iOS 5 Jailbroken

Turns out the folks over at the iPhone Dev Team didn’t waste any time after Apple released the developer version of iOS 5 yesterday – as you can see, iOS 5 has been jailbroken. Apparently, Apple hasn’t done much by way of patching up those holes that were used to jailbreak iOS devices. One developer, “iOS 5 jailbroken: via limera1n + tethered boot..not too many surprises :),” and threw in some pics (shown above) of Cydia and iSSH displayed on the home screen of a 4th-generation iPod touch.

Cydia and iSSH are both apps that only run on jailbroken iOS devices. So far, we’re hearing that the only way to fix the current iOS exploit is a hardware update, which means you’ll get to enjoy all the freedom of a jailbroken iDevice until the next-gen iPhone and iPod touch see the light of day.

Microsoft Planning Own-Brand Windows 8 Tablet

The rumor mill is working double time this morning, as reported that Microsoft is prepping its own brand of Windows 8 tablets, with a little help from Texas Instruments (TI) and a number of different Taiwanese OEMs/ODMs. Of course, just a few weeks ago unnamed WSJ sources claimed that Microsoft had plans to pair five chip makers with five OEMs and then slap Windows 8 on five different tablets, so there’s no way to be sure about either rumor at this point.

However, there are a few reasons why this may be a little closer to reality than speculation. For one, Microsoft has fully licensed the ARM chipset design. Of course, that could have something to do with security, as Microsoft needs access to ARM’s architecture in order to bring Windows to ARM-based devices. On the other hand, it might also mean that the tech giant has some new hardware in store for us. After all, Microsoft is no rookie when it comes to craftsmanship, as proven by the Xbox 360 with Kinect and the Zune player.

In addition to that, TI already announced that its brand new 1.8GHz multicore OMAP4470 chipset will fully support Windows 8. While Microsoft is sticking with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors for its Windows Phone devices, the silicon in TI’s chipsets may be a better match for Windows 8 tablets.

Microsoft has called Windows 8 its “riskiest product bet,” so it would only make sense that the software maker would take things into its own hands. Especially since its competitor, Apple, has had such great success by controlling its hardware/software circle about as leniently as a drill sergeant. But there’s no way to know for sure until one of these companies comes forward with an official announcement. Until then, the rumor mill will keep on turning.

Ubuntu 11.04 Keyboard Shortcuts

The Unity-powered Ubuntu 11.04 is finally out, and with it comes a slew of new keyboard shortcuts for the new interface. They can seem a bit overwhelming at first, so spend a few days getting acclimated with this wallpaper-formatted shortcut list.

The Unity interface is a pretty big overhaul, and whether you're already a fan or you're begrudgingly giving it a chance, one thing that's going to really improve your experience is knowing all those new keyboard shortcuts. From opening the new launcher to managing your windows, things will go a lot quicker with a list at your side. Here is a version of the Ubuntu wallpaper that has all the new shortcuts beautifully laid out for quick reference.

Download the Full size wallpaper.

iOS 5: The Top 10 New Features

The new iOS 5 is here. It is a "major release", according to Apple. It brings revamped notifications and more than 200 new features for your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. These are the top ten, and then some more.
Some of these features you already had in your iPhone or iPad. They just came in third-party apps.
We can't wait for the fall to enjoy the new iOS 5. It looks like it will be a great release, if they keep it bug free and agile in older devices.

1. Notifications

The first big feature is notifications. At last, Apple will get rid of the annoying popups that break your flow. And with "annoying popups" I really meant "stupid dumb boxes that makes me want to smash my f*cking iPhone against the wall when I'm playing a game or chatting with strangers in the night".
They have replaced those with a new app called Notification Center. It's very similar to Mobile Notifier, the iOS notification app—which makes sense, since Apple hired its developer a while back. It not only includes app notification, but mini-widgets that show live information from apps like Weather and apps.
The notifications extend to the lock screen too, so you can see more stuff right away without unlocking your phone. Sliding your finger on it will automatically lead you to the app that generated that notification.
It looks very straightforward and useful.


2. Newsstand

Apple has built a virtual newsstand right onto iOS 5, very similar to the iBooks app but exclusively for magazines and periodicals. It looks like a cross between iBooks and a folder view, actually.

3. Twitter integration everywhere

iOS 5 will have Twitter integration everywhere. Apps like camera will be able to directly post the image to Twitter. The YouTube App, Safari or even Maps will support direct sharing in Twitter. It also adds a new Twitter address field to your Contacts application.

