iPhone hacker dream team edges closer to iOS6 jailbreak
A trio known for their prowess in hacking Apple's iPhone software indicated on Thursday they may be edging closer to breaking the improved security measures in iOS 6.
The hackers, who spoke at the Hack in the Box security conference in Kuala Lumpur, are famous for "jailbreaking" the iPhone's software, the term for using combinations of exploits to allow the installation of unauthorized software. Apple dislikes the practice, which is legal in the U.S. but can void warranties for modified devices.
The release of a new jailbreak is highly anticipated among the select group of iPhone users who resent the company's careful gatekeeping of applications it allows in its App Store.
But the process for creating a jailbreak has become much more difficult with each iteration of Apple's iPhone software, and many of the old tricks used to create jailbreak software in the past simply don't work anymore. French hacker Cyril, known by his Twitter handle "@pod2g," admitted that iOS6 so far has him stumped. Read more...
iPhone, Siri and mind control: the future evolution of the smartphone
It would be foolish to underestimate the importance of Apple [AAPL] Siri or other voice-activated intelligent assistants. These solutions are big steps toward new user interfaces: one day your iPhone may be controlled by your mind.
Mental machinery
Sounds far-fetched? Perhaps so, but rest assured work’s already taking place to perfect the mind-controlled computer, a topic researched by Macintosh user interface expert, Jef Raskin (RIP).
“Mind-reading has been wishful thinking for science fiction fans for decades, but their wish may soon come true,” IBM said. “You would just need to think about calling someone, and it happens.” IBM believes it will be making mind-controlled PCs and phones by 2016.
In a December press release, IBM explains: “Scientists in the field of bioinformatics have designed headsets with advanced sensors to read electrical brain activity that can recognize facial expressions, excitement and concentration levels, and thoughts of a person without them physically taking any actions.” Read more...
Apple’s iPhone 5 invite sparks new spike in trade-ins
Apple's cryptic invitation on Tuesday to an event set for next week triggered another surge in trade-in activity by consumers wanting to unload older iPhones in time to buy the new model.
Some trade-in companies registered spikes on Tuesday that were as high as 300% above the week before. Apple issued invitations to reporters, bloggers and analysts for a Sept. 12 event that day.
Because the invite features a large number "12" casting a shadow resembling a "5," the expectation is that Apple will roll out a new smartphone called the "iPhone 5" next Wednesday. Read more...
White hat warns against iPhone SMS spoofing bug
Security researchers have discovered an iPhone bug that allows for spoofed SMSes with bogus return addresses to be sent to fanbois.
The bug creates a means for interested parties to send SMS messages to affected handsets that appear to come from any (arbitrary) number that the sender specifies. The issue specifically affects iPhone-fondlers because of the way Apple's iOS handles the User Data Header component of SMS text messages, which defines advanced features only used in smartphones. Specifically, iPhones don’t display the phone number of the indivdual who sent you a message, just whatever name they choose to type in.
Using the flaw, an attacker might be used to spoof messages from either banks or credit card firms, perhaps inviting potential marks to visit websites under the control of hackers. As such it poses a phishing risk, especially with the increased use of mobile banking, to say nothing about the use of text messages to mobiles for out-of-band online banking authentication.
Pod2g, the white hat security researcher who discovered the bug, said the flaw has existed since the beginning of the implementation of SMS in the iPhone, and is still there in iOS 6 beta 4.
In a blog post, Pod2g explains the impact of the bug. Read more...
Analyst tallies perks of September launch of new iPhone, iPad
Increased talk of a September launch of the next iPhone, as well as a new, smaller iPad -- if accurate -- would make it easier for Apple to erase the bad taste of the second quarter and beat its own lowered expectations this quarter, a Wall Street analyst said today.
Brian White, of Topeka Capital Markets, said Apple would be smart to ship the new smartphone and tablet in September -- part of the third calendar quarter -- rather than duplicate its 2011 timetable, when it launched the iPhone 4S in early October, or the fourth quarter.
"A September launch for the iPhone 5 would be significant for the stock price, especially given the recent concerns around the June quarter weakness in the iPhone and a weak September quarter outlook," said White in a Monday note to clients. Read more...
Apple’s popularity boosts Objective-C language past C++
Thanks to the popularity of Apple's iPad and iPhone mobile devices, the Objective-C language has overtaken C++ in Tiobe's monthly assessment of programming language popularity.
Objective-C, the language used for developing applications to run on Apple's mobile devices, was ranked the third most-popular language in the July edition of the Tiobe Programming Community Index, followed by C++ in fourth place. Released this week, the index has Objective-C used by 9.335 percent of developers and C++ used by 9.118 percent. The two languages swap rankings from last month, when C++ was used by 9.358 percent of developers and Objective-C by 9.094 percent. Read more...
Former AT&T exec leaked iPhone, BlackBerry sales figures
A former marketing executive at AT&T has pleaded guilty to charges related to an insider trading scheme in which he leaked sales information about Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's BlackBerry devices to members of an investment community.
