News for Tuesday, 25 November 2008

As it can happen to anybody, you might lose your mobile, however when it is an iPhone, it might be more painful, except if you have insurance.
A new application might help you to track it: TopSecret.

The purpose of TopSecret application is to help find a lost or stolen iPhone. The program will send you an email with the device location and other details that you can give to local authorities to have your iPhone returned to you (never try to recover it by yourself!)
The settings page will allow you to:
- display the latest location information received.
- change the email address where location information will be send.
- make something special instead of displaying the fake Network error message.
The program send a new email each time it obtains a different location coordinate, and give accuracy details for each location provided, but you must be aware that results may vary depending on Wifi, Edge/3G and GPS coverage: even with an iPhone 3G (which have a GPS chipset), the provided location may not be accurate, depending on weather conditions, whether the device is inside or outside and so on, which is why the emails sent also include IP address information, both local and remote ones (including reverse DNS lookup and whois information, when available).

This new application is available at 2.39€ from the AppStore

HandBrake, the famous video transcoding application is now available in version 0.9.3, and unlike the small numbering change might let it think, this is a major evolution.
HandBrake can now deal with non-DVD files, will now accept practically any type of video as a source thanks to libavcodec library. It also supports the latest improvements to the H.264 encoding library.
You can not anymore crack DVD protection, however if there is a trick:

HandBrake will dynamically load VLC's copy of libdvdcss if you have it in your Applications folder in Mac OS X, and if you're on Linux, and you want to live on the wild side, you can install libdvdcss on your system and get the same effect.
Translation of the last paragraph from nerdese:
We're not about to stop you from choosing to decrypt DVDs. If you're on a Mac, and you have VLC 0.9.x installed, you won't even notice the internal capability's gone. If you're on Linux, all you have to do is install a library.

For additional information: http://handbrake.fr/

In a recent interview, Richard Rutledge, Western Digital's SVP for marketing, unveiled the WD’s position regarding SSD:

Western Digital enters markets that exist, announces products when they are available, and runs a tight model with opportunities greater than resources such that we take a controlled, methodical, sequential, incremental approach to product portfolio expansion.

I case competitors did not really understand it yet, WD does not speak about products which might, or not. Appear in a short, mid-term or long-term future, it only talks about products which will be effectively released.
WD considers there are 2 markets for SSD. On one side, entry-level for cheap SSDs to be used in handheld devices: low performance level, small capacity. This market does not really attract WD.
The second market deal with SSD featuring high-performance levels, and the linked high price tag. WD has already built part of its business around similar plate-based high performance HDs, from the Raptor to today’s Velociraptor. A good point indeed, as we think that such high performance HD will be the primary target of high-end SSD, as the one released by Intel. However, as usual in such market, never trust figures on paper, and never bring any conclusion before having tested or compared products in reality.
At the end, all plate-based HD manufacturers will soon offer their corresponding SSD models in 2009, pushing price of SSD down and allowing earlier adoption by customers.

Since two years, Apple has exported to Europe the American business event known as Black Friday. This is usually a day during which physical and online shops offer substantial discount on products before launching the “Christmas season”. Unlike the previous years, this event will take place at the same time as the USA Black Friday, so Friday November 28th.
Over the last two years, Apple Europe usually offered nice discount, even though it was less tempting last year. Many analysts think that this year it could be again a perfect day for making good deal with the current economic deflation.
So, for additional information follow the link to the dedicated Black Friday webpage

Via software Update, Apple has just made available the update 3.2.1 for Safari, together with a wealth of details seldom specified concerning the new functionalities.

This update includes stability improvements and is recommended for all Safari users.

A restart is needed to obtain a Safari that is even more rapid.

Xlr8yourmac returns to the firmware update of the 1.5 TB disk of Seagate (with those who requested it).
This update is presented in form of an ISO image of a CD, and it is necessary to burn it onto a CD. This CD contains FreeDOS and the software for flashing the disk. It is possible to use this on any Mac Intel as long as the disk is connected internal SATA.
Once applied and restarted, the firmware has become version SD1A. Many tests show that it regulates the problems of the pause that had afflicted the disk, especially when it was Journaled.
If you have such a disk, all that is needed is that you make a request with their customers service to obtain a link to the update.

The devteam iPhone has put online the tools: PwnageTools and QuickPwnage, compatible with new firmware 2.2. They allow to desimlock the iPhones V1 and of jailbreaker all the iPhones and iPod Touch V1 (not V2).
The new PwnageTool also makes it possible to prepare a special firmware for the iPhone 3G that will not update the baseband (firmware of the modem) in order to preserve the desimlockage this iPhone in a near future.
Note that if you buy a iPhone 3G in France, it will be infinitely simpler (but more expensive) to officially desimlock by paying 100€ or to wait 6 months to do it for free.
To finish, the problem encountered with the new portables remains. It is possible to make the update d' an apparatus already unblocked with a previous version, but not to do it for the first time.
http://blog.iphone-dev.org/
PS: Software sold on the AppStore are much less expensive than those marketed on any other platform. Do not pirate them!