4. A new Safari

Safari has been revamped with new features. Reader will allow you to reformat a site on the fly, taking out ads and reformatting text so it looks better on your iPad or iPhone screen.
This feature flows into Reading List, which is a way to save those pages for later offline viewing, keeping them synchronized between all your iOS devices and Lion. Presumably via iCloud.
Apple's web browser also adds tabs in this version. Your open pages will line up right below your address bar. According to Apple, switching between pages is "lightning fast," so perhaps they have made some magic with the memory management to reduce the reload of pages in older devices.


5. New Reminders app

The new Reminders app makes it easy to make to-do lists. The interface is very simple and it's synchronized between iOS 5 devices and your Mac OS X desktop or notebook.
The really cool thing about Reminders is that it's location aware. Imagine you add that you need to buy milk, but then you forget about it. When you pass by the grocery store, the app will tell you that you need to buy milk.


6. New Camera app and photos

The new Camera up gets two of the most-requested features in the history of iOS. The first is a shortcut in the lock screen to access the camera right away, so you don't have to unlock and then click on the Camera icon, which often makes you lose the moment.
The other one, which is something we have whined about endlessly, is using one of the volume button as the shutter button. Just press + and that's it: CLICK! This is a very welcome addition.
The new app also includes basic photo editing. It includes quick enhance—which basically sharpens your image, making shadows and highlights more detailed, and correct color automagically. It also include red eye reduction and cropping, both welcome additions to those who don't have the Camera Plus already.


7. New Mail app

Mail includes a barrage of enhancements
• Rich Text Formatting, which will allow you to annoy the hell out of everyone bolding every sentence in your mails.
• Indentation control, which allows you to control the level of indentation of your quotes from other messages.
• Draggable email addresses, which allows to drag and drop email addresses into to, cc and bcc fields.
• Message flagging to call your attention over a particular mail later.
• Swipe to Inbox, which makes it very easy to access the list of message in portrait mode on the iPad, instead of clicking on a button for a weird pop-up dialog.


8. No PC required

At long last, the most important feature of them all: You will not need iTunes and PC anymore to use your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Apple has caught up with Android and Windows Phone 7. The new iOS 5 will allow you to set up your new device easily: Turn your new gadget on and a Welcome screen will appear. All software updates will happen over the air.
All the applications will now be completely autonomous. You will not have to go to iCal or some other desktop app to create a calendar, for example. There is no need for a desktop or laptop anymore, for anything.


9. New Game Center

The have enhanced Game Center too. Unfortunately, they have not renewed its awful casino interface, which looks as dated as always. But they have added much needed concepts from Xbox Live and other gaming systems:
• Achievement points.
• Access friends of friends, so you can compare and play with a wider range of people.
• Photos in your profile, so you can flirt with other nerds pretending to be women online.
• Game discovery, to play with whoever wants to play with you at any given time.
• Game downloads within Game Center.
• Support for turn-based games like Words for Friends and Scrabble.

10. iMessage

Another new useful feature, which will hurt Blackberry and the telecommunications companies wanting to sell you stupid SMS and MMS contracts: Apple has implemented a new messaging system called iMessage.
It works between all iOS 5 devices, allowing you to leave conversations on your iPhone and continue them in your iPad (again, I will not be surprised to see this integrated into Lion at a later date). It comes with delivery notification as well. However, unlike WhatsApp, it doesn't work with other non-iOS devices. Maybe Apple thinks your Android and Blackberry friends are not worth talking to for free.

Mac OS X Lion: Top 10 New Features

While Craig Federighi and Phil Schiller said that OS X Lion had over 250 features, he outlined ten of the most important ones for developers at #WWDC. While people with the developer preview have had a lot of these features in the test build for awhile, users will be able to get it on their own machines in July for just $29 through the Mac App Store and only through the Mac App Store.

Ferericchi ran down the top ten features, including full screen apps, multi touch gestures and Airdrop. Here’s a short description of each, below.

Number 10: Mac Mail Version 5 — Including a threading feature called conversations.

Number 9: AirDrop — A Dropbox-type feature that allows you to get documents between computers.

Number 8: Versions — Automatically save different versions of your document as you’re working.

Number 7: Autosave — Lion automatically saves your work in the background without you having to do much.

Number 6: Resume — Before you had to quit apps. Now when you launch an app in Lion – it brings you right back to where you were when you quit.

Number 5: Launchpad — Make a simple gesture: pinch motion — all your apps fly on screen.

Number 4: Mac App Store — Mac store is now built in, as well as in-app purchases. The new built in version will also include push notifications for app updates.

Number 3: Mission Control — Like an expanded expose. All of your open app instances are grouped by app

Number 2: Full Screen Apps — Much like iOS5, apps will be full screen in OS Lion.

Number 1: Multi-touch gestures — Apps will be controlled by different multi-touch gestures; including three fingered swipe, scroll, pinching and zooming.