Apple releases iOS 5.0.1 update to fix iPhone 4S battery issues, available OTA as well

Apple has today released its iOS 5.0.1 update (build 9A405) to address battery issues, add multitouch gestures to the iPad 1 and more. The update is now available in iTunes, and is also available over-the-air to existing iOS 5 users.

Some users may not see the over-the-air update immediately, so either be patient or just use the iTunes update method. We recommend waiting and doing the update OTA because the update experience is much quicker this way, due to the smaller size of the update file (the iPad 2?s update is only 34.9MB OTA), and very slick.

The fixes that are listed are:

• Fixes bugs affecting battery life
• Adds Multitasking Gestures for original iPad
• Resolves bugs with Documents in the Cloud
• Improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation

Apple has also included an explicit fix for the security issue discovered by security researcher Charlie Miller just a few days ago. In addition, there is a fix for the iPad Smart Cover security glitch, which would allow users access to your last running app.

To get the update now, plug your device into iTunes and click update, or if you’re already on iOS 5, you can go to Settings>General>Software Update to update your device.

Direct download links for the firmware of all devices:

• iPad
• iPad 2 Wifi
• iPad 2 GSM
• iPad 2 CDMA
• iPhone 3GS
• iPhone 4
• iPhone 4 CDMA
• iPhone 4S
• iPod touch 3G
• iPod touch 4G 

Full changelog of security updates:

iOS 5.0.1 Software Update

• CFNetwork Available for: iOS 3.0 through 5.0 for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, iOS 3.1 through 5.0 for iPod touch (3rd generation) and later, iOS 3.2 through 5.0 for iPad, iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
  Impact: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information
  Description: An issue existed in CFNetwork’s handling of maliciously crafted URLs. When accessing a maliciously crafted HTTP or HTTPS URL, CFNetwork could navigate to an incorrect server.
  CVE-ID
  CVE-2011-3246 : Erling Ellingsen of Facebook

• CoreGraphics Available for: iOS 3.0 through 5.0 for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, iOS 3.1 through 5.0 for iPod touch (3rd generation) and later, iOS 3.2 through 5.0 for iPad, iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
  Impact: Viewing a document containing a maliciously crafted font may lead to arbitrary code execution
  Description: Multiple memory corruption issues existed in FreeType, the most serious of which may lead to arbitrary code execution when processing a maliciously crafted font.
  CVE-ID
  CVE-2011-3439 : Apple

• Data Security Available for: iOS 3.0 through 5.0 for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, iOS 3.1 through 5.0 for iPod touch (3rd generation) and later, iOS 3.2 through 5.0 for iPad, iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
  Impact: An attacker with a privileged network position may intercept user credentials or other sensitive information
  Description: Two certificate authorities in the list of trusted root certificates have independently issued intermediate certificates to DigiCert Malaysia. DigiCert Malaysia has issued certificates with weak keys that it is unable to revoke. An attacker with a privileged network position could intercept user credentials or other sensitive information intended for a site with a certificate issued by DigiCert Malaysia. This issue is addressed by configuring default system trust settings so that DigiCert Malaysia’s certificates are not trusted. We would like to acknowledge Bruce Morton of Entrust, Inc. for reporting this issue.

• Kernel Available for: iOS 3.0 through 5.0 for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, iOS 3.1 through 5.0 for iPod touch (3rd generation) and later, iOS 3.2 through 5.0 for iPad, iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
  Impact: An application may execute unsigned code
  Description: A logic error existed in the mmap system call’s checking of valid flag combinations. This issue may lead to a bypass of codesigning checks. This issue does not affect devices running iOS prior to version 4.3.
  CVE-ID
  CVE-2011-3442 : Charlie Miller of Accuvant Labs

• libinfo Available for: iOS 3.0 through 5.0 for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, iOS 3.1 through 5.0 for iPod touch (3rd generation) and later, iOS 3.2 through 5.0 for iPad, iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
  Impact: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information
  Description: An issue existed in libinfo’s handling of DNS name lookups. When resolving a maliciously crafted hostname, libinfo could return an incorrect result.
  CVE-ID
  CVE-2011-3441 : Erling Ellingsen of Facebook, Per Johansson of Blocket AB

• Passcode Lock Available for: iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
  Impact: A person with physical access to a locked iPad 2 may be able to access some of the user’s data
  Description: When a Smart Cover is opened while iPad 2 is confirming power off in the locked state, the iPad does not request a passcode. This allows some access to the iPad, but data protected by Data Protection is inaccessible and apps cannot be launched.

