Just when you thought you had beaten Steve Jobs at his own game, and taken control of your iPhone, Apple strikes back where it hurts — on your Mac.

If you need another reason to say, “I’m a PC” here it is: Apple’s latest OS update (10.5.6) now comes with embedded cripple-code that breaks the fingers of your jailbreaking tools, rendering them incapable of picking the lock on your iPhone [via dialaphone]

If you’ve got an iPhone and have done a bit of jailbreaking, think twice before upgrading to Apple’s latest 10.5.6 update. The new code will disable jailbreaking tools from within the OS, meaning no more using 3rd party apps or using your handset on another mobile network.

For over a year Apple has been at war with hackers who have been consistent in breaking into iPhone software. Apple have always retaliated by upgrading firmware to lock it back up.

Apple have decided to go a step further this time, by trying to prevent jailbreaking by disabling the software at the desktop level. This is in addition to protecting the iPhone through updating the firmware.

The 10.5.6 update will disable jailbreaking abilities at the system level, meaning it will stop Macs from recognising the iPhone or iPod touch when in Device Firmware Update mode.

Of course, this isn’t the end of the war. The hackers will be back, and their next generation tools will also break apart the Mac OS. Foolishly, Apple has chosen a path that will inevitably lead to having an OS that is just as constantly under attack as the one from Microsoft.

Personally, I can’t wait to see that smug look wiped off of every Mac users face when they go from, “My computer doesn’t get viruses” to “Holy crap, I’ve got a virus, what do I do?”

Well done Mr. Jobs.

Checking my bag tonight before heading out to Frankfurt, Germany tomorrow, I see that I have all that I think I need, but I am sure I will come up with something. The list:

Hand sanitizer
Folding toothbrush
Dr. Bronners liquid soap
Sleeping bag
Novel
Blackberry 8830
Flip Mino portable video recorder
Clothes, including puffy socks because I think it will be cold in Latvia

My journey will take me from Germany in the morning of the 18th of December, to the locks and dams of Amsterdam. Then I will move on to Brussels, then Paris, then Strasbourg, Munich, Berlin and finally to Latvia in Eastern Europe.

The Test: To write blog posts from my Blackberry in every city, and to take video of technologically adept people in Europe, interviewing them about their mobile lifestyles. And I want to do this without huge roaming fees.

As things stand, I don’t think that I will have to worry. I have a global email and texting plan, as well as a global calling card. I am sure that things will stay within reason.

What I don’t want to have happen is to find that the 8830 does not actually communicate well with other signals and frequencies, and that I am all alone out there on the great Euro-plains without any way to communicate with the Charged audience.

Send your suggestions of where I should go in Euroland to find great tech wizardry and gadgets, or to find good stories or people to interview. I will look forward to it.

On the Monday after Thanksgiving in New York, I had a few holiday dollars smoldering in my pocket. So I hoofed it down to Broadway and Lafayette.

I walked into a Verizon store in search of my first Blackberry. I selected the elegant and very light-weight 8830, the global smartphone that is designed for use on most continents. There was a lot to like up front, though I was a little irked I could only get it in red or metallic, and not black. I prefer black. But I didn’t want to leave that store and walk or take the subway all the way up to Grand Central Station and the two other Verizon dealers up there.

Given that fashion considerations bother me about as much as the pope — meaning I don’t even think about them except once a year — I selected the global unlimited data plan, because I soon would be spending the rest of 2008 in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Latvia. Do they have mobile phone services in Latvia?

Oh, you bet there are, and my main man Juris Kaža, up in Riga is holdin’ it down. Juris rhymes with GPRS! Woot!

Little did I know that I would be getting a deal. Turns out that Verizon is trying to move these bad boys out the door. I got mine for ONLY $US169. Add a $70 rebate to that and my first Blackberry costs less than either of my first iPhone or Blackberry billing cycles.

The Verizon bill is expensive for the first month because I am tacking on the global plan. After I get back to lovely domestic New York City, I drop about US$60 worth of service and continue on my merry way. SO! A $90 Blackberry! Darn tootin’!

But its not a proper Blackberry story until I bitch about it.

A. Is there a “Blackberry for Dummies” series? This thing is complicated. I can’t even figure out how to create addresses from scratch and put it in the contacts folder. It takes a lot of fiddling to figure things like this out.

B. It uses software that does not mesh well with my Apple Powerbook. My “does not mesh well” I mean it doesn’t.

C. The whole sending me a copy of everything I send through email is bothering me. The Verizon salesman set her up, so I don’t even know what he did. I send an email and it sends me a notification. Thanks, dawg.

