Latest Gear Live Videos
How to view the tracking data in your iPhone
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Editorial, Features
Coverage of the iPhone tracking "feature" has ranged from concern to outrage. "I don't know about you, but the fact that this feature exists on an iPhone is a deal-killer," wrote PCMag Columnist John Dvorak, shortly after news broke. Editor Dan Costa drew a softer line, writing, "Apple may not be actively tracking you, but it did turn your phone into a tracking device without telling you."
As frustrating as it is to learn that your iPhone has been spying on you, collecting an unencrypted treasure trove of your travels, the truth is we knew this was happening. Last June we reported that Apple updated its privacy policy, stating that it could, "collect, use, and share precise location data, including real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device." How precise that location data is remains in question. What is clear, however, is that the update arrived alongside the release of iOS 4—the OS affected by the tracking feature—and identified the four devices (iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad with 3G) affected by the tracking feature.
I'm not about to give Apple a pass on disclosure or execution. Who combs through an Apple privacy statement when the latest iOS software awaits? And, to "collect" and "share" user data is one thing; to retain it in an unprotected file is quite another.
However, I think it's important that, with a few days' hindsight, we move beyond the bombast, pin down the facts, and see what's actually there. To do this, I've taken a close look at what's at risk and, in empirical spirit, borrowed fellow PCMag software analyst Jeff Wilson's iPhone 3GS to see what I could learn of the man and the travels using Pete Warden's iPhoneTracker app.
Click to continue reading How to view the tracking data in your iPhone
Advertisement
How To: iOS 4.3.1 untethered jailbreak with RedSn0w and PwnageTool
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Mods / Hacks, Software
iOS jailbreakers have been waiting about a month for the arrival of an untethered jailbreak to be released, since the arrival of iOS 4.3. Well, the day has finally arrived, and you can now safely upgrade to iOS 4.3.1 and jailbreak it with RedSn0w 0.9.6 on Mac and Windows platforms. We've got a step-by-step tutorial for you, explaining the process from start to finish, after the break.
Click to continue reading How To: iOS 4.3.1 untethered jailbreak with RedSn0w and PwnageTool
Read More 
| Dev Team via Redmond Pie
How To: Transfer your phone contacts to the Verizon iPhone 4
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Features
Dreading the hassle that comes with moving your contacts to a new phone? Don't despair. You can transfer your address book from your old phone into your new Verizon iPhone 4 in less than 10 minutes, you don't need a pen and paper, and in most cases, it's free.
Below are instructions for extracting your address book from most phones on the big four U.S. carriers—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. There are only two things you need before diving in—active service on your current phone, and a Gmail account (unless you're already a Verizon Wireless subscriber).
Click to continue reading How To: Transfer your phone contacts to the Verizon iPhone 4
How to Land a Job at Twitter
Posted by Drea Avellan Categories: Social Networks, Startups
Are you Twitter obsessed? Ever fantasize about working for the microblogging giant? Mashable has put together a how-to guide on how to land a job at Twitter. They give insight on whatit's like to work at Twitter, what kind of jobs you can find, and other tips.
Read More | Yahoo!
How to buy a Blu-ray player
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment
The benefits of Blu-ray are crystal clear: Video from traditional DVDs contains fewer than 350,000 pixels, while 1080p HD video packs more than two million, which translates to sublime, high-resolution detail. If you want to make the most of your 1080p HDTV, you should upgrade to a Blu-ray player.
And there's never been a better time to do it. The technology has matured, and the current crop of Blu-ray players offer stellar HD picture quality, fast disc-handling, and extras like integrated Wi-Fi, audio and video streaming, and in the case of Sony's Internet TV Blu-ray Player, Google TV, which brings Web search and other Internet features right to your HDTV.
These days you can find a very solid, well-rounded player for less than $200 if you do some smart online shopping. Still, there are a lot of choices out there. Here's what you need to consider when choosing the right Blu-ray player:
Click to continue reading How to buy a Blu-ray player
How to watch the live stream of Apple’s music event today
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Internet, Rumors, Software
In just a few minutes, Apple will be live-streaming one of their own events for the first time, and we wanted to make sure you had the details on how to tune in. All you need to do is head to the Apple website at 10:00AM PDT today, and it should come right up—provided you’ve got the right hardware. According to Apple:
Viewing requires either a Mac running Safari on Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard, an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad. The live broadcast will begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT on September 1, 2010 at www.apple.com.
The fall music event is expected to bring news of an updated iPod touch with Retina Display and dual cameras with FaceTime functionality, a super-small touchscreen iPod nano, and a new take on the Apple TV. We’re guessing that this whole live streaming this is because Apple wants to show off their streaming technology, since it will likely be a big part of their Apple TV and iTunes initiative this morning. We’re also hoping to hear about that white iPhone 4 and iOS 4 on the iPad.
