ElcomSoft researchers analyzed the communication protocol connecting iPhone users with Apple iCloud, and were able to emulate the correct commands in order to retrieve the content of iOS users’ iCloud storage. It’s important to note that, unlike offline backups that may come encrypted and must be broken into (a time-consuming operation), data retrieved from iCloud is received in plain, unencrypted form . The 5GB of storage space can be retrieved in reasonable time, while receiving incremental updates is even faster.

Obtaining a user’s Apple ID password may not always be trivial, but ElcomSoft tools can also be used to capture that information from offline backups stored in iTunes. And of course if the user disables iCloud syncing on its device or changes the Apple ID password, remote access is lost.

ElcomSoft has been at the forefront of development of password-cracking tools, last year incorporating a tool to bypass hardware encryption included in iOS 4. Such tools are increasingly being used by law enforcement to aid their investigations as smartphones become increasingly common and collect a growing amount of information about users and their activity.

ElcomSoft offers several levels of its software, with the most powerful versions restricted to certain governmental agencies, including law enforcement, intelligence services, and other qualified forensic organizations.





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According to the report, Apple officials in Moscow declined to comment on the claims, but Skolkovo executive Roman Romanovsky indicated that the two sides have expressed interest in negotiating about possibilities. No deal appears to be imminent, although Romanovsky hopes that the talks will eventually lead to an agreement.

Apple is in the process of opening up its first major international research and development center in Israel, looking to leverage its own expertise and that of Anobit, an Israeli flash memory company acquired by Apple earlier this year, to spur new innovations.





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For the fourth consecutive year, the iTunes Festival will be held at The Roundhouse in London, with at least 60 acts performing over the 30 nights of the festival. Five acts have been announced so far: Usher (September 1), Emeli Sandé (September 5), Jack White (September 8), Norah Jones (September 10), and One Direction (September 20).

Free tickets are available through a lottery system to residents of the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and the Netherlands, and Apple will also be streaming live video of the concerts directly through iTunes on the desktop or through a dedicated mobile app. The app appears to currently be limited to customers in the UK, and the company notes on its international site for the festival that it will announce streaming options in other countries in August.

Apple also typically releases a number of live EPs and albums from the shows, available for purchase through the iTunes Store.





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Apple, based in Cupertino, California, has placed orders from suppliers in Asia for screens that are bigger than the 3.5- inch size now on the smartphone, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had worked closely on the redesigned phone before his death in October, one person said. [...]

Apple has been working on the new device since before the current iPhone 4S model was introduced last October, said one person with knowledge of the project. Jobs, who had gone on medical leave from Apple starting last January, played a key role in developing the phone, this person said.

Bloomberg becomes the third major publication to offer an independent report this week regarding a larger display for the next iPhone, following The Wall Street Journal and Reuters yesterday.





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Sorkin noted that “The Social Network” saw the Facebook story through the lens of an acrimonious lawsuit that pitted CEO Mark Zuckerberg against his Harvard friends over the creation of the social media network.



“Drama is tension versus obstacle. Someone wants something, something is standing in their way of getting it. They want the money, they want the girl, they want to get to Philadelphia – doesn’t matter … And I need to find that event and I will. I just don’t know what it is,” Sorkin said.

He noted that it won’t be a “straight ahead biography” because a biography has a natural “cradle-to-grave structure” that is very hard to overcome.



Sorkin also disclosed that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has been hired as a consultant by Sony Pictures to advise the filmmakers on the technical aspects of computers and about Jobs himself.





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Drexler also mentioned in passing that Apple will be making a push into the living room “in the near future”, fueling further interest in and speculation on an Apple television set and perhaps ultimately content deals that could remake how television content is consumed.

Look at the car business – it’s a tragedy in America. Who’s designing the cars? They talk about expense, they talk about this, and then you say ‘Who’s designing the cars?’

Steve’s dream before he died was to design an iCar. It would have been probably 50% of the market. He never did design it. In the fashion business, you know, Apple has ten products and then they leave alone…the living room they’re dealing with at some point in the near future.

