Apple’s iOS 10 Download That Was Bricking iPhones Has Been Fixed Now

Last night, Apple released its “biggest iOS release ever” – iOS 10 and macOS Sierra to the public. However, just less than an hour after launch, social media was flooded with complaints from users that their iPhone and iPad devices are getting ‘bricked’ after attempting the over-the-air iOS 10 update.
It was reported that the smartphones or iPads were shutting down to install the software after downloading the iOS 10 update. Instead of the device automatically turning back on with iOS 10 installed, a screen appeared that were prompting users to plug their handsets into a computer, rendering the smartphone useless until they did so.
However, Apple has issued an official statement saying it’s already resolved the issue. The company claims it only affected a “small number of users” in the first hour that iOS 10 was available.

“We experienced a brief issue with the software update process, affecting a small number of users during the first hour of availability. The problem was quickly resolved and we apologize to those customers. Anyone who was affected should connect to iTunes to complete the update or contact AppleCare for help.”
Apple Support has been reminding users to back up their smartphones before attempting to upgrade, and suggesting that they download the software over iTunes.

If you are one of the many unfortunate users with a bricked device, which means that your smartphone or iPad won’t function, all you need to do is plug the device into a Mac or PC, open iTunes, and trigger a restore. Here’s what you need to do.
1. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC.
2. Open iTunes on your Mac or PC.
3. Press and hold your device’s Sleep and Home buttons simultaneously until you see the recovery mode screen.
4. A prompt in iTunes will ask you to update or restore. Select Update.
5. When the install completes, you can use your smartphone.
Note: Repeat steps 2–4 if you run into a problem during setup.
Apple has also recommended using AppleCare directly, or you can head over to an Apple Store if you don’t have access to a Mac or PC.

iPhone 7 Plus camera samples released online and the results are stunning

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were launched on Wednesday last week. A lot has been said about the enhanced photo abilities of these new smartphones. The iPhone 7 Plus boasts of a completely new dual-camera system that incorporates a 12-megapixsel telephoto lens, which Apple says is capable of stunning performance.
The iPhone 7 Plus launched with a completely new dual-camera system set up on its 12MP sensor. It has a wide-angle ƒ/1.8 aperture, and a telephoto ƒ/2.8 aperture, both of which fire at the same time and is capable of stunning performance, says Apple. The camera has 2x optical zoom and up to 10x digital zoom.
However, it is difficult to confirm the claims of Apple regarding its new dual-camera system, as the shipments are only scheduled to begin this Friday.

But, thanks to Sports Illustrated magazine, we get to see some iPhone 7 Plus camera samples from the Titans-Vikings NFL game that would help to prove the capabilities of the new dual-camera unit available on the new device.
Professional photographer David E Klutho was given the task of clicking pictures using the handset at the Tennessee Titans versus Minnesota Vikings American Football game on Sunday, September 11.

The iPhone 7 Plus’ dual-camera system is able to take high quality photos with unbelievable detail even when zooming in from a distance besides taking vibrant photographs. The images are crisp, the details in the images have been preserved, and everything is in focus. According to the sources, no edits have been made to the images clicked.

Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy

In a post-Snowden era, where the gentle fiction we’ve maintained about not being the target of hackers was shattered, it’s more important than ever to take care of your internet privacy. Hacking is not the work of fiction, confined to popular TV shows like Mr. Robot; it’s a real, everyday occurrence and just about anyone can be a target. That doesn’t mean you have to be a victim, however. There are a number of precautions you can take to ensure that your data remains secure and only available to those at your discretion. Below, we’ve discussed a number of ways to protect your online privacy.

Always Change Passwords Regularly

While this one should be a no-brainer, it’s surprising how many people don’t follow this simple etiquette. Server access passwords, social media accounts, network access, even the PIN on your cell phone, all of these should be changed and varied on a regular basis. Although it seems like a pain, avoid making these passwords too simple. Passwords should be strong and lengthy, contain both capital and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. The more complicated it is to remember, the harder it will be to crack for any potential data thieves.

Have an SSL Certificate

Whether it’s a company website or a personal blog, your site should always have SSL encryption. This encryption ensures that all data such as passwords, contact information and payment details will remain secure and unable to be intercepted by third parties, and should be high on your priority list when building a website. There are many companies to help you get started with this, such as www.1and1.com, who can assist you with your website security.

