Corning has today announced its third-generation Gorilla Glass, and as you’d expect, it’s significantly tougher than its predecessors. Gorilla Glass 3 boasts a new feature called Native Damage Resistance (NDR), which promises to provide three times the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass 2. It’ll be on show at CES next week before making its way to the next generation of smartphones, tablets, and more.

Apple’s new Maps app that’s coming to iOS 6 looks really incredible. Its detailed 3D maps blow the traditional satellite view right out of the water, and allow you to view high resolution images of cities like San Francisco, Chicago, Las Vegas, and more. But what happens when those detailed images get into the wrong hands.

Well, U.S. Senator for New York, Charles E. Schumer, is worried the detailed images could be used to aid criminals and terrorists, and he has privacy concerns over the military-grade spy planes Apple uses to capture these images.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2012 – Not only does Sin City’s newest quickie-wedding chapel look like an Apple store, but the vows are read off an iPad.

For the moment, the chapel is offering only pretend weddings. It’s not yet licensed to perform legally-binding unions. So what happens in Vegas can really stay here. You can “marry” that hottie you met at the club, but you don’t have to give them half your earnings when things inevitably go sour.

TomTom’s navigation apps for the iPhone and iPad are going social with Facebook and Twitter integration that will allow you to navigate to your friends, places, and events more easily. Version 1.10 of the official app, which will launch during Q1 2012, prides itself on using social networks as a source for turn-by-turn navigation.

Apple’s vice president of worldwide iPod, iPhone, and iOS product marketing, Greg Joswiak, was spotted roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas yesterday, despite no official appearance from the Cupertino company. Joswiak admitted he was there “scouting the competition,” but it seems he’s not the only one. According to one report, more than 250 Apple employees altogether are in attendance this year.

The world’s largest gadget showcase starts on Sunday in Las Vegas, and as we have in years past, Cult of Mac will be at Consumer Electronic Show 2012 from day one to report on the latest iOS and Apple news, the most important tech trends, the best accessories and gadgets, as well as rock out at the some of the most bitchin’ and downright bizarre parties Sin City has ever seen.

On our website, you’ll be able to access all of our CES coverage by visiting our dedicated CES 2012 page.

For this CES, Cult of Mac is rolling in with its deep bench deployed. Here’s who’ll be on the ground, along with their Twitter handles. Follow us for on-the-floor updates, or if you’re at CES and see one of us, make sure to say hi.

• Leander Kahney, Editor (Twitter: @lkahney)

• John Brownlee, News Editor (Twitter: @drcrypt)

• Eli Milchman, Reviews Editor (Twitter: @elimilchman)

• Buster Heine, Community Manager (Twitter: @bst3r)

• Erfon Elijah, Reporter (Twitter: @erfon)

• Traci Dauphin, Gallery Editor

Also, make sure to be following Cult of Mac’s official Twitter account at @cultofmac for exclusive news, first looks, notes from the showfloors and even give aways next week, all in real time. You’ll be glad you did.

See you guys next week for the most exciting week in tech!

While Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices are susceptible to cracks and smashes — just like any other smartphone or tablet — you’ll be surprised by how strong the Gorilla Glass that’s used on each of these devices really is. And it’s about to get even stronger, with Corning set to announce Gorilla Glass 2 at CES in Las Vegas next week, which is said to be even lighter and stronger than its predecessor.

The biggest tech trade show in the U.S. is just a week away. And while Apple doesn’t officially take part in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), its influence will be everywhere.

Take Ultrabooks, for example — the PC industry’s answer to the hyper-successful MacBook Air. Attempting to catch up, Apple’s rivals will be showcasing 30 to 50 new models at CES.

There’s also the iLounge pavilion, a section devoted to Apple-related products, which has grown huge this year. The iLounge has balooned from 4,000 square feet in 2008 to 85,000. We think there’ll be plenty to report on, so we’re blowing out CES 2012 in a big way. We’re sending six reporters to Las Vegas, bringing you all the news here on Cult of Mac.com and our sister blog, Cult of Android.com.

We expect a ton of new peripherals, apps and add-ons. There’s plenty more going on, from new smart TVs to smartphone-friendly cars. Here’s what to expect from the show:

Casinos in Nevada were warned by gambling regulators to keep an eye out for a card-counting program that runs on the iPhone and iPod Touch that illegally helps players beat the house in blackjack.

Card counting itself is not illegal under Nevada gambling laws, but getting electronic help to count cards is a felony.

In blackjack, card counting techniques help players determine when they are likely to win a hand and adjust their bets accordingly.
Casinos were warned last week by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in a memo (pdf). Nevada learned of the program from gambling regulators in California, where officials at an Indian casino found customers using it and tipped state authorities.

The memo says the app is called Blackjack Card Counting program and describes how it works: “The program calculates the “True Count” and does it significantly more accurately. The card counting program uses a choice
of four (4) card counting strategies. For each strategy the user presses the button that contains the face cards as they are drawn from the deck. Depending on the strategy and on the value of the card the button will
either add or subtract 1 or 2 from the “Running Count.” It can also be used in “stealth mode.”

A quick search of  the iTunes store for “card count,”  showed several card counting apps, it’s not clear which one the casinos were warned about.

It looks like to live the 21 story, you don’t even have to be a card-counting geek…

Image used with Creative Commons license, thanks to nataliehg on flickr.

Via AP