Screens is one of many VNC apps available for the iPad and iPhone. Screens 2.0, which was released today, takes the concept of remote controlling a Mac or PC to another level. The update offers some very nifty features to the two year old app including integration with iCloud Siri, and AirPlay.

Screens isn’t one of the cheapest VNC solutions for iOS – it has a price tag of $19.99. The software backs up its somewhat steep cost by delivering a great user experience.

VNC apps for iOS do double duty compared to their desktop counterparts. They serve as a way of working on a remote computer, which is useful for tasks such as troubleshooting or server maintenance. They also serve as a way to run desktop software on an iPad or iPhone – something that can be very useful if you need to use a specific piece of software for which there isn’t an iOS equivalent.

The developers at Edovia took both of those uses into consideration when designing Screens. As a result, the app has features like an always available toolbar, an extended keyboard that includes a row of special keys like the command and arrow keys, and a customizable “shortcuts keyboard” (shown above) that contains special key combinations. It also includes significant gesture support that can be customized to your working style.

The new update offers a handful of really great additions. There’s support for syncing configurations across your devices using iCloud, the ability to integrate with Siri’s dictation features, and AirPlay mirroring – which effectively gives you access to one of the features of Mountain Lion. Edovia also introduced a new service called Screens Connect that is designed to make it easy to connect to computers over the Internet.

The big advantage to Screens isn’t so much its collection of features even though they’re pretty impressive. It’s more the mindset that went into developing the original app and the update. It’s very clear that a lot of thought went into how and why people would use the product. The result is a polished and user-centric option that takes VNC from being a very basic set of capabilities and makes into the basis of a truly useful solution.

 

 

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We’re huge fans of the MyAssistant tweak here at Cult of Mac, so much so that it recently featured in our guide to supercharging Siri on your iPhone. And its latest update makes it even more of a must-have for jailbreakers. In addition to some handy bug fixes, it also gets new features like ability to download content, open apps, turn on your flash, and more using Siri.

The 1.1 update is available to download now from Cydia, and if you don’t already have MyAssistant, you can find it for $0.99 in the BigBoss repo. It adds to the terrific enhancements it already provides to Siri, by allowing you to toggle your flashlight on and off, tweet messages using your voice, and even download content to your device.

Furthermore, the latest version fixes that pesky “I don’t know what you mean” error, and other little bugs.

The full list of changes includes:

• Download with Siri by saying ‘Download’
• Open any app with Siri by saying ‘Open app name’
• Send a tweet with Siri by saying ‘Tweet’
• Dismiss Siri command
• Flashlight toggle
• Added French and German language support
• Shorter height bar option
• Fix for ‘I don’t know what you mean by’ error
• Mic bug fix
• Custom background fix

MyAssistant is one of the best Siri tweaks you can grab for your jailbroken device right now, so if you haven’t already, be sure to check it out.

[via iDownloadBlog]

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• Supercharge Siri On Your iPhone 4S With MyAssistant [Jailbreak]
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• How to Update Twitter and Facebook with Siri on Your iPhone 4S
• Skype for Mac Updated to Fix Critical Security Flaw

If you’ve jailbroken your iPhone 4S, you have access to some great tweaks for adding functionality to Apple’s digital assistant, Siri. You can turn Siri into your personal translator, launch apps and toggle system settings, tweet, and and even change the look of the Siri UI.

We’ve collected the best tweaks in Cydia to help you supercharge Siri on your jailbroken iPhone 4S.

AssistantExtensions

AssistantExtensions is perhaps the ultimate jailbreak tweak for enhancing Siri on the iPhone 4S. With this incredible tweak you can use your voice to compose tweets, open all your of apps, search YouTube, and more. The best part is that AssistantExtension allows for developer plugins, so you can keep adding more features as new plugins are created. Did we mention that it’s all free?

MyAssistant

Many of MyAssistant’s features overlap with AssistantExtensions, but there are a few differences worth noting. You can create custom voice commands for settings toggles and even make your own custom conversations. You can also use photos from your device’s Camera Roll to customize Siri’s background. There’s some added customization for opening third-party apps as well. Grab it in Cydia for $1.

Hands-Free Control

This $3 tweak takes Siri to a whole other level. Instead of having to tap and hold the Home button, you never have to touch your iPhone to use the digital assistant. With a custom voice command, Siri will initiate itself from across the room. You could, for instance, set an alarm with Siri from bed without ever having to get up and grab your iPhone. Because Hands-Free Control is always running in the background, you may notice a slight drain in battery life, but nothing too detrimental.

Lingual

With Lingual, Siri becomes your personal translator. This incredible AssistantExtensions plugin will take a phrase you give Siri and translate it into another language almost instantly. There’s support for over 30 languages, including Spanish, German, French, Chinese, Russian and Hebrew. Lingual could very easily be a tourist’s best friend, and it’s available for free now in Cydia.

SiriLoveLyrics

Have Siri show you lyrics for your favorite tune. Just say “show text” or “show lyrics” while a song is playing in your Music app. Not bad for $1.

SiriLaunch

Because a double tap of the Home button is too difficult, the free SiriLaunch tweak adds a nifty little mic icon to the bottom left of your Notification Center.

TweetLine

TweetLine is a free plugin for AssistantExtensions that loads your Twitter timeline inside Siri’s interface. To trigger TweetLine in Siri, simply say the word “timeline.” The last 5 tweets from your timeline are displayed in plain text, but you can’t open links or specific profiles. It’s all very basic, but kind of neat if you have a quick second to kill and you want to see your most recent tweets.

TinyAssistant

TinyAssistant lets you resize the bottom Siri window to your liking. You can hide the “What can I help you with?” help dialog. Saying “help” into Siri will bring it back. Get it in Cydia for free.

Neurotech Siri

This is by far the greatest theme for Siri in Cydia. It’s like Siri meets sci-fi. Lots of the default interfaces in Siri have been skinned to match the theme, and you’ll notice how well done it is as you use it more. It’ll cost you $1 in Cydia and it does require Winterboard.

Siri Mic Colors

Purple Siri is soo boring. Why not change it up a bit? Once installed for free in Cydia, this simple package spices up your iPhone’s digital assistant with some rainbow flair.

Make sure to check out our roundup of the best jailbreak apps for the iPhone 4S!

More from Cult of Mac:

• How To Quickly Check Your Twitter Timeline With Siri [Jailbreak]
• Supercharge Siri On Your iPhone 4S With MyAssistant [Jailbreak]
• How To Change Siri’s Color On A Jailbroken iPhone 4S
• Turn A Photo Of Your Underpants (Or Anything Else) Into Siri’s Background Image [Jailbreak]
• Lingual Brings Speedy Voice Translation To Siri On Jailbroken iPhones

While registered developers have already been testing iOS 5.1 betas for some time, it seems the firmware holds several new features that Apple is yet to release to developers. A leaked “pre-GM” build has reportedly been obtained by a Portuguese iPhone blog, which reveals a new camera slider for the lock screen, and support for the Japanese language within Siri.

BlogdoiPhone claims to have a pre-Gold Master build of iOS 5.1. Gold Master is typically the final beta release before the public software is launched. While there are no major changes lurking within, there are a few subtle updates.

The camera button that appears on the lock screen under iOS 5 when you double-tap the home button is now gone. In its place is a camera slider, which you simply slide up to access the camera app. And you don’t need to tap the home button — the slider is always present.

Additionally, there is said to be support for the Japanese language within Siri on the iPhone 4S, which recent rumors have claimed would soon appear.

Despite months of beta testing, Apple’s iOS 5.1 public release still doesn’t appear to be close. It is believed that the company may be waiting to launch the update alongside its iPad 3, which is expected to appear on March 7.

[via MacRumors]

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• Apple Releases New Lion 10.7.3 Beta To Developers [Updated]
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A new jailbreak app called AssistantConnect claims to bring Siri to non-4S iOS devices without needing a proxy. Unlike previous ports, AssistantConnect lets you email your Siri data between jailbroken iOS devices to enable the digital assistant. It’s a much simpler process than having to setup your own network voodoo and rely on a server that may not even work anymore.

Sound too good to be true? There’s one catch…

You will need your own iPhone 4S to make AssistantConnect work on another device. For most, this makes AssistantConnect useless. But if you have a 4S and want to get Siri on your other iOS devices, you can give this hack a try.

First, you will need to have the free “Spire” jailbreak tweak installed on any non-4S device you want to run Siri on. On your jailbroken iPhone 4S, install AssistantConnect4S, then install AssistantConnect on your older iPhone or iPod touch.

Here’s the steps the developer outlines:

1. Once you’ve installed the AssistantConnect4S app for free in Cydia, reboot your iPhone 4S.
2. Open AssistantConnect4S and activate Siri. Say anything you like so that Siri can process your request.
3. Leave Siri, tap the “Email Siri Data” button in AssistantConnect4S, and send your 4S’s Siri data to another jailbroken iOS device.
4. Open the email on your non-4S iOS device with AssistantConnect and Spire installed. Open the attached file to get Siri running.

The process seems relatively straightforward, but you should be cautious about performing this type of workaround on your own devices. The developer recommends that you not install Siri on more than 5 of your own devices. There is no promise that AssistantConnect won’t break Siri on your iPhone 4S or even crash iOS. Apple could temporarily turn off (or even completely block) your Siri if it discovers that you’re sending too many requests from separate device IDs. Try this hack at your own risk.

Let us know if you can get Siri running on other iOS devices with AssistantConnect. Did you run into any problems, or did everything work smoothly?

