Things to be included in iTV

THERE SUCH THINGS THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN APPLE TV(iTV)...also it crash Tv market from Panasonic,sony..!! and make Apple share touch peak which ever seen before.

At first I was a little surprised. But after thinking about it, I realized so would I. But it’s not for the reasons that you think. Paying top dollar for Apple products has become the expectation. But consumers have also come to expect more. But what would an iTV give me that I don’t already have? But after opening my refrigerator it suddenly hit me – aFacebook “like” button. Refrigerator – you ask? I’ll get more to that later.

There’s no way this television ambition can work without it. The iTV has to have one. More specifically, it needs to have some type of social and commercial integration. Otherwise it will be a colossal failure. I want it and so should you. Here’s why. In a recent interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook said:

“When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years. It’s an area of intense interest. I can’t say more than that.”

It seems Cook understands that the TV experience can no longer be “just about TV.” It has to also be about you “the viewer.” He gets it. This is what Sonyand Panasonic have been unable to figure out and the reason why Panasonic is exiting the business altogether. And if Netflix is not careful it will be killed off too.

Cook salivates at the massive social aspect to TV that remains untapped. And if Apple gets this right the company can easily secure 90% of the TV market within a couple of years. If not, it might be the end of Apple as we know it.

For instance, Apple should want to integrate FaceTime with iTV. Aside from killing off Skype, Apple would essentially create the first “social television network.” One that allows you and your buddies to watch the same football game while sending virtual high fives to each other – all between time zones. But it gets better. As you watch the game, iTV will allow you to “like” certain plays or “thumbs down” a bad call from a referee. You can even “like” an American Idol contestant. Forget the text voting – that’s so 2001.

It can all work with Bluetooth connectivity between your iTV and iPad or iPhone. But there’s also a “commercial” benefit to this as well. Viewers should be able to “like” certain products, a baseball team, or even a car or an Applebee’s commercial. And based on these “likes”, iTV will be able to list game times for your favorite sports teams and can take it a step further by recording shows to your DVR based on your “like” selections. But why would someone need to like an Applebee’s commercial?

What this means is that the iTV immediately becomes “the mediator” in ongoing controversies surrounding products like the Hopper from Dish Network that allows consumers to skip television ads. Although the Hopper is a great concept, it’s unfair. On the other hand, this sensitive issue presents an excellent opportunity for Apple.

People don’t “like” ads – I get it. But TV is all about content and content is not free. And the value of the content is determined by the ad dollars it generates. So unless it is a premium channel such as HBO or Showtime, there’s no way to avoid ads. On the other hand, what if iTV figured out a way to make you “like” the ads that you try so desperately to avoid? This would solve the problem facing broadcasting networks like CBS and ABC.

After all, can Apple really “change the way we watch TV” without also addressing this huge commercial “inconvenience?” It would be a missed opportunity. For a lot of people commercials are nothing more than a 3 minute bathroom break. If you’re like me, it’s also the time to get on Twitter and complain about how poorly a game is being officiated. But what if iTV was able to make you look forward to commercials – to the point that you would even consider recording them?

It sounds crazy – I know. But with a “like” button on iTV and a rewards program from Groupon, Living Social or even your favorite local grocer, you would love commercials. Your “likes” would be stored in a way that would allow advertisers to know who you are, your address, your zip code and provide them with other information that allows them to create “targeted ads.” This might even give them enough justification to bring a Starbucks to your neighborhood.

It can all depend on the number of “likes” in your local area provided to them by Apple. They can be called “iLikes” or “ad-likes.” Once your “likes” are stored (presumably) on the iCloud, iTV will be able to interface with the web and stream printable coupons to your device and even create a shopping list. Essentially, Apple becomes both the Facebook and Amazon of the living room. With so much stored demographic information, this can immediately become another revenue stream where Apple can sell targeted ads. It can also mean the end of junk mail in the mailbox outside of your home.

