iPhone Tips & Tricks ver. 3.0

• Auto corrections
One of the better features of the iPhone is the auto correction/auto completion feature. Even though it takes only two taps to get an apostrophe, why go to all that trouble when your iPhone will do it for you. If you don’t believe me,give it a shot. Just type words such as ‘dont’ or ‘its’ or ‘youre’ and you will see that as soon as you press the spacebar key these words will turn into ‘don’t’, ‘it’s’ and ‘you’re’ respectively.
Awesome right but, what if you need to type words such as we’re? If you type ‘were’ the iPhone will consider it as a valid word and will not change it to ‘we’re’. So what do you do? Don’t worry, Apple has provided us users with a solution to that as well. If you want to type we’re. In this case you need to type ‘were’ with an extra ‘e’ at the end. As soon as you press the spacebar the word will change to ‘we’re’. Some of the words which make use of this auto correction feature are as follows:
• ‘weree’ = ‘we’re’
• ‘shelll’ = ‘she’ll’
• ‘helll’ = ‘he’ll’
• 'welll’ = ‘we’ll’
• 'itss’ = ‘its’

• Changing exposure when taking photos:
The tap to focus feature on the iPhone is nice. By simply tapping on the object you want to bring in focus, you can get some really nice photos from your iPhone.
But, did you know that using this same feature you can also adjust the exposure of the photo (i.e. make them lighter or darker). When you tap on a particular object on the preview screen, apart from adjusting the focal point of the photo to that of the object, the iPhone’s camera also adjusts the exposure based on the object. Therefore, if you tap on a lighter object the photo you take will be lighter while when you tap on a dark object the photo will be darker.

• The Home button:
I feel sure that if you own an iPhone you know that if you double tap the Home button, you will be shown a tray which contains the icons of your recently opened apps. This allows you to quickly jump between several apps similar to multitasking.

You are also probably aware that if you swipe from left to right you will be shown a few interesting controls. One of the more important of these controls is the orientation lock. No more will you have to worry about your iPhone changing orientation when you don’t want it to (No Photo).
Let’s move on. Now, did you know that if you swiped left to right again, you will be shown the volume slider, it is for the system app volume.
Another interesting feature in the secondary swipe control panel is the AirPlay control. This is very useful if you have AirPlay supported devices in your wireless network. You can also change audio playback settings for these devices using this feature.

That's it for this posting. Check back often, there's more to come.

iPhone Tips & Tricks ver. 2.0

Hello and welcome back. We have now moved on to the second part in this series of Tips & Tricks. If you missed the first entry please refer back, you may have missed something cool.

Extra Keys:

Several extra keys are hidden within the keyboard of the iPhone. For example do you need to type ü even though you are not using the German keyboard? The trick is pretty simple. You need to simply press and hold the letter ‘u’ and additional keys will pop up. You can select the key you want to enter. Other examples of these additional keys are é, î, ç, å, ß etc.
Additional keys are also present for punctuation marks. Simply press and hold these punctuation keys to get additional options.
Also a neat feature is the option for entering additional domains such as .edu, .net etc when you press and hold the .com key, this is useful when you are entering URL’s in Safari or Mail.

Delete Mails:

A neat trick is the swipe to delete feature which is present in Mail and other similar applications. You can quickly delete an item by swiping your finger left to right on the item. Very similar to how you would strike something out with a pen on a to-do list. Once you swipe you will be given an option to confirm your action. Once you confirm the item will be deleted.

Redialling:

I am sure all of us have needed to call someone right back after we have finished talking to them. Redialling is something which is very common. Even though the iPhone Phone app has a nice outgoing and incoming call list, have you ever wondered whether it is possible to redial. There is no button on the keypad which provides you with this common feature so do you know whether you can do it? The answer is yes. If you simply press the call button, the last number you called will be dialed again. Hence, you do not need to input or search for the contact but instead redial easily using the call button.

That's it for this posting. Check back often, there's more to come.

iPhone Tips & Tricks

Even though the iPhone is a mobile powerhouse, using iOS isn’t the most difficult thing in the world. Using the iPhone is extremely simple and intuitive in most cases. However, there are still several small yet useful tips and tricks stored under the hood which makes the iPhone that much more elegant.







Taking Screen Shots:
If you simultaneously press the home button and the sleep/wake button then you will be able to take a screenshot of your current screen. As soon as you press the two buttons you will hear a camera shutter noise and the screen will flash white. You find the screenshot of your iPhone screen in the Saved Photos library in the Photos app.









