"Fix" your 2012 Nexus 7 slowness on Android 5.0 Lollipop and above.

If you've got a 2012 Nexus 7, then updating it to Android 5.0 Lollipop and over is likely to be the worst mistake you can make in regards to the software on this tablet. If you did not upgrade it yet to Lollipop, I would recommend NOT doing it (yes, I know, update notifications can be annoying). If you updated it, then just keep reading. I will explain to you what you can do in order to relieve yourself from the stress that any 5.0 and above firmware is creating while using the tablet.


There is one single thing that can be done in order to fix the incredibly poor performance of the tablet: to downgrade it to Android 4.4 KitKat or below. Trust me, I have tried almost 10 different ROMs which run from 5.0 all the way to 5.1.1, and I am still trying to understand what is going on through the head of whoever is responsible at Google for providing these updates on the tablet.

Luckily, since it is an Android tablet, downgrading is extremely simple.

• if you've got a tablet with an unlocked bootloader and a custom recovery, I would recommend following getting this link and getting the provided ROM (it is pre-rooted). I've got the Odexed 1.6 version and it works flawlessly. Since you are downloading this version, I assume you already know how to flash that (gapps are included and do not need to be flashed separately);

• otherwise, you can follow this official link for the official Factory Images (I would recommend downloading the 4.4.4 image). More detailed instructions are available here, but please make sure you are downloading a pre-Lollipop version and flashing that on the device, not the latest version which is 5.1.1!

The reason for the extremely poor performance of the 2012 Nexus 7 on Lollipop ROMs is not clear. People speculate it might be due to flash wear-out but this is highly unlikely due to the fact that KitKat is running as new once installed. It is true that it has only 1GB of RAM and the pressure for low prices might have forced Asus to put low quality (thus slow) components that provide insufficient IO speed. But that does not explain the fact that a similar device which was also sold cheaply, the Nexus 4 is absolutely flying through Lollipop (the Nexus 4 does have 2GB of RAM, but this is not an excuse for the low memory killer on all Lollipop versions not being much more aggressive in order to keep the tablet usable, this, of course, provided that RAM was the culprit). 

Thank you for reading these and please let me know if downgrading to KitKat managed to help you!

Limera1n is available, jailbreaks iOS 4.0-4.1.

Limera1n has been released yesterday evening, and after geohot got angry and pulled the download link (I don't know exactly why), it seems that Limera1n is now available for download again on the official website. This new jailbreak tool promises to jailbreak almost any device running iOS 4.0 or 4.1.

The supported products are iPhone 3Gs/4, iPad, and iPod Touch 3G/4G. For the unmentioned products: iPod Touch 2G support is coming soon, while for the iPhone 3G you must use redsn0w. For the moment, limera1n is available only for Windows, the compatibility for Mac is coming soon.

Theoretically, limera1n does hacktivate your device (allowing you to use it with any carrier), but many people reported problems after hacktivating their iPhones with limera1n, so I don't recommend you doing this yet (limera1n is currently in beta 4).

Hope I don't have to tell you that you're using it on your own responsibility, it is an unstable release so don't expect from it to be bug-free. You might have to restore your device or you may even get a bricked one as a result of using limera1n!

Download from here.

In case you have issues with Market on your Android device, here is what you can try.

As you probably know, there are somewhere around 100 000 apps currently available in the Android Market, growing faster and coming forcefully behind Apple's App Store (which has around 200 000 apps). Is isn't currently any problem for Apple, but there's a matter of time until there will be a real challenge for Apple to keep up with the incredible grown of the Android Market.

However, the Market (the place from where apps for Android are officially installed) isn't a perfect app. Actually, it's quite buggy, maybe too buggy in some situations. Nexus One, a device on which the Market worked perfectly and which is considered "the Google Phone", got some problems since it was updated to 2.2. There weren't big problems until about a month ago, and, from then, my phone fails most of the times to install some updates (when more updates are available in the same time).

This is a common problem on many Android devices, and here is what you can try in order to get Android Market working properly. First, disconnect your device from wifi. Then go into Settings | Applications | Manage Applications | All (if these steps doesn't correspond to your device, just find in the settings the list with all apps).

