Have you heard the news? A recent court ruling says it's not illegal to rip your own DVDs, as long as you're not violating copyright law (i.e. sharing or selling the DRM-freed content).

So let the ripping begin! All you need is the right software. From now until Aug. 9, you can get iSkysoft DVD to iPhone Converter for free. Available for both Windows and Mac, it's regularly $29.

Don't let the name fool you: although the utility includes presets for all iPhone models (from the original on up to the iPhone 4), it also supports generic MOV, MP4, and other output formats--meaning you can just as easily rip  videos for your iPad, iPod, Zune, Sony PSP, or whatever.

DVD to iPhone Converter looks and operates like most other rippers I've tried. It's easy to configure, and the episode of "Burn Notice" I test-converted came through with flying colors. (Love that show.)

To get this fab freebie, head to iSkysoft's Facebook page, click Like, then enter your name and e-mail address in the appropriate box (Windows or Mac). Click Get keycode and you should get a registration e-mail almost immediately. Mine arrived in under a minute.

Not a bad deal, eh? If you've been wanting to watch your DVDs on your iPhone but had concerns about the legality, now you can rest easy--and get the job done for free. 

Bonus deal: Speaking of Zunes, Best Buy outlet store Cowboom has the refurbished 16GB Zune HD for $99.99 shipped--the lowest price I've ever seen for a Zune HD. Better hurry, though--the deal is available today only.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

BlackBerry-maker RIM has certainly been scrambling to generate excitement over the next stages of its smartphone development and operating system release. First there were the video sneak peeks, a couple of new services (here and here), and the invitation to a press event to show off a mystery device, and a preview of the 6.0 home screen.

Now, RIM has started giving out beta versions of BlackBerry App World 2.0, the next generation of its application storefront, to a waiting list.

Among other feature enhancements, App World 2.0 will introduce an option to bill your phone operator or your credit card instead of to only purchase apps through PayPal. This is a personal favorite of ours, though we're also looking forward to scanning QR codes. While BlackBerry already does this in its BlackBerry Messenger app--a free BlackBerry-to-BlackBerry instant messenger--to swap user details, the new implementations will broaden its QR code-scanning to incorporate apps and URLs, similar to Google's compatibility with its barcode scanner. 

Also notable will be the BlackBerry ID that will connect your app downloads and purchases to a larger user account that will overarch your entire BlackBerry experience--though we hope not in a Big Brother way.

Make sure you also check out our run-down of these upcoming features and more for BlackBerry App World 2.0. You can also get a glimpse in the gallery below.

Updates to the Firefox Home app for iPhone and to the Firefox Sync add-on for Firefox (Windows|Mac) fix the top three problems users reported for each program, says Mozilla.

The new version of Firefox Home (1.0.1), a companion app for the Firefox browser on iPhone, now supports usernames with uppercase letters for logging into the URL-viewer.

It also inserts a help button on the login page that will link you to common troubleshooting tips. The final addition are error notifications that Mozilla hopes will explain application errors with more clarity when they do occur.

The update hadn't appeared in the App Store on our iPhone at the time of writing.

Since Firefox Home is essentially an iPhone-flavored off-shoot of the Firefox Sync service, Mozilla made some changes to that program a well. Firefox Sync 1.4.3 is now able to complete a first-time sync even if you're browsing in Private mode, a significant addition.

The update also corrects a problem with multi-byte characters in passwords. Lastly, it adds a sync indicator on the interface to let you know your status, and how much time you have left to sync your history, bookmarks, and open tabs.

You can update Firefox Sync through the add-ons submenu in Firefox.

Firefox Sync stores data about your browsing history, bookmarks, and open browser tabs online. Firefox Home is the iPhone arm of the service that lets you access those URLs from your iPhone, as a way to save time searching over again for links to your favorite sites. Using Firefox Home on the iPhone requires you to first run Firefox Sync for the Firefox browser.

Keep in mind that Firefox Home isn't itself a browser, though it does use the Apple-approved WebKit viewer to display your stored URLs. You can also open those sites in the iPhone's default Safari browser.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas