Post Tagged with: "Itunes"

iCloud, IOS 5, and Mac OS X Lion: Apple Announce Details in 3 Hours!

iCloud, IOS 5, and Mac OS X Lion: Apple Announce Details in 3 Hours!

Apple iCloud, IOS 5, OS X LionI am fast becoming a bit of a technology geek…. or more specifically an Apple geek! As I now own a iPhone, iPad, and a MacBook Pro I am one of those crazy people who gets very excited as soon as Apple announce anything new.

Unfortunately, I have to leave for work in about an hours time so I am feeling very sad that I will miss the details emerge from the keynote speech from Steve Jobs et al.

It has been revealed by Apple they will be unveiling IOS 5 for the iPhone and iPad, along with the new operating system for the Mac (Lion). However, the most eagerly awaited news appears to be iCloud – the new music service from the company.

There are many opinions and rumours available on the Internet on what iCloud will be. At first, there were strong suggestions it was just a revamped version of MobileMe, however it now appears that iCloud may be more of a replacement for iTunes.

If rumours are correct, iCloud will scan your iTunes library and store your media files on it’s company servers, thus allowing you to stream your media on any Apple device WITHOUT having those files on your hard drive/phone. Of course, these are all unconfirmed reports.

There are other strong suggestions that you will no longer have to sync with your computer to ensure all your music and movies are transferred to your other devices as this will all be done wirelessly.

Automatic app updates are also a possibility, with all this happening in the background. This would be great as I find myself spending most of my life downloading and installing updates to the numerous applications I have on my Apple devices.

With regards to IOS 5 for iPhone and iPad, there is a strong possibility that a new and improved notification system will be announced. If it isn’t, expect a lot of criticism from Apple fans as we have been asking (almost begging) for this to be addressed for at least a couple of years now!

There also appears to be a lot of evidence pointing to a deep Twitter integration on the new IOS, including photo uploads.

Personally, I would LOVE to see the iPhone lock screen improved to be dynamic. I was playing with my mum’s Sony Ericssson Xperia the other day, and her lock screen has a dynamic weather app that looked brilliant (yes, I am obsessed with the weather as well as technology!). This would be a welcome inclusion with the new update… please Apple?!

The changes in the Mac operating system have been widely discussed, but the finished article would be great to see. There are runners that the OS will be released within a couple of weeks (June 14th I believe). Lion is said to take some of the features of the iPhone and iPad back to the Mac.. and some of these feature sound quite exciting.

Well, I am going to miss the live updates as I am a Flight Attendant and will be at 38,000ft until about 1am British Summer Time. You can bet I will be straight on the iPhone for the updates as soon as I land though!

On a side note, there is no mention from Apple of an impending iPhone 5 announcement… but you never know, right?

If anyone would like to keep me updated, feel free to post comments below and I will pick them up when I get out of work!

June 6, 2011 0 comments Read More
ios 4.3 Causing iPhone Battery Drain?

ios 4.3 Causing iPhone Battery Drain?

ios 4.3 logoIn the last week or so my girlfriend’s iPhone 4 has suddenly started suffering from a very short battery life. A fully charged battery was suddenly lasting only 6-7 hrs with moderate usage (Facebook usage and a few calls).

To be honest, I thought she was making it up and was just simply using her phone more than previously. But, after constant nagging I started to research the problem. It seems she was right, and it is a legitimate complaint after all. The Apple support forum has a thread devoted to the same problem, and it’s a very active one – meaning (of course) that there are plenty of people with the same complaint. Many people’s iPhone batteries are not lasting long since the ios 4.3 update.

So, if your iPhone 4 battery is now draining too fast, here are some of the possible solutions which may (or may not) work for you;

Check Your Software is Updated

Not long after ios 4.3 was released, 4.3.1 was available. Plug your iPhone into iTunes and check the software is up to date. If it needs updating, do it. This may fix your problem.

Reboot Your Device

More often than not, problems are sorted by rebooting your iPhone. Do this by holding down the home button, and the on/off button simultaneously for about 10 seconds (until the screen goes black). Your phone should then reboot itself and this may solve your problem.

Mail Accounts

Go to ‘Settings —> Mail, Contacts, Calendars’ and scroll down to ‘Fetch New Data’. Go into this menu and ensure ‘Push’ is ‘Off’, and ‘Fetch’ is set to ‘Manually’.

This could also fix your problem.

Sign Out of iTunes Store Account

Other users have suggested that there is a bug with the iTunes store, and if you sign out of it your problem may be fixed.

