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iOS 4.3.3 coming soon, will fix iPhone location bug
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Software,
As promised last week, Apple will fix location-tracking software on the iPhone and other devices in an update to its iOS mobile operating system in the next few weeks.
Apple will release iOS version 4.3.3 "within the next two weeks, possibly sooner," BGR reported Monday, citing a company source.
The update for iPhones and iPad tablets will address several location-tracking issues that came to light in April when two researchers publicized the existence of an unencrypted, hidden file on iPhones that stores location data taken from nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots. The cached data is also timestamped, backed up on iTunes and although associated with Apple's Location Services, cannot be shut off by users when they opted out of the service.
The iOS 4.3.3 update promises to end the backing up of the location database when devices are synched to iTunes, reduce the size of the cached data file and delete the database when users turn off Location Services, according to BGR.com.
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Apple releases 11A444d update for Lion Developer Preview 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
All you Apple devs out there (and anyone who coughed up $99 for a Mac dev account,) hit Software Update when you get a chance because Apple just released an update to the Lion Developer Preview 2. Build 11A444d sits at 1.7 GB, and looks to be an actual seed build this time around. We are keeping our eyes out for any new features or enhancements. Also, for those interested, Xcode 4.1 Developer Preview 4 is also available.
Gallery: Apple releases 11A444d update for Lion Developer Preview 2
The Definitive Guide to Watching the Royal Wedding Online
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, Internet, Software,
If you're just planning to turn on the telly and tune in the Royal Wedding, you'll be missing out. It's 2011, folks! There are a host of online destinations, social media tools and mobile apps that can truly help you experience the full scope of this 21st century event.
All of the major broadcasters will be airing the Royal Wedding on live TV Friday morning, but so will several online venues. YouTube will be streaming the entire event live at The Royal Channel, built specifically for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding. Livestream is also streaming the AP Live feed of the day's events, plus more coverage from CBS News, ET and the UK Press Association. And you can watch full streaming BBC coverage at BBC News' dedicated wedding site.
You can also watch the event live on a smartphone or other Internet device on the Sprint TV ABC News Channel, which is part of the carrier's basic Sprint TV channel package. T-Mobile TV will only carry pre- and post-wedding coverage but start-to-finish coverage is available through Xfinity.tv, which has apps available on the Android Market and on iTunes.
In most cases, live-anchored coverage begins at 5 a.m. Eastern Time(2 a.m. Pacific) and live coverage of the ceremony starts at around 6 a.m. ET (3 a.m. PT). That's pretty early for most people, so what to do if you don't want to wake up hours before dawn?
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Apple ending rebates on MobileMe and iWork, updates to follow?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Rumors, Software,
Apple has inexplicably ended two long-offered rebates for MobileMe and iWorks, fueling speculation that it will launch revamped versions of both software suites any day now.
"The 'Buy a Mac and Save $30 on iWork' and 'Buy a Mac or iPad and Save $30 on MobileMe' promotions will both end on April 18, 2011. Resellers must remove any reference to these promotions by close of business on that date," Apple wrote in an alleged letter to resellers obtained by 9to5Mac.
You can still download a free 60-day trial of MobileMe or pay $99 for the annual subscription; iWork is free for 30 days and $79 to purchase thereafter.
Apple MobileMe remotely stores your files and photos, and pushes email and calendar updates to your iOS device or Mac desktop. It launched in 2000 and was last updated in 2008 during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), held every June.
In December 2010, an Apple fan emailed Steve Jobs to complain about MobileMe, and Jobs reportedly replied, "Yes, it will get a lot better in 2011."
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The Blank Screen: How Apple Outsmarts Competitors
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Editorial, Features, Home Entertainment, Software,
When the iPhone was launched in 2007, I met with Phil Schiller, SVP of World Wide marketing for Apple, and Greg Joswiak, the Apple VP in charge of marketing the iPods and iPhones. During the meeting they showed me the iPhone's many features and shared their goals for the device, which has now become a major business for Apple.
During that meeting, they made a comment that I believe is really the heart of Apple's secret sauce and the cornerstone of how it continues to outsmart its competitors. They laid the iPhone on the table, with it turned off, and asked me what I saw. I told them I saw a 3.5 inch blank screen. They said that from Apples point of view, the "magic" of the iPhone is strictly in the software. And, they de-emphasized the hardware.