Use a Virtual Private Network

A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is a private group of computers linked together over a public network – in this case, the internet. A VPN ensures that your computer’s internet connection is secure and that all the data being exchanged is encrypted and safe from third party access. This means that your traffic is completely encrypted and, even if your data is intercepted it won’t be able to be decoded. While there are a number of different VPNs out there, you may want to look at Tor Guard, which is highly rated in the VPN world.

Install Security Applications

There are a number of security applications you can install on your computer to protect your data from unsafe websites and spyware. It is advised to have a firewall present at all times, and, it goes without saying, a powerful antivirus program running in the background. The latter is a precaution against any malware that may slip through the cracks or any potentially harmful websites you may stumble upon (the internet, after all, is full of digital pitfalls). Check out PC Mag’s list for the best free anti-virus software

Apple is everywhere, in the news, in the digital world, up to an extent that even people who write about politics couldn’t stop themselves from typing a piece about Apple’s latest “reinvention”, the iPhone 7.
Last month, Apple sent the “See you on the 7th” invites and as always, the world went crazy about the launch of the new iPhone which continued Apple’s legacy of making their hardware more proprietary, removing the scope for “open” things to exist in Apple’s ecosystem. It’s true, such things don’t deserve to be there, where people just buy any device flaunting a bitten Apple logo on its back.

Apple’s defense on the removal of the headphone jack was to shrink down the iPhone, they did it, 1mm thinner iPhone 7 was launched on September 7. They wanted to make the device waterproof, the new iPhone is only water resistant. Sony has been making waterproof smartphones with an analog jack. I remember putting my friend’s Xperia Z under the tap, just to check whether it is really hydrophobic or not.
The company did come up with an analog jack adapter for its lightning port. How humble of them, they care about the people who have invested hundreds of dollars on a pair of studio headphones. They also launched AirPods. But everyone knows that wireless earphones can’t compete with the wired ones, at least for now.
The lightning port is Apple-made, so any manufacturer wanting to create a product will have to take Apple’s permission and pay a license fee to the company. Here it is, a new income source for the company which had more money than the US government at one point in time.

DRM Drama

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. It has been conceptualized to keep an eye on what content the user can access on a device and what the user can’t. For instance, you can play your purchased song only on one device is because of DRM. The reason that DRM has been in existence throughout the digital world is that it is protected by the DMCA. Anyone who tries to sidestep the DRM gets legally prosecuted.
The use of the lightning port for connecting earplugs will definitely open the doors for the DRM advocates and the protectors of the copyrighted content. The media production companies might convince Apple to create a rule book for how their content would be served on its devices.
It might be possible, you won’t be able to connect your newly purchased headphones or a stereo system to your iPhone because it doesn’t support it.

We wiped out the dinosaurs once again

It would be wrong, just to yell at Apple for the treason they committed. They removed a 19th-century tech from the iPhone which was hardwired into the music DNA of the audiophiles. The company might be having some sort of explanation.
“The audio connector is more than 100 years old,” Apple VP Greg Joswiak told Buzzfeed. “It had its last big innovation about 50 years ago. You know what that was? They made it smaller. It hasn’t been touched since then. It’s a dinosaur. It’s time to move on.”
So, basically, according to that logic, we should remove every other tech that hasn’t been modified since the last couple of decades. What would Apple say for the GPS technology, that works on the half-a-century old Kalman algorithm which hasn’t seen much changes yet? They should create their own algorithm and a new positioning system.
Apple can tap their back for their “courage” when they ditched the floppy drive from the Mac and then the optical disc drive. The floppy drives became a thing of the past. But the same logic doesn’t fit here. Because there was a need for the removal of the floppy drive from the computers at that time. The world is not feeling the same for the analog jacks. In fact, we have some great earphones from reputed manufacturers.
Apple’s Phil Schiller’s excuse appears more compelling than wiping out the dinosaurs for the second time. “The idea that there’s some ulterior motive behind this move, or that it will usher in some new form of content management, it simply isn’t true,” says Schiller. “We are removing the audio jack because we have developed a better way to deliver audio. It has nothing to do with content management or DRM — that’s pure, paranoid conspiracy theory.”
Tagging all the backlash as a “conspiracy theory” can be a good move for the time being, until the moment Apple might actually start managing the content. Not on its own, but due the pressure of bigger production studios. As far as their “better way” is concerned, they shouldn’t have done it so quickly. If their technology was so good, they should’ve put the lightning earphones-side by side with the analog ones and let the people decide which was better.
Maybe, Apple only wanted to take a gigantic leap into the future or maybe they wanted to take more control over the devices used by their customers. No one knows.