TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

iPhone 101: Getting more out of Apple's Stocks app on iOS

Yoni Heisler — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:00 EST

Apple's Stocks app on iOS isn't terribly exciting, but in typical Apple fashion, it does have a bit more functionality lurking beneath the surface.

Pictured below is what you typically see when you fire up the Stocks app.

The information is pretty basic. We see that Apple's current share price is US$456, and to the right of that in green, we see how much Apple's share price has gone up for the day, in this case $3.98.

If you tap the green rectangle, however, the display changes to reveal Apple's current market cap.

If you tap the green rectangle once more, the information changes yet again, this time displaying Apple's daily gain or loss as a percentage.

So with a few taps, one can quickly toggle through Apple's market cap and information as to how the stock is performing percentage-wise or terms of dollars and cents.

But wait, there's more!

If we take another look at the default Stocks view, you'll note that there are three circles at the bottom of the screen.

From here, one can simply swipe to the left (from anywhere on the bottom half of the screen) to reveal more information about the selected stock, in this case Apple.

On screen two, we're presented with a chart mapping Apple's stock performance over the last six months. One can also tap on the other durations to see Apple's stock performance over other periods of time.

What's more, if you rotate the phone into landscape mode, you'll not only be presented with a wider chart of a stock's performance, but you'll also be able to drag your finger across the chart and see at what price a stock closed on a particular day.

If we return the phone into portrait mode and swipe to the left one more time, we're now presented with Apple-related news stories.

What may not be so apparent, however, is that one can swipe upwards on the presented news stories to reveal even more Apple-related stories from around the web.

Lastly, if you want to add stocks to keep an eye on, simply tap the info button at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

You'll then be whisked away to the screen below where you can tap on the "+" sign and add whatever stocks you like.

So there you have it. Apple's Stocks app may be seldom used by those who don't follow the market, but it does house a tad more functionality than one might expect from an ostensibly boring and vanilla application.

iPhone 101: Getting more out of Apple's Stocks app on iOS originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: Switch Panorama direction

Mel Martin — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 10:00:00 EST

Want to go right-to-left when you create a panorama on your iPhone? There's a tap for that. Yes, if, for whatever reason, the left-to-right default is getting old, just tap on the arrow that appears on screen. The arrow will flip, allowing you to pan the other way while you are creating your ultra-pixel masterpiece.

The panorama feature was added to iOS 6 and requires either the new iPhone 5 or an iPhone 4S. Remember, that if you take a full panorama the image could be more than 16 megabytes, but if you send it from the phone it will be scaled down. Be sure to transfer the original to your computer to keep the high resolution version if you want it.

Check the gallery and you can see the arrow going either way.

Gallery: Reverse the direction of panoramas in iOS 6

iPhone 101: Switch Panorama direction originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAW Help Line: holiday gift questions & answers

Michael Rose — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:05:00 EST

The goose is cooked, the cookies crumbled, the wrapping paper thrown away and the relatives released to their neutral corners. Finally, you can get down to the post-holiday fun of setting up your new iPad, or transferring your data from your old PC to your new Mac! Unfortunately, the end of a long day of cooking, eating, drinking and merry-making might render your personal IT skills a bit less than optimal. Whatever shall we do?

We're here to help. Got a pressing Mac, iPhone, iPod or iPad setup question? Wondering how best to arrange your iTunes store accounts, chat with Siri or configure iCloud? Leave a comment here, hit us up on our Ask TUAW Twitter account, or swing by our Facebook or G+ pages. We may not be able to answer all the questions, but we'll help as much as we can.

TUAW Help Line: holiday gift questions & answers originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: Using iOS accessibility to make text larger

Matt Tinsley — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EST

Welcome to iPhone 101, the series that explains the basics of iPhone operation. This time, its making tiny text easier to read using the accessibility features in iOS.

Following Stevie Wonder's high praise of the accessibility features found in iOS, we thought we'd take a closer look at some of the features available to make using the iPhone a whole lot easier for those who are visually impaired.

