Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Creatix iOS 9.3.2 Jailbreak Possible

   Evidence is piling up suggesting that a jailbreak for iOS 9.3.2 is coming soon. Reddit user and developer /u/ioscreatix has been showcasing his new tweak iOSBlocks on a version of iOS that contains locking notes, proper nightshift, and more iOS 9.3+ exclusives. Andrew Wiik, another developer, tweeted +enMTW today.



This could mean a jailbreak created by enMTW is going to be released soon, or it could mean absolutely nothing. In any case, there is something going on.


On Creatix's iOSBlocks showcase Lydia has a small blue dot to the left of it, following the pattern of iOS 9.2.1+ jailbreaks. Qwertyoruiop's jailbreak has the same characteristics. This could mean that Qwertyoruiop has shared the jailbreak with Creatix developers or that another jailbreak entirely has been developed. Jailbreakbusterkid, Andy, and more of their team, known for busting fake jailbreaks on their Twitter accounts, have insider knowledge on something and refuse to comment on the current rumors about these videos.

Creatix's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ioscreatix 

Before anyone gets excited, this will most likely not be released. This could be partially because they do not want to deal with the community, or because it is just impossible to release in a legal or
accessible way.

Creatix will not release an iOS 9.3+ jailbreak, but the developers may be using one.

UPDATE: Creatix tweeted today with only a :) face, possibly pointing to a confirmation that they are using a jailbroken iOS 9.3 device.

GSMagic Team Announcement


   As excited as I am about an iOS 9.2+ jailbreak, there have been many "jailbreak developers" that have been outed as liers, such as enMTW, Taoyi, Yalu9.2/WaveBr3ak, Josh, Star and many, many more. As it has been almost 10 months since the last public jailbreak on signed firmware, anticipation and gullibility has grown exponentially as impatience brews. Today, the GSMagic Team released a message about their "jailbreak", although whether it is legitimate or not is questionable.

GSMagic Team's promotional image

GSMagic Team Announcement:

 The greek team GSMagic that works on a public Jailbreak tool for iOS 9.3.3 asked us (the website mods) to publicize the following message from them! Message from GSMagic: Because we don't want people to be tortured on whether the Jailbreak will be released or not, we set as Friday 10th of June 2016 the deadline for the release of our tool. If we cannot do it until then, our project called Ibycus just as GSMagic will be postponed for life. We kindly ask you to do not worry about what will follow and live your life happily. The only thing we want to do is to give you this tool! We will not publicize this bug and we will not give it to any exploiter or any Security firm ever. The People need actions not theories. Is tired from all this scene as we are. GSMagic as soon as will succeed to create a stable tool will release it right away without saying to wait for another possible ios update! We believe that the people should be free to update or stay to whichever version they want to, that's why we try to make the Jailbreak compatible with every existing version of iOS. GSMagic was created in 2000 and from the start till this day its members are loyal and have not participated in any other team whatsoever. Right now the members of the team are 5! Regarding Argonautis blog: GSMagic loves argonautis blogspot cause it was and will always be their place to hang around. There was no personal contact between GSMagic and Argonautis blogspot. The creator of Argonautis(Giwrgos) along with the mods of the blog do not have any consequence for our actions! Only we have!!
Not acquired and does not sell to anyone except serve the world if you need us. All that interests us mainly is to give a version that works 100% without problems in the world otherwise we fail and leave the scene. Thank you and always will help the Argonaytis and amazing JailBreak Community !!!
Our warm greetings GSMagic Team .....

Because the statement above is confusing, I will explain it the best that I can.

Summary: GSMagic Team and their jailbreak project, named Ibycus, will have a release deadline of June 10, 2016. If they do not meet their end date with a 100% functional product, the project will be abandoned. They will not sell their exploit to a security firm and believe the people deserve a public jailbreak. The team was created in 2000 and has 5 members, and they are tired of working on a jailbreak.

Red Flags:


  • GSMagic Team has set a deadline, possibly trying to pressure other jailbreak teams into releasing before them
  • Very little proof of jailbreaking has been released from them
  • Everything they have shown off could be faked so far
  • They will not share the exploit used even if they fail to release a working jailbreak
  • The website that published the announcement is full of advertisements and this could be a large stunt for attention and ad revenue
Although this could be a legitimate jailbreaking team, there has yet to be any solid evidence. Always be skeptical and most likely a jailbreak will be released by a team like TaiG or Pangu suddenly without all of the promotion and questionability.

Let's hope by June 10th we will see a jailbreak for iOS 9.2 - 9.3.2 and possibly future versions. WWDC 2016 is right around the corner on June 13th, so when iOS 10 takes priority over iOS 9, jailbreaks will not be patched as easily.

LINKREDDIT POST DISCUSSING THIS TOPIC
   

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Macintosh SE Buyer's Guide in 2016

Description:

The Macintosh SE was released on March 2, 1987 by Apple. Its original price was $2,900 USD with dual 3.5-inch floppy drives or $3,900 USD with a single 3.5-inch floppy drive and a 20 MB SCSI hard drive. It was introduced as a replacement for the Macintosh Plus alongside the Macintosh II, and is visually similar to the original Macintosh 128K.