Better still, iTV will also be able to provide immediate content feedback to the TV networks based on the number of “likes.” After all, since Tim Cook said current TV “takes him back 20-30 years” why then should we still rely on a Neilsen rating system that spans 30 years. Also, I don’t know about you, but I don’t recall Neilsen ever asking for my input. Likewise, I don’t personally know anyone else they’ve asked. Yet, Neilsen still speaks for me. With an iTV I can speak for myself.

Bottom Line

The way we view television is changing faster than many believed it would. So for Apple to make this ambition truly the game-changer that it is billed to be, Apple has to effectively change the way we watch content and the way we interface with the products that are marketed to us. And with TV life cycles being 4 years, it means people aren’t dropping them in pools of water and then waiting in line for a new one. Apple has to get this right the first time – especially since consumers would have already paid such a premium. If iTV fails, Apple’s reputation goes with it.

FACEBOOK TRENDS THIS YEAR

Facebook's Year in Review: Obama, Sandy, Whitney

The world's largest social network compiled data on the top trends, memes, and events of the last year

A look at the top Facebook trends of 2012.

(Credit: Facebook)

Facebook has offered up the most popular trends across its service in 2012, as well as a new feature that lets users check out their last year.

Facebook's 2012 Trends, which the social network compiles by analyzing the most popular topics across its service this year, doesn't offer up many surprises. This year's top event on Facebook was the U.S. presidential election, followed by Super Bowl XLVI and Whitney Houston's death. Superstorm Sandy and the London Olympics rounded out the top five.

"We Are Young" by Fun was this year's top song, followed by "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye and "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen. The most-talked-about movies on Facebook were "The Hunger Games," "The Avengers," and "Magic Mike."

Facebook's 2012 Trends follows similar announcements from Google and Twitter. Not surprisingly given the popularity of the Election on Facebook, Twitter's top tweet of the yearwas President Obama's "Four more years" message to followers. Google announced today in its Zeitgeist 2012 that the death of Whitney Houston was its top search term for the year.With Facebook Places now in full swing, the social network also shared where most people told friends about their whereabouts. Not surprising to those who have been in the middle of thousands of people at one time, Times Square earned the most check-ins, followed by Disneyland and AT&T Park in California.

To add a bit more personalized fun for its users, Facebook has also launched a Year In Review feature for individual accounts. At the Year In Review page, Facebook users can see their personal 20 biggest events, "including life events, highlighted posts, and your most popular stories."

CLICK HERE

APPLE ROCKS AGAIN

iPhone 5 Arrives in South Korea & More Than 50 Additional Countries in December

CUPERTINO, California—December 3, 2012—Apple® today announced iPhone® 5 will be available in South Korea on Friday, December 7, with more than 50 additional countries being added in December, including Brazil, Russia and Taiwan. iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever, completely redesigned to feature a stunning new 4-inch Retina™ display; an Apple-designed A6 chip for blazing fast performance; and ultrafast wireless*—all while delivering even better battery life.**

iPhone 5 is currently available in 47 countries around the world including the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the UK. iPhone 5 comes with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features including: Shared Photo Streams, Facebook integration, all-new Maps app, Passbook® organization and even more Siri® features and languages.

iPhone 5 comes in either black & slate or white & silver for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model, $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model. iPhone 5 will be available through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

iPhone 4S is available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 4 is available for free with a two-year contract from participating carriers.

iPhone 5 will be available in South Korea on Friday, December 7 and on Friday, December 14 in Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. iPhone 5 will also be available on Friday, December 21 in Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.Vincent & the Grenadines, Tunisia, Uganda and Vietnam.

*Network speeds are dependent on carrier networks. Check with your carrier for details.
**Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad..........

MORE STORY HERE

APPLE TV.....

Apple TV is in 'early stage of testing,' report says

It's not a formal project yet, but Apple and its suppliers are trying out designs for a large-screen, high-resolution TV, according to the Wall Street Journal

(Credit: CNET)

Apple has begun the early stages of television set testing, according to reports.

