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To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade
Taking a moment away from the more typical “tutorial” type articles, we’re going to spend a minute and address a common question most people ask…”should I upgrade my devices’ operating system?” With iOS 5 hitting Apple devices recently and Android 4.0 (i.e. Ice Cream Sandwich) coming soon, this question is more relevant than ever.
The question always comes up…should I get the lastest version of my phones operating system (iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry OS, etc). There is no simple answer but let’s look at a few questions to ask yourself before you make this decision. First off, take a look at what the features are that you’re getting in the upgrade. Often times the upgrades are marginal or impact aspects of the device that are irrelevant to you based on your usage. In those cases, no big worries in not getting the upgrade.
The next question is…at what cost will I get the upgrade. By this we mean what negative aspects are there in upgrading. Again, this depends on the type of user you are. If you’re someone that likes to tweak and mess with your phone (jailbreaking your iOS device or rooting your Droid) then you probably don’t want the latest version. Typically, new versions are released to block users from doing things that the mother ship frowns upon. For example, when the jailbreak method for the iPad 2 was finally released by hacker Comex, Apple immediately released an update to the operating system to block the jailbreak. They added virutally nothing else other than the block and because it came out so quickly following the release of the jailbreak, the majority of iPad 2 users were left with an (as of yet) un-jailbreakable device.
The same holds true for Android. While Google says it doesn’t take as active a role in trying to block rooting as Apple does against jailbreakers, new versions of Android are typically not compatible with current root method. This means you have to wait until an enterprising hacker or software developer comes up with a new method and sometimes those new methods aren’t quite as simple as the older ways. This also holds true for certain apps that, for example, allow you to turn a rooted device into a wifi hotspot. These features may be disabled on a newer version.
It’s always nice to have the latest and greatest and sometimes the upgrades genuinely do warrant the drawbacks or sacrifices one must make. All we suggest is to not take the idea of an upgrade as always being just that. Quite often an upgrade is nothing but a downgrade.
Stream or Download Movies for Free on Android or iOS
With so many video formats and devices out there, sometimes it’s hard to figure out the best way to watch movies when you’re on the go. With Netflix seeming to increase it’s rates on an hourly basis, it’s great to have an alternative. A new website has made the process much easier no matter what device you’re using. And the best part is you don’t need a computer to do it!
Movieonhand.com is a website that you can view on your desktop or laptop computer as well as your iOS device (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) and Android phone. Once you punch in the web address, you’ll see a basic home screen with a search bar at the top and then a list of years at the bottom. You can search their catalog or browse based on the year the movie was released.
Search by Year
For this example, we’re typing ‘X-Men’ into the search bar. When we have the results, we select a movie and then see various viewing options. We can stream from a few different locations and we can also download directly to our device. The download option will take you to a file share site where the movie is being stored at. Occasionally the link download link will take you to a page that says the movie you’re looking for was removed. Not much you can do about this…you’ll just have to keep looking. It’s great to have the option to stream when you have a data connection or to download to watch when you don’t have internet access.
Search Bar
Download to iOS Devices
Depending on your device, the download process is a little different. For the PC, it’s a straightforward affair. If you’re on an Apple iOS device, you’ll need another application first. Follow the link below to download Downloads Lite from the App store…
Click Stream or Download to view
Once you have Downloads Lite installed, open the program and use it to navigate to Moviesonhand.com through the built in browser. Go through the same process to get to the download or stream options and select download. It should take you to the download location (usually megaupload.com). It may require you to wait until a download counts down before the download link appears. Click and the app will start the download process. Once this is done, you can go to the files tab and there’s your movie! You also have the option for moving the video file into your Photos folder so it’ll be easier to find.
Download to Android
Luckily, the Android download process is much simpler since it doesn’t require any other apps to work. Just follow all the steps before and click on the download link from moviesonhand.com. Next, click the download link once it appears on Megaupload.com and the download should start. That’s it…once the download completes you should be able to find it in your videos or gallery.
Movieonhand.com is a great tool for getting a huge number of movies on your device or for streaming and is a great alternative when Netflix keeps jacking up the rates. Occasionally the format may not be the best for your given device but in the end it’s a great option to have especially when you’re on the go.
