loves to show their artsy and imagination fueled designs whenever they can from Ads, subliminal messages and all the way into the en user experience. Some of Apple’s creative side always leaks into their assortment of wallpapers which surely have made your Windows lovin’ friends jealous so why not spread the desktop glorifying love by making a ZIP Archive of OS X’s wallpaper set to email your Mac-less buddies.

Go on down to your main Hard Drive and navigate into “Library > Desktop Pictures.” In there you’ll find the current assortment of wallpapers available for selection in System Preferences. Of course you can import these into iPhoto to resize and edit for your iPhone as well, just make sure the resolution is set to 480 x 320.

Macworld 2009 will mark the iPhone’s second birthday but just like any toddler, the parental nature of Apple is always looking forward. Sure, Steve Jobs doesn’t have to be burdened with diaper changing and whatnot (disgruntled interns take up that responsibility) but he does baby the iPhone too much and there will be a day when the App Store will be outside of Apple’s parental supervision.

As of now the only ways to load Apps on an iPhone is through the App Store or by Jailbreaking it. Sure, living in bliss of what Apple chooses must be best for you is great, but having to deal with an eventual confrontation with their FairPlay DRM wrapper isn’t my idea of ideal. Developers are also limited in App promotion as they must compete against thousands of other Apps and limited sorting methods. Putting all of this back into the hands of developers and giving end users flexibility would mimic the Mac way of App installation and distribution.

However, the App Store does save users from hunting Apps across an endless sea of junk Software, malicious and subscription nagging Apps Since developers submit their work to Apple for store approval. While some lax evaluations and half brained decisions have been made before, the App Store’s judgment has made of futile for bad developers to litter search results.

The major upside comes for Apple and passes down to you: Software that would exploit the OS and steal user data is stopped dead in its tracks and the original developer given a proverbial bitch slap. This is one of Apple’s biggest defenses in protecting the integrity of OS X. Despite OS X’s stability on desktops, the iPhone optimized build has been cracked to allow unofficial Applications which opens holes for future hackers to exploit although the possibility of that happening any time soon is few and far between.

But someday, Apple will have to face up to allowing any kind of App that doesn’t meet their jurisdiction to run on the iPhone. The App Store can still exist but Apple acting as the caretaker would no longer be the obstacle developers fear in getting their work published. That day will only come when Apple can streamline Application installation to the point where it directly mimics a Mac and when mobile OS X is totally resilient to attacks from Apps masquerading as some obscure video codec or useless accessory to clutter your home screen.

However, that day may never come out of fear from a potential attack happening. The security implementations of both OS X flavors only go so far until user interaction is required. An admin account with a strong password plus a well learned user go a long way in preventing an Estonian Botnet overlord from pwning your box yet applying the same measures to an iPhone make little sense outside of basement modders, security obsessed IT specialists and the common varieties of hardcore Geeks.

The prospect of logging into a phone using a password with characters defeats the simplicity Apple worked hard to design. An obvious tradeoff is minimal deductions in the security department but have you really had the urge to run your iPhone as a web server for your little known Blog?

Taking that into account, the intentions of the App Store seem wholehearted in providing another layer of protection to another potential threat. This puts the App Store and the iPhone hand in hand for downloading third party Apps and I highly doubt Apple would toss it put the window which is good for users and bad for those who bemoan its implementation.

I guess this practice will be common place as Google and Blackberry have taken up copying, er, taking inspiration from Apple in creating a marketplace for Apps. Meanwhile those who use that other mobile OS enjoy the bliss of downloading Apps from any website they please, security risk and all.

Digital sales have continued to grow annually with iTunes being the biggest of them all. But what exists outside of the digital space will soon be Apple’s biggest competitors as downloads start to outpace store bought items. Taking in a little more than 1/10th of music sales in the US is a good start but it will take some time before Apple can knock down the monumental retail chains. Meanwhile, Apple has enjoyed a comparable amount of growth with the iPhone surpassing Windows Mobile phones in terms of sales. But these sales could blossom if rumors of a $99 iPhone 3G ring true.

iPhone Surpasses Windows Mobile

The smartphone sector has been growing year after year despite a bad economy, the latest quarterly analysis proved good for typical market competitors such as Nokia, RIM and Apple. The biggest achievement however is the sales of Apple’s iPhone surpassing that of Windows Mobile based Smartphones.

