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PSA: Resetting your phone risks upsetting Google Wallet, unless you do it right
Spare a thought for Google Wallet users who have learned this the hard way, but at least you won't have to fall into the same little-known trap. Essentially, if you have a Galaxy Nexus, HTC EVO 4G LTE or any other compatible handset and you perform a factory reset, there's a high chance you'll spoil the secure element that is designed to protect your NFC chip from tampering. This disables Google Wallet and it seems there's no fix once that happens, other than calling up a friendly (and hopefully interactive) customer service agent. However, there is a way to prevent it: before factory resetting, you have to go into the Google Wallet app, choose 'Menu' then 'Settings' and 'Reset Google Wallet'. There it is -- simple enough, but evidently not advertised enough by Google or the phone manufacturers themselves.
Apple's iOS 5.1.1 update for iPad, iPod touch and iPhone: fixes AirPlay and network bugs, jailbroken already
Plugged your iDevice into an iTunes-equipped machine lately? You should. Apple has just let loose iOS 5.1.1, a seemingly minor point update that actually promises to fix quite a few (potentially) substantial quirks. Coming two months to the day after the iOS 5.1 software update, the extra 0.0.1 is said to improve reliability of the HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut, address bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks and solve a few issues that were affecting AirPlay video playback "in some circumstances." There's also improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List, and Apple has purportedly fixed an issue where 'Unable to purchase' alert could be displayed after successful purchase. Sucked the update down yourself? Let us know how it goes in comments below, and peek the full changelog just after the break. Update: Looks like iOS 5.1.1 has already been jailbroken. Huzzah! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HP's On-Screen Display Utility released, aims to alleviate Envy 15 screen color complaints
Back when we reviewed HP's latest Envy 15, we found a glaring issue with its otherwise spectacular 1080p IPS display -- namely, its less-than-pleasing color reproduction. Making good on a promise it made back in March, HP has finally released its On-Screen Display Utility software for the machine in hopes of quelling user complaints. If you'll recall, HP stated that the displays are of a higher quality than other laptop panels, which can make colors look odd in comparison. That said, while this gesture is certainly welcome, at least one tipster wrote in to complain that he "wasn't able to get a satisfactory change. It's basically just gamma adjustment and r/g/b sliders." Of course, we've only cited one anecdote here, so if you've got an Envy 15 you'd like to test this on, hit up the source link below. Be sure to let us know your results in the comments. [Thanks, Anthony]
HTC fixes rare One S chipping finish issue, swaps phones for free
The black HTC One S uses a process called micro arc oxidation (MAO) to harden its aluminum unibody and make it feel like ceramic. We've recently experienced some chipping on the finish of one of our review units, so we reached out to HTC to find out if this is a known problem. Turns out we're not the only ones to report the issue, and while rare, the company's gone ahead and tweaked its manufacturing process and is offering to swap affected phones for free for existing customers. Here's HTC's statement: HTC is committed to delivering a high quality product and great experience for all our customers. There have been a few, isolated reports of this issue. The finish on the One S was laboratory tested as being at a hardness similar to ceramic. While that's hard, it doesn't mean it's impossible to damage. Regardless, HTC takes quality very seriously and are providing all customers with an immediate fix and we are implementing some small changes to ensure customers do not experience this issue in the future.
HTC One X gets unofficial power management fix, boosts battery life 10 to 20 percent
Somewhere along mike1986's development of Android Revolution HD, a custom ROM for the HTC One X, he found that something amiss with the smartphone's stock system -- its Tegra 3 power management software didn't function properly. According to the developer, an app known as NvCPLSvc.apk was misplaced in the /system/bin folder, rather than its proper destination of /system/app. Along with the custom ROM, mike1986 has released the fix as a separate bundle, which is detailed in the source below. To apply the patch, users must push the new APK to their handset via ADB, and then alter the file's permissions. Unless you're seriously hindered by your phone's battery life, however, it seems safe to wait for an official update from HTC. On the upside, users report an battery life increase in the neighborhood of 10 to 20 percent once with the fix in place, and we can only hope that all users will soon benefit from similar gains.[Thanks, Nitin]
GSM Galaxy Nexus seeing signal issues after Android 4.0.4 update?
