Apple has released a new software update for Apple TV that brings a few of the more popular iOS 6 features to the device. Despite sharing some features with iOS 6, the version is labeled as 5.1 with a build of 10A406e.

The update includes Photo Stream sharing, new screen savers, the ability to switch iTunes accounts, enhanced AirPlay options, Trailers, further subtitle support, and provides for the ability to re-arrange homescreen icons by holding down the Select button on the remote control. The update is available for both Apple TV 2nd and 3rd generation models and is said to also improve the performance and stability of Apple TV.

Updating Apple TV to the latest version is done easiest by navigating to the Settings menu, choosing “General”, then choose software update.

Download Apple TV 5.1 IPSW

These are direct download links for firmware files hosted by Apple:

• Apple TV (2nd gen 2,1)
• Apple TV (3rd gen, 3,1)

Most users are better off downloading the update through Apple TV itself, but using iOS firmware files is the same on Apple TV as it is for other iOS devices and requires a USB connection.

If having Google Maps on your iOS 6 equipped iPhone is an absolute must right now, you’ll be pleased to discover that Google Maps has a surprisingly good web app that works extremely well from mobile Safari. Thanks to the speed of the A6 process in the iPhone 5, the web app so quick it actually feels pretty much like a native app too. Here’s how to get access to Google Maps on your iOS 6 device right now:

• Open Safari and go to maps.google.com
• Tap the [>] arrow button to bring up the task menu, and choose “Add to Home Screen”

Now that you have added the Google Maps web app to your home screen, you can launch it like any other app, though it will load in the Safari web browser. That hardly matters though, because it’s full featured and has complete access to everything Google Maps does with all its detail, accuracy, and directions for cars, walking, public transit, and bikes.

This web-based solution is obviously temporary as Google is widely expected to release an independent iOS Maps app for iPhone and iPad, but there’s still no estimate on when it will arrive. In the meantime, bookmark Google Maps to your home screen, check out Bing Maps as a replacement, and last but certainly not least, give Apple Maps a chance. After using Apple Maps quite a bit I have found it to be quite good, though it’s obviously still a work in progress for some regions. Instead of buying into the negative press (though some of the surrounding humor is quite funny), try it out yourself for a while and you’ll probably agree.

Thanks for the tip idea Ilan

Mail generally automatically checks itself when launched in iOS, or mail checks itself every some-odd amount of minutes based on your Push and Fetch settings. But any modern version of iOS Mail app will not find a standard mail refresh button, but that doesn’t mean you can’t forcibly check mail yourself when you want to on any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

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iPhone 5 owners who opted for the Verizon model have discovered the device ships with an unlocked nano-SIM card slot, even if the device was bought under contract at a subsidized rate and did not pay the full unlocked price. This is excellent news for travelers or for anyone who wants to immediately get access to an unlocked iPhone 5 without waiting for them to be officially available.

Several confirmations have been made across the web starting with iDownloadBlog, who confirmed that a Verizon iPhone 5 works immediately with an AT&T nano-SIM on their 3G HPSA+ “4G” network. According to TheVerge, T-Mobile nano-sim cards are also said to work with iPhone 5 immediately, and AP also confirmed the unlocked status.

Currently, iPhone 5 bought through AT&T are locked to their network under the terms of the two-year contract agreement, though anyone is welcome to try unlocking it through them anyway. Compelling cases may be honored, but typically AT&T does not unlock the iPhone sim card slot until the contract agreement is up.

It’s unclear if the Sprint iPhone 5 also includes an unlocked nano-SIM slot. If you haven’t purchased an iPhone 5 yet and want immediate access to overseas GSM networks, the Verizon iPhone may be the way to go.

