Apple has today released iOS 9.0.2. This minor update includes bug fixes and performance enhancements. 

This update contains bug fixes and improvements including: 

- Fixes an issue with the setting to turn on or off app cellular data usage
- Resolves an issue that prevented iMessage activation for some users
- Resolves an issue where an iCloud backup could be interrupted after starting a manual backup
- Fixes an issue where the screen could incorrectly rotate when receiving notifications
- Improves the stability of Podcasts

This is the second iOS 9 update released by Apple in the last two weeks. You can update your iOS device over-the-air on Wi-Fi by heading to: Settings > General > Software Update. 

An easy way to drag applications around without clicking down on the trackpad is to enable "Three Finger Drag". The option for this setting has changed location in OS X 10.11 El Capitan. In OS X 10.10 Yosemite, this option was in "Trackpad", but now it's under "Accessibility". 

"Three Finger Drag" allows you to move open application windows around by simply hovering the mouse pointer over the top of an apps window, touching three fingers on the trackpad, and then moving around. Removing the need to physically click down on the trackpad. 

To enable "Three Finger Drag" in El Capitan, follow these steps:

1. Open "System Preferences".
2. Click "Accessibility".
3. Click "Mouse & Trackpad".
4. Click "Trackpad Options".
5. Check "Enable dragging", then click the drop down menu.
6. Select "three finger drag".  

AdBlock - Mobile By BETAFISH INC

You may think it's a little odd for a website that has advertisements on it to tell people how to install an ad-blocker - and it is. However, while I make sure to keep ads to a minimum and non-intrusive to the users experience, not everyone does. And I can completely understand why people would want to use an ad-blocker because of those sites that mistreat their users. 

Ads these days have become intrusive, with pop-ups, ads that take over a webpage, or even re-direct a webpage. Videos that auto-play over a website. There's companies tracking your web behavior to better target you with ads. There has also been many recent cases of malware being discovered in third-party-ads. So blocking ads has become more than just blocking those constant flashing annoying eye-sores and more about protecting your own security on the web. And until ad-companies can get control of the ads they serve and websites stop cramming ads in every possible spot they can - I totally agree that users have the right to block the ads, if they choose.

Now, there are many ad-blockers in the App Store that are charging a fee. I don't necessarily like this. Yes, a developer should in some cases get compensation for their work - however when it's getting money for something that prevent hard working websites gaining money - I disagree with. If you're going to block ads - don't pay for an app and make a developer rich.  

So which ad-blocker should you install? One of the most popular ad-blockers that you may of heard of is AdBlock Plus, they will be releasing a free content blocker for Safari, however at the time of this post being written - there app is still pending in the App Store. But, if you use them on your desktop - you may want to wait for their app to use on iOS.

Adblock Plus By Eyeo

*Update (September 30th): Adblock Plus By Eyeo [iTunes Link] is now available for iOS devices. Both, AdBlock and Adblock Plus are good ad-blockers. It's up to you on which to use.

A note about Adblock Plus - they by default, do not hide all ads - they allow what they call 'Acceptable Ads'. This can be switched off in the ABP app settings: Settings -> Acceptable Ads.

Another great ad-blocker that has over 50 million downloads is; AdBlock. They also have a free Content Blocker for Safari, and their app is ready to be downloaded! 

The first step in blocking ads in Safari on your iPhone or iPad in iOS 9 is downloading a Content Blocker. A Content Blocker is an app with a list of content that you don't want Safari to load. Apple claims that Content Blockers, "cannot send any information about what was blocked back to the app." But they can control what is blocked. I at the moment recommend the app AdBlock - Mobile By BETAFISH INC. 

How To Install A Content Blocker: 

Once you have downloaded the app, open the iOS Settings app. Then tap Safari. Scroll down to and tap 'Content Blockers'. There will be three content blockers for AdBlock, an Ad Blocking, a Privacy Shield and something about International languages. Switch them all 'on'. If you installed AdBlock Plus, there will only be one option to switch on. And that's all! Open Safari, view a webpage and there should not be any ads!

AdBlock Mobile uses the EasyList and EasyPrivacy lists for its ad-blocking sources. Unfortunately, at least at the moment, you cannot White List a site (which is choosing a site to allow ads on). And there is no easy way to switch AdBlock off in Safari if a page doesn't load properly, you'd have to go back to Settings. Other than these set backs - enjoy not seeing ads. But I will warn you - once you block them - it's pretty hard to go back to an internet with ads! :)

Lets take a quick break from all the great app reviews and tips for your iOS and OS X devices for this quick advertisement of what I think is the best Space Alien and UFO themed t-shirts. 

There's a great range, full of variety, available on the Those Who From Heaven Came Spreadshirt store. There is the classic Alien head/face, a Space alien character, which also comes in different types - like with a space cloud image background. There's the Giza Pyramid's and Orion's Belt, pixeled game style alien, Alien head in Triangle, some other spacey designs like Saturn, a map of our solar system, and much more...

