Make Tech Easier» iOS

Tinychat For Web Allows You to Chat, Listen to Music And Draw Simultaneously

Laura Tucker — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:58:43 +0000

While everyone knows about Skyping and Facebook Chat, TinyChat is much lesser known. Just like the other forms of chatting, TinyChat is available across multiple platforms. It’s available both on the web as well as on mobile devices. However, unlike the others, you can do more than chat. You can also listen to music or watch YouTube videos together, and even draw together.

My son and a friend were chatting via their computers. They both had Tinychat going on their computers, and were chatting, watching, listening, and drawing away. I had to find out about this. They graciously let me in on their chat, and it was like a whole world of possibilities that opened up. It would be great for business as well as personal use.

Because I’m an Apple and iOS person through and through, it means the first thing I did was look for an app. I found an app available for both my iPhone and iPad. Opening that, I was presented with a choice of browsing existing chats, starting my own chat, or joining a chat. To join the chat with my son and his friend, I could either type in the room name or accept an invite from Facebook or other similar social networks. The problem with trying to connect through the Facebook notification was that it sent me through the Internet instead of through the app. Safari can’t handle the TinyChat website because it’s most likely Flash. Because I was trying to go through the iOS app, I had to manually type in the name of the room.

It turns out because it’s a flash-enabled website, that much of the functions on TinyChat that make it so great to use weren’t available on the website. The only function that was available here was just the video chat. There was no texting, drawing, YouTube, or sound files I could view or listen to here. While I could have switched to a flash-enabled browser (I like Photon) and enjoyed all the functions, I decided to switch to my Mac to make it easier for review purposes.

I rejoined the chat this time from the web on my Mac. This time I had all the functions available to me, as I would have using a flash-enabled iOS browser. Opening it on the web, I could see the same three videos before of everyone talking, but I could also “see” if they were typing in text. It also notifies you when someone joins or leaves the room, just like other chat rooms.

One very unique feature of TinyChat is the Whiteboard. This is a board that anyone in the chat can draw on, even simultaneously. You can jot down notes for a job you’re discussing or just have a lot of fun on it with your friends. It has all the standard drawing tools on it – lines, text, pencil, eraser, etc. It opened up in a separate window, so instead of flipping back and forth, I moved the window out to a separate pane so that I could see it and my video chat at the same time.

Ever watch a YouTube that you just can’t wait to show your friends? Now instead of emailing or sharing it on Facebook or Twitter, you can watch it together on TinyChat. Search for a video from directly within Tinychat, and when it opens up, it does so so that everyone on the chat can see it. Laugh together! Songs can be opened up the same way to also be enjoyed together. Additional options are going full screen and taking a snapshot of the people in the chat.

There are just so many possibilities available with TinyChat. I can see using this during chats, especially with a larger group of people. It just isn’t the most iOS friendly because of the Flash video use, but it can still be used, with the right browser, or with limited function in the app.

Tinychat

Tinychat For Web Allows You to Chat, Listen to Music And Draw Simultaneously originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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A Comprehensive Guide to iTunes U [iOS]

Emmanuel Banks — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:58:45 +0000

Learning at a prestigious college is an opportunity possible for very few. From Harvard to Stanford, the admission criteria for most of those colleges prevented many from attending. However, would you ever believe that you could learn from the professors of many of these colleges straight from your Mac and iOS device, as if you were in person? It’s possible with iTunes U. Despite iTunes U being available, not everyone takes advantage of this educational gift from Apple. Today, we will take a tour of iTunes U, showing you who’s teaching, and how to make the most of your learning experience.

What is iTunes U?

iTunes U is one of the many components that Apple added to their education initiative last fall. iTunes U allows you to not only watch lectures from acclaimed universities worldwide, you can also follow along by being provided the course’s syllabus, assignments, and more. That means, the only difference between you and the students learning is person is that they are actually physically there to ask questions directly to the professor. It depends on the university how detailed the materials are, however, Stanford’s lectures are quite detailed and identical to the courses in person. This, in the end, allows anyone from the curious high school student senior, to senior citizens to learn more about subjects they are interested in.

Necessary Materials

Technically, you only need an iOS device and Mac to take full advantage of iTunes U. However, to get the full college experience, there are a couple of other materials you should take advantage of. First, like any student, you should have a set notebook and writing utensil. This will make the classes feel more established for you, instead of just self-study by watching a couple of videos. This will allow you to keep track of what you are learning, have materials to look back on when studying, and more. Additionally, some courses, especially the more technological ones, may require additional software to download. Stanford’s Programming Methodology, an introduction to Computer Science, for example requires you to download their programming software Eclipse. This should be something to consider when you sign up. Additionally, some may also recommend you to purchase books, because they may be repeatedly referred to in the lessons. If you are serious about your studies on iTunes U, you may want to look into purchasing these books or checking them out at your local library. Amazon’s used marketplace also has very inexpensive books on sale as well.

Who’s Teaching?

iTunes U features close to 200 well known schools from across the world. However, only a few are very well known and distinguished. Some of the best colleges featured on iTunes U are the ones that have made an effort for including iTunes U in with the class. Stanford, the university I used during my review of iTunes U, had some professors that acknowledged the distant learners when recording the lectures, knowing that they have special circumstances that may prevent them from seeking a course teacher etc. This made them feel more included. Along with Stanford’s well planning for iTunes U, many other universities including Massachusetts Institute for Technology, University of California at Berkeley, and even Yale. It is essential to check out each of the courses that these universities offer because you’d be surprised what you can learn, from Autism Theory and Technology to a course on Death.

Finding and Preparing For Courses

Finding the courses you want to learn is easy to do. The best way to do this is by searching on an iOS device. iTunes U for iOS has a more organized UI that makes searching easier to do. To search for courses on your iOS device, click Browse to search by school. If you want to search according to subject, click Featured, then Categories. To search on Mac, activate the iTunes for Mac application, then go to iTunes Store, and click iTunes U. Once you find the course you want to learn, you can begin learning right away by clicking “Subscribe Free”. From there, You can click on a video to begin a lecture, check out documents to get a background on what is ahead of you, and check out the assignments after your first lecture.

Applying iTunes U To Your Real Life

So how can iTunes U help in your real life? After all, you can’t earn a degree for learning on iTunes U. This means that your learning on iTunes U is a personal experience, where you must find the courage within yourself to keep learning. You must also choose interesting subjects that you will want to go back to again and again. Additionally, iTunes U can be beneficial for many individuals, from a range of topics. From personal experience, I know of one high school student who checked out a Calculus course on iTunes U before having to learn it their junior year in school. iTunes U allowed him to know the basics and to accelerate in their classes that year. What can you take away from iTunes U? Let us know in the comments below!

A Comprehensive Guide to iTunes U [iOS] originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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Coco: Voice Messaging For iOS And Android

Laura Tucker — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:58:57 +0000

A few months back I reviewed the Voxer app. It was an app that worked both on Android as well as iOS mobile devices to message with text, voice, and pictures. It didn’t appear to be an app that was created for iOS, but adapted for it. Yet, it seemed it was the only horse in town that could handle all your messaging needs. No longer.

The Coco Voice app seems more built for iOS, but still handles Android as well. Yet it just has a more natural fit on your iPad or iPhone. You can message virtually anyone you want, can send voice messages to Facebook and Twitter, and can even do a group chat.

Like many apps, Coco Voice gives you the choice of either signing up with your own account, or just signing in using Facebook. After signing in, you can set up your profile as you see fit. My numerical username was just automated when I signed up, but I could change it to something more memorable if I choose. The settings can be changed here as well, as far as Notifications and if new messages should be auto-played, previewed, or both.

The Inbox not only holds your incoming messages, but is also the place to send audio messages to your Facebook or Twitter. Initiating one of them asks you to sign in to your preferred social network, then it’s just a matter of recording your message. This is one thing Voxer doesn’t do. The Inbox is also where you verify your phone. You supply the phone number, and Coco sends you a code by text. After doing this, the app shows you which of your phone contacts are signed up with Coco.

Signing up with Facebook and/or Twitter places a status message on your page mentioning the benefits of Coco Voice, and also how your friends can contact you at Coco. I also sent a separate Facebook message which added an audio file and allowed me to add whatever text I wanted to.

Coco Voice also includes a Social page to both find friends and spread the word. You can connect with your “mobile friends,” meaning your friends you already talk and text with on your phone, tablet, and iPod. There is also an option to finds new friends that are local to your area, but personally I find that a little frightening. Down at the bottom are options to advertise the app on Facebook, Twitter, and/or email. You can let everyone know how they can contact you.

Aside from the Social Networks messaging, you can also use Coco Voice to message with the people you would normally text with. While you can send text messages and pictures, you can also send voice messages. By having the AutoPlay setting turned off, the message will just sit in your inbox waiting for you to listen to it. This plays out exactly the way it does on Voxer, yet this has a much more iOS-like look to it.

Coco Voice also manages to fix the one thing I wished Voxer would do, or at least it does on the larger screen of the iPad. It allows me to use the app in landscape mode. However, the iPhone version only allows for it to be used it portrait mode. If I’m on my phone, I really don’t care whether it’s landscape or portrait; it’s mostly just when I’m on my iPad since I use it on a keyboard stand. Because of these extras with Coco Voice, I prefer it over Voxer.

Coco Voice

Coco: Voice Messaging For iOS And Android originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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6 Little Known iPad Secrets

Laura Tucker — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:58:29 +0000

There’s nothing more rewarding than finding out new tips or secrets on your favorite device. I’m on my second iPad since last summer, and I’m still finding new tips or tricks. Each time I find one it brings out a raised eyebrow and makes me realize how easy things would be had I known about that before.

Mostly everyone that uses an iPad knows all the basic tricks, like using the multitasking bar at the bottom, grouping apps into folders, taking a screencap, etc. But there are still some new tricks I’ve learned that make using an iPad even easier than it already is.

1. Status Bar – tap to go to top

This first tip I can’t believe I never knew until recently. There’s a shortcut to move back to the top of a page or list, no matter what app you’re using. If you click on the black status bar at the top, the one that has the WiFi signal, time, battery left, etc., it will automatically scroll back to the top. If you’re using an app like Pages or Safari, it will carry you back to the top of the page. If you’re using an app like Mail, clicking on the side above the listing of emails will take you to the top of your list, and if you click on the side above the text of the email, it will take you to the top of the text.

2. Add more apps to dock

I’ve known about this trick for some time as I use it on my iPhone as well as my iPad. A friend who also had an iPhone showed me this one a long time ago. You don’t have to keep the same apps in your dock that Apple sets there. Additionally, you can add even more apps into the dock than just the four it comes shipped with. You can have up to six. I’ve added and re-organized to use the apps that I want that easy access to.

3. Force quit an app

Everyone knows how to do a force quit on their desktop or laptop computer, but it was unclear for quite awhile how to do that on an iPad. When an app freezes up, the only action that was known to do was to do a complete restart on the iPad by holding down the Restart and Home Buttons. But there’s a way to quit just the offending app without doing that complete restart. Hold down just the restart button until you see the slider asking you to shut off your iPad. Let up on the buttons and press the Home button alone this time. This takes you back to the Home screen and quits the app that was frozen, allowing you to restart to try to get back to where you were.

4. Search on page

On a desktop browser, you can search for blocks of text on a page. On the iPad, when you click on the Google search in the top of Safari, it actually opens a smaller box on the bottom to “Find on Page.” You don’t have to retype it here though. There’s also an option in the list it opens up. Searching for my name, it came up with a list of Lauras I could be searching for on Google, as well as “On This Page,” where it is already showing me two places my name is mentioned.

5. Not so simple passcode

The iPad presents with an option to use a four-digit passcode, but you can also change it to use a longer passcode of your choosing that would be much harder for strangers or sneaky children to guess. If you open the “Settings -> General -> Passcode Lock”, you can choose to turn off “Simple Passcode.” This allows you to create your own longer passcode using both letters and numbers.

6. Attaching photos in emails

This tip might seem simple, but it’s involved enough to where it’s just not something you think of as an option. Emailing photos is easy – you simply find the photo you want and hit the Sharing button. What about attaching a photo on a composed email? There is no “Attach” option like there is on a computer. Here is what you need to do: go to the Photos app and select the photos that you want to attach. Tap the “Copy” button, then go back to your Reply Email and paste in the pictures.

I bet that there are still plenty of tips/tricks that I have not discovered in the iPad. I will definitely share them when I found them. Meanwhile, what is your little “unknown” tips/tricks with your iPad?

Image credit: By Pedro Eugenio Antunes

6 Little Known iPad Secrets originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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Help For Using Gmail in iOS

Laura Tucker — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:58:50 +0000

Apple doesn’t always play well with others, and when it comes to the mobile operating system iOS, it can be even worse. Their relationship, or lack thereof, with Adobe and their flash video is well documented. Another entity that doesn’t get along with the system is GMail. It works, but it’s hindered in some ways by using the Mail app.

The most noticeable way in which GMail doesn’t work well in the iOS system is with the Trash. There is no “Trash” visible in the mail app like there is with other email domains. Something as simple as deleting an email suddenly gets more complicated. The good news is there is help for this issue. There are a few different ways to go about deleting your email, and and there’s a way to set up your Gmail in iOS through Google Sync, if your Gmail is set up through Google Apps.

While the screencap I used here is for my email with the maketecheasier.com domain, it’s still based off of the Gmail system and works in all the same ways Gmail does. It’s set up through Google Apps. There isn’t the familiar “Trashcan” in the options on the top right, when viewing an individual email, and when you select one or more emails to edit, it only gives you options to Archive, Move, or Mark. Delete isn’t one of the options. It just seems frustrating to not have such a basic function available.

I actually had a similar problem with my email hosted on a separate domain. While I had a Delete option and a Trashcan, it would give me an error message afterward and would stay on the server. It had an easy fix. I went into the Settings app and selected “Mail, Contacts, Calendars,” then clicked on the email domain I wanted to change. After clicking on the Account name, then “Advanced” at the bottom of the resulting screen, I then clicked on “Deleted Mailbox” which allowed me to change the folder I wanted the deleted emails to go into. By default it was set on “Trash” on my iPad, but once I changed it to “Trash” on the server, it resulted in the emails being deleted correctly. However, making this change to the Gmail settings didn’t solve the issue there.

The easiest way to solve the Trash problem for Gmail is to to just move the desired files into the Trash folder. If you click on edit in the email list pane, check off the emails you want deleted, then hit “Move.” This brings up a list of the folders on the server, including the Trash folder. There is also a Google app for iOS. It includes all the Google apps within it, such as Calendar, Docs, Google+, and Gmail. Using the mail here emulates the way it works online, including being able to delete unwanted email. You can also keep multiple Gmail accounts “open” at once. There’s also always the option, of course, to just keep up with the Gmail via whatever browser you are using by signing into your account there.

If you’re using Gmail that is set up for you through an organization or business that uses Google Apps, the administrator can choose to have Google Sync enabled for the email. If this is done, when you set your Gmail account in settings, instead of setting it up as a Gmail account, set it up as Microsoft Exchange. This will not only Sync folders, such as Trash, but will also sync your Google Calendars.

I still use the iOS Mail app, but that’s only because I like to have all my mail in one spot, and my Gmail accounts are more my secondary accounts. It’s only a minor irritation to have to move my deleted emails to the Trash. Hence the reason I don’t bother to delete them often. What iOS needs is more options for using Mail on the system. While there are multiple different browsers other than Safari, there’s only one Mail app, with no third party apps available, and this is what causes users to have to come up with alternate solutions such as these.

Help For Using Gmail in iOS originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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Dolphin Browser For iOS Allows You To Use Your Own Gestures

Laura Tucker — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:58:15 +0000

No matter how many times Apple update the mobile Safari and the Mail app, they’re still boring. There aren’t too many choices for Mail, but there are many alternative browsers to Safari. They all have their one or two extra functions that separate them from one another, but Dolphin Browser seems to have a lot going for it, making it a very worthwhile free download.

I fall in love with a new browser, be it for iOS or OS X, at least once a year. Sometimes I use other browsers because they’re functional, but sometimes it’s a complete love affair. I get bored with the functioning Safari in iOS. It’s not fun, just functional. The Dolphin Browser is the first browser I’ve found in awhile that is just flat out fun. And it’s free. There aren’t many things in life that are both fun and free.

The default page for the Dolphin Browser includes a “speed dial” and “webzine.” A browser like Safari is built for browsing Google. That’s what it’s really good at. But we’re way past looking at the Internet just as a tool for gathering information. We spend our lives on a browser. Dolphin recognizes that. While the Speed Dial to the left of the default page includes favorite links, the most favorite of your favorites, it also includes a “Webzine.” It takes Facebook, Twitter, and newsy sites such as USA Today and Mac Rumors and places the most recent stories in capsules in your webzine so that you can quickly browse the latest news of the things that interest you the most. You can edit the webzine to include only the sites you want to keep up with.

Opening a Webzine capsule presents the articles in an easy-to-read format that can be flipped through. Clicking on a story brings it up in a text only format. Sometimes the text doesn’t completely come forward here, but that’s okay, as a link is included to read the rest, and you can also hit an arrow above the story to call up the story that way as well. Dolphin certainly isn’t the first browser to offer text only versions of articles, even Safari does this, but it’s the first browser I have found to place it in such an easy-to-use format that encompasses all the news you would want to read.

Dolphin syncs favorites as well, like many other browsers. I loaded it on my iPhone as well as my iPad so that I could keep my favorites synced throughout. I do wish it would also sync the Webzine and Speed Dial, though. Even better would be syncing the history.

