Filippo Bigarella is a prolific and respected developer in the jailbreak community. The Italian teenager has released no less than 20 jailbreak tweaks and hacks in Cydia, the jailbreak alternative to the App Store. His work (e.g., Springtomize) has appeared numerous times on sites such as this one. To put it simply, he makes some of the best jailbreak tweaks there are. He’s also a full-time student.
Bigarella has released yet another jailbreak tweak that animates the iPhone’s app icons. The tweak itself is pretty simple, but the reason behind its release is special: funding pediatric cancer research.
The tweak is called LivelyIcons, and it makes app icons bounce, wiggle and spin when you tap them. It lets you choose from a list of clever animations, such as a Pacman animation that makes the little yellow head quickly chomp across the iPhone’s screen. Bigarella recently tweeted a short video of LivelyIcons in action.
Something like this tweak wouldn’t normally be deserving of its own article, but Bigarella’s inspiration for making LivelyIcons is to be commended. On his personal blog, the student developer explains that he will be donating all of the proceeds from LivelyIcons to Italian pediatric cancer research. It’s obviously something that means a lot to him personally, and he encourages jailbreakers to buy a ” new, little, fun tweak” and “give something back.”
LivelyIcons costs $2 in Cydia. After processing fees and taxes, Bigarella will be able to donate $1 from each purchase.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
