iOS 4.2.1 Untethered Jailbreak For iPhone 4, iPad And iPod Touch 4G Released

As expected, iPhone Dev team has just released a new version of Redsn0w (Redsn0w 0.9.7b1) that implements the “backup plan” for iOS 4.2.1 untethered jailbreak.

Redsn0w 0.9.7b1 can be used to (untethered) jailbreak iPhone 4, iPad and iPod touch 4G on iOS 4.2.1. Please note that Redsn0w 0.9.7b1 is meant only for beta testers and not for the general public as there are still some known issues that need to be addressed.

Please go through the following points before trying the new version of Redsn0w:

This is a beta tester program. It’s not a general release! Things can go very wrong, so please don’t even consider testing if you have pictures or other media on your device that you haven’t backed up!
For the same reason, please don’t participate if you rely on the ultrasn0w carrier unlock. Wait for the final version!
Until we fix some sandbox issues with bluetooth, the bluetooth functionality is disabled.
This very first beta1 is limited to iPhone4, iPad, and iPod touch 4G.
Cydia must have your 4.2b3 SHSH blobs saved on file. (As we approach a general release, we’ll provide a way to let you use locally saved hashes too).
You must already have the usbmuxd software installed and running on your Mac (this requirement will eventually go away too). The correct invocation of the relay is just as that page says: “./tcprelay.py -t 22:2222”. If the relay isn’t installed or running correctly by the time the redsn0w ramdisk has started, you’ll need to restore to stock FW again to try it again. Please test it beforehand to save yourself some time!
It is also important to note that jailbreaking your iDevice may void its warranty so please proceed with caution and at your own risk. It is always a good idea to take a backup of your iDevice, refer to this post for more details.

Please note that these are some of the known bugs:

Task switcher causes Springboard crash (temporary workaround is to use SBSettings process list)
Bluetooth currently disabled due to sandbox problem
You can checkout if Cydia has saved iOS 4.2 beta 3 SHSH blobs, launch Cydia and wait for it load the main page. You should see SHSH: 4.2b3 on the top of the page.

If you plan to give it a shot then download Redsn0w 0.9.7b1 for Mac using this link. Please don’t forget to let us know how it goes in the comments and also provide your feedback on Dev Team’s blog, which will help them to iron out the issues before the public release.

OpenDNS May Slow Down Your Apple TV Streaming

I noticed this issue last week and I thought it was, once again, my ISP’s fault. The Vodafone Station connection I have here doesn’t exactly play well with…anything. Basically, I tried to set up the device using OpenDNS and I saw streaming speed of iTunes content go terribly down — even lower than what I’m used to with the





Vodafone Station. It turns out, though, that it might not be Vodafone’s fault at all this time. Instead, it appears that the Apple TV doesn’t play nice with third-party DNS providers such as Google’s DNS or OpenDNS.
According to TUAW, developer Joe Maller and quite a few users on Apple’s discussion boards, setting different DNS other than your ISP’s in the Apple TV can cause iTunes to take even hours to start a streaming session. Maller’s Apple TV took 2 hours to start streaming content under a 20 Mbs connection.



The problem lies in the way Akamai (the content distribution network Apple relies on) fetches geographic information and redirects users to the closest servers accordingly. If you use different DNS other than your ISP Akamai may fail at getting the closest server and thus relocate you to a distant location, where most users with DNS set as yours will likely end up to as well. So basically, everyone who’s not using the correct ISP DNS may be forwarded to god knows what server which can get congested at any time.
This hasn’t been officially documented by Apple on its support website, and Maller’s theory is, well, just a theory. But I have to admit it’s a pretty accurate one, as turning back to my ISP’s default DNS settings fixed the issues for me, too. So there you have it: if you’re experiencing slow streaming and you happen to have set OpenDNS or Google DNS on your Apple TV, try to go back to default.
There’s a chance it’ll get better

Source shatter jailbreak

Apple preps new camera-toting iPads: sources

Component suppliers for the U.S. company are gearing up for a new round of production in the first quarter, these sources said on Friday.

A smaller iPad would be a departure as Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has publicly rejected the idea of such a device in October.

Apple's iPad resurrected the market for tablet computers since its introduction in January, with nearly 13 million shipments expected units this year. That total could almost triple next year, providing a much needed boost for a global technology sector still struggling with patchy demand.

Touchscreen chip designer Wintek Corp, battery maker Simplo Technology Co Ltd and AVY Precision, a privately held maker of covers for electronic products, are among suppliers for the next batch of iPads, four people familiar with the situation said.

Two sources said the suppliers were preparing for a new round of production in the first quarter for components previously supplied for the original iPad, while two other sources said they were ramping up for a new iPad.

One source said the revamped model would feature cameras on the front and back of the device, enabling Apple's Facetime video conferencing service. Another source said it would be slimmer, lighter and have a better resolution display than the first iPad.

A separate supply chain source said Apple was preparing a significantly smaller iPad that is almost half the size of the current model. The current iPad has a 9.7-inch screen.

In October, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs had dismissed the idea of a 7-inch iPad, saying the screen would be "too small to express the software."

INVESTMENT THEME

"Investing in Apple-related shares is going to be a major theme for most of next year," said Bevan Yeh, a fund manager at Prudential Securities investment Trust, who manages about T$7 billion ($230 million) and owns supplier shares.

"Apple is still the main driver on most technology products, and this will help push the earnings of its suppliers even more in 2011," Yeh said.

Apple is expected to ship 12.9 million iPads this year, with shipments rising to 36.5 million in 2011, research firm iSuppli said in July, reflecting an 84 percent share of the tablet PC market.