The Dolphin Browser also makes full use of gestures. Instead of seeming like something that was added in as an afterthought, the browser is built around using gestures. Starting Dolphin for the first time, it shows you gestures that you can use right away, such as sliding from the left edge gives you your list of favorites, favorites that go beyond Speed Dial, and sliding from the left gives you an easy view of all your open tabs.

But the gestures go way beyond that. There’s a gesture button in the menu at the top. Clicking this gives you more than just the standard simple universal gestures. A V-shape takes you to the bottom of the page. An upside-down V-shape takes you to the top of the page. A G takes you to Google. A 2 takes you to Amazon. You don’t have to rely on pre-programmed gestures. You can create your own in settings. I did this for my most-used favorites. I used an M for Make Tech Easier. I used an F without the middle “bar” for Facebook, and used an R for my Reality Shack site. You can create your own gestures for actions, as well as sites. The possibilities are infinite.

It seems the Dolphin Browser is made for a large aspect of the iOS. It’s meant for a touchscreen with its use of gestures and the browsing aspect of the webzine. The only thing that isn’t well-represented is pictures. This is a word browser. It features pictures just as well as Safari, but it doesn’t go out of its way to make the best of them like an iPad should. However, it’s still the go-to for me to replace Safari, that is until Safari makes adequate changes to convince me to switch back again.

Dolphin Browser For iOS Allows You To Use Your Own Gestures originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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7 Useful Apps and Services For College Freshmen [iOS]

Emmanuel Banks — Sat, 05 May 2012 23:58:18 +0000

Many high school students are in the height of the spring school year. With Advanced Placement, SAT, and finals over, the next focus is to get ready for a new lifestyle in university. While high school has prepared students for the college workload, high school can only help so much with getting accustomed to a college lifestyle. Today, we will look at apps that can help make the transition easier. Many are free or affordable.

1. Awesome Note (+Todo)

Awesome Note is pretty much an idea tank for iPhone. With Awesome Note, you have the ability to take down everything from very detailed notes to brief shopping lists and to-do tasks. Awesome Note (+Todo) allows your notes to be so detailed, that you can attach multimedia, drawings, and more. All of your notes can also be pushed to your calendar without any added effort. Your notes stay protected with password lock, as well as backup support. All of these features may be amazing, but they only scratch the surface of what Awesome Note (+Todo) can do. Check it out for $3.99 today.

2. Flashcards Deluxe

Flashcards Deluxe is the best flashcards application on the market today. Flashcards Deluxe allows you to not only create cards, but also helps in making them an important study tool. You can create tests for yourself, hear the flashcards read to you, categorize them, and more. All flashcards come with several design templates to choose from, making your next study session a bit more unique from the last. Don’t worry about them getting lost, all of your flashcards made on Flashcards Deluxe are backed up and with the ability to be saved on Dropbox and Google Docs. Check out Flashcards Deluxe today for $3.99.

3. Dropbox

Dropbox is an essential service for any student of any age or grade level. Dropbox, if you don’t already know, allows you to save any content to your Dropbox folder and access it from everywhere. Dropbox is free if you don’t require additional storage, and with referrals, you can gain free upgrade to your storage space of up to 18GB. Your content not only can be saved, but also shared online. You can assign your stuff with a link for easy viewing, or you can invite only certain individuals if you want to keep the information private. Dropbox for iPhone is free to download, so check it out today.

4. iStudiez Pro

iStudiez Pro has been repeatedly awarded as one of the best educational applications on the market. iStudiez Pro has a scheduling system to takes into consideration many of the varying schedules that various students across the nation/world have. iStudiez Pro allows you to keep track of your classes, the room numbers, and professor contacts. You can also keep track of your homework, project, and class work assignments all in one application, with support of alarms and push notifications. You can import your grades and make sure that you stay above water with your GPA. All of this is backed up and protected, insuring that you make your freshmen year in college your best. iStudiez Pro comes at a cost of $2.99 and is available today on the App Store.

5. Epicurious Recipes

College is a time when many individuals pack on the pounds due to the unlimited options presented to them both on and off campus in terms of food. In other situations, there may not be a lot of tasty options available. This results in having to focus on cooking for yourself to have a balanced diet or to even have the foods you enjoyed back home. Epicurious, the website and now application hosting thousands of recipes, comes as a handy tool in making great meals for yourself. You can search by food, cooking times, and more. You can save the recipes you want to cook, and even create a shopping list when you’re ready to prepare the meal. The recipes range from gourmet meals to fast and easy meals. Epicurious is free to download from the App Store today.

6. Beanhunter

In college, the local coffee shop can be a pivotal place to go. Not only can you do the obvious, pick up a cup of Joe, but you can also have the local coffee shop as a great place to hang out and meet new people, a quiet place to study, and also a place where you can make yourself a regular and build relationships with the staff. However, it can be hard to find the right one when big chain shops seem to get all of the attention. Beanhunter is there to put the focus back on the smaller hangouts that sometimes go unnoticed. I like to call it the Urbanspoon for coffee lovers. You can get reviews or see photos. Plus, it’s free to download, so get to it now and find your next hangout spot.

7. Groupon

Without a doubt, the cost of expense in the university is high. For those without scholarships or a bit of help from the parents, scraping and saving is the way to go. Groupon allows you to experience your new college town on a budget. You can check out and redeem the latest deals and purchase your Groupon from the application. From half off on meals to 70 or even 80% off on entertainment, Groupon makes having a blast affordable. Groupon is free to download and is available on the App Store today.

What other apps do you use to manage your university life?

Image credit: Girl Writing by Big Stock Photo.

7 Useful Apps and Services For College Freshmen [iOS] originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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Save to Read Later on All Your Devices With Pocket

Laura Tucker — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:58:59 +0000

There are many different ways to save web pages in a list to read later. Most browsers, including the ones on iOS devices, include an option for saving articles to read later, Instapaper is an app available on almost any device that does many things aside from saving articles to read later, but it costs $4.99. The app Pocket works on the same devices and saves articles in much the same way, yet misses out on the extras.

I was inspired to download Pocket after seeing it advertised all over. The name has recently changed from “Read It Later” to “Pocket,” and a big push it out there for everyone to download. After seeing it pop up numerous times, I decided to download it to my iPad to see what all the fuss is about and if it was any better than the Reading List function on Safari.

After downloading Pocket and signing in, it gives you a quick tutorial with options for getting it set up the best way possible for the ways you intend to use it. One of those options is to add Pocket to your address book so that you can email links to your reading list. It’s so easy to set up, that it only requires you to hit the button, and it adds the appropriate button and does all the work for you of adding it to your address book.

Setting up your Safari in iOS to work along with Pocket is quite easy. In the instructions, they tell you that the way the apps are created through Apple, they aren’t allowed to do any of this work for you. Nevertheless, they make it quite easy to get it set up. It just requires you to go to a certain link in your browser, add it to your list of favorites, edit the link, and it’s done. It allows you then to test it, and if you have done it correctly, it gives you the message telling you so.

With Pocket set up in Safari, and a handy link residing in your Bookmarks Bar, saving a link to read later in Pocket is simply a matter of clicking on the link. It then gives you a message confirming that it has been saved to your reading list.

To view the items you have saved in your reading list, open the Pocket app. This presents you with different choices for the list, such as all the links, just the articles, just the images, or just the videos. Although I saved it to my iPad reading list, it’s now available on my iPhone reading list as well.

Once again, Pocket helps you do as much of the work as they possibly can. When I installed the app to my iPad, it gave me the option to have the instructions for installing on my computer emailed to me. I did that, expecting a list of instructions, and instead just had a link I needed to click. Opening the link in Firefox opened up the extension, showing me the benefits of adding it to Firefox. It gives you a simple link to click again to install it.

In Firefox, the Pocket extension shows up in the right hand side, to the side of the Google search box. It gives me the same options as I had in iOS, to view by article, image, or video, as well as viewing it by newest, oldest, title, and site. It has all the articles I saved on my iPad listed here. It makes it not only a good way to “read it later,” but also a good way to transfer URLs from device to device.

The main advantage to using Pocket over the Safari Read Later function on iOS devices is that it doesn’t just work with Safari. It works with over three-hundred other apps, as well as Android devices, Windows, Mac, and even Kindle Fire. The other advantage is that it also works offline. To check this, I put my iPad in Airplane mode, and while I couldn’t read anything saved with Read Later in Safari, I could read all the articles I saved to Pocket. Options are available including changing the text size, marking it as read, and saving it as a favorite.

Pocket isn’t only a very convenient app for saving articles to read later, but it’s also a great way to share links back and forth between devices, even cross-platform devices. And the best part of all is that it costs nothing to download, unlike Instapaper. If you need all the bells and whistles, Instapaper is probably the way to go. But if you don’t need them, save the $4.99 and get Pocket.

