Ringtones

Though, like last time, it may only be a short while before Apple releases yet another iTunes update to close up a ringtone loophole - free ringtones are back under iTunes 7.4.1.

iTunes 7.4.1 was released just the other day as a remedy to the free ringtones loophole discovered by a MacRumors forum reader which allowed any music file to be used on the iPhone as a ringtone simply by renaming the file to an .M4R extension and bringing it into iTunes.

Though 7.4.1 broke the original method, as it turns out, a very similar and only slightly more complicated method will let you accomplish the same feat under the latest version of iTunes.

Here's how:

Shortly after iTunes 7.4 was released, users were greeted by the discovery of a MacRumors forum user which revealed a way to sync custom ringtones to your iPhone for free, simply by renaming files. Immediately following was a great deal of speculation as to whether this "loophole" was left open by Apple intentionally, or if it was a rookie-like mistake.

Unfortunately, the latter seems to be the case. Within 24 hours of releasing iTunes 7.4, users were alerted

Don't let the name of iPhone hacker NateTrue's latest offering scare you away. Though you might think so from the name of it, "iBrickr" isn't designed to "brick" your iPhone. Instead, iBrickr is designed to provide easy-to-use, GUI-driven management of ringtones and third party applications for the iPhone.

Though the software has only existing for a little over a week, bitSplit, the creator of iFuntastic, has just released version 2.0. iFuntastic is a straightforward, easy to use, completely GUI based application that makes modifying your iPhone a breeze. Most importantly, it makes iPhone customization available to less technically inclined users who most likely were scared off by the hands on approach to modding your iPhone.

Take custom ringtones for example. When custom ringtones first became possible on the iPhone, initial tutorials included a 23 step process to perform the required hacks and get custom ringtones in place. With iFuntastic, it's all drag-and-drop simple. And, it's quick! No terminal work, no multiple pieces of software to install and setup.

Don't be mistaken, you're still hacking your iPhone, only iFuntastic is doing it for you.

So what's new in version 2.0? In addition to custom ringtones, you can also use iFuntastic to change your carrier logo or even reorganize the order of your home screen icons. All with the same ease as adding custom ringtones.