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Apple’s never been really serious about Mac gaming… which makes it all the more miraculous that we’re currently living in a golden age of Mac gaming, largely through the efforts of Valve Software to bring native ports of their Source engine games as well as the Steam digital delivery service to OS X.

But now Valve is doing one better. They’ve just announced that they’ll be sharing a lot of their graphics code for the Mac with developers on Steam, which they characterize as the hardest work of bringing a title to the Mac.

Valve’s a great company, but they aren’t doing this out of sheer benevolence: as it turns out, even old Steam games released for the Mac have seen 15-20% sales bumps across all platforms, and that number’s only going to rise. That means more money in Valve’s pockets. There’s huge money in Mac gaming, and even if Apple is mysteriously unwilling to capitalize upon that, it’s good to know that savvy developers like Valve know a good opportunity when they see it.

[via TUAW]

If the iPad is considered a mobile PC (as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer views the Apple tablet), the Cupertino, Calif. consumer electronics company jumps from a seventh-place mobile PC maker to No. 3, according to Deutsche Bank. Adding tablet devices to the portable PC mix means Apple passes several more traditional notebook makers, the analyst says.

“When including the iPad as part of the NB [notebook] market, writes Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore, “Apple leapt over Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba and Dell in terms of global market share.”

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If you can get it to load, Jailbreak Me is the one of the simplest jailbreak solutions yet. Just visit the site on Mobile Safari and — if you can get it to load — your iOS device running 4.0 or 4.0.1 is jailbroken, no reboot required.

Unfortunately, when it was released yesterday, there were caveats: FaceTime and MMS got knocked out of commission with the jailbreak.

Luckily, Jailbreakme.com has now been updated with a fix to the FaceTime and MMS issues. Already jailbroken? Just open Cydia and upgrade when you’re prompted to.

Finally, here’s the best news: if you’re waiting for a compatible unlock, it should be available in the next 48 hours.

If you’re a BlackBerry warrior who does business in the futuristic desert city of Dubai, it’s about time to consider switching to an iPhone: the telecommunications authority in the United Arab Emirates will be blocking some BlackBerry services come October.

The issue is one of government surveillance. BlackBerries send encrypted data to oversea servers through their own messaging layer, which means that local authorities can’t read that data. The iPhone doesn’t handle messaging, e-mail and the web in the same fashion, making it exempt from the UAE’s criticisms.

Research in Motion has garnered official criticism due to its encryption scheme before. India also threatened to ban Blackberries at a certain point, prompting RIM to ultimately cave on their position. That’s less likely to happen in the UAE: it’s the difference between a potential subscriber base of a billion and a hundred million.

You can view this story in one of two ways as an iPhone owner. On the one hand, if you go to the UAE with your iPhone, the government at least wants the option of snooping on you. On the other hand, at least you can use its full array of services while you’re there… an option that now appears to be completely off the table for BlackBerry owners.

Buy a case or a dock at an Apple store emblazoned with the “Made for iPod” seal of official Cupertino approval, and you put a twenty percent commission directly into Apple’s pockets.

Needless to say, Apple’s just as protective of that revenue stream as some shadier third-party accessory makers are of trying to weasel their way out of paying it. Now there’s a showdown coming: Apple is taking a number of these more scurrilous and skinflint accessory makers to court, saying that the products they make “are of inferior quality and reliability, raising significant concerns over compatibility with and damage to Apple’s products.”

Apple’s suit names Accstation, Boxware Corporation, Crazyondigital, Eforcity Corporation, Everydaysource, Itrimming, and United Integral, and might expand to include twenty other companies.

Of course, this isn’t the only front where Apple is waging this particular crusade: they also frequently change their “Made for iPod” specifications, rendering old accessories obsolete with every new product or new firmware release.

In total, Apple’s out for blood… but something tells me that no matter how far they take this, there’s little they can do to squeeze that blood from the stone of all third-party accessory makers, especially the ones originating from Chinese companies and Taiwanese gadget sweatshops.

Ruh roh! It looks like Apple has an excuse to shutter all the front facing cameras on every iPhone 4 sold after last week. Apple’s notorious grip on it’s no porn in iOS apps policy won’t protect anyone from the adult entertainment industries interest in making tons of money with the iPhone 4’s FaceTime video chat feature.

