Nearly a full month has passed since the date promised at iPhone 4S release event for iTunes Match release. Apple has finally released iTunes Match to the public and it comes with the new iTunes 10.5.1 update for Windows and Mac that was made available for download earlier today.

iTunes Match is part of the services that collectively make up Apple’s latest iCloud offering for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch running the fruit company’s most greatest firmware of all times, iOS 5. As of now, iTunes Match is only available for those who live in the USA but sources in the camp hint that a worldwide release is possible over the next couple of months.

iTunes Match is really ingenious, to say the least. It is also a dozen times better than almost any other cloud music offering. While it is free to download because it comes bundled with iTunes 10.5.1 for Windows and Mac, there is a $24.99 annual subscription fee for iTunes Match. After you have paid that, iTunes Match will automatically scan your entire iTunes library and add those songs to iCloud. Be advised that songs in your iTunes Match library do not take up any space from the 5GB free iCloud storage provided to everyone with an Apple ID. After the songs are scanned, iTunes Match will search for them in the iTunes Store music library that has over 20 million songs. When the relevant songs are located, they will automatically be added to the cloud. So by using iTunes Match, you can easily get all your music in the cloud without having to sit around and manually upload it.

If for some reason your song can not be located in the iTunes Store music library that has over 20 million songs, you can then manually upload it. The best part is that the located songs are added in 256 AAC high quality format even if the original file on your local iTunes library was of poor quality. This way, for a nominal price of $24.99, you can get all of your favourite music in the cloud, available for access from any Mac or PC with iTunes, Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch around the world, that too in high quality.

As of now, iTunes Match is still labelled beta and as we previously mentioned, one the worldwide release happens over the course of the next few months, this beta tag will be removed. At the moment, only those who reside in the USA can use iTunes Match.

Download iTunes 10.5.1 For Windows And Mac With iTunes Match [Official Apple Link]

Facebook has settled with the FTC over privacy settings, with an agreement to make all future changes opt-in.  Because most users rarely visit their privacy settings, this decision will have implications as to how Facebook functions, with the social giant now having to make the opt-in process more transparent and easy to use.

Facebook has had numerous issues with privacy advocates and the FTC regarding privacy matters, especially since December 2009 when it was discovered that some private information was made public by Facebook without the consent of users.  They have also received a lot of negative attention this year after enabling a default facial recognition feature for European users.

It is unclear if this agreement will apply to all Facebook features or just those impacting data sharing, although existing privacy settings will be left intact.  Basically, all new features released by Facebook will now have to be opt-in if they are not covered by existing privacy controls.  Opt-ins will also be required to retroactively change settings to previously shared content.

Some Facebook users are worried that these new measures will slow down the social network, with less opportunity for information to go viral and more resistance to add new features due to the security implications.

However, a number or privacy advocates are very happy with the settlement, which will bring forward some of the changes people have been asking about for years.  This is not a short term agreement either, with Facebook subject to privacy audits from the FTC for the next 20 years.

Google are likely to launch a new music service on November 16, with speculation that users will be able to listen to and share songs one time for free.  While the main purpose of this service will be to purchase music, it will be interesting to see what Google has in store in terms of integration with Android and Google+.

The launch is being called “These Go To Eleven“, with invitations already sent out to the press event.  Universal Music Group will be well represented at the launch, although Google has not yet worked out deals with Sony Music Entertainment or Warner Music Group.  It is unclear at this stage whether EMI will be present at the launch.


Google has been involved in negotiations with all of the “big four” music labels over the last few months, and it is fair to say that things haven’t been going particularly well.  While most people are keen for another large iTunes-like service for healthy competition, there are still many questions which need to be answered.

One of the biggest issues revolves around integration with Android and Google+, with Google wanting some way to differentiate its services between Android users and the rest of the public.  However, to many peoples surprise, even without support from the big four, Google are going ahead with this launch anyway.

The large record labels are arguing that Google needs them, and most people would have to agree.  However, both Sony and Warner have their own music services under development, and are unlikely to come to the launch party unless they manage to get things their way.

iPhone 4S users around the world have been complaining about the poor battery life their iPhones are giving. There’s nothing to worry about as the problem does not lie with the hardware, there a big fat bug in iOS 5.x that’s causing this and as it turns out, Apple still hasn’t been able to permanently squash it because many people are still facing battery drain issue on their iPhone 4S, regardless of yesterday’s iOS 5.0.1 firmware update.

Yesterday Apple officially released iOS 5.0.1 firmware update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Obvious from the changelog in the image posted above, this new firmware update was supposed to fix the bug causing battery drain issue particularly on iPhone 4S as well as for select iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad and iPod touch devices.

