bugs

iPhone OS 3.1.2 searching-for-service bug

On Apple's iPhone discussion boards, people are complaining about a bug in iPhone OS 3.1.2 that causes the iPhone to search for service at random times. According to the 3.1.2, Searching for Service thread on the forums, people are blaming the problem on the iPhone OS because users are seeing the same problem on AT&T in the U.S. and on Rogers Wireless and Telus in Canada.

According to the thread, there is no indication that the iPhone 3GS is affected, since so far the complaints focus on the iPhone 3G. Both new … Read more

Twitter issues mulligan on new 'retweet' feature

It was a controversial new addition: Twitter had just started rolling out a new feature that built "retweets," a user-created way to quote other tweets, into the main Twitter application. But on Wednesday, plagued by errors, Twitter appears to have pulled the feature for further maintenance.

A post on the Twitter status blog late on Wednesday morning reads that it was "working on (a) high number of errors." The Next Web dug up some discussion from Twitter's developer IRC channel and found that "retweet is temporarily unavailable while we deploy a bug fix." … Read more

Alterna-browsers Firefox, Chrome get quick fixes

Mozilla Firefox 3.5.5 is out, just eight days after the browser updated to version 3.5.4. For Windows, Mac, and Linux, the new version of the browser fixes three bugs: one critical bug across all platforms, and then one lower priority one for Windows and one lower priority one for Mac.

The critical bug addresses crashes in the GIF decoder that was not present in version 3.5.3, while the Windows bug fixes a security runtime issue and the Mac bug fixes an HTML parser error. Mozilla Evangelist Christopher Blizzard tweeted that although the critical bug … Read more

Snow Leopard: Trouble opening groups of downloaded files

Users are reporting a bug in Snow Leopard's Finder that prevents groups of files that have been recently downloaded from being opened at the same time. In a real world scenario this could include downloading multiple images for use in design work or multiple video elements for use in film work, etc. This bug requires users to open each file individually, a limitation that can severely disrupt certain workflows.… Read more

Workaround for iPhone eating draft e-mail

I recently posted my experiences with a serious bug that I discovered on my iPhone 3GS after it lost the entire contents of two different e-mail messages. The bug appears to be caused by a problem with my e-mail accounts on MobileMe or Gmail and accessing them later on my iPhone.

The steps that I have used to demonstrate the bug, which I've been able to successfully replicate every time on my iPhone running OS 3.1 or 3.1.2 and my MobileMe account are posted in My iPhone eats draft e-mail--yours could too.

After providing Apple with … Read more

My iPhone eats draft e-mail--yours could too

I discovered a serious bug recently on my iPhone 3GS after it lost the entire contents of two different e-mail messages I had sent to my CNET editor. The bug appears to be caused by a problem between my e-mail accounts on MobileMe or Gmail and accessing them later on my iPhone.

The steps that I have used to demonstrate the bug, which I've been able to successfully replicate every time on my iPhone running OS 3.1 and my MobileMe account are shown below. I've submitted a bug report to Apple engineering.

Log on to MobileMe on … Read more

Keeping your boat's bottom shipshape

The U.S. Navy may have developed a solution to hull-dwelling barnacles and slime--a "foul" problem that has plagued sailors and their ships since Noah launched the ark.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has developed what looks like a combination pressure washer/minisub called the Hull Bio-inspired Underwater Grooming, or Hull BUG. It's designed to prevent or suppress the growth and build-up of nuisance marine growths such as barnacles--also known as biofouling (PDF).

This could be a major breakthrough. High-performance warships and submarines rely on a clean hull for speedy acceleration and hydroacoustic stealth--things that crustaceans … Read more

iPhone OS 3.0 Mail security issue fixed in OS 3.1

A video posted recently on YouTube demonstrates, on an iPod Touch, a potential security risk for users of iPhone OS 3.0. The bug allows e-mails that have already deleted to be viewed by searching for the title of the deleted message.

The results of the search display two copies of the message. Selecting either one of these the first time will cause Mail to crash. The second time you select the messages, the iPhone may display the original message or you may get a warning that states: "Message cannot be displayed because of the way it is formatted.&… Read more

iPhone OS 3.0 users plagued by missing photos

The iPhone OS 3.0 Camera Roll is running out of film for some iPhone users. A handful of photographers on Apple's discussion board are reporting that pictures taken with the iPhone camera and screen captures are disappearing from the iPhone's onboard photo library.

The bug, according to these reports, occurs when the photo names generated by the iPhone reach IMG_10000.xxx or higher, where the xxx represents either a JPG for photos, PNG for screen snapshots, or MOV for videos. Once you've reached this 10,000 mark milestone in your iPhone photography career, the Mobile Photos app no longer displays additional media files. Luckily, however, the photos are still there--they simply don't display on the phone.

Some users found help using the Phoneview utility from Ecamm on their Macs--the free demo version worked long enough to uncover the missing photos. PC users may be able to find their shots via iPhone Browser.… Read more