Harvon(ledipasvir and sofosbuvir) Hepatitis C New Drug Get FDA Approval

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Harvoni (ledipasvir and sofosbuvir) to treat chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection.

Harvoni (ledipasvir and sofosbuvir) is a once-daily NS5A inhibitor and nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor fixed-dose combination for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection

Both drugs in Harvoni interfere with the enzymes needed by HCV to multiply. Sofosbuvir is a previously approved HCV drug marketed under the brand name Sovaldi. Harvoni also contains a new drug called ledipasvir.Harvoni is the first combination pill approved to treat chronic HCV genotype 1 infection. It is also the first approved regimen that does not require administration with interferon or ribavirin, two FDA-approved drugs also used to treat HCV infection.

“With the development and approval of new treatments for hepatitis C virus, we are changing the treatment paradigm for Americans living with the disease,” said Edward Cox, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Until last year, the only available treatments for hepatitis C virus required administration with interferon and ribavirin. Now, patients and health care professionals have multiple treatment options, including a combination pill to help simplify treatment regimens.”

Harvoni is the third drug approved by the FDA in the past year to treat chronic HCV infection. The FDA approved Olysio (simeprevir) in November 2013 and Sovaldi in December 2013.

Hepatitis C is a viral disease that causes inflammation of the liver that can lead to diminished liver function or liver failure. Most people infected with HCV have no symptoms of the disease until liver damage becomes apparent, which may take decades.

Some people with chronic HCV infection develop scarring and poor liver function (cirrhosis) over many years, which can lead to complications such as bleeding, jaundice (yellowish eyes or skin), fluid accumulation in the abdomen, infections and liver cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 3.2 million Americans are infected with HCV, and without proper treatment, 15-30 percent of these people will go on to develop cirrhosis.

Harvoni’s efficacy was evaluated in three clinical trials enrolling 1,518 participants who had not previously received treatment for their infection (treatment-naive) or had not responded to previous treatment (treatment-experienced), including participants with cirrhosis. Participants were randomly assigned to receive Harvoni with or without ribavirin. The trials were designed to measure whether the hepatitis C virus was no longer detected in the blood at least 12 weeks after finishing treatment (sustained virologic response, or SVR), indicating that a participant’s HCV infection has been cured.

In the first trial, comprised of treatment-naive participants, 94 percent of those who received Harvoni for eight weeks and 96 percent of those who received Harvoni for 12 weeks achieved SVR. The second trial showed 99 percent of such participants with and without cirrhosis achieved SVR after 12 weeks. And in the third trial, which examined Harvoni’s efficacy in treatment-experienced participants with and without cirrhosis, 94 percent of those who received Harvoni for 12 weeks and 99 percent of those who received Harvoni for 24 weeks achieved SVR. In all trials, ribavirin did not increase response rates in the participants.

The most common side effects reported in clinical trial participants were fatigue and headache.

Harvoni is the seventh new drug with breakthrough therapy designation to receive FDA approval. The FDA can designate a drug as a breakthrough therapy at the request of the sponsor if preliminary clinical evidence indicates the drug may demonstrate a substantial improvement over available therapies for patients with serious or life-threatening diseases. Harvoni was reviewed under the FDA’s priority review program, which provides for an expedited review of drugs that treat serious conditions and, if approved, would provide significant improvement in safety or effectiveness.

Harvoni and Sovaldi are marketed by Gilead, based in Foster City, California. Olysio is marketed by Janssen Pharmaceutical based in Raritan, New Jersey.

New Hepatitis C combo Harvoni will come at a cost of $1,125 per pill.

Dose : 1 Pill Per Day

How to Prevent catching the Ebola virus(For Public And Health Care Workers)

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How is Ebola spread?

The Ebola virus is transmitted in the bodily fluids of people who are seriously ill, who are likely to be vomiting, bleeding or have diarrhoea. Blood, faeces and vomit are the most infectious fluids, and in late stages of the disease even tiny amounts can carry high loads of virus. But a nurse who got a patient’s blood on their hands could wash it off with soap and water without any ill-effects. He or she would become ill only if they had a cut or abrasion on their hand or touched their mouth, eyes or nose, which would allow the virus to pass into their bodily fluids.

What are the symptoms?