An analysis by Gartner showed Nokia still taking the leading position of the Smartphone market at 42.4% with RIM’s Blackberry sales increasing 87.1%. Apple managed to outsell Smartphones running Windows Mobile in North America which is a first since the device went on sale.

Via Engadget

iTunes Accounts For 12% OF All Music Sold In The Us

In addition to dramatic iPhone growth each quarter, iTunes has had its share of market domination. Besides taking 70% of digital music sales, iTunes has also started to flourish when compared to brick & mortar outlets.

Forrester Research reported that iTunes commands 12.6% of all music sales in the US which encompasses digital downloads, retail stores and other media outlets. Since digital sales make up 20% of music purchases by consumers, iTunes ranks at a little more than half of that percentage thanks to some calculation from Distorted Loop

Via TUAW

4 GB iPhone Coming To Walmart At Lower Price Point?

As we’ve reported previously, the iPhone 3G was set to make a splash at Walmart in time for Black Friday and continue expanding the device’s availability in retail outlets. While that not only has not come true, another rumor has cropped up in its place to further tickle our sweet spots.

Apple Insider reports of a possible 4GB model of the iPhone 3G making its way to Walmart stores nationwide at a somewhat unbelievable price of $99. The previous incarnation of the 4GB iPhone retailed for $499 when it debuted June 2007 but was cut in price $200 shortly after. It didn’t take long to discontinue the low storage model as a newer, 16GB version made its way into the iPhone lineup.

The supposed 4GB model would of course be sold with a 2 year contract attached but factoring in that Apple’s profits would be severely cut, forcing them to make it up over the course of a subscriber’s contract, I highly doubt this rumor will come to fruition.

Via Apple Insider

Despite managing to ship their newest iPods introduced during the fall 2008 media event, Apple has slipped on delivering their newest earbuds which bring mic and playback controls buttons (but are only supported on the 4G Nano, 2G Classic and Touch) alongside new in-ear headphones. However, shoppers visiting the online store will notice the in-ear headphones can be ordered and will ship soon. Meanwhile, Apple has started to ship out the newest addition to the Cinema Display line and the lucky Bloggers of Apple Insider have posted unboxing pictures.

Apple’s Newest Cinema Display Unboxed, Photographed, Fondled

Replacing the 23 inch Cinema Display which still packed a matte screen and fluorescent backlighting, Apple’s 24 inch monster brings a glossy screen and LED backlighting which is reminiscent of the company’s iMac line. Clad in an Aluminum enclosure, the new Cinema Display ushers in the era of Display Port (albeit in a yet to be standard Mini form) and acts as a sort of docking area for the newest revision to Apple’s MacBook line. While the shipping date shipped, Apple finally sent out the first orders of the new display and have received their unboxing treatment.

Apple Insider have posted their high quality unboxing shots of the Display and while they have yet to post a review, you can get a general perception of the color depth and quality.

Via: Engadget

Apple In-Ear Headphones No Longer In Shipping Limbo

While Apple has gotten on the ball delivering their newest range of iPods, they’ve slipped somewhat on pushing out the newly introduced earbuds which now sport volume range control, playback buttons and a mic which is only compatible with the fourth generation iPod Nano, second generation iPod Touch and Classic.

Fortunately, for users who have been waiting for Apple to update the shipping status for the in-ear headphones, they’ve done just that. The new ‘buds ring up $79 and arrive to buyers in 7-10 business days. Meanwhile the $29 earbuds which include the mic, volume and playback controls have a wait time of 3 to 4 weeks and will surely miss holiday stockings.

Via: Gizmodo

Apple has always put its weight behind a mass marketing campaign for any new product but it seems to be more aggressive when it comes to the iPhone as detailed in recent ads for the latest iteration of the hot selling device. While claims of doubled Internet speeds have been rebuked and called out for deceptive marketing, Apple has closed in on the Smartphone market taking an impressive 16% share.

iPhone Takes 16 Percent Of Smartphone Market Share

The global Smartphone market is very aggressive and highly competitive between the major phone manufacturers of Samsung, Nokia, HTC and RIM. The newcomer in this massive foray, Apple, has had to deal with cloned interfaces, a rise in touch screen look-a-likes and dramatic pricing deals with select carriers. Since the iPhone 3G was made available July 11th in the US and select countries worldwide adding a reduced $200 price tag, Apple has netted a brag worthy share of the global Smartphone market at 16.6 percent.

