News - page 2208

Amazon announced Tuesday morning the first chapter of Kindle books can now be embedded and viewed on web sites. “Kindle for the Web” also allows the initial chapter to be shared on Twitter, Facebook and e-mail.

“With Kindle for the Web, it’s easier than ever for customers to sample Kindle books — there’s no downloading or installation required,” Amazon Kindle Director Dorothy Nicholls said. Along with allowing authors to provide a sample of their books, the new Web application permits bloggers and website owners to earn money when visitors purchase a Kindle title on their websites.

Apple began shipping the new Apple TV this week and the new gadget isn’t in anyone’s hands yet as far as we know. So it came as a surprise when an iPhone developer, chpwn via Twitter, found a firmware update for it and posted a download link for it. The new firmware, “AppleTV2,1_4.1_8M89_Restore.ipsw,” a 242 MB download can be downloaded from Apple’s servers now.

Apple TV is running iOS, something people were only guessing about after it was announced, and now hackers are claiming that it can be jailbroken.

The Dev-Team has posted an entry on their blog stating that they had already successfully used SHAtter, an in development iOS 4.1 exploit, to jail break the new Apple TV firmware:

It’s looking like SHAtter is going to be the gift that keeps on giving.  Even though the new AppleTV isn’t yet in people’s homes, the firmware is available on Apple’s normal public distribution servers and SHAtter has been used to decrypt its keys!

The Apple TV being released this week isn’t setup to run third-party apps, but it is possible that an Apple TV Store could happen in the near future. Hypothetically that new store could allow content creators to sell their content directly to you via Apple TV. If this ever comes to pass I might be able to finally tell cable good-bye.

Long time readers of Cult of Mac may remember a series we carried a year or so ago, under the title WTF App Of The Week.

We’ve not had any of those apps for a while now, but I saw something today that made me reach for the old WTF-ometer, because this most certainly qualifies.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: Poo Log HD. Readers of a squeamish disposition may wish to stop reading right here.

So much for the laughable idea, spouted just months ago by some, that the iPad is just an iFad. Today, heavy-hitter Research In Motion, maker of BlackBerry smartphones, unveiled the PlayBook, a 7″-screen tablet at its annual developer’s conference in San Francisco.

“RIM set out to engineer the best professional-grade tablet in the industry'” said RIM President Mike Lazardis in a press release today about the tablet.

The new iPod nano’s diminutive size keeps inspiring geeks worldwide to a variety of hacks.  News today from Japan of the iSpeck’s ability to fit nicely inside the display slot on an old Sega Dreamcast VMU.

The Sega buttons do not control the iPod (yet?) but it’s safe to say this case offers good drop protection, and the headphone cord coming out the side doesn’t look as dorky as with an iWatch.

More photos and videos of the making on the vendor’s original Japanese website.  [via TUAW]

We’re giving away a very sophisticated bundle of apps this week. We’ll start out in the study, browsing through and listening to the Classics. Then we might dabble in a little alchemy with the flaming Professor Helsing! We’ll pick 5 random winners to win 4 great apps and if you want a chance to get your hands on some these iPhone apps this week, then follow the instructions carefully below:

1. Like us on Facebook AND Like Appular (you have to do this to complete step 2)
2. Tag us both in your status : “Cult of Mac and Appular are throwing one classy iPhone App Giveaway!”
3. Your status tag will be your entry into the giveaway, only ONE entry is allowed per person, and the giveaway will last until 11:59pm tonight. We’ll contact the winners on Tuesday or Wednesday about how to get the codes!
4. Optional step – Tell us what you think about these apps if you own them already in the comments section.

Special Thanks to Appular for helping us put together these app code giveaways! If you’ve got a mobile app that you’d like marketed effectively, contact the good folks at Appular!

Here’s a look at the apps we’re giving away:

We haven’t…uh…tried this yet (primarily because Cult editor Leander Kahney refuses to get back into his fencing Mexican-wrestler costume after last year’s Halloween fiasco) but it looks pretty damn cool, or something.

Sonic Speed Ball sets up a Bluetooth connection between two iPhones (or BT-equipped iPods), then simulates a virtual ball that can be smacked around using an iDevice as a paddle. Different gestures affect the virtual ball in different ways, à la the Nintendi Wii controller.

Sonic Speed Ball is $1; leash not included.

Earlier this month saw the debut of Awareness, an app that should make life considerably safer and less embarrassing for people who (like me) walk around with earphones semi-permanently attached to their ears. And now, it’s on sale.

As I once discovered through unfortunate and unspeakable accident, iPods do not react well when they are dropped in the drink… or, in my case, the toilet. Oh, sure, the flash memory can technically be dunked and will function again as long as it doesn’t short out, but the other electronics aren’t nearly as resilient to wetness without shorting.