Yes, the iPhone was a slick smartphone with a great screen and, at the time, it broke new ground in smartphone design, and Apple was very proud of that. However, with the iPhone turned off, it had very little value. But once it was turned on, the iPhone's OS and apps turned it into a completely different device. While it was a phone, the software made it much more—it became a vehicle for applications. It also had another component that really made it sing and dance; it was also an iPod and was tied directly to iTunes. Now it morphed into a much broader multi-purpose device. It was a phone, a vehicle for apps, and an iPod, which made it a great personal mobile entertainment system.
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Apple releases 11A430e update for Lion Developer Preview 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
Apple just released a Lion Developer Preview Update through Software Update for testers running Lion Developer Preview 2. The download for the update to the Preview of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is almost 1 GB in size, but (at least at first glance) doesn't seem to incorporate any obvious new features. We're guessing this is just an update to squash some bugs. In fact, we now find that a bunch of apps that previously crashed almost immediately after launch (like Chrome and Evernote,) now run normally as expected. Now if only they'd fix the weird multiple monitor blank screen startup issue that forces me to unplug 2 of my 3 displays whenever I boot into Lion...
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iOS 4.3.2 now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Software,
Apple just released iOS 4.3.2 for download, a small update that aims to fix a couple of annoying bugs that some have been experiencing:
- Fixes an issue that may have caused blank or frozen video during FaceTime calls
- Resolved the problem preventing some international users from connecting to 3G on their iPads
- Includes all the latest and greatest security fixes
The release works with GSM iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, 3rd and 4th gen iPod touch, and both iPad and iPad 2. For whatever reason, CDMA iPhone 4 owners on Verizon still have no iOS 4.3 update. If you update and find any other additions, let us know in the comments!
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WebOS 3.0 SDK leaks, gives details on HP TouchPad
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Software,
What will the HP TouchPad's WebOS 3.0 operating system look like and be able to do? A leaked version of the WebOS 3.0 SDK offers a sneak peek of Hewlett-Packard's long-awaited media tablet.
PreCentral got its hands on a WebOS 3.0 Beta 1 emulator courtesy of "an awesome (and anonymous) tipster" and the site's Derek Kessler on Wednesday posted a video walkthrough of the UI and several applications running on the emulator (video below).
Kessler noted that the emulator runs on more powerful hardware than it will in the TouchPad, a Wi-Fi version of which is due out this summer, to be followed by 3G and 4G products later in the year. He also had to use a mouse to operate what will be a touch interface to run the demo.
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Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Microsoft, Software,
Perhaps taking a page from Google and Mozilla, Microsoft surprised attendees at the Mix 11 conference Tuesday with the introduction of Internet Explorer 10 platform preview.
The release comes just four weeks after Microsoft unveiled IE9. Microsoft's Dean Hachamovitch (left) said during a keynote at Mix 11 that IE10 builds on the performance breakthroughs and native HTML5 support developed for IE9, which will lead to the adoption of HTML5 with a long-term commitment to the standards process.
IE10 Platform Preview 1 is available for download now on Microsoft's Web site.
"We built IE9 from the ground up for HTML5 and for Windows to deliver the most native HTML5 experience and the best Web experience on Windows," Hachamovitch, corporate vice president for IE, wrote in a blog post. "IE10 continues on IE9's path, directly using what Windows provides and avoiding abstractions, layers, and libraries that slow down your site and your experience."
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Amazon is stealing Android from Google
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Editorial, Features, Google, Software,
I have been watching Amazon's recent moves involving Android with great fascination. Two weeks ago, it launched the Amazon Appstore that focuses on Android apps, and last week it announced a cloud-based music service with a special version just for Android. Although Google has its own Android Marketplace, Amazon is bringing a more structured store to Android with room for users comments and reviews—a key step to vetting the apps it carries.
This is a very strategic move by Amazon, and it could actually bring some sanity and consistency to the Android development community and all Android users. At the moment, Google's approach to creating Android is scattered. There are so many versions of this OS floating around that the OEMs who license Android are increasingly frustrated with Google's lack of discipline in laying out a consistent roadmap for Android that they can follow.
At first, Google said it would have one version of Android for smartphones and another for tablets. Now it says that it will merge both versions into a product codenamed Ice Cream and that it most likely will be the same OS used on Google TVs in the future as well. Initially, vendors could only use one version for devices with up to 7 inch screens and another one for screens larger then 7 inches but less then 11 inches.
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