It can take two to 21 days for symptoms to show, although usually it is five to seven days. Typically, the first signs are a fever involving a headache, joint and muscle pain, sore throat and severe muscle weakness. Many of those symptoms are similar to flu, so Ebola is not immediately obvious, though it should be suspected in anyone who has been in west Africa recently. After that come diarrhoea, vomiting, a rash and stomach pain. The kidneys and liver stop working properly. Patients may bleed internally and also from the ears, nose, eyes and mouth.

What about sweat – for example could I get Ebola from using gym equipment?

No. Nobody who had Ebola and was symptomatic, with intense muscle weakness and a fever in the early stages, would be well enough to go to the gym – and until they are symptomatic, they are not infectious. Sweat, anyway, is probably not a source of large amounts of virus – in fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says whole live virus has never been isolated from sweat.

How about saliva?

WHO says saliva at the most severe stage of the disease, and also tears, may carry some risk, but the studies are inconclusive. The virus has been detected in breast milk. .

Can I get Ebola from a toilet seat?

Yes – faeces from somebody with Ebola are a real hazard and the virus has also been detected in urine. But there would only be a danger if a seriously sick person had used the toilet and contaminated it and that is most likely in their home or hospital. Public toilets, in general, are very unlikely to be a risk.

Can it be sexually transmitted?

Yes, and the virus lasts in the semen of people who have recovered, maybe for as long as 90 days.

Could I catch Ebola from using a taxi that has taken a patient to hospital?

The virus can be transmitted on surfaces that bodily fluids have touched, so if somebody had bled or vomited on the seat, there would be a risk to anybody who had a cut or touched their face with contaminated hands. In Europe or the US, if a patient was diagnosed with Ebola, there would be a massive effort from the public health authorities to trace their movements as well as their contacts. Any taxi they had travelled in while sick would have to be decontaminated.

Could I catch Ebola from door handles a patient had touched?

Yes, if the handle was contaminated with blood, vomit or faeces, which would be more likely in the house where the patient had been living when they fell sick, or in the hospital. But if people have intact skin, do not touch their eyes, nose or mouth and frequently wash their hands, they will not get infected.

What can be done in railway stations, schools or other public places to prevent contagion?

. Any area visibly contaminated – where there is blood, vomit or faeces – and toilets and surfaces lots of people touch, such as door handles and telephones, must be wiped with disposable towels to remove any visible fluids, then cleaned with detergent or soap and water and allowed to dry. Then they must be disinfected, for instance with diluted bleach – one part bleach to four parts water. Those who do the cleaning must be fully covered, with long sleeved shirts tucked into disposable gloves and trousers tucked into socks and closed shoes. Any cuts or abrasions must be covered with plasters. But there is no need to clean corridors or areas that the person has just passed through

FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Health-care workers must wear personal protective equipment when treating Ebola patients. The extensive and meticulous techniques vary slightly, depending on organization, location and availability of supplies, but must be carefully followed to avoid infection from the virus

Taking off personal protective equipment — gowns, gloves, face masks, goggles — is also one of the biggest areas of contamination and risk,  protective equipment must be removed in a particular order, without any of the material touching the wearer’s skin, mucus membranes or the exterior of the clothing.

One version of the process begins with removing infected gloves, then the goggles or face shield, followed by the protective gown, which must be removed from the inside out, and finally the face mask or respirator. If hands become contaminated by touching the outside of the equipment, they must be washed after each step in the process of removing the personal protective gear

Ebola Virus -All Facts(Epidemiology symptoms Treatment & Prevention)

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Ebola virus disease is a serious, usually fatal, disease for which there are no licensed treatments or vaccines. But for people living in countries outside Africa, it remains a very low threat.

Ebola was first identified in Africa in the mid-1970s. An outbreak that began in March 2014 was the most serious so far. By August 13 2014 it had killed more than 1,000 people across Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

How do Ebola outbreaks start?

It's thought the Ebola virus has been living harmlessly in fruit bats for many years, building up in this population and spreading to other forest animals including chimpanzees and gorillas.

It's likely the virus makes its way into people after they butcher or handle dead animals contaminated with the virus.

How does it spread among people?

People can become infected with the Ebola virus if they come into contact with the blood, body fluids or organs of an infected person.

