I don't think QuickFlickr is responsible for the hassle authenticating, and I doubt it could do anything to prevent it, since the problem seems to be after QuickFlickr has handed off the authentication URL to grob. So I'm inclined to point the finger at the Flickr website's authentication handling.

As far as "Near Me" goes, I've been looking at little more at that. The results I get from m.flickr.com are quite different than those I get from QuickFlickr. (For one thing, no naked guys on the website version.) The mobile website -- when granted position access -- does find my correct location on the map, and loads up pictures closer to my position than QuickFlickr. As you say, the API might have changed, and I'd believe it. After all, the SSL change they made caused all this trouble in the first place. And they only announced that in some tiny blog post, by occasionally switching the website API back and forth, and allegedly in emails to registered developers that many developers don't recall getting. So again, I'd blame Flickr first of all the possibilities.