Apple computers have a unique boot option called Target Disk Mode which allows access to a system’s hard drives via Firewire cable in older Macs and a Thunderbolt cable in newer models. You access Target Disk Mode by pressing and holding the “T” key while the system starts and until you see either the Firewire or Thunderbolt symbol on the screen.

Once you see the symbol appear you can connect your computer to another Mac Or PC and the hard drives on the Mac in Target Disk Mode will mount on the other system with full access. Since you have full access to the startup disk your data’s security is compromised, but here are a few ways to fix that. I’ll show you how in today’s tip.

In the latest chapter of RIM’s slow-motion withdrawal from the tablet market, a key supplier of the PlayBook cuts its production line in half amid a “drastically shrinking” market for anything not Apple. Last week, the Canadian smartphone maker announced selling only a fraction of the units Wall Street expected.

Okay, so not all of us use FaceTime for sleazy video calls, but either way, you’ll be glad to hear that your FaceTime calls really are encrypted — just like Apple promised back in July 2010 — as long as you use the right type of connection.

If you’re an iOS gamer, you’re probably already familiar with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3, which already powers some stunning titles like Infinity Blade and Epic Citadel. You’ll be pleased to hear, then, that Epic is bringing its Unreal Engine 3 to the Mac.

iPads are the new no. 2 pencil, heading out in droves to teach everyone from kindergarteners to college students what’s what. (Minor drawbacks compared to the pencil: you can’t chew on the magical device and need more skill to launch it at fellow pupils).

Cult of Mac wanted to know how those iPads get into schools – which ones want them, how they get paid for, what schools are doing with them – so we caught up with Brayden Wardrop.

Wardrop is a CTO for Utah-based company called iSchool (yeah, iKnow!), currently getting those tablet computers to schools in Texas, Colorado, Utah, Minesota and Nevada.

Wardrop manages around 500 iPad2s, 50 Macbook Pros and 75 iMacs for Colorado school Legacy Academy, the kind of deployment that costs around a million dollars “for a total technology overhaul.”

Adobe has released the latest version of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements for the Mac.

Both programs have reached version 10 and are available for a bundled price of only $149.99 to new customers. Photoshop Elements 10 allows users to “continue to expand the possibilities for organizing, editing and sharing photo creations.” Premiere Elements 10 continues to “deliver innovative new features” to those interested in consumer-level video editing.

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If you’re a Skype user on the iPhone or iPod Touch, be warned: a new cross-site scripting vulnerability has been discovered in version 3.0.1 that allows attackers to execute malicious JavaScript code just by sending you a chat message.

Great news, photo bugs! Instagram has finally released the official 2.0 version of their social networking photo app, and it adds some seriously rad enhancements to what is already one of the greatest apps on the iOS platform. Here’s what is news.

Responding to mass rioting amongst its users, Apple promised as far back as July that they would eventually be restoring XML support in Final Cut Pro X. Now it’s finally here, along with numerous other improvements… but will this update finally drown out all the criticism?

Maybe not, but at least the addition of a 30-day free trial means no more users will drop $300 on Apple’s pro video editing software and be caught unaware by its omissions.

A security research firm claims to have discovered a serious flaw in Apple’s latest Mac OS X operating system which allows attackers to change your system password without any knowledge of its existing password. One researcher says that a change to Lion’s authentication system has somehow allowed non-root users to view password hash data.