Should I Jailbreak

[Evelyn.TME]

I'm sure everyone here will say I should jailbreak, I'm just wondering why. I have a 16GB WiFi iPad 1 and this is the first mac (ipod shuffle doesn't count) that I've owned so it has been an experience to get used to some things.

I'm a college student, and I have found a couple apps really help me with taking notes and whatnot. I've heard a lot about people jailbreaking their iPads and that its gives them access to so much more, so I'm wondering if I should do it. I'm wondering if the extra options are relevant for me as a college student or if they're mostly for business people. I'm wondering what extra options there are.

Could you share what your iPad can do now after jailbreaking it that it couldn't do before?

 

[f4780y]

Hi. Of course I would suggest you jailbreak. I am the moderator of this section after all! But that aside, why don't you have a look down the list of apps in this thread

http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-hacking/25824-ultimate-list-jailbreak-tweaks.html

If any of the things mentioned there take your fancy, then you probably should. We have lots of easy to follow stickies in this section which can give you more information about how to go about it.

If nothing in there takes your fancy, chances are it isn't for you, but why not post some questions after you have gone through that info and we'll see if we can help.

 

[Evelyn.TME]

Ok wow, that's a lot. I got through the free section; I'm gonna have to come back to read the rest after I get some food in me.

One thing I noticed though, at least in the free section, most of them seem to just allow you to change settings a little bit. Is that what jailbreaking mostly does? I mean, some of those look like they would be nice to have, but I guess I was thinking I might be able to make apps share files with each other better, rather than being restricted to the Open In... option. Or that I might get access to a list of documents directly rather than having to open the app that is currently housing a document (because sometimes I switch documents between apps to utilize special functions only that app can do, but I don't like leaving duplicate documents all over the place in all the different apps).

 

[OUTL4W]

Unfortunately there is no central repository on the ipad where you can place your files that all your apps can have access to. Perhaps iOS 5.0?

 

[f4780y]

Ok wow, that's a lot. I got through the free section; I'm gonna have to come back to read the rest after I get some food in me.

One thing I noticed though, at least in the free section, most of them seem to just allow you to change settings a little bit. Is that what jailbreaking mostly does? I mean, some of those look like they would be nice to have, but I guess I was thinking I might be able to make apps share files with each other better, rather than being restricted to the Open In... option. Or that I might get access to a list of documents directly rather than having to open the app that is currently housing a document (because sometimes I switch documents between apps to utilize special functions only that app can do, but I don't like leaving duplicate documents all over the place in all the different apps).

That's a fair assessment. The free stuff tends to do one thing. A change to the way something works which cannot usually be changed.
The paid stuff tends to do a bit more, hence the reson it's paid...
When your done reading it post a particular thing you want to achieve and i'll see if I can come up with a solution. iFile sounds like it might help you, but specific examples help...

 

[iPadder77]

Why shouldn't I jailbreak?

I hear a lot of people talking about the advantages, but I haven't seen anyone discuss the consequences of jail breaking.

* Can or does Apple retaliate? I've heard they can remotely shut down an iPhone for whatever reason. Why not an iPad?
* Do you lose the right to download apps, tunes, etc. in the App Store?
* Is there any "going back" to the way it was?

There has to be some kind of consequence, or they wouldn't call it jail breaking. I'm just curious. And I apologize in advance if someone is annoyed that I bumped an old thread. This seemed to be the only one related to my question.

Thanks

 

[f4780y]

I hear a lot of people talking about the advantages, but I haven't seen anyone discuss the consequences of jail breaking.

* Can or does Apple retaliate? I've heard they can remotely shut down an iPhone for whatever reason. Why not an iPad?
* Do you lose the right to download apps, tunes, etc. in the App Store?
* Is there any "going back" to the way it was?

There has to be some kind of consequence, or they wouldn't call it jail breaking. I'm just curious. And I apologize in advance if someone is annoyed that I bumped an old thread. This seemed to be the only one related to my question.

Thanks

It's called jailbreaking because it gets you out of the jail which is Apple sandboxing. Not because there are consequences.

Apple cannot remotely shut down any device. Not an iPhone or an iPad (carriers can block an IMEI, but they can do that on any phone, it's not specific to Apple phones, and it does not render the device useless. It just stops it making calls).