That can make the iPod a bad fit not just for clumsy urinators, but more importantly for swimmers. Luckily, there’s H20 Audio to the rescue, a company that specializes in headphones and cases for people who want to listen to tunes while they do laps. They’ve just released the Amphibx Grip for the new iPod nano or Shuffle: a completely watertight case that is fully submersible up to twelve feet thanks to their patented LatchTight locking closure. You can even use the nano’s touchscreen while in the pool through the pane.

The Amphibx Grip is available now directly from H20 Audio and costs $59.99. You can use your own headphones, if you’ve got a waterproof pair, but if you want H20’s own, they’ll cost you another $59.99.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoX1Q8ym2J8&feature=player_embedded

If you’ve just picked up a brand new iPod Touch or you bought an iPhone 4 after the update to iOS 4.1 and are eager to jailbreak, you’re probably looking forward to the SHAtter exploit, which — once rolled out — will not only allow any current iOS device to be hacked, but which can’t be patched by Apple through software.

We’re still waiting for an end-user jailbreak using SHAtter to release us from the shackles of iOS 4.0.2 and above, but the Dev Team just released the above proof of concept video, showing how the SHAtter explot baked into a beta version of PwnageTool was enough to allow them to load their custom IPSW onto a fourth-generation iPod Touch.

Sennheiser is a stalwart brand in consumer headphones, but their latest range will be of specific interest to iPhone or iPod Touch users looking for excellent audio quality coupled with hands-free or Voice Control functionality.

In a headphone range spread across the Sennheiser MM 70i, IE 8i, PX 100-IIi, PX 200-IIi, HD 218i and HD 238i models, each pair of Sennheiser’s latest cans comes with an in-line microphone and remote control.

If you’ve been one of the many people who has expected Apple to drop Google as the default search engine in iOS due to the escalating rivalry between the iPhone and Android handsets, think again. According to Business Insider, Apple and Google have just agreed to extend the deal that makes Google search reign supreme on iOS devices.

The news comes from Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who revealed the extension in a recent interview with Charlie Rose.

This week’s Apple patent news comes out of China, where a couple of new iPad designs have been discovered in line drawing, describing an iPad with dual dock connectors and an iPad with a smart bezel button.

Usually when we write about jailbreaking iPods here at Cult of Mac, we’re specifically talking about hacking your iPhone or iPod Touch to be able to run unsigned code… not iPods that are actually able to perform jailbreaks on other devices. That makes this story somewhat unique, because if you have an iPod Classic and a PlayStation 3, you can now use the former to perform a jailbreak on the latter.

The first PlayStation 3 jailbreaking solution was discovered earlier this month, and allows devices that can connect to a PS3 through the console’s USB port to permanently hack the device to run unsigned code. What’s so interesting about this jailbreak solution is that a wide range of devices can perform the hack, from a USB stick to an official controller to a Ti-84 calculator.

The latest variation of this jailbreak uses the iPod Classic family combined with the Rockbox open source media firmware. Right now, the jailbreak only works using select generations of the iPod Nano and iPod Classic, but given Rockbox’s expandable nature, we wouldn’t be surprised to see support creep to other clickwheel iPods — and media players support by Rockbox — sooner rather than later.

About a month ahead of America and Europe, New Zealand clocks fall an hour back when they switch to Daylight Savings Time on the last Sunday of September. Apparently, though, New Zealand iPads and iPhones are proving a tad overzealous when it comes to falling back this year: numerous iOS users are reporting that since yesterday’s switch, their alarms are going off an hour early. Given that Kiwis were already having to wake up an hour earlier than they were used to, that’s quite a rude awakening.

China wasn’t the only country to get the iPhone 4 this weekend. Denizens of both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also got their hands on Cupertino’s latest handset, packed with all the features separating it from its predecessor the 3GS save one: FaceTime.

According to The National, iPhone 4s sold through UAE carriers Etisalat and du as well as those sold by Vodafone in Qatar are missing the FaceTime software, although the forward-facing camera is obviously still there. According to the carriers, they’ve had no hand in stripping the video chat feature out, and they are petitioning Apple to reinstate Facetime soon.

Although Apple’s mobile advertising platform iAd debuted in June with 0 percent of the market, the interactive ads found in apps for the iOS platform may soon have 21 percent marketshare, tied with Google’s mobile efforts. Apple’s gains are coming at the expense of Google and other more well-established online advertisers, suggests a new report.

According to IDC estimates published by Bloomberg Businessweek, Google’s share of mobile advertising will fall to 21 percent in December, down from 27 percent in December 2009. Yahoo will also take a hit, dropping to 9 percent, down from 12 percent. (Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz recently predicted Apple’s advertising platform would ‘fall apart.) Likewise, Microsoft’s market numbers will be trimmed to 7 percent, down from 10 percent. As for Nokia, its mobile ad share almost disappears from the radar screen to 2 percent.