D. I think the iPhone touch screen is superior to this keypad. It makes clicky noises. I don’t like clicky!

E. Do the keys’ markings rub off? The lettering and these plastic keys look and feel a bit rinky-dink.

But what do I love? A whole mess of features. LIKE:

A. That little red light at the top indicating I have a message. It signals to me while I am working, and already vulnerable to checking my finance portfolio on Google, I always pick it up, even though I could just as easily check my email right in front of me.

B. I can tune the phone to be absolutely silent or I can make it so it makes this yoga gong sound when a message comes in. I like the gong sound. It’s comforting. Smooth.

C. The keys sometimes light up blue. Ooooh, colors!

D. I can create folders. I can manage folders. I feel alive, like a scientist creating logical pathways that delineate easily reachable files! My god! Send me things and I shall file the crap out of them!

E. Dude! An 8% reduction on my monthly bill, because my company is awesome. And I’m awesome. Mostly. Even though I whinge a lot.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Every once in a while, I sit down and try to mull over what are the dominant and enticing thoughts that have dominated the Inbuilding Wireless Solutions market.

Here’s what I’ve come up with for this Friday’s Tidbytes:

This is a cross-post that I put on the blog for my InBuilding Wireless Conference in Las Vegas.

You can visit that lovely and engaging blog here.

Cell phones used to be for the super rich, right?

But now, I don’t think you can step into a subway car in Manhattan without seeing a cell phone or an iPhone in someone’s hand.

And have you ever visited India?

Personal story: In the earlier hours of the morning, a driver picked me up to take me from New Delhi to the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, a good four or five hour drive away. Along the way, the four-wheel drive truck would swerve around donkeys, cattle, wagons filled to the sky with hay, as well as formers up to their dhotis in mud as they walked through the rice fields.

As we pulled up to the railroad crossing to enter into Agra, we were met by several men selling… mobile phones, calling cards, and other things. They had it figured out, boy. What’s the first thing you are going to do when you see the beautiful Taj Mahal? Call your mother!

Great pitch!

And though it was not respectful to use phones to make calls inside the tomb, I did see people using phones to take pictures. Outside, looking over the Ganges River, an editor at Platts who attended the tour with us was using her phone to call someone.

The same thing is true at Angkor Wat. Everyone, and I mean everyone leading tour groups through the compound at Angkor Wat in Cambodia had a small Motorola phone in his or her hand. Tourists would snap pictures with their phones. I saw a man get hit by a truck and as he was being rushed to the clinic, his friend was sitting with him in the back of the same truck calling the medics on the phone while they sped away, honking the horn like a panicked lamb.

What does this mean?

Mobile phone use is not only easy and affordable, it’s becoming pervasive. It’s used everywhere. Everywhere. If Rick Blaine in Casablanca had had a mobile phone, he would have been using it all the time in his club, and so would Renault. There would never be any of this having to telephone from the police station, “Round up the usual suspects!”

Everyone was guessing about Nokia’s big announcement. All the heavyweight blog sites were weighing in with speculation. Some of the blogging elite even flew all the way to Barcelona for Nokia week just to find out what it was — but even they were sworn to secrecy.

The following round-up was posted on Slashphone:

In a special link on the Nokia World Web page about the “Nseries in 2009″, it also reads: “Desktop. Laptop. Pocket.”

Below is some interesting quotes from credible sources:

Robert Scoble:

what I’ve seen tonight from Nokia has, indeed, not been seen yet on the Internet and was pretty surprising to the bloggers.

“Nokia has the goods but I’m not allowed to tell you what or why until 9:45 a.m. (Spain time) today. Wow.”

Reuters:

Nokia, the world’s largest cellphone maker, will unveil an “interesting” phone to strengthen its product and service offerings later on Tuesday, a company official said late on Monday.

“There’s going to be some interesting hardware,” said Udo Szabo, a senior manager for Nokia’s service business, in a speech at a Mobile Monday industry networking event.

Forbes:

Speculation is rampant online with most guessing that the announcement will be a high-end phone that combines a touchscreen with a Qwerty keyboard. Such a device would be a first for Nokia, which just began shipping its first touchscreen phone, the 5800 XpressMusic. A special link on the Nokia World Web page that teases upcoming news about the “Nseries in 2009″ offers subtle confirmation.