Most people are infected by giving care to other infected people, either by directly touching the victim's body or by cleaning up body fluids (stools, urine or vomit) that carry infectious blood.

Traditional African burial rituals have also played a part in its spread. The Ebola virus can survive for several days outside the body, including on the skin of an infected person, and it's common practice for mourners to touch the body of the deceased. They only then need to touch their mouth to become infected.

Other ways people can catch Ebola are:

• touching the soiled clothing of an infected person, then touching their mouth
• having sex with an infected person without using a condom (the virus is present in semen for up to seven weeks after the infected person has recovered)
• handling unsterilised needles or medical equipment that were used in the care of the infected person

A person is infectious as long as their blood, urine, stools or secretions contain the virus.

Ebola virus disease is generally not spread through routine social contact (such as shaking hands) with patients who do not have symptoms. 

The virus is not, for example, as infectious as diseases like the flu, as airborne transmission is much less likely. You'd need to have close contact with the source of infection to be at risk. 

Who is at risk?

Anyone who cares for an infected person or handles their blood or fluid samples is at risk of becoming infected. Hospital workers, laboratory workers and family members are at greatest risk.

Strict infection control procedures and wearing protective clothing minimises this risk –  Simply washing hands with soap and water can destroy the virus.

What are the symptoms?

An infected person will typically develop a fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, sore throat, and intense muscle weakness. These symptoms start suddenly, between 2 and 21 days after becoming infected, but usually after 5-7 days.

.

Ebola virus disease is fatal in 50-90% of cases. The sooner a person is given care, the better the chances that they will survive.

Signs and symptoms of Ebola usually begin suddenly with an influenza-like stage characterized by fatigue, fever, headaches, joint, muscle, and abdominal pain. Vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite are also common. Less common symptoms include the following: sore throat, chest pain, hiccups, shortness of breath, and trouble swallowing. Skin manifestations may include maculopapular rash (in about 50% of cases). Early symptoms of EVD may be similar to those of malaria, dengue fever, or other tropical fevers, before the disease progresses to the bleeding phase.

In 40–50% of cases, bleeding from puncture sites and mucous membranes (e.g., gastrointestinal tract, nose, vagina, and gums) has been reported. In the bleeding phase, which typically begins five to seven days after first symptoms, internal and subcutaneous bleeding may present itself in the form of reddened eyes and bloody vomit. Bleeding into the skin may create petechiae, purpura, ecchymoses, andhematomas (especially around needle injection sites). Sufferers may cough up blood, vomit it, or excrete it in their stool.

Heavy bleeding is rare and is usually confined to the gastrointestinal tract. In general, the development of bleeding symptoms often indicates a worse prognosis and this blood loss can result in death All people infected show some signs of circulatory system involvement, including impaired blood clotting. If the infected person does not recover, death due to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome occurs within 7 to 16 days (usually between days 8 and 9) after first symptoms

How is it diagnosed?

 The diagnosis is confirmed by isolating the virus, detecting

 its RNA or proteins, or detecting antibodies against the virus 

in a person's blood. Isolating the virus by cell culture, 

detecting the viral RNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) 

and detecting proteins by enzyme-linked immunosorbent 

assay (ELISA) works best early and in those who have died 

from the disease. Detecting antibodies against the virus 

works best late in the disease and in those who recover.

A suspect case would be isolated in a side room so as to minimise contacts with other people while they are being tested. It is only if this test is positive that the case is considered to be ‘confirmed’.

If the test is positive then they will be transferred to a hospital-based high-level isolation unit.

If the result is negative, doctors will test for other diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and cholera.

How is it treated?

There's currently no licensed treatment or vaccine for Ebola virus disease, although potential new vaccines and drug therapies are being developed and tested.

Patients need to be placed in isolation in intensive care. Dehydration is common, so fluids may be given directly into a vein (intravenously). Blood oxygen levels and blood pressure need to be maintained at the right level and body organs supported while the patient's body fights the disease and any other infections are treated.

ZMapp is an experimental treatment that can be tried, although it has not yet been tested in humans for safety or effectiveness. The product is a combination of three different antibodies that bind to the protein of the Ebola virus. 

What's the advice for healthcare and aid workers?

