So here are just some recent interesting news bits about Apple and its products:

• Apple will be focusing on a more gaming oriented device in the future. This is not to say that the iPhone’s and iPod Touch’s other capabilities will be degraded but rather that Apple plans on putting special emphasis on graphic development and other important gaming related aspects.
• Apple released its web-based iTunes preview so you no longer need to launch iTunes immediately just to listen to some songs or watch a video preview.
• Apple Tablet rumors are running high:

If the rumors are true, the tablet will be able to do basically everything a gadget could possibly do. It’s an e-reader, a gaming device, and a music player. You can watch TV and movies on it and surf the Internet (or so we’ve heard). And it will have thousands of third-party apps available for it … or maybe it will run Mac OS X. That’s all still unknown.

• CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD IF YOU HAVE OPENSSH & JAILBROKEN YOUR IPOD!

rooster

Share This

Thanks to George Hotz and his creatively-named “blacksnow” unlock, ALL iPHONES & iPOD TOUCHES ARE JAILBREAKABLE!!!!

Geoshot has done a wonderful job of making this hack easy and simple to use.

Here it is!

Instructions and tips:

• Clean firmware 3.1.2 and baseband 05.11.07 are recommended.
• Blacksn0w is also available on Cydia, add blackra1n.com as repo (requires firmware >= 3.1 and baseband 05.11.07)
• Windows Tutorial
• Mac Tutorial

Known Issues and fixes:

• There is currently an issue with “push” and “youtube” but the dev-team will release a fix shortly.
• Some WiFi issues have also come up. Merely reset your “Network Settings” to fix this.

rooster

Share This

Dev Team has released PwanageTool 3.1.4. Unfortunately, there is still no support for the iPod Touch 3G. But for the majority of users their latest release will do. Here is summary by the Dev Team:

iPhone 3G

Use PwnageTool to do the magic and then restore with iTunes using your newly created .ipsw

iPhone 3G(S)

Use PwnageTool to do the magic and then restore with iTunes using your newly created .ipsw

iPhone 2G (1st Generation)

Use PwnageTool to do the magic and then restore with iTunes using your newly created .ipsw ‘nuff said, you don’t need to worry about anything, the baseband will be unlocked, the phone jailbroken.

iPod Touch 1G (Original iPod Touch)

Use PwnageTool to create a firmware image and restore with that .ipsw using iTunes.

iPod Touch 2G

Use PwnageTool to create a firmware image and restore with that .ipsw to your already jailbroken device using iTunes.

iPod Touch 3G

At this time PwnageTool does not support this device.

* the above applies to devices that HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY JAILBROKEN. There is no current program that will jailbreak iPod Touches who have not jailbroken before, but the dev team said they will make one if demand peaks.

* PwnageTool will create your .ipsw. Then go into iTunes and hold down shift will clicking restore to locate the .ipsw.

HERE IS PwnageTool 3.1.4

Have Fun,

Rooster

Share This

So iPhone OS 3.1.2. is out and according to the Dev Team, its not wise to update yet. So just be a bit patient and the Dev-Team will release the respective Pwnagetool and RedSn0w.

rooster

Share This

So, first things first: Apple was recently granted a patent for a touch device which supports handle two hands… sound like a iTablet touch keyboard to me!!

Second: the new iMacs are supposed to be very slim and also undergo a price decrease.

Third: The new line of Macbooks are supposed to be redesigned polycarbonate slimmer versions of the older models.

Fourth: New Mac Minis are also supposed to be released soon. These are expected to have minor speed boosts.

Fifth: The mighty mouse is getting mightier. Apple is also releasing a new model of their mouse as well as keypad. The keypad is expected to be slightly smaller and both are going to utilize the latest blue tooth technology.

rooster

Share This

Although the Dev Teams has not posted any news on their site, iPod Touch Fans reports that they have seen a tweet that confirms that they have successfully jailbrocken the new 3.1 Software for the iPhone 3Gs.  So expect a PwnageTool for that soon.  The good news here is that this might lead the Dev Team to Jailbreak the 3.1 software for the iPod Touch 3G as well.

Dropbox arrives at the App Store:
I thought the release of this really cool new app is noteworthy as well. Dropbox is a free application that gives you up to 2gb of storage.

NEW iMACS!
Supposedly, since Apple has cut orders for their old line of iMacs, a new line is on the horizon (as early as Oct. 9th). My biggest question here is if they will incorporate Blu-Ray Technology AND cut costs. I’m hoping for both but only time will tell.

Rooster

Share This

Here is what the Dev Team tells us about their progress on the Jailbreaks:

iPod touch 1G (Original iPod Touch)

Use PwnageTool to create a firmware image and restore with that .ipsw using iTunes.

iPod touch 2G

Sorry, no support at this time within PwnageTool, use Redsn0w for an earlier (pre 3.1) firmware release instead.

iPod touch 3G (New iPod Touch)

Sorry, no support at this time within PwnageTool

As you can see, they are more than behind. But my opinion, and history backs this up, is that they will get to the ipod lineup after having completed all iPhone Jailbreaks/unlocks. And since they have gotten quite efficient at it, I don’t think it will be too long.

On a better note:

Apple is rumored to have new iMacs on the line! Their official announcement is supposed to come sometime next week.

