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The newly formed evad3rs are close to completing their work on the latest iOS 6.1 jailbreak. The team, made up of @MuscleNerd, @pod2g, @Planetbeing and @pimskeks, have created a website for their jailbreak and are updating it with progress reports.

According to the evasi0n site, the jailbreak is 68% done, with both the jailbreak apps for Mac and Windows completed. The linux app and some testing are on their plate right now. The next step is private beta testing, which will likely be followed by another round of tweaking before the final release.

The latest rumor suggests the team will be ready to roll out the jailbreak on Superbowl Sunday.

iOS 6.1 jailbreak almost ready for prime time originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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} --> Armin http://www.underconsideration.com

Ah, a Super Bowl breather and the Foot Locker/NBA-focused funny continues in this new spot from BBDO New York, which focuses on mohawk/fierce beard-sporting James Harden, the ex-Oklahoma City Thunder sixth-man-turned-Houston Rockets starter. See kids, this is what happens when you don’t have the flow to flaunt fresh kicks on a consistent basis: You hang out with Kim Kardashian’s ex. Ugh, we can smell the Drakkar Noir from here. Credits after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Along with its presence here at Macworld/iWorld and MacIT this week, virtualization heavyweight Parallels has a new offering to help big businesses and other large-scale enterprises wrangle their growing (and sometimes unpredictable) Mac populations in the context of the Windows-centric management tools they already have in place. Launching today, Parallels Management is a suite of plugins and agents that allow OS X machines to be audited and managed inside Microsoft's System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) console.

The Parallels plugin delivers visibility of Macs on corporate networks, while also giving administrators the controls they are accustomed to on the Windows deployments in their environments. For OS X machines with Parallels Desktop's enterprise edition installed, those virtual machines can be controlled and locked down in compliance with the organization's overall security and IT policies, just like the hardware PCs are.

If your organization already has an investment and internal expertise on SCCM, an approach like the Parallels Management setup makes a lot of sense. Of course, if there's not an installed management platform and you have a heterogeneous OS profile or a BYOD plan for your users, platform-agnostic options like Absolute Manage (formerly LANrev) might be more fluid.

Even if you prefer to manage the Mac deployments with a platform-specific tool like JAMF's Casper Suite, that doesn't mean that SCCM admins in corporate IT must remain forever ignorant of what's going on in Mac-land. The SCCM plugin for Casper provides real-time audit data to the SCCM database from JAMF's inventory of installed Macs on the network.

Parallels Management is offered as a $30/year/Mac subscription license, providing all the audit and management access to SCCM. The enterprise edition of Parallels Desktop, which provides single license key installs and mass deployment of VMs (and which you can deploy using JAMF's tools, if you like), is $100/year/Mac.

Discover Mac desktops in Microsoft SCCM with Parallels Management originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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} --> Armin http://www.underconsideration.com

What’s the deal, Samsung? What’s #TheNextBigThing? Why did you make it seem like you hired Bob Odenkirk, and why are you allowing Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd to lead a creative brainstorming session for your Super Bowl spot?

This Super Bowl teaser seems to be setting up another snarky, winking, “let’s talk about nothing” spot to follow up Samsung and 72andSunny’s last piece of pretentious guffawing. Yet, judging by the star talent Samsung has pulled together for this spot, I’m really, really hoping three of my favorite comedic actors don’t disappoint during “El Plato Supreme.”

Honestly, if the final spot is just Odenkirk improvising and talking about whatever he feels like with Rogan and Rudd sprinkling in witty commentary throughout, it would be almost impossible to screw this up. Hell, I get the feeling Odenkirk could read just about any script and make it funny, because the Mr. Show alum and current Breaking Bad actor has some of the best delivery in the game. Just, please, Samsung. Don’t let Franco anywhere near the final cut of the Super Bowl spot.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Well, there’s only so much Guinness to go around. You might remember the name Floyd Hayes, the former creative director at U.K.-based guerrilla marketing firm Cunning, who we last recall was trying to promote his own creative consultancy by sitting in a bar and imbibing said brew brand while waiting for those who needed his services. Well, the man, who tells us regarding us his last stunt, “I went for a drink with the competition winner from that daft video – she was very sweet and good company,” that he’s now amplifying efforts by being accepted to host his own interactive workshop called, via udemy, “Free Thinking For Sale.”