I agree with this report on Techcrunch — it is interesting that Apple has removed the videos demonstrating the antenna problems on smartphones made by rival companies. Those videos were originally posted on a special antenna page at Apple.com.  Now suddenly — poof they’re gone.

Last week the U.S. government surprised everyone by announcing that jailbreaking, root access, and carrier unlocking was a legal option for buyers of smartphones that want to access apps not sold by the manufacturer or to free the handset for use on the network of their choice.

After this decision it is likely that more people will be jailbreaking their iPhones, iPads, or iPod touches. There are over 100 million iOS devices in circulation and it is thought that a mere fraction of these are jailbroken.

Jailbreaking isn’t necessarily an easy thing to do, but there are many how-to’s (including our own below) that will explain to you how to do it. The problem with that is that you need to find the right one to fit your iOS device. That isn’t easy with the plethora of iOS versions and different iOS device models out there until now.

The Jailbreak Matrix solves that problem. The Matrix is a chart that will show you the details you need to jailbreak your specific iOS device and its version of iOS. It will even tell if you if a jailbreak doesn’t exist, provide download links for firmware and iTunes, and versioning information for firmware and baseband (if appropriate). The information provide is likely to help you to prevent bricking your device.

You can view the  Jailbreak Matrix and find the jailbreaking how-to suitable for your circumstances or you can check out Culf of Mac’s Jailbreak Superguide. Regardless of the option you choose you can jailbreak most iOS devices in no time at all.

Is your iOS device jailbroken or unlocked? What circumstances drove you to wanting to do that in the first place? Tell us all about it in the comments.

iOS hackers have released jailbreakme.com, a browser-based jailbreak utility for the Apple iPhone 4, 3GS, and 3G when running iOS 4 or 4.0.1. The jailbreak is reminiscent of one of the original jailbreaks for the original iPhone.

In addition to the above devices the jailbreak is compatible with an iPad running iOS 3.2 and 3.2.1 and an iPod touch 3G running iOS 4.0.

DVD to iPhone Converter for both Mac and PC is a handy application that allows you to transfer your DVD movies in to MP4 files optimized for your iPhone 3G, 3GS or 4.

It’s incredibly simple to use: just stick your favorite DVD in to your computer, select the appropriate movie file and then click “convert.” When it’s done, drag the MP4 file in to your iTunes library and sync it to your device.

This application is a must for any movie fan, and the giveaway which will last just over a week will save you $29. All you need is a Facebook account.

Visit iSkySoft’s Facebook page, and click on the “like” button to become a fan. Fill in your name and email address and then download the application. Be sure to click on the “get keycode” link to get the serial key sent to you via email.

Get it before the offer ends and enjoy your movies on the move without buying them again on iTunes!

We’d like to ask our Canadian readers for help with a story we’re working on about the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 4 just launched in Canada on Friday, and Canadian buyers are able to buy the device unlocked (if it’s bought from Apple rather than a carrier).

We’re looking for readers who are getting an unlocked iPhone 4 and can test it on Wind Mobile’s network to see if it can support 3G data speeds.

Why do we want to test the iPhone 4 on Wind Mobile’s network?

Wind Mobile is an up-and-coming carrier that uses the same GSM network technology as T-Mobile in the United States.

The iPhone is rumored to be coming to T-Mobile USA in the fall, breaking Apple’s exclusive deal with AT&T. However, it’s not clear whether the iPhone 4 has the right radio hardware to support T-Mobile’s 3G data network.

We’re told Wind Mobile in Canada has the same network infrastructure. If it works on Wind Mobile’s network, it should work on T-Mobile’s.

T-Mobile’s 3G data network operates on the 1700/2100 MHz bands. According to Apple’s specs, the iPhone 4 works on the 2100 UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA band, but not the 1700 band, which has led some to conclude that it is incompatible with T-Mobile’s 3G network.

However, there is some debate whether Apple simply didn’t list the 1700 band, which seems to be the convention when listing such specs. And no one has yet tested the iPhone 4 on T-Mobile’s network in the U.S. Despite the efforts of the Dev Team, there isn’t yet a publicly available unlock for the iPhone 4.

