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Apple Posts iOS 6.1 Release – Here’s What’s New & How to Update!

by Michael Sheehan on January 28, 2013

in Apple, Cellular, Consumer Electronics, Gadgets, General, How To, HTD Tech Tip, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Software, Tablet

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After releasing iOS 6.1 beta 5 to developers this past weekend, Apple released iOS 6.1 to the public today (Monday Jan 28, 2013). Updates can be obtained directly via your iOS update or via iTunes. You can also download the .ipsw directly from Apple. Details on these processes are below.

iOS-6.1-update

So what is new in this iOS release? Honestly, there aren’t that many visible features but there are plenty of behind the scenes fixes and updates. Specifically:

  • Support for more LTE carriers
  • The ability to purchase movie tickets using Fandango coupled with Siri (US only)
  • If you use iTunes Match, you can now download individual songs from iCloud
  • Reset the Advertising Identifier via System Preferences (General > About > Advertising)
    HTD-reset-ads
  • Security Updates
    • Fixed –> Authentication relying on certificate-based Apple ID authentication may be bypassed
    • Fixed –> Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to a cross-site scripting attack
    • Fixed –> A user-mode process may be able to access the first page of kernel memory
    • Fixed –> An attacker with a privileged network position may intercept user credentials or other sensitive information
    • Fixed –> JavaScript may be enabled in Mobile Safari without user interaction
    • Fixed –> Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution
    • Fixed –> Copying and pasting content on a malicious website may lead to a cross-site scripting attack
    • Fixed –> Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to a cross-site scripting attack
    • Fixed –> A remote attacker on the same WiFi network may be able to temporarily disable WiFi

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iOS Apps & Backups are Hogging Up Your Hard Drive – How To Easily Free Up Disk Space

by Michael Sheehan on January 9, 2013

in Apple, Application, Fix It, General, Hardware, How To, HTD Tech Tip, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Software

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I don’t know about you but I am always looking for ways to clear up my laptop’s precious free hard drive space. I have tools that clean caches, temporary files, language files, logs and files in my trash. But I never seem to get ahead of the game. I probably never will but a periodic cleaning is always an important thing to do.

One place that I have neglected is one that may seem incredibly obvious to many. It wasn’t to me until I spent some time doing some hard drive cleaning. And this is an area where most cleaning applications will NOT look – within iTunes.

Fat iTunes icon

I must admit, I’m not only an iOS device junkie, but also an iOS application addict. I install apps regularly, test them out and then delete them from my iPhone or iPad. That is great for my iOS device in terms of keeping it relatively clean (although I have several pages of folders filled with apps) – but it doesn’t help the “mother ship,” my laptop where I sync my iOS devices.

iTunes has made the process of getting and updating iOS apps (as well as managing your iOS device) pretty darn easy. The problem is, if you back up lots of devices and/or download lots of apps, you are consuming a massive amount of hard drive space, probably without even knowing it.

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“Weird But True” iOS App Educates in a Fun Way

by Michael Sheehan on September 2, 2011

in Apple, Application, Family, General, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Review, Software

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Who doesn’t like National Geographic? They have been enriching our lives for over a hundred years with photos and quality content from around the globe. And they have brought this content to children of all ages as well. My daughters got copies of National Geographic Kids at school and have saved them in piles on their desks and bookcases. And every article or TV show that they produce is filled with facts. I must admit, many of those facts I have lost simply because it’s hard not to go into fact-overload.

But now, there is a new iPhone and iPad app that makes facts really fun, especially for children. The new “Weird But True” iOS application has taken the oddest and strangest facts and compiled them into a fun little application. So, fun, that I actually found myself playing with it without my kids even being around. There is already a book by the same name “Weird But True” that contains 300 “outrageous” facts which you can buy, but the application takes it to a whole new level by adding interactivity. You can make a fact a favorite, you can email it to someone and you can even rate it on the “weird-o-meter”. You can later check the leaderboard to see what odd fact has gotten the highest votes.

