Another iPhone Lock Promised!

The iPhone is getting used and abused this week as three unlock solutions have popped up this week. Uniquephones has now surprised with word that it will be offering a downloadable software unlock service between 12 and 2 EST tomorrow at iphoneunlocking.com.[...] Thanks to obeezy for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 668Diggs).

What other users say about this:

mannyv: The US copyright office has an explicit DCMA exemption for efforts to unlock cellphones, so I’m not sure what legal basis AT&T has for sending a C&D.

However, they can just move offshore, and everything’ll beOK.

embraceware: Looks like it’s not happening:
http://blog.iphoneunlocking.com/?p=11

phookyall: Is this submitter missing a right index finger?

Good for future iphone buyers!! Go T-MOBILE!!!!

MakinBacon: Since they don’t mind unlocking the iPhone… I hope they don’t mind us downloading their software for free via bittorent.

ismith: One (two?) word: BitTorrent. Yeah, you heard me. I ain’t got an iPhone yet but when I do, I’ll have my trusty iPhone unlocker for free.

HappyScrappy: Actually, I’m sorta surprised that it took this long.

They read out the firmware of the radio processor a bit back. This means they can see how the radio works.

And here’s the thing, the way you unlock the radio is to send it a code that is determined from the IMEI using a mathematical process. Only certain people (like Cingular themselves) are supposed to have this. But once you have the firmware from the radio, you can look at how it calculates the number (so it can compare it) and then make a program that generates the numbers to enter. Then you just figure out how to get the number to the radio processor (which is easy on the iPhone, as you can run code that accesses the radio) and you’re done.

So the short version: they should have it worked out so you download a program to the phone that takes your IMEI (and even perhaps determines it automatically) and makes up the right number to send to the baseband, and you’re unlocked.

ps2pers0n: the title and description contradict. also i predict a firmware update in… 3…2…

Spamcan: I’m not about to run out to the closest Apple store and plop down $500 on one just yet. If it’s still unlocked 2 or 3 months from now I’ll seriously be considering it though.

infernoskull: i know this is completely random, but i wonder how many gorillas actually screw sasquatches without even knowing it.

chubbybubba: I have a hard time believing this one. The NJ kid said the process of unlocking took 2 hours with pretty good soldering. A fully software only unlock this soon seems a little too much. Anyone know if this has been verified to work like the first one was?

obeezy: They are busting the iPhone wide open. Good for apple, bad for AT&T

Henron: I for one welcome our new iPhone unlocking overlords.

brianbb98: im in ur.. oh ifuck it.

alanrice38181: Shouldn’t the title read “Another iPhone Unlock Promised”. When I read it I thought Apple was going to release another lock over software update something to relock unlocked iPhones and add another layer of security to all of them.

ChrisXof: Final countdown to an Apple Software Update to wipe it all off has begun…

Does the glossy screen of the new iMac suck?

There’s a lot of buzz online about the glossy LCD screen on the new generation of iMacs, called the Aluminum iMac. Some people love it and some hate it. However, its new glossy screen may have a deeper meaning in Apple’s positioning for consumer, business and professional systems.[...] Thanks to Mattman9876 for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 802Diggs).

What other users say about this:

seasparrow: Listen, it’s a 101 fact: Designers HATE glossy screens. They DO reflect insane amounts of ambient light like lamps, windows, even your own mug. It’s borderline useless for pros.

IMO, Apple’s decision to go with a glossy screen is a calculated one. This is a company who thinks of 50 different ways to soften a corner on an iPod. They know full well that designers will balk at the glossy-only iMac, and hence be forced to spend freaking 5k on a desktop model. What is that? It’s shameless, methodical marketing. Of course, I liken it to taking a wizz on their own loyal base to spur higher desktop sales. Nice, eh? At the end of the day it’s not about me, or you. It’s about stock-holder expectations being met. When desktop sales start slumping due to the iMac’s success, this is how marketers apply their strategic “creativity.”

So anyway, I don’t need a HUMMER-sized mac for web design and development. A matted screen option on a 24″ iMac would have been ideal , and they know this. Which is why they decided not to offer it. Case in point, 99% of people out there are using non-glossy screens. So why would I want to design on something they won’t be able to experience (glossy, saturated colors etc). Duhhh!!!

I’m bitter at Apple for a stunt like this because it deliberately leaves me no option but the most expensive one. Is it likely they thought this through? You can bet on it. They have the best of the best thinking for them. They don’t miss obvious stuff like this. And with that I simply say… L A M E.

chesss: Fact ofthe matter is that glossy is simply painful for the eyes

xcomapocalypse: The glossy screen is perfectly fine, I personally like the glossy screen – it’s so clean and the color is beautiful and most importantly….. accurate!

