Free at Last

So I'm an Apple geek. So what? Just because I love my Macs and iOS devices, doesn't mean I take my marching orders from the Grand Poobah in Cupertino. Continuing the story I began in my previous post, my iPhone and iPad go with me wherever I go. As an independent IT consultant/contractor, I rely on them to track my schedule, time charged to customers and keep notes from every job I do. I would describe them as indispensable, but far from everything I need. As much as I love them, I wouldn't even consider showing up at a customer's site without my MacBook Pro. If not in hand, its in the back seat of my car, just in case. All to often, I need a network sniffer, wifi stumbler, an ethernet connection or just a good ol' terminal, none of which are allowed in the iOS App Store, at least none with any useful functionality. Sure, there are lots of apps that do pieces and parts of these tasks, but nothing really powerful and useful to a professional like myself. Apple just won't allow those types of "weeds" in their walled garden. The iOS SDK (Software Development Kit) just doesn't provide the necessary functions and coding an app outside the SDK is a sure-fire path to rejection by the App Store gatekeepers.

I certainly understand their reasoning. After all, iOS devices are designed for consumers, not gearheads like me. It just makes commercial sense to take all steps necessary to insure a smooth, consistent, reliable user experience for 95% of their customers. Still, Apple could give "superusers" the option to install third-party apps outside the App Store, but I estimate that will happen sometime after Jesus returns. It just doesn't fit Apple's M. O.  So, what's a person like me to do?

Jailbreak!

Thanks to some very clever folks, anybody can modify their iOS device to allow installation of apps from any source. Now the disclaimer: Do this at your own risk, Apple will frown on this at the Genius Bar and although this is completely legal, your warranty may be voided. Now that that's out of the way, I don't hesitate one millisecond to recommend evasi0n.com.  The evasi0n app (there's a version for Mac, Linux and Windows) is a simple tool to jailbreak any iOS device and works with the current iOS release (6.1.2).  The entire process of downloading and running evasi0n, following the simple instructions to jailbreak your device and waiting for a couple of reboots takes less than 5 minutes. So far I've jailbroken 4 devices, 2 iPhone 5s, an iPhone 4 and an iPad third gen.  All four were running iOS 6.1.2 and all went without a hitch.

Now, my iPhone is a perfectly-functional wifi sniffer and my iPad has a terminal app that is as useful as the one on my Macs.  That's just the beginning. I can now browse, create and delete files on all my devices like they were just another node on my network. I can download files in Safari and save them any number of places on my device or in the cloud. I can Facetime and download apps larger than 50 MB over 3 & 4G thanks to a $2 app that lifts the built-in restrictions.  I can also stream Amazon InstantVideo and HBO Go to my AppleTV via AirPlay, something taken away from users because Apple is in the middle of a pissing contest with various media providers.  Now, I can modify my user interface in more ways than I could possibly know or describe short of creating a small encyclopedia volume. Unlimited apps within folders, folders within folders and a custom settings drop-down are the ones I like best, but there are as many permutations as grains of sand on the beach.

Just like a real computer.

I still haven't left the MacBook Pro at the office, but it does stay in the car more since I acquired all these new capabilities. After all, iOS is just a slimmed-down version of OS X optimized for minimal resources and maximum battery life. Its lack of functionality has little to do with resource constraints and much to do with Apple's tailoring. Besides, all jailbreaking does is remove artificial restrictions built into the operating system. After using this most recent jailbreak for two weeks, I've noticed no decrease in battery life or reliability, just a two-fold increase in capability. I'm not saying jailbreaking is right for everyone, just that its a proper solution for me. There certainly isn't any technical barrier.  My 14 year-old daughter jailbroke her iPhone with no assistance, so I'm pretty sure anyone reading this will have no problem at all. So what if Apple doesn't like it. After all, these devices belong to us.  Jailbreaking is just a way to say, "Thanks for all your help and protection Apple, but I'll take it from here."