September is now but a memory, but there's still plenty to look forward to in October thanks to the new iTunes 11 expected by month's end, and if the rumor mill proves correct yet again, some kind of "iPad mini" could also pop up on Apple's radar as well. With only three months left on the 2012 calendar, Cupertino will have to move quickly if they want to release updated Macs or other products by the holidays, so stay tuned and see what might be coming your way. In the meantime, here's what you might have missed over the weekend...
Did you know that your new Verizon-branded iPhone 5 could potentially use cellular data, even when connected to Wi-Fi? Fear not, Apple has come to the rescue with Carrier Settings Update 13.1, which can be applied by heading to Settings > General > About and waiting for the alert to appear. Tap OK to install, then power your handset off and turn it back on again -- bug squashed!
On Sunday night, TUAW noted what many believe to be a bug in Apple's iCloud storage settings. MobileMe users who were already notified that their 20GB free ride was coming to end on September 30 are now seeing a message showing their next payment is due on the same date, but 38 years in the future. So is Apple really handing out free iCloud storage bumps until 2050 or is it just a ghost in the machine? Cupertino has yet to comment on the matter, but we're still seeing the date on our own account, with no charge for our current plan as yet.
Following CEO Tim Cook's public apology about the new iOS 6 Maps app on Friday, Cnet is reporting that Apple has also revised the wording used to describe the software on its website. Originally touted as "the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever," the description has quietly been changed to "all in a beautiful vector-based interface that scales and zooms with ease." And indeed it does, but that's quite a demotion from being most beautiful or powerful, isn't it?
Speaking of Maps, Fortune's Philip Elmer-Dewitt published a damning report on iOS head of software Scott Forstall on Saturday, wondering aloud if Apple needs to ditch the executive following very public gaffes with both Siri and the new Google-less Maps. "There's no excuse," exclaims Fortune reader John Garner. "Quality control on Apple Maps had to have been terrible to not get this right. Bluntly, Scott Forstall should be fired over this mess." Having followed Steve Jobs to Apple from NeXT, this isn't the first time Forstall has been put in the hot seat -- a profile in Bloomberg Businessweek last year painted the software exec in an unflattering light, even as it painted him as an eventual contender for the CEO throne.
MacRumors is reporting that iTunes and App Store customers experienced a bug with Apple's Terms and Conditions overnight which prevented purchases or even updates to be installed for U.S. accounts. After being asked to accept a change in the company's Terms and Conditions and accepting, the prompt continues to pop up over and over again in an endless loop. By the time we posted this update on Monday morning, all was right with the world again -- so go ahead and accept those terms and you should be good to go.
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