One of the first places to start, when wanting to make what's on your iPhone easier to read, is to make the text larger in four of iOS's major apps: Mail, Calender, Contacts and Notes. To access this feature go to Settings > General > Accessibility. From there you want to tap Large Text and select the text size that best suits your needs. The selection is from off to a rather large 56pt. The text size you select will determine the standard text size for all the text found in those apps.

Unfortunately, this feature doesn't reach across the entire OS, nor does it affect third-party apps. However, most well developed third-party apps will have a setting to edit the size of the text in the app, this feature is usually found in the settings of the app.

You can also apply the Large Text feature to the iPad too by following the same instructions.

iPhone 101: Using iOS accessibility to make text larger originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: Recovering deleted voicemails

Matt Tinsley — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EST

Welcome to iPhone 101, the series that explains the basics of iPhone operation. This time, its retrieving a deleted voice mail message.

One of the great features of the iPhone -- that is, one that is actually related to having phone conversations -- is Visual Voicemail. So long as your carrier (network provider) supports it, Visual Voicemail allows you to see your voicemail messages, similar to a list of text messages or emails. You can decide which messages you want to listen to, when you want to listen to them and scrub through the message to the important part you want to hear. In Apple's own words, "Visual Voicemail on iPhone is still the biggest breakthrough in voicemail since, well, voicemail."

It certainly has changed the way I use voicemail. Gone are the days of dialing in to a voicemail box and laboriously listening to all your messages in a row! But there's one unsung, often overlooked feature of Visual Voicemail: recovering deleted voicemails.

If you've deleted a voicemail message that you really wish you hadn't (say, the pin code for the alarm system at a guest house you're staying at), simply swipe down your row of messages, all the way to the bottom of the list, and tap on "Deleted Messages." So long as you haven't come here before and tapped "Clear All," all the messages you've ever deleted on your iPhone will be stored here. To recover your deleted voicemail, simply search for it in the list, select it and tap on "undelete." The voicemail will pop into your normal voicemail list ready for you to listen to again.

iPhone 101: Recovering deleted voicemails originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: How to turn caps lock on

Matt Tinsley — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST

Welcome to iPhone 101, the series that explains the basics of iPhone operation. This time, its enabling caps lock.

It always astounds me how many iPhone users don't know how to enable caps lock while typing, not just newcomers. Just the other day I was chatting with a friend who's had an iPhone for almost a year. I suddenly had to send a quick text message and my friend was bewildered to see me type some of that message in all-capital letters without having to repeatedly hit the shift key for every letter in capital I typed.

Well, to relieve your curiosity and sheer frustration, here's how to type in caps lock on the iPhone keyboard. Simply double tap the shift key. That's it! The shift key will turn blue, and everything you type will be in capital letters. To exit this mode, simply tap the shift key again.

Actually, his confusion is understandable. A QWERTY keyboard has a shift key and a caps lock key, but the iPhone's keyboard merges the two keys into one. Holding a typical shift key will produce a series of capital letters. Yet, holding many of the iOS keys produces a pop-up menu of special characters, symbols and accents. Except for the iOS shift key; holding that down simply registers a single tap. A long, long, tap.

Well, regardless of why, now you know how. And if you already knew how, you might know someone who doesn't. Make their day and share this simple, effective iPhone 101 tip. Bonus: it works the same way on the iPad and the iPod touch.

iPhone 101: How to turn caps lock on originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: Using Voice Control

Dave Caolo — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:30:00 EST

While we wait for iOS 5 to deliver cool new features, here's a look at Voice Control, a feature introduced with the iPhone 3GS model. There are three types of Voice Control commands: phone, music and other. Here's how to use each.

Launching Voice Control

Of course, you can't use Voice Control until you get it running. You can either hold the Home Button down for about two seconds, or do the same with the middle button on your supplied Apple earbuds. You'll hear a beep and the iPhone's screen will display "Voice Control" with a blue background. Now, let's issue some commands.