Those people who are complaining about the color accuracy and how different it is to the matte screens do not realise the simple fact that they have been wrongly conditioned into thinking matte screens actually display accurate color. The glossy screen will generate a much better approximation of any color than any matte monitor could.

Secondly If the reflection of yours truly is that ‘ugly’ and you cannot stand looking at yourself for long durations of time…..perhaps a matte monitor would be a better choice…… or a bag for your head with two eye-holes.

Or as a last resort Apple could start producing and selling polarizing glasses to remove the reflection entirely….. i-Specs!!!

I like it, it looks good…. and if it was such a bad idea, how come every other monitor manufacturer is following the trend and making glossy displays!

munchbach: Dugg by Mattman, or should we say Matte-Man?

satellytX: Yes. Only because the iMac sucks.

elf25: While I’ve not seen one IRL, with the glossy screen.. it kind of reminds me a Star Trek TNG console. (#1, Warp 5 on my mark, Engage.)

TheRealDeal: It’s all a matter of opinion.

But I love the new glossy screen. So, no, it does not suck!

lartones: Mac’s are slow anyways. My friend just bought a Macbook for 3 grand and it has a 2.33 intel CPU and 2 Gb of ram and I tell you that thing runs extremely slow. I was not impressed. I’d rather buy a PC notebook for $1,500 that runs faster and can still run both “major” OS’s and save the rest to put towards a TV.

kurtwinter: iMacs are off my shopping list, so I have to either buy Macbook Pro’s or MacPro, which is a shitty option due to its crapola Xeon roomheater / processor. See all you glossy fanboys at the eye doctor in a few years when you get occular degeneration from focusing on two things at once (image and reflection)!

chrism1128: Glossy is great in my CAVE. Every time I go to a big store and compare matte and glossy side by side, I always like the matte. I can’t stand the reflections.
If I were designing a home theater, I would go for glossy, because I could control the lighting. However, if you are in most other environments, say an office, outdoors, part of a home that has other people, you get stuck with that horrible glare.
I think that I (and probably a lot of other people) would be in those type of environments very often.

eponym: I would bet though that Apple’s just spinning the glass as glossy. And that it doesn’t have the coating macbooks do. And if this is the case, iMacs won’t have any more problems than the best CRTs for proofing colour (as far as reflection is concerned).

To insinuate that an iMac would be made glossy to deter Pros is silly. My first response to the soft proofing issue was “so? you can run a second display off the iMac that is more suitable for soft proofing.” And he also is totally over-touting any ability an LCD has for soft proofing. Any decent LCD that’s calibrated is suitable for soft proofing 90% of the time. After that you either need a multi-thousand dollar LCD, or use a CRT and even then still accept that on screen colour still isn’t totally reflective of ink on paper.

hanki: For many years after LCDs were released, people said that they weren’t acceptable because of the difference in dynamic range from CRTs. CRT with its glossy screens were the preferred monitor for color accuracy for professionals. The blacks were blacker, the whites were whiter and the colors were just juicier; which is what you now get with the new iMac. Well after years of sticking with CRTs, I just couldn’t take it anymore. Glare wasn’t the problem, though. What was the problem was that after 10+ hour days as a graphic artist, my eyes would be blurry puddles of goo from driving my monitors at high resolutions with CRTs low refresh rates(can you say flicker?). After an eye visit where my vision changed significantly from the previous visit, I realized that something had to change. It was then that I switched to a 22″ Cinema Display, and life was good again. The sharp text and lack of flicker made a world of difference, but there was a difference in dynamic range, so I didn’t trust the display for color accuracy. But I never trusted my CRTs for color accuracy either. Sure I calibrated my monitor to get it as close as possible, but I also had my calibrated NTSC monitor to check my work for television. So now I just bought a 24″ Glossy iMac for the house, which I will also be doing some “real work” on that I bring home from the office. I’m not one bit concerned about the glossy monitor being “less professional” or “less color accurate”, because I would never rely on ANY computer monitor for the final say anyway. That is what my NTSC monitor is for and if you are in print, then that is what your printer and PMS color swatches are for. Yes, I calibrate but only HACKS rely on their computer monitor for final color accuracy.

