May 21

-PictureMe is a small, simple tweak that adds a few options to Camera.app via a new button that’s added after installation. Tapping said icon presents users with options for turning the timer and rapid shot functions on and off, with settings to select the delay and number of photos to take for each option.The timer offers a delay anywhere between zero seconds to 25 seconds in 1 second increments, with the rapid shot function giving the option of taking up to 5 photographs in sequence.Adding the two main features often requested by iPhone users, this $1.99 tweak will be available soon via the Cydia app store, although there is no word yet as to when ‘soon’ is.

-Apple’s R&D team has been on a roll lately. The latest patent application describes an interesting privacy mode on displays for mobile gadgets that can steer display light beams in various directions, allowing only the person directly in front of the display to see its content.The trick for locking out peripheral viewing is a simple one, Apple argues. Picture elements comprising the display could be controlled by directing a light beam towards a liquid crystal material and steering it via microscopic mirror-like structures that apply a variable electrical control signal to the liquid crystal material. As a result, viewing can be restricted only to the person directly in front of the display. The privacy mode could be entered by touching a dedicated corner that would invoke a software setting for changing viewing angles, Apple wrote. The invention applies to a wide scope of devices, from handheld music players to smartphones to tablets and desktop computers.