Phone commands

Your iPhone understands "call" and "dial." To tell your iPhone to call a contact, say "call" (or "dial") plus the contact's name. For example, saying "Call Janie Smith" will launch the phone app and call Janie's number. If a contact has several numbers (work and home, for example), you can specify which one you want. "Call Janie Smith home" will call Janie's home number.

Calling a number that's not in your contacts list is just as easy. Simply say, "call" plus the number.

Music commands

Voice Control supports a nice list of music commands, from starting and stopping a song to asking about the artist. Here's how to get started.

You can say "play" or "play music" to get the music going. If you've got a song paused when you issue the play command, it will resume. If the iPod app isn't running, it will start at the very first song in your library.

Of course, you can get specific. Voice Control also understands "play playlist [name of playlist]," "play album [name of album]" and "play artist [name of artist]." For example, saying "Play album Dark Side of the Moon" will start the first track of that album, while "Play artist Pink Floyd" will start at the first track of the first album in your Pink Floyd collection (you have one, right?).

While you're at it, create a Genius playlist. While a song you dig is playing, tell Voice Control "Genius play more like this" or "Genius play more songs like this" or simply "play more like this" and it'll create a Genius playlist for you on the spot.

Simple navigation is also possible. Your iPhone understands "pause," "pause music," "next song," "previous song" and "shuffle."

Finally, you can ask your iPhone four questions about the track being played. Specifically, "what's playing," "what song is this," "who sings this song" or "who is this song by."

Miscellaneous commands

Here are a few other commands that don't fit into the previous categories.

"What is the time" or "what time is it." For most people it's quicker to tap the Home Button once and look at the time, but this command will benefit visually impaired users.

"Cancel" and "stop" exit Voice Control.

You can correct a mistake (and there will be plenty. More on that in a minute) by saying, "no," "not that," "nope," "not that one" or "wrong." Write those down now.

Finally, saying "FaceTime" supposedly initiates a FaceTime call. Which brings me to the bad news.

Voice Control works in the way that temporary tattoos look like real tattoos. At first it's passable but upon closer inspection, you see that it's not the real thing (my attempts at initiating a FaceTime call launched a Genesis album). Placing calls was the most reliable function, while the phone had trouble understanding some musical artist's names and was downright befuddled at other times.

That being said, I have friends who swear by it, so perhaps I've got poor diction. Give it a try yourself using the commands listed above, and dream of the day that Siri purchase actually pays off.

Thanks to reader Walt whose email inspired this post!

iPhone 101: Using Voice Control originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: Location data and GPS

Dave Caolo — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:00:00 EST

Update: Look here for official word on the iPhone location data controversy from Apple.

Recently, the Apple community has become interested in location data as gathered by iPhones. Specifically, The Guardian has reported that researcher and former Apple employee Pete Wardensome and data visualization scientist Alasdair Allan believe that your iPhone's travel history is backed up to a file on your Mac, eliciting questions and concerns about iOS location services.

With that in mind, TUAW offers this brief primer so that you can better understand what's going on under the hood of your iOS device when it comes to location matters.

What are location services and how do they work?

Location services allow certain apps to determine your iPhone's approximate location and make use of that information. This is done through a combination of cellular network triangulation, Wi-Fi triangulation and the Global Positioning System, or GPS.

Here's how it works. Your iPhone will first attempt to communicate with GPS satellites to determine its approximate location. This is a series of medium Earth orbit satellites deployed by the US Department of Defense several years ago. For a more in-depth explanation, look here.

When a solid GPS connection is unavailable (the iPhone is indoors, amid many tall trees outside, etc.), the iPhone tries Wi-Fi triangulation. As our own Auntie TUAW recently explained, this works because Wi-Fi hotspots rarely move. Apple has amassed a database of known hotspots and, when your iPhone is connected to one of those, can use them to determine an iPhone's approximate place on the Earth. Of course, this method is less accurate than GPS.