While iOS 5.0.1 does bring back multitasking gestures for iPad 1 and better voice recognition for Australian Users, it does not quite fix battery issues being faced by users. Some users have also indicated that their devices started having battery drainage issues after they had installed iOS 5.0.1 firmware update on their devices. It is highly unlikely for something of this sort to happen, though its not entirely impossible.

Previously, when the iPhone 4S battery drain issue got wind, Apple caught hold of it and started working with some end users for finding a fix. Usage data was collected from these users, with their permission of course, in order to find the origin of this bug. As it turns out, Apple has not quite been able to fix this problem in iOS 5.0.1 firmware update, however that does not mean that Apple will not be able to fix it at all. The company has already taken notice of this and has revealed they are working on a fix, in a statement:

The recent iOS software update addressed many of the battery issues that some customers experienced on their iOS 5 devices. We continue to investigate a few remaining issues.

So now there’s a huge possibility that iOS 5.0.2 will be released in the next few weeks because Apple would surely not keep users battling with battery drainage issues. Sources indicate that an iOS 5.0.2 release is possible in the last week of November.

Earlier today, Apple finally released iOS 5.0.1 firmware to the public. If you have a supported iPhone, iPad or iPod touch you can now download iOS 5.0.1 firmware IPSW either from the official download links provided below or over-the-air using your device itself.

The release notes of iOS 5.0.1 don’t point at any new features, as we had reported last week. iOS 5.0.1 is just a minor update to Apple’s latest and undoubtedly the greatest iOS update of all times, iOS 5. This update comes with a plethora of performance and security improvements as well as crucial bug fixes.

Apart from that, iOS 5.0.1 also fixes the iPhone 4S battery drain issue which has been making rounds on the internet for the past couple of weeks. iOS 5.0.1 also brings improved voice recognition for Australian and restores multitasking gestures on the original iPad.

Earlier last week Apple seeded iOS 5.0.1 beta 1 to developers. Apple admitted that there was a major battery drain issue on iPhone 4S and that they were working on a fix that would be released via a software update. iOS 5.0.1 was seeded to developers to that they could provide relevant feedback. However within two days of that, Apple seeded iOS 5 beta 2 to developers with more bug fixes, and that last update seemed to have finally put an end to this iPhone 4S battery drain issue. A crucial security vulnerability has also been patched in iOS 5.0.1, a vulnerability which could use harmless apps for potentially harmful purposes. Thankfully, that has been taken care of in iOS 5.0.1 firmware.

If you’re already on iOS 5 firmware, you can get iOS 5.0.1 over-the-air. Simply open the Settings.app and go to General followed by Software Update. The device will prompt you that iOS 5.0.1 is available for download. Downloading over-the-air would be relatively faster as the file size is approximately 45 MB. If you’re not on iOS 5, you can use the official direct download links provided below to download iOS 5.0.1 firmware IPSW for supported iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices.

Official iOS 5.0.1 Direct Download Links:

• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 4 (CDMA)
• iPhone 4 (GSM)
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad 2 (GSM)
• iPad 2 (WiFi)
• iPad 2 (CDMA)
• iPad 1
• iPod touch 3G
• iPod touch 4G

In the weeks following release of iPhone 4S, one question was asked at large by majority of iDevice users. Will Apple ever officially release Siri for devices other than iPhone 4S? The fruit company has answered that question once and for all in a statement earlier today. Apple will not be releasing Siri for devices other than iPhone 4S, ever.

Apple announced Siri, their virtual personal assistant alongside the iPhone 4S last month at an intimate media event in Cupertino, California. Siri revolutionizes, not to mention commercializes artificial intelligence. Accessible through one touch of the Home button, iPhone 4S users can give a variety of commands to Siri which would then do the relevant tasks for them which includes but is not limited to reading and replying to emails, settings alarms, creating calendar entries, taking notes, displaying weather and traffic information etc. Apple did not explicitly mention at their iPhone 4S release event that Siri was exclusive to their next generation iPhone and that probably is the only reason why such speculation got wind in the first place.

Bear in mind that there will be an illegal way to get Siri on devices other than the iPhone 4S, through means of a jailbreak. Developers are working hard on such solutions and they have already managed to port Siri to iPhone 4, iPad 1 and iPod touch 4G and make it connect to Apple’s servers. While nothing of this sort has been released as yet, developers have been able to release proof of concept videos depicting that it is indeed possible to port and run Siri perfectly on devices other than iPhone 4S.

Coming back to the way of doing things that we encourage, legal that is, Apple has made it clear once and for all that as of now they have no plans of releasing Siri on older iOS devices, regardless of the fact that most of them have hardware capable enough to run it. To quote Apple:

Siri only works on iPhone 4S and we currently have no plans to support older devices.

You heard them! If you wish to use Siri, its better to get yourself an iPhone 4S rather than waiting for illegal ways to get Apple’s virtual assistant on your iOS device.