bugs

Apple's new iPad has had its fair share of problems, and it appears another one might need to be added to the list.

An increasing number of new iPad owners have been complaining on Apple's forums about trouble connecting to 3G networks from their tablet. Based on the growing thread, the issue appears to be widespread across Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia. Only a few people in the U.S. have said that the device is having trouble connecting to 3G.

"When I travel with my iPad, e.g. taking it on a train, it loses … Read more

Satellite navigation maker TomTom has pushed out an update to fix a software glitch that left customers worldwide complaining about not being able to find their location.

The problem, which began on Saturday, meant the sat-navs failed to get a GPS position. Instead, users saw a gray screen or a message saying the GPS signal was poor.

Today the Dutch company apologized for the glitch, which it said was caused by a "leap year" bug in the GPS receiver software from a third-party supplier.

"A software update fixing the issue is now available via MyTomTom," it … Read more

Have you ever followed someone on Twitter only to find that the person no longer appears in your follow status? Well, it's not you, it's Twitter.

The site has finally acknowledged a glitch that's causing people you follow to appear as if they've been unfollowed. Twitter is working on a fix but insists the bug only makes it seem like you're no longer following someone. Clicking on the user's actual profile page can confirm that you're still a follower:

In human relationships, nothing should surprise. Indeed, the only extreme reaction ought to be disappointment.

This is what I feel after I learned from the excellent Beaver County Times that a man is being accused of placing a transmitter beneath his wife's bed.

His purpose was allegedly to discover if she was having sex.

The more alert among you might have noticed the phrase "his wife's bed." This would suggest either that the gentleman in question and his wife had an agreeable but separate sleeping arrangement. Or that there was trouble beneath their roof.

It seems … Read more

Apple has weighed in on a controversial issue with its iMessage service that keeps accounts on devices even when the owner has wiped the phone.

A story posted by Gizmodo yesterday detailed the dangers of the issue after a reader sent the outlet photos and details of iMessage exchanges that appeared on their iPhone after having it serviced at an Apple store.

According to their story, it all stemmed from that employee using their own phone's SIM card as part of the repair, which linked up the customer's phone to that employee's iMessage account. That resulted in … Read more

Oracle yesterday deployed 78 different security fixes aimed at patching holes throughout its various database products.

As part of the company's January critical patch update, 16 of the 78 fixes were considered critical, meaning they could be exploited remotely. The fixes stretched across much of Oracle's product lineup, including Oracle Database Server, Fusion Middleware, E-Business Suite, Oracle Sun products, MySQL, VirtualBox, and PeopleSoft.

One of the patches addresses a major flaw that could compromise the security of Oracle database systems. Initially researched by InfoWorld, the flaw was shared with Oracle before the tech publication went live with the … Read more

Google has fixed a bug in its Checkout software that exposed customer phone numbers to merchants in more than two dozen countries that charge a value-added tax--mostly in Europe and Asia.

"We had a bug in our Google Checkout merchant center and API. This meant that merchants selling digital goods may have seen buyer phone numbers which are normally provided only when users buy physical goods," a Google spokesman said in a statement.

"We fixed the problem in the merchant center and we're rolling out a fix to the API over the next few days," … Read more

Some new Android handset owners are complaining that they can't receive text messages from friends who own iPhones.

According to a growing thread in Apple's support forums, former iPhone owners that had been communicating with friends via iMessage are unable to receive any messages from those same folks when they try texting from an Android device.

"I bought an Android phone tonight, replacing my iPhone," Apple support forums user "Literroy" posted last month. "I also ported my number to the new phone. However, now, anytime someone with an iPhone tries to SMS me, … Read more

Sometimes I wonder what lives inside my Comcast cable box. Just occasionally, it will behave erratically, twitching nervously at the sight of "Top Chef."

A story that has emerged from Aurora, Ill., suggests an emergent solution: creepy-crawly creatures.

I am grateful to the Chicago Sun-Times for describing the dilemma of one Comcast customer, Antonio Munez, who claims that after the company installed a cable box, cockroaches crawled out of it.

It is unclear whether the roaches were protesting Munoz refusal to watch cooking shows. However, Munoz says he suspects the equipment was old and adds that no one … Read more