Pocket Homepage
Pocket (iTunes link)

Save to Read Later on All Your Devices With Pocket originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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5 Ways To Make Earth Day Year-Round

Emmanuel Banks — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:58:47 +0000

Earth Day was on April 22^nd this year. For many individuals, it may involve doing earth friendly activities outdoors. For others, it could be a day of acknowledgement for the earth friendly things they may do all year. From recycling to composting, earth friendly activities are become apart of our daily lives. This is even being seen in technology. From earth friendly packaging to the popularity and economical choice of purchasing refurbished. Today, we will look over a couple of tips on how to celebrate Earth Day 365 days a year.

1. Refurbish and Recycle

Purchasing refurbished products is one of my favorite ways to be earth friendly year round. It’s like a little secret only us super savers seem to know about. It’s ridiculous that many people dismissed refurbished product as their purchase option. When purchased from a reputable source (for example, your Mac directly from Apple’s refurbished program), you can be sure that it is in a good working condition, comes with warranty, and at a much lower price than a brand new product.

The second way to be an earth friendly techie is to recycle your old devices. You’d be surprised how many devices you have in your home that you have no use for. This spring, when I started spring-cleaning the house, I was able to recycle an old Blackberry and Microsoft Zune I found in my gadget drawer. In some instances, recycling devices can even be a bit lucrative. Many websites allows you to trade your devices in for some cash. Websites like Best Buy and Gazelle specialize in trading used devices. Help save the planet and make some money, isn’t that cool?

2. Observe a Time Off

One thing that many individuals forget about is that excessive use of electricity can heavily affect the planet in the long run. Excessive use of electricity adds to your environmental footprint. Electricity is generated using various fossil fuels, fuels that take years to develop and aren’t as renewable. In a nutshell, limiting your current use will help reduce your footprint and help make the environment a bit better.

It is very easy and rewarding to limit your electrical use. I personally give myself a plug off day, from Friday evening until Saturday evening, I cut off from work I have to do online and shut the computer down for 24 hours. This can be difficult for many individuals, and those who find it difficult can take just an hour or two out of their day to cut the plug. When you do so, you can use the time to go out for a run, take care of some errands, and more.

3. Use Earth-Friendly Apps

In case you are running out of means to be earth-friendly, Apple has a ton of applications available out there that will make being earth friendly year-round a bit easier.

iRecycle

For most individuals, recycling isn’t necessarily a difficult process. They are just lazy at finding out where the nearest recycle center is. iRecycle allows you to know where to throw away everything from paint to hazardous materials and everyday items like glass and plastics. This allows you to make recycling an everyday part of your earth friendly routine.

Good Guide

This application is one that helps out while at the grocery store. GoodGuide is your guide to finding not only healthy foods, but also those that are environmentally friendly and humane. GoodGuide allows you to find foods that are friendly to animals and even foods that are more energy efficient. You can find out this based on a score given to each product, based on their averaged out score from health, environment, and societal factors. You can set your own score, and if they meet your expectations, they get a green “pass” check. If not, then they fail and you should at least rethink purchasing it. If an item does in fact fail, GoodGuide gives you better alternatives.

4. Make Things More Digital

We each use about 700 pounds of paper each year. While we aren’t carrying this with us everywhere we go, we encounter it through our mail, notes to ourselves, cards we purchase and send, and much more. A majority of the paper that gets in out contact is essentially wasted, thrown away and never recycled.

If recycling seems a bit too difficult for you, you can still save the earth by reducing your use of paper. You can reduce your paper consumption by sending e-cards or even cards made from recycled paper. This last holiday season, I sent some environmentally friendly holiday cards. While they cost a couple of cents more than regular paper cards, they were well worth it. This is a perfect option if e-cards are too impersonal in your opinion. Even the cards made from Apple with the Cards app is environmentally friendly, making use of more durable cotton paper than that from wood.

We all know that we don’t send cards every day. For that reason, there are things in our daily life that we should implement to make a larger difference. Do you get the New York Times sent to your home each morning? No need to cancel the newspaper, the New York Times subscription is heavily intertwined with the iOS application, allowing you to still keep up with the same news as the newspaper but in digital form. The costs are less as well.

5. Purchase Earth Friendly Gadgets

Yes, you recycled your devices, even purchased refurbished, but you still aren’t sure if that’s enough. No worries, you can even go a step further by purchasing earth friendly gadgets. No, we don’t mean gadgets that run on water or by sunlight. There are various gadgets and companies out there that are earth conscious by using environmentally friendly packaging or materials.

For Apple, their gadgets are smaller for a reason. Yes, thinner equals more modern, however the thin iPads and Macbook Airs also use less aluminum and other materials. Gadgets require less transportation because Apple makes them with a majority of Apple products. They are sent to Apple stores or approved retailers, not random tech stores on the edges of the earth. Apple runs its own recycling program, and all devices you use are Energy Star approved, everything from iPods to Macs.

Conclusion

Making Earth Day a regular part of your year is seamless, however making it apart of your daily life is where the real benefits can be found. It is important to make sure to be environmentally conscious all year-round. As you can see from today, you don’t have to be a tree hugger to do this. From iPhone applications to purchasing energy efficient gadgets, being environmentally conscious can be hip and easy. What are some ways that you are being earth conscious inside and outside of technology? Let us know in the comments below!

Image credit: Baby And Earth by BigStockPhoto

5 Ways To Make Earth Day Year-Round originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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How to View WMV Files On iOS Devices

Laura Tucker — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:58:57 +0000

It can take some time of owning an iOS device, such as an iPhone or iPad, to realize the small nuances that you may be missing out on. They can do so many things, that it’s easy to get caught up in the honeymoon of all of that in the beginning stages of owning one of these devices. However, there are a few things they don’t do natively, or don’t do well at any rate, and it can take a certain amount of searching to find the right way or the right app to accomplish the task.

One of those things iOS devices don’t do natively is playback .wmv files. The reason for this is quite simple. WMV videos and audio are Microsoft creations. Microsoft isn’t going to do anything to make it easier for people to use Apple products. I’ve been using Apple products since 1989, and it’s never been something Microsoft has been interested in, and the more success Apple has with its iOS devices, I just don’t see Microsoft bending on this. This means it’s up to third party apps to come up with a solution.

Sometimes we hit upon WMV and .WMA files via a browser, but usually we run into them in emails. The problem is that when you click on them while viewing an email on an iPad or iPhone, it looks like it’s going to play, but doesn’t. It just keeps you waiting endlessly. If you interrupt it and start over, it just happens again. After a few times of this, you come to the realization it might be something your device isn’t capable of.

After installing one of the two apps discussed below, instead of simply clicking on the file in your email, do a long click, which brings up a menu of other apps that could handle the file. This doesn’t mean all these apps will play the file; it’s simply just recognizing the file. However, there are a few apps out there that won’t just recognize the file, but will allow you to view it as well.

The WMV Player app does exactly what it says it does. It plays WMV files. Doing a long click on the file sitting in your email and calling up this app plays the video. It’s as simple as that. It plays it as easily as iOS devices play YouTube videos. The downside is that the video isn’t the best quality.

Other than just playing the WMV file, this app also has a few extra options. One is that you can download the file and save it within the app for easier recall later on. Additionally, you can view files straight from a built-in browser. Normally, the .wmv files you come across will be in your email, but occasionally you might come across them in the browser as well. This app will handle those as well. Additionally, you can play videos directly out of Dropbox and can use iTunes to transfer videos to your device from your laptop or desktop computer.

The best part of the YXPlayer2 Lite app is the quality of the video. While not perfect, it’s much more defined than it is in the WMV Player app. Additionally, videos can be streamed via AirPlay and an Apple TV to your television. It’s not only .wmv and .wma files that it handles, though. It also handles MPEG, MP3, AAC, and network-streamed videos, as well as other file formats. However, it has its drawbacks as well. It too, has options to save the files or play them through other means, but they aren’t offered here within this free app. You have to pay the $4.99 to to get those options. While having free and paid apps is understandable and appreciated, those features shouldn’t be advertised as being in both versions.

Which app you end up using is up to you. It all depends on whether a clearer video, AirPlay, and more file choices is more important to you, or the possibility of saving, viewing through a browser, and transferring from your computer is more important. The important news here is that it is possible and is available to you for free.

How to View WMV Files On iOS Devices originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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Solving the WiFi Problem on the New iPad

Laura Tucker — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:58:06 +0000

No matter how great the technology being developed, they can never be bug-free. There’s always something unexpected that goes wrong, causing the manufacturer to have to quickly problem-solve to keep their customers happy. Apple seems to have their share of these types of problems, whether they just have many problems, or whether theirs just become highlighted more because of the success of the products. As is expected, there are already a few major complaints with the new iPad. The one that seems to be the most problematic is the Wifi issue.

This issue only pops up on the WiFi-only iPad, and not the WiFi + 4G models. People seem to have a varying degree of difficulty with this WiFi issue. Some have problems getting WiFi at all on their new iPad, some only have problems with certain networks, and some have their WiFi intermittently going out. There are rumors that Apple will replace your iPad if you’re having trouble with the WiFi, and there is also a rumor that they are currently working on a software fix for the problem. Previously I wrote on how to fix general WiFi issues with iOS devices. If you’ve tried those and are still having difficulty, here are more suggestions to get that WiFi to work while you wait for a software upgrade or for Apple to replace your new iPad.

Bu using the Settings app, click on WiFi, followed by the settings for the individual network that is giving you trouble. At the top of the screen, clicking on “Forget This Network” will remove it from the memory on your new iPad. Make sure, though, that you take note of the password for this network, as that will be erased when the network is removed from the memory. Signing in again with the network can sometimes result in a better connection.

Other than checking your settings with your router, you can also try turning it off and on. If this doesn’t work, you can turn off the Wireless Security. If you’re using an AirPort, you can do this with the AirPort Admin Utility, and if you’re using a different router, you can change this via the browser. Find the router address by going to the settings for that particular network. If the WiFi isn’t working at all on the iPad, you’ll have to do this on a separate computer or cell phone, wherever else you can access the WiFi.

Another setting that can be changed is “Ask to Join Networks.” In the Settings app, go to the WiFi settings, and underneath all the available networks is a slider for “Ask to Join Networks.” Slide that to off. The thought is that with that set to on, the iPad will constantly be searching for networks, possibly interfering with the network you’re already connected to and trying to use.

Another setting that has helped many other users is the Brightness setting. It doesn’t seem like it would help, but many have reported that it does. Using the Settings app again, click on “Brightness & Wallpaper” and make it brighter. Wait a few minutes and try checking your network again. For many, this improves the signal strength. Also in the Settings app, go to the General settings and change the option for Bluetooth to off. Sometimes not staying connected through Bluetooth can improve your signal strength.

While I don’t have WiFi issues with my new iPad, I suspect that I have seen it with others. While vacationing with my sister and brother-in-law recently, we stayed in a complex that advertised free WiFi. While the WiFi signal did go out intermittently for me, I was chalking it up to the router being in the main building. My sister consistently got a worse signal than me. We next stayed in a hotel that admittedly had a very odd WiFi setup, yet I had better and more options for WiFi than my sister had, and my brother-in-law didn’t have any of the options the two of us had. It didn’t make sense at all, but this WiFi issue with the new iPad could be behind it.

Solving the WiFi Problem on the New iPad originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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Guide to a Tech-Savvy Lemonade Stand/Garage Sale

Emmanuel Banks — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:58:22 +0000

When you look back to your childhood, several things may come to mind. One of those fun events may be the classic lemonade stand in your neighborhood. The customer makes their order, you make the lemonade, and the customer gives you the money. However, in today’s modern age, the lemonade stand doesn’t have to be as simple as that. Even looking past lemonade stands, everything from garage sales to selling some of your belongings to friends can be shaped by new applications and gadgets. Today, we will take a look at five applications that brings the nostalgic lemonade/garage sales to the 21^st century.

1. Mint for iOS

Mint is an application that allows you to manage your money, budget, and more. All you have to do is add your credit card and bank account information, from there you will see where your money is being allocated and where you can begin to save on. This is done very easily, without you having to manually enter each transaction. This is great for allocating a budget for your garage sale or stand, allowing you to set how much you will spend on supplies like cups, boxes, and signs. Everything is safe and even password protected, preventing prying eyes from seeing your financial information. Plus, everything is available on the Internet, preventing you from having to have your phone near when checking on your account. Mint.com is available for free.

2. Microsoft Office for Mac

You may be confused as to why an office suite is on this list. You may be surprised to learn that Microsoft Office comes with the ability to make nice, vibrant signs and posters for free. In Microsoft Office, when you click on Microsoft Project Gallery, just click events or flyers and you are presented with many choices for advertising your sale. They are templates that allow you to customize the text and photos, allowing you to make your posters to be a bit more personalized. Microsoft Office for Mac comes with Microsoft Word, the word processing application, Microsoft Excel, allowing you to make spreadsheets, Microsoft PowerPoint, allowing you to make presentations, and Microsoft Entourage, the emailing client.

3. Square for iOS

Square for iOS is almost an essential application for anyone looking to sell during a garage sale or lemonade stand. Square allows you to accept credit cards while on the run, instead of having to depend on money. Square is simple. All you have to do is to enter the totals and information, swipe the card, and everything is charged and sent to your bank account. Square is very easy to set up and works by having a receiver inserted into your iOS device’s headphone jack. All you have to do is pay a very small fee. Square allows you to keep also keep track of all of the money you receive. You can also send receipts to your customers to their phones and emails. Square is free to sign up, and is available in the App Store.

4. Facebook for iOS

It may seem like an unlikely choice at first to have Facebook as one of your essential applications for your next garage sale and lemonade stand; however, it’s actually an application to look to for promoting your next sale. Through Facebook Events, you are able to promote the sale, have a set time, view the individuals expected to stop by and more. You can use the photos feature to allow the expected visitors to view what you are selling at the garage sale. The directions feature allows you to add the location and even have a map. The Facebook integration allows you to also answer any questions that some of the customers present to you through messages. Facebook for iOS is a free application you should look into for your next sale.

5. eBay/Craigslist for iOS

If you are looking for a completely virtual garage sale, then eBay or Craigslist may be the best application for you. While it can be a bit time consuming to post each item individually on the site, you are expected to get more in the end. While eBay does have a special allowing you to post on the site for free, you aren’t sure how long it will last. Despite this, eBay and Craigslist, in the end, will give you the best return. In addition, you are able to open your products to a wider audience. Both the Craigslist and eBay applications allow you to both view and post onto the website. You can monitor how your item is doing on the eBay application, and also correspond with interested buyers on both applications. Both are free and something you should check out today.

Image credit: Real Garage Sale Sign by BigStockPhoto

Guide to a Tech-Savvy Lemonade Stand/Garage Sale originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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Is the $40 Pricetag for Omnifocus for iPad Worth It?

Laura Tucker — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:58:18 +0000

Curiosity finally got the best of me. When I peruse new apps and lists of the “top” or “best” apps, the productivity app, OmniFocus, consistently shows up. I’m a sucker for anything that’s going to make my life and/or work easier. I would always look into it on iTunes, but the $79.99 pricetag for the Mac version, the $39.99 for the iPad, and the $19.99 for the iPhone, always stopped me in my tracks.

But I just got back from a busy weekend away and have my share of work to get caught up on. I knew a good productivity app could help me keep everything straightened out and keep me on track for getting it all done. I decided to bite the bullet and spend the $39.99 for the iPad version to see if it’s all worth it. Here’s my verdict.

One of the best parts of OmniFocus is that they do almost everything they possibly can to help you get started and answer all your questions. As soon as you open the app for the first time, you are given a project “Getting Started with OmniFocus” and two tasks related to that – watching a video and accessing the help menu. OmniFocus has a browser built-in (but it doesn’t play any video). There’s an option to open whatever link you’re viewing in Safari, but it’s doesn’t view there either. I had to switch to an iPad browser that can view Flash video. That was okay, but it shouldn’t be promoted within the app to view it. It should be noted that you need to open it another way, or there should be someway to view the video in-app. In the list of open tasks, there are also several of the most-asked questions listed directing you to the help menu.

A bookmarklet can be added into Safari so that if you come upon a link you want made into a project or a task, you can send the link directly into OmniFocus. They list very easy directions on how to set the bookmarklet up. I operate a website where I need to periodically edit articles from other writers. I have two waiting in the queue there in WordPress and need to remember to edit them when I get a chance later. I clicked the Safari bookmark to send links for those articles into OmniFocus and made them tasks. When I click those links later in OmniFocus, they will open in the built-in browser, allowing me to edit right there. However, like Safari, I can’t add images in this way, so will have to use an alternate app to do that, as I am already doing anyway.

I set out to build my projects and contexts. Instead of having many separate projects, I decided to use those for the separate places where I contribute writing, including the website I run and Make Tech Easier. I’m just keeping them open projects, and set the tasks up as repeating weekly and daily, as they are scheduled. If I have separate ideas for these articles, I can set them up as quick tasks, then add them into their projects later if I decide to go with it. When jotting down a new task, along with assigning it to a project, you can also assign it a context. These include home, office, etc. I created an additional context for my martial arts school where I instruct and do work behind-the-scenes as well.

I can open up collections of tasks in a number of different ways, such as by task, by context, by due date, etc. I can also assign map views to different contexts. One of my favorite ways is by “Forecast”. This is a forecast for the tasks you have open. Not only is it showing me what I need to get done right now, it’s gives me a week into the future. I can click on each day and see everything collected that day that will be due. You can see I have my work cut out for me today. As I get each task done I can check them off, and can choose to either see my completed and open tasks, or just the ones that are still open.

Between my writing, martial arts, and family, I have a full plate, and OmniFocus, just in the short time I’ve been using it, is already helping me keep it all sorted out. While writing this, my husband called and told me I have one less thing to do today, as his truck isn’t finished at the shop yet, so I don’t need to return the rental car. I went in and changed it right away on OmniFocus. For me, a busy person, the $40 for the iPad version is worth it. It won’t be for everyone, but for the busy people who struggle to keep it all sorted out, that $40 is nothing for an app that works well and helps so much.

