iPhone 4S Jailbroken. Still Work To Be Done Before Public Release.

Anxiously waiting for the iPhone Dev-Team to get Apple’s latest iPhone 4S hacked and cracked so you can decimate it with all of your custom lusts? Keep waiting because it’s not ready for public consumption. But in the meantime here’s what is known regarding the iPhone 4S jailbreak — the iPhone Dev-Team has managed to get the 4S jailbroken and Cydia installed but that’s where the fun stops. According to @Musclenerd the iPhone 4S jailbreak is a:

“VERY preliminary 4S JB. (Huge missing pieces prevent public release. LOTS of work left)”

In short: The iPhone 4S jailbreak is still a ways from prime time/public release and the team can’t give a definite ETA. But knowing that some progress has been made is good, right?

[Update] Apple Having iCloud Problems Tonight. SMTP Issues Prevent Sending Mail.

It seems Apples streak of relatively unhindered iCloud service following MobileMe’s less than stellar track record is already getting off on the wrong foot. For several hours now users of Apple’s iCloud service have been unable to send any email with their @me addresses.

We first discovered the issue about 40 minutes ago when trying to set up iCloud (@Me) mail in the latest 1.4.1 Sparrow.app update which among other things, adds iCloud support. During setup we could not get past the smtp screen as it would error out and say it couldn’t contact the server.

As of writing Apple’s iCloud system status page still shows everything as 100% operational.

Drop a line in the comments if you’re seeing the same issue.

Update

We’re still seeing reports of sending mail still being down in iCloud — we’re also seeing reports saying it’s back up. Apple’s own status indicator (linked above) says <1% of iCloud mail and Notes users are affected by service interruptions right now. Time to buy a lottery ticket... We are the 1%... /bad jokes

Update 2

Everything seems to be working for us now. How’s your mileage fairing?

Update 3

Maybe not…

Brief: Personal Systems Group Will Remain At HP.

After 2 months of uncertainty surrounding HP’s PC business (internally known as Personal Systems Group, or “PSG”) a press release issued earlier today signals PSG is here to stay within HP (for now).

Our take: HP was able to avoid a near disaster — one of many created by now ex-CEO Leo Apotheker. But even with the new information it still doesn’t really give us much faith in HP’s PC business.

The original decision to spin off PSG was a surprise to many for the sole fact that PSG is one of HP’s most profitable/successful departments. If HP was so quick to write it off once, what’s to stop them from doing it again? More importantly, what would they make money on without PSG? Their enterprise roots while once the staple of their business plan has since lost focus to their consumer offerings.

How Steve Cracked The TV: Siri?

The now infamous parts of Steve Jobs’ biography in which he claims to have “finally cracked” a consumer friendly TV have set the tech world on fire. Now more than ever rumors of an “iTV” are ringing across the interwebs. So just how did Steve crack TV? According to a new NYT article by Nick Bilton — Siri.

Think about it. Never again deal with some expensive, cumbersome, complex remote control(s) or instruction manuals. Simply use the power of your voice.

The move would be massive for the TV industry who has always used on some form of physical input by way of remote, motion gesture, etc. to interact. Using a person’s voice requires no movement or physical input. When you include services outside of traditional TV (such as internet based services) you’ve got so much more than just a TV.

As it stands now, our time with Siri has been rewarding, amusing, and at times maddening. For Apple to truly pull off a TV controlled only by Siri/voice, they’ll have to make it a lot more reliable than it is on the iPhone. That begins with removing the remote server-side engine that powers Siri. A network/power outage can’t be allowed to render our TVs inoperable. Not only that, Siri has already proven to have trouble with accents and still doesn’t support a large number of languages — all things that will have to change if Apple is to truly revolutionize (and make money) off the TV industry.

According to Bilton, his various sources within Apple wouldn’t specifically say a TV “was” being built currently, but that a TV “would definitely be built” in the future. Is that future 2012 or 2022? From what we’ve seen from Siri so far, Steve’s Apple TV hobby could finally materialize into what he’s been gunning for all along and sooner than you might think.

Images Of Motorola DROID 4 Leaked!

Feats your eyes on the (alleged) Droid 4. As Motorola’s flagship slide-out QWERTY device it’s nice to see what appears to be an awesome 5-row keyboard thanks to taller, more clickable keys. According to Droid-Life’s sources — “best keyboard they’ve ever seen on a phone”. Potentially mis-leading statements aside, the same source say the Droid 4 will drop in the not too distant future packing specs similar to the recently announced RAZR:

• Dual-core 1.2 GHz (or faster) processor

• 1 GB of RAM

• LTE

• 8-megapixel camera with 1080p video recording

• Non-removable battery

• Android 2.3.5 with MotoACTV syncing/storage

The RAZR is a pretty decent looking phone. The Droid 4 literally looks like a RAZR with a keyboard slapped to the back of it. The problem: the RAZR is more or less the same as the original DROID X save for a few more rounded corners and a couple less physical buttons. Perhaps Motorola’s action of bringing the “RAZR” branding back from the dead was a good choice — the horse wasn’t actually dead yet…

RIM, Porsche Design Group Unveil “Porsche Design BlackBerry P9981″.

The previously leaked images showing what looked to be a futuristic BlackBerry were spot on. Today RIM and the Porsche Design group announced the new “Porsche Design BlackBerry P9981″ — Apparently they’re collaborating with Samsung on product naming… — in a special event in Burj Khaleefa, Dubai. It is hands down the nicest piece of hardware to ever carry the RIM branding thanks to the stainless steel casing and full-leather backing. Aside from physical looks, the P9981 is nothing special when compared to other BBOS 7 Blackberries — 1 GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera, 8 GB of storage with support for 32 GB microSD cards. What about the software?

The device reportedly runs a tweaked version of BBOS 7. More readily apparent changes include customized icons and fonts by the Porsche Design group.

Official pricing and launch carriers along with a specific price haven’t been divulged just yet, but RIM claims release “by the end of 2011″.

So we gotta’ ask: How much would you pay for the P9981?

Facebook Begins Construction On Massive European Data Center In Northern Sweden.

Swedes will soon have a new neighbor and all of Europe (in theory) more reliable Facebook service. The U.S. based company has announced plans to build a massive new data center with three 300,000 sq. ft. buildings in the remote city of Lulea in northern Sweden roughly 1,000km from Stockholm. According to Facebook, the data centers will be the largest of their kind in Europe and feature environmentally friendly features such as (possible) hydro-electric power and reduced energy needs thanks to the cold climate providing a natural cooling solution.

The first phase of the project (data center building number 1) is said to cost around $121 million (800 million crowns) with construction “beginning instantly” and completing within a year with the other two buildings being completed and fully operational by 2014.