Steve Jobs, the man who revolutionised modern life, dies at age of 56

UPDATE 9pm: STEVE Jobs, the man who co-founded Apple and revolutionised modern-day life with inventions like the iPhone, iPod and the iPad, has died at the age of 56 following years of ill-health.

Mr Jobs had suffered a number of health problems, including pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant, but the exact cause of his death was not revealed.

Apple fans, his co-workers and his tech rivals paid tribute to Mr Jobs, labeling him a "creative genius" and an "inspiring mentor" and saying his impact "will be felt for many generations to come".

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter lit up with tributes, with #RIPSteveJobs and #ThankYouSteve quickly becoming the top worldwide trending topics on the latter.

Many said they learned of his death while using a device Mr Jobs invented, a point made by US President Barack Obama in his tribute.

Mr Obama said Mr Jobs "exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity", in a statement issued by the White House.

"He transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world," Mr Obama said.

"The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.

"Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve's wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him."

As news of his death broke, Apple.com's homepage was changed to a simple black-and-white photo of Mr Jobs in his trademark black turtleneck and small round glasses, with the caption "Steve Jobs, 1955-2011".

Apple, the company Mr Jobs co-founded with Steve Wozniak in 1976, posted a tribute message on its website and called on fans to share their "thoughts, memories, and condolences" by emailing them at rememberingsteve@apple.com.

source : Apple

Sn0wbreeze 2.4 Beta 1 Released To Tethered Jailbreak iOS 4.3.1

The unofficial PwnageTool for Windows, Sn0wbreeze is now updated to jailbreak the recently released iOS 4.3.1 o iPhone 4 (GSM model), iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPod touch 4G, and iPod Touch 3G.

iH8sn0w has released the first beta version of Sn0wbreeze 2.4 moments after apple relapses the iOS 4.3.1 update. Just like the previous version of Sn0wbreeze jailbreak tool, Sn0wbreeze 2.4 beta 1 will allows you to create custom iOS 4.3.1 firmware file that is pre-jailbroken, which can be used to upgrade your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to iOS 4.3.1. Most importantly, it will gives you an opportunity to unlock your iPhone from its carrier as it preserve the unlockable baseband of your device using the “Baseband Preservation Mode”.

Here’s the official description, features, and improvements of Sn0wbreze 2.4 beta 1:

• ultrasn0w now works for basebands (01.59.00 / 04.26.08 / 05.11.07 / 05.12.01 / 05.13.04 / 06.15.00)
• ultrasn0w is NOT compatible with the folllowing basebands! (02.10.04 / 03.10.01 / 04.10.01 / 05.14.02 / 05.15.04) iOS 4.3.1 is now supported.
• iPhone 3GS users can upgrade to 06.15.00 baseband now under Unlocks section in Expert.
• Upgrading your iPhone 3GS baseband to the 06.15.00 iPad baseband hack to unlock MAY cause you to lose your GPS!

Sn0wbreeze 2.4 beta 1 supports the following devices:
• iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS
• iPod touch 4G, iPod Touch 3G
• iPad

It is worth noting that Sn0wbreeze 2.4 beta 1 is a tethered jailbreak only. Meaning, you have to tethered boot your iOS device into the computer using iBooty whenever you reboot. You can download Sn0wbreeze 2.4 beta 1 for Windows from this link.

iPad 2 Jailbreak Rumors: New Bootrom Exploit and JailbreakMe

Last week we has informed you that Comex is the first iOS hacker that successfully jailbreak iOS 4.3 on the iPad 2. But today, we will find out a bit more information regarding the highly awaited iOS 4.3 jailbreak. In a reply to a Twitter users asking him regarding the exploit Comex had discovered in iOS 4.3, he said that he utilizes a userland exploit, which means the jailbreak might be applied directly from the device’s operating system, the same exploit used on his previous jailbreak tool JailbreakMe. And since it’s a userland exploit, it can be patched easily with just a simple software update, just like what Apple did with JailbreakMe.

Now, the good news is that, Comex has just confirmed that there's new bootrom exploit discovered by someone to jailbreak iPad 2 running iOS 4.3. Well, he might talking about i0nic’s (also known as Stefan Esser) untethered jailbreak method which is set to release very soon. However, with the rumors of iOS 4.3.1 coming in the next couple weeks, Esser might delay the release date of his untethered jailbreak, or thy might even save this exploit for after the iPhone 5 comes out.

Hoosiermo: @comex: is your new iPad 2 exploit in the boot rom? Or a userland exploit? Kinda curious. I am one of the lucky ones who landed one day one.

Comex: @Hoosiermmo: Userland, but I hear someone has a bootrom vulnerability that they might have exploited.

