Apple mysteriously kills jailbreak detection API while hacker boosts iOS security, irony restored

It's no secret that Apple's been keen to monitor the lot of naughty jailbreakers, but it turns out the company has recently shelved iOS 4.0's jailbreak detection API with no explanation given. While this has little effect on the average user, Network World explains that this is bad news for enterprise IT and MDM (mobile device management) vendors, who will now have one fewer channel for checking whether a user's iOS device has been jailbroken and thus become vulnerable to attacks. That said, apparently this isn't a huge loss for the MDM vendors, anyway; but the real question is why drop the API now? Could its presence alone be a threat? We'll probably never know.

Fear not, though, as some folks have put jailbreaking to good use. The Register reports that come Tuesday, Stefan Esser of Sektion Eins will demonstrate a tool called antid0te, which reportedly adds ASLR (address space layout randomization) onto jailbroken iOS devices. In a nutshell, ASLR randomizes key memory locations to make it more difficult for certain attacks to locate their target data. According to the famed white hat hacker Charlie Miller, this technique is already present on Windows Phone 7 and desktop Windows since Vista, but Apple's only dabbled with it on OS X and not on iOS. Now, this doesn't mean that jailbroken devices will be fully safeguarded, but some protection is better than no protection, right?

[Thanks, wooba]

Apple mysteriously kills jailbreak detection API while hacker boosts iOS security, irony restored originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York Times Chrome Web app hands-on: jaw-droppingly awesome

Truth be told, I've never been sold on the whole Web apps paradigm. They're just websites! Very pretty websites, but ultimately... just websites. But it seems I was missing the point: while they're websites to you and I, publishers and developers see them as something else entirely. They see Web apps as beautiful, standardized, cross-platform tools for dissemination of their content and, of course, monetization. It's hard to sell a website, but a Web app on the other hand...

Take a look at the New York Times Web app, which I've just had the immense pleasure of playing around with. Notice how I gave you a Chrome Web Store link, but I could just as easily tell you to visit http://www.nytimes.com/chrome/# in Firefox 4 and it still works. Heck, it works in Firefox 3, too.

Don't let the 'oooh, Web app!!' distract you from the real gems, though. The layout is nothing like the website, and that's a good thing. Never has it been easier to switch between categories quickly -- seriously, the Web app blows the website out of the water, as far as content discovery goes. Then, there's the keyboard shortcuts, with the arrow keys allowing you to whisk through pages and stories with incredible ease.

Finally, and perhaps the best example of why Web apps are the wave of the future: visit the Web app's URL on your iPad. The experience is better than the actual iPad app. Even swiping works! (There are some iPad screenshots in the gallery below, too.)

Anyway, the best way to get to grips with the New York Times Web app is to play around with it yourself. If you don't have time, or if you're afraid of missing the good bits, have a look through our hands-on gallery below (again, make sure you view the images 'full size'). My initial impressions are excellent -- but the app is far from perfect. More analysis after the break.

Gallery: New York Times Web app hands-on walkthrough

Continue reading New York Times Chrome Web app hands-on: jaw-droppingly awesome

New York Times Chrome Web app hands-on: jaw-droppingly awesome originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deal of the Day ? Dell Inspiron 17r Core i3 for $579, Core i5 $599

The LogicBUY deal for today is for the Dell Inspiron 17r 17.3? laptop (model N7010), starting at $499.99.� Configure over $599 to get free shipping.� The suggested deal on the Core i3 with 3GB DDR3, 320GB hard drive, and a HD+ (1600X900) WLED display:� $713.99 – $134 off = $579.99 with free shipping. Best price [...]

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Thomas Crane Really Wants to Catch Santa In the Act [Patents]

Half-eaten cookies and milk weren't enough for inventor Thomas Crane, who in 1996 filed a patent for a "Santa Claus Detector." Strung between two inconspicuous stockings, the detector would start flashing, should the jolly fat man trip the wire. More »

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App Sales Data Reveal iPad's Serious Side

Productivity apps constituted five of the top 10 iPad apps this year, according to Apple. Six of the 10 top-grossing iPad apps were also productivity apps. However, all the top 10 free iPad apps were information or entertain apps. The statistics were revealed in iTunes Rewind 2010, Apple's summary of the hot trends for 2010, which lists the most popular apps for its various iOS platforms.

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Speaking of? Using Your Medium with Reason?s Nick Gillespie (TCTV)

It is 25 degrees here in NY and I feel like a wuss. We California people aren't cut out for the weather out here. I've got thermal underwear (top & bottom), another shirt on top, pants, sweater, jacket, long coat, gloves and a hat on. So, the next time I bitch about it being 50 degrees and windy in San Francisco, I need to remind myself to STFU. These people endure some serious cold. Look at that photo to the left of Nick Gillespie. I think that's what he wears when it is this cold. So, what would draw me out of San Francisco weather to NY this time of year? The celebration of John Stagliano's acquittal presented by the Reason Foundation and hosted by this week's TCTV guest Nick Gillespie. John Stagliano's federal obscenity charges, his acquittal and this celebration warrants an entirely different post, so I'm not going to get into it too much here. The event was held at the famous NY's sexy and edgy "The Box" and the attendees were incredible. We all came out to celebrate something we hold near and dear to our hearts: free speech.

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Bing Shopping now leverages Facebook integration for 'should I buy this?' awesomeness

It's no secret that Microsoft relishes its large share of ace-in-the-hole Facebook. Not one to rest on its laurels, though, Microsoft continues to plow ahead with deeper and tastier Facebook integration. Starting today, Bing Shopping now lets you create shopping lists, which you can share with Facebook.

Now, instead of just clicking 'Go to store,' you can add items to a list. You can use the list as just that -- a shopping list for future perusal -- or you can send it to your Facebook wall. According to the Bing team, a lot of shoppers use social networks to help them choose which presents to buy. The main advantage here is with gadgets, which have notoriously fickle specifications: my mother might know that I want an iPod for Christmas, but which size should she buy? Well, now she can ask her Facebook friends.

It seems the new functionality is still rolling out -- I couldn't get it to work, even after changing my locale to the United States -- but the Bing Blog says it should be available to everyone (in the U.S.) over the next few days. If you can't see 'Add to List' yet, there's a nice video showcasing the new feature.

[Image credit: LiveSide]

Bing Shopping now leverages Facebook integration for 'should I buy this?' awesomeness originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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