Archive for April 20th, 2008
AOL has launched an iPhone-optimized version of its Mobile Search service. Mobile Search has a traditional Web search engine, but also has features specially tailored to search the content of various AOL properties, including Moviefone, MapQuest, AOL CityGuide and others. So, for instance, searching for hotels in a specific location will bring back a list of entries from CityGuide with inline phone numbers. Searching for a movie will bring back results from an iPhone-optimized version of Moviefone, complete with inline times.
AOL Mobile Search for the iPhone also automatically retrieves other iPhone-optimized sites first in search results. For instance, searching for “Facebook” in Mobile Search for the iPhone will bring back m.facebook.com as the top result.
A six-minute video demonstration of the service is available on AOL’s blog, but it’s not viewable on the iPhone.
Security researchers are reporting two purported security issues with the iPhone today.
ETH Zurich reports on a seemingly innocuous flaw wherein the iPhone’s quasi-GPS (cell tower and WiFi triangulation) scheme can be fooled into displaying an incorrect location to the user. The system can be tricked by impersonating known locations (falsifying MAC addresses) and jamming actual, local access points. Researchers write: “These actions created the illusion in localized devices that their locations were different from their actual physical locations.” In a test case, one of the devices was misleadingly induced to show its position as being in New York City, whereas the correct position was Zurich (Switzerland).
Meanwhile Radware reports on a denial of service (DoS) vulnerability in the MobileSafari browser included with iPhone OS 1.1.4. The vulnerability is triggered when a user opens an HTML page with specific JavaScript code. The likely vectors are spam mail or spam SMS. According to researchers “The user will experience an application level DoS which results in crashing the Safari browser and which could go as far as crashing the entire iPhone appliance.” No further details on the flaw are provided.
Those waxing nostalgic for Apple’s Newton can take comfort in a new unofficial third-party application for the iPhone that can recognize handwriting (fingerwriting?) and turn it into typed text. Dubbed “HWPen,” (and described in this “modmyifone” thread) the application was developed by Hanwang.com.cn to allow Chinese character input on the iPhone, but the program works equally well with English input.
In order to install thie HWPen, follow our guide for enabling third-party apps on the iPhone, then use Installer.app to add the source: iphonecake.com/src/all.
To add a source (as also described in our guide), tap “Sources,” button, then tap “Edit” in the upper-right corner, and finally “Add” in the upper-left corner. Enter the URL of the source you would like to add and press “OK.” Installer.app will add the source, and you will be able to find the new application(s) in the normal “Install” menu.
Mac OS X users have been happily “pwning” their iPhones for weeks, Windows users have been shut out until today. The iPhone Dev Team has now worked to produce a Windows-based beta of the Pwnage tool, which is still buggy and doesn’t support pre-release builds of iPhone OS 2.0.
To recap, the Pwnage tool exploits a low-level vulnerability in the iPhone’s boot process to allow the installation of custom OS files. The potential ramifications are huge: pwnage could embody a future-proof method for unlocking and activating iPhones, immune from Apple’s countermeasures.
The most relevant advancement realized via Pwnage thus far is the ability bypass installation roadblocks instated by Apple. This has allowed users to install pre-release versions of the iPhone OS, such as OS 2.0, which normally requires expressed authorization and a special signature from Apple. With a pre-release copy of iPhone OS 2.0 leaked to various file-sharing repositories, many users have made the premature leap. This isn’t yet possible with the beta version of “winpwn,” though that capability should be delivered soon.
For now, winpwn is good for jailbreaking/unlocking firmware files before loading them to the iPhone, and performing other custom modifications to firmware — an exercise with few practical applications so far.
Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.
I’ve got my load-shedding life half sorted out. My garage doors have a manual override, my laptop will keep me going through three out of every four load-shed hours, and my 3G cards from both operators protect me from bad planning, i.e. it is unlikely that both operators’ base stations in the area will run out of power during load-shedding.
But my laptop will last only if I keep to the basics and avoid heavyweight applications like watching DVDs in the absence of a functioning TV set. Movies chew up laptop battery life faster than an aluminium smelter chewing into Eskom’s reserves. That means the option of charging your cellphone from your laptop via USB charger is not on if you want to maximise operating time.
Digital Foci’s Pocket Album is a new keychain photo viewer that lets mom (or anyone else) carry her favourite photos on a digital keychain with a 1.5-inch colour LCD screen to share and re-live photo moments wherever she goes. Pocket Album holds up to 74 photos in its 8MB of internal memory and is extremely easy to use.
According to Digital Foci, Moms and grandmoms alike will love showing off their baby, children, grandchildren, and other family photos to everyone – but dads and grandpas are surely not immune. The appeal of scrolling manually or through its automatic photo slideshow with adjustable intervals will appeal to all ages and genders.