Other guesses making the rounds include a netbook or laptop, a motion-sensing device that can be controlled by gestures and an N-series device running S60, the latest version of the Symbian operating system.

Nokia said, “Nope. You’re all wrong.”

The problem with such a ploy is that if you get everyone hyped about a launch (they had a massive countdown clock that countless sites had embedded in posts) is that you better have something spectacular to show when the time comes. Apple are masters of this tactic, but could Nokia pull the sme lever?

Umm, this is Nokia we’re talking about, remember. This is the company that is in a death spiral, shedding market share faster these days than Wall Street sheds investment bankers.

So at the appointed hour, Nokia unveiled the most underwhelming phone of the year:

The N97. It’s got a 16:9 screen, a slide out qwerty keyboard, a great camera, gps, accelerometer, 64Gb of memory, etc.

Whoop-ti-doo. We’ve seen all these things on so many other phones this year.

Talk about being late to the party!

Even the interface looks like they stole the “panels” concept from the Sony-Ericsson X1. And the “tactile touch screen” looks like a BlackBerry Storm ripoff.

Nokia has just launched a revolutionary phone — for the year 2007. But sinice the N97 won’t be out until “the first half of 2009″ (late summer more likely), this phone looks pretty boring.

It may even prove to be a great phone — but with all the hype today, I was expecting something that levitated, or made cheese-on-toast, or did something I never knew I wanted, but then suddenly couldn’t live without.

I can live without an N97.

On his way to work, the Robert Z. Samuels, director of mobile products for NYTimes.com caught a robbery suspect fleeing a bank in midtown Manhattan. So, naturally, they posted the video.

But that’s not the only way that the NYTimes is getting into the exciting world of mobile.

One of their reporters was the first to test out the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s new text messaging service that advises commuters on how the subways are running.

A general read through the comments at their CityRoom page tells me that not that many people are excited about the development. Or, it is fair to say that many are questioning whether it is enough, or even necessary.

His impressive use of mobile communications and social networking tools during his campaign has led many to speculate that Obama would take these tools to the White House. With these tools, he could lead the people much more effectively — ushering in a new era of politics.

But it seems that the Oval Office just doesn’t get the signal, according to an article in the New York Times:

…before he arrives at the White House, he will probably be forced to sign off. In addition to concerns about e-mail security, he faces the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas. A decision has not been made on whether he could become the first e-mailing president, but aides said that seemed doubtful…

…But in the interceding eight years, as BlackBerrys have become ubiquitous — and often less intrusive than a telephone, the volume of e-mail has multiplied and the role of technology has matured. Mr. Obama used e-mail to stay in constant touch with friends from the lonely confines of the road, often sending messages like “Sox!” when the Chicago White Sox won a game. He also relied on e-mail to keep abreast of the rapid whirl of events on a given campaign day.

Mr. Obama’s memorandums and briefing books were seldom printed out and delivered to his house or hotel room, aides said. They were simply sent to his BlackBerry for his review. If a document was too long, he would read and respond from his laptop computer, often putting his editing changes in red type.

Perhaps it really is time for a change.

My iPhone does things that your iPhone does not. Here are a few of my iPhone’s hidden talents. The more I experience this iPhone, the more I begin to think the damn thing is posessed.

The Heavenly Messenger of the Fourth Hour

This first thing might be a quirk of the AT&T Network that I was forced to stick with for two years.

At 9pm on a recent Monday, I received three text messages that were sent to me at 5.15 pm EST. It was wonderful. It was like a hidden treasure. It was like Christmas, four hours late. One after another, in quick succession, these messages, which were all time-sensitive, popped on to my screen. One of them was an invitation for a date. Thank you. Now I look like a jackass for answering you four hours late. No, I really like you, I promise.

Then it happened on Tuesday, same thing. Different hour. Bigger complications.

The Heavenly Messenger of the Thirtieth Day

Rent was due. I needed to tell my roommate that I put the check on the fridge. I texted out a little note. It arrived 31 days later.

I guess if this keeps going on I will eventually get around to receiving text messages when they are actually sent. Perhaps the iPhone works like an old Aztec calendar.

But I wonder if the problem will become so bad that in fact I don’t receive messages until 1964, as I travel back in time and discover text messages that people would have sent me had I been alive, and politically active, say, in San Francisco, after the premiere of a Hitchcock film, after talking with a really nice young lady from Des Moines.