Sometimes, updates aren't as sweet as they initially sound. Such is the case with Android 4.0.4, which recently rolled out to owners of the GSM Galaxy Nexus. According to an increasingly vocal swath of members at xda-developers (and confirmed by a listing on Google's own Support page), there are mysterious signal issues now troubling the device. For many users, there's an inexplicable loss of signal -- a complete inability to make or receive calls and text messages -- after applying the v4.0.4 update, though it's beginning to look like Sleep is the issue. For some, preventing the phone from going to into a deep sleep mode has solved the dilemma, but it has also created a life where a nearby AC outlet is more of a necessity than usual. Hit up the source link to submit a bug report if you're experiencing precisely this, and let us know of any potential fixes down in comments below.
EVE Online fixes boomerang exploit
Pilots looking to duck the long arm of the law in high-security space will need to find another way to perform their nefarious deeds, as EVE Online released a patch today fixing the so-called "boomerang exploit." CCP considered it an official and actionable game exploit to avoid CONCORD retaliation in high-security space by attacking a target right after the aggressor warps away or within the same grid in which the player earned a Global Criminal Countdown. Those who used the exploit prior to the fix could have found themselves dealing with a much scarier force than CONCORD: game masters themselves. Now, any player with a GCC will simply be unable to warp away. Other than keeping boomerangs in the hands of kangaroos where they belong, Crucible patch 1.6.3 contains a few localization fixes, the ability to add a station as a waypoint or destination through the API, and some pesky client crashing issues.
Dell issues BIOS update A03 for XPS 13 Ultrabook, gets a handle on fiesty fans
Can't say we noticed an extraordinary amount of blowing from our XPS 13 Ultrabook review unit, but for those with an optioned Core i7 model, you may want to give the source link a look. Down there, you'll find a download link to the A03 BIOS update, which delivers "an updated thermal table which dictates fan speeds and trigger temperatures." Evidently, these machines have a tendency to kick the fans into high gear prematurely (it's okay Dell, we all get excited sometimes), but thankfully, a 4MB package is all that's required to remedy it. 'Preciate it, technology.
HP acknowledges complaints about the HP Envy 15's color calibration, will release a tuning utility in the 'coming weeks'
If you remember, we had some mixed feelings about the HP Envy 15's IPS display when we took the laptop for a spin earlier this year. On the one hand, it offers wide viewing angles, deep contrast and rich saturation. (Not to mention, when are we ever going to complain about 1080p resolution on a 15-incher?) Still, as many disgruntled forum posters have pointed out, the color calibration seems off against other displays, with reds skewing orange and purples veering into bluish territory. At the time, we reached out to HP for comment and were told to sit tight while the company investigated the issue. Well, today we got an answer, and while the outfit is stopping short of admitting any sort of defect, it is willing to concede the color tuning is different, to say the least. Better yet, it's promising a fix for those incapable of un-seeing it. In a statement, HP's PR team said: HP understands that some customers have expressed concern regarding the appearance of the color red in the ENVY 15 full High Definition (HD) panel, and we wanted to reassure our customers that this panel is functioning properly. HP ENVY Series notebooks use optional premium LED-backlit display panels that have a higher color gamut (range of viewable colors), brightness and viewing angles than many display panels. This means that some colors may appear differently than they do on other displays. A company rep added that over the "coming weeks" HP will release a tuning utility that will allow users to adjust the color settings, making those reds redder, et cetera. It's still unclear how extensive these options will be (after all, HP is still steering the most discerning customers toward its DreamColor offerings), but something's most likely better than nothing, right?
