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Apple releases iOS 5.1.1

Jimmy Liew — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:24 +0000

Apple released iOS 5.1.1 last night with a few bug fixes for your iOS devices:

Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut
Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks
Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances
Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List
Fixes an issue where ‘Unable to purchase’ alert could be displayed after successful purchase

Besides these, it also fixed some security bugs as listed here in detail

To update, simply run the Software Update function within the Settings app, or connect your iOS device to iTunes and update it there.

A look at Steve Jobs’ keynote address notes

Jimmy Liew — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:30:55 +0000

This was taken at the keynote address announcing the first iPhone, back in 2007. There are more photos of the 2007 Macworld at Jesse Wu’s Flickr page.

How editing on iPad should be

Jimmy Liew — Sat, 05 May 2012 10:47:16 +0000

Just got the new iPad last week and the plan is that this will be how I update this site. But like many, typing on the iPad is easy, but editing, especially trying to select blocks of text is quite a pain.

The video above, by YouTube user danielchasehooper, showed how he thinks Apple should implement text selection on the iPad, and I really hope Apple does that.

Squeeze the Most Juice Out of Your iPhone or iPad Battery

Jimmy Liew — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 05:34:01 +0000

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Squeeze_the_Most_Juice_Out_of_Your_iPhone_or_iPad_Battery

Wired How-to has a few good pointers on how to ensure you squeeze as much juice out of your iPhone battery when the charger is no where in sight. Also mentioned were some battery usage myths which you might have heard before, debunked.

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Wake Up…Samsung RIM – that desperate?

Jimmy Liew — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 05:10:15 +0000

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/04/26/samsung-sends-protesting-flashmob-to-sydney-apple-store-tells-customers-to-wake-up/

update – Apparently this is the work of RIM, not Samsung. Gasp

When you have nothing good to say about your products, you go about making sure you tell your would-be customers that they have been stupid and should have bought your phone. Right.

Apple 2012 Q2 Results

Jimmy Liew — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:59:56 +0000

Apple posted their 2012 Q2 results earlier today:

The Company posted quarterly revenue of $39.2 billion and quarterly net profit of $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $24.7 billion and net profit of $6.0 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

Other key points:

sold 35.1 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 88 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter
sold 11.8 million iPads during the quarter, a 151 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter
sold 4 million Macs during the quarter, a 7 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter
sold 7.7 million iPods, a 15 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter

Not record breaking, but non-less stellar, compared with some other company.

For more details, read up Macstories’ post on the earnings call.

You can also listen to the recording of the call here.

Zooey, Samuel and Siri

Jimmy Liew — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:55:32 +0000

Apple recently released two new iPhone-ads featuring Samuel L. Jackson and the ever-adorable Zooey Deschanel using Siri on the iPhone 4S. They make doing mundane tasks like asking about the weather so much more, interesting.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Siri can have celebrity voices – like a sultry Angelina Jolie or suave George Clooney replying to you.

Can Siri Find Anything in Singapore?

Java for OS X 2012-003 – removes Flashback

Jimmy Liew — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:28:53 +0000

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5242

Apple just released a Java security update that will remove the most common variants of the Flashback malware mentioned earlier today.

This update also configures the Java web plug-in to disable the automatic execution of Java applets. Users may re-enable automatic execution of Java applets using the Java Preferences application. If the Java web plug-in detects that no applets have been run for an extended period of time it will again disable Java applets.

Please go to your Mac and click on Software Update to download and install this new update.

Pebble – the smart watch for your iPhone

Jimmy Liew — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:41:52 +0000

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android

Pebble is the first watch built for the 21st century. It’s infinitely customizable, with beautiful downloadable watchfaces and useful internet-connected apps. Pebble connects to iPhone and Android smartphones using Bluetooth, alerting you with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages. While designing Pebble, we strove to create a minimalist yet fashionable product that seamlessly blends into everyday life.

One look and I am just moments from clicking the Back this project button at Kickstarter. I think you’ll feel the same after watching the video.

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About Flashback malware

Jimmy Liew — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:31:01 +0000

Seems like we ain’t safe anymore.

A recent version of malicious software called Flashback exploits a security flaw in Java in order to install itself on Macs.

Apple released a support article updating on what they plan to do to counter the threat of this new malware.

To know more about this malware and what you can do to prevent it, do go through this article posted at Macworld.

Flashback is the first widespread drive-by malware to attack Macs. This is one of the most pernicious attack techniques, which has long troubled Windows users, and it does represent a major advance…Because it can infect a vulnerable computer without user interaction, Flashback is far more serious. As we’ve seen in the Windows world, this is an extremely effective technique.

To find out whether you’re one of the unlucky ones to be infected, read the steps at F-Secure on what you can do to detect and remove it. They also created a free too to help detect and remove it if you are not familiar with the Terminal.app.

One of the way of preventing future attacks by such Malware is to Disable the use of Java on Safari and other browser. However, as our Government’s e-Services rely heavily on the use of SingPass to login, which uses Java, to disable it will be a pain if you have to use their services.

That said, one of the best advice to prevent such things is to constantly update your OS. Apple puts up Security Updates to patch up any vulnerabilities in the OS frequently.

As iOS devices and Macs gets more popular, the good ol’ days where we laugh at our friends who are on the Windows platform about how vulnerable their systems are, are over. But if you follow some common good practices like updating your OS, not visiting questionable sites and downloading and running apps from non-trustworthy sites, you can be assure of a clean bill of health for your Macs.

Java for OS X 2012-003 – removes Flashback