To Hayes, and perhaps many others, guerrilla marketing is still a thing and as his workshop name implies, the “free thinking” he speaks of is for sale at a cool $49, though the creative is offering discount codes for his workshop. If you’d rather not join him for a bevvy, here’s Floyd’s hard sell: “As the CD of Europe’s first Guerrilla agency, having launched MINI Cooper, devised 7 world records and help build a successful non-traditional agency in NYC, I have unique experience and insights into this area plus 15 years of creative training experience.” Alright, alright, dude, we get ya, but if this is your thing, send the man a shout.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

While folks were sending tips to the spy box alleging that Arnold exec George Pace, who joined the Havas-owned network from UM back in 2011, was “fired” from said agency as of last April, his LinkedIn profile tells us otherwise. Well, whatever the case, the former EVP/global brand director appears to have found a new a new gig at St. Louis-based shop, Ansira Engagement Marketing, which lists a client roster ranging from A-B InBev to Domino’s to Wendy’s, as an SVP.

No word yet on what his role exactly entails at Ansira, but the New York-based Pace, who handled Dell creative/strategy while at Arnold–but NOT Carnival and Volvo according to tipsters. During his career, Pace has also worked as a managing director at the likes of Arc Worldwide.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

-The latest Gunn Report has been released, and yes, BBDO is again in the mix, winning creative nods for the seventh consecutive year. link

-Project: Worldwide unit Partners + Napier appointed Greg Smith as director of shopper marketing at its Rochester headquarters.

-And now, some regional Super Bowl ad action from Indianapolis-based Young & Laramore for Farm Bureau Insurance of Indiana (above)

-Here is Allstate’s teaser if you have yet to see.

-Look at Yahoo rebounding, with the help of CEO Marissa Mayer of course. link

-Deloitte gives us a closer look at the British ad industry via its study dubbed “Advertising Pays: How Advertising Fuels The Economy.” link

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Yesterday, Apple rolled out a trio of firmware updates for MacBook users to help address a rare issue that can cause the batteries to malfunction. The update targets the System Management Controller in the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air, which can run into issues as the computer ages. As Apple explains, "This update addresses a rare issue on some Apple notebooks where a battery that has accumulated more than 1000 charge cycles may unexpectedly shut down or stop functioning."

You can download the fix for your computer of choice straight from Apple's support page, or click the links above.

[Via Macworld]

Apple rolls out firmware update to revive old, troubled batteries originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 31 Jan 2013 03:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Popular App Store tracker App Annie has released its latest report, and the news is good for iOS developers. Not only is iOS revenue up in general (by about 20% year over year), but it's still about three and a half times higher than Android revenue. Both Apple's App Store and Google Play saw big revenue increases in the latter half of last year, as you can see above, but iOS is still clearly much higher, which is definitely one of the reasons developers are so keen to be on Apple's platform in the first place.

It's notable that the top apps on the App Store aren't games at all: Apple and Google are the two top companies with the most downloads on the marketplace, and they don't produce any games at all. But in terms of revenue, games are still the biggest moneymakers on the store, and companies like EA, Zynga, and GREE are definitely picking up plenty of revenue. It's interesting to note that some of the companies on top of the revenue list are still only running one or two games, so as big as the App Store is, any developer out there with a big enough hit still has a chance to make the top revenue list.

iOS games make 3.5 times more than Android counterparts originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You'd probably be forgiven for dismissing Puzzle & Dragons on first glance -- I certainly did when I first played the game a little while ago. It's not exactly accessible for those of us who appreciate well-designed software, requiring an Internet connection and using some of the worst features of online social games, including a really grindy progression system and a fairly insistent friends list.

