Aunttuaw Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me share my iPhone data to my iPad

by Erica Sadun (Feb 9th, 2012)

Dear Aunt TUAW, I find myself in an interesting position. I am going to be traveling for several weeks within the US. I have my iPhone on a grandfathered unlimited data plan and a wifi iPad 2. I would like to be able to use my iPad while away not only for FaceTime but also general use and even ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Why does Siri read smilies as colons?

by Erica Sadun (Feb 6th, 2012)

Dear Aunt TUAW, I love Siri. I'm surprised at how much I actually use it beyond the gimmicky stuff. Texting while driving (through my car's Uconnect system) is so handy. One thing I've noticed is that when I dictate a message, add a smiley face and have her read it back to me, she says, "Have a ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Can I boot from a RAM disk?

by Erica Sadun (Feb 3rd, 2012)

Dear Aunt TUAW, I would like to run Mac OS X 10.6.7 off a RAM disk, for better performance/security while browsing the World Wide Web (I don't want to save the image with all those gnarly cookie crumbs to disk). I understand that a family living down the street from me is able to run Linux from a ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me find a WiFi stumbler app for Lion

by Erica Sadun (Feb 2nd, 2012)

Dear Aunt TUAW, I'm a Mac IT professional, and often find myself configuring, troubleshooting, and optimizing wireless networks. In the past I used AP Grapher to graph wireless strength and find competing Wi-Fi networks as I walk around my clients' offices. This allows me to pick the best channel ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: How do I silence my iPhone?

by Erica Sadun (Jan 13th, 2012)

Dear Aunt TUAW, There is an article in the WSJ about how an iPhone disrupted a performance of the New York Philharmonic. I have experienced the same problem where it is impossible to turn the alarm off once it goes on. If you set up a calendar alert and change your reminder sounds with the ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me nix the window shadows in Lion

by Erica Sadun (Dec 27th, 2011)

Dear Aunt TUAW, I recently added a second external monitor to my 13" MacBook Pro. My problem comes with the OS X Lion features that give windows a 3D depth-look, specifically, the shadow effect. As a window on the external monitor approaches the virtual border of the built-in LCD of the MBP, ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Where's the OnLive App?

by Mike Schramm (Dec 23rd, 2011)

Dear Aunt TUAW, More of a question rather than a tip, but with the App Store lockdown today, I presume OnLive's Player App will not be live in time for Christmas. I was thinking: Do you think Apple delayed approval of the app to maximize profits by sales over Christmas, including the ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me read data from my nano

by Erica Sadun (Dec 14th, 2011)

Dear Aunt TUAW, Greetings from overseas from the long-lost branch of Dutch family members and thanks for al. your helpful posts. My question is the following. I have an iPod nano (sixth generation) which I use quite often as a flash drive. The problem is that I can not use it on a Windows PC ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me create GPS address book locations

by Erica Sadun (Dec 13th, 2011)

Dear Aunt TUAW, I want to set Siri geofenced reminders for my kids' bus stop and a few other locations. The problem is that I live in a rural area, and these places don't have street addresses. What can I do? I want to be able to remind my wife to pick up milk and butter after she's done ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Brokeback Siri. I just can't quit it.

by Erica Sadun (Dec 12th, 2011)

Dear Aunt TUAW, It's funny how we can write a book to learn to speak to Siri but there's no vocal "quit" command LOL! Your loving nephew, Dig Dear Dig, Of course there is a verbal command. It sounds like this: "Honey, press the Home button. It's the round one at the bottom of the ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: My Mac had a kernel panic. Now what?

by Erica Sadun (Dec 8th, 2011)

Dear Aunt TUAW, My Mac has been experiencing kernel panics. I managed to grab an error log. Now what? I'm not sure how to use this to figure out what's going wrong... Please help! Your loving nephew, Esteban Dear Esteban, The preponderance of the time, kernel panics are hardware ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me support my mother-in-law's iPad

by Erica Sadun (Nov 23rd, 2011)

Dear Aunt TUAW, I currently provide remote support for my mother-in-law's 15 year old PC, frequently using TeamViewer to watch what she is doing rather than try to decipher garbled descriptions of what the screen is showing. This Xmas we are planning to buy her an iPad and so I wonder if there ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Does Siri work well in the office?

by Erica Sadun (Nov 22nd, 2011)

Dear Aunt TUAW, I am still debating about updating to an iphone 4s from an iphone 4. As someone overwhelmed at work (corporate life). I was wondering if there has been feedback on how someone has been using the iphone 4s' Siri function on a day to day basis at work to help stay organized? I ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Is the new TUAW app age-appropriate?

by Erica Sadun (Nov 15th, 2011)

Dear Aunt TUAW, Why does the new version of the TUAW iPhone app have a mature rating warning? I thought this was a family friendly site! Your loving nephew, Hugo Dear Hugo, In case you're worrying that the TUAW team is tippling on the liniment, playing pool, and buttoning their ...

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me find a cognitive behavioral therapy app

by Erica Sadun (Nov 8th, 2011)

Dear Aunt TUAW, I'm the dad of a high-needs child. We're doing cognitive behavioral therapy with him. Is there an app you can recommend that will help me track day-to-day progress on specific goals, and help my boy work towards rewards? I'm looking for an app that can show progress over time ...