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Upgrade your geek with Dwight Silverman
Nov 10, 2011

Apple releases fix for iPhone battery life problems [Updated]

If you’ve got an iPhone 4 or 4S running iOS 5, you may have found your battery’s staying power taking a nose dive. A bug in that recently released mobile operating system has got iPhone owners running for their chargers more often.

But today Apple released iOS 5.01, which hopefully will fix the problem.

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You should be able to get to it one of two ways. Plug your iOS device into your computer running iTunes, and you’ll see the above notice.

You may also be able to go to Settings > General > Software Update on your iOS device running version 5.0 and download it directly via Wi-Fi, as indicated by this image from J.C. Reid.

iphoneupdate

Here’s how the over-the-air update looks on the iPad.

ipadupdate

The update also adds additional multitasking gestures for the iPad 1, such as using a 5-finger swipe to close apps.

If you download and install the patch, let us know in the comments if it improves your iPhone’s battery life.

Update: The 5.01 update also fixes a security hole that got researcher Charlie Miller kicked out of the iOS developer program. From CNet:

That flaw, which let apps phone home to download potentially malicious unsigned code, thus changing the behavior of an application, is listed as one of the security fixes in iOS 5.0.1, which went out to users today.

Miller had submitted an app to Apple that included an exploit based on the flaw. Apple approved the software and put it in the iTunes App Store. After Miller went public, the app was pulled and his developer’s status was revoked.

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Posted by Dwight Silverman on November 10, 2011 at 12:47 pm | Permalink | Leave a comment
Categories: Apple, Software, iPhone
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    • Get your hands on a Windows Phone 7 device, and maybe win one

    prod_HTCTitanATT_webAs with a lot of other reviewers, I really do like Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 mobile operating system. It’s fast, has a unique interface and is geared both towards heavy users of social media and those who rely on the Windows ecosystem.

    The problem is, there aren’t many of the phones in the wild, and while wireless carriers have the handsets in their stores, they are overpowered in terms of marketing and shelf space by the iPhone and Android devices. If people could just give Windows Phone 7.5 a real try, I think they’d give it the serious consideration it deserves.

    Microsoft’s trying to fix this problem with a series of road shows to expose the platform to early adopters, and one of them is coming to Houston.

    Members of the Windows Phone 7 team will host an event from 6-9 p.m. Monday at Sambuca, the jazz bar and restaurant at the corner of Texas and Travis streets. It’s on the ground floor of the Rice Hotel and right across from the Mighty Houston Chronicle building.

    There will be free food and drink, live entertainment and prizes. You’ll also be able to get your hands on new Windows Phone devices, and you may even walk away with a free one. If you’re active on social media in Houston, you may already have been offered one via Klout if you attend the event.

    The event is open to anyone, but you’ll need to register in advance.

    I plan on attending, and if you’re at all interested in Windows Phone, you may want to do the same, as well.

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    Posted by Dwight Silverman on November 10, 2011 at 10:16 am | Permalink | 6 Comments
    Categories: Microsoft, Mobile, Windows Phone
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    Nov 09, 2011

    Linkpost | 11.10.2011

    • Amazon increases Kindle Fire orders – DigiTimes reports Amazon has ordered manufacturers to build 5 million of the new tablets. Also Exclusive: Amazon’s $79 Kindle Costs $84 to Make

    • Survey: 26% of likely Fire buyers delaying iPad purchase – According to ChangeWave.

    • Little Sister Siri – The proximity sensor on the iPhone 4S is different from that on the iPhone 4, which may explain one reason by Siri is only available on the newer phone. Also I See Your Siri and Raise You a Yap: Amazon Quietly Snaps Up Speech-Recognition Startup

    • The voice behind Siri breaks his silence – In the U.K., Siri’s voice is male, and the man who recorded it talks about the process. So, who is Siri’s female voice in the U.S. version?

