Continue reading »]]> Ever since I bought my Samsung N145 (which I love), I’ve always been annoyed with the problem that the built in wireless adapter rarely picks up Wireless N (802.11n) at 150Mbit/s. Instead, it usually picks it up at 65Mbit/s, which can often be annoying when transferring large files over a network.

However, Microsoft released a driver update (via Windows Update) in late August 2011 which seems to have resolved the problem.

It’ll be listed as an optional update in Windows Update. Unfortunately, Microsoft have provided no direct link to download manually. However, I can tell you that the driver ID is 20442151.

Download the update, install, and with any luck the problem should be solved immediately.

Continue reading »]]> Update: 4.1 is now live.

Update: This date has now been removed from the Apple site. The launch date of September 8th 2010 still remains on Wikipedia.

The Apple UK site now confirms that the OS 4.1 update for iPhone will be coming on September 8th. The iPod Touch page still says “Coming Soon”, as does the US site.

However, Apple usually launch all of their firmware updates on the same day so it gives me reason to believe that it will be launched to everyone on that date.

Unless you have one of the newer iPhones (iPhone 3Gs or 4) there isn’t really that much to get excited about. The iPod touch seems to be gaining Ping functionality within the iTunes app together with a new “Game Center” (I know that should be “centre” but Apple don’t seem to know British spelling). If you have an iPhone, you’ll also gain HD uploads to YouTube on the go and HDR photography.

So nothing to get too excited. Personally, I think Apple should be concentrating more on getting iPad users onto 4.0. Apple don’t seem to have much time for iPad users at the moment.

Continue reading »]]> Yes, the news that every Spotify customer has wanted to hear. Spotify finally supports multitasking on the iOS4 with the latest update.

You will of course need an iPhone 3GS/4 or an 3rd gen iPod Touch (unless you have jailbroken) to get the multitasking ability.

The new app also supports control from the lock screen and double-click control buttons, which does make the app much more usable. It also features a new “What’s new” section like in the PC application, so you can see the top tracks of the moment and any new releases.

A well deserved update I think.

Continue reading »]]> I’ve just been notified by my WordPress system that 3.0 has now officially arrived.

I’ve just installed the update and from what I can see, there’s no major overhaul. However, there are a few minor adjustments that make a big difference. Updating plugins has become much quicker with the new updates page on the Dashboard. In addition, a few cosmetic changes have made browsing the WordPress Dashboard much more straightforward and intuitive.

If you want to grab the new update, either do an automatic upgrade from your WordPress Dashboard, or head to wordpress.org and download it from there!

Continue reading »]]> It’s not 3.2, but it’s something…

This appears to be a minor update from Apple, but it has a few important fixes. Wikipedia quotes the following:

• Improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS
• Resolves issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instances
• Fixes bug that may cause an app to crash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard
• Fixes security bugs in webkit and recovery mode

Sadly, I won’t be able to download the update for the time being as my iPod Touch is out for repair for the second time!! Very annoying. I shall be complaining to Apple!

Anyway, head over to iTunes and see for yourself whether it is any good!

Continue reading »]]> Great news Spotifyers! The good people have posted up an update for their software on the iPhone and iPod Touch. I’ve just got my iPod Touch updated with the latest version and I am very pleased with the new release. It’s a big improvement on the last version and has fixed loads of bugs and niggles.

Here’s what has been fixed…

• The volume control within Spotify now only shows on the first gen iPod Touch. It now does not show on any other iPod Touch or iPhone.
• The app now does not allow you to see artist and album view when offline (I actually don’t like this fix – liked it before)
• The app will ask you to turn off “Offline Mode” when wi-fi is on – it’s optional but its a handy feature.
• There are loads of bug fixes which means crashes are much less frequent.

Overall I’m very happy with the update. The only thing I want now is to have the ability to run Spotify in the background, but that’s down to Apple more than Spotify really.

Continue reading »]]> As most of you will already know, the Apple conference on the 9th of September brought a lot of news to iPod users. As well as the new iPod Nano and “new” iPod Touch (I can’t say it’s new, all they’ve done is made a bigger size), Apple also released the new iTunes 9. Sadly I wasn’t able to get it right away as I’m going through small problems with internet bandwidth, which also explains why I haven’t been able to post reviews on the new iPod Touch/iPhone firmware yet – don’t worry I will get round to it as soon as I get my unlimited bandwidth back which, as far as I know, should be next week.

Anyway, as for the new iTunes, I am surprised to say that I’m actually very impressed with the new release. The new features aren’t ground breaking, but the new performance upgrades have finally arrived.

The new iTunes packs new features such as Home Sharing, which allows you to share your music between other computers in your home, and a brand new redesigned iTunes Store. Both of which work very well. I haven’t checked out the Home Sharing yet but from what I’ve read online it looks very good. The new iTunes Store is certainly very tidy and works very efficiently and I much prefer it over the previous version.

