New iOS 6 bug lets institutional users install unapproved apps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdMWxHNpG38

Bug-ridden iOS is back in the news. In addition to Exchange woes and the Lock screen vulnerability discovered in iOS 6.1, both of which should be fixed with the iOS 6.1.2 software update said to arrive before next Wednesday, a new issue has been discovered which allows institutional iOS 6 users to bypass the “Don’t Allow Changes” account restriction and install unapproved apps by changing the iTunes account linked to the iOS device. Apple has reportedly acknowledged the glitch, but wouldn't commit to fixing it in the next iOS software update...

Planetbeing talks favorite tweaks, food and more in Reddit thread

An interesting thread popped up on Reddit today in r/jailbreak. What started out as an AMA request (that's a request for a person or group to participate in an 'Ask me anything' thread) for the evad3rs, turned into a pretty candid Q&A session with planetbeing.

Typically when an AMA request is filled, the subject(s) comes back at a later time to answer user-submitted questions. But being the nice guy that he is, after noticing the thread, planetbeing hopped on and said he'd be happy to answer any questions. And boy did he...

Screenshots of Samsung’s iWatch competitor leaked

While there's been multiple Apple rumors bandied about over the past few weeks, by far, the one receiving the most attention is the iWatch. Three major news outlets have now reported of its existence and the word is, Apple's bringing it to market.

Well if that really is the case, then it might want to hurry, or risk getting beaten to the punch by its fiercest competitor. That's right, Samsung has a smartwatch of its own. And if the alleged screenshots above are the real deal, then it's not too far off...

Opera buys Skyfire browser that brought Flash video to iOS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg7oUtydk3Q

Back in March 2011, when Adobe's proprietary Flash plug-in was still predominantly used for web video, a new paid-for iPhone browser, Skyfire, made headlines. It helped alleviate the situation by detecting Flash-encoded clips on web pages and then tapping a cloud computing platform to translate Flash video into an iPad-friendly format, on the fly.

Since then, Skyfire has seen over 20 million downloads across iOS and Android devices and developers claim it now converts over 200,000 web sites with Flash video into an iOS-friendly format. While most of web video is delivered via HTML5 these days, the Skyfire iOS app has seen several major updates that over time brought social features, even built-in extensions, to the table.

In a surprising move, Norway-based Opera Software, which makes the multi-platform Opera browser, Friday said it acquired the Skyfire team, hoping to broaden its solutions "beyond the browser"...

Apple seeking someone to help deliver next-gen Apple TV features

An interesting new Apple job listing has been spotted, indicating that Apple has "high-priority" next-generation Apple TV features in development. That's an interesting choice of words considering Apple continuously refers to its $99 set-top box as a hobby business. And with recent talk of Apple about to update the Apple TV platform this fall with a software development kit for third-party apps and games, all of the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall nicely in place...

Skype testing short video messaging feature

Microsoft is launching a new Video Messages feature to allow Skype users to send short video snippets to each other up to three minutes long. The feature works in both online and offline mode and Microsoft has started testing it with some Skype users on the Mac, iOS and Android, according to multiple web reports. Surprisingly, Skype Video Messages won't be initially available on Windows, but Skype for Windows users will receive these messages with a link to view them online. More tidbits right below...

Engineers poke holes in ‘fake Apple projects’ myth

A lot of urban myths have popped up around how Apple goes about designing its products and protecting its famous paranoid secrecy. Through mindless repetition, these unconfirmed facts tend to become kinda public knowledge, some of them so compelling we cannot help but believe those overly romanticized Apple stories without questioning them or even consider asking the subject of whom the rumor is about.

One journalist thought different and sought to apply a healthy dose of skepticism to one of the most popular myths - that Apple assigns engineers to fake projects. He set out to separate the wheat from the chaff by interviewing several former and current Apple engineers who - surprise, surprise - apparently have absolutely no knowledge of fake projects being a regular occurrence at Apple...

Microsoft doesn’t want to take billions from Office for iPad?

Picture Microsoft in one of those V8 commercials, where the actor whacks himself in the head after he could be drinking a healthy vegetable drink rather than a can of diet cola.

Now, replace the veggie juice with an iPad and you might have a scenario playing out in the executive suite of Microsoft today.

Why? The software giant refuses to sell a version of its Office suite for the iPad, a mistake possibly costing $2.5 billion. One analyst believes the company is leaving $2.5 billion on the table by insisting to offer the popular software bundle to Microsoft's tiny tablet market, as well as the declining number of PCs.

Can any company be that short-sighted? Wait, that was a rhetorical question...

Dropbox refreshed with all-new PDF viewer, push alerts for shared folders

Dropbox on Monday rolled out a shiny new admin console for enterprise users and last week released a new Sync API to make it much easier for programmers to write software which treats cloud Dropbox files as if they were local.

Today, the hot cloud storage startup gave its iOS client some love by pushing out an update containing three useful enhancements.

First up, the Dropbox app sports an all-new PDF viewer with search and nice thumbnail view. Second, you will now receive a push notification when a folder has been shared with you. And third, Dropbox now lets you sort your files by date modified (finally!). The free update is available now from the App Store...

Staples executives confirm US locations will soon carry Apple products

Last month, test page ads for an Apple TV and other Apple gear popped up on Staples' US website, leading many to believe that the office supply chain was finally going to start offering the Cupertino company's products in its Stateside locations.

Well it was confirmed last night. After Staples reportedly held a meeting with employees announcing the news, executives and other staffers took to Twitter to share their excitement that Apple products would soon be available in their US stores...

BMW adopts Apple’s Genius model to educate car buyers

If there is one consumer experience needing updating, it is that trip to an auto sales floor. Too often, the salesperson can only provide potential buyers with the most basic information. Luxury automaker BMW hopes to change all that, using Apple's Genius model to answer consumer queries.

Part of the BMW Genius Everywhere program to launch in the U.S. in 2014, young people armed with iPads will roam the automaker's showrooms even before the sales staff get down to clinching the deal. The company becomes just the latest hoping to ignite more sales by taking a page from Apple's wildly successful Geniuses who provide unassuming assistance and educate consumers on Apple gear...

MMORPG Vendetta Online previewed on iPad

Guild Software's sci-fi MMORPG Vendetta Online has been available on Android, Linux, Mac and Windows (RT included) since 2004. It's coming soon to iOS, with the first public iPad preview having launched today on Kickstarter. Guild Software's John Bergman explains that the team is planning on shipping the iPad build "as soon as we can" before fully focusing their attention on gameplay enhancements. The video demonstration runs on a prototype build running on an iPad 2 connected over Wi-Fi...