How To Replace A Cracked iPhone Screen

Recently my wife's iPhone screen cracked and we have been looking into ways to get it replaced. I found this video on YouTube that is very helpful in describing how to replace a cracked iPhone screen, but it shows me that it would be a better idea to take it back to Apple since this looks very difficult and would void the warranty.  Here is the video for your reference though if you think you can do a repair like this:

iPhone Screen Replacement



iPhone 3GS Screen Replacement



Update:  If you are looking for parts to fix your iPhone screen then a good site to check out is iFixit.  This site has a lot of parts for the iPhone as well as other Apple products.  Sometimes it is cheaper to get the parts elsewhere, but iFixit has great tutorials for completing these DIY projects so it is worth checking out even if you decide the part could be found cheaper somewhere else.

Dawn of the Dead Review on DMR

This is a clip from my other website Dave's Movie Reviews. Follow the link to check out the full review of Dawn of the Dead and all the rest of my reviews. Enjoy!

Dawn of The Dead (2004)

Brief Detail

Director: Zack Snyder
Writer: George A. Romero for the 1978 original and James Gunn for this one
Release Date: 19 March 2004
Genre: Horror/Thriller/Drama

The Short Version

Raw Score: 792,093
Sharon Movie? No

Hats Off To iPhone Software Developers

I have often been harsh on the people out there making third party software for the iPhone because the programs are not perfect, but they deserve much more credit than that. The developers out there have been working so hard to bring us software that Apple has not provided us and Apple continues to block it out. It is a shame, but soon they will be able to make the software without Apple interfering.

I would just like to take a moment and say thank you to those that have been hard at work making these third party software applications for the iPhone. They have been great a lot of times and have actually been good enough to have Apple copy them. There are two things in particular that Apple has copied with this latest update.

Google Maps have copied Navizon with their pseudo GPS. The work that Navizon did to develop that software gave Google and Apple the idea to add that feature to Google Maps on the iPhone. It is rough to see the efforts of third party software developers being copied with the knowledge that the copy is actually the one that will win. Just because Google Maps is native on the iPhone Navizon will not have a chance. I would like to congratulate Navizon for their efforts though as they obviously have made the iPhone better.

Customization of the iPhone home screen is now possible with the new update 1.1.3 and it works a lot like the others that were out there. All of the jailbreaks that I got allowed me to download a program that would allow me to move icons on the iPhone home screen and that is exactly what Apple decided to copy. They can be moved around and then you can add pages to put more icons. This is essential if you have more icons to put on there with the third party apps. Thank you to those that developed the original software that allowed multiple pages on the iPhone home screen and the smooth way of seeing the other pages. Apple copied this almost exactly, but that should be the best type of flattery.

Thank you to those out there working hard to make third party software for the iPhone as it has made the iPhone better in every way.

iPhone 1.1.3 Jailbreak is Released

Now you can make your 1.1.3 iPhone do everything that your 1.1.2 iPhone could do.  The Jailbreak for the iPhone version 1.1.3 has been released and it has been confirmed to work.  

The only thing that you have to remember is that it is risky as with any jailbreak, but this time they are saying that it is more risky.  If the risk is worth the reward then check it out here.

Good luck to all iPhone wielders out there!  

For Those Who Want To Make Money Blogging

Some of you may have noticed the new ad on the right. Smorty is something that I have been curious about for a while since I started seeing it on other blogs around the blogosphere. I have a quest to get paid for blogging so I thought I would check it out and see what all of the fuss was about. There are many people who are successful at this, but it has only been something that I wondered how others would do. Smorty helps with the goal of getting paid for blogging. They help you by allowing you to get paid for advertising other blogs. On the flip side of things they also are a great place to go if you are looking to get some real links back to your blog or website. You can have Smorty blog advertising of your website and you will get more valuable links to your site. It is a win for everyone. Go check out the site for yourself and start making more money from your website!

iPhone 1.1.3 Downgrade to 1.1.2

iPhone FAQ has posted the instructions to downgrade your iPhone from software version 1.1.3 to 1.1.2 or earlier which is great news for those that want a jailbroken iPhone, but already upgraded the software.

It was originally thought that there was not going to be a way to downgrade the new iPhone software because of the new underlying firmware that was put in place, but iPhone development community has pulled through once again.

If you are looking to downgrade the iPhone from version 1.1.3 to an earlier version then you should head on over there so that you can once again modify your iPhone.

In case you are wondering about the picture on the right, it is from my movie review blog; Dave's Movie Reviews.

iPhone 1.1.3 Jailbreak

It turns out that the jailbreaking community has another jailbreak process in the works and have gotten it to work. The only problem is that it takes a lot more effort than most will be willing to take. Read the full story here.

The only problem with the whole jailbreaking effort now is that if you have the latest software upgrade 1.1.3 then there is not a way for you to jailbreak it yet. This is not a problem if you kept the iPhone on the old version 1.1.2, but now there is no going back. Good news though, Apple is releasing the dev kit to all of the software developers soon. This means third party software that will not be booted by Apple constantly.

I am excited to see what all of the developers can come up with if they have the tools and access they need to tap into the power of the iPhone. Stay tuned for updates on the third party software coming out.

Can You Prune A Fern?

It seemed like a time for a little pruning...