The Wall Street Journal says that manufacturers Sharp and Hon Hai -- otherwise known as Foxconn -- are collaborating with the tech giant to test designs for a large-screen, high-resolution TV, according to unnamed officials connected to Apple's suppliers.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company, which tests ideas internally before bringing products to external suppliers, has been testing television set prototypes "for a number of years," according to the Journal's unnamed sources. The iPad and iPhone maker has already infiltrated the living room with its Apple TV box, which connects online media to traditional television sets.

"It isn't a formal project yet. It is still in the early stage of testing," one of the sources told the Journal.

The idea of Apple producing a television set was brought back to the stage this month by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who hinted in aninterview with NBC that a new product offering may be on the horizon. "When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years," Cook said. "It's an area of intense interest. I can't say more than that."

Although it remains to be seen how much impact Apple could have in the television and media industry, already entwined in long-standing broadcasting contracts and "smart TV" production by manufacturers, a survey from Morgan Stanley suggested that the brand name may be enough -- and consumers would be willing to pay a 20 percent premium for an Apple-branded set.

Meanwhile, famed technologist and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen speculated at the Dealbook conference this morning that an Apple TV is likely to arrive in 2014 or maybe 2015 at the latest, if it doesn't squeak out in 2013, according to Business Insider

CNET

WINDOWS VS APPLE MACBOOK

WINDOWS 8 LEADS APPLE MAC BOOK...????

THERE ARE THREE REASONS A WINDOWS 8 LAPTOP LEADS, MACBOOK LAGS

HP Revolve ultrabook is offered with a swivel touch screen, 4G/LTE as an option, and a well-appointed docking station.

This week Hewlett-Packard offered a few good reasons to consider a Windows 8 laptop over a MacBook.

Those arguments are embodied in an upcoming 3-pound HP EliteBook Revolvebusiness ultrabook "convertible" that was announced this week.

The MacBook Air is a fine design (I use one every day) and the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is an even better design. But the Apple way isn't the only way. Here are three features that the MacBook ain't got.

Built-in 4G: The EliteBook Revolve offers built-in 4G LTE or HSPA+. Wi-Fi-only MacBooks are getting a bit stodgy. It's almost 2013. 4G should at least be optional on a MacBook.

Let's put it this way, if 4G is an option for the iPad, why not for a tiny 2.4-pound MacBook Air? And if HP is including it in an ultrabook like the Revolve, you can bet there's a reason: some of HP's business customers are demanding it.

And sharing plans make it feasible to share 4G data across multiple devices now.

Touch screen: I've said this before and I'll say it again. Touch is de rigueur for any mobile device now. And two years from now, a portable device without a touch screen will be an anachronism. Like a keyboard without a mouse.

Fact is, HP offered a touch-screen tablet long before the iPad. Unfortunately, it was saddled with Windows XP. And HP (and Microsoft) could never see beyond the stylus as an input medium.

Docking station: I used HP docking stations for years (which the Revolve includes). They were a godsend. When you need to pick up and run, it's just a matter of popping the lappy out. No disconnecting and reconnecting cables.And good docking stations (like those from HP) offer every port under the sun. So by plugging into the dock, you get the range of ports typically found only on desktops.

Yeah, there are plenty of third-party docking stations out there, but nothing beats a dock spec'd by the PC maker.

Why? Because the dock's design starts on the laptop: high-speed, well-placed docking connectors must be conceived first on the laptop, then the dock design follows.

Like I said, I like my MacBook -- a lot. But its limitations can feel claustrophobic on days. Especially when compared with some of the emerging Windows 8 competition.

But that's what competition is about. Apple is only one company. The Windows 8 crowd comprises scores of companies with plenty of good ideas of their own.

HP VS APPLE

HP to Apple: Hey, we already make PCs in the U.S. 

