If you are using Mobile Safari on iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch running iOS 5.1, than you should be cautious of a security issue that involves address bar spoofing. The issue was discovered by David Vieira-Kurz of MajorSecurity, and involves “an error within the handling of URLs when using javascript’s window open() method.” This can be exploited by malicious sites to display custom URLs, potentially fooling users into supplying personal information to a malicious website (since the Safari address bar can display a totally different address than the website that is actually being displayed.

MajorSecurity has notified Apple of the issue and it is at the point where it is likely just a matter of time before Apple releases the patch to address the problem. While Apple works on a fix for the issue, it is probably a good idea to avoid opening untrusted links and think twice about sending personal information to any website that asks for it through Safari on your iOS device.

The security firm also created a sample web page to show the vulnerability in action. If you are interested in checking it out, open the following URL on your iOS device (one with iOS 5.1 installed):

Click the demo at the top of the page and you will see a site that very closely resembles Apple’s official site but is actually hosted by MajorSecurity.

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[Source: TheNextWeb]

PayPal officially announced the mobile payment solution with the free “PayPal Here” reader and accompanying free iOS and Android application.

PayPal’s system can accept all major credit cards and offers a few more ways to get paid outside of credit cards. Merchants can accept direct PayPal payments and checks, yes hand written checks, in addition to credit cards. The funds (except for payments via check) are available the same day in the user’s PayPal account.

With the PayPal Here card reader and application PayPal has positioned themselves in direct competition with Square’s reader and accompanying iPad and iPhone applications. The application also manages to undercut Square’s transaction fee by .05% coming in at 2.7% per transaction.

The ability to create invoices and track cash payments is standard fare but the odd triangular design of the reader itself is an interesting choice to say the least. But, it appears the Pay Here app allows merchants to add items to a simple inventory list. It’s no where near squares digital storefront, but definitely encouraging to have the added functionality this early.

The reader or the accompanying app are not yet available, but for those who are interested can sign up for notification as soon as they become available. The additional payment methods definitely make PayPal Here an enticing offer.

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[Source: PayPal]

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According to the Wall Street Journal, AT&T has a new idea: Force app developers to cover the bill.

As smartphones become more and more popular, data usage and the expenses that can go with it are increasingly becoming hot-button topics for wireless customers and carriers alike. Too often we hear stories about smartphone users being charged extra, or having their connection speeds slashed, for heavy data usage.

According to the publishing house, AT&T is said to be tinkering with a service that would put a new tab on app developers. That is, the devs would pay the wireless carrier for some of the data used by app consumers for things like streaming movies and smartphone applications.

John Donovan, AT&T’s head of network and technology, says that the country’s second-largest wireless provider is considering a “toll-free calling” plan for mobile apps. The system would work in a similar way to 1-800 numbers in that the company providing the service (in this case, the app maker), would cover the connection costs.

“A feature that we’re hoping to have out sometime next year is the equivalent of 800 numbers that would say, if you take this app, this app will come without any network usage.” – said Donovan.

Carriers have been considering different pricing models for years as they look for ways to make more money from skyrocketing mobile-data use. But AT&T’s approach would be novel, an attempt to push some of the cost of data traffic back onto the Internet companies and other service providers that profit from it.

Donovan sees such as service as a way to create new revenue streams that presently don’t exist and then find a way to split them. As the would-be service and its associated benefits were described, “a customer nearing his data limit for the month could be more likely to download a movie if the content provider covered the price of the data transmission.”

if AT&T’s new plan goes into place, developers would be able to offer certain apps where the data usage comes at no cost to the user. Obviously, this will have significant repercussions for the developer community, as big companies that can afford to cover customer data costs gain an edge over independent developers. It could also result in apps costing more up front, with the promise of no data fees.

Unfortunately, few details about the plan have yet been released, so we don’t know if this toll-free app scheme will be put in place; or, if so, when. Despite that, it seems to us likely that AT&T will move forward, as it would give the company the ability to get paid for data while not having to raise subscribers’ bills.

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[Source: WSJ]

In a Building Windows 8 post written by two SkyDrive program managers, Microsoft detailed the SkyDrive Metro, the service’s tight integration with Windows 8, SkyDrive on the desktop, and fetching files through SkyDrive.com.

