Apple settles Class Action lawsuit, Are you eligible for a payout?

If you owned an iPhone 6 or iPhone 7 and downloaded a new version of iOS before December 21, 2016, you may be eligible for a payout of up to $150 per affected phone. The settlement is a result of class action lawsuit brought against Apple in 2018 which alleged the iPhone manufacturer included performance mitigation features in its iOS software update. It was claimed that the updates caused some iPhones to prematurely age, slowdown or shutdown unexpectedly. Although it agreed to the settlement, Apple denies any wrongdoing, saying the software changes were implemented to prevent shutdowns due to aging batteries in the older models. If you think that you had an eligible iPhone, you will have to wait until January 29 for BC’s Supreme Court to approve the settlement. If approved you will have to fill out a claim form which will require you to have the iPhone’s serial number. 

Sources: National Post and CTV News

Free trials of Apple Services through your PC Optimum account

If you are a PC Optimum member (Loblaw’s loyalty program) and have an Apple account then you may be eligible for up to 3 months of a free trial on Apple’s services. All you have to do is log on to your PC Optimum account and go to the Dashboard and click on the “Enjoy entertainment and more from Apple”. You will then be brought to a screen that lists the Apple services that are included in the offer; these are: Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, Apple Arcade and Apple News+. If you are a new subscriber then you are eligible for a 3 month free trial; even “qualifying returning subscribers” can get a 2 month free trial. Note that this offer can only be claimed once per Apple ID. This is a great deal since Apple normally only offers up to a 1 month free trial.

Adware Removal on Mac Computers

More and more people are being infected by Adware lately, especially since its creators have now expanded into the Apple universe. Adware is basically software that gets installed on your computer’s browser. In the best case scenario it causes endless popup menus to show up on every page that you open; in the worst case you are unable to browse the internet. This type of malware is often packaged together with other software installers. So if you notice that you are suddenly being bombarded with unwanted advertising and pop windows you were likely infected by software that you recently installed sometimes inadvertently.

Since Adware is not officially malware, most virus removal tools can’t detect and remove it. Luckily people have devised ways to remove it. I recently became infected with Downlite adware on a Macbook Pro and a Macbook Air and this is my story.

Apple to increase App prices in Canada (update)

As expected the price of apps in the Canadian Apple App Store have increased. Previous apps for 99 cents now cost $1.19 and apps that were $1.99 now cost $2.29.

According to reports on CBC and iPhone in Canada websites, Apple is set to increase prices of its Apps in Canada within the next day. According to Boy Genius Report this price increase will involve the Mac App Store as well. The increase is a result of the recent changes in the Canadian-American exchange rate. Changes are also expected in all EU countries as well as Russia. So get those 99 cent Apps while you can.

iOS 7.1 now available

Just a couple of short weeks after it’s emergency patch of the “Goto fail” bug Apples today released iOS 7.1. It is available for all iPhones including the iPhone 4 and newer as well as the iPad 2 and newer.

Source: Engadget

Apple no longer updates Snow Leopard

Although Apple released an update to its Macintosh operating system this week to combat serious security flaws, Snow Leopard was not included in the update. This is the first time that Version 10.6 of its computer operating system has been left out and signals an end to updates for the 4.5 year old OS despite the fact that up to 19% of Mac computers still run it. Users of Snow Leopard are strongly encouraged to update to a version that is being updated as it leaves them vulnerable to security flaws. Microsoft will also abandon an older version of its operating system, Windows XP, in April but in this case notice was given to its clients months in advance. It is estimated that approximately 30% of PC’s still run the 12 year old XP operating system.

Source: Boy Genius Report and PC World

Apple now closes security hole in OS X

As reported earlier Apple has had to deal with a pretty serious security flaw on its mobile operating system. It has now addressed the same issue on it operating system running on Macs with the latest update, 10.9.2. If you were not aware both versions of the operating systems had a SSL vulnerability that could allow third parties access to your device. So if you have not gotten the update yet you should visit the Mac App Store and download it now. Although it is now only available for Mavericks it will soon be available for other versions of OS X.

Don’t forget to update your Apple TV which is also running iOS.

Source: Engadget

Apple releases update to iOS

Apple just released iOS 7.0.6 to deal with SSL connection verification issues.  Conspiracy theorists believe this will fix a back door that the NSA was exploiting but most people think that it is just a plain old security vulnerability.  Whatever the reason you should download the over the air update as soon as you can.

Source: iPhone in Canada

 

Mountain Lion update now available for download

Apple released OS X 10.8.3 this week with a number of fixes and enhancements, including official support for Boot Camp for Windows 8.  The update also brings with it the ability to redeem iTunes gift cards in the App store by using the built-in iSight camera.  Other enhancements include:

• Boot Camp support for Macs with a 3 TB hard drive
• fix for 2011 iMacs that suffer from audio stutter
• fix for an issue that causes your desktop picture to change after logging out or restarting
• ability for the Slideshow screen saver to display pictures located in a sub-folder
• reliability improvements while using a Microsoft Exchange account in Mail

The new release also includes Safari 6.0.3 which itself addresses a number of fixes and adds a number of performance improvements.  Some of these are: improved scrolling on Facebook and while zoomed in on a webpage, improved performance on web pages with plug-in content, and a fix for issue that could prevent Safari from restoring the last position on a webpage.

Source: Engadget and iPhone in Canada    

iPhone 5 on sale at Rogers, Bell and Telus (update)

Update: Now SaskTel has jumped onto the iPhone 5 sale bandwagon.  The same $99, $149 and $199 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB iPhone5’s can be had at this western Canadian carrier.

Source: iPhone in Canada

If you waited to get the latest model of the iPhone then your patience has paid off as there now seems to be a price war going on in Canada. All three big carriers, Bell, Telus and Rogers, have announced price reductions to Apple’s latest and greatest device. It started a week or so ago at Rogers and then yesterday Bell and Telus matched the original sale price, with Telus offering just a little more of a discount. Well, today the iPhone 5 can be obtained for the same discounted price, on a three contract of course, the discounted prices are: $99, $149 and $199 for 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB model respectively. The discounts could be in anticipation of the new model expected sometime in the late summer or fall. This could also be pre-emptive strike in advance of the new Samsung Galaxy S model set to be announced next week.

Source: iPhone in Canada