(Photo via Flickr/juanpol)





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Tim Cook and Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead introduce the Verizon iPhone in January 2011

- Customers will not be automatically moved to new shared data plans. If a 3G or 4G smartphone customer is on an unlimited plan now and they do not want to change their plan, they will not have to do so.

- When we introduce our new shared data plans, Unlimited Data will no longer be available to customers when purchasing handsets at discounted pricing.

- Customers who purchase phones at full retail price and are on an unlimited smartphone data plan will be able to keep that plan.

- The same pricing and policies will be applied to all 3G and 4GLTE smartphones.

Sprint remains the only major U.S. carrier to offer unlimited data for iPhone users, and the carrier has indicated that it will continue to do so for the next-generation device, even if it supports 4G LTE networks that could lead to consumers using more data capacity.





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Apparently, Apple will allow hotkey apps that are already in the Mac App Store before June to offer only bug fixes after that. New sandboxed apps and any apps that add features (i.e. non-bugfix releases) will not be allowed to support hotkeys.

TUAW has been told that Apple will be rejecting all MAS apps with hotkey functionality starting June 1, regardless of whether the new features are hotkey related or not. Basically, if you’re developing one of those apps, an app that assumes you can still add hotkeys, don’t bother submitting it to the Mac App Store.

Various cross-scripting and macro apps will be affected by the change, which appears to be related to the sandboxing requirement that limits what applications can do on other parts of users’ systems.

With the sandboxing requirement set to go into effect two weeks from now after several delays, a number of developers are undoubtedly working to make sure their apps are in compliance with the new rules. Just today, Pixelmator announced that it has updated its image-editing app to meet sandboxing requirements, making it one of the first high-profile apps to make the move.

Update: Macworld refutes the claim regarding hotkey apps, citing its own sources saying “such apps remain welcome in the cozy confines of Apple’s software store.”





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Every level features two things: A spigot where oil shoots from, and an area (usually designed as a mouth of a strange creature) where you’ve got to get the oil to. Completing each level involves getting the oil from the spigot to the goal area utilizing widgets you can drag into the game area. For instance, oil flows off simple platforms, it can be curved by magnets, and even blown in a different direction by fans.



Feed Me Oil was shockingly popular when it first hit last summer, so there’s a decent chance you already have it. If this is the first you’ve heard of it though, make sure you don’t miss this freebie.

At the North Carolina site, the previously-annnounced 20-megawatt solar farm is being joined by a second farm of equal size a few miles away. Combined with the 5-megawatt fuel cell facility also being built at the data center, 60% of the data center’s power needs will be generated on site. The remaining 40% will be purchased through agreements with outside renewable power producers.

We’re currently building two solar array installations in and around Maiden. These sites use high-efficiency solar cells and an advanced solar tracking system. A 100-acre, 20-megawatt installation on the same site as our data center will produce 42 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy annually. A 100-acre site located a few miles away will produce another 42 million kWh. Together that’s 84 million kWh of clean, renewable energy supplied annually. When our bio-gas-powered 5-megawatt fuel cell installation comes online later this year, it will provide more than 40 million kWh of renewable energy annually. This means Apple will be producing enough onsite renewable energy — 124 million kWh — to power the equivalent of 10,874 homes.

Apple’s efforts in renewable energy will also extend to its other data center facilities, as the company previously disclosed that its upcoming Prineville, Oregon data center will be powered by 100% renewable energy. And the new page posted today reveals that the company’s original, smaller data center in Newark, California will soon be powered by renewable energy as Apple works to locate and purchase clean energy for the facility, with the capacity scheduled to be in place by February 2013.

Greenpeace last month bashed Apple using estimates it claimed showed that only 10% of the North Carolina data center’s power would be from renewable sources. Apple rebutted those claims, noting that at least 60% of the center’s energy would be from renewable sources. With today’s announcements, Apple has expanded its efforts even further to power all of its data centers with 100% renewable energy.





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