These Space Alien designs are available on a bunch of items, including; T-Shirts, Hoodies, Sweatshirts, Mugs, and more. They are also perfect for the ancient alien enthusiast and theorists.  

If you believe, check them out in the store. 

> View Space Alien & UFO T-Shirt Store.  

A new feature added in iOS 9 is the ability to zoom in on videos! Now with any video that you have recorded into your Camera Roll, you can zoom in simply by using 'pinch and zoom'. You can also pan around in the zoomed in video. 

Another new feature added in iOS 9 is the ability to take a photo while recording video. As you are recording a video you'll see another White button on the screen. Tap the white capture button to take a photo while filming. The photo taken isn't as good as a photo that is taken in the normal photo mode, but the resolution is 2720x1532, which is higher than the 1080p of the HD video.

Also new in iOS 9 for your camera - higher HD frame rate. There is a new option to enable 60 frames per second HD video recording, a bump up from the 30fps in iOS 8. Changing the frame rate to 60fps will give you much nicer and smoother motion in your videos. You'll need to enable this in Settings. Go to: Settings > Photo & Camera > under 'Camera' heading, "Record Video" > and select "1080p HD at 60 fps" for the best quality (unless you have a iPhone 6s, then '4K' for the highest picture quality). Remember, higher quality means that it'll use up more space on your iOS device.  

Angry Birds, the worlds most popular smartphone app (probably), with millions of users, across multiple Angry Birds games - from Angry Birds, to Angry Birds 2, the Star Wars edition, the Transformers one, the one in go-karts, the spin-off Stella game, Angry Birds Fight, and Angry Birds Epic, to name a few. And the next epic thing from Angry Birds? The Angry Birds Movie!

Finally want to know why the birds are so angry?? Watch the teaser trailer for your first look at The Angry Birds Movie -the hilarious 3D adventure coming May 2016 - Sony Pictures Entertainment

The Angry Birds Movie [IMDb Link] is coming in May 2016 and today, Sony Pictures Entertainment has released a first look trailer of the movie - and it actually looks pretty funny! Check it out, above. 

If your iOS device suddenly tells you, you have run out iCloud storage, shortly after updating to iOS 9, here is the possible reason! It seems that in iOS 9, Apple is automatically switching on iCloud backup for all apps - by default (if you choose to activate iCloud), even if before hand you had manually switched off certain apps - like a large photo library, which may be bigger than the allocated 5GB of free storage. 

Users may need to go into the settings and re-adjust their iCloud backup settings to free up some space. Or, if you want to continue to backup all the data on your iOS device(s), you may need to purchase a higher iCloud storage plan. 

To adjust what's being backed-up to iCloud in iOS 9, open the Settings app, tap General, then Storage & iCloud Usage, and under the iCloud heading tap Manage Storage. Choose your device and then you can manually adjust each app's backup setting.

You can learn more about iCloud on the Apple Support webpage. 

Vertical screen space can be much more important on a computer than horizontal space. Mac's come installed with the Dock on the bottom of the screen and this does take up a lot of space - specially on small MacBook's. A better place for the Dock is on either the left or right side of the screen. 

You can change the position of the Dock in System Preferences.

1. Open System Preferences. 

2. Click Dock. 

3. On 'Position on Screen' option, choose either; Left, Bottom, or Right.  

There are also other options for the Mac Dock that you can enable in System Preferences, like auto-hide and show - the option that hides your dock, then makes it re-appear when you move your mouse to the edge, where you have positioned the Dock. 

You can also resize the dock to make it smaller to larger. This can be done in System Preferences > Dock or by dragging the divider (line before Downloads folder).  

It's so exciting, watchOS 2 for Apple Watch was released by Apple yesterday!  ...So... what's different? 

Well even though the number in the name is "2", it's really more of a 1.1. These are really all the features that should of been released in watchOS 1, but i guess they weren't ready. 

This watchOS update mostly adds a lot of little additions and upgrades.  

Here is some of the new features and changes to check out on your upgraded Apple Watch:

- New Colors options on Watch faces, including 'multicolor' for Modular face. 

- Support for apps to run natively on the Watch. 

- New Photo watch face.

- New Time-Lapse watch face.

- Third-party watch complications.  

- Add more default replies.

- You can now use multiple colors in Sketches.

- Option to keep the screen on longer when screen tapped. 

- Time-travel back or forward by turning the digital crown on watch face to see past or upcoming events or weather, etc. 

- Nightstand mode when Apple Watch is charging. 

- Apps now have ability to access features like Taptic Engine, Digital Crown, accelerometer, heart rate sensor, speaker and microphone. 

- Reply to emails.

- Add friends to circle directly on watch. You can also create more than one circle group.

- Public transport information on watch.

- Siri has been upgraded. You can now ask Siri to activate things like a specific workout, or to look up a word, or activate a glance.

