Apple

Apple, continuing to try and make up for what many have called a fiasco, in regards to the MobileMe launch; has offered an extension to its members today marking the second such extension in the past month and a half. MobileMe subscribers received an email today stating that they would receive a 60 day extension in addition to the already alloted 30 day extension offered late last month. Bringing the total extension to 90 days or 3 months.

The Wall Street Journal got a chance to sit down with Steve Jobs at the Apple HQ in California recently, where they discussed the App Store's success so far and it's importance to the iPhone and iPod touch. They also touched on that kill switch found by Jonathan Zdziarski in the iPhone's code.

It was a little discouraging (but not surprising) when Nullriver's NetShare tethering app was pulled from the App Store once, let alone twice, but their news that they were working with Apple to try to get it back in the App Store was encouraging. Unfortunately it looks like it's chances of making a return are pretty unlikely.

Remember that code Jonathan Zdziarski found a few days ago that he said allowed the new 2.x iPhone software to phone home to Apple, letting them zap apps that they blacklisted? Initially we weren't really sure if Apple would be using it as a security precaution or to zap any apps that they don't happen to like anymore, but Daring Fireball's John Gruber has another, less dubious theory.

MobileMe hasn't gone quite as well as everyone would have hoped it did, including Steve Jobs. He sent out an internal email to Apple employees yesterday evening in which he admitted that they had launched it too early and "not up to Apple's standards." The email notes MobileMe's current flaws and what they should have done to make for a better launch.

We knew from early on that AT&T had agreed to pay Apple in exchange for exclusivity in the US after which the iPhone would be unlocked, but the exact date that their deal would expire has remained a mystery until today. Similarly, little is known about why AT&T changed from their previous payments to Apple to heavily subsidizing the devices. In what is a rare peak at the inner dealings between Apple and a carrier, USA Today claims to have inside information on both subjects.

ARM released a financial report recently in which they announced that they have signed a deal with an "un-named OEM" (original equipment manufacturer) for an architectural licensing deal. This particular kind of license gives the OEM the authority to develop thier own implementations of ARM cores and add custom extentions. They have not stated who the OEM is, but EETimes' Peter Clarke suspects that it's Apple.

Just a few days ago, the Apple DRM on SEGA's smash hit Super Monkey Ball for the iPhone was cracked by a group of hackers that allowed anyone to download the hacked copy and install it for free on their device. Since then, the method has been tested on several other apps, and it seems to work on all of them.

After several claims from multiple security researchers and firms accusing the iPhone of mediocre security practices, Apple seems to taking active measures to address concerns. Apple has recently listed a job opening on their site for the position of iPhone Security Engineer, based in their company headquarters in Cupertino. The listing calls for someone to "validate the security architecture for the iPhone," and produce a "major impact on Apple's embedded operating system products."

Since its launch, the App Store has been a huge success, offering over 900 apps, and already several million downloads in total. However, Apple's app distribution system does have one inherent flaw. Currently there is no way for a developer to give free access to a paid app for one specific iPhone, which leaves them with no way to beta test apps without pushing it as an update to all users.