The new iMac is beautiful and glossy(and silent) which makes for an awesome computing experience. After dealing with my “wind tunnel” G4 for years, the silence and speed of the iMac is a blessing.

inkswamp: Not offering an alternative to the glossy screen was an awful decision. I’ve been using Macs since the early 90s, have owned several and I’ve loved every version of the iMac that Apple has produced (own the G4 “iLamp” too) but I loathe the glossy screen. This is one of the worst decisions Apple has ever made. I made this point repeatedly over on the MacRumors discussion forums where it was dismissed as crazy talk, but for those of us with less-than-perfect eyesight, any glare or reflection off the surface can cause eyestrain and splitting headaches after staring at it for too long. The change to matte LCD displays was a godsend for me. As much as I like Macs, this new iMac is off my list despite the fact that I will be in the market for a new machine early next year. I have no need to spend the extra on a PowerMac and the Mac Mini is too little power. Apple literally doesn’t have a computer for me right now. If Apple doesn’t offer an alternative by early next year, I may not be buying a Mac. That sucks.

FrankieAngels: I was at the opening day of the new Apple store in Glasgow (yes I am a bit of a fanboy!) and saw the new iMac “in the flesh” for the first time.

Anyone who has visited a store will know the stores are bright and very well lit but I had no problem with glare front on or from the side. The colours were stunning and very vibrant.

That said it might have been an idea to offer a choice as they do with the Macbook.

setrusko: I like the new gloss screens. The quality of the images look amazing.

Apple iPhone unlocked! – 2 Ways: take iPhone apart, or use this software

Apple iPhone has been unlocked, reverse engineering and software techniques have both been revealed! 17 Year old kid takes the iPhone apart and figures out how to do it. At roughly the same time, coincidence or not, a company of six programmers releases software that easily does the same unlocking without cracking open the iPhone.[...] Thanks to SolpolAuctions for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 20Diggs).

What other users say about this:

SolpolAuctions: anyone have any ideas about how much the software will cost?

blatamatatah: apple won’t care, but AT&T will put pressure on apple to block software like this

smokingtokisn: bet the software will be illegal

iPhone: The Unlock Heard ‘Round the World

Unlocking the iPhone dramatically widens the phone’s appeal. For one, it means that you won’t be tied to AT&T Wireless’ services and network; you can use whatever local GSM network operates best for your needs–and potentially save money while doing so. Once it’s been unlocked, you can take the phone with you anywhere[...] Thanks to CLIFFosakaJAPAN for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 36Diggs).

What other users say about this:

obeezy: I did! My main worry was the battery replacement though.

socialbear: Goodbye ipod and muziq phone, hello iphone. Too bad I didn’t hold off on getting a new phone.

More Fat Nano™ Rumors: It’s Getting Interesting

So today we’re hearing more rumors swirling around the Interwebs about the forthcoming Fat iPod Nano™, and this thing’s shaping up to be interesting. We already know it exists, as both Gizmodo and CrunchGear have received Cease & Desist orders from Apple’s legal team for showing leaked photos.[...] Thanks to webtech for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 1136Diggs).

What other users say about this:

jdizzle88: Apple pwns no doubt. The fat ipod seems way chill.

ghostdogg: iChunk

iChainsaw: maybe apple is fucking with us.

iChainsaw: hey guys, i dug up this:
http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/9333/nanospyshotvu1ok0.png

its what some of the people were told to take down.

BrianEnigma: I thought that the point of the Nano was that it fits in that unexplainable “coin pocket” in your jeans. Do people actually use that pocket for anything else? If the Nano gets fat, what are we supposed to use that pocket for?

ORD2FRA: I was at Costco today and all of the iPods have been pulled… normally they have a pallet of iPods out for sale, but now nothing. It can’t be that the back to school rush emptied Costco of all ipods! This is in Chicago BTW.

4eyez: Hey dumbasses: Yes, it’s fake. Fake, fake, fake. How do I know? Cuz I made it. We even say so in a previous artilce:
http://crunchgear.com/2007/08/23/bloops-apple-legal-essentially-confirms-fat-nano-existence/

We never claimed it was a real image, so settle down with the photoshop stuff. I made this is about 5 minutes, so there.

adammharvey: its not interesting its just plain dumb

fhornplayer: Anyone else thinks it just looks like an ugly squished video ipod?

jesuswuzanalien: FFFFFFAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYSSSSSSSSSSSSS

ok thats all i wanted to say. proceed to dig down

SnappingTwig: It looks funny, I’m waiting for my 6th Gen iPod.

creator123: the NANO project is #1 in Russia!

mrfreeziexp: you guys are falling right into apples trap. Making Gizmodo get rid of those photos was such a smart idea, and it’s worked brilliantly. That “fat” nano is not real and it’s not Apple’s next nano.

turbovince: It looks quite used for a NEW nano. Buried.

shaunj66: Buried for the pointless use of TM in the title.

My conspiracy theory – expect an iPhone update with new features soon

Well, what if Apple was waiting until someone unlocked the iPhone before releasing a ‘special’ update, and they’ve designed a way to make sure that only AT&T customers could update their iPhones and add these features? I am not saying Apple would necessarily “brick” an unlocked iPhone, but what if….[...] Thanks to CLIFFosakaJAPAN for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 44Diggs).