Saving Images:
If you didn’t know how to save images in Safari or Mail then let us enlighten you. By touching and holding on to an image on Safari or Mail a pop-up menu will appear which will give you the option to save the image. This image will get saved in the Saved Photos library of the Photos app on the iPhone.










Using Caps Lock:
If you are already not aware then get this. You can lock caps lock by double tapping on the Shift key. Remember, for this feature to work you need to first make sure that Caps Lock is enabled. Go into Settings, then General and then Keyboard and make sure it’s enabled.
Another interesting tip for saving a tap is to touch the shift key and slide it over to a letter which youwant to make capital. This trick can also work for inputting numbers. This can definitely help you save some time if you do a lot of emailing or messaging from your iPhone.






Thanks for taking the time to read my Blog & check back soon for more Tips and Tricks.

Blogsy App for iPad

Hello, This is my first post from a new app for the iPad called Blogsy. From what I have seen so far, it is by far the best blogging app for the iPad & better than most websites I have used. It's very easy to add photos, videos, & links. This is a test, only a test.

Apple iPad still has no competition

It’s been almost a year since Apple released the iPad and we’re less than a week away from the unveiling of the iPad 2, and still there’s no competition.

There are a few very good reasons for Apple’s success and why its competitors are finding it difficult to gain any traction against the king of digital devices. There’s the infrastructure, the combination of hardware and software, and the fact that its competitors are content to settle for second best.

Let’s look at these separately.

Apple didn’t invent the tablet, but it did popularize the concept and how it fits into our lifestyle. Clearly the evidence of this is that every tablet announced or released since the iPad looks just like it.

The fact that every company making a tablet is trying to compete with what Apple offers means that they aren’t looking to make something better than the iPad. They are just trying to catch up. Apple has done everything it can to make sure they are No. 1 in the tablet market, but the competition is ensuring they will stay there.

There’s a saying in hockey: Don’t go to where the puck is, go to where the puck is going to be. Nobody is willing to make a bet on where the market is going to be, so they go to where the market is and, right now, Apple controls the puck.

Until someone decides to step outside of Apple’s shadow, they will never be better than No. 2. That’s where the fight is right now.

Since the tablets are all very similar, how do companies set themselves apart? It’s not the operating system. No matter how good Google makes Honeycomb, the fact is, almost every company out there will be using it.

On the other hand, Apple controls the operating system and hardware. If Apple makes advances in iOS, they are Apple’s to share with their customers and nobody else.

There are two companies that stand out in the tablet market that make their own hardware and operating systems: HP and RIM. The problem is that they haven’t done anything.

RIM announced its PlayBook last September; they announced the PlayBook 4G in January; and they announced the PlayBook 4G LTE, HSPA+ and Mobile WiMAX models in February. So far, not one has hit the market. I think RIM needs to settle down and ship something.

HP has an interesting offering with WebOS. From everyone I’ve spoken with, WebOS has the biggest potential to be a hit among consumers. However, HP wasn’t exactly forthcoming with detailed information during its TouchPad event, so it’s hard to know where the product will land once pricing information is available.

Motorola has the Xoom, but so far the reviews haven’t been the best. Honestly, I’m not sure consumers will flock to Motorola anymore, certainly not like they did in the days of the RAZR.

Even if Apple’s competitors were able to get past the hardware and operating system issues, there is still one component that can’t be overcome—the infrastructure.

Apple didn’t create the iPad in a year or two. They have been working on it for almost a decade. Around the same time they started working on the iPad, they released iTunes, which created a music and video foundation that continues to dominate today.

With iTunes and the ability for users to purchase music, movies, TV shows, and educational content, Apple is giving its users a one-stop shop. Buy, download, sync, and take everything with you.

If you add the App Store to that equation, Apple has the bases covered. There doesn’t seem to be a piece of the puzzle that’s missing.

Over the next six months, iPad competitors will be coming, and there will be a lot of them. Unfortunately for them, as they release some worthy competitors to the iPad 1, Apple will be releasing the iPad 2 and then moving on to the iPad 3.

Apple’s R&D is already years ahead. It’s hard to imagine that they will be brought down anytime soon.

http://www.techcrunch.com

Status Updates in Microsoft Outlook

If you use Microsoft's Outlook for your email client. There is now (what Microsoft calls) a "Outlook Social Connector." Once you install this connector you will be able to see the status updates for anyone sending you email. If they have a social account setup in one of the providers. Watch the short video, it will show you how to install the connector.

iPad 2 Rumor Roundup

Near Field Communications (NFC) chip

There is a possibility of a iPad with a 7" screen . I wouldn't count on this one.