Any area affected by an outbreak should be immediately quarantined and patients treated in isolation. 

Healthcare workers need to avoid contact with the bodily fluids of their infected patients by taking the following precautions:

• wear face masks, goggles, gowns and gloves
• take extra care when handling blood, secretions and catheters and when connecting patients to a drip
• disinfect non-disposable medical equipment before re-use
• sterilise and dispose of used needles and disposable equipment carefully
• properly dispose of any secretions or body waste from the patient
• carefully and frequently wash hands with soap and water (alcohol hand rub if soap isn't available)
• wash disposable gloves with soap and water after use, dispose of them carefully, then wash hands

What's the advice for travellers in at-risk areas?

Following these simple precautions will minimise your risk of catching Ebola virus disease:

• don't handle dead animals or their raw meat
• don't eat 'bushmeat'
• avoid contact with patients who have symptoms 
• avoid having sex with people in risk areas; use a condom if you do
• make sure fruit and veg is washed and peeled before you eat it
• wash hands frequently using soap and water (alcohol hand rubs when soap is not available), as this destroys the virus

If you think you or a family member has symptoms of Ebola infection:

• visit a healthcare provider immediately and inform them that you may have had contact with the Ebola virus (the nearest Embassy or Consular Office can help you find a provider in the area)
• limit contact with others and avoid all other travel

It's more likely that the cause is another disease such as malaria, but you may need to be tested for Ebola as a precaution. 

Prevention and control

Good outbreak control relies on applying a package of interventions, namely case management, surveillance and contact tracing, a good laboratory service, safe burials and social mobilisation. Community engagement is key to successfully controlling outbreaks. Raising awareness of risk factors for Ebola infection and protective measures that individuals can take is an effective way to reduce human transmission. Risk reduction messaging should focus on several factors:

• Reducing the risk of wildlife-to-human transmission from contact with infected fruit bats or monkeys/apes and the consumption of their raw meat. Animals should be handled with gloves and other appropriate protective clothing. Animal products (blood and meat) should be thoroughly cooked before consumption.
• Reducing the risk of human-to-human transmission from direct or close contact with people with Ebola symptoms, particularly with their bodily fluids. Gloves and appropriate personal protective equipment should be worn when taking care of ill patients at home. Regular hand washing is required after visiting patients in hospital, as well as after taking care of patients at home.
• Outbreak containment measures including prompt and safe burial of the dead, identifying people who may have been in contact with someone infected with Ebola, monitoring the health of contacts for 21 days, the importance of separating the healthy from the sick to prevent further spread, the importance of good hygiene and maintaining a clean environment.

Key Words:Ebola Virus,History ,Epidemiology ,Sign & symptoms,Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention,ZMaap,)

IOS 8 Bugs And Apple Apology : New Update Coming In Few Days

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IOS 8: Known Bugs & Issues

iOS 8 is the biggest update Apple has ever issued for its iPhone and iPad, bringing with it a ton of new features, APIs and abilities. The actual update itself is around 5.7GB in size and has been the subject of A LOT of complaints on Twitter –– people aren’t too happy about having to delete lots of apps and music from their iPhones to make room for the install. But these aren’t the only complaints about the new software; a lot of people are having issues with bugs as well.

Crashing apps, detrimental affects on battery life, ultra-slow Safari, poor Wi-Fi connections and certain applications (CloudMagic, for instance) simply not working are just some of the complaints leveled at iOS 8. The software, at least from our tests, appears to perform better on iPhone, with less noticeable problems. Our iPad Air hasn’t been the same since we updated it to iOS 8, however, and appears to be really struggling with the new OS. Not that any of this should come as a surprise –– new versions of iOS always feature bugs. Expect the first series of updates to start landing very soon. 

And then there's the issue of iOS 8's affect on 16GB and 8GB iPhones, as noted by Forbes: “Apple has been selling 16GB iPhones for way too long and apparently seems hell bent on continuing to do that,” Rogowsky wrote in his column. “It doesn’t seem like a problem if you only have a half dozen apps, don’t store music on your phone and are a light user, right? Well, then it’s time for your OS upgrade and suddenly your iPhone wants multiple gigabytes of free space (some reports had people needing up to 7GB of space!) to perform the upgrade. There are workaround like deleting a bunch of apps and downloading them later. You can resort to iTunes, make a backup and just install fresh. That leads to all your apps downloading again, which can be excruciating this time of year.”