Although Adobe said Apple’s recent decision to relax rules on developers using Flash in IOS applications had little effect, the change was enough to get EU regulators to drop an antitrust investigation into the Cupertino, Calif. company’s practices. European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia Saturday “welcomed” Apple’s change of heart.

Earlier in September, Apple announced it would permit developers to use third-party tools to create applications for the iOS platform. The restriction was seen as aimed at Adobe, which had released a tool permitting developers to use Flash in applications for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. As a result, Adobe restarted development of a Flash tool in Flash Professional aimed at the iPhone.

Last week, the internet was buzzing with reports that Apple would be delaying the new Apple TV from its original September release to some time in mid-October. The hypothesis behind these reports was based on users receiving e-mails about expedited shipping being refunded. This hasn’t stopped the Apple TV from shipping in September since mine has already shipped although it won’t arrive until October 1st.

If you haven’t checked  your Apple TV order status yet then head over to https://www.apple.com/orderstatus and check now. Let us know in the comments if yours is on the way or not yet.

The Observer’s John Naughton wrote an interesting piece for this weekend’s paper arguing a point that many of us would raise our hands and agree with: iTunes is bloated beyond belief, and Apple needs to do something about it.

Naughton points out that iTunes is at the center of the new Apple empire. Apple’s success depends largely on iDevices, and iDevices tend to get plugged into computers. And when that happens, they need iTunes to hold their hand.

The problem is that iTunes has become less than the sum of its parts. Weighed down by the multitude of tasks it has been assigned, iTunes has become slow, unwieldy, and confusing.

If you’ve updated iTunes to 10.0.1 in the last day or so, you might have noticed that Ping is pushing itself in your face rather more forcefully than before.

One thing: there’s the Ping sidebar on the right. Another: there’s a new Ping drop-down menu that appears in your music library, alongside any song you have selected.

They’re fine if you use Ping, but if you don’t, you might want to get rid of them. The sidebar is easy to deal with, you can hide it with a click. But the drop-down menu requires a little more tinkering to get rid of.

After a disappointing Wi-Fi-less iPhone debut last year, more than 1000 people lined up to be among the first to buy an iPhone 4 at the Xidan Joy City Apple Store in Beijing on Saturday.

A number of Apple fans camped out for the release, according to a report covering the launch, with the coveted first place in line going to Yu Zhong Hui, who lined up in the early morning hours Thursday. “Physically, it’s been painful. But mentally, I’m very happy,” Yu said.

“It’s like waiting in line to see a movie star,” said 26-year-old systems engineer Sun Jian Kuan. “No phone can best the iPhone.”

China Unicom, the mobile carrier for the device, has reported 50,000 users signed up for an iPhone 4 on the first day of pre-orders. China’s pricing for iPhone 4 without a contract is 4,999 yuan ($744) for the 16GB model and 5,999 yuan ($893) for the 32GB model.

[Computerworld]

Comment Of the Week comes from reader Dayne Jones.

Earlier this week we published the following headline about Steve Jobs ranking in Forbes’ annual rich list:

Steve Jobs Ranked 42rd Richest American In Forbes Annual List

“What’s 42rd?” asked one reader, to which Jones replied:

“It’s pronounced “Forty Terd”

Made me laugh. Here’s the thread.

While it’s nice to use FaceTime to “show junior to your senile father-in-law” or “try to force a smile out of your spoiled brat,” wouldn’t you rather use your iPhone 4 to look at live naked girls?

The first porn service to target iPhone 4′s video chat feature FaceTime is betting that you do.  iP4Play is promoting itself with a kiss between adult stars Kagney Linn Carter and Natalia Romero in this video.

In the video, after mocking the current wholesome,  family-oriented iPhone ads, the pair bra-and-pantie clad blondes are induced to smooch for a client, a dude in a polo shirt — Morgan Grimes’ older brother? who declares: “Oh my god, this is so awesome!”

Way back before the iPad, there was the HTC Shift, a 7-inch UMPC with a 1024 x 600 touchscreen, a full QWERTY keyboard, EVDO data functionality and an 800MHz Intel A110 CPU. For mobility buffs, it was then what today’s tablets are to them now, but it cost an arm and a leg at $1,500. Even worse? It ran Windows. Vista. That alone was enough to drop the ‘f’ from the product’s name.

These days, you can probably pick up an HTC Shift pretty cheap on eBay, and while there’s still little to recommend it over an iPad (or, heck, even the Galaxy Tab) it turns out that the diminutive little UMPC is Hackintoshable, with OS X Leopard running pretty much flawlessly on it, with the exceptions of WiFi and the fingerprint reader.

If for whatever reason you’ve got a Shift around, or find yourself morbidly curious enough to pick one up cheap on eBay to make yourself one of the tiniest Hackintoshes around, you can find the instructions over on the XNA Developers forum.