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Filed under: Handsets , Software , Apple , OS X According to iPhone Atlas and iPhone hacker-extraordinaire Jonathan Zdziarski, Apple has readied a blacklisting system which allows the company to remotely disable applications on your device . Apparently, the new 2.x firmware contains a URL which points to a page containing a list of "unauthorized" apps -- a move which suggests that the device makes occasional contact with Apple's servers to see if anything is amiss on your phone. In Jonathan's words: "This suggests that the iPhone calls home once in a while to find out what applications it should turn off. At the moment, no apps have been blacklisted, but by all appearances, this has been added to disable applications that the user has already downloaded and paid for, if Apple so chooses to shut them down. I discovered this doing a forensic examination of an iPhone 3G. It appears to be tucked away in a configuration file deep inside CoreLocation." Now honestly, we don't expect the folks in Cupertino to suddenly start turning off apps that you've paid for and downloaded, but if Apple is indeed monitoring iPhones or touches (even passively) for applications it doesn't want or like, it signals a problem deeper than a company simply wanting to sign-off on software for the device. Even on platforms like Symbian -- which calls for apps to be signed and traceable -- the suggestion that a process of the OS would actively monitor, report on, and possibly deactivate your device's software is unreasonable, and clearly presents an issue that the company will have to deal with sooner or later. Oh, and Apple -- we're not going to buy the "for your security" angle, so don't even bother. [Via Mac Rumors ] Read - iPhone can phone home and kill apps? Read - Apple's URL with "unathorized applications" string Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Software , Apple , OS X What's the sound of a tree falling when no one's around to hear it? What's the sound of one hand clapping? And perhaps most importantly, what's the purpose of a clipboard when only one app can use it? Development shop Proximi is making a pretty big stink about its MagicPad app for the iPhone, touting its homegrown copy / paste functionality as part of a rich text-editing package to help shore up the handset's weak sauce (read: non-existent) office app suite. That's all well and good -- the app looks well-executed and provides a core function that should've been present across the entire iPhone to start -- but without buy-in from Apple , the clipboard's stuck in the MagicPad sandbox. Cool? Yes. Should Apple be paying attention? Yes. Useful? At this point, barely. [Via MacRumors ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Handsets , Software , ATT , Apple , OS X Handhelds (and handsets, in particular ) have long since been used as tools for home automation , but the forthcoming App Store is likely to bring a niche concept to the masses... or some of them, at least. Beginning on July 11th (that's the iPhone 3G launch day, you know), a Crestron interface titled iLoveControl will be available for download; during the first 30 days of launch, said app will "offer a one-room Crestron solution free of charge, configured for the control of lights, drapes, HVAC, audio and video." If you're looking to control more than that, it'll cost you $250 per configuration. This is just one example of what's likely to fill the App Store, and quite frankly, we're pretty excited about the possibilities. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Software , Apple , OS X We were really counting on heading straight to the bank with our $1,500, 3-gigabyte... uh, "application" on the App Store next month, but Apple just went and threw a wet blanket on those meticulously thought-out plans of ours. Current intel suggests that Apple intends to allow developers to charge between 99 cents and $999.99 for programs sold through its portal -- those that aren't offered for free, anyway -- in tiered increments depending on the price range. No single app will be allowed to exceed 2GB in size, though it's not clear whether that's for technical or business reasons; at any rate, the sheer torture of attempting to download and install anything close to that size over WiFi will be giving us nightmares for weeks to come. AppleInsider points out that the limitation could put the kibosh on business apps that rely on large integrated data sets to function, so we guess that means you'll just have to play more Super Monkey Ball in their stead. Shucks! [Via iLounge ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Software , Apple , OS X It seems a bit anticlimactic to us, but here it is, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been (or not been) waiting for: the iPhone App Store. As you might recall, Apple's back end infrastructure wasn't quite ready when we had a look at the 2.0 firmware a few days back, but tipsters have been flooding the interwebs this weekend alleging that at least bits and pieces of the feature are now functional for those lucky enough to be running the new build. Could this be faked? Yes, absolutely -- but to be fair, this is about how we'd expect it to look in this early state, ominous gray boxes in place of app logos and all. Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Handsets , Apple , OS X Knowing how rampant the Apple rumor community can get, we try not to stir the pot too feverishly, but iLounge has made a bizarre little discovery that we thought you might like to see. Apparently, it's already possible for developers to create App Store pages for offering content to limited groups of users. While perusing these pages, they apparently stumbled upon the Education First Educational Tours page, where international travel tour registrants can download TourCast audio and video content. Strangely, an odd, almost Zune -like device can be seen in the corner of the graphic for this page bearing the Apple logo. Could this be some wild slip? Is what we're looking at a rendering of a new iPhone or touch device, or is this some random mockup meant to suggest a "general" Apple product? We're strongly, strongly leaning towards the latter, though maybe Jobs let one slide through the cracks this time. See the full view after the break. [Thanks, Christian] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments