Tips

Apple helps you protect your iTunes Store account

If you have recently purchased one of Apple's mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod), you most likely have set up an iTunes Store account to easily access music, movies, podcasts, and applications. Occasionally users report phishing attacks (e-mails designed to trick people into giving third-party hackers password information) that target iTunes Store accounts. The following article details what to do if your account is compromised and some best practices for keeping it secure in the future.… Read more

Apple helps you protect your iTunes Store account

If you have recently purchased one of Apple's mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod) you most likely have set up an iTunes Store account to easily access music, movies, podcasts, and applications. Occasionally users report phishing attacks (emails designed to trick people into giving third party hackers password information) that target iTunes Store accounts. The following article details what to do if your account is compromised and some best practices for keeping it secure in the future.

The first rule of thumb is to never enter your iTunes Store account information in any website that is not Apple's and … Read more

Tip: have all Finder subfolders open in a specific view

In OS X the view options for a specific window instance are inherited from the first opened folder, which usually is the user's home folder. This means that if you have the home folder in a specific view such as icon or list, then regardless of what you have set the subfolders to be, as long as they are opened in the same window frame you will see them displayed in the current icon or list view.… Read more

The skinny on upgrading to the iPhone 4 (Q&A)

The new Apple iPhone 4 goes on sale June 24 and eager fans are already trying to figure out how they can get their hands on the latest and greatest iPhone.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs called the iPhone 4.0, which is the fourth generation of iPhone, the "biggest leap since the original iPhone" was launched in 2007. The new device has a homegrown processor like the one used in the iPad and a bigger battery that offers up to seven hours of talk time, six hours of 3G browsing, and 300 hours of standby. It also comes … Read more

Preparing for the OS X 10.6.4 and other software updates

We are on the eve of the WWDC, and during the conference there will undoubtedly be software updates available for a variety of Apple products, the most expected of which is the upcoming 10.6.4 update that may include Safari 5. The update has been under development for a while now, and while we cannot be certain of exactly when it will arrive, folks are speculating that its release is near.… Read more

Is your 802.11n Wi-Fi feeling sluggish? This simple solution could help

With many routers now transmitting Wi-Fi signals using the 802.11n standard (including all of Apple's current router offerings), some users may find that they are unable to take advantage of the increased speeds. This is most likely due to the password settings users have chosen for their network.… Read more

Android Atlas Weekly 1: This Android show is still in beta? (podcast)

Welcome to Android Atlas Weekly! From phones to tablets to set top boxes, if it runs Android, we'll cover it. We also throw in a hot app pick of the week and a special tip that should help you get even more use out of your Android device. Justin and I will bring in special guests to help us cover everything Android! This week, Jessica Dolcourt joins us! Now, excuse a few of the rough edges. Apparently, like Google, we keep our show in Beta longer than expected.

Palm Loses Mobile Design Guru Matias Duarte to Google http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100527/exclusive-palm-loses-mobile-design-guru-matias-duarte/

Fring picks up video calling on Android http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-20006181-251.html

That Extra $5 Add-On For Qik is Optional, For "Premium Features" http://phandroid.com/2010/05/31/that-extra-5-add-on-for-qik-is-optional-for-premium-features/

New Video Shows Sling Player Private Beta In Action And Its Incredible http://droidedup.com/2010/05/new-video-shows-sling-player-private-beta-in-action-and-its-incredible/

Motorola Droid 2 Might Be Released by Verizon in July http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=16611

Motorola Bets Big on Google, Verizon http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704269204575270872420145294.html… Read more

Andy Rubin expects Android releases to slow down

The Silicon Valley Mercury News recently spent some time speaking with Android founder and Google VP, Andy Rubin where naturally, the subject of "fragmentation" and the rapid succession of Android releases came up. Rubin acknowledged the quick growth of the platform and the problems developers face with such speedy innovation, but said Google is slowing development over the next few months. After eight releases in the first 18 months of the OS, Google is now pushing out roughly two updates a year. And down the road Rubin says releases will slow to one per year, much like Apple … Read more

Reader comments and commentary

Many times people will read our articles and write in with tips, comments, and suggestions for their approach or solution to the issue at hand, some of which are quite practical approaches that should work for others. We welcome these comments, and hope to include them in future similar articles such as this and our MacFixIt Answers column, to bring you some points in our discussions that our readers might find useful.… Read more

How to improve OS X app performance

Over time, you can expect a system to start running a little slower than it did when the operating system was fresh. This can be from having more programs installed and running at once, to filling and using more hard drive space, and various settings that may take time to load and interact with each other. For instance, with use the files on the hard drive will get moved around and blocks of data will be less contiguous than they were with a fresh OS installation, leading to slightly increased file access times. While the small performance hits caused by usage over time will not be enough to affect most users, in some situations, you might want to keep the computer running at its optimum speed. Here are some tips for optimizing the system performance in various areas that can affect the speed of the system.… Read more