EQII producer teases March update info, promises more communication
New EverQuest II Producer Holly Longdale has completed her maiden voyage around the good ship S.S. SOE, completing her first month of reviews and meetings as future plans are laid out. Now that she's gotten her feet wet, Longdale wrote a short letter to the community about the general activities and focus of the team. The March update -- centered around the Velious storyline -- is coming along, and the team will be unloading tons of information in the near future. Longdale reports that it's not just new content that the EQII crew is concerned about, as bug fixing and refining features are a major priority for the team's engineers. Players irritated with the quest feather graphic issue will be happy to know that it's high up on the priority list. Longdale also let players know that she's paying attention to "big hot-button issues" with the game and is trying her best not to overlook anything. She wraps up her post sharing the meaning behind her dev name, Windstalker, and promising that she'll be corresponding with the community frequently from here on out.
Xbox 360 system update gets its colors in order, makes it mandatory
Remember those color problems experienced by some Xbox 360 users after last year's dashboard update? Microsoft appears to have fixed the issue in its latest system update, although it will take time for the fix to roll out across the associated apps -- we've been told this will happen over the next few months. Its Sony rival also rolled out its own (optional) update for the PS3 yesterday, improving "certain aspects" of the UI. The Xbox team promise that their update will also increase performance, but don't take their word for it; the update is rolling out now -- let us know how it goes.
SWTOR pushes out ability delay improvements with promises of more to come
BioWare wants to let you know that Star Wars: The Old Republic is sorry it hasn't been as responsive to your needs lately, and that after weeks of counseling (and back-room coding), its fledgling MMO is prepared to make up with you. Principal Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller announced today that the infamous ability delay should be clearing up nicely, thanks to an overnight 1.1.0b patch. He says BioWare didn't want to wait until the next big patch to roll it out, opting to instead deliver it as quickly to players as possible. However, Zoeller also notes that the team "is not done improving combat responsiveness" and has several other tweaks and fixes in the work for patch 1.1.1. Other areas of improvement that BioWare is investigating include UI clarity, making cast bars more accurate, and rectifying timing differences for specific abilities and animations.
SWTOR to get ability delay fixes but no Valor rollback [Updated]
Oh, happy day! BioWare's Georg Zoeller has posted a new entry on the Star Wars: The Old Republic official site addressing the incredibly frustrating ability delay that has had players up in arms. Zoeller states that the team has found a number of issues, including abilities on cooldown being displayed as usable, unreliable instant abilities, and significant input delay in "certain game situations, most notably (but not limited to) fast-paced PvP." The team has worked out the two former bugs and is scheduled to get the respective fixes onto the public test server in the next update. Work on the latter issue is in "the later stage of testing," and the team hopes to be able to roll it out onto the live servers "very soon." Here's to hoping that when Zoeller says soon, he means "soon" and not "soon™." [Update: A second dev blog, this one by BioWare's Jeff Hickman, explains the situation with Ilum PvP and why the team decided not to rollback Valor points in the wake of recent exploits. He does promise that the team will use game metrics to take action against the worst offenders if merited.]
