iAlertU

Besides constantly scheming ways to make things run smoother and more efficient in my life, I am also a huge Apple fan.  Shocking I know, considering the blog and all!  So without further ado I’m going to break down the must have and more importantly free software any Mac fanatic should have to stream line their life.

1. Quicksilver:  While technically this program is known as an application launcher it really can streamline your Mac use.  You can access any file or application with basically a single keystroke.  Quicksilver takes your hard drive and turns it into a giant catalog that you can easily browse and manipulate.  It takes repetitive acts and makes them easier and quicker to access.  You can access your files and applications without having them bog down your desktop.  This is perfect if you’re taking notes in class or during a meeting and can’t stop and wait for something to load.
2. GIMP:  No I’m not sticking with the Pulp Fiction references; I’m talking about the open source (free) photo-editing tool.  If you need or want to do some photo editing but don’t feel like coughing up the doe for Photoshop then this is the way to go.  GIMP is a serious editor and can take a little time to learn but it will definitely get the job done.  Why pay for a program or go through the trouble of illegally downloading it when you can grab this bad boy for free?  Now you can get rid of that red eye or edit out your ex-boyfriend from your Match.com photos for free.
3. Chax:  This add on for iChat helps to clean up your messaging program and keep it all clean and nice looking.  I allows for more and better customization of iChat than the program by itself.  One of the best features is the notification aspect in the dock.  It’s hard to miss an incoming IM with this bad boy running in the background.
4. Adium:  Let’s face it; not everyone has figured out that iChat kicks butt and should be the only messaging program out there.  If you have people on MSN or Google Talk in your life you can funnel them all into one chat program along with your iChat buddies.  Sometimes we have to cater to the slow amongst us.
5. iAlertU:  This has to be the most novel and awesome of all of these programs.  We’ve all been somewhere public like the University Commons, library or the local Starbucks and had to get up for some reason.  You might have to go to the ladies’ room, grab another drink or desperately try to get that hot girl’s number before she walks out of your life forever.  We don’t want to get up because we can’t leave our expensive and awesome pieces of technology out there for any jack ass to walk away with.  Download and arm iAlertU and if anyone moves your laptop it will start to make loud alarm noises and even take a picture of the perpetrator with its camera!

These are a few of my favorite things in the world of free Mac software.  I promise they will make your life a little easier and solve a problem or two for you.  There are tons out there and this is by no means a definitive list but if you don’t have these on your laptop you’re missing out!

Originally posted 2009-12-22 03:35:04.

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Beware of Hackers

I get it; not everyone loves AT&T.  They overextended their network and underestimated the iPhone response so their network may not be all that great.  I also get that many people want the freedom to choose any app they want and not be told by Apple which ones are appropriate and which one’s aren’t.  There is no way you’d let Dell tell what software you could put on your computer, so I get that it can rub people the wrong way.  But to go through the process of hacking your iPhone is a little beyond me.

Just ask hacker turned iPhone app developer Ashley Towns.  Ashley made one of the first worms, a destructive program like a virus, for the iPhone.  The worm called “ikee” infected jailbroken iPhone only and replaced the wallpaper with a picture of Australian pop singer Rick Astley.  While he meant it as only a prank the worm and news of the vulnerability exploded around the world and soon his small prank was water cooler conversation for tech nerds around the world.

Ikee’s basic premise and structure was later used by another hacker who made “duh”, another worm.  This one though wasn’t so tongue and cheek as Towns’ and was able to hijack banking information from jailbroken phones.  Later a Dutch hacker made a worm that held iPhones hostage and in order to get control of your phone back you had to pay 5 GBP (Pounds)!  Can you imagine?  Like monthly service fees aren’t bad enough!

With all of the potential damage that can be done by hackers and their worms to jailbroken iPhones why would you bother?  While Apple may be a bit elitist and not exactly fair when it comes to what apps they allow into their system in the end they are doing it partially to maintain the integrity of the system.  Without these kinds of controls and just letting any developer crank any software they want for the iPhone and iPod Touch your phone would be under constant attack.

Not only would service outages be the norm but violation of your personal data, your bank account, your Face Book, your email and everything else you love your iPhone would be constant.  Part of the reason we all love Apple is because of their reputation for safety and reliability.  All of that would be thrown out of the window.

So I say if you’re willing to hack your phone to get at the apps you want then you run the risk of having it hacked again by shady developers out there.

But it’s not all bad news.  Ashley Towns was tracked down by some journalists and after admitting what he did was offered an iPhone developer’s job with a major Australian development firm.

Photo Credits: William Hook

Originally posted 2010-01-07 03:24:57.

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