My fern has seen better days for sure.

iPhone Gets the 1.1.3 Update

As you all know the iPhone got its new update and it is a big one. If you want to still use the jailbreaking and third party software you need to wait until the iPhone unlocking community comes up with a way to unlock it.

The new update looks like it is a god one with a lot of additions to the Google Maps which we wanted from the start. It is still hard to understand why Apple did not include GPS on the original iPhone, but this cell tower/wifi triangulation thing will have to suffice for now. I will have to do further testing to see how accurate it actually is.

Does anyone think that $4 for a movie rental is a fair price. It is a great function that Apple is adding to iTunes, Apple TV, and the iPhone, but it seems a bit much for a movie rental that you have to watch on such a small screen unless you have Apple TV or your computer is hooked up to the TV. If anyone can charge that much leave it to Apple. I still download music from them sometimes even though it is a lot more expensive than other places. They just provide you with peace of mind when it comes to quality I guess.

iGoogle on iPhone

This is something that I have wanted for a while; iGoogle on the iPhone. I use iGoogle often to keep track of all of the RSS feeds that I am subscribed to. Now it is going to be even easier to check all of those RSS feeds from my iPhone.

Google has recently been working on making things work better on the iPhone. This is definitely where Google needs to be headed. It is hard to understand why it has taken them so long to make their sites and features available to iPhone users since there are so many of us, but at least they are addressing the issue. There is so much potential for Google and Apple to join forces to bring the best to the iPhone. I can not wait to see what they come out with next.

Two Pictures Of The Day

Here are a couple pictures that I took with my iPhone today:



I don't know why I thought it looked cool, but it really did to me. It was so foggy and yet the sun was trying to shine through.

Apple iPod Firewire Cable For iPhone

I ran into this post today at iPhone FAQ looking for some iPhone news. I thought it would be interesting if you could use the old iPod firewire cables for the iPhone, but are they really any faster. I have heard arguments about it being faster, but unless it was firewire 800 it wouldn't really have an edge over USB 2. Interesting that it actually works to charge the iPhone though even if it doesn't actually work to sync it up.

Apple Wins Awards For Excellence

I just read an interesting post at tuaw about our favorite company. I love Apple and it is great to hear that they are getting praise for their efforts. The only question I have is why the iPhone was not on the list, but maybe it just doesn't fit what they are considering for the awards. You still have to hand it to Apple for making the list twice. If you have a MacBook Pro then you know exactly why it is on the list.

10 Things I Love To Do With My iPhone

I have had the iPhone for about half a year now and I have compiled a list of ten things that I find myself doing the most. Here are the ten things in no particular order:

1. Surf the web at a snails pace; sometimes I click on a page to load and then go to the bathroom so that by the time I get back it will load the page

2. Watch tons of movies; tons of movies

3. Listen to some music when I am on a plane or something

4. Take a random picture here and there and show it off to my friends and family

5. Check my email every 3 minutes even though it is always junk

6. Check the time in between the times I check the email

7. Check the weather every fifteen minutes even though it is not accurate until about 5 minutes before it actually happens

8. Write a post for one of my blogs very carefully; it is guaranteed that there will not be a picture if I post from the iPhone, but it is nice to post whenever I want

9. Use the calculator to figure out how much I could have saved if I had not bought an iPhone

10. Use the iPhone's ability to set multiple alarms to wake me up in the morning; this makes snoozing for a hour or more very easy

I love my iPhone, but when it comes down to it I think it might be possible to survive without it. I would have to learn to live without the internet at my fingertips, email, weather, and very small movies, but it could be done. Thankfully I have an iPhone and do not have to worry about roughing it.

Is iPhone Jailbreaking or Unlocking Worth It?

It is a lot of work to make sure that everything keeps working when you use a product in a way that it was not intended to be used. I have unlocked my iPhone a couple of times, but it is now completely locked and jailed. Before you chastise me for selling out, here me out:

The first reason I restored my iPhone is simple; it was glitchy when it had third party software on it. I never had my iPhone crash or glitch at all until I unlocked and put third party software on it. I thought some of the things that I could put on it were cool, but it would often make the iPhone lock up and I would have to restart it. This never happened before I unlocked it and has never happened since I restored the iPhone and left it standard.

The second reason is that there are really no third party programs that compare to the user friendliness of the standard Apple software. I love the way that the operating system works on the iPhone and the interaction is amazing even still. However, I have to hand it to those out there that are working on their own and are able to make programs that can even work on the iPhone; it is very impressive to me.

The third reason is that you have to work hard to keep up with all of the changing software and updates. This may be more of a time issue for me, but it seems like a very difficult task just to keep it working with all of the iPhone firmware updates. This also cripples the third party software though; because it is constantly changing the third party software is constantly trying to keep up with the changes rather than actually being free to truly grow in its robustness. This leads to software that has a lot of potential, but is constantly being struck down by Apple.

Overall, unlocking or jailbreaking your iPhone can have a lot of great advantages, but I have found that it is too time consuming for me. I liked some of the options that the third party software added, but I truly enjoy my iPhone much more overall without the hacks. Once the actual third party software that natively works on the iPhone comes out it will be a lot better because all of those that are creating programs right now will have more freedom to make truly great programs that work flawlessly on the iPhone.