From there, scroll down to "Market", tap on it, and then tap "Clear data", "Clear cache", and "Force stop". This will practically clear everything Market had saved about your apps. Then, connect again to wifi, and start Market. You'll be asked to Accept the "Terms of Use", and then it will list all your installed apps and the available updates on "Downloads" (just like it was before).

Now, just don't force it to update everything. Update every app from the update button (inside the app page), and make sure you don't update two or more apps in the same time. Otherwise, it will continue failing to update some of the apps.

Keep in mind that this is just a temporary solution, and doesn't work at all times. Additionally, make sure you have enough free internal storage memory on your device, as this could be the problem in some situations.

Apple just released iTunes 10.0.1, fixes lots of bugs.

Apple has just released a new version of iTunes, 10.0.1, which brings improvements to Ping (more exactly, it adds a new sidebar for it), and fixes lots of bugs. Here's the changelog of this update:

iTunes 10.0.1 makes it easier to share your favorite music with your friends on Ping. You can now Like or Post about music right from your iTunes library. You can also easily see the recent activity of a selected artist in your library, or of all artists and friends you follow on Ping using the new Ping Sidebar.

This release also provides a number of important bug fixes, including:

• Addresses an issue where the picture quality of a video changes depending on whether the on-screen controls are visible. 

• Resolves an issue where iTunes may unexpectedly quit while interacting with album artwork viewed in a separate window. 

• Fixes a problem that affects the performance of some third-party visualizers. 

• Addresses an issue where the iTunes Library and playlists appear empty. 

• Resolves an issue that created an incompatibility with some third-party shared libraries.

iTunes 10 comes with many new features and improvements, including:

• Introducing Ping. Use Ping to follow your favorite artists and friends or connect with the world’s most passionate music fans. Discover the music everyone is talking about, listening to, and downloading. 

• Rent HD TV episodes for just 99¢ each. Watch them on your Mac or PC, on-the-go with iPhone or iPod touch, or in your living room with the all new Apple TV. 

• Play your favorites on the all new iPod Touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, and Apple TV. 

• Play music wirelessly with AirPlay on AirPlay-enabled speakers, home theater receivers, and iPod accessories. 

• Explore many look-and-feel improvements throughout iTunes. 

• Enjoy performance improvements which make iTunes faster and more responsive. 

• Additional voice support with VoiceOver Kit for iPod.

It is not clear if this causes any problems with jailbroken devices, so if you have jailbreak on you iDevice, just stay away from it for now.

You can either get this new version via the Apple Software Update utility (on Mac), or you can manually download it for here (Windows & Mac users).

Breaking: Apple announces new iPod shuffle, iPod nano, and iPod Touch models.

Apple has just announced a new iPod shuffle, a new iPod nano, and a new iPod Touch.

This is the new iPod shuffle:

The new iPod nano is here (what's the most important feature, is, of course, the touchscreen):

And the new iPod touch is also here (with its new Retina Display and front and rear camera):











All photos are from Engadget, and the prices for these products are:

• $49 iPod shuffle
• $148 8GB, $179 16GB iPod nano
• $229 8GB, $299 32GB and $399 64GB iPod touch

Twitter API changed (again), most third-party clients are failing to authenticate.

Twitter announced on its official blog that starting from August 31st, its API is going to be changed. All third-party clients/applications are now logging on via OAuth, a new method of authentication that doesn't require them to store your username and your password anymore (this has the purpose of increasing users' security). This new change requires some changes in all third-party clients/applications, changes that the guys from Twitter say that they have been done.

They say that most clients, such as Echofon, TweetDeck, Twitterific, Seesmic, and Twitter for Android, iOS and BlackBerry are already authenticating through OAuth, which is not true. TweetDeck, Seesmic and Twitter (all on Android), are all refusing to sign in. I've last checked a few minutes ago, and there is no update into the Market (for any of the specified apps) to fix this problem. Bad, very bad, Twitter!