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• Jailbreak Developers Release Free And Legal Siri Port In Cydia
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Rumors of added Siri language support have been swirling for a little while now. As it turns out, the digital assistant herself thinks she can already speak Japanese, despite the fact that the language isn’t officially supported yet.

Apple has said that it is adding Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian and Spanish support in 2012. Siri can already speak in English (with UK and Australian dialect versions), French and German. Language preferences can be configured in the iOS 5 Settings app on the iPhone 4S, and Japanese is not on option.

It’s interesting that Apple would leak such a detail this way. You can ask Siri “What languages do you speak?” or “Do you speak Japanese?” and find out for yourself.

(via 9to5Mac)

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• In Japanese, iOS 5′s New Siri Feature Sounds A Lot Like ‘Buttocks [Humor]
• Video: Watch the Fun iLingual Translation App Being Tested in Paris
• The iPhone 4S Is Twice As Fast As The iPhone 4, And Siri Has Raise To Speak [Video]
• Meet Siri, The Amazing AI Assistant For Your iPhone 4S That Can Understand Your Voice [Gallery]
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Siri is many things, but it seems she is not a good secret keeper. A few tipsters reached out and told us that Siri now speaks Japanese. Rumors earlier this month said Apple’s AI speech recognition interface would gain Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and possibly Russian. It now appears that Japanese is about to be announced, perhaps at the iPad 3 announcement next month. There is no word yet on Chinese or Russian, but those are also likely coming soon.

When Siri was announced in October, Apple said that that additional languages would follow this year.  Apple’s Siri FAQ says that she will support Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, and Spanish in 2012:

Language Support and Availability

Siri works exclusively on iPhone 4S. Siri understands and can speak the following languages:

• English (United States, United Kingdom, Australia)
• French (France)
• German (Germany)

In 2012, Siri will support additional languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, and Spanish.

Can I use Siri in any of these languages in other countries?

Yes. Siri can be enabled in any country, and you can choose to speak to it in English, French, or German. However, Siri is designed to recognize the specific accents and dialects of the supported countries listed above. Since every language has its own accents and dialects, the accuracy rate will be higher for native speakers.

Thanks Alex, AR and D.

Related articles

• Rumor: Next month, Siri should speak Russian, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese (9to5mac.com)

Jailbreakers have the ability to run a homegrown version of Siri on unsupported iOS devices, and it appears that Apple doesn’t like it. According to mixed reports, a large amount of unsupported Siri users are now unable to use Siri. Has Apple stepped up its game, or is this merely a routine update to the spunky digital assistant?

iDownloadBlog says that Apple has added a ”SetActivationToken” requirement for Siri to function properly. According to the report, Siri server users on Twitter are claiming that deleting the com.apple.assistant.plist file located in the jaibroken iOS device’s var/mobile/Library/Preferences/ folder fixes the issue.

Because the problem can be fixed so easy, it’s unclear as to whether this is a direct attack by Apple on non-4S Siri users. It could be a coincidence that this new token blocks unsupported access. To get Siri up and running on a non-4S device, jailbreakers must install Spire and set up their own SiriProxy server. The process isn’t for the faint of heart, and the number of unofficial Siri users can’t be too high. We’re hoping that Apple has bigger fish to fry, and that this added Siri token is something for the iPad 3.

Let us know if your Siri sever isn’t working anymore, and if the fix mentioned above worked.

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Apple has aired two new TV commercials for the iPhone 4S called “Road Trip” and “Rock God.” Both ads highlight Siri, the staple feature of the iPhone 4S. In classic Apple fashion, both spots are poignant and touching. The first ad features a couple on a trip, while the second tells the story of a teenager learning how to play guitar. Siri is used to find directions, send text messages, search Wolfram Alpha, and more.

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We’ve already shown you jailbreak tweaks like AssistantExtensions that let you tweet using your voice and Siri, and now there’s a way to easily read your Twitter timeline with Apple’s digital assistant. Using a simple keyword, you can have Siri show your recent tweets from within its linen window.

TweetLine is a plugin for AssistantExtensions that loads your Twitter timeline inside Siri’s interface. To trigger TweetLine in Siri, simply say the word “timeline.” The last 5 tweets from your timeline are displayed in plain text, but you can’t open links or specific profiles. It’s all very basic, but kind of neat if you have a quick second to kill and you want to see your most recent tweets.

I noticed a slight lag with TweetLine queuing up my recent tweets. It’s a shame that you can’t open links or actually interact with profiles, but that leaves room for improvement. The spacing between tweets also seems to be a little too much, so hopefully that will be fixed in a future update.

TweetLine is free and available in Cydia now, and you’ll need to also install AssistantExtensions to make it work.

More from Cult of Mac:

• Tweetbot 2 For iPhone Now Available, A Great Twitter Client Just Got Better
• Supercharge Siri On Your iPhone 4S With MyAssistant [Jailbreak]
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