November 22nd, 2010
Apple have released iOS version 4.2 for iPhone and iPad at 1800 GMT today. The main advantage of the upgrade is for iPad users who now get many of the features that have been on the iPhone 4 since launch. The key ones being multi-tasking and the ability to organise apps into folders.
For iPhone 4 users who have these features already the next biggest features are AirPrint (the ability to print from the iOS devices to network enabled printers) and AirPlay (the ability to stream audio and video across the network) which replaces AirTunes (the ability to stream audio only). The best example is watching a movie on the iPad or iPhone and then streaming it onto an HD TV through the Apple TV. This feaure is only supported on the new Apple TV (not the old Apple TV) and the Airport Express. There will be support for 3rd party players in the future, a break from the Apple only situation with AirTunes.
For those without a MobileMe account there is now a free feature to locate missing iOS devices and remotely wipe or lock the device “Find My iPhone”. The final tweaks are minor, replying to invites in calendar, changing fonts in Notes, changing Message notification tone for different users and the ability to rent TV Shows in HD (previously just for HD Movies).
The 624MB download is installed via iTunes and available for free.
Tags: AirPlay, AirTunes, Apple, Apple TV, HD TV, iOS, iPad, iPhone 4
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November 21st, 2010
1Password for Mac is a password management tool. It is also available for PC and iPhone and iPad. There is a trial version that works for 7 days and the full version costs $40. There are free alternatives but the having tried a couple the thing I like best about this product is the option for one-click to open a website and enter the username and password details. I had previously been using Firefox to remember my passwords but the advantages of 1Password are the availability of an iPhone app that can synchronise login details and the ability to secure all the passwords with a strong “master password”.
Having used the product for a week I so far have had few problems with it. I initially imported my stored passwords from Firefox and started to sort through and delete the old passwords and sites that no longer existed! I was surprised to discover that Firefox was remembering 130 passwords for sites on the internet and this didn’t include some that I have stored in my head. 1Password allows auto-filling of passwords in both Safari and Firefox and to cross-browser functionality works well.
Tags: Applications, Mac, OS X, Security
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November 21st, 2010
Dropbox provide storage in The Cloud with seamless synchronisation from the desktop. The Mac version installed without a hitch and the free version provides 2GB of online storage. There is also an iPhone client for Dropbox allowing the sharing of files between desktops and an iPhone. There is also web access through the browser to your files should you be away from your desktop or trying to access file types not supported by the iPhone.
It is also possible to share folders with other Dropbox users and due to the way that Dropbox hashes and caches if you upload or share a file that has been previously uploaded by another user (say a PDF manual, for example) then it appears instantly without the requirement to actually conduct the upload.
There is a referral system where each additional person you sign up to Dropbox gets you an additional 250MB of space, up to a limit of 8GB (32 additional sign-ups). Please use my referral if you haven’t got a Dropbox account and would like to get one (this does not connect accounts in anyway):
http://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTEyNzA5MDEzOQ?src=7
Tags: Dropbox, iPhone, Web 2.0
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November 21st, 2010
My iTunes music library is a visualisation of the continual battle with my ever so possible OCD. For months on end I just ignore problems with the tracks or data held against them. But slowly these things niggle away until I decide that the most important task on planet Earth is to get the files into some semblance of order.
What was bothering me this time was the tracks in random formats that won’t play on Apple TV and hence flag up a warning. After much manual deleting of old tracks I decided to see if there was a way to automate any of this process and came across Doug’s AppleScript for iTunes. AppleScript seems to be well supported by the Mac user community for automating all sorts of task on OS X. I then used one of the scripts to change the capitalisation of some track titles THAT WERE LIKE THIS to Something More Like This (ah, much better).
The AppleScripts, as the name maybe indicates, only work on Apple Mac but there are some alternative solutions for Windows listed on Doug’s AppleScript for iTunes Windows page.
Tags: Apple TV, AppleScript, iTunes, OS X
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October 26th, 2010
Looking not too dissimilar to Skype and iChat before it, Facetime for Mac is a video calling / conferencing application from Apple. The aim is clearly to get some of the iPhone halo effect to rub off on video calling as Facetime brings nothing new to the party that was first made big, afordable (ie free) and workable by Skype back in 2003. The Facetime for Mac seems to duplicate the functionality of iChat but brings the obvious advantage of being able to connect with those on an iPhone rather than just a Mac (as is the case with iChat). Facetime on an iPhone 4 works only over the Wi-Fi connection and not 3G and the picture quality compared with Skype and iChat seems to be little different.