Get the full story of the “missing Camera” in the iPod Touch, as reported by PCW, here for those of you who want some extra reading.

rooster

Share This

Although Apple’s latest release of the iPod Touch 3G was not quite as good as it should have been, this little bit of news cheered me up. Apple was rumored to have had manufacturing problems with iPod Touch and was therefore unable to release it with a video camera. PCW reports that a update BY CHRISTMAS may include a this highly coveted Video Camera:

I’ve also heard that Apple wants to have these things in full production by Christmas and that they’ve made only a few months of camera-less models to tide the market over until the new ones are ready.

PCW also offers some more information by hypothesizing that:

The conventional wisdom is that Apple will put the camera into the higher end iPods ($299/$399 – 32GB/64GB) only and leave the $199 model to be a 2nd-gen model. The higher end iPods have the processor speed and the Open GL 2.0 capabilities to do video, the 2nd Gen does not. This is exactly the same pricing/feature structure as exists on the iPhone.

Based on this, my advice is to wait for just a few more months and see what happens.

rooster

Share This

The following is long winded, somewhat complex, and for iPhone 3Gs users only.

Here is a small summary: Try not to upgrade to the 3.1 software if you want to be able to keep the ability to Jailbreak or unlock your iPhone 3Gs. & Make the necessary iTunes adjustments to “future-proof” your 3Gs Jailbreak.

Here are a few, well-noted, words from the iPhone Blog Dev Team:

If there’s one thing we’ve been stressing the last few weeks, it’s that if you want to keep the jailbreak or unlock on your 3GS, you should resist all urges to install Apple’s official firmware updates without knowing if a jailbreak exists for that version yet.  Unless another (different) bootrom exploit is found for the 3GS that doesn’t require a “foot in the door” with a signed official iBoot, then accepting official updates willy-nilly may cause you to be cutoff from the jailbreak.  And it will definitely cause you to be cutoff from the carrier unlock.

Now, there are ways to ensure that even after taking an official 3GS update (which you really shouldn’t do!), that you’ll nonetheless be able to revert to a jailbreakable 3GS (this is NOT true for the unlock, see NOTE #1 below).  We’ve been explaining these methods (like the iTunes /tmp technique) over the last few weeks, and there’s been some great discussion and feedback for the methods in the comments.

Having said all that, we realize that some of you updated your 3GS to 3.1 anyway.  If you want to come back to the world of the jailbreak (but NOT the sim unlock, sorry!) then saurik’s new “on file” server may be able to help.  He’s got all the details in a new article so do check it out.

Even if you did not update your 3GS to official 3.1 (good job!  You really shouldn’t do that!), then you should still read the article and make those changes today. We fully recommend redirecting your iTunes signing process through saurik’s “on file” server to future-proof your 3GS jailbreak through all future updates.

AFTER ADJUSTING YOUR ITUNES SETUP, YOU SHOULD STILL AVOID DOING AN ACTUAL FIRMWARE UPDATE. For all the reasons mentioned in this post, you’ll lose the unlock forever, and lose the jailbreak until a new one for 3.1 comes out.  And there’s no guarantee that your 3.0 signed files were captured by saurik in time.  This is more about protecting your 3GS jailbreak in future updates — it’s not a way to jailbreak 3.1 right now.NOTE #1: the carrier sim unlock is a different story.  Jailbreaking and unlocking have two different security mechanisms, and if you update your 3GS (or 3G) to 3.1, you will lose your carrier unlock, possibly forever.  Even if you downgrade from 3.1 to 3.0, you will have lost your carrier unlock.  So if you think you’ll ever want to carrier unlock your 3G or 3GS (or maybe give it away or resell it later as an unlockable iPhone), then please stay clear of all official Apple IPSWs.  You’ll soon be able to create custom 3.1 IPSWs using PwnageTool that let you pre-hack your 3.1 update in a way that preserves the carrier unlock.

NOTE #2: The custom IPSW flow using PwnageTool also ensures that even if Apple fixes all the iBoot holes, you’ll still be able to retain your jailbreak through later updates.  That’s because a jailbroken iPhone will happily accept a custom (pre-jailbroken) firmware update even though it’s not blessed with Apples signatures.  This is the “once jailbroken, always jailbroken” approach.  It’s very powerful, but it requires you to only update to pre-hacked IPSWs.

NOTE #3: None of this applies if you have an iPhone 2G, iPod touch 1G, or iPod touch 2G.  The iPhone 3G is also unaffected by Apple’s signing process for the jailbreak, but it is susceptible to permanent loss of the carrier unlock as mentioned in note #1.

rooster

Share This

Although Software update 3.1 is really nice and sparkly, I would advise against the update (but don’t freak out if you have because who knows how long it will take for the dev team to release more comprehensive news concerning the iPod Touch Hack in specific). Here are a few words from the Dev Team:

If you update to Apple’s new software using the normal iTunes process, you will lose your ultrasn0w unlock.  In fact you may lose it permanently, because for most people the baseband firmware cannot be reverted to a previous version (unlike the main application CPU firmware).

But don’t worry…our PwnageTool program — when it’s updated for 3.1 — will let you update your main firmware without touching your baseband firmware, so you can still have the best of both worlds.  But you must be diligent about saying “no” to your iTunes request this week to update your firmware.

Update: We’re currently working on PwnageTool for 3.1, and will be sure to let you know when it’s available!

So for iPhone users – Definitely do not update

for iPod users – ehhh, it would not be the end of the world.

rooster

Share This