Specifications:

Processor: Motorola 68000, 8 MHz
ROM Size: 256 kB
Data Path: 16-bit Level 1
RAM Type: 150 ns 30-pin SIMM
Standard RAM: 1 MB
Maximum RAM: 4 MB
RAM Slots: 4
Standard Hard Drive: 20 MB SCSI
Standard Disk: 3.5 in, 800 kB, 800 kB x 2
Exp. Slots: SE PDS
Battery Type: 3.6 V lithium
Display: 512 x 342 pixels, 9 inches monochrome
Video memory: 512x384x1
Mac OS: 3.3–7.5.1, 7.5.3–7.5.5
Weight: 17.0 lb

Innovations of the Macintosh SE:

  • Featured an expansion slot (SE stands for “System Expansion”)
  • It is the first Macintosh to use ADB (Apple Desktop Bus), which was used with the Apple IIGS, for keyboards and mice
  •  Added a cooling fan to mediate temperatures.
The Macintosh SE was the first Macintosh computer to ship without a keyboard. With the new ADB ports, the ADB Apple Keyboard and Apple Extended Keyboards were the only ones on the market.
Transferring media to a Macintosh SE in 2016 is not an easy task, and it has not been for the last 20 or so years. Kevin Rye has the best explanation of the topic, and I got in contact with him to see what he had to say when I asked if it was possible to write to 800K 3.5-inch floppy disks for the Macintosh SE.

Kevin Rye from AppleToTheCore.me:


It’s not easy. No version of OS X past version 10.5 supports the vintage file formats. No one has ever manufactured a USB Floppy Drive capable of reading or writing to any format other than 1.44MB floppies. Vintage Macs use a variable speed drive. USB floppy drives can only spin at the one speed required for 1.44MB floppies.

You need a vintage Mac that can get on the Internet and read/write to 800K disks, or a way to get images off the internet and onto vintage Mac formatted 1.44MB disks, then onto another vintage Mac that can read both 1.44 and 800K disks. I have a room of about 25 vintage Macs that allows me to shuffles images around and onto 800K disks. As far as blanks, I get them on eBay when I see them.
What this means is that reading or writing 400K or 800K 3.5-inch floppy disks, the only disks compatible with the Macintosh SE, is currently almost impossible with modern hardware. You must use a classic Macintosh, optionally connected to the internet, to read and write 400K and 800K disks. This puts the Macintosh SE in a strange position, making it extremely difficult to use practically in the modern day, even just to run legacy programs or games. Emulating a classic Macintosh with Mini vMac or another application is more practical than buying the equipment.

Equipment costs in 2016:
Currently, the Macintosh SE might be the most affordable early Macintosh computer.

  • Macintosh SE: Around $50-100 USD used, $120-200 USD mint condition
Macintosh SE FDHD's have a SuperDrive. It has a 1.44mb that makes it much easier to work with. It costs about the same, but is miles better with compatibility.
  • ADB Keyboard and Mouse: Around $30-45 USD
  • Mac OS System Disk: System 6.0.8 800K startup disk from RescueMyClassicMac is $10 
  • Software: Anywhere from $0 to $50 USD
These components are about $150-200 total if you get the best prices possible as separate units. Some systems sell with ADB keyboards and mice, which can knock a large portion of the accessory price. If you’re lucky, a Macintosh SE with a keyboard and mouse, along with a Mac OS system disk or hard drive, it should cost $150 USD.

A floppy disk emulator is the most practical way to manage your floppy disk collection. With a 128 GB SD card, you could load 160,000 800K floppy disk images onto the device. Of course, this is impractical, but it is entirely possible. It connects to the external floppy drive port on the back of the SE, so it fits snuggly away. An extension cable can be bought for front access, but this device is highly recommended.

That is about all that I wanted to say, and I hope you take some of my advice when looking into buying a Macintosh SE. It is an excellent machine, but it can be tricky to find the right parts for it. Good luck and have fun hunting for your classic Mac.

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Why the new MacBook Pro needs to happen

Why the new MacBook Pro needs to happen

Image credit to Apple
   With WWDC coming up, new device predictions have gone wild. A slump in Apple's sales has shown to the public the slowdown of innovation within the company. The Mac line has become stale, and the new MacBook has not helped much. The world isn't ready for it, so a new device needs to fill the gap.

The MacBook Air has lost its once important roll in Apple's lineup of portable computers. At one time, the Air was the thinnest MacBook with great specs to boost, but now it has become little more than a MacBook Pro with a worse display. The display's resolution, compared to the smaller 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro with Retina Displays, is much worse. The specs are not terrible by any means, but paying the small upgrade fee to the, now only slightly, heavier and more powerful MacBook Pro with Retina Display. The Air and Pro line need to merge to give the new MacBook a proper place in the lineup. The current Pro and Air designs have remained the same since 2012, and the ports on the devices are stuck in the past. USB-C should become the standard for Apple products if they plan for it to catch on, and Thunderbolt 3 must be there.

Apple's lineup is stuck in the past and a new professional-level laptop with USB-C will push the standard to the mainstream, instead of being stuck on only the highest end devices.

What we need to see in a new MacBook Pro:

  • 14-inch and 16-inch models
The same display area can be used, but the bezels need to be cut down.

  • A retina display
There is no longer room for a Mac to ship without a retina display. Once I used a newer display, I cannot imagine going back to a lower resolution.

  • USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports
USB-C needs to be used as the charging port for the new MacBook Pro. I love MagSafe 2 as much as the next guy, but having a do-all port alongside traditional USB availability would push the standard.

  • One traditional USB 3.1 port
A standard type A USB socket with USB-C would ease the worry of users that need the older standard for a device they use every day, and want to charge at the same time.

  • Thinner or as thin as the current MacBook Air
Although the new MacBook is much thinner than the Air, the Pro needs to be about the same size as it. The MacBook 2015 and 2016 showed how compact a computer could get, and the Pro should use the same technology, maybe even using the new Intel processors from the MacBook 2016.

  • MacOS 11 shipping with the device
Shipping the new OS with the device would show how radical a change it brings to the market, sparking interest in Mac OS again. 

Apple needs a new MacBook Pro to get consumers talking and make it affordable, around one thousand US dollars. Having a laptop that outperforms the competition at a price point that is viable to most professional users would help make every new innovation Apple is pushing (USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, MacOS) come to the mainstream.