But I’m happiest about the much smoother performance. The load-up time has improved dramatically and actually browsing through the application is much more speedy.

What used to be a misery is now much easier to use and much less time consuming. I still don’t think iTunes is brilliant, but the new version has definitely made syncing my iPod much less of a chore.

Well done Apple, this is a big improvement.

If you’d like to download the new version, open up iTunes and click Check for Updates in the Help menu. Otherwise, you can head over to apple.com and download a copy from there for free.

Continue reading »]]> Yep, just a couple of weeks after the release of the might 3.0 software, Apple is already handing out beta code for OS 3.1.

There’s very little information about it at the moment, but as far as GEEK! is aware, Apple is testing the new software and handing it out as a beta to developers.

Hopefully it will iron out a few of the bugs in OS 3.0, because I have found a few and they really annoy me. For example, I have quite a few buffering issues with the YouTube app on the iPod Touch. It seems to work for a while and then stop buffering altogether unless I close and reopen the app. It’s not me loosing WiFi signal or anything… it just seems to be a little bug.

Ah well, hopefully it will be released before too long.

There is a little information about what’s included in the update on Wikipedia, if you are interested. Looks like some interesting stuff…

Continue reading »]]> Apple’s 3.0 OS for iPod Touch and iPhone was released earlier this evening, and GEEK! was of course right at the front of the queue. I’ve downloaded the update and installed it to my 8GB iPod Touch, so now everything is going fine and I’ve had a little time to play around with the new firmware, I thought I’d write a review for it.

Please note that this is a review for the 3.0 OS for the iPod Touch, not the iPhone. iPhone-specific features are not reviewed in this post.

Well the first thing you are going to notice is the price – £5.99 in the UK and £9.95 in the US. Personally I don’t think that is too bad, but I’m a little annoyed that iPod Touch users have to pay at all. Never mind, I’m not going to make a fuss of it.

Once you’ve paid the price, you then need to accept the terms and start the download. It’s thereabouts 240 megabytes and on a good broadband connection will take about 15 minutes to download. Once you’ve downloaded it, iTunes will proceed with an install.

The install is fairly simple. iTunes will back up your current iPod’s settings and then install the firmware. The process takes about 20-25 minutes depending on how much data is currently being stored on your iPod.

Providing everything went through smoothly, you’ll be able to use your iPod as soon as the update is complete. You can unlock your iPod and it will be ready to use.

Here’s a quick run through of the main new features in OS 3.0:

• Spotlight search means you can search your entire iPod for data – whether it is music, videos, notes, photos, or emails. You can find it on the very left tab in the home screen.
• New search bars in music, video, email and notes. Get it to it by scrolling up to the very top of the screen in each section.
• Bluetooth music streaming means you can stream to bluetooth audio devices.
• Upgraded onboard iTunes store means you can buy and rent movies directly on the iPod. You can also download TV shows directly from the iPod.
• Upgraded Youtube browser means you can now sign in to your Youtube account. You can now browse your uploads and subscriptions, as well as rate and comment on videos.
• The iPod Touch now supports Shake and Shuffle. This means you can shake the iPod Touch and it will shuffle the track.
• Voice Memos is now on the iPod Touch, which is basically a dictaphone for the iPod Touch. You will need a microphone supported by the iPod Touch for this to work.
• Restrictions can now be put in place as to which applications can be used.
• Safari has been upgraded under the hood, so the web support is now better.
• There have also been some bug fixes and minor software improvements.

That’s a basic round up of what’s in the update. In my opinion it is well worth the £5.99, so go ahead and get it if you have the cash to spare.

Thanks Apple, a good update there.

Continue reading »]]> Now I am the proud owner of my iPod Touch, I try to keep up with the news to do with it. And the biggest thing that springs into mind at the moment is the upcoming 3.0 update for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The only thing that does annoy me a little is the fact that iPhone users will get the update absolutely free and us iPod Touch users will have to pay about 10$ (about £6.60 at time of writing) for it.

Now I know that there are some cool updates in it (bluetooth being enabled as a feature being just one of them) but compared to other popular mobile devices, Apple are just trying to drain us of our cash.

For example,  the PSP is a similar mobile device (not physically, but in terms of hardware) – and it’s cheaper to purchase plus all those updates Sony have provided in the past haven’t cost a penny.

There are ways to get round paying for the iPod update, but I don’t really want to go breaking the law and certainly don’t want to encourage it.

I think no matter whether they make us pay for it or not I will go and get it, mainly because it’s too much to miss out on, but it does seem like Apple just want to drain that little bit more out of us. Especially in these credit crunch times, most people are trying to save the pennies and not go pouring them into Steve Job’s pocket for a small update.

So yes – small rant there – but come on Apple, I can think of countless companies that don’t charge for updates to mobile devices and I don’t think it’s 100% fair.