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How to Jailbreak Your 2.x.x 3G iPhone (Mac)

This tutorial will show you how to jailbreak your 3G iPhone. It has been updated for the 2.2.1 firmware.
To learn how to use PwnageTool to unlock/jailbreak a 2G iPhone you can use the tutorial found: here.

If you have a 3G iPhone make sure you have iTunes 8.0.2 and continue…

Step One
Make a folder called “Pwnage” on the desktop. In it, you will need a couple of things. PwnageTool 2.2.5, found here or here
You will also need the 2.2.1 iPhone firmware.
2.2.1 (3G): iPhone1,2_2.2.1_5H11_Restore.ipsw

When downloading the IPSW file, it is best to download it with Firefox!

Step Two
Double click to mount PwnageTool 2.2.5 then drag the PwnageTool icon into the Pwnage folder.

Then from the Pwnage folder double click to launch the PwnageTool application.

Click Ok if presented with a warning.

Step Three
Click to select Expert Mode from the top menu bar

Step Four
Click to select your iPhone. A check-mark will appear over the image of the phone.

Step Five
Click the blue arrow button to continue. You will be brought to the “Browse for IPSW” page. On my laptop, it automatically found the IPSW. If PwnageTool doesn’t automatically find the ipsw file you can click Browse for IPSW….

Click to select the found IPSW file, a checkmark will appear next to it. Then click the blue arrow button to continue.

Step Six
You will then be brought to a menu with 7 choices. Click to select General then click the blue arrow button.

The General settings allows you to decide the partition size. Click activate the phone and Disable partition wipe-out. Click the blue arrow button.

NOTE*: Deselect Activate if you have an iPhone legitimately activated on an official carrier.
NOTE*: You may need to increase the size of the root partition slightly. My first attempt failed at creating the IPSW until I increased the size to about 695 MB.

The Bootneuter settings are greyed out for the 3G iPhone. Click the blue arrow button.

The Cydia settings menu allows you to create custom packages so you do not have to manually install the necessary them later.

Click to select the Download packages tab. Then click the Refresh button to display all the available packages. Double clicking the package you want will download it and make it available in the Select Packages tab.

Checkmark the ones you want then Click the blue arrow button.

The Custom Packages Settings menu displays listed package settings for your custom IPSW. For know leave these settings as is. Click the blue arrow button to continue.

The Custom Logos Settings menu allows you to add your own images as boot logos. Click the Browse button to select your Boot logo and Recovery logo. If you would like to use the iClarified ones they can be found here: Boot Logo, Recovery Logo

Remember the rules for them: RGB or Grayscale format with Alpha channel and dimension bellow 320×480…

Click the blue arrow button to continue.

Step Seven
You are now ready to begin the pwnage process! Click the Build button to select it then click the Blue arrow button to begin.

Step Eight
You will be asked to save your custom .ipsw file. Save it to your Pwnage folder you created on your Desktop.

Your IPSW is not being built. Please allow up to 10 minutes.

You will be asked to enter your administrator password. Do this then click the OK button.

When prompted if your iPhone has been Pwned before, we clicked No. It allows for a more thorough restore.

You will be asked to turn off the device. Make sure it is connected to the USB port.

Step Nine
Be ready to follow directions now. It will ask you to hold the home button and the power button for 10 seconds. Then, you will have to release the power button and hold the home button for 10 seconds to enter DFU.

If you fail, it will show you a message. Click Yes. Unplug the iPhone from the USB. Turn it off, then turn it back on. Plug it back into the USB and turn off the iPhone when prompted.

When done correctly, Pwnage 2.2 will display a message telling your that it successfully entered DFU mode. iTunes will also pop-up.

IMPORTANT***: If you have Mac OS X 10.5.6 you may have an issue with putting your iPhone into DFU mode. The easiest option is to use a USB hub between your iPhone and the computer. Another option is to run this automator script. NOTE*: Make sure the script completes properly. If the files are not replaced properly you will lose keyboard and mouse upon reboot. Later today we will post a third alternative for enabling DFU mode on your Mac.

Step Ten
In iTunes, hold the Alt/Option button and click Restore.

Step Eleven
Navigate to the Pwnage folder on your desktop using the dialog window that appears. Select the custom IPSW that was created (iPhone1,2_2.2.1_5H11_Custom_Restore.ipsw) and click the Open button.

Step Twelve
iTunes will now restore the firmware on your iPhone. This can also take up to 10 minutes.

If you so desire you may restore from a previous backup to keep all your settings or set your iPhone up fresh.

Step Thirteen
Once the restore is completed your iPhone will reboot and you will notice Cydia is present on the SpringBoard!

From: iclarified.com

Google Released Picasa for Mac Beta

Google has officially released their popular photo management application Picasa for Macs, after years of offering Picasa as a free Windows download.

It’s an exciting announcement for anyone who’s looking for a good photo management app on OS X that isn’t iPhoto or for anyone who’s used and fallen in love with Picasa on Windows or Linux. This release still sports the beta tag, so you can expect a bug here or there, but overall it appears to boast most of the same features as its counterparts. That includes:

1. Photo Management
Picasa scans your entire computer for new photos and keeps them neatly organized, with great timeline features, tagging, and folder organization.

2. Image Editing
Picasa sports simple but impressive editing capabilities, including non-destructive editing of photos. The Mac version offers a few smart options for users looking to run both iPhoto and Picasa so that neither application stps on the other’s toes.

