Here are the simple steps to Pwning your First Gen iPhone:

1. Download PwnageTool 2.0.1 here
2. Download the required Bootloader files here
3. Start up iTunes and Restore Update your iPhone to 2.0
4. Unzip the PwnageTool 2.0.1 and Bootloader to your Desktop. You will need to unzip the Boot Loader files within the new Boot Loader folder. Do this now.
5. Once your iPhone has been updated (in Emergency Mode) start up PwnageTool
6. Choose the iPhone and click the Next Arrow.
7. Pwnage should recognize the new 2.0 ipsw, click Next.
8. Pwnage will now ask you for the new Boot Loader files. Click “No” when prompted to search the internet. This will give you the option to search for the Boot Loader 39 file. Locate this in the Boot Loader folder on your desktop. (Do this once again for BL 46.).
9. 9. Click Next. Sit back and allow Pwnage to build you a fresh 2.0 ipsw.
10. 10. Once the new ipsw file has been written to your desktop. Place your iPhone in DFU mode. You can follow the PwnageTool’s interface or simply do the following:
    1. Click and Hold both the “Power Button” and “Home” Buttons on your iPhone.
    2. Wait 10 Seconds. Release the “Power Button”.
    3. Continue holding the “home” button for another 5 seconds
    4. iTunes alerts you that the phone is in DFU mode, and asks if you want to Restore your phone. Click Cancel!
    5. Hold down the “ALT”, “Option” key on your Keyboard at the same time click the “Restore” button on iTunes – You can now search for the new ipsw created by Pwnage.
    6. Sit back, relax and get ready for 2.0 Goodness!

I love the Open Source Community!

Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK | CaseCrown iPhone 3G Soft Polycarbonate Slim Fit Case – Red

Installation, I still have to give Parallels props on, installing windows is far more advanced with Parallels than VMWare, but despite the installation portion of my experience, VMWare is superior to Parallels. Start up with VMWare is faster, and running in unity mode is a dream, unlike Parallels which was very sluggish and almost every program took quite a bit of time to start up.

With VMWare, I’m able to play my usual games at Shockwave.com with only the minimalization where VMWare like Parallels reduce the window size to around 800 pixels wide vs utilizing my full desktop. I’m sure I’ll find a solution to this, as I prefer to play games with a larger screen resolution.

My Suggestion to him was go with a mac – but sigh – those windows users who prefer to rebuild their PC’s for much less than buying a mac – are so stubborn!

So we swap out the graphics card – the obvious right? Wrong! This didn’t fix it. Apparently, the graphics card was not the issue, we decided to check the ram – but Stubborn PC User decides he wants to rebuild his entire computer and go faster. Alright I said, let’s do it.

$850 later, new motherboard – ASUS M2N-32, AMD 5600 Dual Core CPU, 4 Gigs of Ram DDR400, GeForce 7950 GX2 graphics card and a brand new licensed Windows XP Pro. The problem still exists! Damnit I say!! There could only be one thing left – the Monitor – a Gateway HDMI Monitor ARGH!

We get past it and I recommend he buy a HDMI TV and use it to run both PC and TV in his room. Great Idea, so off we go to Frys to look at options. The TV Option works best, price wise and so he goes home dreaming of building this amazing PC.

The next morning he pulls his PC out to the living room and hooks it up to his current 65″ HDMI TV and sends me the following photo:

Moral of the Story:
Windows Users are Horn Dogs.

The Term “Top Secret” should be implied

Forbes.com
…you wouldn’t expect the U.S. Army to be much of a customer. Lieutenant Colonel C.J. Wallington is hoping hackers won’t expect it either.

Linux-Girl
A Hacker is perhaps, one of the most intelligent species of computer technicians in the world. I can guarantee that many of them read Forbes.com on a regular basis. So to assume that hackers, will not expect the addition of Mac’s in the army is quite amusing. They should’ve chosen to release this story to Parenting Magazine if they had hopes of keeping it a secret.

Whose Bright Idea Was This?

