Apple Killing Off Intel Atom Support

The latest build of Snow Leopard (10.6.2),  no longer supports the Intel Atom chip which is widely used in netbooks.Intel Atom

In the current developer build of 10.6.2, Apple appears to have changed around a lot of CPU related information. One of the effects of this is Apple killing off Intel’s Atom chip.
Among other things, Sleepenabler.KEXT is now ineffective and will need a new version. It is now suggested to run CPUPM with a proper DSDT.
Although Apple has long engadged in a hack-and-mouse game with with users who use Mac OS X onto third-party hardware, some people see it as a shot against low-cost netbooks, maybe meaning a low-cost MacBook soon? Others believes its another sign of the Apple Tablet as it’s rumoured to have a price point a lot higher than netbooks and so Apple is trying to get rid of the competition.

Stellarola also notes that similar restrictions in Leopard 10.5.9 may disable the Atom, and so advises any pre-Snow Leopard hackintoshed Atom netbooks to stick with 10.5.8.

Who know’s how this will be implemented or how long it will take them to figure away round it. But hopefully this won’t end the use of Mac OS X on third-party hardware.

 

How To: Change Your iPhone’s SSH Password

As many have been prompted by the recent icident, including Dutch iPhones on T-Mobile, the SSH on the iPhone has a default password which most people do not change, leaving themselfs unprotected. Here’s the quick guide to change your root password on your iPhone.

MobileTerminal

Please note that some guides will change the mobile password, however this will still leave you unprotected so ensure you follow these instructions carefully.

  • Download ‘MobileTerminal’ from Cydia.
  • Run MobileTerminal
  • Type ‘passwd’
  • Enter your new password
  • Enter it again
  • Type ‘su root’
  • Then Type: ‘alpine’ (iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS) ‘dottie’ (iPhone 2G)
  • Press Return
  • Type ‘passwd’
  • Enter your new password
  • Enter it again
  • Now your iPhone is secure from SSH hacking

Dutch Hacker Hack’s Into Jailbroken iPhone’s

A Dutch hacker used a port scanning to identify jailbroken iPhones on T-Mobile Netherlands with SSH running.Jailbroken iPhone HackedJailbroken user’s commonly use SSH to run standard UNIX commands on their iPhone. However, due to the way it’s set up all iPhones have the same default root password that most people don’t change. This means if a user knows a iPhone is close running SSH they can access all of the files on the device.

The Dutch hacker used the unchanged root passwords to hack into the phones, he then sent a SMS alert to the phones that read, ” You iPhone’s been hacked because it’s really insecure! Please visit doiop.com/iHacked and secure your iPhone right now! Right now, I can access all your files.” Once going to the website it directs the user to send €5 to a PayPal account, after which the hacker will e-mail instructions to remove the hack—which most likely involve restoring the iPhone to factory settings.

The hacker doesn’t appear to have malicious intent, other than to glean some extra cash. “If you don’t pay, it’s fine by me,” reads the page mentioned in the message to the hacked iPhone owners. “But remember, the way I got access to your iPhone can be used by thousands of others—they can send text messages from your number (like I did), use it to call or record your calls, and actually whatever they want, even use it for their hacking activities! I can assure you, I have no intention of harming you or whatever, but, some hackers do! It’s just my advice to secure your phone.”

To stop this from happening to you read the article on How To: Change Your iPhone’s SSH Password.

Orange Release UK iPhone Details

With the release of the iPhone on UK network Orange about a week away, Orange have released the pricing details for the Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go plans. One thing to remember that Orange wasn’t planning on challenging O2 on prices but this gives people who don’t like O2 or who are already on Orange a chance to get an iPhone.

Orange iPhone Prices

The only big difference between what O2 offers and what Orange offers is that for £122.34 per month you can get unlimited minutes and texts. For Pay As You Go, an 8GB iPhone 3G will cost £343, the 16GB iPhone 3GS is £440 and the 32GB iPhone 3GS is £539. The prices are slightly cheaper than O2 but what I still wonder about is does that now mean iPhone’s sold in the UK should work on both O2 and Orange?
If so, in the first quarter of next year UK iPhone’s will work on O2, Orange (Soon to be merged with T-Mobile) and Vodafone.

Update: So it’s been pointed out that now Orange’s ‘unlimited’ plan there is only 750MB.

iPhone Dev-Team Release PwnageTool for 3.1

The iPhone Dev-Team has just released there latest jailbreaking tool, PwnageTool for iPhone OS 3.1. At the minute the Jailbrakejailbreak is for Mac only but hopefully a Windows version will be released soon.

Read More

Download (Torrent)

This release starts with PwnageTool 3.1 for Mac OS X – this application supports the iPhone 1st Generation (2G), the iPhone 3G and the iPod touch 1G. NB: THIS DOES NOT SUPPORT THE 3GS OR 2G/3G IPOD TOUCH. redsn0w for Mac OS X and Windows will follow sometime in the near future, please don’t bug us about it – we’ll release when we have something ready.