3. Integration with Web Albums
Just like Picasa for Windows and Linux, Picasa for Mac offers seamless integration with Picasa Web Albums, Google’s online photo sharing site.

via: lifehacker.com

Download YouTube in High-Definition Quality

Youtube now supports High-Definition Quality video. Do you think about downloading HD Youtube to localhost?
Firefox HD Youtube Downloader Plug-in and Free HD YouTube Downloader are available.

1. Download HD YouTube with Firefox
Get the new firefox extension installed, it can add links for downloading HD Youtube in MP4 format.

2. Download HD YouTube with Freeware
Wondershare upgrades its free YouTube Downloader to support HD Youtube video.
It can automatically detect YouTube movies that have been opened and download multiple files at a time.

Note: Make sure the SNIFFER function is turned on, so every YouTube movie can be added to download list.

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Rip DVD on Mac Using Handbrake (Freeware)

Launch Handbrake, select the DVD you want to rip by clicking Source.
After importing DVD, you will see the figure below.

Setting Introduction

1. Source settings
(1). Title: Handbrake will detect all the titles on the DVD and choose the longest title automatically.
(2). Chapters: By setting chapters’ number, you can rip a specific clip. However, this is not very user friendly, since you will have to remember what is on each chapter. If you could preview each chapter, things would be a lot easier.

2. Destination setting: Choose the folder to save ripped movies.

3. Output Settings: select the format and codec you need.
(1). Video Settings

Framerate(FPS): Select a frame rate that you prefer.

Quality:
There are three options available:
1. Specify an output size and the quality will depend on the specified output size.
2. Select a birate. The higher bitrate you choose, the bigger size the output file will be, and the better quality you will get.
3. Directly select a quality.

Encoder: Select the encoder you prefer.

2-pass encoding(optional): This takes twice as long to encode, but it improves the video quality and doesn’t make the file any larger.

Picture Settings: Here you can set video resolution and crop video. Different players have different resolution specs. For example, the highest resolution supported by the new nano-chromatic is 640*480. The crop function of handbrake is kind of like a decoration here, because it is not powerful or practical. If this function is important to you, you can refer to a different guide.

(2).Audio Settings

In this section, you can choose audio tracks and movie subtitle, as shown in the above figure.
After all settings done, click Start button to rip.

Additional: As a freeware, handbrake is a pretty good DVD ripping tool, but it’s not very stable and has quite a few bugs. If you focus on more powerful functions such as movie length trimming, video cropping, selecting DVD chapters/titles, joining/merging more than one DVD chapter/title, more user-friendly operation, or want to rip DVD’s for viewable on more mobile devices on Mac, don’t mind paying a bit extra money, professional Mac DVD ripper software are definitely worth a try, and you will also get free professional technical support from the providers.

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Top 5 iPhone Task Managers

When the iTunes App Store first opened up to eager iPhone and iPod touch upgraders (and iPhone 3G buyers), one of the first types of applications to show up was the to-do/task manager. From simple check-box lists to voice-transcribing tools, there’s a bewildering number of apps, many of them free, that promise to help you keep track of your necessary actions and projects while you’re away from your computer. Today we’re checking out five of them, all free except for one requiring a “Pro” account, and comparing their features and functionality side-by-side, as well as asking which app you use to keep their busy lives together.

Remember the Milk

Pricing: Free to download, but access requires $25/year Pro account (which also grants access to Windows Mobile/Blackberry app).
Task options: Multiple lists, priorities, due dates, tags, repeating tasks, time estimates, location, URL, and notes.
Organization: Today/Tomorrow/This Week lists, a multi-list view, and sorting by tags or location.
Other features:Can use location awareness to find tasks closest to you; search function; home screen icon updates with tasks due today.
Web syncing: Yes.

Zenbe Lists

Pricing: Free (for both app and web account).
Task options: Basic text and due date.
Organization: Multiple lists, with x/x completed counts and due dates shown in list view.
Other features: One-click syncing to web account; easy e-mailing (of link to web list) through iPhone email.
Web syncing: Yes.

reQall

Pricing: App and account are free.
Task options: Auto-context text—use the phrase “Remember” or say “Tuesday,” and reQall labels it accordingly. Tasks can be sent to contacts from add page.
Organization: iPhone app is laid out onto three screens: “Time,” with item viewing by Today, Soon, or Overdue; “Things,” broken into Notes, Shopping, and To-dos (though any and all of them are technically to-dos); and “People” for shared tasks. All three organizing pages can be flipped to single-page listings.
Other features: Add by phone call (after registering phone number with reQall); Shake the iPhone/touch for a “memory jog” (random task pops up on screen);
Web syncing: Yes.

To Do’s

Pricing: Free.
Task options: Title, notes, and three-step priority (high, normal, low).
Organization: Priority-colored tasks with note previews laid out with checkboxes next to each, with options to sort by priority or date. Click blue arrows to edit or see full tasks.
Other features: Home screen badge can update with just high-priority or all tasks still due.
Web syncing: No (but cited for future).

EasyTask Manager

Pricing: Free app; Online syncing (apparently) requires $19.99 account, which also buys desktop software.
Task options: Very GTD-focused: Action name, project list, context, start date, due date, importance (1-5), and notes.
Organization: Three pages: A “Dashboard” that lists all tasks, sorted by due dates (Inbox, Tomorrow, Next 7 Days, Past Due, Completed); a “Projects” list; and “Contexts” view.
Other features: Online
Web syncing: With paid account.

This was by no means a comprehensive list, as any look at the iTunes App Store will show, but we tried to pick out a decent sampling of the different apps out there—basic checkmarks, phone-integrated, GTD-focused, paid, and a halfway option.

From: lifehacker.com

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