Their most recent plunder of the US smartphone market put Apple at a 30 percent market share behind RIM’s 40 percent share. Analysts credit the iPhone 3G’s global growth to a massive price cut and addressing issues that plagued the first generation device such as lack of corporate support and no 3G or GPS radios.

Via: Cult Of Mac

Apple Backtracks On iPhone 3G Ads

Despite Apple’s heightened success in the mobile arena, they’ve retracted on the validity of their ads claiming the iPhone 3G has double the cellular connectivity speed of the EDGE device it left behind. 

This has been the core of many complaints and legal entanglements ranging from class action suits. William Gillis, the latest to bring Apple back into the court system to answer for questionable tactics of marketing the iPhone, received a legal document answering his complaint. While the Cupertino based company has stood behind their marketing campaign as evidenced in the nine page legal document, (PDF Link courtesy of Wired) this line delivers a blow to anyone who takes Apple’s adverts as truth.

“Plaintiff’s claims, and those of the purported class, are barred by the fact that the alleged deceptive statements were such that no reasonable person in Plaintiff’s position could have reasonably relied on or misunderstood Apple’s statements as claims of fact,”

Via: Gizmodo

However, the download doesn’t actually continue. The mobile iTunes Store continues the download only to be met with a denial. You’ve surely seen the pop up saying “This item is too big to download” within the App but it rarely shows up outside. This is the cause of a few network slowdowns so be sure to remember that if you leave a WiFi connection and have a download running in the queue, be sure to pause it and it will prevent a lot of headache.

Within days of arriving in the hands of iPhone and iPod Touch owners everywhere, Firmware 2.2 has been quickly dissected and reviewed. Thanks to a prolonged testing period, the iPhone Dev Team was able to perform a Jailbreak on the still in development Firmware and perfect it once Apple made it available for download. While available for all generations of iPhone and iPod Touch, there are some key differences between the two such as the lack of Google Street View on the later and lack of Emojicon support on non Japanese iPhones. With a simple hack and a quick Jailbreak, all of this can be remedied.

Google Street View On The iPod Touch

If you don’t mind getting down and dirty in the inner depths of your iPod Touch and editing a few XML files then you should have no problem enabling Google Street View on the iPod Touch. Poster timmyj9 on the iPodTouchFans Forum has compiled a quick tutorial on how to do this.

Due to formatting issues, please remove every space before “>” and after “<" when using the code below.

1. get this file via ssh: /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/N45AP.plist
2. convert to xml at http://iappcat.com/plist/bin2xml
3. add

4. save then using that website again reconvert to binary
5. rename original file N45AP.old
6. copy new N45AP.plist in (make sure permissions are 644)
reboot ipod

Via: Gizmodo

Enabling Emojicons On iPhone

If the spirit of a teenage Japanese school girl burns within you or typing ‘lol’ when you don’t really mean it has lost the its silent comedy, Emojicons would surely be your next avenue of interactive texting and will bring you one step closer to putting some real, human emotion in your messaging. The process is a lot simpler than enabling Google Street View but similar in approach. Luckily for your wannabe hacker self, Steven Troughton-Smith has created a short walkthrough that will get yourself going with more smilies than you could imagine.

You need to edit the file /User/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Preferences.plist on the device -> whether you use a jailbreak to achieve this or merely some iTunes backup editor is up to you.
Add the following boolean key as ‘true’: KeyboardEmojiEverywhere
Then merely go to the Keyboards section of the Settings app, hit Japanese, and turn on Emoji. Will work for any text field/view in the OS, including on websites, AND including the titles of items on SpringBoard (e.g. if you save a bookmark to the home screen).

Via: Gizmodo

Jailbreaking iPhone 2.2

But wait, just how do I add all of these goodies to my iPhone or iPod Touch or even both? Fret not, through a process called Jailbreaking, you too can access the limitless potential of your iPhone, discover the meaning of life and even acquire the ability to date incredibly hot women. While the last two won’t happen any time soon, Jailbreaking can be accomplished relatively quick through two utilities made available by the iPhone Dev Team: QuickPwn and PwnageTool.
While your mileage will vary on how you want to Jailbreak, TheiPhoneBlog has a step by step, holds your hand, noob friendly tutorial that explains the ins and outs of Jailbreaking and just how do it.