If it's necessary, I can make a video for Twitter (or for any other company providing third-party clients for Twitter), proving that the mentioned clients cannot connect at all.

TweetDeck announces new Beta version for Android, includes few new features.

TweetDeck announced today their new Beta version for Android, v0.9.5. This new version brings some updates and features, such as:

• Full compatibility with all Android 1.6 devices and above.
• Added option to remove Facebook, Buzz and ForeSquare accounts, but also to delete tweets sent by you.
• Added multi-Twitter account compose.
• New More button for Twitter profiles and updates, allowing users to: Reply All, Sharing, Translation, Copy update text, Copy update URL.
• Tapping on top of a column automatically updates that column. 

I really used to be a fan of TweetDeck when I was a user of iOS, but now my favorite Twitter client is HootSuite (both on my Android device and on my computers). TweetDeck seems so unfinished on Android (it's normal, however, as it is still a Beta version), and I think that just the possibility of using other social networks from the same client (such as Facebook or Buzz), isn't a good enough reason just to choose TweetDeck.

The complete changelog of this new Beta version of TweetDeck is available here.

TweetDeck v0.9.5 is available for download from here.

Exclusive: Install Google Earth 1.1 on your Android 2.2 device (without Market) !!

You probably heard that today Google launched "Google Earth", version 1.1 for Android 2.2 devices. It should be normally available for download via the Market (as everywhere writes that) or via a scan of its QR code, but, unfortunately, it isn't. Or at least, I can't find it in the Android Market, and there are many users complaining about this. If you are one of these users, I have a good news for you. I found a way of installing Google Earth on Android, without the use of Market.

We are going to use another application in order to install Google Earth, and app that has similar functionality to the Market. So, open the Android Market, and search, download, and install "AppBrain App Market". In the meanwhile, go to AppBrain.com from your desktop (most recommended) and create an account using your Google account.

When you finished creating your account, open AppBrain App Market, and sign in with your Google account (you should see in the upper right corner "Sign in"). When you have successfully signed in on your account in AppBrain App Market, go again in the Android Market, and download "Fast Web Installer". It will ask after launch for the permission to your Google account, so give it, and then the app will quit by itself.

The following step is to go on your browser from your Android device to AppBrain.com (you should be automatically logged on; if not, login with your Google account), search for "Google Earth", click on the first result, and then click "Install" (not "Download directly from the Android market!). The download will start automatically, and you'll have Google Earth on your device installed in a few moments.

So, enjoy Google Earth and if this really helped you, please share this page with your friends! :-)

Seesmic force close problem was fixed a few minutes ago via an update !!

Seesmic announced a few minutes ago on their official twitter account the availability of an update in the Market, which promises to fix the problem with the Twitter API users from all over the world had today (which was causing Seesmic to force close). However, it seems that the problem has been fixed for the previous version also (maybe Twitter changed something at their APIs in the same time?).

The new version is 1.4.3, and yes, I confirm that it fixes the problem.

Setting up WDS between Asus WL 520GU and 520GC + WPA encryption gets the whole network into a conflict.

I've decided a few days ago that in order to improve the security of my wireless network, I should change the encryption of the network from WEP (which can be decrypted in under 60 seconds, that's proved), to WPA (which can resist even a year to a decryption attack, experts say).  The reasons was that I had some doubts about the devices operating on my network, but everything is clear now (I have over 10 devices usually connected on the network).

I have two Asus routers, a WL 520GU one (with print server), and a WL 520GC one. I've written some time ago an article on how to set up WDS (or Wireless Distribution System) between them (a method of improving signal into your house for example, by setting them to operate in the same way, under the same name), which is available here (it should be applicable to almost any other models of Asus routers).

So, let's return to the problem from the title. I've changed their both encryption method to WPA, and I've let them continue working. Everything worked smooth for a few tens of minutes, than my devices were disconnected.They reconnected very fast (a few seconds), and continued working, again, for a few tens of minutes.