This is why we’d like help testing an unlocked iPhone 4 on Wind Mobile in Canada.

If you can help out, please email us at news (AT) cultofmac.com. In return, we’ll send you some goodies in the mail.

UPDATE: In the comments below, reader @Qorax tried a Wind Mobile SIM in a brand new, unlocked iPhone 4 he purchased over the weekend. Unfortunately, the SIM card didn’t work at all: no voice or data. We would have predicted he would have at least got voice. iPhone users here in the U.S. who unlock their phones and use T-Mobile SIM cards get voice and data — but Edge only.

PS: @Qorax’s comment is worth reading to see how he beat the gigantic line for the iPhone 4 at his local Apple Store. Tricky!

The iPad is a fantastic kitchen computer, no question, but consider me skeptical of the FridgePad, a £49 magnet-backed aluminum iPad case meant to allow you to easily slap your Apple tablet to the side of your Fridgidaire.

You know how sometimes you’ll put something heavy under a weak fridge magnet and it’ll slowly slide down the door until it smacks onto the floor? Yeah, that, except with an easily splinterable 1.6 slab of glass.

The iPhone and iPod Touch would make great universal remotes, except for their sad lack of built-in infrared functionality. There’s more than a few third-parties who will add the functionality to your iOS device for a price, but these usually involve bulky cases or easy-to-lose dongles.

That’s why I like GEAR4’s solution so much. Called the Unity Remote, it’s an infrared hub that talks to your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad via Bluetooth through a free to download app. You place it anywhere, and when you send it a command from your device, it uses five infrared emitters to blast out the appropriate signals to any home theater device within its 360 degree line of site.

Very cool. It will be available in October, and it looks like it’ll sell for $99.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave Apple a left-handed compliment Thursday, telling analysts the Cupertino, Calif company has “sold more than I’d like them to sell. We think about that.”

But Ballmer, who in 2009 infamously described Apple increasing Mac sales as a “rounding error” implied there is room for more players in the tablet market. Referring to the iPad, the Microsoft executive said “I don’t think there is one size fits all,” according to a transcript by Business Insider. “I’ve been to too many meetings with journalists who spent the first 10 minutes of the meetings setting up iPad to look like a laptop,” he added.

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Although he’s still a Blackberry man on the mobile front, President Obama is a MacBook Pro user when it comes to his day-to-day work, as this video demonstrating the new healthcare.gov site makes abundantly clear. I particularly like the sitcom-style sticker slapped on the back of the 17-inch MacBook Pro, obfuscating its glowing Apple emblem. It’s clearly a MacBook, but the White House is still being coy, lest the fact that President Obama uses an Apple laptop somehow be misconstrued as, you know, an actual endorsement of the best computer brand on Earth.

MacWorld’s latest cover isn’t really special in that it features an iPhone 4 recursively shot by photographer Peter Belanger on another iPhone 4. Although that wouldn’t have been possible on previous iPhones due to resolution issues, lighting’s ultimately the most important aspect of professional photography, not megapixels or the lens. In ideal lighting conditions, getting a professional level shot from pretty any digicam isn’t all tha hard.

What I find more intriguing is that Belanger also did all of the post-photographic processing on the iPhone 4. Specifically, he used the $3 PhotoForge app to remove a green cast from the resulting image, and the $1 Resize-Photo to boost the DPI for publishing. That’s a little bit of a fudge, but all is forgiven: the resulting cover looks great.

We scan the globe for news about the iPhone 4. Today we visit Australia and France, two countries bringing Cupertino a mixed message about its latest handset. In the land down under, a large newspaper gives the iPhone 4 a big ‘thumbs-up’ while France’s carrier SFR warned iPhone 3GS owners the iOS4 update could slow them down.

“The iPhone 4 is not just a slight improvement over the iPhone 3GS, it is a massive jump,” writes Stephen French, a technology columnist for Australia’s The Daily Telegraph. Although French managed to lower his reception quality by employing the “death grip,” he wrote calls were still unaffected. “I even managed to watch a YouTube video over 3G while in the ‘death grip,’ he told readers.