But I gave the game another look when I saw it pop up on the charts this last week, and I'm glad I did: There is indeed a good game here, hidden in among the trappings of online social nonsense. The core game is a match-3 puzzle game, which I've already expressed my fondness for a few times. And that match-3 game powers a role-playing system that's actually very complex when you dive into exactly how it all works.

There is a tutorial to walk you through the game's mechanics, but the real complexity doesn't appear until after you've finished it. Each monster you collect (and include in your party) is matched up to a certain color, and when you match that color on the puzzle field, that monster attacks. So putting your party together becomes very complicated: Do you want to focus on one color, making it more powerful than the others, but leaving you without attacks when you don't have orbs of that color to match? Or do you want to spread your party out, giving you a few options but not as many monsters attacking on each turn?

There are other wrinkles as well, including monster skills that slowly regenerate over your turns, and even color alignments, which cause some colors to do more or less damage to monsters of other colors. And all of the monsters you collect can be upgraded and evolved into more powerful creatures, assuming you've got the right pieces to build them with. The game is actually very satisfying, once you figure out how it all fits together.

It's just too bad that the really rewarding stuff is buried underneath all of the social nonsense. App company execs: The reason this game is so successful isn't because it pushes people to connect friends and rewards with stupid daily bonuses. It's successful because, even despite those things, it's a fun game to play. Puzzle & Dragons is a free download.

Daily iPhone App: Puzzle & Dragons combines a grindy RPG with puzzle-y goodness originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MacTech has posted its annual rundown of benchmarks between two of the most popular virtualization solutions out there on the Mac: VMware Fusion 5 and Parallels Desktop 8. Both are of course used to run Windows-compatible software inside of an OS X environment, and especially on the high end IT side (which MacTech covers well and focuses on with its ongoing conference series), just a few measures of speed or performance can make a big difference in productivity. Or, as the benchmarking study shows, game playing.

As you can see in the comprehensive report, MacTech set up a series of Mac desktops and laptops, and then installed and ran both VMWare Fusion and Parallels on them, along with a series of games (including the great Warhammer 40000: Space Marine) and other productivity and benchmarking software.

So who won? "When we look at the 'big picture' of all the top-level test results," says MacTech, "Parallels is, once again, the clear winner." Parallels has been beating VMWare in these tests for the past few years, and this year won over 68% of the tests by a total of 5% score or more. So if you need a powerful, comprehensive solution for virtualization, MacTech says the choice is clear. However, MacTech also says once again that both of these pieces of software work very well, and that virtualization is more viable than ever as a way to run even the newest Windows software like Windows 8. Bootcamp is still another option for running Windows on your Mac, but if you want to do it without even leaving your OS X environment, either Parallels or VMWare's Fusion will serve you well.

MacTech finds Parallels beating VMWare Fusion again in annual virtualization rundown originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it became clear that Apple Maps was quickly falling flat on its face, everyone waited with bated breath to see what Google had up its sleeve for its own standalone maps app. By all accounts, Google Maps for iOS is indeed the cream of the crop, and Engadget recently sat down with Daniel Graf, Director of Google Maps for mobile, to get the inside scoop on its creation.

The interview focuses on just how Google took its curated Maps experience for Android and improved upon it for iOS. If you're at all interested in a behind the scenes look at iOS's most popular navigation app, give it a read.

Engadget interviews Daniel Graf about Google Maps for iOS originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Many of the TUAW team is still en route to San Francisco at this late hour, but a few of us have arrived and picked up our press credentials for this year's Macworld/iWorld event. In between trying to find a place to do today's TUAW TV Live broadcast (my hotel room wasn't ready), grabbing a quick lunch at Chipotle (running into several TUAW fans in the process), and bumping into the other Apple bloggers I've gotten to know over the years, I managed to take a few photos.

