At long last, iOS 5 is finally here, two days before the launch of the iPhone 4S.

(Related: We've heard that a number of users have had problems installing the update this afternoon. Get the latest news on install issues in this post from CNET's Josh Lowensohn.)

Though iOS 5 is not as drastic of an upgrade as we saw with iOS 4 in June 2010, it does offer some much-needed and exciting enhancements for iOS users. A few are quiet and long overdue and others will seriously change how you use your Apple handset.

On that note, perhaps the biggest of all is the addition of over-the-air updates, which obviate the need to tether your iPhone to a computer for syncing. But there's a lot more under the hood with this upgrade, and we think users should be excited to plug in their iDevice one last time. iMessage also adds a new way to keep in touch and a way to circumvent your carrier's monthly allotment of messages.

A few improvements simply make the user experience easier, like Twitter integration in the major Apple apps, basic image-editing tools for the camera, and a Notification system paired with reminders that keep you informed with a glance at your Home screen. Smaller upgrades abound, of course, some of which we've listed here. We haven't found all the "Easter egg... [Read more]

Imagine you're in New York (or perhaps another major metropolitan city) peacefully protesting.

Your cause? Let's say, to curb excessive influence of big business and the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans on U.S. laws and policy. You're holding up a sign declaring your heartfelt beliefs and chanting a bit with some of your fellow demonstrators when, all of a sudden--bam! The cops slap the cuffs on you, with the intention of carting you off to the nearest police station. Meanwhile, your friends and family are at home completely clueless about your situation.

Enter I'm Getting Arrested, a creative Android app that, according to developer Quadrant 2, was inspired by a similar incident. It lets you quickly notify your family, friends, and crack legal team (if you have one) of your situation with a single tap of your finger. Just initially enter a custom message and some SMS-ready numbers to contact in the event of your arrest. Then, as you're about to be corralled into the back of a squad car, fire the app up and long-press the bull's-eye for 2 seconds. From there, you can rest assured that your message will be sent to the appropriate contacts.

(Credit: Quadrant 2)

From what we've seen, I'm Getting Arrested is straightforward and works exactly as described. Our only question is, why no Twitter or Facebook support? Conside... [Read more]

Today Apple issued an update for its iPhoto consumer photo management tool that provides support for iCloud. In addition, Apple has updated its Aperture photo management tool for professionals and enthusiasts to support the same new features, bringing the latest version to 3.2.

In addition to the new features, the Aperture 3.2 update includes bug fixes and stability enhancements that, according to the information page on the update, include the following:

• Resolves an issue that could cause the "Loading" indicator to reappear in the Viewer when cropping a photo.
• Aperture now automatically relaunches into Full Screen mode if the application was in Full Screen mode when last quit.
• Pinch-to-zoom gesture now automatically activates Zoom mode in the Viewer.
• Left and right swipe gestures can now be used to navigate between photos in the Viewer.
• Microsoft Outlook can now be chosen in Preferences as the application used by Aperture for e-mailing photos.
• Fixes a problem that could cause Aperture, running on OS X Lion, to quit unexpectedly when using brushes to apply adjustments.
• Loupe now correctly displays magnification levels between 50 and 100 percent.
• Fixes an issue that could cause Aperture, running on OS X Lion, to display the incorrect color profile on externally edited images
• Import window now includes an option to delete photos from iPhone and iPad after they have been import... [Read more]

Along with today's release of the iCloud service and OS X 10.7.2, Apple has issued an update to iPhoto '11 (version 9) that incorporates support for iCloud and devices running iOS 5, in addition to fixing a number of bugs, and performance and compatibility issues that have cropped up for users. According to the update, the following features have been added or fixed in the update:

The iPhoto update is available via Software Update

• Left and right swipe gestures can now be used to navigate between photos in Magnify (1-up) view.
• Previously imported photos are now displayed in a separate section of the Import window.
• Book/calendar themes and card categories can now be selected using a pop-up menu in the carousel view.
• Resolves an issue that could cause some pages of books to print incorrectly.
• Rebuilding a library now correctly preserves saved slideshows and books.

The update is a significant 376.3MB download through Software Update, but as with other updates should soon be available on Apple's support downloads site.

Though the update should go smoothly for most people, in the past some people have had troubles with iPhoto updates, especially for people with multiple libraries, extensively customized libraries, or other unconventional setups. Be sure yo... [Read more]

After months of testing and weeks of beta developer builds being issued, Apple has finally released the much-anticipated OS X 10.7.2 update for its latest Lion operating system. The update incorporates a slew of bug fixes and stability enhancements to the OS, but most of all it brings support for Apple's iCloud service, which was also opened to the public earlier today.

Even if you do not plan on using iCloud extensively, the 10.7.2 update is still recommended to address a number of issues with software and services in the initial releases of Lion, including:

The update should be available via Apple's Software Update utility.

• Allow reordering of desktop spaces and full screen apps in Mission Control.
• Enable dragging files between desktop spaces and full screen apps.
• Address an issue that causes the menu bar to not appear in full screen apps.
• Improve the compatibility of Google contact syncing in Address Book.
• Address an issue that causes Keynote to become temporarily unresponsive.
• Improve VoiceOver compatibility with Launchpad.
• Address an issue that causes a delay in accessing the network after waking from sleep.
• Enable booting in to Lion Recov... [Read more]