Apple has rolled out a recent update for the AppleTV shortly after the iPhone Firmware 2.2 upgrade and iTunes 8.0.2 update bringing it up to version 2.3. The newest update for Apple’s little bundle of media streaming, popcorn inducing box of wonders brings a few features streaming junkies will love. Meanwhile, this update breaks any third party hacks forced on to the AppleTV which also means the popular media center Addon, Boxee, was broken for a while but a fix pushed out by the company patches things right up.

AppleTV 2.3 Update

Scott McNulty of Macworld reports that a recently posted Knowledge Base article only shows four features worth noting in the latest update: AirTunes streaming from an AppleTV, support for third party remote controls, support for multimedia playlists and music volume control.

The later sounds somewhat confusing but in essence it allows the volume of music to be lowered or raised in itself but changes once Videos or Podcasts are played. AirTunes streaming however works as advertised, pushing Music to other AppleTVs and/or Airport Expresses. Something totally not predicted is support for remotes other than the ones Apple sell which is something long delayed considering the AppleTV has an ordinary IR port. A combo reminiscent of an intense Mortal Kombat fight amongst friends has to be entered to pair a third party remote.

Check your AppleTV for the latest update.

Via: Macworld

Boxee Posts Fix To AppleTV 2.3 Update

Like all things Apple, updates to their consumer products almost always result in the breaking of third party hacks. While you get a consolation prize of third party remotes, third party hacks sound much better especially when you’re an avid Boxee user. But if you aren’t in the know already, Boxee is a plugin for the AppleTV that adds streaming support for CBS, Hulu and other popular media services.

The fix is really quite simple. Outlined on the Boxee Blog, the latest version of the USB Creator must be re-downloaded and ran again then voila, you have Boxee plus any hacks you had previously, up and running.

Via: CultOfMac

Introduced at this year’s “Let’s Rock” media event hosted by Apple, all range of iPods were updated and much to the glee of sloganeers, the iPod Touch was befitted with a new design and heralded as the frontman of the portable family. If the “Funnest iPod Ever” wasn’t enough to motivate you to get your game freaking on, then you’ll be absolutely enthralled to know that the latest generation iPod Touch sports a higher clocked CPU and beats out the iPhone 3G for gaming.

Touch Arcade, a Blog dedicated to iPhone and iPod Touch gaming reported the speed advantages of the 2G touch when Thomas Fessler, CEO of Handheld Game Corp noticed the rendering capabilities of the latest touch and how drastic it was when compared to the iPhone. Handheld’s 3D intensive game, TouchSports Tennis, renders differently on the iPod Touch 2G smoothly pushing 1,500 Polygons in a single character but when the same scenario is used on an older Touch, it lags and crashes, the iPhone 3G barely passes.

“Where we can easily display two 1500 polygon tennis players with 32 bones each on the iPod touch 2G and maintain fast and fluid game play, the original iPod touch just chokes, and in some instances so do the iPhones. To speed up the touch, we reduced the players to 800 polygons in farther away moments of gameplay, and are now using 1000 polygon models for close ups, bringing the original iPod touch game play performance level close to that of the iPhone 3G.”

The newest generation iPod Touch’s CPU clocks at 532 MHz up from the 412 MHz clock of the iPhone and iPod Touch but still down from the ARM 1176 CPU’s native 620 MHz speed. However, the 2G iPod Touch could also contain a newer GPU but that has yet to be revealed. A side by side comparison video on YouTube clearly shows the impressive load times of the 2G Touch and in terms of load times, it ranks the highest followed by the iPhone 3G, original iPhone and original iPod Touch.

Via: Macworld

Apple’s 2.2 Firmware update for the iPhone came and went leaving for us Over The Air Podcast downloads, Google Street View and a streamlined Safari interface. Amongst the major additions and bug fixes, Apple included a minor, although useful feature that will help you traverse the many Homescreens that populate your iPhone.

It’s great to see Apple is starting to use the Home Button as a shortcut method for Applications but still has room to grow. This tip will make using your iPhone a bit more productive. While away from the default Home Screen which is indicated by the row of dots above the Dock, tap the Home Button once and you’ll be taken back to the default screen containing either the ore chosen Apple Apps or varied with your selection.