Make Siri Save Contact Relationships

The iPhone 4S arrived yesterday and I’ve been loving it. Siri is amazing. I did run into problems getting Siri to save relationships between myself and other contacts though. I’d ask, “What is my brother’s birthday?” Siri would go through the process of asking me for his name and confirming I wanted it to remember he was my brother. But it wouldn’t stick. I took a look at my contact in the address book and noticed the only relationships it was saving were spouse, assistant, and manager as shown to the right. Pretty lame right? I sync contacts from Gmail using the Exchange method in order to get multiple calendars from the account to sync. When I went into Google contacts I was able to add the proper relationships without a problem, but they wouldn’t transfer to the iPhone. I wrote a quick post asking if anyone else had run into this problem. A commenter gave a solution so I wanted to share it in detail. * Before you continue, if you are only using iCloud contacts, you should not need to follow these steps.

The first thing you need to do is enable iCloud contacts sync. Go to Settings->iCloud to do this. Then go to the Contacts app and switch Groups to make sure you are looking at All iCloud. Add a new contact with your first and last name (make sure it matches your contact in the Gmail address book). Scroll down and you’ll be able to set up relationships by choosing from a long list of types instead of only the three previously mentioned. Add any relationships you need and save the contact. At the bottom of the contact it should show Linked Cards as it matches up with the Gmail contact. This is the only contact I have saved in the All iCloud group.

 

The last step is to head into Settings->General->Siri and make sure My Info is set to your contact entry. Now you should be all set and Siri will know who your Mom and Brother are. This may work automatically if you have both Gmail Contacts syncing and have iCloud Contacts enabled. It seems weird that iPhone Contacts would use different formats for iCloud and other synced sources. Hopefully it’ll be fixed in a future iOS release. Enjoy!

Apple has just revealed details of the new iPhone 4S, an even faster version of the best-selling iPhone 4, which will go on sale on October 14th.

The new version contains several exciting new features, including a virtual "personal assistant" named "Siri", which takes voice commands and translates speech into text. The phone also contains an A5 processor that Apple says is up to seven times faster at rendering graphics and twice as fast at processing data. Apple reports that the phone's camera will have an eight-megapixel sensor for photos, which will allow 60 percent more pixels than the iPhone 4, and will shoot 1080 HD video. These new camera developments will make it just as good, if not better, than many point-and-shoot devices.  

The phone also has an improved battery life, which will allow users to talk for eight hours on the phone before needing to charge it. The 4S is a "world phone", which means it will easily be able to place calls on wireless networks worldwide, as opposed to just in the United States.

The iPhone 4S will cost $200 with a 2 year contract for the 16GB model, and $400 for the 64GB model. It will be available for Verizon and AT&T, as will as Sprint. The price of the existing model, iPhone 4, will drop to $99.

The highly skilled engineers at I.T. Solutions of South Florida are proficient in servicing Apple devices, and we are excited to be in the process of acquiring our Apple Certification, so that we can better serve you with all of your technology needs!

Here's something people often ask me about: how to set a Priority in an outgoing Mail message, so people can know you feel it's important - or not.

It's bothered me that Apple didn't provide priority-setting in Mail. Microsoft did in Outlook Express and Entourage. It's in Eudora. And in Windows, it's part of Outlook and Outlook Express. So I typically looked for it after each OS update. Well, I must have forgotten to check recently. Today I looked - and it is there! (Was also in 10.4.8.)

Priority selection is not visible by default. Like the other email Header options, you'll need to set the option - and is not located in Preferences. So, here's how:

1. Start a new message.

2. Click on the pop-up menu to the left of Account, as shown below. (That pop-up is called the Customize Header pop-up menu.) This reveals check boxes for each address option.

You'd think this option would be in Preferences, wouldn't you? You'd be wrong.

3. Click the checkbox beside the !, which is the symbol for priority.

Apple did a fine job of obfuscating this option, eh?

4. Click OK.

OK means, well, okay.

5. Quit Mail, then relaunch. Quitting lets Mail save your setting as the basis for all new messages in the future.

Note: If you change your mind and don't want Priority showing, repeat the process, simply unchecking the feature.

Once on, in each New Message window the priority is set to Normal. (You see one exclamation mark.) You can then click it and choose High Priority or even Low Priority.

So, once you send an assigned-priority message, will your recipient see that priority? Well... maybe.

In Mail, priority icons appear in the Flags column in your Mail Viewer window. However, the Flags column does not appear by default. Users need to know to go to View > Columns and choose Flags.

I believe it is common in email apps for users to have to turn on the option to view the priorities. On Mac apps, look under the View menu for something like Columns as a choice. (In Entourage it's View > Columns, then Priority.)

I understand that Apple wants to keep its applications simple to use, but I don't agree that this should be done by denying features we've come to expect. Having been a Emailer/OE/Entourage user, my list of "needs" for Mail is quite long. I'm always happy to be able to check one off and be able to tell fellow Mac users, "we have that!" So, if you haven't yet discovered that Mail has priority settings, enjoy. (If you already know, well, maybe one day I'll discover something else that wows you.)