You don't lose the right to download apps or media. Otherwise we wouldn't do it. Certain software developers sometimes build jailbreak checks into their apps and refuse to run if they see you are jailbroken, but these are very rare indeed, and the jailbreak community usually releases a fix to circumvent the block in any case.

You can always restore your device to stock for any reason if you don't like it. You do this in iTunes using the "restore" function.

As with all things in life, the choice is yours. It's your device, and you make the decision if you want to jailbreak it or remain inside Apples walled garden just as they intended.

Our sticky thread also answers your questions (which is why it is there) http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-hacking/2838-jailbreak-explained-new-updated-2011-a.html
Please do review all the sticky threads in our hacking section as they contain a wealth of information. Thanks.

Hope that helps.

 

[iPadder77]

It's called jailbreaking because it gets you out of the jail which is Apple sandboxing. Not because there are consequences.

Apple cannot remotely shut down any device. Not an iPhone or an iPad (carriers can block an IMEI, but they can do that on any phone, it's not specific to Apple phones, and it does not render the device useless. It just stops it making calls).

You don't lose the right to download apps or media. Otherwise we wouldn't do it. Certain software developers sometimes build jailbreak checks into their apps and refuse to run if they see you are jailbroken, but these are very rare indeed, and the jailbreak community usually releases a fix to circumvent the block in any case.

You can always restore your device to stock for any reason if you don't like it. You do this in iTunes using the "restore" function.

As with all things in life, the choice is yours. It's your device, and you make the decision if you want to jailbreak it or remain inside Apples walled garden just as they intended.

Our sticky thread also answers your questions (which is why it is there). Please do review all the sticky threads in our hacking section as they contain a wealth of information. Thanks.

Hope that helps.

It does help. Thanks! I read almost all of the 15-page link you pasted (both ends, but skipped a couple pages in the middle), and it was very informative. I got a little queazy reading about some of the technical issues some were having, since I'm far from being a computer geek. I was disappointed to read that there is no way to get around the Apple's FlashPlayer ban. But are there JB apps that let you manage documents more like on a PC -- creating them and dragging them from folder to folder, that kind of thing?

I was about to ask if there is a "Cydia Store" I can browse before jailbreaking, but I got off my figurative ass and Googled it, and sure enough there is -- I tried to paste the address here, but I was blocked because I haven't posted three times yet (I also had to delete the helpful link in your post, for some reason, to make this go through). It's a small store of 53 apps, no freebies, ranging from $1 to $12. A bit disappointing at first glance, but I haven't read the details of any apps. Are there other such JB stores?

 

[f4780y]

It does help. Thanks! I read almost all of the 15-page link you pasted (both ends, but skipped a couple pages in the middle), and it was very informative. I got a little queazy reading about some of the technical issues some were having, since I'm far from being a computer geek. I was disappointed to read that there is no way to get around the Apple's FlashPlayer ban. But are there JB apps that let you manage documents more like on a PC -- creating them and dragging them from folder to folder, that kind of thing?

I was about to ask if there is a "Cydia Store" I can browse before jailbreaking, but I got off my figurative ass and Googled it, and sure enough there is -- I tried to paste the address here, but I was blocked because I haven't posted three times yet (I also had to delete the helpful link in your post, for some reason, to make this go through). It's a small store of 53 apps, no freebies, ranging from $1 to $12. A bit disappointing at first glance, but I haven't read the details of any apps. Are there other such JB stores?

There are thousands of free packages in Cydia, you just can't see them on the web. All you saw are the paid ones from the actual store.

Of course, not all are worthwhile and not all are for iPad. Have a look at our thread here for truly useful stuff - http://www.ipadforums.net/jailbreak-applications-tweaks/25824-ultimate-list-jailbreak-tweaks.html and at the other threads in that section for some detailed "reviews"

 

[chinajon]

Apple sandboxing is exactly the reason you can't find virus on iPad and you can find thousands of viruses on Android. The ability of one app to cross over and write into a file that doesn't belong to it allows malware to spread. I believe that the few extra goodies that jailbreaking allows do not make up for the vulnerabilities it makes possible. Of course JB fans will scoff at this attitude, and scoff at the lack of viruses on Mac just because Mac is such a small % of the computer market.
But every PC using friend and student I have dealt with has had trouble with viruses. Already those that use Android have seen an increase is anti virus ads targeting them. Since 1984, I have had exactly 1 virus.
I do not want to get rid of Apple sandboxing.
A. Convenience is one thing. B. Vulnerability is another. B>A