    • iOS 5 hides an Android-like autocorrect keyboard bar, here’s how to enable it – It doesn’t require jailbreaking, but you do have to download a program that lets you edit an iPhone backup file.

    • Steve Jobs nominated for Time Person of the Year – If he is picked, he would be the first posthumous Person of the Year.

    • Google’s Chief Works to Trim a Bloated Ship – Larry Page is out to change Google, but the process of doing so has also changed Larry Page.

    • Fox News to use Google+ Hangouts for GOP candidate interviews – Starting Nov. 15.

    • HTC Ville detailed: HTC Sense 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, thinner than iPhone – It won’t launch until April, according to BGR.

    • RIM’s BBX Phones Won’t Look Like Bold, Will Support BES – RIM’s new phones will have the same aspect ratio as the PlayBook, but unlike that tablet, they will have an email client.

    • Not just mobile: Adobe is abandoning Flash on TVs as well – TV apps use the same kind of technologies as mobile. And Why Flash didn’t work out on mobile devices

    • Facebook Restores News Feed To Previous Design, Sort Of – You can now see the news feed in chronological order, which is how the feed used to be ordered.

    • Facebook Adds Another Nail To The Proverbial RSS Coffin, Kills Off ‘Import’ In Notes – This feature hadn’t been working correctly for a while. And New “Listen” and “Read” Buttons Appear on Facebook’s Ticker

    • EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM TEST FAILS – Many cable channels and satellite systems weren’t able to participate because of technical issues.

    • Samsung to Sell Windows 8 Computer in 2012 – Samsung had already talked about this during the Build conference earlier this year.

    • Warner Bros: we issued takedowns for files we never saw, didn’t own copyright to – According to a court filing.

    • ‘Biggest Cybercriminal Takedown in History’ – Alleged purveyors of a clickjacking ring that pushed out spyware are arrested in Estonia.

    • Twitter Soars Past TwitPic and YFrog to Become #1 Photo Service – Perhaps because Twitter’s client software resets users’ selection for photo services to its own? (You can change it back, but still . . . )

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    Posted by Dwight Silverman on November 9, 2011 at 8:29 pm | Permalink | 1 Comment
    Categories: General, Linkposts
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    Linkpost | 11.9.2011

    • Exclusive: Adobe ceases development on mobile browser Flash, refocuses efforts on HTML5 and Steve’s Last Laugh: Adobe Killing Off Flash For Mobile Devices – You can kiss that battery-sucking, performance-killing mobile technology goodbye. Adobe gets the HTML5 religion. Also Killing Flash for mobile is best thing for Android

    • Adobe Restructures, Lays Off 750 – The company also reaffirms its quarterly revenue targets.

    • HP is not sure what to do with webOS, says CEO – HP calls an all-hands meeting to say it doesn’t have a clue about how it should handle webOS.

    • Apple: We Have No Plans To Bring Siri To Older Devices – Apple responds to a bug report that includes an offer to pay for Siri on older devices with the definitive word: There are no plans to extend Siri to older iOS devices.

    • Apple reaches settlement in MagSafe class action suit, dodges fireball – If you bought a replacement MagSafe adapter within a certain period, you may be eligible to apply for a $79 check.

    • Walmart iPhone app adds shopping lists, budgeting tools, coupons – It also adds voice recognition.

    • Barnes & Noble Urges U.S. Regulators to Probe Microsoft on Mobile Patents – B&N all but accuses Microsoft of running a shakedown operation. And Barnes & Noble’s 29-page slide deck calls B.S. on Microsoft’s Android patent campaign

    • Google offers support to Android firms in lawsuits – Android-using partners: Google’s got your back.

    • Google+ Is Dead – Google has missed its chance to take on Facebook, Farhad Manjoo says. On the surface I agree, but I wouldn’t underestimate Google.

    • The Social Graph is Neither – The money quote: “Social networks exist to sell you crap. The icky feeling you get when your friend starts to talk to you about Amway, or when you spot someone passing out business cards at a birthday party, is the entire driving force behind a site like Facebook.”