Then, suddenly, the entire network crashed, all devices were disconnected, and all tries to reconnect failed, as the main router (from which comes the internet connection) was refusing to give addresses to the devices requesting them. I said that it refused to give addresses, because it is practically the one doing the whole job, with the second one only repeating what it "says" to the network. As I wasn't able to receive the addresses, there was no possibility of getting into the routers in order to check the reports to see what could possibly fail like this. A restart of the routers (disconnecting their power cables) made the network start working again (this happened somewhere around 1:30 A.M. in the morning).

And they continued working until the following afternoon, when the network crashed again, creating exactly the same situation. I've searched for an update for the firmware of the routers, but there wasn't any. I've also searched to see if somebody else was having the same problem, and I found a few users reproducing quite the same situation, but the provided fixes were not helping at all.

I changed the encryption back to WEP in that afternoon, and everything has been working perfectly since then (very stable). I can't imagine what could be the problem that caused that crashes, probably that there's an incompatibility between these routers when they're operating in WDS while encrypted with WPA.

So, I repeat. If your Asus WDS crashes while secured with WPA, try changing that with WEP. Hope this helps you.

Ubuntu 10.04.1 released, if you used Update Manager regularly, you already got it.

Ubuntu 10.04.1 has been released, WebUpd8 announced yesterday. Like usually, this version puts together all the updates that Ubuntu 10.04 had until now. So, if you used the update manager regularly, you already have it. It has been released just for those two want to make a fresh install of Ubuntu 10.04 (because this version has all the updates until now and they don't have to wait to download and install them).

This is what is called a maintenance update, and it's available for both desktop and server versions, and for both i386 and amd64 architectures.

It's available for download at the known, official download page, here.

iOS 4.0.1 and 3.2.1 hitting the iPhone and the iPad. Jailbreakers MUST stay away!

Apple launched today two updates, one for the iPhone (4.0.1) and the other one for the iPad (3.2.1). It seems that these updates are patching the exploits used for jailbreak, so the guys who are working on these solutions are telling everybody who need jailbreak and unlock to stay away from these updates.

The only thing that the update does on the iPhone is to fix the signal issues (or at least, this is what Apple says). It is not confirmed if this fixes the issues or not (however, it seems that Apple silently recalled the iPhone, because many people who got their phone replaced are no longer complaining about the signal issues). I didn't find out yet what the update exactly does one the iPad.

I just warned you about what these updates do, but I won't offer you solutions for jailbreak at all. If you need, search on a dedicated website for something like this.

Apple promises to fix iPhone 4 signal problems via software update, experts say it's impossible.

Apple published today a letter regarding the iPhone 4 and its signal problems. Officially, it seems that the device really has some problems with the signal, and not the users were actually causing that problems (letter is available here). Apple declared that they have a failing algorithm which calculates the power of the signal, and explained the problem into the letter. They also promised that they are going to fix that problem via an update (in a few weeks), thanking everybody for their patience.

The wireless specialists don't agree with Apple. However, they say that the thing with the bad algorithm can be true, an update can possibly improve the accuracy of the displayed bars (they aren't currently displaying the real signal). But, there still is a problem. The phone loses completely the signal while in the hand, and this isn't a problem caused by a badly configured software. The experts say that this is a problem with the design of the device, when you cover with your fingers or your hand the region which causes the current problems, it will lose the signal in any situation. It doesn't matter what software it is or how it is configured, this is simply a problem with the design of antenna. 

I'm curious to see what happens when Apple will launch the next update, and which will be the people's reaction if the wireless reception problems will not be fixed. 


Full article on Gizmodo here. 

Windows 7 SP1, coming on July.

Service Pack (SP) represents usually the most important update that a version of an OS can receive. Windows 7 SP1 has been tested by developers for more months, and it is coming for the end-users by the end of the next month. What this update will include are all bug-fixes and updates which were already delivered to the users through Windows Update, plus support for USB 3.0.

It seems that this new pack fixes about 150 vulnerabilities and has about 150MB. The installation process is probably going to be really easy, and even if it isn't necessary now, Microsoft probably wants to make a step forward and detach from what was a total fail, Windows Vista. There are lots of torrents which pretend to be the SP1 Windows 7, but as it is not yet released officially for end-users it is hard for me to believe that they are the real SP1 which will be released by MS.

