GeoHot’s iPhone 3GS PurpleRa1n jailbreak has been released for Mac OS X.
He also released the RC2 of both versions, these add some more payload stability improvements. If you have RC2 installed, you don’t need to use RC2a.
Purplera1n RC2 Released
Geohot has released the second version of the iPhone 3GS jailbreak, this release includes:
- Vista, Windows 7, International and 64-bit support.
- Less flakiness in the payload.
- Cydia tar cleaned up.
- Improved logging with slightly more useful errors.
- New kernel patches, codesign errors gone. Props posixninja.
- Added vm_map +x, passed vm_check.
- No winterboard yet.
- Still in beta, so use caution.
iPhone 3GS Un-Official Jailbreak Released
Geohot has released a iPhone 3GS jailbreak tool named PurpleRa1n, it’s Windows only currently. It’s available now but
it’s not an official jailbreak, therefore shouldn’t be used without caution. Some people are reporting it to work, others are not however this jailbreak is missing a lot and also things such as WinterBoard won’t function properly due missing critical patches required for WinterBoard, as reported by Saurik.
If you have to jailbreak straight away use this tool however it may cause problems in the future which you might not get if you wait for the official Dev-Team tool’s which are being released just after Apple sends out firmware 3.1.
iPhone SMS Vulnerability Found
At the SyScan conference in Singapore, Charlie Miller described a vulnerability in the iPhone’s SMS system, a flaw that 
could “allow an attacker to remotely install and run unsigned software code with root access to the phone.
It’s unlikely that this will be exploited vastly, but it’s still a very serious risk due to the sheer numbers of iPhones out there. According to the security researched said that the attack “exploits a weakness in the way iPhones handle text messages received via SMS (Short Message Service),” however he has made an agreement with Apple to keep the details out of the press so that Apple have a chance to fix it before someone else figures it out and makes matters more serious.
Miller only gave the following information concering the vulnerability: “The SMS vulnerability allows an attacker to run software code on the phone that is sent by SMS over a mobile operator’s network. The malicious code could include commands to monitor the location of the phone using GPS, turn on the phone’s microphone to eavesdrop on conversations, or make the phone join a distributed denial of service attack or a botnet.”
Miller will be going into more detail of this at the Black Hat USA expo in Las Vegas later on this years, giving Apple a chance to patch it. Apple have planned to get a fix ready for later this month.
Apple Removes BeautyMeter
After all the complaints that have been directed towards the photo rating app, BeautyMeter, Apple have finally pulled it down.
The app is photo sharing platform where you rate others pictures based on appearance, however the company does not directly check each picture and so pictures of underage girls were found on the app and caused a huge uproar against Apple’s approval process, once again.
New Features in iPhone OS 3.1 Beta
Apple released the iPhone OS & SDK 3.1 Beta yesterday. Here’s a list of what people have found to be changed so far:
– MMS is now enabled by default (Still not supported by AT&T).
– A “Fraud Protection” toggle is now available in Safari settings.
– Voice Control over Bluetooth is now available, allowing users to Initiate calls and control music playback via Bluetooth headsets.
– iPhone startup and shutdown and app launching times have improved.
– Trimming video clips on the iPhone 3GS now offers the ability to save the edited version as a copy rather than simply overwriting the original file.
– New APIs allow developers of third-party application to access and edit videos.
– iPhone vibrates when rearranging Home screen icons.
– OpenGL and Quartz have seen improvements.
O2 Get Palm Pre in the UK
The official iPhone UK carrier O2, have been reported that they are to be the official carriers for the Palm Pre. O2 has always 
had a strong smartphone market in the UK and with the iPhone and Pre being sold in the same store it will make things a little more interesting.
It seems this will be true as the O2 owner Telefonica, reportedly secured global rights to the Pre back in March.
O2 owner Telefonica reportedly secured broad global rights to the Pre back in March
Apple Releases iPhone Firmware & SDK 3.1 Beta
Apple today, released the 3.1 beta for the iPhone firmware and SDK; both the SDK and the firmware are available for testing and development to paid members of the iPhone developer program. Although this is pre-release software and details should remain under NDA, some details will leak out soon.
Some wonder why Apple have released the 3.1 Beta so close to the release of 3.0 to the public. Some think that it’s not just bug fixes, as Apple would probably release it as 3.0.1 if so. Apple may have worked out the exploit in which the Dev-Team use to jailbrake devices and patched it in this new release, so upgrading is to be taken at your own risk and may stop you from jailbraking until the Dev-Team work it out.
Developers Continue To Fight Piracy
As the iPhone user-base increases, so does the piracy user-base of iDevices. Many developers have been or are now implementing features to stop piracy of their apps. You will have read how BeejiveIM stopped working for pirated copies, now Spokko, the makers of Light Wars have also implemented a feature that stops pirated copies from working.
This has only been implemented into the new update but from what I know the original 1.0 release will not stop pirates using it, it’s interesting to see how developers are taking different methods to stop piracy.
Stack v3 Review [Updated]
Stack v3 for iPhone is the latest project from Steve Troughton-Smith, the project brings the Mac dock Stack feature to the iPhone in true style.
Shown above is the fan style which fans out the icons of added apps much like on the Mac does with files. The stack can be placed anywhere on the dock. The function of Stack for iPhone is to give a quick and easy access to your most used apps to save time from switching between screens.
This shows the grid view which Mac users will also be familiar with, this gives the user a lot more space to have there most used apps compared to the fan view.
To add an app to the Stack just drag it onto the icon and it will be added. To remove an app open the Stack and hold down then move your finger to bring up the shown notification which allows you to remove the app, this can be turned off in the settings to just remove without asking you first.
In the latest alpha (6b), the stack rename feature has been activated and allows you to rename the Stack so it appears to be a normal app.
Once the Stack has been renamed, you must re-spring the springboard for it to take effect.
Overall the Stack app is very stable and although in alpha, I have experienced few problems with it; there may be the odd UI tweaks needed here and there, but overall the app works amazingly well for those searching for a quick way to access apps.
As the Stack v3 is currently in alpha, to get a copy you must donate via the official site to get a copy, plus I must add it is only for Jailbroken devices, as Apple wouldn’t allow this sort of app. If you wish to test out the previous version for free then go here.
The project shows a lot of potential and I’m very excited to see what else can be added to this and keep following the developers twitter to get updates on the project along with others.
I’d like to thank Steve Troughton-Smith for allowing me to get hold of the alpha so that I could write this review.
Sam's Blog 
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