But fear not, intrepid iOS user... Apple is hard at work on an update to address some of the known bugs inside iOS 8 and it could be launching within the next week or so. According to a report fromMacRumors, the iOS 8.0.1 update will address several key bugs, including problems with the following: 

• Call forwarding and freezing when opening Visual Voicemail
• Keypad not showing up to enter iCloud Keychain verification codes
• Videos sometimes not playing on Safari
• AirDrop support for Passbook passes
• Installation of VPN profiles

Apple Apologises For Failed iOS 8.0.1 Update

Apple attempted to release the iOS 8.0.1 update but not all went according to plan. The priority of the update was a boat load of bug fixes as well as an all important fix to the HealthKit app.

Both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are now facing issues with the cellular connection and Touch ID functionality since the update. Apple pulled the update once it became aware of the problem but many still managed to download the update before then.

Apple has now offered up a fix for the problem when speaking to The Verge. There is now a dedicated support page, that you’ll find below, which allows you to reinstall the original iOS 8 update.

Apple told The Verge, “We have a workaround for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who lost cellular service and Touch ID functionality today after updating to iOS 8.0.1. Affected users can reinstall iOS 8 through iTunes, for more information visit http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6487.

“We apologize for the great inconvenience experienced by users, and are working around the clock to prepare iOS 8.0.2 with a fix for the issue, and will release it as soon as it is ready in the next few days.”

Iphone IOS 8 Features And Bugs

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iOS Features

iOS 8 Review: Keyboards

Keyboards in iOS 8 get two new features. The first is Apple’s new QuickType keyboard. And yes, if you’ve ever used an Android phone this type of keyboard will be instantly familiar. Above the top row of keys sits a bar that suggests three words at a time. Tap a word to insert it into the text field you are writing in. 

QuickType is contextually aware like SwiftKey, meaning it uses an algorithm to figure out which word comes next, meaning you can start typing and have QuickType finish the word for you. Another feature Apple “borrowed” feature from SwiftKey is QuickType’s ability to tap into past emails, texts and IMs in order to learn more about your writing style. The end result of this, after a few days of typing, is QuickType –– like SwiftKey –– begins thinking like you tap.

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For example: it might know you call your friend, “playa” because you’ve written that word a lot, so then QuickType would suggest the word “playa” when its relevant in the context in which you are writing (in this sense, your good friend, Graham –– AKA the Playa). It’s important to note that the mining of your emails and messages for use in contextual QuickType awareness is done locally on the phone--Apple never backs up this data to the cloud.

Then of course there are third-party keyboards in iOS 8 as well. This is a huge feature that has been long requested by users (and something Android has had for years). But the reason it took Apple so long was because they wanted to get security right. For instance, a custom keyboard on iOS never has access to your custom user dictionary, and Apple forbids custom keyboards from phoning home to a networked server anywhere, so no developer ever has a chance of capturing your keystrokes. In addition, iOS 8 will also force its own keyboard on password and credit card fields as an additional security measure so there is no way a custom keyboard could ever learn your credit card info or passwords. 

Upon launch there will be a dozen or so custom keyboards available, but that’s sure to grow in the coming months. 

iOS 8 Review: Extensions

Extensions allow apps to share their functionalities with other apps. For example, a photo app can make an extension available to social media apps that allows a user to edit or apply filters to a photo using that photo app’s editing features right from within the social media app.

To access an Extension just tap the Share button in any app. Extensions appear as icons in the menu that pops up. Tap an extension to use its capabilities. Needless to say extensions are a huge time saver and have the added benefit of forgoing the need to create multiple versions of, say, the same photo, in different apps. 

iOS 8 Review: Messages

As a huge iMessage user one of the best things about iOS 8 for me are the new Messages features. The most useful new feature is the ability to quickly record a voice message (just like you can on WhatsApp) and insert it right into a text conversation. Simply tap the new microphone icon and record your message, then swipe up to insert the message into the conversation. It’s a brilliantly simple workflow that makes adding voice messages no more difficult than typing text.