Go to ‘Settings —> Store’. Click on your Apple ID and then select ‘Sign Out’.

Try these options one-by-one and see if they make a difference to your battery life. I will add more fixes as I see them. Alternatively, you can read the Apple Support Forum Thread.

Update: After experimenting with my girlfriend’s iPhone 4 I think I’ve sorted it by signing out of iTunes store account (4th option above). This is slightly annoying as now every time she wants to download anything from iTunes directly to phone, she will have to log in and then remember to sign out from the account again afterwards.

Hopefully Apple will provide a fix for this in the near future…..

April 13, 2011 2 comments Read More
Reviewed: The Ricky Gervais Show Podcast

Reviewed: The Ricky Gervais Show Podcast

Ricky_GervaisIf, like me, you were unfortunate to miss this free podcast from Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington you will be pleased to know you can download the entire ‘back catalogue’ via iTunes.

The bad news – it’s no longer a free download. But, £3.95 for up to 6 hours of quality content is not too much to ask for, is it?

As you probably guessed from my opening to this review, it’s a positive one. I may be biased having always been a Gervais fan – even before The Office in fact – but the guy is hilarious. Add that to Merchant’s intelligent comedy and Pilkington’s utter thickness (sorry Karl!), and the result is comedy in its greatest form.

There are not many things I listen to and laugh out loud (unless with someone else and laughing together). But, this podcast became a source of embarrasment for me when I chose to listen on a packed Bristol bus. I desperately tried to stop myself from laughing, but I simply couldn’t. I actually had to turn it off before everybody started to think I was a little bit crazy!!

Each half hour episode is filled with Gervais and Merchant ripping Pilkington apart. You will be amazed at some of the opinions and ideas that this guy has.

His classic views on evolution are excruiatingly funny. Karl believes that evolution has got it all wrong and that 78-year-old women should die with a baby inside them, thus solving the problem of ‘not being able to move in London’. As Ricky and Stephen point out, there is a major flaw in his plan – who is going to look after all these newborns. Surely evolution has got it right by allowing women to reproduce at an age where they are fit and healthy enough to develop their child into an adult? This is just one of many crackpot ideas that Karl has…..

Honestly, if you missed the free podcasts first time around, buy them now. They will have you in stiches, and that’s a promise!

Download direct from Ricky Gervais Show: The Complete First Season (Abridged)

July 19, 2009 0 comments Read More
Ipod Touch 3.0 Software Update: Waste of Money?

Ipod Touch 3.0 Software Update: Waste of Money?

Ipod_TouchWell, I’ve just purchased, downloaded, and installed the new Ipod Touch software update. I’m going to be honest and say that I think it may have been a waste of money…..

I have a 2nd Gen Ipod Touch, but know others that had 1st Gen. The 2.0 software update was huge. Loads of new features and excting gadgets to play with. But, have Apple reached their peak?

The 3.0 update comes with several new features;

Buy movies, TV shows and audiobooks from iTunes via Wi-Fi, Stereo Bluetooth, Peer-to-Peer gaming, Landscape keyboard in Mail, Notes and Safari, Spotlight search – allowing you to search your entire iPod.Cut, copy, and paste from application to application

    MJ_SearchNot a great deal to get excited about, although the search function is pretty useful. You will find that your home screen now has a page to the left. Navigating to it opens up the search function (see right – I searched my iPod for Michael Jackson) and allows you to search for music, videos, notes, emails, contacts and applications. Very handy if you have a lot of stuff loaded onto it.

    Other than that, not a lot in all honesty……

    The update does stipulate that you can now sync notes between your iPod and your Mac or PC. I use a PC and don’t have any compatible software for this according to iTunes. It seems you have to own Microsoft Outlook, whereas I’m using Windows Mail.

    For those of you that do have Outlook, I’m sure it’s a useful feature.

    Shake to Shuffle

    Another new feature is the ‘shake to shuffle’ option. If you get bored with the song you are listening too, simply shake your iPod and it will randomly select a new one for you. To be honest, I prefer to choose the song I listen too – but I’m sure there will be those of you that enjoy this feature.

    The 3.0 update also offers some parental control, Safari improvements and new language support.

    Ok, the update did not cost an arm and a leg. But it did cost me £5.99 – and I’m not sure it was money well spent. I could have downloaded ‘Bad’ by Michael Jackson for less than that ;-)

    What is your opinion on the 3.0 software update?

    June 28, 2009 0 comments Read More