Alex L. manages a startup in Brazil that builds web apps with Ruby on Rails, and, no surprise, he uses a bunch of great Apple gear to get the job done. Being a startup also means juggling a lot of hats, so beyond development the workstation gets used for design and film production. Hardware shown includes:

• MacBook Pro Retina 15″ – 2.6GHz Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, OS X 10.8.1
• Apple Cinema Display 27″
• iPhone 4S – 16GB, iOS 6
• iPad 3rd gen – 32GB, iOS 6
• Logitech K750 Wireless Solar Keyboard
• Apple Magic Trackpad
• Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch tablet
• iPod Nano 16GB in a watch band
• IoGear USB 2.0 Hub
• Just Mobile MTable monitor stand

Maybe it’s confirmation bias because we’re an Apple-centric site and almost everyone we know uses Macs, but it seems just about every startup these days uses Macs and Apple gear. Who can blame them?

Have an interesting Mac setup you want featured here? Send us a good picture or two, a list of hardware, and a brief description of what the workstation is used for to osxdailycom@gmail.com

Apple has started to air a group of four commercials for the iPhone 5, each ad is voiced by Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber, Newsroom) and focuses on different aspects of the phone. The videos are described briefly and embedded to watch below.

The first commercial, titled “Thumb”, focuses on the new 4″ display and how it is sized according to the reach of thumbs:

The next commercial is titled “Cheese” and is centered around the new Panorama camera mode new to iOS 6 and iPhone 5:

Another commercial is dubbed “Physics”, and emphasizes how the new iPhone offers more features and a larger display while weighing less and being bundled in a thinner package:

The final commercial airing is called “Ears”, with a focus on the new and improved EarPods headphones that have replaced the popular earbud headphones and ship with iPhone 5:

The ads are all pretty good, and are thus far being received far better than the controversial and unpopular Mac Genius ads from earlier in the summer. Typically you can catch new Apple commercials on TV during primetime, keep a lookout for them.

Did you just get a new iPhone? Do you want to move everything from the old one to the new one? No sweat, we’ll walk you through the two absolute easiest and most pain free methods to migrate everything from that old iPhone to the brand spankin new iPhone 5s or 5c. Transferring everything from iPhones is a lot like migrating iPads, so if you’ve done that before you’ll be in familiar territory. If this is all completely new to you, don’t worry because it’s very easy.

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iOS 6 brought with it a new feature that lets iPad users finally get weather on the device without downloading a third party apps: the new Clock app. Yup, there’s a new clock app for iPad users only, and it does all the things the iPhone and iPod touch clock app did, plus the ability to get the current temperature:

• Launch Clock, tap on “World Clock” on the bottom
• Enter the location(s) you want the current weather for

At a glance, World Clock shows the weather and temperature along with the times for each location around the world you specified.

You can also tap on a specific location to see a larger version of the clock with the current temperature indicated, as shown in the screenshot at top. The Clock app has limitations though, mainly that it will only provide the current temperatures in locations, so you won’t find any forecasting. For that you’ll want to use Siri or a third party app.

By the way, the full-screen clock makes a great screensaver of sorts for the iPad while it’s sitting around not in use. To have the full screen Clock stay visible, just turn off auto-dimming and screen locking.

Weather is obviously a fairly minor and subtle feature, but it’s very much appreciated.

OS X Mountain Lion has been a fantastic update for Mac users, but some of us on portable Macs discovered an annoying side effect of reduced battery life, often accompanied by a Mac that felt warmer to the touch. Those issues have been largely fixed with the OS X 10.8.2 update, making it a must-have update for MacBook owners.

The following observations are anecdotal and not scientific by any means, but findings thus far with OS X 10.8.2 include:

• Dramatic improvements to battery life on three different MacBook Airs (2010, 2011, and 2012 models), each jumping by at least 2 hours to an average of 6 hours under normal use
• Portable Macs running OS X 10.8.2 appear to run at lower temperatures and are noticeably cooler to the touch, perhaps suggesting the original battery life issue was related to power management or an errant background process

The largest boost was found on a 2011 MacBook Air 11″ model, which jumped from 3.4 hours to 6 hours on a full charge. This was shown by the Battery Time Remaining app and proved accurate while running a clock to observe battery drain under standard usage conditions at 70% display brightness.