    • Scoop: The Boxee Box is getting a live TV tuner (video) – It will require some kind of dongle, however.

    • ASUS Unveils Eee Pad Transformer Prime, First Tegra 3 Tablet Hits December for $499 – It will be the first quad-core, Tegra 3 product.

    • The children are our future, and they’re not paying for TV – Younger people are doing what they can to not pay for TV. And the weak economy does not help.

    • Free, Legal Music Downloads, Few Strings Attached – You do have to subscribe to a Facebook app.

    • Nintendo may be working on two-tablet Wii U control support

    • AT&T to deploy LTE-Advanced in 2013 – It will allow for improved coverage and capacity.

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    Posted by Dwight Silverman on November 9, 2011 at 7:26 am | Permalink | 3 Comments
    Categories: Linkposts
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    Nov 08, 2011

    Linkpost | 11.8.2011

    [Note: I'm off for a few days. Regular blogging will resume Thursday. – D.S.]

    Updated 4:30 p.m.

    • HP to hold all-hands meeting tonight, fate of webOS likely to be decided – Expect this news to come about 6:30 p.m. CST.

    • New Kindles coming to 16,000 locations in the U.S. next Tuesday – The new Kindles, including the Fire, will be available at a lot of retail locations.

    • Firefox 8 gets official, adds handy Twitter search function

    • Apple seeds iOS 5.0.1 early to end users for battery life testing, releases internal memo about battery issue – Some users have gotten an email inviting them to test the new version.

    • ‘Apple Store’ App for iOS Updated to Support New Self-Checkout System for Retail Stores – The new version of the app lets you buy something, pick it up 12 minutes later.

    • Consumer Reports recommends the iPhone 4S – CR had recommended against the iPhone 4 because of its antenna issue.

    Original post

    • iPhone Security Bug Lets Innocent-Looking Apps Go Bad and After latest iPhone hack, Charlie Miller kicked out of iOS dev program – Researcher Miller found an iOS bug that allows an app to download and execute additional code, and to prove it he submitted an app that Apple approved. Once news about the flaw became public, Apple revoked Miller’s developer privileges.

    • The Big, Honking Problems With The TV Market, According To Steve Jobs – Business Insider pulls together all of Jobs’ quotes about trying to get into the TV-set business into one illuminating piece. The key: Put it inside the TV, make it simple, and give people something that will let them turn off their brains.

    • Hidden Panorama Mode Uncovered in the iOS Camera – Accessing it requires unlocking a key value in the Software Developers Kit for iOS.

    • Republic Wireless Officially Unveils $19/Month Service: Unlimited Everything, No Contracts – The catch: You must be connected to Wi-Fi most of the time. Traditional wireless networks are considered fallback services. There’s only one phone available: the $199 LG Optimus, an Android 2.3 device.

    • Google+ Pages Now Open For Businesses, Brands, Places & More – Google finally lets commercial enterprises set up Google+ accounts. The rush is on!

    • Google chairman says will not favor Motorola – Eric Schmidt insists Motorola Mobility – which Google is buying – won’t get preferential treatment when it comes to Android.

    • HTC Edge: First Quad-Core Phone Revealed (Images) – It will have four 1.5-GHz cores, and is essentially the same as the Windows Phone-based HTC Titan. I suspect the battery life on this will not be great . . .

    • Samsung VP Gavin Kim departs to lead Microsoft’s Windows Phone product management – He’ll be the general manager of the Windows Phone team.

    • Exclusive: HP weighing sale of webOS unit – I’m not sure how “news” this is. Meg Whitman said during the Personal Systems Group announcement that HP would make a decision on what to do with webOS soon. That implies a sale would be under consideration. Oracle is a rumored buyer.

    • Computer Experts Building 1830s Babbage Analytical Engine – Charles Babbage designed this analog computer, but it was never actually completed. It will take 10 years and millions of dollars to do it.