April release date:

Elton John has been quoted as saying.

"I'm a Luddite. I don't have a phone, I don't have a computer. ... But this is going to be a problem for me because they're coming out with a Skype iPad in April and I've got to get one because I want to see my son when I'm not there."

Processor:

Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities claims the new iPad will sport a dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 processor. That's in line with what I've been expecting, and if Apple sticks to its guns this processor will be marketed as the Apple A5.

Graphics Chip:

The graphics processor will be the Imagination Technologies’ POWERVR SGX543 GPU, as reported here. What's critical here is that this graphics chip supports OpenCL, meaning that the power of both the graphics chip and the main CPU can at times be combined to handle intense computational tasks. The new iPad will be super-powered.

RAM:

"iPad 2 has 512MB RAM, same as iPhone 4 and twice as much as iPad 1, but running at higher clock 1,066 MHz for getting bigger memory bandwidth (iPhone 4 memory clock is 800 MHz)," Ming-Chi Kuo said.

Camera:

iPad 2.0 will host a low-res front-facing camera and a low-res back camera. Apple is already seeking an expert in digital photography to work with the iPad development team. This could mean improvements in PhotoStream, MobileMe Gallery and should also equate to new tools for image editing on your iPad. This has to also mean iPhoto will reach the iPad (at last), as the existing Photo App doesn't edit images. I'd stick my neck out to suggest a version of iMovie - already available on the iPhone -- will also reach iPad.

Resolution:

Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities recently claimed the new iPad display will retain the same 1024 x 768 resolution, but will be anti-reflective, so it will be a much better device for reading -- think a Kindle, but better.

IDC analyst, Tom Mainelli believes we will see a Retina Display, but not until version 3 of the iPad, presumably next year. “I don’t believe anybody is ready to produce that resolution in volumes at this point. And Apple is going to require huge volumes for the iPad 2,” he said

Connectivity:

Primarily, WiFi-only, GSM, and CDMA. You'll be able to get an iPad for Verizon or for AT&T.

Accelerometer/Gyroscope controls:

These are going to be improved. Expect a 3-axis gyroscope

Carbon Fiber Body:

The iPad 2 will have a carbon fiber case, reducing weight and improving flexibility.

There is also an interesting read from Tim Cook, Apple's COO

Apple slams other tablets, says working on iPad 2

If anyone has any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

Excerpts from Computerworld.com

Too much attention

I'm probably the only person that would notice this. I was watching episode 11 (The Devil's Lube) of season 6 of Two and a Half Men. In the episode Charlie was in the car with Alan & talking on the phone with his doctors office. All the while he's holding his (1st gen) iPhone upside down.  He finishes his conversation. Talks to Alan a little more then calls Rose. He's holding the phone correctly, then the camera zooms in & he's holding it upside down again.

Yes, I realize this doesn't have anything to do with tech. Except the fact that Charlie was using a 1st gen. iPhone albeit incorrectly.

In-App Purchases

Today’s tip is right under everyone’s nose. But, if you’re like me it has never dawned on you that it’s even there.

If you have small children or adults that play with your iOS device (iPod, iPhone, or iPad) you may want to disable the “in-App Purchases” on your device. This is an easy fix to an ongoing problem with people not paying attention when they are tapping away at the screen to kill those darn Pigs (Angry Birds).

Tap Settings

Tap General

Tap Restrictions
Enable Restrictions

Scroll down to "Allowed Content"
In-App Purchases - Slide to the left to turn off

Facebook Comments

Let's say one of your Facebook friends post some big news. Now what are you suppose to say for a comment. Well here is a flowchart to help you leave the perfect comment.

Crud on Tech

I've been watching a lot of Tech podcasts on the Apple TV. My youngest daughter seems to be getting into this whole Tech thing a little more than I expected. It's cool, but drives the wife crazy because she hates watching that stuff. She is one of those people that just want things to work and expects me to make it happen whether or not I know how.

Website of the day:

Lifehacker

Big Bang Theory

I know everyone has seen "The Big Bang Theory." If you haven't, you should. At the end of the show Chuck Lorre (the producer) writes a vanity card. Everyone needs to pause the episode & read this "vanity card." the man is a gifted comedic writer. For those who have missed these up until now. Here is a link to the archives.
http://bit.ly/hKCOPe

2nd Post

Today went pretty well. We had a party for my nephew (Jesse). He's turning 18 in a couple of days. I made a moron of myself playing Dance Central for the Kinect. All & all not a bad day.

1st Post

Hello World,
 This is my first attempt at a Blog. I'm not very good at this sort of thing so we'll see how it goes.