Why firefox opted to use Bing as the default search engine I don't know. I don't read any of the developmental blogs on Firefox to know the answer to that. I know google search has taken some hits of late, but I still feel more comfortable with the google search results interface to want it as my default search engine on the address bar. One of the bigger changes in the last decade of browsing for me was the use of a single address bar up on top that also acts as the "search bar", nullifying the need for an additional "search field".

This change to Bing however and the use of a single address bar, makes changing the default keyword search not as user friendly as one might expect. So I did a little search and true enough there are several instructional manuals on how to change from Bing to Google. It's really not that difficult but why the Firefox team made it harder than it needed to be is another mystery altogether.

 

So I finally made the jump to jailbreaking my first generation iPad. It was a lot less painstaking than I had anticipated, with only a brief scare right after. So, what pushed me to do it. Well, several things really more than anything else it was the lack of mirroring capability that I really wanted to try out.

After a quick internal debate on my conscience i went ahead and prepped for the procedure, which turned out to be quite easy. I had already all the necessary files, thanks to an overly capricious nature of downloading stuff I have no idea if I actually have any immediate need for, LOL.

To my surprise there have been many vast and unbelievable improvements in the jail breaking scene since I last stepped foot on it. Cydia seemed much more streamlined and polished that it could easily be mistaken as a default application within iOS.

Years ago when jail breaking first became popular cracked apps was mostly the determining factor in pushing someone into jail breaking their device. This is no longer the case, in fact there are a host of very useful applications that are available on the Cydia store that I feel are "must haves" for every iOS owner.

Since the iPad is still relatively a new device some applications have yet to be maximized for the bigger real estate that the iPad offers. One of the things I hope sees an ipad upgrade is "Lockinfo" which makes it possible to show different kinds of information on the lock screen. There is even a plug-in that displays an HTC-esque appearance with the "sense" clock/weather icon. Pretty sweet except the tiny image itself looks out of place in such a big screen.

Another clear winner here is 3G unrestrictor and MyWi. Both have clear detrimental implications on the 3G carriers had they been available on the iOS App Store. The first app unlocks the restriction some apps impose for larger downloads (think no more than 20mb for App Store purchases over 3G). The second makes your iOS device a very handy mobile hotspot, being able to share the 3G interconnectivity with the rest of your gadgets is always a cool back up to have.

One final note of caution though is the availability of "cracked" applications. While not readily available one can easily hit up google to find sources on how to add the ability to install cracked applications. Free stuff is always nice but when you get it at the expense of someone's hard work then it might not lead to good things. Give the developers their due credit and buy the apps you use. I guess some justify installing cracked apps as a "test" but please remember, if you like the app and wish further development into it a few bucks thrown at the developers will go a long way.