Alnoor Ebrahim, 57, of Alpharetta, Georgia, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ebrahim provided nonpublic information about device sales to members of an investment community, described as an expert networking firm, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Read more...
iPhone denies existence of Gibraltar, other bits of British empire
The iPhone will not accept that people live in Gibraltar, a reader has pointed out to us, highlighting that the phone will not acknowledge this as a possibility when users are entering country names in their address book.
Android phones let users type in country names manually when adding addresses to contacts, while iPhones require you to choose from a list of Apple-selected countries of the world. And in the Apple universe, Gibraltar is not on the map. Read more...
Crazy Geckos: Nitot on Mozilla’s post-Firefox mobile crusade
First came the BlackBerry, bringing the smartphones for suits perfected by RIM to consumers. Next came the iPhone, which quickly hoovered up 23 per cent of the market. But the iPhone came at a price: the freedom of users and coders. It is tightly controlled by Apple, as Adobe quickly found to its cost with Flash.
Next up was Android. In just four years, Android exploited consumers' desire to poke and stroke their phones to become the world's most popular smartphone OS – burying the iPhone – with 59 per cent of the market.
Android had a plus: freedom of choice for both coder and consumer thanks to an open-source code base.
Honeycomb changed things: the Android code was yanked back inside the Googleplex as Mountain View asserted control over builds and contributions. Read more...
Weotta Go: An iPhone App That Suggests Activities For Right Now
Here’s an iPhone app for those moments when you’re wondering, “Okay, I’ve got some free time right now — what should I do?”
Weotta Go is actually the latest product from Weotta, a startup that launched at TechCrunch Disrupt last year. At the time, the company had built a website that helped people make plans, such as figuring out where to eat dinner tonight. The iPhone app, on the other hand, is more focused on spontaneity — say you’re at work and want to find somewhere nearby to grab a sandwich, or you’ve just met up with some friends and don’t know where to head next. Read more...
TNW Pick of the Day: PowerSketch transforms your iPhone snaps and videos into artwork
I don’t know about you, but I’ve just about had my fill of so-called Instagram alternatives, though I do still occasionally bust out Instagram itself if I’m looking to taint some snaps with a pseudo 1960s feel.
But what about apps that transform snaps into sketches? Well, PowerSketch for iOS has you covered there.
As with retro photo apps, there are already a slew of photo-to-sketch apps out there, such as My Sketch and Sketch Me. But PowerSketch is a worthy addition to the family offering a simple, streamlined way to quickly turn your images into artwork. Oh, and PowerSketch also lets you create arty videos based on the exact same effects available for your photos. Read more...
Apple updates iOS, mum on Wi-Fi, battery fixes
Apple has released an update to its iOS mobile operating system, version 5.1.1, which it claims remove some bugs and improves reliability of some options, but which does not address the wireless connectivity problems – well, at least not overtly – that have had some fanbois fuming.
The update, released Monday, is for the iPhone 3GS and later, the third and fourth-generation iPod touch, and the iPad and iPad 2 – presumably by "iPad", Apple means both the original iPad and the third-generation iPad, aka "The new iPad". Read more...
Appvetica turns the iPhone and iPod Touch into a controller for Wii-like iPad gaming
While there’s no doubt that tablets are becoming a huge market for gaming, the touch screen interface provides a number issues for both gamers, who want a quality experience, and developers who have to adapt to a control-pad-free environment.
However, one Polish startup is giving developers the tools to provide a more functional gaming experience and free your thumbs. Read more...
Microsoft blasts Google over iPhone browser tracking, pushes IE9 while it’s at it
With Google acknowledging that it utilised features in its services to bypass Apple’s built-in security measures in its Safari mobile browser to track users, Microsoft has taken the opportunity to join the debate, condemning the search giant and using it as a platform to tout the security of its own browser, Internet Explorer 9.
Remarking that Google’s tracking practices are “not new”, Microsoft’s blog post entitled ‘Browse Without Being Browsed’ accuses the company of circumventing the privacy protections in Apple’s mobile browser “in a deliberate, and ultimately, successful fashion.”
Microsoft then proceeds to list how its Internet Explorer 9 browser has some of the “strongest privacy protection in the industry,” highlighting its Tracking Protection feature and how it puts users in control of their actions online.
“Not Google. Not advertisers. Just you,” Microsoft declares. Read more...
Apple to ban stealthy iPhone contact data harvesting
Shortly after two U.S. Congressmen asked Apple to answer questions about iPhone and iPad apps that snatch users' contact lists without permission, the Cupertino, Calif. company promised it will address the issue with a future software update.
Earlier today, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook asking him about iOS apps that have harvested users' address book information without permission.
Waxman and Butterfield cited reports that Path, which sells an iOS online journal app, was grabbing users' address books and uploading them to its servers. After the allegations went viral, Path's CEO apologized and said the company deleted the collected address books from its servers. Read more...