Finally, determining location via cellular towers works in a similar fashion. Nearly every cell tower is built in a known, constant location (except for COWs). These fixed positions allow your iPhone to determine an approximate location by triangulating its distance from the nearest towers. Cell towers are less accurate because there are fewer of them than there are Wi-Fi hot spots. Therefore, you're dealing with larger distances.

The first time an app tries to access location data, it asks for permission. A dialog box asks to use your current location. If you're OK with that, tap Allow. Otherwise, tapping Don't Allow prevents the app from accessing your location data until you turn it back on as described below.

Continue reading iPhone 101: Location data and GPS

iPhone 101: Location data and GPS originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Get an iTunes or Mac App Store account without a credit card

Michael Terretta — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST

Parents, the safest way to keep your kids from accidentally spending your money in any of the iTunes stores, including the App Stores, is to give them their own iTunes Account that doesn't have an associated credit card.

Whether you want to let your kids play around safely, or just don't have a credit card, you can use an Apple Account with no credit card to try one of the hundred free apps in the new Mac App Store or download free apps on an iPhone or iPod touch.

You can't create an account in the main iTunes Store without a credit card, but you can from the App Stores.

From iTunes, if you're already signed into an account, sign out. Choose your country (use the country flag at lower right), then navigate into the App Store section using the top nav bar. Now, you must try to "buy" a free app, such as Apple's iTunes Remote. You'll be prompted to Create a New Account. Go through the process, making sure to choose "None" for your payment option. Check your email and click the link to verify your account. The process is essentially the same from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, but you'll specify your country after you click Buy.

Now you have an iTunes Store Account without a credit card on file, and you don't have to worry about your little snowflakes raiding your wallet for the latest holiday edition of Angry Birds.

We found this tip in the new Mac App Store Support site. For a step by step guide, along with instructions for setting up the free account from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, see Apple's Knowledge Base article.

UPDATE: In the comments, some readers are saying this is not working for them. I've confirmed on the iPhone, in iTunes, and even in the Mac App Store itself: as of 10 PM UTC on 7 January 2011, this tip still works as described. Sign out any existing ID. Find a free app, click to buy, and follow the steps to create a new account. For your Credit Card type, choose None, exactly as shown in the screenshot above for iTunes, the button labled "None" in the Mac App Store, or the last item in the scrolling menu on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Get an iTunes or Mac App Store account without a credit card originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: Where did I put that app?

Brett Terpstra — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST

Once you have a fair number of apps on your iOS device, you might find that you occasionally "lose" an app somewhere in the pages and/or folders of your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Handily, there's a trick for locating that app using iTunes. I consider myself a seasoned iTunes/iPhone user, and this simple little tip was a surprise to me. It might be to you, too!

Connect your device to your computer and let it show up under "Devices" in iTunes. Select the device and click on the "Apps" tab of the info panel. You'll see a list of all of your apps on the left, and a rendering of your device's screens (pages) on the right. All you need to do is double-click an app on the left to see exactly what page it's on, and in what folder, if you've organized that way.

Now, if only Apple hadn't removed the search field on the apps list. I've accumulated a decent app library, and scrolling that list is a pain, but at least I'll be able to find the apps on my device now. As commenters and colleagues have pointed out -- and as we've mentioned before -- the iTunes-wide search field at the top right of the window now serves double duty as a search tool for applications that you've bought/downloaded. Sorry for the misdirection!

Hat tip to Mike Tselikman!

iPhone 101: Where did I put that app? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: Save extensions in Contacts

Aron Trimble — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST

Having friends with an office job in the typical corporate environment often times means having to dial a desk phone with an extension. As Lifehacker points out, this usually results in having to memorize a contact's direct extension for use after dialing the office's main line.

The difficulty comes from the fact that simply dialing someone's extension immediately after the main line number will not work. The internal phone system of the company you are calling will not recognize the extension has been dialed until there is a connection between the caller and the system.

To solve this problem, cell phones have functionality that allows users to save a "pause" in between a main line number and a contact's extension. This gives an automated phone system time to answer the call and then after the pause has occurred, receive the extension from the caller.

