Apple OS X

The beta version of Ac1dSn0w is here. So what is it? PwnDevTeam has released Ac1dSn0w as an alternative tool to jailbreak Apple devices running iOS 5, including the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and first generation iPad. The software also jailbreaks the 4th generation iPod touch and runs on Mac OS X Lion and Snow Leopard.

Like other jailbreak tools including Pwnage Tool, redsn0w and sn0wbreeze, Ac1dSn0w provides a tethered jailbreak solution for devices running iOS 5 or 5.0.1. Currently the software does not create custom firmware packages, however several features are available in the current version.

Sure it may not happen right away, but one developer has already found evidence pointing to a future compatibility between iMessage on iOS devices and iChat on Mac OS X computers. The snippet of code leading to this conclusion revealed two new properties in OS X Lion's version of iChat software.

These properties could be the beginning of Apple adding full support for iMessage to iChat instant messaging. The "time delivered" and "time read" fields are not used or needed in iChat, however they are already used by iMessage to track instant messaging. According to MacRumors Apple would have no other reason to add these lines of code.

You may not want to know how much you've spent on apps since you picked up your first iPhone. After all, most of the cost in owning an iPhone is in the monthly data plan, right? App Store Expense Monitor will calculate your app total automatically.

The program is free and runs on Mac OS X 10.5 or later. Simply run the program and it scans your iTunes library to determine what apps you've already bought. The software then checks the current price of each application and outputs a total cost.

Though not technically iPhone news, the release of Apple's latest version of OS X, Leopard, is certainly of interest to many iPhone owners. And not simply because many iPhone owners are Mac owners. As the iPhone is based on a version of the OS X operating system, features and capabilities of the iPhone will likely be closely linked to Leopard - as they have been with the current version of OS X.

That said, Apple announced today that Max OS X Leopard will go on sale on October 26th at 6:00pm at both retail outlets and the Apple online store. According to Steve Jobs,

“Leopard, the sixth major release of Mac OS X, is the best upgrade we’ve ever released ... and everyone gets the ‘Ultimate’ version, packed with all the new innovative features, for just $129.”

According to Apple, the new version of Leopard brings over 300 new features to the table. Some of the