Currently in Beta for Mac only (requires 10.6 Snow Leopard) you can download Facetime for Mac from Apple.
Tags: Apple, Facetime, iChat, iPhone 4, OS X, Skype
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October 11th, 2010
The WordPress app for iPhone allows you to write a post on your iPhone and add video and pictures and post them onto your blog straight away. I have found some issues with rotating the phone and the app not displaying the editing area correctly forcing a quit and relaunch to present the editing area correctly. The on-screen reduces the speed for writing a post and makes the app ideal for quick posts on the move.
Tags: iOS, iPhone 4, wordpress app
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September 25th, 2010
I have added the Twitter Tools plug-in to WordPress and removed Twitter Updater which did not support OAuth.
Tags: Twitter, Twitter Tools, Web 2.0, Wordpress
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September 25th, 2010
The Nokia 2730 Classic is a fairly good but unremarkable phone from Nokia. The screen is nice and bright and the menu system isn’t any more complicated than that of other Nokia phones. It doesn’t really do anything fancy and is exactly the sort of phone you might be given by work as a no frills model. Indeed I have just got a Nokia 2730 Classic from work and therefore my key concern is getting my work contacts entered onto my phone.
As work isn’t the kind of place to provide facilities to synchronise your work machine to your work phone I side step the the thumb-aching task of entering them all directly into the phone by adding the details to my MacBook Pro and then using the normally excellent iSync on OS X to add the contacts from OS X Address Book. I say normally excellent as in the case of the very plain and boring and business like Nokia 2730 Classic both Nokia and Apple have decided to ignore providing means of synchronising contacts and calendars.
I feel the blame must mostly lie with Nokia here as apparently plug-ins can be written to add phones to the iSync compatibility list. The Nokia site returns incompatible for iSync and Nokia 2730 Classic. After a quick internet trawl and a slight deviation looking at the 3720 (not the 2730) I came across Webhaven who have written an iSync plug-in for the Nokia 2730 Classic using the iSync Plug-in Maker from Apple. After a small install seems to have my phone recognised and synchronising.
Tags: iSync, Nokia, Nokia 2730 Classic, OS X, OS X Address Book, Webhaven
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September 12th, 2010
New services and features, especially free ones are great to have, but the perpetual Beta culture (even when the software isn’t in Beta they are getting monthly updates etc) has it’s downsides. I have been following several products and services and the rapid improvement and enhanced feature lists are welcome on the poor or partly completed products. The obvious example where this has not been the case was the Pace 810XE HD satellite receiver which has been crying out for firmware updates for over 2 years and effectively abandoned. A case where being on a bigger bandwagon would certainly have been helpful.
Just recently Soocial has climbed out from Beta to a pay for model but now OSX has added Address Book to Gmail sync my main reason for using Soocial has gone. As recently commented Nokia Sports Tracker has come out of Beta to be killed and re-born in the Ovi store. The upside of rapid development comes when you have taken your eye off a particular ball for a while and on returning discover a lot of the old problems and issues have been fixed while your attention was elsewhere. WordPress just keeps getting better and easier to use as can been clearly seen in version 3 and Boxee continues to develop.
This week having started looking for updates to things I haven’t possibly used in a month I find to a PS3 fireware update, iTunes 10, Tweetdeck and Adobe AIR.
Tags: Adobe AIR, Beta, Boxee, iTunes 10, Pace 810XE, Sony PS3, Soocial, Wordpress
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September 12th, 2010
The best thing to come out of Nokia in the last few years was the Nokia Sports Tracker (Beta). An old Nokia N95 with a free download could then map your walking, cycling, running, etc using the phone’s A-GPS and display a moving map trail. In addition there were graphs for distance and speed against time and stats about pace and lap timings.
This could all be uploaded to the Nokia Sports Tracker website and display your routes, or those of others on a Google Maps view. Much the same as WalkJogRun.net but the beauty was that it worked on a 3 year old phone and hence delaying the Android or iPhone move.
Nokia have killed the Beta and bizarrely then launched a Sports Tracker site which didn’t take all those beta users with it. The new app is now in the Ovi store as a free download.
Tags: 3G, Google, Nokia, Phones
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