Windows Phone 7.5 Bug Reportedly Crashes The Messaging Hub?

It seems that a new bug discovered on Windows Phone 7.5 Mango will allow users to crash your Messaging Hub if they send you an SMS from another Windows Phone, and by including a specific string of text within the message. Since the Messaging Hub also compiles chats fromWindows Live Messenger and even Facebook Chat, this bug could also be triggered by any of these messaging services as long as the adequate string of text is used. 

According to the source: The flaw works simply by sending an SMS to a Windows Phone user. If the SMS contains a particular string of text then Windows Phone 7.5 devices will reboot and the messaging hub will not open despite repeat attempts. We have tested the attack on a range of Windows Phone devices, including HTC’s TITAN and Samsung’s Focus Flash. The attack is not device specific and appears to be an issue with the waythe Windows Phone messaging hub handles particular characters. The bug is also triggered if a user sends a Facebook chat message or Windows Live Messenger message to a recipient. 

This goes as bad as to even having your phone crash over a friend posting this string of text on their Facebook page if you've created a Live Tile for that specific friend. 

We haven't personally tested this, since we obviously don't want any of our Windows Phones to become unusable, but leave ac moment down bellow if you're experiencing this problem. 

Windows Phone Tango Build 7.10.8713 Reveals Its Presence

What might be a new Nokia Windows Phone device, possibly codenamed Champagne, wasrecently identified from its presence in some log files. It self-reported as running build 7.10.8711 of the operating system, which we understand to be an in-development version of the Windows PhoneTango update. We still have plenty questions about both that handset and the Tango update, but it looks like 8711 is already behind the times, with evidence of 8713 appearing for the first time. 

News of 8713 comes courtesy of the WP Bench logs. It's anyone's guess what's changed since 8711, but we still like to keep on top of the progress being made, despite largely being in the dark as to the details. Some rumors we've heard about Tango in general say we're looking at the platform finally gaining support for phones with LTE radios. We also expect to see Microsoft reveal some new device standards, using lower-end hardware to allow for the production of more affordable WP7 handsets. Tango will also mark the first update produced with Nokia having input from the get-go, and we expect it to continue with a high level of involvement from here on out. Mostly, though, we're just waiting for the next big leak to help finish painting our picture of Tango. 

iOS App Picks 26 Oct 2011

In this episode of the iOS App Picks we demonstrate five applications in 30 seconds each. These apps will keep you entertained, allow you to save your receipts easily, and find things to do in your area. To download these apps directly to youriPhone, just click on the title of the application and the iTunes software will automatically launch to the app in the App Store. If you have the free Google Search app installed on your iPhone just snap a picture of the QR-Code using Google Goggles or any other QR-Code scanner that will launch the App Store on your iPhone. 



Pandora – A free application 



With Pandora internet radio you will be able to stream music to your iOS device over a cellular or Wi-Fi data connection. Just choose what kind of music you like by searching for searching for an artist, genera, or composer and Pandora will find stations based upon your results. With the paid service you can skip through more songs and avoid listening to commercials and seeing advertisements. 



Gogobot – A free application 



Gogobot is a great app for anyone that enjoys finding new and interesting attractions in their area. Just select from one of the categories of things to do, restaurants, or hotels and Gogobot will do the rest. Get a map of the location and call them. One neat feature is the ability to take postcards and save them to your Gogobot account. 



Lemon – A free application 



Don’t worry about throwing away that important receipt again. With Lemon you will be able to save your receipts directly to your Lemon account for future reference. This app will automatically render most receipts into a text format to help search for an item quickly. Just snap a picture of the receipt and Lemon will do the rest. 



Family Feud & Friends – A free application 



One of the longest running game shows in history is now available on your iOS device, with a little twist. Family Feud & Friends is a great app that will challenge your skills at answering survey questions while playing against random opponents and friends. Earn coins every day to continue playing and purchase more coins in the event that you use up all of your coins. 



Wikipedia – A free application 



The official Wikipedia app for iOS is a great app that has virtually an endless amount of articles pertaining to anything. Wikipedia is the encyclopedia to the world and has many different languages to choose from. Search for practically anything, if it isn’t on there, you can always add it for others later. 