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From this Friday, wannabe South African XBOX owners struggling with their budgets will be up to a quarter of the way closer to their goal: all XBOX 360 consoles are coming down in price by as much as 25%.
From 14 March 2008, Xbox 360 Pro, which includes a 20GB hard drive and one wireless controller, will have an estimated retail price (ERP) of R2999, a saving of R700 (just under 20%) on the current price. The Xbox 360 Elite, which comes with a massive 120GB hard drive enabling consumers to store huge quantities of content, such as their own music, will only drop R600 from its current R4600 price tag (13% drop), down to R3999.
The biggest proportionate saving comes with the Xbox 360 Arcade console, an entry-level machine aimed at those wishing to make their first foray into the world of Xbox. From its current price of R2700, just below the cost of the Nintendo Wii, it will drop R700 in price, down to R1999 (a 25% drop).
Review: HP Compaq 2710p Ultraportable Tablet PC
In the Gadget world, reviewing PCs is always extremely difficult. We all have our own requirements and the plethora of options and models available from the various manufacturers makes an objective viewpoint a difficult task. HP recently released their flagship ultraportable convertible tablet PC, and it proved no exception. Steven Ambrose finds out what is cool in this HP Tablet.
The HP Compaq 2710p is an attractive and rugged looking convertible notebook with some ultra cool features. On the downside it doesn’t have a very fast processor or an integrated optical drive, but as a result its battery life is fabulous and its LCD backlit screen is responsive and very high quality.
Various manufacturers have released a host of light, functional and good-looking laptops; there is the IBM X300, the MacBook Air and the Sony Vaio, to name but a few. The bottom line is that the road warrior, or any user, who wants a full-featured laptop that also looks good, has never had it better.
The just released LG is a surprisingly well-specified laptop in the ultraportable field. Most ultra light, sub-2kg laptops make significant compromises. The LG, at 1.6kg, has few. The first major compromise is obviously the size of the screen. With 10 to 12 Inches being the norm for sub-compacts, the LG has a 13.3 inch screen. The benefit of this is that, at the resolution chosen, which is 1200 x 800, most spreadsheets, documents and web sites are big enough for you to use the laptop all day. The smaller screens of 12 inches and below, which have similar screen resolutions, have very small text, and can result in eye strain after extended use.
This is a mental health warning to families that acquire a Nintendo DS Lite: one is not enough. Once you go down the slippery slope of acquiring the device, you may need to buy one for each member of the family.
This was the unexpected conclusion to an effort to get each member of the family to give a perspective on the New Super Mario Bros, recently released in South Africa for the DS Lite. Each one found something that hooked them individually, yet which was not in turn of interest to every other family member.
Another conclusion was less surprising: this isn’t grandpa’s Super Mario Bros, which reinvented video games back in 1985 by introducing the first side-scrolling game with smooth-scrolling levels. This is in fact a bundle of games and options that turn one small games chip into an entertainment carnival.
Most significantly of all, though, is that the venerable old-timer is brought right up to date with 3D imges an animation, wireless communications and new moves, without sacrificing the old charm.
The OLPC XO — it’s all rainbows, hugging, and laser beams of learning, right? Maybe not, kind reader. Apparently, users of the the diminutive, educationally themed laptop are experiencing a rash of “stuck key” issues which are causing tons of headaches (and possibly some heartbreak as well). It seems that keys are becoming stuck in activated positions, and / or are being triggered by key presses nearby. The company is aware of the problem, but can’t pinpoint a single cause, as the components are made by a variety of manufacturers. For now OLPC is asking customers to RMA the laptops so they ca get the repairs they so desperately need, though we’re not sure how this is going to play out in the developing areas where the XOs are being rolled out. Well, they can probably just take them to the hospital.
For those of you lucky, lucky folks in Europe (or the UK, more specifically), it looks like your wait for the PlayTV rollout is coming to a close. According to Amazon’s British wing, you can now pre-order the PlayStation 3 add-on for £59.99 ($120) with an expected release on July 31st. Over here we’ll just continue to twiddle our thumbs, watch paint dry, and check out our Blu-ray version of The Song Remains the Same…
http://www.engadget.com/
If you’re both a coffee- and gadget-freak, this project by DIY’er Tim Hirzel will probably be a notably inspiring hack. By combining a fancy-pants Rancilio Silvia espresso machine, the multi-purpose Arduino micro-controller, a Wii nunchuk, and some seriously high-level hacking, Tim has created a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. The typically straight-up espresso maker is now controlled electronically, allowing integration of a calendar, sleep timer, wake-up alarm, and temperature regulation. The system also allows a user to time its functions (to get that perfect cup of espresso), and the nunchuk can be used to alter settings on the unit. Be sure and take a look at the video after the break to see this mod in action.
