]

It all started when Apple showed us gestures for iOS 4.3 … then took them away. I wanted gestures! Then, I read that people were able to jailbreak the 4.3 Beta to get them. So, I decided to "test" a jailbreak of my iPad's version (4.2.1) to see how hard it would be to jailbreak (and if I liked it). I figured that if I mucked it up, I could always go back to "stock." Then, if I liked the jailbreak, I would then be ready make the changes necessary to jailbreak 4.3 for the gestures.

I was a complete newbie to any of the jailbreak scene. I researched, read and agonized over the decision. Then, I decided to go for it! So, with trepidation, I started my first jailbreak and, believe you me - I was scared to death! I did not want to ruin my beautiful iPad. But, I downloaded the greenpois0n file and followed the directions. Heh. I didn't have any trouble. Within minutes, I was browsing around Cydia. Cool!

Man, jailbreaking is easy! But my main question was: What are the benefits? That answer is very difficult to find - especially when you consider that the answer is different for everyone. I found lots of reviews, lots of "you gotta do this" sites and lots of weird terms I didn't quite understand. So, I thought I'd share with you what the bennies I got from jailbreaking. For two reasons, mainly: (1) So maybe one of you can get the answer to "what are the benefits?" and (2) because no one else cares what my "new" toy (and the jailbreak) can do! My family just rolls their eyes. At least this way, when you roll your eyes, I can't see it.

So, I wrote up a document, with pictures, of the various tweaks and things I've found to do to my iPad. It's here (a PDF in my Dropbox public folder):

Benefits From Jailbreaking

It ended up being pretty (okay, very!) long, so read it at your own risk.

Couple of things (a disclaimer): This is what I have on my iPad … I jailbroke my iPad at MY own risk … if you jailbreak yours, it's at YOUR own risk … Apple does not condone jailbreaking and if they "catch" you, you will void your warranty.

Bottom line: Jailbreaking an iPad running iOS version 4.2.1 will allow you to customize enough that you only need to use the sleep or home button to turn on the iPad. Everything else can be done via software/gestures. Plus, you can do a whole BUNCH of other stuff! So, I'm keeping the jailbreak… I got my gestures and I like it!

As always - YMMV.

Marilyn

 

[Demandarin]

Got dang Marilyn, for a newbie to jail breaking , that's one helluva impress jailbreak app list u have there in your PDF. I enjoyed reading it and seen some ones I might try. One u could try that's really cool is Gpower. Will allow u to use touchscreen gesture to power down, respring, or reboot device. I have that and with activator set to a touch gesture to sleep n bring up multitasking bar, I hardly ever use hardware buttons anymore. Isn't jail breaking cool n make the use of iPad a whole lot better?
Great post n PDF, keep up the great work modding. There's also a tweak to speed up the copy/paste. Instead of being a pause when u do it, it does it instantly.

 

[SweetPoison]

Bottom line: Jailbreaking an iPad running iOS version 4.2.1 will allow you to customize enough that you only need to use the sleep or home button to turn on the iPad. Everything else can be done via software/gestures. Plus, you can do a whole BUNCH of other stuff! So, I'm keeping the jailbreak… I got my gestures and I like it!

As always - YMMV.

Marilyn

You did it, woman? Good for you! Can I have some of your courage?

 

[Mickey330]

Got dang Marilyn, for a newbie to jail breaking , that's one helluva impress jailbreak app list u have there in your PDF....

What can I say other than I am an app/extension/tweak addict? Both for App Store and Cydia. I just kept saying "Hmmm, that sounds cool, let's try that one." They work - they are cool - I keep 'em. As I've said - playing with my iPad has become one of my hobbies.

Isn't jail breaking cool n make the use of iPad a whole lot better?

Abso-friggin-lutely! Now that I've done it - I'll never go back.

...There's also a tweak to speed up the copy/paste. Instead of being a pause when u do it, it does it instantly.

Thanks for that. I went and got it and I like it. It does make it much faster/easier to cut-n-paste. 'Preciate the tip.

......................

Oh, and SweetPoison? I have to be honest - I was literally sick to my stomach with nerves as I was hitting the button to start the jailbreak process. I know, I know, [the proverbial] they say you can easily restore. But still ... you can never know for sure.

Just go for it when you feel comfortable - if ever.

Marilyn

 

[freebirdforever]

Nniiiiiicccceeeeee!!!

 

[CaMaxx]

THis is an awesome break down of tweaks.... i JBd a while ago but i just know that there is a lot that i am missing... thanks for this!!

 

[iPadCharlie]

Excellent job! I jalibroke my iPad when the untethered version came out for 4.2.1 but I restored and installed 4.3. It was actually a pretty painless and flawless experience so I might even do it again when the 4.3 jailbreak comes out.

 

[OUTL4W]

Dang....nice write-up.

Where did you find smartscreen in cydia? The ones I see are for only 3.x.

Something to add:
Infinifolders ~ able to add more than the defualt 12apps to a folder.