What do you think? Will you ever invest $40 on such a productivity app?

Is the $40 Pricetag for Omnifocus for iPad Worth It? originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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Test Windows 8 On Your iPad With Splashtop’s App!

Miguel Leiva-Gomez — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:58:52 +0000

Conventionally, if you want to test Windows 8 applications, you will have to buy a tablet that runs the operating system. This extra expense is just something that might bother you, especially if you don’t plan to use the tablet heavily. To test a simple app and get it out there on the market, or simply to run Windows 8 on your iPad, you don’t have to do all that. Why not run Splashtop’s Win 8 testbed app?

How it Works

The app will work much like how Windows’ Remote Desktop works, streaming the interface itself from a computer via WiFi or any other Internet connection. Just install Windows 8 on a computer, set up Splashtop, and stream away! The app’s ability to work smoothly is only limited to what equipment you have. This is most useful if you have high-speed Internet and WiFi hooked up to the computer.

Who Could Use This?

App developers are very prone to having to spend tons of money in something they’re not sure will be worth it in the end. We don’t really know how popular or effective Windows 8 tablets will be in the future, which is why many developers are currently afraid of taking the plunge. Microsoft currently pays developers to make apps for some of its platforms, but why should you really purchase a brand new tablet just for that incentive? Splashtop is a money-saving tool in the end, which can let you test Microsoft’s Windows 8 tablet platform without having to make any major investment.

And who said that Splashtop’s platform is useful only for developers? This application helps you get the best of both worlds, with the ability to run both Windows 8 and iOS apps! You’ll never have to miss out on what Microsoft comes up with while you’re using Apple’s tablets.

Things to Consider

If you do not have WiFi in your home, or at least high-speed upstream on your computer (to connect via HSDPA or LTE), then you should not expect this app to work correctly. The app will have high latency in slower connections. In a high-latency environment, you’ll only be annoyed by the slow speed at which the system operates. Consider this before getting Splashtop’s Win 8 Metro Testbed.

Consider also that Windows 8 isn’t final yet. The consumer preview will expire on January 15, 2013. Since nothing is permanent, be sure that you get your hands on a permanent copy of Windows 8 by then. Otherwise, you’ll end up with an installation of Windows 8 that one day will just stop working. The Win 8 Metro Testbed is a great piece of software, but it’s not a magician.

Demonstration

Interestingly enough, the system is rather powerful and integrates every feature of Windows 8, particularly because it just streams the interface from another computer. You’ll feel like if you would be using a Microsoft tablet and forget about the fact you’re running Apple’s iOS. Here’s a video to show you how the system performs:

How to Set It Up

Ready to get a fully-integrated Windows 8 experience on your iPad? Follow the steps below to get there!

Install the Win 8 Metro Testbed on your iPad ($24.99). Download it here.
Install Splashtop Streamer on your computer from here.
Run the Splashtop Streamer and make a security code via the application on your computer.
Run Win 8 Metro Testbed on the iPad and enter the security code you created on the PC.

Once authenticated, you will have a remote Windows 8 interface.

Need Help?

Splashtop has free support for this application here. If you have anything to contribute, let us know in the comments section below!

Test Windows 8 On Your iPad With Splashtop’s App! originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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The iOS Guide For Mobile News Readers

Emmanuel Banks — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:58:15 +0000

For many of us, our morning routine consists of catching up on the latest developments that occurred while we were asleep. How we obtain our news is evenly split into three ways. We have individuals who catch the news through television, a second group receives the latest developments on your mobile devices, and a third but declining group still catches the latest stories from a newspaper. Today, we will take a look at reading news on your mobile device (iOS) and how each app fares among the others.

iPad

CNBC Real Time for iPad

CNBC is the best iPad application for individuals looking for a great application for catching up on stocks and trading. CNBC Real Time for iPad allows you to get the latest updates on stock quotes and the application comes with high definition charts. CNBC Real Time for iPad is called “real time” for a reason, you get the latest quotes without having to repeatedly refresh or restart the application. Want to keep up with your personal stocks? CNBC Real Time allows you to have a special section for all of your stocks that you personally want to follow. Lastly, CNBC Real Time for iPad has video, allowing you to check the latest in stock news on CNBC. All of this is packed into your iPad, for free. Amazing deal!

CNBC Real Time for iPad

The Daily for iPad

The Daily has been a favorite of mine since its debut. The Daily is an iPad only news application that allows you to view news in a newspaper/magazine format. What makes it special is the fact that The Daily is made specially for the iPad. The editorial staff aren’t making news for a website or for other gadgets either. This means that the quality is exponential. You get to check news on a variety of subjects, from entertainment to sports, on a subscription-based magazine. If you already don’t feel the magazine-esque feel that The Daily has, it also comes with interactive crossword and other puzzles, allowing for a true magazine feel. The magazine is free to download, however, to receive any content, subscriptions cost between $0.99 a week and $40 a year.

The Daily for iPad

Pulse News for iPad

We all know about Pulse as being a center of news on the web. Now, Pulse is available on your iPad as well. Pulse News for iPad allows you to get caught up on the latest news stories on a variety of subjects. What makes it the pulse of your news intake is due to the fact that Pulse News grabs headlines and news stories from a variety of sources, making your news consumption a bit easier in the morning. As you continue to use Pulse, the news begins to be recommended to you, based on what you already read. With the application’s support for local news as well, this may be the only news application you’ll need for iPad.

Pulse News for iPad

NY Times for iPad

Of course, we could not forget a news classic. NY Times makes it on our list because of the amazingly designed iPad application that they have. NY Times for iPad allows you to receive your NY Times subscription each day, making your daily routine a bit more digital. Plus, if you already have a NY Times subscription, it’s even easier to apply the same one to your digital subscription.

NY Times for iPad

iPhone/Universal

Flipboard for iOS

If you don’t have an iPad but still want the Pulse News for iPad feel, then Flipboard is your next best thing. Flipboard allows you to add all of your favorite news subjects and sources; along with your social networking accounts, to view them all in one application. This application, in the end, shows the importance of your social networking updates along with the importance of your established news sources. This is shown best with large events, where many of us learn the latest news updates from our followers. Flipboard is free to use and is compatible on all iOS devices. Plus, it’s free!

Flipboard for iOS

CNN for iOS

CNN for iOS is the news application that all news hogs out there need. While the CNN application has been prone to glitches in the past few weeks, diminishing the reputation of this quality application, it’s still worth the download due to the fact that these crashes and glitches can be fixed with a simple update. Besides the flaws, CNN for iOS allows you to get the latest updates and live video from CNN. You can receive the latest news in notifications, share some of your favorite/interesting stories, and submit to CNN iReport your very own news. CNN for iOS is of course a free application.

CNN for iOS

AP Mobile for iPhone

AP Mobile is a favorite news application for iOS users out there who aren’t looking to using CNN. You can view the latest top stories, photos, as well as video that come from this news giant. Almost essential, AP Mobile is now available for all iOS users, allowing you to save the energy of having to download a specific app for your iPad and a special one for iPhone.

AP Mobile for iPhone

NYTimes for iPhone

The last application we will talk about is NY Times for iPhone. NY Times isn’t a universal application, for that reason we mentioned an iPad and iPhone version. You can view videos and other multimedia, catch the latest news stories, and more with the application. The iPhone version, like the iPad version, tries and succeeds at preserving the New York Times feel that you get from the print version. You can save some of your favorite articles, email and share them online, and more. NY Times for iPhone is free to download, however a subscription is required to view a majority of the content.

NYTimes for iPhone

Which is your favorite news app?

Image credit: By NS Newsflash

The iOS Guide For Mobile News Readers originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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How to Protect Your New iPad

Laura Tucker — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:58:11 +0000

Unlike laptops, iPads don’t have a ready-made hard case that keep it protected naturally. Laptops close up to make the screen inaccessible to being scratched or broken, and to keep the contents on the hard drive safe. While iPads can do many of the same things as a laptop and can be easier to work with because of size and the ease of using the iOS, they don’t have that same natural protection.

This means that your first expense after buying an iPad should be some protection for it. To keep the screen safe from scratches and cracks, and to keep the contents safe. To go along with the success of the iPad are several third party vendors marketing a variety of different products to help ensure your iPad’s safety.

Screen Protectors

After upgrading to the new iPad just for the retina display, you want to keep it in tip-top shape. Screen protectors will keep your iPad from getting minor scratches, whether it’s in use or put away. I also find that they make iPads slightly easier to keep clean. They can be found fairly cheap, and it’s a product where design and brand really doesn’t matter too much. The absolute only downside is that they can be a pain to put on without bubbles or dirt trapped underneath. However, the irritation of going through that process is worth it to have the piece of mind of a screen that will be kept in pristine condition. Had I had one on my very first iPad, it wouldn’t have gotten a scratch.