 

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HP TO APPLE: HEY, WE ALREADY MAKE PCS IN THE U.S.

HP said 100 percent of the workstations that it sells in the U.S. are assembled in the U.S.

(Credit: HP)

If Made In USA is a feature, Hewlett-Packard's got Apple beat.

In effect, that's what HP said today. "Lots of noise...about Apple moving Mac production back to the U.S.... [We] wanted to offer HP's story," said an HP representative via e-mail Friday.

Part of that story was provided by way of a blog post.

"HP PCs have been assembled in the U.S. since the beginning," the post begins. "HP workstations and commercial desktop PCs are manufactured in Indianapolis, and HP servers are manufactured in Houston. These manufacturing facilities employ hundreds of people and produce billions of dollars' worth of products," the post said.

"There's a significant amount of customization...it's a higher value product than we might do in Asia. A higher level of customers that need build-to-order and close proximity," Tony Prophet, senior vice president of operations at HP, told CNET in an interview, speaking about the Indianapolis operations.Of PCs sold in the U.S., more than a third of business desktop PCs and all workstation PCs are assembled in the U.S., HP said, adding that it will assemble 2.9 million PCs in the U.S. this year.

Prophet continued. "We find that we are better able to serve our customers when we're closer, versus building them in China and shipping them by sea. The labor arbitrage is not really a driving factor," he said, referring to both North American and European desktop production.

Even a limited amount of laptop assembly is done outside China. Some business-classEliteBook laptops are assembled in North America, Prophet said.

And though the bulk of U.S.-based production is business PCs, small-scale consumer PC production is also being brought back to North America. "We're marginally moving even some consumer PC [assembly] back to North America. Doing less of that in China," according to Prophet.

Apple, on the other hand, is just starting to bring Mac production back to the U.S., after a long hiatus. CEO Tim Cook said yesterday that factories in the U.S. will handle "some" of the Mac production currently being handled internationally. Production will ramp up in 2013.

For HP, U.S.-based production is not just PCs. Printing components are made in Corvallis, Ore., and San Diego, Calif., HP said.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

AN APP FOR POLICE

There's an app for that: Tech helping police find stolen iPhones and more

Thefts handheld devices like the iPhone are increasing. 

CRANFORD — Software like the Find My iPhone app may be finding a place in the arsenal of technology law enforcement is using to solve cases.
When an iPhone 4S was stolen from Cranford's Centennial Avenue pool complex in June, the phone's owner used the app to identify the phone's location, said Detective Sgt. Gerard Quinn of the Cranford Police Department.
“When officers responded to that house, they did recover the phone and made an arrest,” Quinn said.
Apple's Find My iPhone app allows remote location-tracking of many of the devices the company manufactures. Called by other names depending on the device, like Find My iPad for the iPad, the app uses global positioning system (GPS) technology to display the location of a missing or stolen gadget on a street map.
“Any tool that lands in our lap we can use to track criminals and recover stolen property, we’re happy about it,” Quinn said.
Thefts of smartphones, tablets and other handheld devices are increasing.
NJ Transit recently reported a rise in the number of electronic devices stolenon its trains and buses, and the New York Police Department reports that one out of every seven crimes in the city involves theft of an Apple product.
Along with Cranford's department, police in other Union County towns are also dealing with the crime increase, and in some cases the software app has helped them locate the pilfered goods.
“We’ve had a little experience with that application, specifically for the iPhones,” said Detective Sgt. Theodore Dima of the Roselle Park Police Department. “I think maybe we’ve had one or two cases over the last year.”
The most recent case, involving an apparent carjacking, resulted in the recovery of an allegedly stolen iPhone because the phone’s owner used the app.
After the phone was found in the possession of an Elizabeth man and taken to Roselle Park Police headquarters on Nov. 30, an icon appeared on the iPhone screen that said the phone was stolen, Dima said.
“Pretty soon we got a call," Dima said about the telephone call received from the owner of the iPhone — a law student at Rutgers University in Newark who was allegedly carjacked in the city.
The victim, Dim said, had been using the app and tracked the iPhone to a location right next to the police station.
“So he called us and said, ‘I think you have my phone. I was carjacked today,’" Dima said. "And then that just started the ball rolling.”
Though the app is proving helpful, recovering stolen property through an app still pales when compared to the “tried-and-true method” of visiting pawn shops and speaking to witnesses, Dima said.