  1. GOLDEN RULE: If you are using a 3G iPhone with ultrasn0w and rely on ultrasn0w to obtain cellular service, then you should only upgrade to 3.1 with a PwnageTool created .ipsw. – Stay away from Apple’s direct updates as described here and here please get up to speed on the whole subject by reading the information contained in these posts.
  2. If you have an original iPhone (1st generation) then 3.1 unlock works with this PwnageTool release. iPhone 3G users upgrading to 3.1 will need to continue using ultrasn0w with a PwnageTool created 3.1 .ipsw
  3. Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools.
  4. Read items 1, 2 and 3 again and again.
  5. At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the 3.1 capable version of PwnageTool.
  6. This app is suitable for the recent 3.1 release.
  7. This version of PwnageTool will NOT work for the iPhone 3GS.
  8. PwnageTool WILL work for Original iPhone (1st Generation), Original iPod touch (1st Generation) and the iPhone 3G.

iPhone 3G & iPod Touch Can Now Edit Video

Due to the recent 3.1 iPhone OS update, the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch are now able to edit video just like the iPhone Apple Logo3GS. Both devices still can’t record video, unless jailbroken, so this may not come as a big tool for most people.

To get it to work, first you must get someone to email you a video file. Once you have it, you can open the email and select the arrow on the lower menu bar. This will give you five options: Reply, Reply All, Forward, Save Video and Cancel. Once you select Save Video, the video will get saved to your Camera Roll.

Go to the Camera Roll and select the video, you are then able to watch the video and edit it. To edit a video, tap on the timeline at the top of the page, you can then drag your finger to the start and end points on the video. When you select trim, you then have the option to trim the original video or save the trimmed potion as a new clip.

iPod Updates At September Apple Event

Steve Jobs made his return today on stage, to announce an update on all iPod models. However the rumors did not all Special Edition iPod Shuffleturn out to be true, as there was no iPAD and no camera for the iPod Classic or iPod Touch, however the news about the delay in manufacturing the new iPod Touch device seems like they might announce a camera model later.

iPod Touch

The iPod Touch got a minimal update, however there is still maybe hope for the camera model. But all Apple announced was a size increase, up to 64GB; and a price drop which will be a good thing for the iPod market.

8GB – £149 / $199
32GB – £229 / $299
64GB – £299 / $399

iPod Classic

The iPod Classic was also rumored to get a camera, however it didn’t happen but they have made the device slimmer and also bumped up the memory but kept the price.

160GB – £189 / $249

iPod Nano

iPod Nano now has a VGA camera capable of shooting H.264 video at 30fps, just like the iPhone 3GS. It’s still comes in 8GB and 16GB models and in the usual array of colours. It has a larger 2.2 inch screen and comes with a microphone and speaker.  And now has the VoiceOver feature like the shuffle does. It has a FM radio tuner now also built in and a voice recording app, exactly like the iPhone’s.

8GB – £115 / $149
16GB – £135 / $179

iPod Shuffle

The iPod shuffle has now got new colours: pink, green, blue, black and silver. And a special edition model.

2GB – £45 / $59
4GB – £59 / $79

New iPod Nano 5th Gen With VGA Video

iPod Nano 5th GenAt Apple’s ‘It’s only rock and roll’ event today they announced the latest update to the iPod selection, the new iPod Nano.

Not much has changed in the way of the appearance, it’s still the curved slim candybar type of design however now it has a video camera. Now you might think that the Nano is such a small device that the quality of the video would be terrible, but as many people forget the Nano has the same processor as the iPhone and so is capable of VGA H.264 at 30fps.

To enhance the video the new Nano comes with an array of built in effects: Sepia, Black and White, X-Ray, Film Grain, Thermal, Security Cam, Cyborg, Bulge, Kaleido, Motion Blur, Mirror, Light Tunnel, Dent, Stretch and Twirl.

It’s still comes in 8GB and 16GB models and in the usual array of colours. It has a larger 2.2 inch screen and comes with a microphone and speaker.  And now has the VoiceOver feature like the shuffle does. It has a FM radio tuner now also built in and a voice recording app, exactly like the iPhone’s.

8GB – £115 / $149
16GB – £135 / $179

How To: Disguise An App

So let’s say you have an App on your phone that you really need, but other people would keep going on it and you don’tDisguise App really want them using it or seeing what it is. Well there is a simple way to disguise an app on your iPhone as anything you want.

Let’s say the app we want to hide is Cycorder.

Getting Started

First of all you have to SSH into your device and go to your Applications folder and open the relevant folder, in this case being Cycorder.app.

Once this is opened you will see the following files:
Cycorder
icon.png
info.plist
loading.png

Note: these will vary on application, but the files needed will remain the same.

Now copy the files icon.png and info.plist to your computer.

Before editing either it’s a good idea to backup the files just in case you go wrong.

Editing The Icon

People using the iPhone will most likely use icons to refer to an app, so changing the icon of the app you wish to hide is the first thing to do.

First you need to get the icon from another app or you could make one yourself. Simply pressing the Home button and Sleep/Wake button will capture a screen shot of your home screen and you edit the icon to the correct size etc.

Note: Always save the icon as a png image and make sure it’s transparent.

Downloading a free app off the App Store would maybe be a better idea for this as it gives you a quick and disposable way to disguise an app. However think about if people are likely to click on it, so find something boring.

Once you’ve edited and saved your new icon, save it as a png and copy it back to the app folder on the iPhone, replacing the original.

Changing The Name

The second way people will know which app is which, is via the name underneath the icon (which by now you will have changed).

To change the name simply open the plist either using a text editor or a dedicated plist editor such as iPodRobot’s plist editor.

Look at the plist and find the tag called
<key>CFBundleDisplayName</key>

and change the value below it what you wish the app to appear as on the home screen.

Once this is done, save the plist and copy it back to your device, overwriting the old one.

Now re-spring or re-boot your device and the application will now be disguised.