Tango Bringing Windows Phone Video Chat In Early November

 

With front-facing cameras on Windows Phone hardware now a reality, it's just a matter of time until WP7 gets itself some video-chat software. While Skype should be on the way (eventually), it's looking like the first solution to arrive on the platform will be Tango's offering, which Microsoft showed-off last month; the company has revealed that its app is scheduled for a November 7 release.

Tango recently discussed its plans for the software launch with Forbes. Following its November 7 general availability, we'll start to see Tango arrive pre-installed on some future WP7 handsets, though specific manufacturing partners weren't named. 

The app is supposed to take advantage of standardized Windows Phone hardware by offering hardware-accelerated video, hopefully leading to a consistently smooth frame rate. Tango says that it worked directly with Microsoft on designing the app's user interface, trying to make it seem as naturally part of the operating system as possible. 

Further down the road, Tango plans to release a paid version of its software, though it didn't specify just what extra features such an app would include.

How would you change Apple's OS X 10.7 (Lion)?

Apple's most highly sophisticated OS yet? Cupertino would have you think so, but as with any major update, there have been plenty of quirks to work through in the months following the introduction ofLion. For those of you who've made the 0.2 leap from 10.6.8 (or from further back, actually), we're interested in learning how your overall experience has been. A good move? Still regretting it? What apps have broken on you? Has your workflow changed at all? Do you prefer "natural" scrolling? How would you tweak Lion if given the chance? What apps would you overhaul? What factory settings would you alter? Carefully considered thoughts are welcome in comments below.

Semi-Tethered Jailbreak Available for iOS 5

What's a semi-tethered jailbreak? We all know that a tethered jailbreak needs access to a computer in order to reapply after a reboot and that the untethered one is persistent. A semi-tethered jailbreak is a new concept which somehow sits in between the two above.

Say you're out and about but your beloved iOS 5 device is power cycling (for whatever reason). If you were running a tethered jailbreak you'd be wishing your computer was close in order to get you passed that Apple logo. With the semi-tethered jailbreak you phone will start normally and it will be able to do basic tasks like making a phone call, sending a text, using built-in applications and so on. On the down side you're not going to be able to use Safari to surf the internet or use the mailapplication. Sounds like an excellent choice until that untethered solutions is available. Adding to the negatives: the phone will take longer to boot.

To read more about what you can and what you can't do with a semi-tethered jailbreak, hit up the sourcelink below. Note that you have to be already jailbroken (tethered) to apply the semi-tethered jailbreak! 

MuscleNerd: Untethered FastRa1n iOS 5 Jailbreak a Scam

Jailbreaks for iOS 5 are getting better and better, with the latest redsn0w now able to work its magic on your iPhone over twice as quickly. Don't let your expectations run away with you though, as we're still in tethered jailbreak land, with no ETA on an untethered option. That's not stopping unscrupulous souls from fleecing a little cash off the gullible, causing the iPhone Dev Team'sMuscleNerd to speak out in warning against one such scam tool.

MuscleNerd sent out a tweet in regards to claims that FastRa1n can install an untethered jailbreak on iOS 5 devices. Anyone paying for access to the supposed tool is just wasting their money, according to him, and the iPhone Dev Team will be confirming the presence of an actual iOS 5 untethered jailbreak if and when one arises. They're obviously working hard on such an effort, and all us non-devs should just relax and enjoy our tethered jailbreak for the time being. 

Make Your Phone Look Like Ice Cream Sandwich with this CM Theme

While it's true that Android 4.0 Ice CreamSandwich has been announced, other than the Software Development Kit it hasn't been releasedyet.

That means you can't buy a phone running ICS and you can't flash a stock or custom ICS ROM onto your current phone.

But, all is not lost if you want your current phone tolook like it could be running ICS! XDA-Developersonnysekhon grabbed the goodies from the ICS SDK and stitched them all together into a nice theme.

If you're running a ROM that supports the Theme Engine (like most CyanogenMod ROMs and their derivatives do), all you need to do is download and install a single .apk, fire up Theme Chooser, and pick "ICS" from the list. You may get a note that "the theme is missing assets for your device's screen size", but you can apply anyway and things will likelywork just fine (if not, just select the "System" theme and you're right back to where you were before).

Find the download links at the source, and enjoy your "almost" Ice Cream Sandwich phone!