Macgasm

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In this episode, Josh talks about our latest Griffin giveaway.

[01.5 MB] [0:03:10] [Hosted by: Josh Schnell & Grant Brunner]

Apple have just pushed out the 3.0.1 software update for all 3 models of the iPhone. There were rumors from the UK carrier O2 that the update would be coming tomorrow to patch the SMS vulnerability that was disclosed at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas yesterday.

Of course, this brings a bit of a predicament for jailbreakers like myself at the moment.

Do i carry on browsing through life unprotected, and put myself at risk of getting my identity stolen, my phone hijacked, and other things, just for the sake of using some apps in the background, or changing the way my lock screen looks? Hopefully the Dev team are on this problem right now, but who knows what else has been baked into this firmware update, maybe it will cause them more problems and they wont be able to get the quick fix out for us all that we’re hoping for.

Only time will tell. It’s up to you what you do. Do you take the 280MB update and be safe, or do you shrug it off for now and wait for the new Pwnage tool?

Let us know which route you have taken in the comments.

Read the official release documentation from Apple here: here

Some applications are built to speed up your work flow. A lot of developers seem to forget that the point of applications is to accomplish tasks quicker than than before. If an application helps you accomplish your tasks at a fraction of the current time, then there’s a pretty good chance the application will stick around on machines. Dropzone is the embodiment of this approach. Its main goal is to give you a quick and easy way to do “stuff” with your files. Just as the title suggests, it’s an area on your toolbar that you can drag and drop a file to, then release the mouse button on the appropriate task. For instance, if you have to zip a folder then email it to a friend, you no longer have to do it in a multitude of steps (right click, compress, open mail, create new email, drag file to email).

With Dropzone, you can simply drag the folder to the applications icon, and while continuing to hold down the mouse button, release it when you’re hovering over the “compress & email” option. The previously mentioned five steps have now become two (drag and drop).

The team at Aptonic get it. Software should make my life easier, not make me think long and hard about how to do tasks that should take ten seconds to complete. They’ve built in the ability to extend the functionality of Dropzone to a number of applications (flickr, skitch, etc), so the potential for this application is endless. It costs $10.00 which is a steal when you consider the time you’ll be saving.

If you want to keep your eyes on what’s going on at Aptonic, and you’d like to stay up to date with some of the extended functionality you should check out their blog as well.

I had the opportunity to play Adrenaline Pool 2 ($2.99, iTunes link) by Eurocenter and enjoyed it — it’s a solid pool game.

The best part, though, is the multiplayer option where you can play pool against other users on the server. You can prefer to play against boys or girls (your gender is asked in your profile in the game options) or to play with friends. You can work with people who have experience (similar game score) and even with those who reside in your country. Of course, I had difficulty actually getting people to stay online to play with me, but at one point, I succeeded:

(Of course, Luv becky left right after I told her how excited I was.)

The Pros: It’s just like playing pool. Playing against online folks is a plus, and chat is awesome. Did I mention that there’s actually in-game voice chat? Well, there is. So awesome. (Keep in mind that if you have the iPod touch 2G, you need an external microphone to start conversing with your opponent.)
The Cons: I’m not sure how intuitive it is when you click on “Play vs. Computer” and the first item on the following menu is “Player vs. Player.” It’s not self explanatory at all — the Player is not a computer. If anything, “Player vs. Player” should be the last item on that secondary menu. Additionally, the controls are a little confusing. I didn’t really realize how to actually successfully repeatedly remove centering on the white ball. There’s no real instruction for how the game controls work, only how to play pool altogether. I think the game could be a little more professionally made, but otherwise, it’s not too shabby.

Worth the $2.99 price tag? Well, if you like playing pool against other people online, I saw no shortage of potential players, so you’re in for a good time. Of course, you can also play against a computer in three different levels in the absence of wifi or cell service. I’d still prefer a little more explanation on what to do and how, but if billiards is your thing, it’s a nice game to play.

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In this episode, Josh talks about discoloration on the white iPhone 3G.

[02.4 MB] [0:05:20] [Hosted by: Josh Schnell & Grant Brunner]

The first version of Bento from Filemaker came out just over a year ago. It quickly became a very popular application. Heck, why wouldn’t it be? It is the easiest self working form of a database available. There is no thinking required to use it. Just input the information you want to keep track of and you are done. Better yet, you can custom add input areas and drag and drop areas to make everything the way you want it. Now with Bento 2 and the addition of their iPhone app, you can set up your database and take it on the go with you. So now you can always have your DVD inventory right at your fingertips whereever you go.

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Can someone please wake me up.  I’m not sure what’s happening, but the company that epitomized the “think different” moniker sure has been thinking an awful lot like a corporate whore lately–everything I’ve come to hate about big business.  Sure their new found popularity has them looking more like Microsoft of the 90s as of late, but do they really need to sacrifice their historical morals of thinking different to protect their interests?

If anything they’re alienating the group that has made them who they are today, the early adopters, the evangelistic tech enthusiasts who have stuck with them since before the iPod was a common fixture on campuses across the world.  There’s a disconnect here and Apple better start to realize that their resurgence was made on the back of passionate users who recommends their products at every available opportunity.

I probably speak for a lot of people when I say this, and it pains me to no end, but here it is anyway, if they keep screwing over customers, yanking iPhone apps, locking down their devices, releasing half assed software that isn’t quite ready for the prime time, I’ll be going somewhere else and I’m sure many of my com padre’s will do the same.  It’s not that we don’t love the company, and it’s not that we want to leave our passion for Apple behind, but Apple’s really doing an excellent job of alienating us (the technologists who hock their products).  It’s a slap in the face.  Do you really think we’re not smart enough to realize that telling the U.S copyright office that jailbreaking a phone could result in the whole wireless network going down is a giant exaggeration?

Keep making stuff up Apple, by all means, it’s a two way street.  You’re one or two stupid decisions away from losing a lot of your supporters.

[image via mattdans]

Everyone’s favourite system notifier was updated to 1.1.6 today.  Go get your download on! (more…)