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Better than the ability to insert voice messages, however, is the new Details page for conversations. Tap the Details button to be taken to the Details page where you can see all the members of a conversation, send your current location or share your trackable location, and see all the media attachments you have sent in the conversation in one place. 

The ability to share your current location is something I’ve been wishing iOS had for a while. No more typing in addresses or postcodes; your contact will know where you are and how to get to you. Of course, this feature can be turned off if you wish –– you don’t want EVERYBODY knowing where you are at all times.

iOS 8 Review: Health app

iOS 8 does have two new apps inside iOS 8; one called Tips, which gives users basic tips about iOS, but the major one is Health. The Health app is an interactive dashboard where you can check out your vitals. Some of these vitals are propagated automatically (like calories burned and distance walked) thanks to the motion sensor in the latest iPhones. 

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But the real power of the Health app comes from its ability to pull your health data from the tens of thousands of fitness apps and dozens of health fitness accessory makers. What this does is give you one central dashboard to get a detailed overview of your health. I don’t own a lot of health accessories personally, things like wireless body scales or fitness trackers, for example, so my Health dashboard was fairly sparse, but for the connected health and fitness addicts out there, this is going to be one of the best features iOS 8.

iOS 8 Review: Photos

Taking photos is one of the most common things we do with our iPhones and Apple knows as we take more and more the ability to navigate them all quickly and easily becomes increasingly important. With that in mind Apple has built in some great new search features into the Photos app. You can now search for photos based on location, date, or album name –– or any combination of the three. For example, I searched for pictures of all the photos I took of my trip to Lisbon in July and within seconds had them all right in front of me.

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Apple has also greatly expanded the editing tools in the Photos app. They are now more refined and powerful, and if you have a newer iPhone you'll really notice the speed at which edits can be applied. But my favourite feature about the editing tools in the new Photos app is that, thanks to iOS 8’s extensions features, the editing tools from any third party photo apps can be accessed right from within iOS 8’s dedicated Photos app. That’s a huge plus as the Photos app is where all my photos are stored and I now no longer need to go to a different app just to use a specific editing tool.

iOS 8 Review: iCloud Drive

iCloud Drive is Apple’s much-needed answer to Dropbox. It is essentially one location to store all the files on your Mac, PC, iPad, and iPhone. The big thing about iCloud Drive is that it makes all your documents available to any app on Mac, iOS, or Windows PCs from one location: your iCloud Drive. But it gets even better because if you open a document in one app, the edits you make are immediately available to all the other apps that can read it. 

iCloud documents used to be very limited with regards to which apps could access them, and most of the time when you made a change the changes wouldn’t reflect in the other apps. Indeed, previously opening up a document that was stored in iCloud would often times create a new, separate copy of that document instead of opening the original, but all this has changed with iCloud Drive. The only drawback is that there is no dedicated iCloud Drive app on iOS. You need to launch an app that supports iCloud Drive integration in order to browse through your files.

A word of warning about iCloud Drive however: when upgrading to iOS 8 Apple gives you the option to enable iCloud Drive now or to wait. If you’re a Mac user you’re going to want to wait to upgrade. That’s because iCloud Drive isn’t available in OS X until next month when Yosemite ships. If you upgrade to iCloud Drive now you won’t be able to sync any of your iCloud documents (such as iWork documents) between your iOS 8 devices and your Macs running OS X 10.9.

iOS 8 Review: Continuity and Handoff

These last major features of iOS 8 are dedicated to users who own more than one iOS device and/or a Mac.

Continuity allows your Mac and iOS device to immediately know they are near one another with zero configuration on your part. If both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, Continuity is in effect. So just what does this Continuity allow you to do? Four main things: make and receive calls from your Mac, send and receive plain old text messages on your Mac, handoff current tasks from your iPhone to your Mac, and create an instant hotspot between your Mac and iOS device.

The first two features are probably the biggest. Thanks to iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite when your iPhone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your Mac you can make and answer phone calls on your Mac even if those phone calls are to/from traditional landlines. Continuity allows your Mac to become an extension of your phone. It works by wirelessly transferring the call information over your Wi-Fi network from your iPhone to your Mac and vice versa. 