As Microsoft explains, the Metro app, which is built on WinRT and written using web technologies (Javascript, HTML, and CSS), will be available to any Metro application via the OS’s file picker. Microsoft expects the Metro and web versions to eventually converge and reach feature parity at some point in the near future.

What is Windows Live SkyDrive?

Store, organize, and download your files, photos, and favorites on Windows Live servers, and access them from any computer with an Internet connection. Share photos and files that you create with your friends, collaborate on documents, or display photos and files that you create for anyone on the Windows Live network. When you sign in to the Windows Live SkyDrive website with your Windows Live ID, you get:

1. Storage. Store thousands of photos and files. The SkyDrive storage meter shows how much storage space you’ve used.
2. Organization. Arrange your files in top-level folders and subfolders that you create.
3. Control. Choose permissions for each top-level folder that you create. Keep your photos, files, and favorites in personal folders so you can keep them private; in shared folders so you can share them with your Windows Live network, your extended network, and people on your contact list; or in public folders so that they can be viewed by anyone on the Internet.
4. Convenience. Keep track of your favorite websites even when you aren’t using your own computer.
5. Flexibility. Move, copy, delete, rename, and caption your photos and files after you upload them.
6. Display. Photos saved as the JPG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, TIF, and TIFF file types display with thumbnail images, and can be viewed by other users on SkyDrive or in an online slide show, if they have the right permissions to view them.
7. Sharing. Share links directly to your folders, files, and photos, or embed your photos and files in your blog or webpage. You can also let people know you’ve added their picture to SkyDrive by adding people tags.

After installing an app that is 5MB in size, you will be able to use Windows Explorer for quick drag-and-drop upload/download, easy file management, and the ability to access your data from anywhere. And the syncing through the app is seamless. As files are saved and updated to the PC, they are automatically uploaded to the cloud without any user action. Among the rumored features yesterday was an increased individual file upload size to 300MB. Interestingly enough, if you upload through the SkyDrive app on your PC, you’ll be able to upload files that are up to 2GB in size.

Windows 8, SkyDrive will be available natively as a “file picker”, so you’ll be able to open files from and save files to SkyDrive. It will also be integrated in the Charms bar as a “Share charm”. This will allow you to email files via SkyDrive, instead of uploading them as an attachment.

Microsoft is also expected to be working on launching a new Music Streaming Service which is rumored to drop sometime in the 2nd quarter.

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Rumor mill has it that Microsoft is in talks with record labels on creating a new music service that caters to Xbox and Windows Phone 7. The software giant is planning on creating a delivery service that would supply music service to Xbox as well as the upcoming Windows based phones, according to an exclusive report on CNet.

Considering that the company already possesses music licenses, there’s no mention as to how this service will differ from Microsoft’s Zune Music Pass, which is the music service currently available to Xbox subscribers. It’s still unclear whether Microsoft must acquire new licenses for its service and that will depend on how Microsoft wants to do with the new music service.

According the post, “Negotiations are still in a preliminary stage and the two sides have yet to drill down into all the specifics“. Microsoft has roughly outlined a service that could launch sometime this year and include streaming music as well as downloads.

A spokeswoman for the company said, “Microsoft does not comment on rumors and speculation.“

Google did much the same thing with Google Music and its Android operating system. In addition to Google, many of the top phone makers like HTC and Research In Motion are trying to break into the field.

As for Microsoft, we’ll keep you posted on the company’s music aspirations, stay tuned for more news and info on this topic by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and/or subscribing to our RSS feed.

As of today, Wii owners will be able sign up to Hulu Plus, its subscription service that was launched back in 2010, for $7.99 a month and stream the current as well as full back seasons of shows, along with a wide selection of movies.

Back in October 2011, it was reported that gaming giant Nintendo was teaming up with Hulu to deliver Hulu Plus TV shows and movies to the Wii and the 3DS by the end of the year. Well, it has taken a little longer than planned, but the service has now gone live for the Wii, with talks of 3DS arriving later this year.

Founded in 2007, Hulu is an online TV service that helps users discover premium content from around the world, and its ownership is shared between Hulu, NBCUniversal, NewsCorporation, The Walt Disney Company and Providence Equity Partners.

“Wii offers the most entertainment fun for everyone in the family, with an impressive selection of streaming movies and TV shows in addition to an unparalleled lineup of games that can’t be played anywhere else,” said Tony Elison, Nintendo of America’s senior director and general manager of Network Business. “The Wii console is the hub of the living room, and with the addition of Hulu Plus, millions of households now have even more options for streaming premium TV shows and movies.”

