Hackers exploited the 3 major browsers on day one of Pwn2Own.  As expected,  IE8, FireFox and Safari were all penetrated within minutes of the competition starting.

Most impressively, Peter Vreugdenhil, was able to exploit a vulnerability in IE8 on Windows 7 allowing him to bypass  the operating systems DEP (Data Execution System) security mechinism designed to stop this sort of attack.  Vreugdenhil, a first time Pwn2Own participant, earned a $10,000 prize for his efforts.

The only browser left standing after day one was Google Chrome.

[via ComputerWorld]

Centercode, the guys behind OnlineBeta.com, have just announced a new community: iPadBeta.com.

We’re pleased to announce iPadBeta.com, a new unique user community being offered by Centercode.  Unlike other communities we’ve announced in the past which use our software, iPadBeta.com is owned by Centercode and will act as a sister community to OnlineBeta.com, but focused specifically on the Apple mobile platform

Very similar to the OnlineBeta.com project, iPadBeta will allow users to sign up to test new iPad/iPhone/iTouch apps.  The site allows users to chat about the new product in forums, create problem reports and submit bug reports.

App developers will  have FREE access to a wealth of knowledge and, what I’m sure will be, a huge tester community.

App Developers are each given their own private projects which include bug and feature tracking, custom surveys, discussion forums, custom wikis, build distribution, tester participation monitoring, reporting, and much more.  iPadBeta.com will also recruit App Testers matching the Developers market; or they can invite their own friends and customers. Developers will also have access to market research materials on the App market, as well as the ability to request custom research.  These services are all offered at no cost, with no ads.

Head on over to iPadBeta and join in!

Well, it finally happened…  Way back in July, many speculated about a tablet coming from Apple, and now we get to see how close everyone came with their guesses.

Am I disappointed?  Well … yes and no.  It’s cool, it’s really f-ing cool.  It’s almost exactly what I expected from Apple,  but it’s not exactly what I wanted.

Oh, and can I just mention the name….  Uhm.  iPad just sounds like a feminine product.  I don’t know why, since crunchpad sounds like a great name and doesn’t bring tampax to mind, but I can’t shake the image….

Anyway — I can’t wait to get my hands on one for a little real-word play.  Maybe it’ll be enough for me — at the very least, it’ll make a great little news-reader and e-book platform.

[editors note:  Personally, any phone that has cutting edge Text to Toast and a coffee warmer is on my christmas list.  Screw the iPhone, I'm an xPhone fanboy now!]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mein gott!  It even does VHS!

Via Giz

Well, well… Dev-Team has done it again.  Even a virgin 3.1.2 iPhone can now be jailbroken.  This just shortly after rumors Apple will soon release new hardware that is “un-jailbreakable”.

Version 3.1.4 of PwnageTool supports the 3.1.2 release of the iPhone software for iPhone 2G/3G/3GS and iPod Touch 1G/2G.

Caution:  Please head over to the dev-team blog, read and then re-read the instructions and warning before upgrading.

Apple released another patch/upgrade for the iPhone today.  Version 3.1.2 of the iPhone OS is reported to fix a few issues:

• Resolves sporadic issue that may cause iPhone to not wake from sleep
• Resolves intermittent issue that may interrupt cellular network services until restart
• Fixes bug that could cause occasional crash during video streaming

Those of you that run your phones jailbroken and unlocked will need to wait a while before upgrading.  The Dev-Team posted the following warning on their blog:

WARNING! At 10.20AM PDT on October 8th 2009 Apple released the 3.1.2 version (7D11) of the iPhoneOS.

If you care about your jailbreak and unlock, don’t update your device - 3G and 3G(S) owners should pay particular attention to this warning.

• PwnageTool and redsn0w are not yet compatible with 3.1.2
• There is no estimated release time for compatible tools (please don’t bug us about this).
• Any information we have regarding this update will be posted here.

We’ll keep you posted as new information comes around.

Palm really catching a lot of people by surprise today:  Allowing app developers to do whatever they want!

Palm will allow developers to create and distribute their (free) apps without any approval process.  Just submit the application and Palm provides the developer a URL for distribution.  Users just click the link and easily install their new app.  Whats more, developers that plan on making their applications Open Source won’t even have to pay the $99 yearly fee they normally charge.

It seems they’ve reviewed the Apple play-book and created their own plays to be the exact opposite.

So, whats up with the Palm Catalog (their App Store)?  Developers will still be able to submit applications for sale in the catalog for a fee of $50.  Details are a bit sketchy, but I’m assuming this is the only way to sell apps.

So, every other platform can have Flash, why can’t the iPhone?  Well, Adobe blames Apple — and I do to!

Although you won’t be able to create Flash apps for the iPhone, upcoming Flash Authoring Software from Adobe will compile native iPhone apps. Apple forbids embedded Flash apps citing battery consumption.

Frankly, I think they’re just trying to protect App Store profits as the vast majority of iPhone App Store offerings could easily be created and/or already exist as Flash apps.  Giving Flash access to the GPS and accelerometer would allow any Flash coder to create some pretty powerful apps and could easily take Apple out of the loop.

The AT&T Tilt 2 (aka HTC TouchPro 2) and Pure (aka HTC Diamond 2) should be showing up at AT&T very soon.  Both phones will feature the new Windows Mobile 6.5 and an enhanced version of TouchFLO.  The Touch 2 should carry a price of about $300 after rebates and a 2 year contract and the Pure should run about half that, $150, after rebates and 2 year contract.

The original Tilt and it’s older siblings have been my choice for WinMo phones for the past 5+ years, until I picked up a 3G iPhone, so I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with the Tilt 2 in the very near future — perhaps it’ll sway me back over to the WinMo side of the fence.

Gizmodo is showing off a “booklet” PC and reporting that this is Microsoft’s take on the future of tablet computing.

Courier is a real device, and we’ve heard that it’s in the “late prototype” stage of development. It’s not a tablet, it’s a booklet. The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They’re connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre.

Read more about it, and check a video over at Gizmodo.