CLICK HERE--

APPLE MAPS FAILED!!!

Apple Maps 'is life-threatening' to motorists lost in Australia heat

In this picture posted by Mildura police, the purple pin shows the actual location of the town

Continue reading the main story

Inaccuracies in Apple Maps could be "life-threatening" to motorists in Australia's searing heat, police have warned.

Officers in Mildura, Victoria, say they have had to assist drivers stranded after following the software's directions.

Some of the drivers had been without food or water for 24 hours.

Apple's software was heavily criticised by users when it was released in September.

Last week, chief executive Tim Cook admitted Apple had "screwed up" and was working to improve the program.

'No water supply'

In a press release, Victoria police's acting senior sergeant Sharon Darcy made her force's concerns clear.

"Tests on the mapping system by police confirm the mapping systems lists Mildura in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park, approximately 70km [45 miles] away from the actual location of Mildura," she said.

"Police are extremely concerned as there is no water supply within the park and temperatures can reach as high as 46[C], making this a potentially life-threatening issue."

The force advised travellers to use an alternative mapping service until the issues had been fixed.

In September, Apple dropped Google Maps from its iOS software in favour of its own mapping program. However, users were quick to complain it contained many inaccuracies, poor imagery and unreliable directions.

Users have complained about the quality of satellite images in Apple's software

The company defended the software at first, telling users it was "confident about our map quality".

However, Apple soon backtracked, posting an apology notice on its website.

"We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better," said Mr Cook.

A specially created section on the App Store highlighted alternative mapping software. However, an app for Google Maps has yet to be made available - although some reports suggest one is in its testing phase.

The fall-out from Apple Maps saw high-profile senior executives leave the company.

GPS vulnerability

Apple's mapping woes come as researchers at Carnegie Mellon University warned about newly discovered vulnerabilities in the world's Global Positioning System (GPS).

The research paper suggested that just $2,500 (£1,500) of equipment could be used to knock out 30% of systems supporting "safety and life-critical applications".

The researchers proposed "defences such as hardening GPS software against RF [radio frequency] and network attacks, as well as an attack detection system".

They added: "Until GPS is secured, life and safety-critical applications that depend upon it are likely vulnerable to attack."

FULL STORY--BBC

Apple, Google said to be pooling $500+ million for Kodak patents

Apple and Google are indeed teaming up to make a bigger offer to buy Kodak's digital imaging patents, according to sources speaking to Bloomberg. The companies reportedly joined their two independent consortiums—which had been competing against each other for the portfolio earlier this year—in order to collectively put together more than $500 million in order to win the ~1,100 patents.

Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January of this year, putting up the digital imaging patents for sale in order to slim down the company. As noted by Bloomberg, Kodak already has $830 million in exit financing (that is, money it can use to get things going again once it emerges from bankruptcy), but the money is contingent upon the sale of the patent portfolio for at least $500 million. Apple and Google had been leading their own independent groups in attempting to buy the patents, but neither group was willing to break the $500 million barrier on their own.

But now, the two teams teamed up together so they can pool their money to buy the patents once and for all. The entire group goes beyond just Apple and Google—it reportedly includes other companies like Microsoft, Intellectual Ventures (the mysterious parent-seeming company of Lodsys, the firm suing independent app developers), another patent holding firm named RPX Corp., and "Asian makers of Google’s Android phones," according to the sources.