Your humble iPhone supports this functionality, and it's very useful when needing to dial colleagues at the office rather than on their mobile phone. TheiPhoneWebsite.com has a handy tutorial that shows you how to save a "pause" followed by an extension using the iPhone Contacts app.

In order to input a pause in your contact's phone number, you need to open the contact for editing using either the Phone or Contacts app on your iPhone or iPod touch. Tap on the number you wish to modify, and when the dial pad appears, press the "+*#" button on the lower left. This will change the dial pad as seen above and allow you to insert a pause (shown as a comma) into your contact's phone number. Add the extension to the end of the number, after the comma, and hit Save.

Now when tapping on the contact's office number to initiate a call, you will not be required to dial the extension after the phone system picks up. You will automatically be transferred to cell phone dialing nirvana, or at least to the person you were trying to reach.

[via Lifehacker]

iPhone 101: Save extensions in Contacts originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: Quitting apps in iOS 4

Erica Sadun — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EST

iOS 4 makes it easy to leave apps without quitting, but what happens when you actually do want to terminate an application? Quitting applications can really help with older apps that have not been updated for iOS 4 "multitasking" and that do not properly return to the state they previously were in when resumed.

The most common type of app that fits this profile supplies Bonjour services that might not properly continue after resuming the application. Another app that reportedly has this issue is Gmail. TUAW reader Kefz writes, "Gmail does not work unless you force quit the mail application. If it is sitting in the multitasking task bar, [notifications aren't] automatically pushed to the phone...You'd have to open the mail app and have it check for new mail."

There's are two ways you can quit, according to Apple's documentation, although neither one is particularly obvious. Read on to learn what they are.

Continue reading iPhone 101: Quitting apps in iOS 4

iPhone 101: Quitting apps in iOS 4 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: What you need to know about FaceTime

Mel Martin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:00:00 EST

FaceTime for the iPhone 4 is a lot of fun. It's the simplest implementation of video conferencing I've seen, because it is basically a no-configuration feature.

Here's some tips to would-be FaceTimers:

First, make sure FaceTime is enabled. Tap 'settings' on your new iPhone, scroll down to the green icon called 'Phone' and select it. The second item down is labeled FaceTime. Make sure it is turned on. It may take a moment for FaceTime to become active so make sure you get a confirmation.

Now when you call someone you'll see an on-screen FaceTime icon. You can tap it, and the other person, assuming they are on Wi-Fi and have an iPhone 4, will get an invitation. If he or she accepts you'll be chatting in just a few seconds.

Continue reading iPhone 101: What you need to know about FaceTime

iPhone 101: What you need to know about FaceTime originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone/iPod 101: How to get the most out of your battery

Chris Rawson — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:05:00 EST

Since you can't just swap out the battery on your iPhone or iPod, it's important to know how to get the most life out of your device's battery, particularly if you won't be able to charge it for a while. Apple has two pages on its site that detail how to prolong battery life on both iPhones and iPods. The pages are far more detailed than the general lithium-battery tips floating around, and they tell you very specific steps you can take to increase your device's battery life.

The iPhone page is the lengthier of the two, and most of its tips apply to the iPod line as well. Apple notes that the most important thing to do is keep iPhones and iPods away from heat sources like direct sunlight or the inside of a car on a hot day. I can vouch for that one; my wife absentmindedly left her first-gen iPod nano in our car for several days a couple of years ago with its battery almost fully discharged. When she finally pulled it out of the car, the nano's battery was fried and couldn't be recharged.

Continue reading iPhone/iPod 101: How to get the most out of your battery

iPhone/iPod 101: How to get the most out of your battery originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: How to force quit an unresponsive app

Aron Trimble — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST

We here at the TUAW headquarters rely pretty heavily on our iPhones when we're away from our desks. This is especially true for the lucky ones on the floor at Macworld 2010. Sometimes however, our little pocket computers go haywire and refuse to respond to our commands.