    • Yep, it is here: Oregon lets citizens vote for U.S. House by iPad – Democracy? Yep, there’s an app for that.

    • Panasonic Toughpad tablet: Now the Army can play Angry Birds too – I suspect there would be a decent niche market for ruggedized tablets.

    • Watch out Billboard, Twitter Music Trends shows how hot artists are in real-time – Very cool: Twitter Music Trends. Trending changes minute by minute; Hot Today stays relatively stable. Currently hot: Rihanna.

    • Report: Game consoles most popular device for watching online content on a TV screen – This makes sense, given how ubiquitous game consoles are.

    • Zuckerberg: Google building its ‘little version of Facebook’ and Google+ head responds to Zuckerberg: “We’re delighted to be underestimated” – Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg are interviewed by PBS’s Charlie Rose, and Zuck waxes condescending about the competition. Google is not amused. And Mark Zuckerberg & Sheryl Sandberg on “Charlie Rose” (full transcript)

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    Posted by Dwight Silverman on November 8, 2011 at 6:53 am | Permalink | 5 Comments
    Categories: Linkposts
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    Nov 07, 2011

    Linkpost | 11.7.2011

    Updated 12:09 p.m.

    • Nook Tablet announced: $249, available November 17th – It’s designed to replace the Nook Color in B&N’s lineup. And Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet gets real, we go hands-on (video)

    • Motorola Droid RAZR review – It’s a powerful phone, but the screen display is lacking.

    • Time Warner Cable gets hit with ‘large’ outage – TW’s Internet service goes down for many.

    Original post

    • From Heaven: iTV – Jean-Louis Gassée offers one more speculative view of what exactly Steve Jobs “cracked” with an allegedly imminent Apple TV interface.

    • THE TWEAKER — The real genius of Steve Jobs. – Writer Malcolm Gladwell says Jobs’ genius wasn’t in invention, but rather in tweaking.

    • Apple’s next-gen iPad reportedly to use new backlight design for HD resolution screen – Apple’s looking at two different designs.

    • Google lawyer: Why the patent system is broken – The courts are determining whether patents apply to disputed technologies, so companies settle rather than face that process. Also David Gelernter Discusses Patent Claim Against Apple

    • Feds try to prevent War of the Worlds-style panic over national emergency alert – This is only a test.

    • The US smartphone landscape – The market is expected to reach 50 percent penetration by September 2012.

    • HTC confirms early 2012 Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades for Sensation, Rezound, Vivid, and others and HTC to push into emerging markets, eyes new tablet

    • Best Buy UK stores to be shut down after a year of unprofitable operation

    • Disney and YouTube Make a Video Deal – Disney will create original shorts for viewing on YouTube.

    • Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard Career According to The Crimson – A fascinating look at Harvard Crimson stories that appeared while Zuckerberg was at the university, and shortly thereafter.

    • Firefox 8 Launches In Two Days, But Here’s How To Get It NOW – As usual, it’s posted early to an FTP site.

    • Mozilla Developers Testing Mobile OS – It’s a mobile OS based on the Web.

    • Major Usenet Provider Shuts Down Following Court Order – News-Service.com is a reseller of Usenet access.

    • 1TB Hard Drive Prices up 180% in a Month – As the result of flooding in Taiwan Thailand.

    • Amazon stokes Kindle Fire as Barnes & Noble preps response – The Fire ships Nov. 16.

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    Posted by Dwight Silverman on November 7, 2011 at 8:29 am | Permalink | 9 Comments
    Categories: Linkposts
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    Nov 06, 2011

    Linkpost | 11.6.2011

    • Google Chairman Eric tells US senators Apple’s Siri could pose ‘competitive threat’ – He calls the personal assistant a “significant development” in search.

    • Grading the Digital School: Apple Woos Educators With Trips to Silicon Valley – Wining and dining helps bring in the business in the lucrative education market.