Microsoft acknowledges Xbox 360 color space problem in last update, is working on a fix
While we found a lot of things to like in the last Xbox 360 dashboard upgrade, not everyone was happy after it finally rolled out in early December. We've received word from multiple owners who saw and reported color output problems since the beta began, and today Director of Programming Larry Hryb aka Major Nelson tweeted that the company is "aware of the color space issue w/ some Xbox video apps & are working on a fix". While that should take care of some issues, more recent reports also indicate problems with the HDMI output having HDCP authentication problems with certain TVs or receivers that blocks video output, as well as reports confirmed by Eurogamer that 1080p output appears to be downscaled to 720p internally. We're waiting for a response from Microsoft about these or any other issues and will let you know when we hear more. Let us know if you've noticed anything else in the new Xbox 360 update that needs tweaking in the comments below.[Thanks, Vinny P, Brad R. and everyone else who sent this in]
PS Vita gets second firmware update, nixes software bugs
There's not many things worse than when your new imported tech toy is hobbled by teething issues. Just over a week since its launch and Sony's great portable hope has been gifted its second firmware update. Version 1.51 can be grabbed through your PC, PS3 or the Vita itself and promises to fix issues with "game progress" -- mentioning launch title Dynasty Warriors: Next in particular. However, gamers have already figured out that playing through the title offline side-steps the software hiccups that this patch hopes to remedy. Early adopters can hit up the system update option to ensure their machines remain in peak condition or hit up the source for the PC link. [Thanks Adam]
Verizon sidesteps Galaxy Nexus antennagate, claims signal indicator is to blame
This is just hilarious. Remember when Verizon Wireless stated rather unequivocally that its Galaxy Nexus suffered from a "signal strength issue" and that a fix was coming? Worry not, dear readers, because the company now claims that it's identified the issue: apparently, there's really no problem at all. According to Big Red, the Galaxy Nexus doesn't suffer from poor reception, but simply reports its reception poorly. To resolve these 'perception' issues, the carrier states that it will deliver a software update that "will adjust the signal strength indicator to more closely match other Verizon Wireless devices." So, whether or not there really is a problem with the Galaxy Nexus (LTE), one thing is for certain -- very soon, its owners will have more bars to look at. Huzzah, indeed?
Apple fixes App Store bug on iOS 3.1.3 devices, you can hold off on that upgrade
Well, it looks like Apple hasn't completely left behind older iPhones and iPod touches stuck on iOS 3.1.3 just yet. After a few days of not being able to download or buy apps directly on the devices due to a recent App Store update that rendered such basic features unusable, Apple has now returned things back to working order. We've confirmed that ourselves on a first-generation iPod touch running 3.1.3, as have a number of iPhone and iPod touch users on the official Apple support forums. As with the bug in the first place, there's no actual software update involved here -- everything should be back to normal as soon as you open the App Store on your device. [Thanks, Stephen]
Verizon confirms Galaxy Nexus 'signal strength issue,' says a fix is in the works
Well, there's good news and bad. Per usual, we'll kick it off with the latter. The LTEified version of the Galaxy Nexus has signal problems. Or, more specifically, a "signal strength issue." According to Verizon Wireless' Support account on Twitter, the issue is currently being investigated, and while there's no ETA at the moment, a software update is "being developed" to remedy it. We haven't seen a flood of gripes regarding the call quality (or lack thereof) with this particular handset, but it's not exactly uncommon for carriers to work on these types of things soon after a hero device hits the masses. Naturally, we'll keep you abreast of any release details.
Microsoft leak reveals hotfix for underperforming Bulldozers
AMD's Bulldozer silicon is enormously powerful, but most software isn't configured to schedule threads for the faux-16 core design. Windows can only see the chip as a quad-core CPU and will randomly assign threads, which ruins the point of Bulldozer's "Turbo Core" design. Microsoft inadvertently revealed it had teamed up with the chipmaker to fix the problem when it prematurely released a hotfix for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Initial tests showed that it could improve performance by up to seven percent, before it was pulled -- Microsoft conceding that it wasn't quite ready for prime-time.
Addon Spotlight: Hermes, Extra Button, and the mature language filter addon
Each week, WoW Insider's Mathew McCurley brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. One of the most often asked-about topics around these parts concerns the issue of raid cooldowns. A raid leader armed with sufficient knowledge and a knack for planning can orchestrate a cooldown rotation like no other. His excellence could only be improved by a cooldown monitor, allowing that intrepid leader to see what was at his disposal. Many players ask me where to find such a display. This week's Addon Spotlight pick is just the ticket. Allow me to introduce you to Hermes, a wonderful little addon that knows who has what raid cooldowns available. But first, we need to talk about a pressing issue, a dire matter that has threatened the very virtual world we inhabit. I am of course talking about the worst bug in the history of bugs: an eternal mature language filter. Let's fix that too, shall we?