To force quit an unresponsive app all you have to do is press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until you see the red slider. Normally, this is what you would do to power down your iPhone or iPod touch. In this case however, when the slider appears, release the sleep/wake button and then press and hold the Home button. If it works correctly, your iPhone will forcefully quit the unresponsive app and return you to your home screen.

I have found this especially useful on the rare occasion that Mail begins to choke on my multi-thousand message inbox. Sometimes this simple kick in the pants is all that is needed and is a lot quicker than a hard reboot followed by the waiting required during boot up.

iPhone 101: How to force quit an unresponsive app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone cellular data not working? Try resetting your network settings

Sang Tang — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

The "Reset Network Settings" button on the iPhone not only resets your Wi-Fi settings -- resulting in a clean slate with respect to Wi-Fi access points and their passwords -- it also resets your phone carrier settings. Several months back, I had the darndest trouble with cellular data access. I could place and receive calls, but couldn't get cellular data access no matter what I did. I tried going into and out of airplane mode, turning the phone on and off, and resetting it, all with no luck.

So I decided to call AT&T. Apparently, one of the cell phone towers near my office was having trouble and fell out of and back into commission. And although the tower was back up and running, my iPhone was stuck in cellular data purgatory. AT&T support suggested that resetting the network settings on the device would likely resolve the issue: and it did. Resetting network settings has also helped me resolve an issue I was having with Visual Voicemail on another occasion.

To reset your iPhone's network settings, tap your way to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. With great power also comes great annoyances, like having to reconnect to previously remembered access points and having to re-enter passwords.

iPhone cellular data not working? Try resetting your network settings originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mac 101: Create a wireless network between Mac and iPhone

Josh Carr — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST

Many applications require your Mac and your iPhone to be on the same wireless network in order to communicate properly or sync. Apple doesn't advertise the ability to use such applications without a wireless router... nor do many developers. It's not only possible, it works great in a pinch or even as a standard. A few quick examples:

Be a makeshift DJ. I have a lot of music on in my iTunes Library. If there's something I or my friends want, I'll buy it and add it to the collection. Because of that, I get asked "Can you bring your music to the party tonight." I used to say no, because I didn't want to play DJ all night and miss out on the party. Now, I can setup a network anywhere I go and control my iTunes Library directly from my iPhone with Remote.app -- even play requests during a conversation.
Keynote presenters unite! Creating a wireless network on your Mac frees you to worry about your presentation not the availability of wireless in the lecture room. Setup a network, connect and you're swiping through your slides.
Sync applications anywhere, anytime. Victor just pointed this out today... if you're in an airport and need to sync some information from a desktop app to your iPhone, you don't need to pay for the airport wireless. Syncing apps like Bento, MacGourmet, Things, TextExpander or any other apps that sync over the network can update whenever you want without issues.

I'm sure there are many more uses for this idea... those just name a few. Please read on for a step-by-step, illustrated guide to create a wireless network between your Mac and your iPhone (or iPod touch).

Continue reading Mac 101: Create a wireless network between Mac and iPhone

Mac 101: Create a wireless network between Mac and iPhone originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 101: Don't forget to wipe... your iPhone's data

Kevin Harter — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Stepping up to a shiny new 3GS? Thinking about selling your old iPhone on eBay or craigslist? Don't forget to wipe!

I buy iPhones from time to time to unlock and offer to our local customers. One such phone arrived today and I eagerly opened the box to get things prepared. After charging the dead iPhone for a while, I powered it on and was greeted with tons of personal information about the previous owner.

The phone was loaded up with three accounts full of literally thousands of emails, 107 contacts, 974 songs, a few dozen photos and a handful of apps -- all still happily filling the 8GB. There were faxed checks related to the previous owner's sales position, visual voicemails available to anyone's ears, and a huge log full of text messages.

The previous owner hadn't deleted anything before sending his iPhone off to a complete stranger! While I was taking care of that important step for him, I thought "This is a perfect opportunity to save some TUAW readers from this sort of embarrassment, not to mention potential ID theft, with a quick reminder."

Clearing all of the data from your iPhone was made simple with the 2.0 firmware update last year.