Read More | Apple Event Live Stream
How to disable Facebook Places
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Social Media
So Facebook just launched Facebook Places, a feature that lets you check-in to local spots, and even lets others check you into those spots without your knowledge or approval by default. We figured some wouldn’t appreciate that, and would want to opt-out of some or all of the Facebook Places functionality, and we wanted to fill you in on just how to do it.
First, log in to Facebook and choose Privacy Settings from the Account menu at the top right. Click on Customize to get to where we need to go. The first area we want to check is called “Things I Share.” One of the categories is “Places I check in” - this is set to be visible to all your friends by default, and you can make that more or less restrictive in this area. Right below it is an option titled “Include me in ‘People Here Now’ after I check in” which is also on by default. This lets anyone know you are at a location if they are also there, or nearby.
The last option is the one that lets others check you in against your will, and it’s enabled by default. Scroll down to the “Things Others Share” area, and you’ll see a Enable/Disable toggle for “Friends can check me in to Places.” If you don’t want others associating you with a location, you can turn that off here.
There you have it! We’re sure Places is going to be huge for Facebook, and that a lot of people will be joining in on the fun, but we also know there are a bunch of you that would rather not be involved, so we wanted to let you know how to shut it off.
How to enable and disable FaceTime on the iPhone 4
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds
FaceTime is one of the major new iPhone 4 features that set the smartphone apart from others, but we’ve been hearing that quite a few people are unable to place a FaceTime call from their iPhone 4, despite both parties being connected to Wi-Fi, which is the only requirement. In fact, we had the same issue when we tried to fire up our first FaceTime chat while at the Apple Store during iPhone 4 launch. I immediately walked over the to Genius Bar, figuring that my iPhone 4 wasn’t recognizing the fact that it had a front-camera or something, and the Genius was stumped, too. He was also in charge of handing out iPhone 4 units, so we didn’t have his full attention anyway. While he was doing his thing, we looked through the Settings area to see if there might be something there. As it turns out, there was.
For whatever reason, not all iPhone 4s are shipping with FaceTime enabled. The person I was with had just bought his iPhone 4, same as I did, and his had FaceTime enabled by default, while mine was disabled by default—both straight out of the box. If you are experiencing the same, first thing you should do is go into Settings, then Phone. Right beneath your phone number will be the FaceTime toggle. Switch it to “ON” and you are good to go.
How to fix audio loss in Remote Desktop for Mac with 64-bit Windows
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Software
So, after upgrading my PC from Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit version to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit edition, I quickly determined that using Remote Desktop Connection for Mac 2.0 to connect to the PC resulted in no sound coming through the audio redirection feature. It took a bit of Googling to figure out exactly what was going on, but as it turns out, the x64 editions of Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 simply don’t include the audio redirection feature for the Remote Desktop Mac client. You’d think Microsoft would fix this themselves with a patch, but instead, they offer a Hotfix download. If you are unfamiliar with Microsoft Hotfixes, it’s pretty much an annoying process. You head to the kb article to find out about the problem, then request that a link to the hotfix download be emailed to you (because they couldn’t just put a download link on the help page?,) then you download the fix and attempt to open it. You then realize that the email with the download link also includes a password that you need in order to even run the fix.
C’mon, Microsoft, can we improve this asinine process?
At the very least, at the end of the day, the Hotfix worked, and I am again able to remote in to my PC from my Mac to listen to Zune. Good times.
Read More | Hotfix: Audio Redirection in 64-bit Windows for Remote Desktop
How to fix the Nexus One 3G issue
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi
If you’re a Nexus One owner, you may be well aware of the 3G issue that the device has, where it won’t connect to (or stay connected to) 3G, constantly falling back to EDGE. We know not all have experienced this oddity, but it’s enough of a problem that we’ve been getting emails about it, asking if there was a fix. Luckily, Kevin Tofel over at jkOnTheRun seems to have figured out a fix, and it’s simple to do:
- Go into Settings
- Select “Wireless & Networks”
- Choose the “Mobile Networks” option near the bottom
- Go into the “Network Operators” section. The Nexus One will do a search for GSM networks around you.
- When the search is complete, tap the “Select Automatically” option. The phone should respond with “Registered on network.”
That should do it! According to Kevin, he hasn’t been able to get 3G access from his home in the 10 days that he’s had the device. After doing the above, he’s been speeding along on 3G non-stop, even after reboots. If you’re experiencing similar issues, give it a try, and let us know how it works for you!
Read More | jkOnTheRun
Follow Gear Live!
Recent Galleries
Facebook Fans
Advertisement
© Gear Live Inc. – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.