Netflix launched on the Wii back in 2010, so having one of its big rivals launch beside it will help stiffen competition. In 2011, Hulu racked up more than $400m in revenue, and surpassed 1.5m subscribers, and rolling out its Wii app will help it reach a much broader audience and reach “every screen”.

“We want to be everywhere, on every screen where people want to watch their favorite shows and discover new ones on their own schedule,” said Pete Distad, VP of Marketing and Distribution at Hulu. “Wii is not only one of the most important entertainment devices in the living room, but one of the most heavily anticipated and requested platforms by users and subscribers. Teaming up with Nintendo gives millions of households across the U.S. an immediate way to access some of their favorite current season shows on-demand in their living room through Hulu Plus.”

Users with broadband Internet access can visit the Wii Shop Channel through their console, and download the Hulu Plus application for free. For the first month of launch, users who download Hulu Plus for Wii will get a two-week free trial to the service if they don’t already have an account.

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Apple seeded OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion for the developers today, the public release of the new OS is scheduled for this summer. The new version does not have as many massive changes under it’s hood like we saw in OS X 10.7 Lion. But that’s not to say OS X 10.8 isn’t a big deal.

Average users who already own other Apple products like iPhone, and iPad will appreciate the improvements Apple has introduced with OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion to bring OS X more closely in line with iOS.

What’s New in Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion:

1. iCloud Integration

One of the highlights of Mountain Lion is iCloud Integration, once released this summer, it will be much easier for the iCloud users to sync documents between Macs and iOS devices. Mountain Lion-aware apps will allow you save documents to iCloud or your local system directly from the file system. If you save a doc to iCloud, any revisions that you make on one device are instantly available on all your other Apple devices. There’s a Documents Library for easy access to your iCloud documents, with the most recently used documents sorted to the top. Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Messages, Notes, and many more Apple apps and services work with iCloud in Mountain Lion, and there’s an API that will allow developers to create iCloud-enabled apps, too.

2. iChat replaced with Messages

The extremely popular iMessage service will be replaced with iChat on Mountain Lion. The result is a cross-platform service that lets users on Macs, iPhones, and iPads chat with each other. It allows for unlimited messaging, including the sending of high-quality photos, HD video, and attachments as large as 100MB. Mac users will want to restrain themselves when chatting with friends on capped mobile data plans, although the iOS version of the app is smart enough to route messages through Wi-Fi when it’s available. Messages shows delivery receipts by default, and there’s also an option to turn on read receipts. Messages are encrypted end to end, and there’s a button to escalate your chat to a FaceTime video call. Messages works with other instant-messaging services, including AIM, Google Talk, Jabber, and Yahoo. Want to try out Messages before Mountain Lion drops? Check out the beta for Lion at apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/messages-beta/.

3. Game Center Integration on Mac

If you don’t know it from iOS, Game Center is a social gaming platform which will now be a part of the OS X in Mountain Lion. You’ll be able to play against anyone with a connected iPad, iPhone, or Mac, too. Game Center enables multiplayer games, in-game voice chat, and notifications of friend requests and game invitations. There will be an API for Game Center that lets developers leverage in-game chat, leaderboards and more.

4. AirPlay Mirroring

If you have an Apple TV device on the same network as your Mac (with a second-generation Intel Core processor), Mountain Lion makes it simple to mirror your screen on your HDTV (at 720p resolution). AirPlay Mirroring pops up to let you know when it detects an Apple TV, and it handles all the resolution matching. Combined with Game Center, AirPlay Mirroring can more or less turn your Mac into a game console.

5. New Notification Center

Apple has unified system and app messaging in Mountain Lion, giving all messages a consistent look and bringing them into one place. The Notification Center slides in and out from the right-hand side of the screen when you use a new trackpad gesture (a two-finger swipe from the right edge). Or you can click the Notification Center button in the upper right corner of the screen. (It turns blue when there are new notifications.) Apps can pop up banners, which last on your screen’s upper right corner for five seconds before moving into the notifications center. Alerts, on the other hand, pop up and persist until dismissed. There’s an API for developers, too, so that their apps can appear in the Notification center and conform to the Mountain Lion style.