Go to Settings
Tap on General
Scroll all the way down and tap Reset
Choose Erase All Content and Settings
Confirm (twice) that you REALLY want to lose everything

Make sure you have it plugged in, as the process will take quite a long time, "about an hour" according to the warning. But, believe me, it is time well spent!

Once the process is complete, you'll be left with a "factory fresh" installation of the iPhone OS with no trace of you or your data, and you can safely sell it and upgrade to the latest and greatest model. Oh, and do me a favor -- if I'm the auction winner, include a working sync cable this time!

iPhone 101: Don't forget to wipe... your iPhone's data originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to make iPhone videos sparkle with iMovie

Steven Sande — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:00:00 EST

If you read my recent post about taking movies with the iPhone 3GS, you probably noted that I talked about the lack of editing capabilities on the iPhone with the exception of trimming the beginning and ending of your videos. What if you want to edit your movies, add titles or effects, or combine a bunch of short iPhone video clips?

Several of the comments left by TUAW readers asked the same question, and it's so easy to do that I decided to whip up a quick tutorial showing how this works. You probably have a tool on your Mac that can do the job for you with just a few clicks, drags, and menu selections. iMovie is the perfect easy tool for creating full feature films (just kidding) from individual scenes shot with the iPhone 3GS video camera. Here's how to do it.

Continue reading How to make iPhone videos sparkle with iMovie

How to make iPhone videos sparkle with iMovie originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone for Newbies: Honey, I shrunk the manual

David Winograd — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST

Caveat Emptor: This is for newbies only. If you've been around, you probably don't need this.

When I bought my last Verizon phone, it came with about three quarters of a pound of paper housed in three manuals allowing me to find just about anything through the index. Yeah, it was overkill -- but at least I knew where to go to learn about an option or feature.

When I opened my iPhone 3GS, I quickly searched for the documentation to show me how use this puppy. All I found was an accordion-pleated piece of paper, titled Finger Tips, telling me all the wonderful things my new iPhone could do... but it was awfully skimpy on covering just how to do anything at all.

On the last page of Finger Tips there were some links to get more information. Following the links would give you almost what you need. But I question how using a software-based paradigm of digital manual delivery relates to a hardware-based product like an iPhone 3GS.

Perhaps that's why an industry has sprung up to print instructional books. David Pogue's massive 'Missing Manual' series speaks to my point. If a good manual were to be included in a hardware product, 'Missing Manuals' would be superfluous.

Apple's manuals have been shrinking for many years; they have come a long way from that of the Apple ][+, in which Woz printed the entire ROM code of its 6502 processor.

The Apple way is to compactly package hardware. This seems way more elegant than being handed a big honking box. But adding half an inch to the height of the iPhone box, to accommodate a concise manual, wouldn't damage the minimalist look.

I don't feel quite right about having paid a goodly sum of money for the box and then having to download a 213-page manual using my own resources. My preference would be to have a manual the size of the iPhone 3GS right in the box, for immediate reference. With that, I could get started right away. After all, if you buy a new piece of technology, you don't want to be slowed down by needing to download and possibly print hundreds of pages along with reading a bunch of sites. You just want to push some buttons and play.

For those who have either lost the brochure or want some more information, see below for links where you can get it. Of course, you can always start with the "iPhone Help" section under the Help menu in iTunes.

The 213 page manual for the iPhone 3GS
Quickstart guides for various iPhone 3GS features
A video guided tour of major features of the iPhone 3GS

And here are some other resources to get you started:
Macworld's App Guide: Searchable by category
19 instructional books on how to manage your iPhone
Apptism - catalog and reviews of over 53,000 apps
Macworld's general listing of 3.0 features
TUAW's iPhone 101 series

I'm sure that many more resources are currently being written, but the links above are more than enough to get started.

I wonder how many agree with me that leaving out a decent manual is a poor idea, and how many of you consider this a non-event.

View Poll

iPhone for Newbies: Honey, I shrunk the manual originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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