This rumor follows a similar one that popped up in August, which claimed that Apple, Google, Samsung, HTC, LG, and others had agreed to work together to buy Kodak's patents. As Chris Foresman wrote at that time, "[t]he interest here seems to be mutual benefit, as Kodak has aimed its digital imaging patents in lawsuits against Apple, RIM, HTC, Samsung, and other smartphone makers."

How to Troubleshoot Your iOS Device

Our iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches are unquestionably magical devices and brought to us by The Future. Nevertheless, our wonderful iOS devices will inevitably encounter the occasional slow-downs, hangs and crashes. Even on the Starship Enterprise we see the crew's iPads misbehave on occasion.

Even Jean-Luc will fix 95% of his iPad's issues by engaging in proper iOS troubleshooting techniques.

After all, our little electronic assistants are not just cellphones, productivity tools, music players, game consoles and e-readers. They are computers. Computers of the most personal kind. But computers nonetheless, and computers – being extremely complex devices and programmed by humans – will suffer the occasional hiccup.

We can talk about mitigating problems on iOS devices in another article. For now, I offer you a guide that lists the actions you can take to successfully troubleshoot your device. You'll be happy to learn that these actions will fix about 95% of the problems you may encounter. This is because most problems are software related.

Apple recently recommended a number of actions for you to take prior to visiting the Genius Bar because of an issue with your device. Why do you suppose they did this? For the same reason I alluded to above: most issues can be resolved with a sequence of easy steps that you can take yourself. You save yourself the trip to the mall (always a good thing), and you help Apple focus more on retail sales and assisting customers with undisputed technical problems.

The Apple Geniuses will use the same troubleshooting techniques discussed here.

Okay, let's shoot some trouble, shall we?

Note: The following information covers issues related to the routine use of apps as well as device responsiveness. While specific connectivity and telephony issues are not covered here, most of these procedures can be used universally to solve problems on un-jailbroken devices.

Before we start, at the risk of vexing my consultant colleagues, I present you with the top three, age-old general-purpose personal computer troubleshooting principles:

1. Advance through specific troubleshooting steps in sequence, starting with the easy ones – the quick-and-easy steps that cause the least impact – and progressing through increasingly complex ones;
2. This is really, really important: after each step, test to see if you can reproduce the problem;
3. Keep detailed notes – and screen captures, if possible – in case you need to relay your troubleshooting steps to the Genius for further analysis. This makes the process go faster when at the Bar, and makes you look good, too.

Whenever you do any kind of troubleshooting, you should consider the state of your data. If you are able to, be sure to refresh your backups before you start. If you are not certain about this, you should seek advice from someone in-the-know.

Let's go through the iOS troubleshooting guide. This is a series of steps you progress through, in the order presented, until the issue is resolved.  Note that these steps apply to any sort of issue with your device – from crashing apps to unresponsiveness. Just so you know, there may be other factors to consider, such as specific misconfigured settings or external influences that are at the root of certain problems.

Step 0: Check the condition of your device. Is there any obvious damage to the device? Is it powered up? Is it recharging properly? Check the condition of the cable and charger. If in doubt, swap them out with known good ones. This step may seem obvious, but is often disregarded nevertheless.

Step 1: SUSPEND and relaunch the offending app. If an app "hangs" or "freezes," try to suspend it by clicking on the Home button to return to the home screen. If the app "crashes" or "unexpectedly quits," abruptly and unceremoniously returning you to the home screen, then relaunch the app.

This is a good time to verify that you have the latest version of the app. Oh, and by the way, if you are not up-to-date with your installed iOS version, perhaps you should consider updating that if it supports your device.

Step 2: FORCE-QUIT the offending app by first making sure you are on the Home screen. Then click the Home button twice. A bar listing "recently used" apps pops-up from the bottom. Don't confuse this list with the regular app Dock at the bottom of the Home screen.