Though Comex already had a jailbroken iPad 2 on iOS 4.3, we didn’t get much more information about the jailbreak and its release date. It is speculated that this method will work only on iOS 4.3, but this has yet to be confirmed. Stay tuned!

iPhone 4 Jailbreak News - Cydia App Store Merges with Rock

It was Redmond Pie who officially broke the news of this merger when they announced that people who regularly use the Rock app to download apps to their jailbroken handsets would now see that all their content will be moved onto Cydia in the coming days. This news was released by Cydia.For those who love Cydia this won’t be an issue but for anyone else that prefers Rock it may be a little disappointing. The good thing though is that you won’t have to go between the two stores to find the apps you are looking for. All the content from Rock is being moved to Cydia. Anything that you may have previously purchased from Rock will be transferred also and all your information including your backups will now be available.

A further update from Cydia is to be announced in the next couple of days so be sure to keep a look out for this. This all comes with the latest iOS 4.1 update and really is great news for all iPhone users. If you jailbreak your iPhone it will now be even easier to locate the apps that you want to buy and add to your handset.

If you haven’t already jailbroken your iPhone then you really are missing out. When you jailbreak your iPhone 4 you have the ability to use third party applications. When you purchase an iPhone you are tied to the Apple app store and third party applications are not allowed. When you jailbreak your phone you remove this restriction and you can use any app you like.

Android Wallpaper Suspected of Stealing Personal Info

Mobile security firm Lookout recently reported a possible security glitch in a Google Android mobile wallpaper app. Lookout indicated that the suspicious app, estimated to have been downloaded one to four million times, collects and ships personal information to a "mysterious site in China."

Lookout’s Disclosure

In a statement sent to VentureBeat, Lookout notes that the app “does not capture browsing history and text messages. It collects your phone number, subscriber identification, and even your voicemail password, as long as it is programmed automatically into your phone. It sends the data to a web site, www.imnet.us. That site is evidently owned by someone in Shenzhen, China. The app has been downloaded anywhere from 1.1 million to 4.6 million times.” ”

Lookout disclosed said information during the Blackhat 2010 hackers conference in Las Vegas last Wednesday.

Lookout Chief Executive Officer John Hering and Chief Technology Officer Kevin MaHaffey said: “No smartphone, mobile platform or operating system is immune to the growing security threats in the world of smartphones. That means that apps that seem good but are really stealing your personal information are a big risk at a time when mobile apps are exploding on smartphones."

MaHaffey added that “Even good apps can be modified to turn bad after a lot of people download it. Users absolutely have to pay attention to what they download. And developers have to be responsible about the data that they collect and how they use it.”

Lookout, however clarified that “While the data this app is accessing is certainly suspicious coming from a wallpaper app, we want to be clear that there is no evidence of malicious behavior. There have been cases in the past where applications are simply a little overzealous in their data gathering practices, but not because of any ill intent.”

Hering, in a press conference, added that he believes “both Google and Apple are on top of policing their app stores, particularly when there are known malware problems with apps.”

The “Jackeey Wallpaper”

The suspicious app originated from "Jackeey Wallpaper," which was uploaded to the Android market for the purpose of enabling users to improve and customize their phones running the Google Android operating system.

Jackeey Wallpaper developer Jackeey Wu said in an interview that “If a developer wants to collect text message, he must declare some android permissions first. These permissions will be shown on the Android market security page and Application settings.” He added that he does collect data but only device data, not user data.

Google immediately pulled all the wallpaper apps from both accounts when the negative publicity began pending further investigation.

Apple’s iOS 4.1 Beta 2 Released

Apple has released iOS 4.1 Beta 2 for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G and 3G for developers only. Developers can download the update by signing into iPhone Dev Center through their registered Apple Developer account.

Apple said this update counters issues like iOS 4 slow speed on iPhone 3G and iPhone 4's repositioned proximity sensor. However, Apple didn’t provide details on the fixes and features for the upcoming release.

Speculative reports indicate that updates may include fixed and taller signal bars, Game Center Support, Face Time and Game Center Parental Controls, a new Baseband, an Option to turn off spell check, full Bluetooth Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) support, among others.

With the recent legalization of jailbreaking, iPhone’s Development team confirmed that the beta 2 release of iOS 4.1 can be jailbroken using redsnow. However, network problems maybe experienced after jailbreaking. Users may need to rely on afc2 access (such as FunBox-like file browser programs) to manipulate filesystems until redsnow is updated. It was also noted that iOS 4.1 beta 2 locks phones so users with unlocked iPhones are warned against updating to this version.

Beta Update for iPhone 3.1 OS

Apple also released another beta update for iPhone 3.1 OS for developers. Developers said this update now has Copy & Paste support for video, and Tether Data Usage.

Copy & Paste only used to apply for portions of text or text with images between applications. Now, users can Copy & Paste full resolution video to emails by simply tapping and holding any video and selecting the copy function. File size, however, may be limited to 15MB.

iPhone 3 users can see and track their current tethering data usage by going to Settings > General > Usage.