As of this writing, here are some of the facts that are winning:

  • Slugs have 3,000 teeth and 4 noses
  • A lock of Elvis Presley’s hair sold for $115, 120
  • Some car can run on used French-fry oil
  • Hot dogs can last more than 20 years in landfills
  • The eastern spotted skunk does a handstand before it sprays

A word of warning, once you let your kids use this application, they are going to start telling you a bunch of randomly odd facts just out of the blue.

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10 Things Steve Jobs Has Done for Parents

by Michael Sheehan on August 25, 2011

in Apple, Consumer Electronics, Family, Gadgets, General, Hardware, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Opinion, Parenting, Software, Tablet

With Steve Jobs announcing that he will be stepping down as CEO of Apple, I took some time to reflect on how Steve and Apple have impacted my life as a parent, specifically, a “High Tech Dad.” In my household, Apple products reign. Each of my children use Apple laptops or desktops, and each one has either an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Nano or a combination. My wife and I have iPhones and iPads, my primary laptop is a MacBook Pro. And much of our living room entertainment is driven by an AppleTV.

jobs_hero20110329

But I wanted to think about how Steve and his vision have positively impacted families around the globe. So I compiled a quick list of hardware and software which, under Steve’s watchful eye, have enriched my and other families everywhere. Sure, I’m an “Apple fan boy” but there are not many other companies or leaders who have had as much of an impact as Apple and Steve have had.

Here’s my list of 10 Things Steve Jobs has done for Parents:

  1. Brought great computing resources into Schools & Homes – http://education.apple.com/
  2. Introduced easy ways to manage music and movies for your family via iTunes – http://www.apple.com/itunes/
  3. Made home movie creation a snap with iMovie – http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/
  4. Connected families via video conferencing with FaceTime – http://www.apple.com/mac/facetime/
  5. Made home photo management better with facial recognition and geo-location with iPhoto – http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/
  6. Put music in your and your kids’ pockets with the iPod – http://www.apple.com/ipod/
  7. Created a safe walled garden for kids to play games and consume Internet content via the App Store – http://www.apple.com/iphone/apps-for-iphone/
  8. Crafted a revolutionary smart phone that people ages 1 to 100 could understand and use easily – http://www.apple.com/iphone/
  9. Introduced a tablet designed for all members of the family – http://www.apple.com/ipad/
  10. Brought out the creativity in us all and inspired us to “Think Different“

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How To Fix “The Required File Cannot Be Found” Error When Syncing an iPhone or iPod Touch

April 22, 2011
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Every since I had to restore my iPhone 4 from a backup, I have been having a pesky error message popping up each and every time I would sync my iPhone with iTunes on my Mac. It cryptically said “The iPhone [insert your iPhone name here] cannot be synced. The required file cannot be found.” [...]

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Hey Parents, Some Kids’ TV Shows are On Sale in iTunes for the Next Two Weeks!

April 1, 2011

With the weather (hopefully) changing for the better (at least out where I live), being good parents, we are pretty much required to get our kids OUT of the house and playing outside. That means, un-plugging from the computer/game console/TV/electronic gadget. But who am I to talk, I’m always plugged in pretty much everywhere I [...]

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A Great iPhone 5 Rumors Infographic & My Thoughts On It and What Apple Will Really Do

March 24, 2011

I absolutely LOVE infographics! I almost view them as a form of art (coupled with some marketing spin). And, I love the iPhone (being pretty much an Apple “fan boy”), ok, well, I love technology in general, obviously. The folks over at NowhereElse.fr (a French technology blog) put together a really GREAT infographic that rounds [...]

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Cougars, Cars, Dirty Diapers, Fighting & Shooting Pool with a Rope – Cast of Dads Podcast #33

October 11, 2010

You gotta love unscripted recordings. And how we are all at the beck & call of technology. During our live podcast, Skype decided to act like a misbehaving child and refused to let us talk. But we worked through this and just kept going with a fairly “loaded” series of topics. The result is Cast [...]

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