Before iOS 5, I had no problems connecting my iPod Touch 3rd Gen or iPad 1 and 2 to my computer. Since iTunes 10.5, it sometimes didn't recognize my pair of iPads sometimes, they did't load in Windows 7, or a combination of both.
iTunes Wifi sync only gives you 5GB of storage, so isn't a good sync solution if you have lots of music or video. I looked through one of Apple's support pages and found that this didn't solve the problem. The second support page solution also led to a dead end.
If you have tried Apple's support pages and iTunes still doesn't recognize your device, the solution is to run a registry cleaner like CCleaner.
Microsoft's hugely successful motion sensor technology Kinect is being released for Windows on February 1st. This will allow Windows 7 (and later Windows 8) users to interact with PCs without a keyboard or mouse.
As well as motion control, Kinect for Windows also includes voice control, which could make Windows 8 a really interesting and flexible operating system. Microsoft's Kinect for Windows SDK for developers has been available for a couple of months now, so developers can already get stuck into experimenting with Kinect integration into apps.
I am excited about the possibilities for Kinect for Windows - in recent years Apple's excellent trackpads have been my favorite navigation tools, but I can imagine Windows 8 with motion control being fantastic. Using gesture controls on an office desktop would be really comfortable as a replacement for a mouse if it's precise enough - for me motion control on a desktop makes much more sense than touchscreens, which are better used on portable devices.
With Kinect for Windows, 2012 has got off to a great start for PC users, and the potential for new software is huge.
Devices supporting Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) gain a useful standard feature: data usage controls. Built into Settings, data usage aggregates how the Android device and Ice Cream Sandwich use data over both a carrier's data network and Wi-Fi.
Carriers now set data caps so knowing which applications are consuming precious bytes is important. Here is how to locate and monitor the use of data on Android 4.0 devices.
1: Access the Settings panel and enter "Data usage."
2: Set Data limits. In Data usage, you will see a graph that highlights a range of days and the amount of data. By selecting "Set mobile data limit," you can cap your data (turn off data when it reaches the limit) and set a warning for a specific amount of data used. Since Wi-Fi is free of caps, limits cannot be set, but you can see the applications that are using the most data.
Nokia's Symbian Anna update has improved functionality on the Nokia E7, Nokia N8, Nokia C7, and Nokia C6-01 phones. With the update also preloaded on the Nokia X7 and Nokia E6, Symbian Anna is already widely installed in the Symbian market.
Unfortunately, this update has left users unable to install Java applications! If you've had this problem, don't worry, it's easy to solve. Read on for the solution:
The built-in desktop themes in Windows 7 are quite attractive, but they are very generic and lack originality.
If you really want your Windows 7 computer to stand out from the rest then you can download new Windows 7 themes to add personality to your desktop. Downloadable themes normally include wallpapers, icons, sounds, and personalized cursors.
Here are ten popular Windows 7 themes on Softonic that will transform your desktop into a thing of beauty.
Angry Birds is one of the most successful video games of the last few years. In it, you need to catapult birds at the constructions in order to kill their arch enemies, the noisy pigs.
This Angry Birds theme pays homage to the popular mobile game, and is the perfect option for those millions who are hooked on the game. The theme includes 21 wallpapers, five icons, and three personalized sound files.
Wondering why your HTC Android phone keeps running out of memory? One of the answers could be that it’s crammed full of apps. By default the Android Market stores all of your apps on your device’s internal memory, rather than your larger SD card.
The most sensible thing to do is to tell Android to automatically save install applications to your SD card to free up internal memory. However, the process of doing this isn’t straightforward and there is no setting for it within Android’s menu system.
Don’t worry though because with a bit of patience and the help of the Android SDK it can be done. Start by downloading the following tools:
Want a touch of Ice Cream Sandwich before the new Android OS is released? You can now install the Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard on your Android device via a free download.
The unofficial version of the Android 4.0 keyboard, posted by AstronautMillionaire on Reddit, replicates the look and function of the new Android keyboard. The keyboard doesn’t look radically different from the current Android 2.3 keyboard, but it’s smart and it has some significant multi-touch, auto-correct, and prediction improvements.
To install the new Android Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard, simply download the APK and install it. Then activate the keyboard by going into ‘Language & keyboard’ settings in the Android Settings menu. The app’s options menu lets you tweak various options as well, such as auto-capitalization, vibrate on keypress, popup on keypress, and more.
To turn on the Android 4.0 keyboard, long-press in a text field and select ‘Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard’ in the ‘Input Method’ pop-up.
If you’re still not impressed with the Android keyboard, you can always install a third-party keyboard application for Android that make typing faster and easier. My personal favorites are SwiftKey X, Swype and SlideIT.
Apple has released its first update to iOS 5 since the operating system was released last month.
iOS version 5.0.1 fixes a number of issues with the platform that had blighted performance. Perhaps the biggest improvement is a battery life fix, meaning devices running iOS 5 stay charged for longer. Other changes include fixes to document sync with iCloud, enhanced voice recognition for Australians, and the addition of multi-touch gestures for iPad 1 users. iPad 2 owners will also be pleased to hear that the notorious Smart Cover hack is now patched.
For a detailed breakdown of the security content of the iOS 5.0.1 software update check out Apple’s log here. The new iOS update is available for free via iTunes.
I'm going to be controversial here - Chrome is hands-down the best browser around. If you agree, then you'll want to use Google's browser wherever you can. whether at home or in work. If you have a business, or manage a company network, then you'll need Google Chrome for Business, the version of Chrome specifically tailored to networked organizations.
In a shock move, Adobe has said that it plans to stop further development on the mobile version of its Flash Player.