6. Share Sheets

Mountain Lion also brings Share Sheets, enabled apps will get an option of pressing the share button from within the app that will load a menu (a “sheet”) of services for sharing links, pictures, videos, etc.  There’s a developer API for Share Sheets, too, so third-party apps can also get in on the sharing action. Twitter gets special mention. Click Twitter on a Share Sheet and you get a “Tweet Sheet” that contains whatever it is you’re tweeting about: link, picture, etc, with the usual character countdown. Once you’ve got Twitter set up, it gets added to the Notification Center, by default.

7. Reminders

The Reminders app you know from iOS  will be available as part for your Apple desktop. This simple organizational app keeps you on track with lists, due dates, and sorting by date. Apple iCloud can keep it synced across all your devices, and it also works with CalDAV services, such as Google Calendar and Yahoo Calendar (though you can keep local-only reminder lists, too).

8. Notes

Mountain Lion pulls Notes out of email, promoting it to its own app. Notes can be fairly rich, content-wise; you can drag and drop photos and attachments to Notes and format them with bullets, fonts, numbered lists, and so on. You can pin Notes to your desktop with a double click, and the Share button makes it easy to send them to collaborators. Finally, with iCloud, all your Notes are synced across all your Macs and iOS devices.

9. Gatekeeper

Mountain Lion focuses on security with Gatekeeper, a powerful line of defense against future threats. Gatekeeper prevents malware by only running apps it deems safe because (at Gatekeeper’s most restrictive setting) you downloaded them from the Mac App Store, or (by default) because they were downloaded from the App Store or written by licensed Apple developers and contain digital signatures that are destroyed if hackers modify the code. There is a third setting you can choose, too, that will let you run apps downloaded from anywhere. Apple will provide digital signatures to every registered developer for inclusion in their software, so by the time Mountain Lion ships, most safe apps should be signed.

10. One More Thing: China

Apple has a chance to get some positive China-related coverage for a change with its OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion one more thing: A big push for improved Chinese localization. New features include improved text input, for example, with better suggestions for Chinese characters, and typing for English and Chinese characters without toggling between the two for more convenient input of names or words without Chinese equivalents. Apple also promises to more than double the number of Chinese characters supported in handwriting recognition, auto-correction, and improved text input for those who type Pinyin with regional pronunciations. Apple also gives a nod to local services: Users will also be able to set up Mail, Contacts, and Calendar with services like QQ, 126, and 163. Also planned is Baidu search in Safari, as well as access to Chinese social-network site Sina weibo and video sites Youku and Tudou via share sheets.

Considering all the improvements it still looks and feels like a desktop operating system, it’s still OS X, not iOS. With the forthcoming consumer beta of Windows 8, which focuses more towards the tablets, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

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One of the most common reasons why people  jailbreak their iOS devices is to customize it with jailbreak tweaks that can perform amazing things when it comes to improving the functionality of your device and also increasing the overall user experience. A number of Cydia tweaks have been provided in the Cydia marketplace by Devs, both paid and free that help do this.

But there is however no better pleasure then creating a good idea for a jailbreak tweak and even making it yourself so as to have a very personalized customization experience on the jailbroken iOS device.

A free tool called iOSOpenDev was recently released for developers. Those with basic programming knowledge can use Xcode templates for creating jailbreak-style apps and tweaks that can be easily published to Cydia, the jailbreak version of the App Store.

What Does iOSOpenDev Do?

iOSOpenDev sets up a developing environment with Xcode and the iOS SDK for devs to make tweaks and plugins for prominent Cydia apps. Not only can those with programming skills make their own tweaks from scratch, but Xcode templates are provided for creating tweaks that work with popular apps like SBSettings and Activator. Once a dev has tested a creation, the package can be submitted to Cydia and made available to the public.

Filippo Bigarella, the developer of this great tool is a student from Italy. He’s been actively writing apps and tweaks for several years now, and he’s behind some of the most prominent tweaks and apps in Cydia, including the newly-released Springtomize 2 for iOS 5.

The idea behind iOSOpenDev is that this will either lead to more useful Cydia tweaks being created and released as a result of attracted new talent, or even will lead to a big wave of badly designed Cydia tweaks released by first time programmers.

Download iOSOpenDev

This is totally free and you can go to this link and download it right now.

Requirements

• Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) or Lion (10.7)
• Xcode 4
• dpkg — provides dpkg-deb for building Debian packages, install using MacPorts (http://www.macports.org)

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