Covers

Now that you have your screen safe from scratches, you’ll want to keep it from other possible damage. There are different covers out there with the explicit goal to keep them safe.

The cover that Apple promotes is the SmartCover. It’s offered in many different colors. It snaps on magnetically, and covers the face, but leaves the back of the iPad free. Additionally, the bottom part of the cover can flip up to peak at what’s on the display. When not being used as a cover, it also folds into a triangular sphere to be used as a stand in a few different positions.

You don’t have to use the heavily-promoted SmartCover, though. They have hard cases, gel cases, leather cases, and vinyl cases as well. They even have cases that zip around the entire device and have a handle on the top to make it a convenient carrying case. I find that unnecessary, though, as iPads are so small, they really don’t need a case with a handle. Investigate these covers and find out which one suits your needs.

Cases with Extra Function

Cases do more than just cover and act as a stand, though. As long as you want to keep it covered, why not get some additional function out of the case as well? I like the keyboard cases. I’m a very quick touch typist, and the iPad keyboard just doesn’t do it for me. For that reason, I use a keyboard case. It’s a hard case that covers the front of it, and in a demo I saw of it before I even had my own iPad, it was dropped on the floor and didn’t break. The iPad sits inside it like a stand and has a full QWERTY keyboard on the base. I use the Logitech Keyboard Case by ZAGG, because the keys aren’t moved around to fit more nicely. It really is a QWERTY keyboard.

Also offered are hybrid cases. These feature a high-quality polycarbonate plastic exterior embedded in a shock absorbing silicone core. This goes around the sides and the back. This is great for protection and just might provide enough coverage all around. These cases also feature a little kickstand in the back to hold the iPad in an easel position. Some cases just function as a cover, then fold back to be used as a kickstand.

Dry Electronics Cloths

I mentioned earlier that had I been using a screen protector on my first iPad, I wouldn’t have gotten a scratch on it. Ironically, I was cleaning it at the time. I was using a dry electronics cloth, and I was out of them, so used one that had already been used previously. It must have gotten a piece of dirt on it or something, as it ended up scratching the screen. Nevertheless, because iPads use a touchscreen, they have to be cleaned often. I make sure now that I always have plenty of them around so that I don’t scratch my new iPad with a dirty cloth. I use the Windex brand of cloths, as they’re fairly inexpensive and easy to find in stores in the cleaning product aisle.

Protecting your new iPad should be something you consider before you even bring it home. Accidents can happen at any point. If you purchase a screen protector and/or some type of case, you won’t be taking unnecessary risks with the screen and the tablet itself. You want to make sure that it lasts at least a year until the next edition of the iPad is released.

How to Protect Your New iPad originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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Project-Building Made Easy with Corkulous App [iOS]

Laura Tucker — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:58:36 +0000

Apps to help jot down ideas and map out productivity are a dime a dozen. While they all look like they could be of great service to you, they often don’t pan out. Once you download them, you find they are of limited help to you, if any. Finding a Productivity app that can actually help you is a rarity.

Corkulous is one of those rare apps. It’s being promoted in the App Store as an app that makes the best of the new Retina Display on the new iPad, and they’re right. Not that it wouldn’t be a good app on the first or second editions of the iPad, as it would be, but the great display just means it’s not only useful, but beautiful as well.

Like any smart productivity app, the tutorial for Corkulous is built right into the functionality of it. You learn how to make the best of this app while you move around what resembles an old-style corkboard. It shows you how to build your own corkboards while you move around exploring the tutorial. You can create as many different corkboards as you want. One for each project, one for each type of task that you are working on, etc.

Building your project is as simple as dragging and dropping. In the bottom left of the corkboard is a pullout drawer. Inside are different types of items to build with. These include labels, sticky notes, ToDo reminders, index cards, Rolodex cards, photos, sticky note directional arrows, and new corkboards. With all these great tools, you can build a variety of different projects from a list of contacts to notes for a presentation, to pictorial essays.

Simply drag the tools out of the file drawer and place them wherever you want. While dragging around on the corkboard, thin lines appear to help you line up the objects, just as you would have in a word processing application. With the sticky notes, index cards, and informational arrows, you can choose the color, the font, and the size of the text. With the ToDo reminders and Labels, you can choose the fonts and size of text. The reminders can also be checked off as you return to your corkboard.

You can even build corkboards within corkboards. I dragged a new corkboard from the pullout drawer, but could have also dragged an existing one. I’m traveling next weekend for a destination wedding and there is much to do and remember. I started a new corkboard for the trip by dragging it into the corkboard for this article, but when clicked, it opens up an entirely new corkboard for the trip, with ToDos, a screencap of my itinerary, etc. One of my ToDo Reminders is to pack, and I then started a new corkboard with my packing list. When I click on that, it opens up an entirely different corkboard with my list. It creates an entire hierarchy for a project.

Corkboards can be shared by emailing them as a .pdf or as an image. It also allows you to email it as a corkboard, but it really amounts to the same thing as sending an image, as it arrives as a .jpg. The corkboards can also be exported using iTunes File Sharing in this same manner or printed. The only thing I am wishing for is that I was able to export my text, even if I did it piecemeal. That’s the only thing this app needs.

Project-Building Made Easy with Corkulous App [iOS] originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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The New PayPal Here For iOS Review

Emmanuel Banks — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:58:59 +0000

PayPal is the popular online payment service that everyone loves to hate. With the astronomical fees and tight rules, many individuals would love to get away from it. However, with the age of the Internet, online payment services can’t and don’t sprout up as fast as iPhone applications. Many take years to even get noticed, and much longer to even get a good standing, due to the fact that it deals with individual’s money. For this reason, PayPal is used by most of us for the time being. The company recently did some renovations for their mobile users in the form of a revamped application and a new payment service known as PayPal Here. This is considered new competition for the mobile payment service, Square. How does it shape up? Let’s take a look now!

Overview of The New App

The new PayPal application is completely revamped. Some love it, and some hate it. No features from the previous version were removed. You can still transfer funds, accept money, check out your account activity, and more. The new application now has support for PayPal Here and the option to have a profile photo for added personalization. One great feature that I can do with my USA iPhone application is the ability to add funds from a check just by taking a photo of it and adding in a couple of information.

Secondly, a new feature added was the ability to find merchants who support PayPal Here, essentially allowing you to pay for that cup of coffee or that nice, tasty pastry with your PayPal funds.

More on PayPal Here

A bit more on PayPal Here, the service works by having a receiver inserted to the headphone jack of an iOS device. From there, when a customer would like to pay, all they have to do is have their card swiped with the PayPal Here receiver. From there, if the application is activated, the balance will be shown on the screen. The merchant can create a sort of virtual receipt by adding what and how much the customer is paying for. The merchant can apply any discounts that are available according to the store’s discretion. PayPal Here has options for using cards and PayPal balances. However, as mentioned before, you can apply funds with checks by taking the photo of the check. For that reason, checks are supported with PayPal Here as well. PayPal Here also understands that other currencies exist too. If you do things like splitting payment, the merchant can select cash along with your PayPal/Card/Check. However, with this new addition to PayPal, the new service PayPal Here has a lot of competition.

How Does PayPal Here Compete?

At the moment, along with PayPal Here, there is also Square, VeriFone and Intuit in the ballpark. In terms of availability, PayPal Here will not be an iOS only player. Android is poised to be another supported system with PayPal Here. All other payment systems support iOS and Android as well, aside from VeriFone who’s sans an Android equivalent. As we know, PayPal Here’s largest competitor will definitely be Square. When I think of mobile payment, Square comes to the mind of many individuals, including mine. When we look at safety however, PayPal and the other competitors offer the well-rounded safety that Square seems to lack. All in all, if you are in need of a mobile payment service right at this second, you won’t find it in PayPal Here. The service isn’t even available yet, and at the moment we can’t even get a date of release. Square will be the likely best choice.

Conclusion

In terms of being able to keep all of your money, none of the services will beat the ancient practice of physically receiving money. Everyone charges some transaction fee; it keeps them from toppling and keeps Square from charging for those free receivers. However, despite PayPal offering much less fees upfront, you must remember that PayPal Here is still a PayPal centered application service, your money still stays in the PayPal account until you transfer to your bank account, which can take at least two days. Processing an order on Friday, don’t expect to have it in your hands until at least Tuesday. If you are a heavy earner, more restrictions apply once you make a grand in sales. Despite this, PayPal Here getting into the mobile payment business outside the web will be great for the continued growth of PayPal and the industry for the future.

The New PayPal Here For iOS Review originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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10 Apps and Accessories For Your New iPad

Emmanuel Banks — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:58:00 +0000

With your new iPad now feeling more at home among your other gadgets, it’s now time to treat your new iPad to a couple of gifts. First off, what is an iPad without great applications? There are many applications out there that your new iPad is waiting to enjoy and we will outline some of them today. Second, you paid at least $500 for your device, so it’s essential to have it protected. Today, we will look at five cases, bags, and other accessories for your new iPad. So let’s get started right now!

