One of Foxconn's servers was reportedly hacked , exposing usernames and passwords for clients and employees. The group that took credit for the hack is called SwaggSec who claims they weren't doing it in response to working conditions or even for information on the iPhone 5, but simply for the enjoyment of it.

Ever since the iPad was introduced two years ago, its potential to revolutionize the restaurant industry has been widely touted, with some restaurants already moving to replace their traditional point-of-sale devices with iPads and companies such as Square seeking to fill that need. And while iPads in restaurants have been catching on here and there , the concept could be ripe for major expansion if a pilot program from restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings proves worthwhile. As detailed by Computerworld , Buffalo Wild Wings is expanding an initial pilot program at one of its Toronto area locations to a new location in Minneapolis, stocking each table with an iPad to allow customers to place their own orders and browse the Internet.

The Verge reports that Best Buy has been surveying some of its customers on proposed products and services, with the company including a description of a 42-inch "Apple HDTV" priced at $1499. The listing is undoubtedly simply a concept dreamed up by Best Buy to help gauge interest in such an offering, but provides an interesting perspective on what the major electronics retailer might be hoping for and what it thinks its customers would want in an Apple television set.

Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier this week explained that new Apple's new Senior Vice President of Retail, John Browett, was hired not to "bring Dixons to Apple" , but instead "to bring Apple to an even higher level of customer service and satisfaction." In the initial press release announcing the hire, Cook went even further , saying that "John shares that commitment [to customer service] like no one else we’ve met." Showcasing part of John Browett's dedication to customer service, MacRumors reader Paul Harmer passed along this story of a run-in he had with Browett in the UK: Just a quick note about John Browett - About a year ago I was with a friend in our local branch of PC World (part of the Dixons group) looking at plasma TVs.

Earlier today, we reported on new photos of an iPod nano casing that appears to support a rear-facing camera. With similar photos having shown up in the past, it was unclear whether Apple was still pursuing the design for a future iPod nano. M.I.C gadget now weighs in with claims that the pictured device is in fact a two-month old prototype but that Apple has been having difficulties with the 1.3-megapixel camera taking overexposed photos.

Apple announced this morning that John Browett will be joining Apple as their new Senior Vice President of Retail. Browett will be leaving his current position as CEO of Dixons Retail. Apple® today announced that John Browett will join the company as senior vice president of Retail, reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Apple has released updates to its Wi-Fi base stations and to the Airport Utility program that controls them.

Apple's interest in incorporating Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities into the iPhone has been long rumored.

Seeking to thwart would-be iPhone scalpers in Hong Kong, Apple has instituted a new reservation system ( via 9to5Mac ) to handle in-store purchases. With the new system, customers wishing to purchase an iPhone at the company's retail store in the IFC Mall must request a reservation between 9:00 AM and noon one day prior to their desired purchase

Verizon and other carriers have been talking for some time about the idea of shared data plans that would allow users to draw from a single monthly allotment of cellular data for multiple mobile devices, much the same way family plans can share minutes among their phones. While European carriers have led the way in allowing users with both an iPhone and iPad to share a single bucket of data, Verizon and AT&T have indicated they are working on similar workings with Verizon indicating early last month that such plans were likely to launch in 2012. Engadget now reports that Verizon appears to be continuing to make progress on shared data plans, with the offerings now showing up in employee training materials.