What other users say about this:

staticfish: This isn’t a very good ‘theory.’ Why? Because it’s knowledge, and basic fact that Apple and other companies have done exactly this in the past.

In fact it’s pretty obvious if you ask me, that when they patch the unlock, they will also add a couple of features due to the product life cycle anyway.

The new nano: Has Jonathan Ive lost it?!?

Unfortunately, if recently leaked photos of the upcoming nano prove to be legit (and it is looking like they may be), it looks like Ive may have gone to the creativity well one too many times. Given Ives’ track record, perhaps once we use this new nano, we will appreciate its improved ergonomics, and overlook the unsexiness of it.[...] Thanks to CLIFFosakaJAPAN for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 33Diggs).

What other users say about this:

modemlooper: Doubt it. but i do think it will have a bigger screen

Fully SIM Unlocked iPhones

Engadget posts confirmation that iPhoneSimFree can provide a software application that will completely unlock the iPhone, allowing you to use other mobile network’s SIM cards.The six-man team has been working non-stop since launch day, and they’re officially the first to break Apple’s SIM locks on t…[...] Thanks to samlustgarten for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 16Diggs).

What other users say about this:

EBFoxbat: Well there’s a surprise. Bostont Globe (
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/08/24/nj_teen_unlocks_iphone_from_att_network/
) has a different version of what went down.

Apple iPod Event on September 5th, a Wednesday?

September 5th falls on a Wednesday, which the author acknowledges is an unusual day for Apple to make announcements, but points to the holiday weekend as the reason behind it.[...] Thanks to obeezy for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 43Diggs).

What other users say about this:

daftman: In other news, 20k Mac fanboy mark their calendars for a simultaneous orgasm.

Scotepi: /me waits for the iPhone without the Phone (exactly identical but with a 100GB hdd and no phone)

jackwaters: Lets just hope they don’t announce those hideous ipods that were shown in the mock-ups earlier in the week…..

Major Apple event on September 5th!

Apple’s new line of iPods will indeed be introduced in September, in line with recent speculation and rumors. But contrary to the report provided by AppleInsider yesterday, the announcement will not be happening mid-to-late September.[...] Thanks to obeezy for providing this nice story on Digg (more than 1432Diggs).

What other users say about this:

GreenAlien: Hope they dump the keyboards on both the MacBook and the new standalone keyboards. They’re terrible. Played with both in the local Apple store today and just amazed how bad they are. Not even close to for example Vaio keyboards. And the new iMac screens are so glossy you see more behind you that what’s on the screen. And I dare say Apple will continue to put fixed batteries in all their upcoming iPods and spit in the face of every other maker of handheld devices (and customers that inevitably got bitten by dud batteries in the past). I’d love to buy a new iMac (but for the useless graphics card), a new iPhone, maybe even a new iPod (since the battery in mine gave up) but Apple always have to go and do some retarded design-over-function that everyone else gets right.

Nyukin: If they start shipping late September or early October, and I purchased an iPod for $200 with the student discount, can I trade it for the new ones as per the three week rule?

todcreative: September 5th is the last day of IFA here in berlin. Apple’s been rumored to be there. Anyone want to hook me up with a press pass?

http://www1.messe-berlin.de/vip8_1/website/MesseBerlin/htdocs/www.ifa-berlin/index_e/index.html

Dylson: Its gonna be awesome.

wayback09: The 3G iPhone for Europe that was rumored two months ago. Where is it?

NeoRicen: I’m skeptical of course but it’s hard to be considering all the iMac stuff (even the date) was predicted about this long before the even as well.

johney5: im putting my money on the 21st, its the first tuesday after the buy a mac get 200 off an ipod deal is over.

Kugo: Nothing’s been announced. Don’t get your panties in a wedge.

lunchbox170: Fuck I just bought a iPod Video, I wonder if it is too late to return it?

mmilian: Let’s hope we see one of these:

http://bigthawt.com/2007/07/24/next-ipod/

ethicka: There’s no way it’ll come out Sept 5 because they’re dumping their iPod stock on college kids (the buy a mac get a free nano deal isn’t up until 9/16).

TdiFFRob6876: I wonder what the Zune will look like once the new iPod line is released.

EerFoolWVU: I can’t believe I’m the only one that thought of the Texas quarterback when I read this!

WolfDV: I want just want a new nano with 16 or 32gb of flash mem in the current form factor (not that rumored fat-nano)

blup3ace: does anyone have the leaked pictures of the new nano?
most were taken down.