With a few exceptions, these apps are in a sort of suspended state and "in the background." This is what constitutes the controversial Multitasking feature that Apple introduced with iOS 4. Locate the offending app by swiping the list left or right, then tap-and-hold on the app until it begins to tremble uncontrollably. This condition is called the "Jiggle Mode." You know… it's kind of like the apps get nervous and tremble in fear because something's about to happen. Tap the red minus sign on the app's icon. The app disappears from the list indicating that it has force-quit. Press the Home button to exit Jiggle mode. You may now restart the app.

Tap on the little red minus sign on the app you want to force-quit.

Step 3: RESTART the device. This is a "soft-reboot" - similar to a Mac restart. Press-and-hold the Sleep/Wake button (top button) for a few seconds until the red "slide to power off" slider appears, and then go ahead and slide the slider to power off. Once the shut-down spinning gear goes away, restart your device by press-and-holding the Sleep/Wake button for a couple of seconds until the Apple logo appears. Wait for the device to start up completely.

If you change your mind, press the Cancel button at the bottom of the screen.

Step 4: RESET the device. This is a "hard-reboot" - sort of like doing a Mac Shutdown followed by a restart. Do this by press-and-holding the Sleep/Wake button and the Home Button together for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears. Wait for the device to start up completely.

Step 5: FORCE-QUIT all apps. First, as detailed in step 2, bring the list of recently used apps back and put them in Jiggle mode. Go through all the apps in the list and tap on the red minus sign on the app icons to force quit each one. Because of the Auto-Save feature in iOS, your data should be fine. Note: if you see a red X, then you are in the "App Deletion Mode." If so, exit by clicking the Home button. This gets you out of Jiggle mode. Start over, making sure to follow this step closely.

Be careful that you don't tap an icon with an "X" badge if all you want to do is force-quit an app.

Step 6: Delete and reinstall the offending app, even if you are certain that you have the latest version. First, locate the app on your device, and put it into Jiggle mode. To delete the app, it's OK now to tap the "X" in the corner of its icon. In the warning dialog that appears, tap Delete to remove the application and all of its data from your device.

Step 7: Contact the App's developer. If there are no other issues with the device other than a misbehaving app, consider contacting the developer to discuss the issues. Be sure you have documented details of the problems seen, and the troubleshooting steps you have taken.

Step 8: DECISION POINT. Things get a bit more complicated and time consuming at this point. You can choose to either: (a) visit the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store, or call AppleCare if your device is still under warranty and getting to an Apple Store is not possible, or (b) continue escalating the troubleshooting steps yourself as described below.

Step 9: RESTORE the device. You can restore all your device's software, data and settings by connecting it to your computer and opening iTunes. If the device appears in iTunes, select and click Restore on the Summary pane. Be sure to read any help screens for more information. If you're device has been backing up regularly to iCloud and/or iTunes on your computer, your data should be fine.

Step 10: Put the device into RECOVERY MODE. Finally, if nothing else works, and you faithfully completed every step to this point, the last thing to do, short of physically replacing the device's components (not likely) or getting the device replaced (more likely), is putting your device into Recovery Mode. This means that the device is returned to it's out-of-the-box, factory-fresh configuration. The process is not complicated but can be time-consuming. Once done, you treat your device as if you had just purchased it. You proceed through the same set-up/activation/installation process you performed when you brought your shiny new bauble home the first time.

For details on putting the device into Recovery Mode, I refer you to Apple's KnowledgeBase article HT1808, "Unable to Update or Restore." You can search for it on Apple's support site at support.Apple.com. Read it carefully.

Putting an iOS device into recovery mode returns it to it's original out-of-the-box state.

If you follow all the troubleshooting steps in the order presented, I expect that most of you will successfully resolve whatever issue you had, within the first five steps. However, if you've reached this point without resolution, then force a final backup if you can, grab your device, along with it's sync cable and charger for good measure, and make the trip to the Apple Genius Bar. Don't forget to take your list of issues observed as well as all the troubleshooting steps you have completed.

BY-MAC OBSEVER