That’s right all you iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch fans, Apple’s latest OS has dropped today. As you likely know it’s called iOS 8 and has a host of new features, enhancements and more to make your use and enjoyment of your Apple device that much more, well, useful and enjoyable.

Users can download the new software by navigating to the “general” tab in their device’s settings menu and selecting “software update.” You can also connect your device to the latest version of iTunes to download the update.

iOS 8 will work on all devices as new, or newer, than the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4s. Although, as to how well it will run on an iPad 2 or iPhone 4s, well, probably not that well. If you’re still rocking those devices, and want to take full advantage of iOS 8, it might be time for an upgrade.

iOS 8 has a lot of nifty new features including HealthKit, which allows third-party apps and, one would suspect, the upcoming Apple Watch, to monitor your health status and suggest ways to improve it. It also features new hotness like Family Sharing, which lets you share iTunes purchases, calendar information, and messages with a group of people. iOS 8 also brings improved notifications, a Spotlight search function that lets you search inside apps, and the ability to install third-party keyboards such as Swype. See, nifty.

There’s also a few other new features, such as the ability to sync phone calls, files, and SMS messages between iOS 8 devices and Macs, that will have to wait until the next version of OS X (aka Yosemite) is released. Rumor has it that will be next month.

Hey, we know you’re upset. We are too. But sometimes, things just can’t be helped. So, this episode is a bit late. We’ll try not to let it happen again. But you know what, it probably will.

But until then, we’ve got a brand new episode of The Flickcast for your listening pleasure. Please try to enjoy it.

On this week’s show Chris and Joe jump right in and talk all about the new cast announcements and leaked set picks from Star Wars VII, set pics and more from Terminator: Genesis, the relentless darkness that is Game of Thrones, the Stargate reboot, Val Kilmer’s career, recent Apple announcements and a whole lot more.

The guys also made picks this week. Chris’ pick is one of his favorite gadgets, the iPad Mini with Retina Display, and Joe’s pick is the new album from former Bourgeois Tagg member Brent Bourgeois called Don’t Look Back.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

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In case you haven’t heard, Apple released an update to its mobile operating system this week. The update, known as iOS 7.1 to those in the know (and pretty much everyone else) features a host of improvements and bug fixes. But much like most of Apple’s updates, the company doesn’t really spell out exactly what all those “improvements and bug fixes” are.

But what if you really want to know each and every detail of this update? Fortunately, the folks at iTwe4kz have got you covered.

In fact, they’ve made a handy video that highlights pretty much everything that’s new in iOS 7.1. Cool, right?

Check out the video after the break. You can download Apple’s iOS 7.1 via software update on your devices or via iTunes.

Love them or hate them, Apple is one of the most dominant players all over the world world with their iPad and iPhone devices. And now they’re looking to expand that dominance into a new place: your car.

That’s right, today Apple announced a new way to integrate iOS7 devices with your future vehicle. It’s called CarPlay and, to be honest, it looks pretty darn cool.

Set to debut later this year in vehicles from select manufacturers, CarPlay will let users make and receive calls, send and receive messages, listen to music and navigate with Maps, all via a built-in display in the car. Several other apps will be supported at launch, including Podcasts, Beats Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio and Stitcher.

Car companies such as Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo will showcase CarPlay at next week’s Geneva International Motor Show. Meanwhile, others such as BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota intend to make future vehicles compatible with CarPLay.

For more on how it will work, Volvo has released a video highlights CarPlay’s features. Check it out after the break.

It must be a bit difficult to be Microsoft sometimes, especially these days. Sure, they still make a desktop OS that dominates the world, but that lead is dropping as fast as sales of desktop computers.

And their other products, like the Surface, don’t seem to be catching on with the kids. And don’t get us started on the XBox One.

Microsoft just doesn’t seem to get it. So what do you do when you are a big company that’s falling behind the times? You go negative, of course.

In a new ad that’s just come out, Microsoft again decides to mock Apple and the iPad via Siri, the company’s voice-enabled personal assistant. The chief reasons the iPad is bad this time: it doesn’t have a zoomable home screen, lacks an SD card slot and for not being able to multitask as efficiently as Windows RT.

Sure, okay. Now that you put it that way we’re going to throw our iPads in the trash and rush out to buy a Surface right now. Not.