- Activation Lock! Your Apple Watch is now locked to your iCloud Apple ID and password.   

- Activity Move ring now tracks in kilojoules instead of calories. 

Apple has today released the WatchOS 2 update for Apple Watch after delaying the release since last Wednesday (September 16th 2015) due to a 'bug' in the software.  

WatchOS 2 features small changes and upgrades to the Apple Watch software. Among the updates are: 

- New Time-Lapse and Photo watch faces.

- Third party watch complications. 

- Apps can natively run on the Apple Watch.

- See what's coming up on your schedule with Time Travel. 

- Nightstand mode. 

- and more...

To update your Apple Watch, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. On the My Watch tab click General, then Software Update. Note, you'll need to be connected to Wi-Fi, have your iPhone nearby, and your Apple Watch with a 50% or more charge - connected to its charger. The update is around 500mb in size. 

Read more about WatchOS 2 and the Apple Watch on Apple's website.

Chinese developers have disclosed that a malware has been found, called XcodeGhost, that has been affecting the App Store and putting millions of iOS users security at risk.

XcodeGhost is a iOS malware hidden inside a hacked version of Apple's free official Xcode program, which is used to create iOS and OS X apps.

XcodeGhost was used by Chinese developers who unknowingly downloaded the malicious program from a Chinese cloud file sharing site, instead of Apple's own App Store - presumably because it gave them quicker download speeds than Apple's severs in China.

The apps created with XcodeGhost made it through Apple's review process and were available on the App Store for millions of iOS users to download.

The apps affected with this malware can collect information about the users iOS device, but more importantly, could: phish users login credentials with fake dialog screens, hijack opening of URL's, read and write into the users clipboard - which means anything copied - like passwords.

U.S. Cyber security firm, Palo Alto Networks, have published details about this XcodeGhost malware, including all the affected apps which include: WeChat, NetEase, CamScanner, OPlayer, WinZip, Musical.ly, PDFReader, MobileTicket, PocketScanner, InstaFollower, WeLoop, SaveSnap, CamCard, and many more.

This malware has potentially affected over 500 million iOS users for all around the world. If you think you have been affected, or have used any of these apps - you should immediately uninstall the apps (see list here) - or update to a patched version. You should also change your iCloud and iTunes account passwords, and any other apps or website passwords that have ever been entered or copied onto your iOS device.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert featured a new segment on Wednesday (September 16th) titled, 'Planet Of The Apps'. 
In the segment, Colbert mentions his own app, Colbr, and pokes fun at a engagement proposal app, and an app called, Pet Baby, that creates an image of 'what your pet would look like' as a baby.   
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35pm EST / 10:35 Central on CBS. 

With all the new changes and features in iOS 9, we have a new topic on Apps-Reviewed called; 'New in iOS 9'. This post is about the new feature: Wi-Fi Assist:

A new feature has been added in iOS 9 called 'Wi-Fi Assist'. This feature automatically uses cellular data when Wi-Fi signal is poor.

You can switch this feature off or on, by going to:

Settings > Cellular > Wi-Fi Assist

It's the day of the iOS 9 and watchOS 2 software updates! While it's not confirmed what time Apple will be releasing the updates, judging by previous years, iOS 9 will most likely be available at 10:00am PDT / 1:00pm EST.

iOS 9, the latest operating system for iPhone and iPad, features a new News app (for certain countries), improved Notes app, a new iCloud Drive app, new Siri suggestions and search page, new lower and uppercase Keyboard, ability to add content blockers for Safari, multitasking on iPad, and many, many more improvements to apps and iOS. 

*Update: TechCrunch reports that Apple are delaying the release of watchOS 2 due to a "...bug in development...". The update will not be released today, but will "...shortly."

The iOS 9 update can be installed via iTunes or via an over-the-air update - straight on your device: Settings > General > Software Update.   

But I do recommend either way before you install the update you BACKUP FIRST! You wouldn't want to lose all your important data like; photos, contacts, messages, and other app data in the event that something goes wrong. 

The best way to backup before a big update like this, is in iTunes, but a iCloud backup is also good to have. For more info on backing up iPhone and iPad to iTunes and iCloud, view the Apple Support guides on Backup.  

For watchOS 2, the update is done through the Apple Watch app on your iPhone: 

Apple Watch (app) > My Watch (tab) > General > Software Update. 

The Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan update will be available on September 30th. 

View more about what's new in iOS 9 and in watchOS 2 on Apple's website. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook made a guest appearance on CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight. 

The interview touched on topics of the iPhone 6s, with Colbert showing off the new Rose Gold iPhone 6S. 3D Touch, the possibility of an Apple Car, charity and responsibilities, and more. For a good written summary, check out this article on re/code. 

You can watch a clip of the interview above, made available by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert YouTube page, or if you're in the U.S.A. you can watch the entire episode on CBS.com.