It's quiet right now, with just early sessions for the MacIT conference going on. Tomorrow, Moscone West will take on a whole new personality as thousands of the Apple faithful descend on the site to see what's new. The doors are still shut on the Expo Hall, where vendors are setting up their wares today. In this photo you can see the fairly empty registration area, and I was not surprised to see my good friend and well-known Apple podcaster Chuck Joiner (MacVoices, MacNotables, MacJury) doing what he does best -- interviewing people (he's down in the lower left of this image).

The team from Polish Apple site MyApple.pl keeps getting larger every year! They've been here for four days already, visiting the "mothership" in Cupertino as well as the more natural Redwood Natural Park.

The banners are hung by the ceiling with care, with hopes that tomorrow Ashton Kutcher will be there:

Lantronix has a bunch of xPrintServer-attached printers scattered about Moscone West, just in case you want to print up some last minute brochures or business cards:

And the big MacworldLive stage is ready to go:

And to think that it will all be over way too soon, ending with a drum circle (eyeroll)...

Macworld/iWorld 2013: The calm before the storm originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More automobile manufacturers are hopping on the Siri Eyes Free bandwagon -- or should that be car carrier? Although announced as a partner in the endeavor last summer, Honda has finally confirmed which models will be the first to utilize the feature: the 2013 Honda Accord, Acura RDX and Acura ILX.

All three of these models will interface with Siri-capable iOS devices running iOS 6 or higher via Bluetooth. Using a dedicated hands-free button in the steering wheel, drivers will be able to make use of Apple's virtual assistant for a number of tasks without their phone's screen turning on.

The Siri Eyes Free feature will be available as an option that can be installed by dealers, and integrates with the HondaLink and AcuraLink entertainment systems featured in these models. Pricing for the option hasn't been announced.

2013 Honda Accord, Acura RDX and ILX getting Siri Eyes Free option originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talked with Businessweek about the recent Office 2013 launch. Most of the interview focused on the desktop version of the productivity suite, but Ballmer dodged a question right at the end about the development of the iPad version of Office.

When asked how the iPad version was coming along, Ballmer declined to comment and said the following:

I have nothing to say on that topic. We're very glad with the product, very happy with the product that we're putting in market. It makes sense on the devices like the Mac and the PC. We have a product that we think makes a lot of sense. We do have a way for people always to get to Office through the browser, which is very important. And we'll see what we see in the future.

This response doesn't kill off the idea of Office for the iPad, but it does suggest the product is not a high priority for the Microsoft CEO.

Office for iPad has been rumored since T3 claimed Microsoft may be working on an iPad version of Office and The Daily broke the story open with screenshots of the app in 2012. A Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge late last year that "Office will work across Windows Phone, iOS and Android."

Microsoft CEO talks about Office, won't comment on Office for iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Daily Deals, featuring a handy list from Dealnews and our own hand-picked selections that include some sweet deals on iOS and OS X software (all prices are USD).

Deals from Dealnews

• StackSocial: [Mac Software] The Mac Freebie 8-App Bundle for free
• Office Depot: [Computer Desks] Christopher Lowell Computer Desk w/ Hutch for $80 + pickup at Office Depot
• MegaMacs: [iPad Accessories] Pogo Connect Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Pen for iPad for $53 + $7 s&h
• MegaMacs: [MacBook] Refurb MacBook Core 2 2GHz 13" Laptop w/ Lion for $380 + $17 s&h
• BuyDig: [Camera Accessories] Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens for Canon, Sony, more for $225 + free shipping
• MacUpdate Promo: [Mac Software] Boxshot Ultimate 4 for Mac downloads for $90
• eBay: [iPod Accessories] iLive Clock Radio Dock for iPhone and iPod for $25 + free shipping
• MegaMacs: [Flat-Panel/LCDs] Used Apple 17" LCD Studio Display for $35 + $14 s&h
• eBay: [Office Furniture] Alera Complete 4-Shelf Wire Storage Unit for $65 + free shipping
• Office Depot: [USB Flash Drives] Lexar JumpDrive S73 USB 3.0 Flash Drives from $7 + pickup at Office Depot
• StackSocial: [Mac Software] iDocument for Mac downloads for $25
• eBay: [Video & Audio Cables] 5-Foot 3.5mm Male-to-Male Aux Cable 2-Pack for $2 + free shipping