Perhaps, and this is what I am really suggesting, there is a parallel universe where I exist before iPhones were actually invented, as my next experience makes clear could be a real possibility…

Nothing like a bit of high-end retail therapy to help you forget that you just lost half of your wealth. Even if you could never justify a luxury phone — and, really, who can? –

Tiffany Phone [via Engadget Mobile]

The (very) limited edition Softbank 823SH Tiffany, which was offered up for ¥13 million (US$131k) , has sold out in just three days, proving once again that there is simply nothing too expensive for at least some folks to buy.

Mobiado [via IntoMobile]

The Mobiado Professional 105 EM Special Edition, which is available in either white or red, and is made of such materials as maple burl wood, titanium, sapphire crystal and 24K gold. There’s also a patent pending hidden sliding battery cover mechanism that keeps the device compact — something Apple could consider doing to keep their products beautiful while at the same time allowing users to change their batteries.

The Professional 105 EM CLB, on the other hand, is available in either black or silver. The device looks more modern and I can easily envision rich ladies pairing this baby with their Louis Vuitton purse of choice.

Vertu Ascent Ti Ferrari [via Slashphone]

Vertu has announced a new Ferrari inspired limited edition of its Ascent Ti model. The Ascent Ti Ferrari will be available in Nero, Rosso, and Giallo paint schemes.

Frank Nuovo, chief of design for Vertu says: “The original design for the Ascent Ti was heavily influenced by the dynamic power of luxury sports cars and working closely with Ferrari has enabled us to progress this vision. The new Vertu Ascent Ti Ferrari editions are the definitive automotive-inspired handsets – bold, balanced and with the unmistakable character of the Prancing Horse.”

The Champ

Of course, none of these has yet to claim the title for “most blinged out” phone away from the World-Record-holding champ — the two-year-old, million dollar Goldvish:

The GoldVish cell phone, the most exclusive and expensive ever created, was designed by Emmanuel Gueit creative director of GoldVish. Gueit is well known in the watch and jewelry industry and designed the Audemars Piquet Royal Oak Off shore and the Z1 & Z2 of Harry Winston, a guarantee of true perfection, style and glamour.

Aiming for an exclusive design and unmatched excellence, GoldVish has used only top quality materials in the cell phone’s design, including 18-karat solid gold, available in rose, yellow or white gold, and diamonds, all of D-E color and none less than VVS-1 clarity grade, as certified in the accompanying diamond grading reports.

Prices of GoldVish phones start at €18,900, but go all the way up to a seven figure number for the GoldVish Limited Edition “Le Million de la Nuit” which features more than 100 carats of D/Ecolor and VVS-1 clarity grade diamonds and a guaranteed limited production of just three pieces worldwide.

Perhaps, since no one has de-throned the Goldvish Limited Edition, we should take it as a sign that the recession really has been hitting the uber-rich too.

For many years, the company I work for has run the InBuilding Wireless Solutions conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For many years, that forum has very rightfully taken a solid place as the leading platform for business discussions about cutting edge solutions for cellular use inside of large buildings, malls, airports, hospitals and hotels.

I’ve been creating the May 2009 agenda, which will be discussed over four days at The Venetian in Las Vegas. For some reason, I feel very lucky to be working on this program. Something has happened in the past three or four years. Wireless has started to mean something to people.

I am looking over notes I have taken during market research and I’ve noticed several trends:

1. Wireless solutions, or the thought of putting in wireless solutions in buildings, promotes anxiety in building owners. The reason: cost.

2. There is a multitude of wireless solutions and software programs that work on wireless DAS and other devices that hotels, multi-tenant office buildings, malls, airports, and even tunnels have to consider to make living, shopping, vacationing, doing business and even sending text messages easier for the average Joe.

3. There are an extraordinary number of business owners who want to know the future of wireless phone – voice and data — tech, so they know how they can run their business efficiently and in a streamlined way.

We really sit on the leading edge of how business works. There are other things I have not mentioned, which will make the business of wireless profound for all sorts of industries, including:

Telemetry and finding people in buildings
Public safety regulations that require large buildings to have a wireless safety system in place to make rescue, fire fighting and responding to terrorist attacks easier to manage
Managing heat and air conditioning so that we don’t die from global warming and high heating and air bills
Data, data, data
Marketing to tenants

There seems a whole world of ideas that are flying around this market. When I finally put the agenda together for IBWS, it will be something that allows property developers, carriers from around the world, and the leading minds in technological innovation to create the ideal wireless solution-led economy.

Douglas Crets is Director of InBuilding Wireless Solutions, in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 12-15, 2009. He lives in New York.