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Apple's iTunes Connect will be shut down starting December 22-29 for the winter holidays. Developers will not be able to submit any new apps or app updates during the blackout. This means there will be no new games released to the App Store in 2014 after next week, and that it is the perfect time to announce our favorite iOS games of the year.

This is just five our favorite games based on a very small sampling of the thousands of titles released to the App Store in 2014.

What if your iPhone protected itself from damage automatically when dropped? A patent awarded to Apple seeks to build this functionality directly into future mobile devices, analyzing sensor data to detect free fall. The concept continues from there, imagining a system that would react physically to reposition the iPhone in space to minimize damage on impact.

Physics could save the day, along with movement within the iPhone to change the orientation of the falling device. Existing technology could be used, such as the vibration mechanism inside the phone. Alternatively, a headphone jack that is in use could lock around the plug, giving the owner time to catch the headphone cable and cut the fall short. AppleInsider explained the patent titled “Protective mechanism for an electronic device” was awarded this month after being filed early last year.

Apple and IBM first joined forces in July, when they announced their partnership in an effort to "transform enterprise mobility" by building and expanding industry specific iOS applications and supporting cloud services.

Described by Bridget van Kralingen, SVP of IBM World Business Services, the collaboration "aims directly at the new quest of business—smart technologies that unlock new value at the intersection of big data and individual engagement, [and] combines IBM’s industry expertise and unmatched position in enterprise computing, with Apple’s legendary user experience and excellence in product design to lift the performance of a new generation of business professionals.”

It has been confirmed that iOS 8.1.2 does not patch the kernel exploit used in the TaiG jailbreak and it is safe for iOS users with jailbroken devices to upgrade. However, most jailbreakers will probably want to stay at iOS 8.1 or 8.1.1 since there are really no reasons to upgrade unless you purchase ringtones.

iOS 8.1.1 was released mainly to increase stability and performance on older Apple hardware, such as the iPhone 4s and iPad 2, and iOS 8.1.2 fixes a bug that was affecting ringtone purchases. You will only want to upgrade if you're experiencing performance problems since installing iOS 8, you purchase ringtones or if you just like being up to date.

Apple has released iOS 8.1.2 three weeks after releasing its last maintenance update in November, and one week after the TaiG team released their iOS 8.1.1 jailbreak tool. It is unknown at this time if the update breaks the TaiG jailbreak. This means users with Pangu or TaiG installed on their device should not update if they want to remain jailbroken.

iOS 8.1.2 addresses an issue that causes ringtones purchased from the iTunes Store to be removed from a user's device. Customers can restore their lost ringtones by visiting itunes.com/restore-tones and following the instructions. Apple will soon release more information on the security content of iOS 8.1.2 here.