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If your iPhone is plugged in by your nightstand upstairs, but you’re at your iMac in your home office, and you mom calls from her home landline (eg: not a VOIP call), you don’t need to run to answer your phone. The call will be pushed from your iPhone to your Mac over your wireless network. A caller ID will appear on your Mac enabling you to answer or decline the call. Again, the reverse is true too: you can dial a number from any webpage or contact on your Mac and the number will be pushed to your iPhone in your house, which will dial it out, and then Continuity will push the entire conversation back from your iPhone to your Mac--all without you noticing this is happening.

And just as you can now make and receive calls from your Mac, you can also now make and receive texts –– non-iMessage texts (even from Android users!) –– right on your Mac.

Continuity’s other two big features are called Handoff and Instant Hotspot. Handoff allows you to automatically pass whatever you are doing on one device to the next. For example, if you’re composing an email on your iPhone or creating an iWork document on it, you can simply switch to your Mac and pick up composing the email or editing the iWork document right where you left off. As for Instant Hotspot, it allows you to automatically tether your Mac to your iPhone so you can share your data connection with zero setup required.

Do note that you currently won’t be able to use any Continuity or Handoff features with your Mac until OS X 10.10 Yosemite ships next month. Continuity and Handoff are not supported in the current OS X 10.9 Mavericks.

iOS 8: Known Bugs & Issues

iOS 8 is the biggest update Apple has ever issued for its iPhone and iPad, bringing with it a ton of new features, APIs and abilities. The actual update itself is around 5.7GB in size and has been the subject of A LOT of complaints on Twitter –– people aren’t too happy about having to delete lots of apps and music from their iPhones to make room for the install. But these aren’t the only complaints about the new software; a lot of people are having issues with bugs as well. 

Crashing apps, detrimental affects on battery life, ultra-slow Safari, poor Wi-Fi connections and certain applications (CloudMagic, for instance) simply not working are just some of the complaints leveled at iOS 8. The software, at least from our tests, appears to perform better on iPhone, with less noticeable problems. Our iPad Air hasn’t been the same since we updated it to iOS 8, however, and appears to be really struggling with the new OS. Not that any of this should come as a surprise –– new versions of iOS always feature bugs. Expect the first series of updates to start landing very soon. 

And then there's the issue of iOS 8's affect on 16GB and 8GB iPhones, as noted by Forbes: “Apple has been selling 16GB iPhones for way too long and apparently seems hell bent on continuing to do that,” Rogowsky wrote in his column. “It doesn’t seem like a problem if you only have a half dozen apps, don’t store music on your phone and are a light user, right? Well, then it’s time for your OS upgrade and suddenly your iPhone wants multiple gigabytes of free space (some reports had people needing up to 7GB of space!) to perform the upgrade. There are workaround like deleting a bunch of apps and downloading them later. You can resort to iTunes, make a backup and just install fresh. That leads to all your apps downloading again, which can be excruciating this time of year.”

But fear not, intrepid iOS user... Apple is hard at work on an update to address some of the known bugs inside iOS 8 and it could be launching within the next week or so. According to a report fromMacRumors, the iOS 8.0.1 update will address several key bugs, including problems with the following: 

• Call forwarding and freezing when opening Visual Voicemail
• Keypad not showing up to enter iCloud Keychain verification codes
• Videos sometimes not playing on Safari
• AirDrop support for Passbook passes
• Installation of VPN profiles

Apple Apologises For Failed iOS 8.0.1 Update

Apple attempted to release the iOS 8.0.1 update but not all went according to plan. The priority of the update was a boat load of bug fixes as well as an all important fix to the HealthKit app.

Both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are now facing issues with the cellular connection and Touch ID functionality since the update. Apple pulled the update once it became aware of the problem but many still managed to download the update before then.

Apple has now offered up a fix for the problem when speaking to The Verge. There is now a dedicated support page, that you’ll find below, which allows you to reinstall the original iOS 8 update.

Apple told The Verge, “We have a workaround for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who lost cellular service and Touch ID functionality today after updating to iOS 8.0.1. Affected users can reinstall iOS 8 through iTunes, for more information visit http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6487.

“We apologize for the great inconvenience experienced by users, and are working around the clock to prepare iOS 8.0.2 with a fix for the issue, and will release it as soon as it is ready in the next few days.”