Interestingly, the release notes of 10.8.2 make no mention of battery improvements, but if you have experienced any reduction in battery life with Mountain Lion then updating to the latest version will demonstrate very obvious increases. The difference in battery performance between OS X 10.8.1 and 10.8.2 is night and day and should give users who suffered under prior versions at least an hour or two longer while on the go.

If you have a MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air running Mountain Lion 10.8 or 10.8.1, install the OS X 10.8.2 update right away through the  Apple Menu > Software Update, and enjoy the immediate battery boost.

Siri has made it’s way onto iPad thanks to modern iOS and it’s actually one of the best reasons to upgrade to a newer device.

Though you should see the option to enable Siri during the first reboot and basic setup after updating to a new iOS version getting a brand new iPad, if you somehow skipped it or didn’t see that option, or perhaps turned it off, here’s all you need to do to get Siri on the iPad enabled and working.

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The primary shortcoming of iOS 6 for some people is Apple’s new Maps app. Sure, it’ll get better as more people use it and as Apple updates it, but if you’re highly dependent on reliable detailed maps right now you may not want to wait. An official Google Maps app for iOS is likely coming soon, but there’s already a good third party maps app available to iOS users that rivals Google in both detail, accuracy of listings, directions, and just about everything else, and it comes right from Microsoft.

We’re talking about Bing of course, a free app for both iPhone and iPad, and it provides full access to the excellent Bing Maps services. In some areas, Bing Maps even has greater clarity for aerial views in than Google, it’s directions are spot-on, and the listings all were accurate in our testing. It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re inpatient with Apple’s offering:

• Get Bing for iPhone
• Get Bing for ipad

A primary complaint with Bing Maps is that it’s not an independent app and instead is part of the larger Bing app for iOS, this can make for some strange user experience mishaps by tapping unfamiliar things until you learn whats what The other annoyance is there’s no pin-dropping feature, though it can find your current location with precision and get directions based on that, just be sure to have a business name or address handy for the destination. All in all those complaints are fairly minor and Bing Maps is pretty good. So go ahead and update to iOS 6, try out Apple Maps, grab Bing, and keep on mapping.

If the only reason you aren’t updating to iOS 6 is Apple’s Maps, don’t let it hold you back. For one, Apple Maps isn’t as bad as people are saying, Bing Maps is actually pretty good, and hopefully soon Google Maps will be released as an app too. That means in the not too distant future, we’ll all have at least three choices for mapping in iOS, and then nobody will have anything to complain about.

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OS X Lion 10.7.5 has been released alongside iOS 6 and OS X 10.8.2. For those still using OS X Lion, the update brings the Gatekeeper security feature to Lion, fixes a variety of common bugs, resolves a wifi issue with iMacs, and is said to generally improve the stability of OS X.

OS X 10.7.5 can be downloaded through Software Update via the  Apple menu.

The release notes as shown in Software Update are below:

The 10.7.5 update is recommended for all OS X Lion users and includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac. It also includes Gatekeeper, a new security feature that helps you keep your Mac safe from malicious software by giving you more control over what apps are installed on your Mac.

The 10.7.5 update also includes fixes that:
Resolve an issue where icons in Launchpad may get rearranged after a restart
Improve Wi-Fi reliability for iMac (Late 2009 and newer)
Resolve an issue using Spotlight to search an SMB server
Improve compatibility connecting to Active Directory servers

A little off topic here, but if you’re still on Lion you should really consider upgrading to Mountain Lion. 10.8 is heaps and bounds better, brings back much-loved features that Lion lost, and is certainly worth the easy $20 upgrade.

iOS 6 is now available for everyone to download. Most users are best served updating to iOS 6 through OTA or iTunes, but advanced users can upgrade manually with firmware files. This has several advantages, particularly for those upgrading multiple devices in a household or institution, or for those updating from older versions of iOS.

The following firmware links are hosted directly by Apple, using IPSW files requires iTunes. You will want to have the latest version of iTunes installed before attempting a direct firmware update with IPSW.