Applications

iPhoto

iPhoto is a great choice for any new iPad user looking to make the most out of the new and improved 5MP camera. The iPad also has a camera connector that allows you to import photos from your SD card or digital camera. iPhoto allows you to edit your photos, everything from cropping and enhancing to changing the exposure and filter. iPhoto for iOS has some great features for an application that is only $4.99.

iPhoto

Sketchbook Pro

Sketchbook Pro is the perfect application for individuals looking for a paint and drawing application for their iPad. Sketchbook Pro allows you to work with several layers of editing, move, and retouch certain parts of the photo. You can also work with a large amount of brush and pencil choices, along with pen and marker choices, allowing you to choose based on the precision you are going after. In addition, you have a highly customizable user interface, making for ease when wanting to create a workspace that works for you. Sketchbook Pro is available for $4.99.

Sketchbook Pro

Flipboard

Flipboard is one of my favourite ways of consuming news on my iOS device. Flipboard allows you to read some of your favourite news website, and also your Twitter and other social networking streams all streamlined in one location. Flipbook’s revolutionary touch isn’t just in its features; the free price tag makes it appealing and accessible to many individuals too.

Flipboard

Asphalt Adrenaline

With the new iPad’s improved, A5X processor and the amazing Retina display, we had to include an action packed game on our list of recommended applications for the new iPad. One of our choices includes Asphalt Adrenaline for iPad. One reason I included this on the list is because it is one of the first games to be officially “Retina- Ready” by Apple. Secondly, I’m a lover of racing games (since those are the only games I’m actually good at) and the graphics are beyond amazing on the new iPad. Asphalt Adrenaline is your quintessential racing game, you have your choice of over forty cars, you race through various tracks, you can race against friends, and on the way, you vehicle improves performance and speed.

Asphalt Adrenaline

Kindle

The good things about applications is that you can get the best out of another gadget, all in your one tablet. For example, want a GPS? Why not purchase the Tom-Tom application for iOS? Apple does this also with Kindle with the Kindle application for iOS. You get the same features as a Kindle device in terms of the reading experience, but for a much lower price of free. With the summer fast approaching, many individuals will look to iPad as a great way of catching up on their favourite reads while lounging by the pool.

Kindle

Accessories

Apple Wireless Keyboard

As a blogger, finding a nice keyboard is nearly essential. Apple has a great quality keyboard that is compatible with both Mac and iPad. It costs $69. It may seems expensive, but with the support for both the Mac and iPad, and its pretty slim size that you can just slip it into your bag, it could well worth the money.

Apple Wireless Keyboard

STM Jacket iPad

Speaking of bags, one that I recommend is STM Jacket, specifically made for iPad. This allows you to hold everything, from your cell phone to textbooks. In addition, the bag allows you to protect your iPad against any damage because it is water resistant, just make sure that you keep it zipped up to take advantage of the protection. The STM Jacket case for iPad is available on their website.

STM Jacket for iPad

Apple iPad Camera Connector

As we mentioned before, you can take advantage of the iPhoto for iPad software by editing both photos on your system and photos that you import. You can import photos through either USB or SD slot. This can be done with the iPad Camera Connector. The connector kit includes both the camera and SD connector. The photos are then viewable from the iPad photo viewer native application. The kit is available for $29.00, a great value for what it can do!

Apple iPad Camera Connector

Logitech Keyboard for iPad

Looking to save money? Why not get a keyboard and stand all in one product. The Logitech keyboard for iPad allows you to have both a nice attached stand and a Bluetooth wireless keyboard all in one. The stand turns into a nice case for your keyboard, also making it easier to transport both. When you arrive to type, you also have many of the same keyboard controls you come to expect on your laptop or desktop, including rewind, play/pause, fast forward, Command, Options and volume controls. The Logitech keyboard is available for $69.99.

Logitech Keyboard

Minot Covers

If you want a spin on the traditional Smart Cover, then the Minot line of iPad covers is a great and affordable way to do so. I am in love with these covers, they are so unique and are all from wood. You can choose from their classic wood choices (like origina, oak, etc) or you can have a logo, image, or name engraved into the covers for an extra charge. The covers also can wake your iPad and turn it into a stand if you wish, like the Smart Covers we all know and love. They are made in Holland from real wood, making then an earth friendly choice. The original series is on sale for $72.00.

Minot Covers

Which are your favorite apps and accessories?

10 Apps and Accessories For Your New iPad originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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The Ultimate iPad Buyer Guide

Emmanuel Banks — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:58:31 +0000

If you are in the market to get yourself your very first iPad, you will find that the buying option is not as easy as it should be. From which iPad should I get, which plan should I sign up, to which apps should I install, they are all small, yet important decisions that you have to make. Rather than making all the decisions by yourself, let us help you out, shall we?

Choosing the Right iPad

There used to be only one iPad on sale, but since Apple allowed iPad 2 to continue to remain on the shelf, you now have the choice to get the newest iPad with better display quality and a faster processor, or an economically friendly iPad 2. If you have the budget, the new iPad is your obvious choice. Not only will you have the latest tablet, you’ll also have a gadget with a great resale value. When the next iPad (the new new iPad? or the newer iPad?) comes along, the new iPad will essentially pay for a majority (if not all) of the price when you sell on eBay or trade it in a year from now. On the other hand, if you are not willing to fork out an extra $100, iPad 2 is still a great choice.

16, 32 or 64 GB?

In term of storage, you are offered many choices as well. The new iPad is available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. The cheapest model is the WiFi + 16Gb iPad ($499) while the 3G + 64GB ($849) is the most expensive. Depending on your needs and budget, you will want to choose the one that suits you best. For this iPad cycle, a 128GB version isn’t available, however there is still hope for such an option with the next iPad.

The 3G Plans with iPad

You have made up your mind which iPad to choose, now it’s time to choose whether to go for the WiFi-only model or the WiFi + 3G model. There are many strengths and flaws with choosing either one. A WiFi only model is a lot cheaper, but you don’t have Internet everywhere. The WiFi + 3G model allows you to have Internet everywhere from your office to a nice weekend roadtrip, but you’ll have to pay $200 more.

In addition to that, you have Internet payments. However, thankfully (but still painfully) you aren’t tied to a contract, just pay as you go per month. If you sign up in April for that spring break trip, you are signed for the whole month. However, you won’t have to pay again in May, unless you want to. In terms of 3G payments, they are pretty much even with each provider. AT&T and Verizon both are in the 3G ballpark for iPad.

If you are interested in choosing either, make sure to know how the signal is in your area before purchasing. AT&T 3G starts at 14.99 for 250 MB and $30 for 3GB. 5GB is available for $50. Verizon is charging $20, $30, and $50 for 1GB, 2GB, and 5GB respectively. AT&T offers more bang for your buck, however, Verizon is notorious for it quality cellular service. Choose with discretion.

Understanding iPad

The iPad is fairly easy to use. You just pass it to a 3 year old kid and he/she can get around it in a minute. The new iPad and the iPad 2 have a camera at the very top. This can be used for everything from photos, video, and even conference calling. There is also the multi-touch screen and the home button at the very bottom. Turning your iPad to its right reveals a screen orientation lock and a volume rocker. The left shows the SIM card region. The top reveals only the headphone jack. The bottom shows a port. The back is again, simple, revealing an Apple logo at the center, the rear camera, and general information at the very bottom.

To boot up your iPad, just press and hold the power button until the Apple logo appears. To wake an iPad in sleep mode, simply press either the home button or power button once. From there, just slide (on the screen) to unlock the device. You are now presented with the home screen where all of your applications are outlined, more being available for purchase and/or download from the App Store.

The home button is your best friend. From returning to the front home screen to returning to the front page of applications, the home screen does a lot of things. Double tap (on the home button) and the multi-task region appears, allowing you to run multiple apps at one time. To save on data and battery life, it’s highly recommended to quit some of these apps when finished by pressing and holding on the apps in multi-task until they wiggle. Click the red “X” button from there, the app won’t be deleted from the system, it will just stop running in the background. This is a main overview of what your new iPad can do.

Essential Apps for Beginners

Once you are familiar with the iPad usage, the next thing is to install essential apps from the App Store. A good problem about the App Store is that there are just too many apps that you can install, that you have no idea which one is good and which one is good, which one is essential and which one is not. Luckily, we got you covered. Check out here for a list of essential apps to install on your new iPad.

Sum it All Up…

If you are in the market for iPad, you have a lot of choices ahead of you. From which device to choose to which model, the buyer has a lot to choose from. In terms of devices, individuals who can afford it will find it better in the long run to buy the new iPad. Individuals who still want an iPad, but on a budget, will find the iPad 2 to be a good choice. As what Apple would love to say, “there’s an iPad for everyone.”

The Ultimate iPad Buyer Guide originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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