If you think Windows 7 is boring, just be patient until the SP1 of Windows 7 arrives (I'll let you know when Microsoft launches it officially).

Apple launches iOS 4 today!

Apple is today going to launch their new version of iPhone OS, now named iOS. We are talking here about iOS 4, a new operating system for iPhones/iPods which adds over 100 new features to the iPhone 3GS, compared to the earlier OS version. It's a quite complicated story, because this new OS will be available only for the new iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

However, if you have a 3G iPhone, it has been already shown that the new iOS stresses the device considerably much. I recommend you not to update yet, and wait for some videos on YouTube to see how fast it moves. Apple is always making older devices (this time is 3G's turn) to move slowly with new software, in order to make people buy new devices (3GS or 4). And if you're on 3G, you won't have multitasking and wallpaper image (so there is no real need to update, in my opinion).

What else you need to know is that if you ordered a new 3GS today, it is already being delivered with iOS 4 so if you need to unlock it, there is no jailbreaking solution yet. Don't understand me wrong, iOS 4 has already been jailbroken, but the 3GS and the 4 will surely come with a new boot rom installed so you can't jailbreak them yet.

Anyway, if you need a jailbroken device, do not update yet, as the situation is not clear how to jailbreak iPhone 3G/3GS/4.

Android 2.2 FRF72 manual update is now available.

Google launched yesterday an update for Android 2.2, for those who received their Nexus One at Google's conference. It updates the build number on the Nexus from FRF50 to FRF72, and it is just an under 2 MB .zip archive. So, there shouldn't be any notable difference compared to previous version.

However, for me it seems that it makes the applications a little more responsive, and changes the way "pinch-to-zoom" works on pictures. The first sensation is a little inaccuracy, but after playing a little with it, I think that this is a new feature. If you move your both fingers in a direction while zooming (in or out), you will observe that the image moves that way. This is too natural (for the fingers) and too smooth (for the phone) to be a bug, in my opinion.

Please note that in order to update, you MUST have the previous built for Android 2.2 (FRF50) installed on your phone.

You can get the Android 2.2 built50 (previous built) with installation instructions from here.

For FRF72, follow the instructions from the link above, as they are the same.

Download Android 2.2 FRF72 from here. In case that Google removes the file, mirror download link is here.

You can expect for this file to hit the Nexus via an OTA update anytime.

Notes:

• You may have to try step 6 for several times (it might not work for the first time).
• Step 8 is necessary.
• This will NOT void your warranty, however, the update is on your own responsibility.

Manually update your Nexus One to Android 2.2 Froyo.

As you probably know, the new version of Android has been released for download for some users. More exactly, we are talking about those persons who got the device officially, from Google, for reviewing purposes (mass-media or press). So, for all other users, who got the device via Google's official website, there is no OTA (over-the-air) update yet.

However, the link from where Google was pushing the update to the targeted devices has been found, and everybody has the possibility to update. Unfortunately, the update file has been removed from that link by Google, but there isn't any problem, because some users uploaded that file to external sources.

Before starting anything, I must tell you that I assume NO responsibility in case that something goes wrong or you have any kind of problems after update. This update has not been officially released for your personal device by Google. You must have a NON-rooted device, with original rom (your build must be ERE27).

Here is all you have to do:

1. Download the update file from here (mirror download, it is not from Google's server so please confirm if it works or not!!! Yes, it works, just take a look at the comments).
2. Rename it as "update.zip" (make sure not to be update.zip.zip) and send it to the microSD card which is in your Nexus.
3. Shut down your device.
4. Keep pressed down the "Volume down" key while you press the power button.
5. When the screen appears, scroll down to "recovery" (with the "volume down" key), and then press the power button.
6. A new screen will appear containing a triangle with an exclamation point symbol inside. Now you have to press down the "Volume up" key and the power button at the same time.
7. A new menu will appear, in which you have to scroll (with the trackball) until the "Apply sdcard:update.zip" option has been highlighted, and then press down the trackball.
8. The device is now updating the software. After the update finishes ("Update from sdcard complete"), you may have to select "reboot system now" (I didn't have to do the last step, but it has been reported that it might be necessary for some users).

