If you have been looking for a way to make your iPad feel right at home with your personal computer instead of having the limited mobile interface on that huge screen, then look no further than a new jailbreak tweak dubbed Quasar by iOS developer Pedro Franceschi. We aren’t claiming in any way that this jailbreak tweak makes your iPad a personal computer, however it adds an important feature to the iPad that most personal computers come with – window management.
As illustrated by the screenshot above, applications run in windows instead of launching as full-screen applications, which is the way iOS forces them run by default. This allows the applications to run side by side to one another so you can multitask without ever having to use the iOS multitasking App Switcher to do so (just like you would with Mac OS X or Windows). You can manually adjust the size of each window using the resizing handle in the bottom right-hand corner. You can force them into full-screen if you prefer it that way, and then easily slide back into window view. Another really interesting feature the developer included is the ability to run iPhone applications in their native size. This means you can use iPhone applications right next to iPad applications without stretching them and losing image quality:
Of course, because these applications are running live side-by-side, only the iPad has support for it. It would not be practical to have applications running side-by-side on the iPhone or iPod touch because as aforementioned, the iPad has enough room to escape the limited mobile interface, whereas the iPhone or iPod touch is just bogged down to that small screen. It should also be noted that this tweak will require more memory and processing power to use in comparison to the multitasking App Switcher.
The developer mentions in the Cydia description how Quasar is integrated into the multitasking App Switcher in such a way where tapping the close button on an application running in window-view will cause the application to close, however it will not quit the application from running in the background. You will also notice the applications in window view respond to your actions in the App Switcher, such as closing an application in the App Switcher will close the window of the related application. Quasar also includes integration with the App Store, Safari, and YouTube applications, so when you tap on a link that opens one of those applications, it launches in a separate window instead of launching one of the applications in full-screen, as iOS would normally.
Below, the developer shows us a quick demonstration of Quasar in action, to help use better understand the concept:
The idea is a great one for the iPad, however the Quasar jailbreak tweak will set you back a hefty $9.99 to grab a copy. The foundation for finding Quasar to be a useful tweak depends on how you prefer using your iPad. If you prefer the limited mobile interface, then Quasar might not be for you. On the other hand, if you want to use applications on your iPad similarly to how you use them on your personal computer at home, then you would definitely want to give Quasar a try. You can find Quasar on the BigBoss repository and you need to be running iOS 5 on your iPad to use it.
Sources: Pedro Franceschi
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