Free iOS Apps With Installous
One of the first questions anyone asks after jailbreaking is “Where da free apps at?!” Granted, some people may ask the same question in a more grammatically correct manner.
Once you are jailbroken, the process of being able to install free apps is fairly painless. First off, we have to address the issue of why someone would do this. The purpose of this hack is to be able to download apps for free to try out before you buy (emphasis being on “BEFORE YOU BUY”). If you find an app that you like, you should always, always, ALWAYS download the paid app from the App Store to support the app makers.
Step 1: Begin by going into Cydia (which you should have once you jailbreak your iOS device).
Click on Cydia
Step 2: Once inside Cydia, click on Sources on the bottom row of buttons
Click on Sources
Step 3: This screen shows the app repositories you currently have. (A repository is basically a big bank full of apps.) We want to add a new repository so click on the Edit button on the top right corner. On the next screen click on the Add button on the top right corner.
Step 4: Now we are going to tell the program where to find the new repository. Type the following into the search box, exactly as it appears so that your search box has only this text: http://cydia.hackulo.us
Once you have done that click on Add Source.
You’ll see this next screen as everything is installed.
The install screen
Step 5: Now your list of app repositories will have a new option…Hackulous. Click on it.
Step 6: Once inside the Hackullous app, click on the Install button on the top right corner.
Click Install
Step 7: Click Confirm on the next screen to finalize the installation
Click Confirm
Step 8: Once the installation is complete, you will see the Installous icon on your screen. Just tap this to launch your new Installous app store.
Tap on Installous App
Once you’re inside Installous, you can see the categories of apps listed on the left. There is also a Search button on the top bar to search for specific apps.
The Installous App
Installous is run and maintained by regular people that are working hard to bring you a great and easy way to try apps before you buy. As a result of the grass roots basis of the program, it can be frequently out of service due to high traffic. Always be patient when using things like this and understand that people are working hard to bring you this. If you want to help out, you can always make a donation to those dedicated few bringing you these great services. Just go to http://hackulo.us/ for more details on the app and to donate.
If you get this to work drop a comment below and let us know what device and version you ran it on. And remember… if you find an app you like, spend a few bucks to buy the real version from the App Store. Keep app makers cranking out quality apps.
Video Footage into iPad 2 for iMovie
One of the points Steve Jobs made sure he emphasized during the iPad 2 unveil was that it was now powerful enough to be a portable video editing tool. He rolled out the new iMovie made specifically for the iPad and demonstrated how you would edit footage you shot with the iPad 2’s built in camera.
However, that’s where the problems begin. Unfortunately, the camera on the iPad 2 really isn’t very good, not to mention that fact that you would probably look rather ridiculous walking around on vacation with a 10 inch tablet in front of your face. So how do we get footage we shot elsewhere (either on our cell phones or dedicated still or video cameras) into the iPad to edit on iMovie.
If you just transfer footage in, you will be able to see the footage in your photos folder, but you won’t be able to access it in iMovie. The reason for this is that iMovie is very particular about the type of encoding the videos have to be in to be recognized. Photos, for the most part, will be ok to be transferred in, but video must be transformed into a format that iMovie and the iPad 2 like.
After much research, a user on the Apple forums seems to have discovered the secret. Forum member Zwiller5 has found a program that will do the conversion as well as the correct settings to make your video footage and your iPad 2 live in harmony. You can see his original settings at this following link…
Apple Forums: Settings for Video for iMovie on iPad 2
(You’ll have to scroll down a little to find his post.)
The program he suggests using is a PC application called Aleesoft Free iPad Video Converter (the name sounds pretty self explanatory). He also includes all of the settings. The application itself is relatively user friendly so you should be able to enter the information without too much hassle. I tried it myself and have converted footage shot on my Nexus S as well as footage shot on my Panasonic point and shoot that does 720p video. Both times the footage came out very well and the editing in iMovie was a breeze.
I’m going to keep looking for a more suitable program for the Mac that can do the same thing, but in the meantime we can now start transferring footage over to the iPad and let out the Scorsese in all of us.
HackMondo 