 

[iPadOhana]

Bottom line: Jailbreaking an iPad running iOS version 4.2.1 will allow you to customize enough that you only need to use the sleep or home button to turn on the iPad. Everything else can be done via software/gestures. Plus, you can do a whole BUNCH of other stuff! So, I'm keeping the jailbreak… I got my gestures and I like it!

As always - YMMV.

Marilyn

You did it, woman? Good for you! Can I have some of your courage?

Well said SweetPoison. I'm too much of a girly-man to try it. LOL


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OUTL4W]

Dang....nice write-up.

Where did you find smartscreen in cydia? The ones I see are for only 3.x.

Nevermind found it...

Just a few q's on smartscreen:
1. How to move the widgets around on the screen?
2. How did you get the flip clock as shown in link?
3. How to change location on weather widget?
4. Transparency won't save for me...does it for you?

 

[saguaro]

And people wonder why they should jailbreak...

Some more:

If you're into multimedia, XBMC-ios. It's weather, pictures, music, videos, and more in one place. And if you have a home network you can link to your media files on your computer or NAS from within it.

Scrollingboard - endless icons in the dock, endless icons and scrolling in folders, and more. Probably the poor cousin of Springtomize.

iFile - the Swiss army knife of file apps. It does tons of things but what I find most helpful are:
1. You can connect your ipad to your computer with the built-in server and transfer files by wifi.

2. With the camera connector kit you can view all the pictures on your SD card full-screen, which you can't do otherwise. And you can add pictures to the Camera Roll by pressing a button. You can also print and delete pictures from within.

Some people report success with reading files from an attached usb flash drive using the other connector in the kit, but it has not worked for me.

Last, the iDO-notepad, a note-taking app with many settings for notes. Its chief value to me is its built-in print function. I can print through my computer to the printer with AirPrint for windows. But it won't work for printing a selection. So I copy the selection to this notepad and print from there. You can't print from the notes app that comes with the ipad.

Better jailbreak before Mickey330 empties out the repositories. ;-D

 

[Mickey330]

Dang....nice write-up.

Where did you find smartscreen in cydia? The ones I see are for only 3.x.

Something to add:
Infinifolders ~ able to add more than the defualt 12apps to a folder.

Oh, shoot, my bad! The SmartScreen app/extension is not on the standard Cydia repositories (the ones you see with the initial install of Cydia).

It's at the MediaPhone repo: apt.media-phone.ch

There is a lite free version (you get 3 widgets). The full app is 5-something USD, I think. Plus, I think some of the widgets aren't free. Bit pricey, but I sure love my new look.

I had heard/read about the SmartScreen after trying (and not liking) the other lock screen app ... of course, I don't remember the name of that one. Even though this repo isn't one of the "standard" Cydia repos, I figured that it was ok, given it's the app creator who's putting up the repo. Oh, and it's at that repo where you'll find the widgets to. So, if you use it - as always - YMMV AND buyer/user beware...

Again, my bad about not telling where you can find it. Sorry.

Marilyn

P. S. Yeah, I saw InfiniFolders, but as far as I can tell, you can't put folders within folders, change the background colors or have pages of apps within the folders. That's why I went with EnhancedFolders. Thanks for the tip, though.

 

[Mickey330]

Where did you find smartscreen in cydia? The ones I see are for only 3.x.

Nevermind found it...

Just a few q's on smartscreen:

1. How to move the widgets around on the screen?
Press and hold the widget. It'll give a little wiggle (but it won't keep wiggling like apps do when you are moving them). Once it wiggles, grab it and, while "holding" it, move it wherever you wish.

2. How did you get the flip clock as shown in link?
It's in the same repo (apt.media-phone.ch) and it's name is "Yet Another Clock (iOS)." It's nicer than the digital one, IMNSHO...

3. How to change location on weather widget?
Straight from the MediaPhone FAQ:
Q - How can I set up weather widget?
A - Go to http://weather.yahoo.com and find your location, then click the orange RSS icon on the right and then check the URL for a location code.
For example: http://weather.yahooapis.com/forecastrss?p=USNY0996&u=f (New York City). And the location code is USNY0996.


That's the code you then put in the weather widget's settings for your location...


4. Transparency won't save for me...does it for you?
I never used transparency. I just tried it on the Calendar widget and nope, didn't work for me either. Even after a respring. Guess it's a good thing I didn't want transparency, eh?

If I may add: I removed the "slide to unlock" part because I felt it messed up the symmetry of my screen. I used Move2Unlock for this, so I don't know how it works if you remove the slider under/within the SmartScreen app.

Oh, and under Move2Unlock, be very careful and make sure the movement works before hiding the slider. I should imagine it would be really bad to not be able to get the lock screen out of the way. For the life of me, I could not get "move lockscreen" to work - which is why I use "pinch." Still, it works and I don't have to display the slider.

Sorry to go on so much. Hope this helps.

Marilyn