    • An Online Answer to the DVR – For $5 a month, you can record streaming video and watch it later.

    • Mobile Traffic To Retail Sites To Hit 15% During Holiday ’11 – That seems low to me.

    • It Pays to Be the Face of Anonymous – Barrett Brown, who had a falling out with Anonymous, now has a six-figure book deal to write about the group.

    • HP gives webOS developers a chance to get a $150 TouchPad – HP’s trying to convince developers to write for the webOS platform. Good luck with that.

    • Gates, Zuckerberg, Page and Brin make Forbes’ Most Powerful People list

    • Verizon API To Give Apps ‘Turbo’ Bandwidth Boost  – Pay a fee, and some of your smartphone apps could go faster. Might this violate network neutrality provisions?

    • Ron Conway, FCC Chairman Genachowski And Other Tech Stars Team Up To Fight The Spectrum Crunch – They want to free up spectrum to allow for more wireless broadband expansion.

    • (Founder Stories) Houston: “In 18 Months, You Are Going To See Little Dropbox Buttons Everywhere” – Dropbox plans to make its service as ubiquitous as Facebook, with buttons across the Web that let you store your stuff.

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    Posted by Dwight Silverman on November 6, 2011 at 8:07 am | Permalink | 3 Comments
    Categories: Linkposts
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    Nov 05, 2011

    Linkpost | 11.5.2011

    • Motorola Mobility won a formal injunction against Apple in Germany over two patents – Apple Inc. is barred from distributing or selling infringing products in Germany, but it doesn’t appear to apply to Apple GmbH, the German subsidiary. Does that matter? And Motorola wins German patent injunction against Apple, but it’s not what it seems

    • Source: Apple pushed security executive out – A former FBI agent, he’d been with Apple since 2007, and the most recent iPhone-lost-in-a-bar incident appears to be a reason he’s gone.

    • Lost Steve Jobs interview headed to the big screen – A 1996 interview conducted by Robert X. Cringley for a PBS series based on his Triumph of the Nerds book will be brought to the big screen by Mark Cuban’s Landmark Theatres later this month. That would include Houston’s River Oaks Theater.

    • Apple gives most of its top execs $60M bonuses – In stock. Plus Apple Headed for 60 Percent of Handset Industry Operating Profits and iPhone 4S now No.1 smartphone at top-3 U.S. carriers, iPhone 4 still hot

    • comScore: As Smartphone Usage Increases, Android Continues To Gain U.S. Market Share – Samsung is the top handset in the U.S. for the quarter.

    • Microsoft adds Windows 8 support to its Kinect development kit and Kinect for Windows SDK beta 2 out now, celebratory celebrations cleared to commence – Although it isn’t yet touted as a major selling point of Windows 8, I think Kinect will play a major role in the upcoming OS.

    • A Good Day for Groupon and Internet Start-Ups but All the Groupon IPO really proves is that the bubble is back

    • Developer of Twitter for iPhone departs company – Loren Brichter, the talented developer of Tweetie (which became Twitter for iPhone) heads out on his own.

    • In-flight WiFi coming to 300 United and Continental aircraft beginning in mid-2012, entire fleet covered by 2015

    • John R. Opel, Who Made I.B.M. a Colossus, Dies at 86 – He was CEO when the IBM PC was created.

    • Here’s the secret to Amazon’s, B&N’s tablet strategy – Simplicity and low prices, not eye-popping specs, are the keys to tablet success.

    • AT&T delays expected close for T-Mobile takeover – Ma Bell 2.0 is now saying the deal won’t close until sometime in the first half of the year. But the government’s suing to stop it, with a trial scheduled for mid-February.

    • Occupy Wall Street Gets Its Own Social Aggregator – Occupationalist is a central hub for the Occupy movement’s communications.

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    Posted by Dwight Silverman on November 5, 2011 at 8:30 am | Permalink | 1 Comment
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