Apple’s market cap briefly rose higher than Exxon today, temporarily making Apple the most valuable company in the world.

Whether or not Apple again rises above Exxon, and whether or not they manage to stay that way for a while, it’s still a huge milestone for a once-struggling tech company unsure if it could remain in business, let alone surpass the glories of their past.

Congrats, Apple.

Facebook has introduced a second app for iPhone, a dedicated Facebook Messenger client to help you get your IM on. Sadly, it’s not a universal binary so you’re limited to chunky double fuzzy on iPad (same as the regular Facebook app… until they finally launch Facebook for iPad). For hardcore Facebook Message users on the go, this will no doubt be appreciated.

Details and screenshots after the break.

[Free - App Store link]

Facebook Messenger is a faster way to message. Reach friends right on their phones, get and send messages fast, message everyone at once and more.

Top Features:

• Message friends, groups of friends or anyone in your mobile contacts
• Map your location, find your friends and make plans on the go
• Get mobile notifications so you never miss a message
• Include photos so friends can see what you’re doing

According to the German news agency, dpa, Apple has been granted its motion for a preliminary injunction against Samsung, resulting in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 being barred for sale in all European Union nations with the exception of the Netherlands. (Apple has a separate injunction awaiting ruling in the Netherlands.)

This injunction relates only to the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which Apple alleges “blatantly imitate the appearance of Apple's products to capitalize on Apple's success”.

Samsung must now remove all Galaxy Tab 10.1 stock and refrain from advertising in most of the EU, just one short week after the official launch.

Apple had previously filed trade dress as well as patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung, calling them a “copyist”. However, this is still early days. The preliminary injunction may not become permanent, Apple and Samsung may come to a settlement, or Samsung may alter the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in order to no longer be found infringing.

More as this develops.

[dpa via FOSS Patents]

From the Forums is a great way to see what all of the current hot topics are on the TiPb forums. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now!

• iOS 5 beta 5 bugs and issues.

• You have one new hardware feature you can choose to be included on the next generation iPhone, what would it be?

• Do you have iPhone obsession?

• What kind of case do you use to protect your iPhone? Or do you choose to roll naked?

• Yesterday Google released a major update for Google+ and we finally have a working version for iOS 5. What are your thoughts on Google+ so far and after this update will you be spending more time using the social network?

See you in the forums!

We don’t usually believe in rewarding negative attention seekers, but boy did this iPhone 5 website faker put some time into this almost-certainly-a-hoax video. (After the break.)

[YouTube via eTechno, thanks DEhrlich01]

When patent troll Lodsys started suing App Store developers, Apple filed a motion to intervene on developers’ behalf and, not surprisingly, Lodsys objected. So now Apple has doubled down, insisting on a hearing and answering all of Lodsys’ objections. If the court sides with Apple, Lodsys won’t be staring down rag tag legals teams of assorted sizes. They’ll be stared down by Apple legal.

Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents outlines Apple’s 6 areas of response, which he says “tears into pieces” Lodsys’ arguments.

In today’s reply brief, which I have uploaded to Scribd, Apple still requests a court hearing on its motion. Things may still take some more time, but there will be no more written pleadings unless the court asks the parties to address particular questions in more detail. At this stage it’s possible that the court decides very quickly, and I continue to be reasonably optimistic that Apple’s motion will be granted.

By contrast, despite a blog post rant against Apple and Microsoft last week, Google still remains utterly and depressingly silent when it comes to Android developers being sued by Lodsys.

Read the full breakdown via the link below.

[FOSS Patents]

Boxee, one of the many contenders for the media center crown, has just released a new app that lets you stream music, video, and photos from your social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and from your Windows or Mac PC, straight to your iPad.

It also lets you “watch later”, which sounds like Instapaper for videos, and will send content via AirPlay to your Apple TV. Looks like Boxee aims to be your one stop content app.

Details and screenshots after the break!

[Free - App Store link]

Boxee for iPad brings videos from Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and your computer all onto your ipad so you can find and watch new videos or favorites on the train, in bed, on the couch, on the john, during boring conversation, on the patio, from the roof deck, in an abandoned bunker, on the side of a mountain….

SOCIAL: Never miss a hilarious or inspiring new video from your friends again. Boxee connects to your social life and delivers every video your friends share on Facebook, Twitter, Buzz, and Tumblr to your iPad. Return the favor and share favorites with two taps. Boxee brings video sharing to the iPad in a way that's simple and unique.

WATCH LATER: Each day, we're bombarded by video from everywhere. Collect them in one place and save them for later with Boxee. Queue YouTube videos, TED talks, and, well, whatever you want to watch on your iPad, whenever you want. Your commute just got its own video playlist.

MEDIA STREAMING: Stop wasting hours converting and syncing videos to your iPad. Boxee streams videos, music, and photos from your PC/Mac to your iPad over WiFi. You pick the video, we handle the rest — no cables or wires necessary.

SEND TO BOXEE BOX: Watching video on your iPad and want it on the big screen? Send videos straight to your TV via a Boxee Box so everyone in your living room can enjoy. Now you can go back to playing Angry Birds on the iPad while you watch : )

According to a report by Forbes, Verizon will be rolling out a system to prevent jailbreak tethering apps like MyWi from working on its network. As of today, when using one of these apps, you will be redirected from the webpage that you wanted to visit to a specially prepared Verizon webpage where you will be asked to upgrade to an official tethering plan.

AT&T has also confirmed that it would be forcibly switching habitual jailbreak tetherers to its tethering plan but never given a date. It now looks like Verizon are following that lead. The slightly better news for Verizon users is that it will cost them an additional $20 a month for a tethering plan where the AT&T tethering plan is $45 a month.

If you are a Verizon iPhone subscriber and use MyWi to tether your device, have you noticed the webpage redirect?

[Forbes] p;

It’s almost back to school time, TiPb Nation, and that means we’re getting back to business bringing you more of what you love about iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV. But my question is, what exactly do you want more of?

When you hit TiPb, what do you want to see first and foremost, and what do you want to more keep up with more casually? We know everyone has different tastes and opinions, but this time it’s okay to be selfish. This time it’s just about YOU.

What do you want from TiPb this fall?

That rocket ship-like Apple uptake in the chart above occurs when you count iPad along with notebooks as one, giant portable market. If you don’t count it, Apple falls behind the likes of Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Samsung.

While no doubt debate will continue to rage over just how to meld the PC and post-PC categories, and the tablet iPad market, Deutsche Bank’s Chris Whitmore makes the following case:

Within the computing market, we see significant opportunity for Apple to take meaningful share in the second half as the Microsoft / PC ecosystem is relatively stagnant, lacking meaningful new offerings. On the other hand, Apple will be competing with an upgraded Mac OS, new MacBook Airs (and other forthcoming Macs) and a new iPad iOS. Within the Tablet market, the iPad remains the Gold Standard as competitors struggle for mindshare and traction (note HP’s price cuts on the TouchPad). Meanwhile, competing PC manufacturers have suggested Ultrabooks won’t ramp in material volumes until 2012 due to challenges driving price points meaningfully below Apple’s Air. As such, Apple appears particularly well positioned for more share gains heading into the back-to- school and holiday selling season.

[Fortune]