In a leaked document sent to individuals “close to the matter” and published today by ZDNet, Adobe states that it will continue to support current versions of mobile Flash Player, but will now turn its focus to HTML 5 and embedded Flash and Air apps for mobile.
Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our source code licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations. We will continue to support the current Android and PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates.
It seems from this move that Adobe has admitted defeat in trying to push Flash content to mobile devices, and is resigned to the fact that HTML 5 is the way forward. This could even mean that it turns its attentions away from Flash on the desktop too, in order to invest more heavily on AIR and HTML 5 instead.
According to ZDNet, we can expect a detailed official announcement from Adobe today regarding the withdrawal of support for Flash on mobiles. We'll post an update with a link to the news.
The Android Market was updated today. Among the new features is a setting that automatically updates any applications you have installed on your device when a new version is released.
It sounds like a handy function, and in principal it is. However, it also has the potential to be annoying and disruptive. There are times when you may not automatically want an app to update. Perhaps you’d prefer to read the release notes first to check if the new version takes away a function that you need, or you want to check out user comments to find out if anyone is having stability issues with the new release.
Don’t panic, because there is a way to disable automatic updates from the Android Market. Simply hit the Menu button in Market and make sure that 'Auto-update apps' is unchecked. There’s also a new WiFi-only upgrade setting that will save you using up your bandwidth allocation when updating apps.
Incidentally, there are several other changes that come with the new version of the Android Market. These include voice-based search, PIN authentication support to prevent accidental purchase of apps, a star rating chart, and more.
The new version of the Android Market will be made available as an over-the-air download from today. If you still haven’t received it and can’t wait to check it out, though, then you can download it here and install it right now!
Nokia has announced its first Windows Phone 7 devices at the giant’s Nokia World event in London. The long-awaited LUMIA 800 and 710 were revealed amid fanfare about their software capabilities. Besides including all the standard Windows Phone Mango tools, the LUMIA 800 integrates bespoke Nokia services such as turn-by-turn voice navigation, a music service and an ESPN sports hub.
I think it’s fair to say that with Nokia now packing Windows Phone 7 into its new devices, Microsoft’s mobile operating system has become a strong alternative to the iPhone and the top-end Android devices.
If you’re choosing a phone now, you should definitely give some consideration to Windows Phone 7 - it has a number of advantages over iOS and Android. Here’s a quick run-down of some of the reasons to switch to Windows Phone 7:
Google has whetted our appetites by announcing the new version of its Android operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich.
The new operating system, also known as Android 4.0, was unveiled at a joint event with Samsung in Hong Kong. Samsung was there to reveal its new phone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which will run Ice Cream Sandwich. While the phone design and specifications are interesting, pushing the phone at the same time as the new operating system felt more like a marketing scheme than a true announcement. Or maybe Google just needed a phone to showcase its new redesigned OS.
And what an OS it looks! At the event, Google said it went and looked at everything that made up its OS and decided what needed to be changed. That looks like it might have been almost everything, as you can see from this overview demoed on the Galaxy Nexus:
Under Steve Jobs, Apple developed has lots of excellent software, some of which has had a huge influence on technology and how we use computers. This isn't to say other companies haven't been just as influential, but it's hard to underestimate the Cupertino company's contribution. There are other great Apple programs, but I want to focus just on the ones I think have been game changers: Apple OS, iTunes and Garage Band.
Mac OS and iOS.
Right from the start, Mac OS was important. In Steve Jobs's own words, 'Windows just copied the Mac' in the 80s. That might be a slight exaggeration, but from the early days of Windows, Mac OS was clearly an influence. The current generation, Mac OS X has introduced numerous innovations over the years, notably the ability to be suspended and restarted very quickly. This makes it ideal for laptops, as the explosion of Macbooks has proved. Anyone who works on OS X and Windows will also note how much better Apple's Spotlight works when searching for files and applications. Unlike Windows, which looks like it's been designed by committee, OS X looks like something that has been built from the ground up with a singular focus.
The iPhone introduced us to iOS in 2007, and is now already up to version 5. This has revolutionized pocket computing, and the app icons arrangement has clearly influenced Android. The App Store has quickly become a hugely successful eco system, the first large scale example of a closed system for purchasing and installing software.
As an apology for the connection blackout experienced by BlackBerry users last week, Research in Motion (RIM) has announced today that it will offer a series of free premium apps to its customers.
As of this Wednesday October 19th, BlackBerry users will be able to download a selection of premium apps, worth more than $100, for free. RIM describes the offer, which runs until 31st December this year, as “an expression of appreciation for their (subscribers) patience during recent service disruptions."
Apps and games that will be available to download from the BlackBerry App World for free include: SIMS 3, Bejeweled, N.O.V.A, Bubble Bash 2, Shazam Encore, Vlingo Plus, and Photo Editor Ultimate.
Remorseful husbands traditionally buy flowers to get back into their wives' good books and it seems multinational corporations are using apps and games to make sure they aren’t thrown out of bed by their customers either.
RIM’s sweetener has echoes of when the PlayStation network fell for several weeks, due to a hacking attack. Sony decided to offer a choice of PS3 games and subscription to its PlayStation Plus service for a month.
I'm not sure that the damage caused by three days without access network on your BlackBerry can be made up for with a bunch of free apps. What do you think?
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Before iOS 5, I had no problems connecting my iPod Touch 3rd Gen or iPad 1 and 2 to my computer. Since iTunes 10.5, it sometimes didn't recognize my pair of iPads sometimes, they did't load in Windows 7, or a combination of both.
Apple has released its first update to iOS 5 since the operating system was 
As of this Wednesday October 19th, BlackBerry users will be able to download a selection of premium apps, worth more than $100, for free. RIM describes the offer, which runs until 31st December this year, as “an expression of appreciation for their (subscribers) patience during recent service disruptions."