• iPhone 5 GSM
• iPhone 5 CDMA
• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 4 GSM
• iPhone 4 CDMA
• iPhone 4 (3,2)
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad 3 LTE GSM
• iPad 3 LTE CDMA
• iPad 3 Wi-Fi
• iPad 2 3G GSM
• iPad 2 3G CDMA
• iPad 2 Wi-Fi
• iPad 2 (2,4)
• iPod touch 4th gen
• iPod touch 5th gen

Regardless of how you decide to upgrade to iOS 6, just remember to back up first. The likelihood of something going wrong is slim but it’s better safe than sorry.

OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 has been released alongside iOS 6. The update provides several new features and increased crossover compatibility with iOS, and also fixes a variety of bugs and complaints about previous versions of OS X 10.8.

New features include Facebook integration, PowerNap support to 2010 MacBook Air models, iMessage improvements, shared Reminder lists, URL shortening from Notification Center, a fix for Save As altering the original file, and more.

There is some speculation that OS X 10.8.2 resolves the battery life issues that many portable MacBook Air and MacBook Pro users have experienced, though this is currently unconfirmed and battery life is not mentioned in the release notes. Likewise, there is no mention of any lingering wi-fi issues, but there is also speculation that 10.8.2 resolves those too.

You can download OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 from the Mac App Store.

Apple has released iOS 6 for all compatible devices, this includes the iPhone 5, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPod touch 4th gen, and iPod touch 5th gen. iOS 6 includes a variety of new features and refinements, makes Sharing possible with Photo Streams, adds Apple’s new Maps app and turn-by-turn directions, and brings Siri to devices like the iPad 3. Upgrading is simple, back up first and then use one of the following three methods to install the update.

Updating to iOS 6

Wait! Back Up First: Before beginning any iOS update, it’s a good idea to back up your device. The easiest way is with iCloud, which can be done through Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Back Up Now, but you can also backup through iTunes.

OTA Update: The best approach for most users is to update to iOS 6 using Over-the-Air, this can be done by opening Settings, tapping General, then tapping “Software Update” and then installing. This is generally the fastest method and it only downloads a delta update, meaning the changes between your current iOS version and iOS 6.

Updating through iTunes: iOS 6 can also be installed directly through iTunes. Be sure to have the latest version of Tunes 10.7 (or later) installed before doing so. Connecting the device to the computer and opening iTunes is generally sufficient.

Updating through IPSW: Considered more advanced, you will need to directly download iOS 6 firmware files from here and use them manually.

If your iPhone 5 pre-ordered through Apple still says “Preparing for Shipment” and it’s making you anxious, worry not, it has probably already shipped but Apple’s Order Status page just hasn’t updated yet. In fact, you can start tracking the iPhone right now even though Apple’s order page doesn’t provide a tracking number yet, here’s how:

• Go to the UPS Tracking webpage and click “Track By Reference”
• Enter the phone number used for ordering the iPhone 5, enter the delivery date range, enter the delivery country (USA), and your delivery zip code, then click “Track”
• Voila, your pre-order tracking number is revealed as is the current location of your iPhone 5

If you’re obsessive like many of us, you’ll probably want to save that tracking number so you can refresh it constantly on the 21st.

For about 85% of pre-orders the iPhone 5’s seem to be sitting at the giant UPS sorting center in Louisville, Kentucky, waiting for the 20th for their overnight shipping to take effect before landing on your doorstep on launch day.
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Teleport is a great free app that lets you share a single keyboard and mouse between multiple Macs, in addition to providing for a single clipboard and even the ability to drag and drop files between different Macs without using traditional file sharing. This is ideal solution for those of us who have a desk with a couple Macs and don’t want to constantly flip between different keyboards, mice, and trackpads, instead you can use a single Macs keyboard and trackpad/mouse and control them all.

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Notification Center in Mac OS X is great but it can act up every once in a while and either stop updating completely, alerts may not comet through, widgets may not load, or the entire thing can freeze up and become inaccessible.

If you encounter any such issue with Notifications in OS X, or modifications were made to Notification Center and just need to reset it so that changes take place, here’s all you need to do to restart the Notification Center process in OS X:

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