Forbes.com
Wallington, a division chief in the Army’s office of enterprise information systems, says the military is quietly working to integrate Macintosh computers into its systems to make them harder to hack. That’s because fewer attacks have been designed to infiltrate Mac computers, and adding more Macs to the military’s computer mix makes it tougher to destabilize a group of military computers with a single attack, Wallington says

Linux-Girl
Quietly Working while leaking information to Forbes.com! I’m assuming the Army IT department has taken into consideration that should their mainframe be compromised, it wouldn’t matter what manufacturer you buy a computer from. The entire system is down.

Turning a Negative into a Positive

Forbes.com
Though Apple machines are still pricier than their Windows counterparts, the added security they offer might be worth the cost, says Wallington. He points out that Apple’s X Serve servers, which are gradually becoming more commonplace in Army data centers, are proving their mettle. “Those are some of the most attacked computers there are. But the attacks used against them are designed for Windows-based machines, so they shrug them off,” he says.

Linux-Girl
Well no-duh Sherlock! If only Wallington would step up and believe what he’s saying, his quotes make him sound like some “wisher” hoping that his comments will not come back to haunt him. Then he sits back and he gives testimony on one of the best reasons any major entity should consider when purchasing computers or servers.

Someone Tell Charlie Miller to Die in a Fire already

Forbes.com
The marketing pitch that Apples are inherently more secure than PCs is also largely a myth, contends Miller, who gained notoriety for remotely hacking the iPhone last August. He points to data gathered by software security firm Secunia, which showed that Apple had to patch nearly five times as many security flaws in its software over the past year as Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT – news – people ) had to patch in Windows. Apple’s Quicktime player alone, he says, was patched 34 times. “I love my Macs, but in terms of security, they’re behind the curve, compared to Windows,” Miller warns.

Linux-Girl
Let me make this very clear Mr. Miller – the fact that Apple ACTUALLY patches it’s security flaws on a regular basis should be reason enough to go Mac over PC. Microsoft doesn’t patch as there wasn’t competition, and if a few computers went bad due to MSFT’s ignorance, it was no loss to them. Now that critical mass is ready to hit the Apple Shelves, you can be assured, that MSFT will jump up and take notice that perhaps – being more aggressive with their security flaws will make a difference in their revenue shares.

I’m not sure why Miller continues to stand behind such a flawed comment – perhaps because it was his original quote when asked by MSFT to perform the study. What Miller tends to ignore is that MSFT does not Patch regularly – a point that should be made clearly to everyone on a Windows PC.

The most intelligent paragraph in this Article

Forbes.com
But the Army’s Jonathan Broskey stands by his claims of Apple’s security: He says the high number of patches to Apple software is a good sign–evidence of the large community of developers actively working to tighten Unix programs and eliminate bugs. Nonetheless, like any responsible IT department, he says the Army’s Apple program will closely monitor security updates to Mac-specific programs. “The Army’s no different from any corporation,” he says.

Linux-Girl
A few good Apples in the Military keeps me feeling much safer on US Ground. Go Army!

I’m not a fan of PC’s but for myself, installing Vista is such a lame excuse to move to Mac. As an IT Professional myself, Linux System Administrator, I can find no positive reasons to utilize a PC other than for the displaying of web pages on Internet Explorer vs Firefox and Safari.

Here’s a specific IT reason to utilize a Mac vs a PC. On the day I received my Mac, I opened the pretty box, plugged it into an outlet, turned on the power, and immediately I was connected to the internet with Mac’s Airport Wireless Utility, and working directly on my hosting servers. The Mac terminal allows me easy access to SSH which is primarily where I am 80% of the day. On Windows, I would have had to sit there for hours first configuring my wireless internet connection, then installing countless software to connect to and work with my servers.

I have not yet tried, or even attempted any parts of Vista, but I’m going to be honest. If it takes me 2 minutes to get up and running at optimal performance on my Mac, why would I ever choose to spend countless hours on setting up a PC?