iOS Software

• Doors & Rooms PLUS [iOS Universal, Category: Games, Now free, down from $2.99] Delve into the All New Escape Game. Just open the doors and escape.

• runtastic PRO [iPhone, Category: Health & Fitness, Now free, down from $4.99] Track your runs and activities, improve your performance and receive live cheering during your workouts to stay motivated.

• Final Fantasy II [iPhone, Category: Games, On sale for $3.99, down from $8.99] The game features the bitter and beautiful tale of four war-orphaned heroes who become embroiled in a conflict between the hostile Empire of Palamecia and the rebel resistance.

• City Maps 2Go [iOS Universal, Category: Navigation, Now free, down from $1.99] Maps 2Go a navigation app for smart travelers, with offline maps and more.

• Star Walk HD [iPad, Category: Education, On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Star Walk HD helps you to identify over 200, 000 celestial bodies with extensive information about stars and constellations that you find.

• PicsPlay Pro [iOS Universal, Category: Photography & Video, On sale for $0.99, down from $1.99] PicsPlay Pro contains 200 presets and all editing features you need for your photos.

• World Atlas by National Geographic [iPhone, Category: Reference, Now free, down from $0.99] National Geographic's new and improved World Atlas puts our best maps in the palm of your hand.

• Gesundheit! [iPhone, Category: Games, Now free, down from $0.99] Gesundheit! combines extraordinary hand-drawn visuals and animation with an infectious gameplay to create a vibrant and colorful world where cute characters face off against wacky monsters, pigs will fly and snot happens. Apple's App of the week.

• One Dollar Wednesday [iPad, Category: Various, up to 75% off] One Dollar Wednesday offers discounts on iPad app including WorldView+ and miCal.

OS X Software

• Little Snitch [OS X, Category: Utilities, On sale for $17.48, down from $34.95] Little Snitch is a network monitoring tool that'll alert you whenever your computer makes a call out to an external server.

• Tree [OS X, Category: Productivity, On sale for $6.99, down from $14.99] Tree is an outliner featuring a horizontally expandable tree view.

• Together [OS X, Category: Productivity, On sale for $19.99, down from $39.99] Together lets you keep everything in one place.

• Gemini: The Duplicate Finder [OS X, Category: Utilities, On sale for $4.99, down from $9.99] Gemini will quickly find and help you remove duplicates from your Mac.

• Instalicious [OS X, Category: Social Networking, On sale for $0.99, down from $2.99] Instalicious is the most elegant way to experience Instagram on your Mac.

• LightFrame [OS X, Category: Photography & Video, On sale for $1.99, down from $29.99] LightFrame is flexible image framer with various built-in frames, materials, resources and almost infinite number of possible frames variations.

• Get Stuff Done [OS X, Category: Productivity, On sale for up to 50% off] Apple launched a new three-week promotion on OS X productivity apps. Included in the sale are Things($24.99), Todo ($6.99), Due ($4.99), The Hit List ($24.99), BreakTime ($2.99), TaskPaper ($11.99), 2Do ($14.99) and Clear ($6.99).

• Macbundler [OS X, Category: Various, Pay what you want] Pay what you want for two apps, pay more than the average and get three more. Titles include Cockpit, Thoughts, Destination: Treasure Island, Image Tricks and Data Guardian.

Daily Deals for January 30, 2012 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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