Quick/Dirty Cydia FAQ…
If you’ve been following me so far… congratulations! You’re free as a bird. But I’m not going to lie to you and say that the user experience of installing jailbroken apps can hold much of a candle to the App Store. (Once installed, though, you won’t even notice which apps are jailbroken and which not.) The jailbreaking community does not exactly overflow with newbie definitions for its terms. Here are the answers to some of the questions that may vex you early in your stay.
What’s the difference between Cydia and the Installer? - They’re two different versions of the same thing. Installer was the first, Cydia came along later and became much more popular (probably because of the auto-commerce ‘store’ features for paid apps). Cydia has a much bigger standard library, but I have found some apps in Installer only. Some apps are available through both. It’s a bit unruly, but that’s just the way it is: there are two. Install both of them.
What is a ‘source/repository’? - When Cydia or Installer mention ‘sources’ they usually aren’t talking about source *code*, but just sources of more lists of installable programs that are out there. Both app installers come knowing the addresses of certain ‘repositories’ of such app lists, but neither knows all of them on the planet - there are more repositories out there. This isn’t the App Store, so everybody isn’t forced to go through Darth Vader if they want to put out a red light saber. It’s decentralised. There are plenty of good apps in there by default, but the opportunity to add even more alternative, more homegrown sources, that’s a big plus. The reason you are jailbreaking is freedom, and this layer of complexity just means more of it, that’s its reason for being. And it’s a good one.
What’s with all the seasonboards? Springboard, Winterboard, etc.? And what is ‘respringing’? - The ‘Springboard’ is Apple’s internal developer name for the application that draws your ‘home screen’ and handles all the icon swiping. That’s your ‘springboard’. Respringing just means restarting your Springboard app, and it is done automatically after installing certain UI modifications and other types of apps. Winterboard and any other types of ‘boards’ besides the Springboard, are independent programmers’ attempts to follow Apple’s naming style: in Winterboard’s case, for a hack that allows you to customise and add themes to your Springboard.
Well, those are the main three sets of definitions that once I got them under my belt, I was able to navigate Cydia and the Installer with a lot less bewilderment. If I think of any more I will add them in future posts on this.