Note: the first boot after update may take longer. This is something normal, do not panic! It took me about 5 minutes. And I think I had 2 successive reboots, so stay calm, your device didn't go crazy (this was what I thought when I saw that).

Congratulations! You now have the Android 2.2 on your Nexus One.

Click here for a list with most of updates. What I observed is that my device worked normally only after the second reboot. Lookout (antivirus) crashes continuously (had to force close), and Seesmic can't connect at all (several users confirmed this).

But most important of all, the device runs much faster. You can find more details at phandroind.com by clicking here.

Please leave a comment telling us if your update succeeded or not (it is very useful for other users)!

Mac OS X 10.5.8 gets serious Wi-Fi bugs with latest update (May 2010).

Today I've decided to update my MacBook with the latest updates from 10.5.8, because it warned me in the last few days that updates are available. I know that it was the iTunes 9.1.1, a security update, and another one, which I can't remember exactly. I'm not sure if it wasn't the AirPort Base Station, which appears to be last updated on 31st of March ( I think it wasn't this because it's too early). But this doesn't matter now.

Everything worked fine, my Mac has been successfully updated, but after the first boot, the problems started. Mac OS X 10.5.8 is sometimes completely unable to communicate with my router via Wi-Fi (Asus WL 520-GU), which is my default internet gateway. Communication with my secondary router works (this is actually an Asus WL 520-GC, not GU), but it is useless since I can't access the internet at all (the secondary router is used to amplify the signal).

An temporary solution is to turn off the AirPort and start it again, but I can't do this again and again, every 15-20 minutes. I've surfed the internet and I found that a problem like this was occurred on the previous year, somewhere in September, again, after an update.

I'm now afraid that it will take a while until Apple will fix this, because they are now concentrating on the iPad/iPhone HD/4G/ iPhone OS 4.0, and I have the sensation that Mac OS X is currently not a priority for them. I hope I'm wrong.

If you have the same issues, please don't hesitate to leave a comment to let me know I'm not the only one having these issues !

Ubuntu: the change is coming - April 29th.

The new version of Ubuntu, 10.04, is almost near the corner. On April 22nd the last step before the final release in coming, the Release Candidate. This represents usually about 90-95% of the final release, and soon after, on 29th, the final release is going to be available.

This is a LTS update, or Long Term Support. This means that this version will be supported for 3 years on Desktop version, and it is launched every two years (while normal releases are supported for 18 months and are launched every 6 months). Thousands of updates are coming daily for those who are using Beta 2 at this moment, so this is an evidence that the community is seriously working for 10.04 LTS.

This is a list of the most important updates that Ubuntu 10.04 has so far and what is supposed to come in the final release:

• Much better hardware support
• Improved speed
• 2 new default themes
• By default, Ubuntu has windows buttons on the left
• Splash and login screens are now modified
• Gwibber is installed by default (social client - Twitter is included)
• Boot time under 10 seconds (for the final release)

Regarding the themes, an article can be found by clicking here. However, articles about Ubuntu can be found on the entire blog. You must only find them by typing "Ubuntu" in the search box.

Ubuntu is still under full development, so the many applications and even the system can get serious errors, so if you need a stable system it is not recommended to update yet.

The stable version (9.10) and 10.04 beta 2 are both available from the official site: http://www.ubuntu.com/ .

BitDefender apologizes for a faulty update.

BitDefender launched yesterday a security update for all platforms. The problem is that it has an unnormal behavior under x64 version of Windows. It detects multiple files from Windows and from BitDefender as being infected with Trojan.FakeAlert.5, so they are quarantined. And this is what happens: many of these computers are unable to boot anymore, or if they are able to boot, other vital applications have higher chances to fail.

This update has been removed from download servers, so if don't have any problems, you can update BitDefender. If you are experiencing issues and eventually you can't boot, instructions can be found by clicking here. You may also try a system restore if you can't boot (if possible).