Check out the ad after the break.

For most people, the iPad has become their de facto device to watch movies and television programs while on the go. To help facilitate this, services like Netflix and Hulu offer iOS apps to run on the device.

Today, in an effort to enhance that experience further, Hulu updated its app for the iPad. Here’s what the update gives you:

• Easier navigation. Simply tap or swipe as you navigate to find shows and discover great new content.

• Discover Panel. Tap the image of a new show, movie or episode, and we’ll give you a summary and more info instantly.

• Minimized Player. Want to multitask? Keep watching your desired video in a minimized player while you browse.

• New Series Pages. Includes both the most entertaining clip and the most relevant episode at your fingertips.

• Improved Search. Faster, more intuitive search bar.

You have to imagine it’s been a bit difficult for Apple CEO Tim Cook. After all, nobody really wants to follow someone like Steve Jobs, under any circumstances. No matter how well you do, it’s hard to live up to that kind of unique genius.

Still, somebody has got to do it and that somebody is Tim Cook. Fortunately, Mr. Cook is no dummy either as he proved yesterday during his Q&A session at the AllThingD Conference . During an 81-minute interview on stage with AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, Cook discussed all manner of topics including taxes, TV, the idea of Apple making Android apps, Google Glass and wearable technology in general, Apple’s nine recent acquisitions, upcoming new iOS APIs and more.

In true Apple fashion he didn’t give out much in the way of detail, but he still managed to do an excellent job answering the questions. To show you what we mean, check out the full video of the interview after the break.

If you’re a geek, at one time or another, you’ve likely played Dungeons & Dragons. Heck, you may be playing this week or even while you’re reading this very article. It’s a great way to pass the time and something we love to do sitting around a table with some of your best friends.

But wouldn’t it be cool to be able to take those fun times on the road with you? Well, if you’ve always wanted a mobile version of D&D, you’re in luck because Wizards of the Coast and DeNA have partnered together to do just that.

That’s right, the two companies will soon bring Dungeons & Dragons: Arena of War, the first ever D&D mobile game, to an iOS or Android device near you.

According to the official press release for the game: “Arena of War puts players in the Forgotten Realms for a battle roleplaying game that combines questing, character leveling, and small team collaboration with the most engaging mobile game mechanics on the market, such as in-game events and massive multiplayer competitions.”

It will be available later this year. For more info on the game, or to pre-register, head on over to the game’s official site.

We know it’s sometimes hard to be an Android user in what must seem like an iOS-dominated world — at least where new apps, or updates to current ones, are concerned. Yes, most new apps and updates appear for iOS first. But at some point, and that gap is narrowing all the time, the app or update comes to Android.

Case in point today is the extremely fun and useful app Flipboard. We use it all the time on our iPhones and iPads and have even gone so far as to create a few magazines to highlight our interests. And now Anrdoid users can get in on that fun with the latest update to Flipboard for their OS.

In addition to the magazine feature, the app also had several other updates including the following:

• Integrated Android share: add content from the Gallery & other apps to your magazines
• Bookmarklet to add items to your magazines from a browser
• Get notifications when people like, comment or subscribe to your magazines
• Share magazines via email or social networks
• Personalized recommendations for more to read
• Search is now front & center, with improved results

Get the brand new Flipboard for Android over at Google Play.

It isn’t that often that iOS users don’t get the latest and greatest aps first, before their Android-using pals. However, when the app in question happens to come from Android-maker Google, iOS users tend to take a back seat.

Most apps from Google do eventually arrive for iOS (thank you Google for Maps) and when they do, iOS users are usually very happy. However, when the app in question causes a problem, that happiness can turn to anger pretty fast.

Sadly, that seems to be the case with the newly-released Google Now feature update to Google’s iOS search app. The shot story is the updated app, which just went live earlier this week, seems to be draining users batteries at an alarming rate.

Fortunately, the folks at Cult of Mac have got you covered. Over at their site they detail just how to make sure Google Now doesn’t kill your battery in short order. You simply turn off location reporting from the privacy setting in the app.

It’s really pretty simple and we’ve included the pic (courtesy of LifeHacker) of where to look for the setting after the break.

If you’re an iOS user who has installed this app are you having any issues with battery life? Let us know in the comments.