As he seems to do every year, Apple CEO Steve Jobs not only made Barron’s list of the world’s most valuable CEOs… he was declared “without a doubt” the most valuable one.

Taking his place amongst bigwigs like Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathwawy), Reed Hastings (Netflix) and more, Steve Jobs is cited for racking up 100 million iPhones sold, the release of the iPad and Apple’s incredible golden touch overall.

Barron’s list of most valuable CEOs isn’t a popularity contest: it’s based on the objective metric of stock performance, which has been on such an upward trajectory for the past few years that seemingly the only thing that can sink it is Jobs’ retirement (and even then, given the talent and culture Jobs has put together over at Apple, only temporarily).

This isn’t the first distinction Barron’s has awarded Apple this year: back in February, Barron’s handed Apple its second Most Respected Company award in as many years.

Just in case you thought these guys mistook the line outside of London’s Regent Street Apple Store for a line for Justin Bieber tickets, guess what? The UK’s sold out of iPad 2s.

Brits depending on their iOS devices to wake them up for work or school in the morning got a seriously gaffe-prone error call this morning, after alarms all around the Isles failed to go off at the proper time this morning, ranging from going off one hour too late to not at all.

It wasn’t just Brits either. The rest of Europe’s iPhone owners were plagued by the same bug, after clocks were moved forward by an hour on Sunday.

The culprit? Apparently, that same stupid time change bug that hit iPhone users last autumn.

It’s not entirely clear if this is a bug still present in iOS 4.3 or one that is only affecting users who have failed to update from iOS 4.2.1.

Any of our readers in Europe want to help us get to the bottom of this? Join the comments and give us a rundown of what happened with your alarms this morning, along with what device and version of iOS you have.

iOS 4.3.1 was only released a couple of days ago, but thanks to one hacker, it’s already possible to jailbreak the software with PwnageTool 4.2. Before you jump into this, however, there are some things you need to know…

This is a tethered jailbreak, so you’ll have to hook your device up to your computer every time you need to reboot – this could pose a problem if your device crashes while you’re out and about and away from your computer. At the moment, this jailbreak is still in its early stages and not considered a stable release – it’s best not to perform this on your primary device.

With that said, if you’d still like to perform the jailbreak, you’ll need the following things:

• PwnageTool 4.2
• iOS 4.3.1 firmware
• iTunes 10.2.1
• Mac OS X
• PwnageTool bundle for iOS 4.3.1
• Universal Ramdisk Fixer
• tetheredboot utility

You can then follow the step-by-step guide over at Redmond Pie to have your way with your device. Good luck!

According to two “solid sources” for TechCruch, Apple’s forthcoming iOS 5 software may bring with it a major revamp of the operating system built around the cloud, but we’ll have to wait for a fall release to enjoy its new features.

A fall release would break the pattern of previous iOS releases, which have typically been unveiled in early spring and released alongside a new iPhone in the summer. However, it’s believed iOS 5 may come with a third-generation iPad rumored to launch later this year.

The TechCrunch sources say that:

• iOS 5 will launch in the fall and will be a major revamp of the OS.
• It could well be previewed at WWDC, it just won’t be released then.
• The iOS 5 launch is also likely to coincide with the release of the iPad 3.
• The new iOS will be heavily built around the cloud, and we could see several new services launch from Apple that take advantage of this.
• Yes, one of those is very likely a “music locker” service. There is also a fall launch aim for this, during Apple’s annual music-themed event.
• But much of the cloud stuff will first be talked about at WWDC, Apple’s developer event which will take place in June.
• One of the new cloud service elements is likely a location service that focuses on finding friends and family members.
• OS X Lion is still on pace for a summer release — some of the new cloud components are likely to be baked into it as well.

Earlier reports had suggested that iOS 5 would be previewed at Apple’s iPad 2 keynote earlier this year, and when that didn’t happen, new reports then rumored that another event in April would take place to talk about iOS 5 and a revamped MobileMe. If the TechCrunch sources are correct, it seems this event won’t go ahead either.

Unfortunately, these sources didn’t provide any details on the iPhone 5, but we’re guessing the device is still on track for its unveiling at WWDC with a launch this summer. Of course, if that is the case, the device will launch with the latest version of iOS 4 and not iOS 5.

iPhone users are downloading, and VCs are throwing money at, a new iPhone app called Color.

Don’t get it? You’re not alone.

What the Naysayers are Naysaying

The general reception to Color has been overwhelmingly negative — even worse than the initial reception to the Apple iPad.

Gizmodo quipped that Color’s main purpose is to “amuse yourself by creeping out strangers.”

All Things Digital said Color reminds them of a mock news story created by The Onion, in which investigators establish the cause of a fire by examining the “43,000 pictures taken by students at a party.”

Fortune called Color a “whimsical” “Trojan horse.”

Computerworld called it a “social network for voyeurs.”

Daring Fireball says Color is a “breathlessly overhyped piece of crap.”

The app is currently rated by users with only two stars out of five in the iTunes App Store. Compare that with, say, the 99-cent “Mr. Ninja” game app, which is getting five stars.

The two main strains of criticism center around uselessness and privacy. People aren’t understanding how to use Color, nor why they might want to. Also: The app doesn’t give you any way to know who’s seeing your pictures, and enables creepy weirdos to potentially observe others unwisely sharing private or inappropriate moments. Also: Many users I’ve talked to don’t realize that when you connect to others at a specific event, Color then gives you access not only to their photos and videos taken at the same event, but all taken by them previously elsewhere as well.

All this criticism and mockery is interesting, but largely misguided. I’ll tell you why below, but first lets understand what Color actually is.

We close out another week with three hardware deals in the spotlight. First up is a 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad for $529. Next is a number of Mac mini desktop machines, starting at $599 for a 2.4GHz Core 2 model. Finally, there is a 1.4GHz 12-inch MacBook Air for $930.

Along the way, we’ll also check out more MacBook Pros, a MacBook Dual Core, as well as a Mac Pro Xeon workstation. As usual, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRo1ZgXVcus&feature=player_embedded

The iPad 2 hits stores today in 25 countries — from Australia to Canada — and Apple fans around the world are lining up just like their U.S. counterparts for the latest edition of the device.

In Sydney, Australia, the line stretched around the block. In Liverpool, England about 20 people started camping out last night to get ready for the 5 p.m. launch today. Some are second-time buyers.

Calling the online petition signed by over 150,000 people a “calculated smear campaign,” by gay activists to remove the Exodus International app, the president of the Christian organization responded to Apple’s decision to pull it from the iTunes store.

Here’s an excerpt of what Exodus President Alan Chambers has to say about Apple’s decision:

Here is my point.  It is becoming apparently clear that there is no room in this culture for diversity of thought or opinion. It goes beyond Apple having the right to discriminate. It is the fact that simply offering someone support as THEY CHOOSE to live their life through the filter of their faith rather than their sexuality is now considered not only offensive, but also dangerous.  People with biblical convictions are now being labeled bigoted and homophobic for simply upholding someone’s right to self-determine how they want to live their lives.  It’s astounding.

Do you think this decision is going to come back and bite Apple in the you-know-what?

Via Exodus International

When Apple first debuted the Smart Cover, we knew we’d see third-party copy cats, but who knew that the first one to be available for order would be so beautiful: Minot’s wooden iPad 2 cover.