Apple released a new iTunes upgrade version which dedicate especially for iPad users. The iTunes 10.5.3 allows iPad users to sync interative iBooks textbook to your iPad.

iBooks textbooks are created with iBooks Author which are now available as a free download on the Mac App Store.

This update is important for iPad users who are occasionally use iTunes to backup their data instead of iCloud. Some users might prefer the old way to store their backup and are not comfortable with the iCloud syncing platform.

The update is available for both Mac and Windows users.

We know that Android is an open source mobile operating system but we have no idea how open is Android OS. A research report measures that Google’s Android operating system is the most ‘closed’ open source platform among the other major open source operating system.

The eight open source projects are Android, Qt, Symbian, MeeGo, Mozilla, WebKit, Linux and Eclipse. The research report analyses how governance, and not licenses, tell the full story of a project’s openness, across transparency, influence and control.

In the research report from VisionMobile, the 45 pages report examines the reviews of the eight operating system, open source cultural roots, best practices in creating an open source project and other informative in depth research for measuring the openness of open source projects.

“Google has made Android available at ‘less than zero’ cost, since Google’s core business is not software or search, but driving eyeballs to ads,” the report states. “As is now well understood, Google’s strategy has been to subsidise Android such that it can deliver cheap handsets and low-cost wireless Internet access in order to drive more eyeballs to Google’s ad inventory.”

“Android would not have risen were it not for the billions of dollars that OEMs and network operators poured into Android in order to compete with Apple’s iconic devices,” the firm wrote. “As Stephen Elop, Nokia’s CEO, said in June, 2011, ‘Apple created the conditions necessary for Android.’

via BGR

Do you want to speed up your typing and use custom keyboards shortcuts on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad? Here is a Cydia Tweak call KBShortCuts which make your life easier. Numerous common keyboard shortcuts can be achieved like copy-paste, select-all, search, translate, quick text and tons of other stuff.

It can be turn off when not using it and set the translation language. With only $2.50, this tweak can really help to make our typing experience more fun and save our time.

Apple could make the next Snow Leopard update with iCloud service supported. Users running on Mac OS X Tiger will not be able to use the iCloud service as the minimum requirement is Snow Leopard 10.6.9 or later.

The message as below:

You will no longer be able to sync with this machine because you’ve upgraded to iCloud.
iCloud requires a computer running Mac OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.9 or later for Contacts, Calendars, and Bookmarks.

But Apple has yet to confirm the minimum system requirements for iCloud Service. It seems that users are able to enjoy iCloud Service on their next Snow Leopard release update.

via MacRumors

iTunes 10.4.1 for Mac and Windows provides several bug fixes. This version is likely to address issues from existing version than an improvement. Take a look at the changes below:-

• Fixes a problem where the media keys on some third-party keyboards work inconsistently with iTunes
• Addresses issues with adding artwork to songs and videos
• Resolves an issue which may cause iTunes to become unresponsive when purchasing an HD movie
• Fixes a problem where iTunes may take longer than expected to open after waking your Mac from sleep
• Addresses issues with VoiceOver support

This upgrade is available to download at 90.26 MB (Mac), 77.47 MB (Win 32) or 78.32 MB (Win 64) on Apple Support Website or from Software Update option.

When you are trying to install Google ADT Plugin for Eclipse and you see a lot of weird and strange error messages like below. Don’t be panic, it can be solve very easily.

An error occurred while collecting items to be installed session context was:(profile=epp.package.java, phase=org.eclipse.equinox.internal.p2.engine.phases.Collect, operand=, action=). No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.apache.lucene.highlighter,2.9.1.v20100421-0704 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.apache.lucene.memory,2.9.1.v20100421-0704 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.apache.lucene.misc,2.9.1.v20100421-0704 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.apache.lucene.queries,2.9.1.v20100421-0704 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.apache.lucene.snowball,2.9.1.v20100421-0704 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.apache.lucene.spellchecker,2.9.1.v20100421-0704 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.eclipse.jst.common.project.facet.core,1.4.200.v201103170302 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.eclipse.jst.server.core,1.2.202.v20110419 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.eclipse.wst.css.core,1.1.500.v201104191926 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.eclipse.wst.css.ui,1.0.600.v201103022054 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.eclipse.wst.html.core,1.1.500.v201104191551 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.eclipse.wst.jsdt.core,1.1.100.v201104272153 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.eclipse.wst.jsdt.manipulation,1.0.300.v201104272153 No repository found containing: osgi.bundle,org.eclipse.wst.jsdt.ui,1.1.100.v201105041953

To fix this problem, follow these instructions.

1. In the Eclipse window, go to Help -> Install New Software
2. Enter the URL https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/ into the textbox.
3. Click Add button.
4. List of Developer Tools will be shown:- Android DDMS, Development Tools, Hierarchy Viewer and Traceview
5. Uncheck “Contact all update sites during install to find required software” (this is causing the error message above).
6. Click Next button.
7. Click Finish button to start the installation process.

If you are still having problem with the ADT Plugin installation, try to read this manually installation guide.

Updating your system as soon as a new version released is recommended for most users to ensure the system fixes some issues, enhance the stability of the system and system compatibility.

In this update included the following items:-

• Address an issue that may cause the system to become unresponsive when playing a video in Safari.
• Resolve an issue that may cause system audio to stop working when using HDMI or optical audio out.
• Improve the reliability of Wi-Fi connections.
• Resolve an issue that prevents transfer of your data, settings, and compatible applications to a new Mac running OS X Lion.
• Resolve an issue in which an admin user account could be missing after upgrading to OS X Lion.

View more information of Mac OS X Lion 10.7.1 update

Apple released a new beta 4 version of iCloud for developer along with iOS beta 5 on last week. In order to use iCloud on Windows, you need to login using your iCloud account. Take a look at the following screen shot.

In the windows above, you are able to manage each services to be sync with iCloud. The iCloud service is able to sync a lot of data from your iPhone or iPad such as Photos, Contacts, Calendars, Emails and so on. If you have a iOS developer program account, you are able to use this beta feature on iTunes.

iCloud syncing service seems to be pretty slow. That is actually make sense if you compare with original syncing using USB cable which have faster data transfer rate. The transfer rate could be slower on WiFi or 3G connection.

Do you think this iCloud service is useful to you? For me, the most wanted things that I wish to sync is my contacts list, photos and valuable apps. I don’t want to lost either of it.

via iPhoneDownloadBlog