Wisely, Apple has always been adverse to using other people’s technology to drive its business, so with competitor Google supplying the tech for so many Apple services, it’s only common sense that Cupertino’s interested in taking the reins back.

Back in April, Apple managed to do just that, replacing its previous location service partners Google and Skyhook in favor of their own location databases… but only on iOS 3.2 or above.

If the 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference was centered on the iPhone and iPad, could next year’s gathering by Apple focus on the Mac? That’s the implication made Friday by one report. Apple is now seeking help to build “a revolutionary new feature” within the core of Mac OS X, the Cupertino, Calif. company writes in a job posting.

While the Mac OS X was mostly overlooked at this year’s WWDC in San Francisco, that could change next year as Apple continues to battle Google for the consumer tech spotlight.

The iPad can be a handy to have on your next vacation, whether you need to research flights for a quick escape from your cousin’s wedding, keep the kids entertained on the plane or figure out which road is the least congested in a strange city.

Here are five free iPad apps we wouldn’t leave home without.

Kayak Explore + Flight Search
Kayak is the Ferrari of cheap flight search info — and a lot of users (including me) think the search engine works better in the iPad version than it does online. One thing is certain: the roomy iPad screen makes it easy to search for your flight, drilling down results by airline, number of connections, airport, times and price.
And, in the latest version, if you’re trying to figure out just how many miles you can put between you and your ex with the cash wadded up in your pocket, there’s a handy budget/distance calculator that will tell you just that. The caveats: hotels and car rental info is provided through Safari and you can’t book flights directly from the app.

It only makes sense that the company who brought us the first mouse would try to re-invent the way desktop computers are used. Apple is attempting to bring multi-touch to the masses with its new Magic Trackpad. While this might seem like just a trackpad, this could be a sneak peek on how Apple plans to implement iOS onto OS X. Regardless of their intentions, this is the most exciting input device since the Magic Mouse. Read the rest after the break.

In the wake of the flood of Apple toys launched earlier this week, we missed the launch yesterday of the The $500 HDC-SDX1 by Panasonic, which they’re calling the world’s lightest 1080i HD camcorder.

Besides a dry weight of 185 grams — about the same weight as the first iPod — the camcorder can be attached to a Mac and used as a webcam (albeit an expensive one). And like the much-less expensive HM-TA1 we mentioned yesterday, the SDX1 supports Apple’s iFrame format introduced last October.

Other stuff worth noting includes a 35.8mm wide-angle lens, 23x zoom and a new optical-electrical hybrid image-stabilization system.

Here’s one more trick exclusive to the iPhone 4: Launch new app You Gotta See This, pan the camera over a large subject and the app will create a panograph — a collage of still photographs that together form a larger image — using the series of still images just captured while you were waving your iPhone around. The key to this wizardry is the 4’s gyroscope, which helps the app place the images exactly where they should be — which is why the app won’t work on any iPhone but the 4.

Once created, masterpieces can be saved, emailed or shared via Twitter or Facebook.

You Gotta See This is $2; hopefully the developers will use some of the profits to buy the app a better name.

Mothers possess skills varied and wide, and recent research shows Moms are particularly adept at using their iPhones.  The Huffington Post has developed a list of Top iPhone Apps for Moms, By Moms:

Never underestimate a mom with an iPhone.  Research from Greystripe [PDF] show that moms love iPhone apps, and are downloading apps in various categories from games to productivity.

While most mobile developers are men, a growing number of opportunistic women are venturing into app development to create apps catered to other women. And many of these women are part of a group called Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers who share best practices on making and marketing mobile apps.

HuffPo’s list includes some nicely done iPhone and iPod touch apps that deal with emergency infant medical care, learning sign language, communicating with autistic children, and – helpful for Moms, Dads and chauffeurs of all kinds – roadtrip bingo.

Oh, the days when mobile phone veteran Motorola was hawking the slim Razr while competitors had bricks. Darn these young whipper-snappers like Apple and their iPhone doo-hickeys. Motorola, maker of the Verizon Droid, now finds itself being outsold by Apple. The Cupertino, Calif. company sold 8.4 million iPhones compared to 8.3 million handsets for the Schaumburg, Il.-based Motorola during the second quarter.