Archive for May 26th, 2010

Last week Apple has released its iPhone Os 4.0 beta 4 and redsn0w is finally updated to support this as well as beta 1. New version of jailbreak is 0.9.5.b4 and it can be applied on iPhone 3G only(!).

Redsn0w 0.9.5.b4 is targeted at developers who make jailbroken apps, and will not work if you are already using blacksn0w, ultrasn0w or yellowsn0w.

iPhone Dev-Team warns:

"You should stay clear of this beta software if you rely on a carrier unlock."

To use the jailbreak, follow the guide below:

1. Download redsn0w 0.9.5.b4 here. (Only Mac OS X version since app are developed on this OS).
2. Make sure you have already activated your iPhone 3G with iTunes and your own developer ID.
3. Launch the jailbreak.
4. Select your stock iPhone1,2_4.0_8A274b_Restore.ipsw (beta4) or iPhone1,2_4.0_8A230m_Restore.ipsw (beta1) file that you used to update your firmware.
5. Choose "Install Cydia" and then click "Next". Use DFU mode to install the redsn0w.
6. When your iPhone 3G comes back up, you will notice Cydia has a blank white icon. It also has no sources so you should go to the Sources panel and add this repo: http://apt.saurik.com/cydia-3.7 (make sure you are connected to the Internet before). When Cydia restarts, you should see its real logo now, and the standard sources should be ready to use.

Because of Apple and Google success on a mobile device market Microsoft is going to conduct "major organizational changes" in its Entertainment and Devices Division that is currently responsible for Xbox, Zune and Windows Phone. It looks like first step has been already taken - the work on the dual-screen tablet named Courier had been canned. This allegedly caused its main developer J Allard to leave the company. Further changes will affect on the team that develops Windows Phone 7 mobile OS. The latter must be introduced this fall.

Nick Wingfield from the Wall Street Journal wrote Microsoft lose its positions mainly because of its Windows Mobile OS that had been criticized much for years.

Microsoft's division of Entertainment and Devices also develops portable media players named Zune. The latest Zune HD received many positive reviews but couldn't rival with tremendously popular iPod touch.

Yesterday The New York Times had posted a Brad Stone's report that reveals interesting information on the online music market investigation started recently by US Department of Justice.

The story started two months ago, when Amazon began to seek music labels that would allow company to sell their new songs day earlier than everyone else in exchange for exclusive "MP3 Daily Deal" promotion on the Amazon's site (according to BillBoard). In answer to that Apple asked labels to refuse Amazon or the company will not provide marketing support to those of songs that appeared in Amazon first. Such negotiating tactics attracted the attention of DoJ and now, as the NYT reports, it started inquiries with different music labels to confirm the information.

Currently Apple has 69% of online music market, while Amazon holds second place with its 8% share.  Since 2003 Apple sold more than 10 billion songs and thus provided significant revenue for the music industry.

Recently Wall Street Journal reported that Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz is going to equip its forty dealerships with iPads for more effective selling and leasing cars. The devices will have company's Advantage app installed on. That will enable dealers to have a quick access to the latest rebates and discounts and complete credit applications on the go without the need of leading the customer to a desk with a PC.

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Yesterday Associated Press reported that a 19-year-old Li Hai, who had worked for only 42 days in Foxconn, which is responsible for iPhone manufacturing, jumped from a building and died on Tuesday.

This is a tenth death in a row for a last year among Foxconn workers. This and eight other suicides were commited at Foxconn's plant that situated in the southern city of Shenzhen. That was also the place for two feeble attempts when the workers have survived.

Terry Gou, who is a Foxconn Chairman, told reporters on Monday (beofre the tenth death):

"Foxconn is not running a sweatshop. We are confident we'll be able to stabilize the situation soon."

Last week Southern Weekend reported that employees are signing "voluntary overtime affidavits" to earn more than $132, which is a local minimum wage that a worker can earn through a 36-hour workweek. One of the employees explained:

"Without overtime, you can hardly make a living."

Days later, on Friday a 21-year-old Foxconn employee jumped from a 4-story building.

One of the heart-rending stories reveals a suicide committed in July of 2009, when one of the workers jumped from a 12-story building because he was allegedly responsible for one of the sixteen next-gen prototype iPhones disappearance.

Yesterday Dell officially announced its first 5-inch Android tablet. The announcement was made on the company's official blog.

So the device is now called the Streak. Previously it was shown at Consumer Electronics Show 2010 as a concept and called the Mini 5. The tablet has a 800x480 pixel capacitive multitouch screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm, VGA front-facing camera for video chatting, 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash, removable battery, 3.5mm headphone jack, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and MicroSD-card support. The Streak runs a customized version of Android OS with multitouch support and "Dell UI enhancements".  The system allows accessing to 40,000  apps in the Android Market, navigation with Google Maps, support for Google Voice and Microsoft Exchange Connectivity.

Blogger from the Round Rock company in Texas Lionel Menchasa thinks the Streak may be very perspective:

"I've been at Dell for 16 years, and I don't think there's ever been more buzz around a single Dell product than this. In my view, that's for good reason. Hardware and design-wise, this thing impresses. Add the ever-increasing capability that Android brings to the equation, and you've got a mobile device that offers a ton of flexibility while looking cool in the process."

The device will be shipped to the UK on June 4 and will be exclusive to the O2 network. Still there is no information on prices, data plans and American partners, but Menсhasa said everything will be soon announced.

In a video above one of the device developers Kevin Andrew tells and shows how useful the Streak may be in the everyday use.

Yesterday Apple officially presented its new back-to-school promotion. This is an annual sale, when school faculty and students can purchase a Mac and get a 8GB iPod touch for free. Apple claims on its website:

"Take a free 8GB iPod touch to school. Along with tons of other great features, iPod touch has built-in Wi-Fi for downloading thousands of games, movies, songs, apps, and amazing, free educational content from iTunes U."

If you have an education discount, along with acquiring new iPod touch you can save $50 on a low-end MacBook, $100 on a MacBook Air and iMac desktop and $200 on a MacBook Pro. Such educational discounts are available to staff and faculty of K-12 schools, and to students, professors and staff of any college.

The deal applies between May 25 and Sept. 7, 2010. Those who doesn't want to get free iPod touch can receive a $199 discount for purchasing 160GB iPod classic or a higher-capacity iPod touch, a $179 discount for a 16GB iPod nano, $149 discount for a 8GB iPod nano, $99 discount for a stainless steel 4Gb iPod shuffle, and $79 discount for a regular 4GB iPod shuffle.

Customers can use their educational discounts in an Apple online store, retail stores, authorized campus stores or call 1-800-MY-APPLE.