Apple releases iOS 5

After a four-month wait, Apple released iOS 5 to consumers yesterday, reveals Cnet.

The new software, which powers Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, comes after seven beta versions of the software, dating back to June when iOS 5 made its debut at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

iOS 5, which is available as a free update, brings an overhaul to Apple's notifications system, alongside a new messaging platform called iMessage that lets iOS users text and chat with one another free of charge.

AOL has been operating a trial data centre that runs without any on-site staff since the start of the month, and reports that the system is resilient and cuts costs, says The Register.

Dubbed ATC, the data centre uses off-the-shelf, pre-racked or vendor-integrated gear with open source code, is run as a 100% lights out facility, and was put together in 90 days from the first proposal.

AOL's special sauce is its configuration management system, which the company says can set up and start a virtual machine in eight seconds and set up global server systems in minutes.

Taken into custody earlier today, 35-year-old Christopher Chaney, of Jacksonville, Florida, was arrested for hacking into the e-mail account of Scarlett Johansson and distributing nude photos the actress had taken of herself, writes Digital Trends.

The FBI was called in to investigate this crime in September. This arrest was related to an 11-month investigation that the FBI calls “Operation Hackerazzi”.

Federal authorities also identified 50 more celebrity victims of Chaney, but only identified Christina Aguilera, Mila Kunis, Simone Harouche and Renee Olstead as they agreed to public identification.

Apple fans are well-known for their fanatical support for any product the firm unveils, and even the ever-so-slightly underwhelming iPhone 4S has not dampened their enthusiasm, with six people already queuing at the Regent Street store in London, says V3.co.uk.

Five of those in the queue were from iPhone jail-breaking group Jailbreak Con, who had been in line since Friday last week to ensure they are first to get their hands on what has been described by some as an “iPhone 4 on steroids”.

They said they intend to get a 16GB version of the device as Apple's new iCloud service makes any more storage unnecessary.