Apple quietly released an update to OS X (10.11.4) today to compliment and support the new features released with iOS 9.3. Both updates (OS X 10.11.4 and iOS 9.3) are available now as free downloads. To get your copy, visit the Mac App Store and click on the "Updates" tab.
Posts filed under iOS
Apple's March 21 Media Event
Apple held their much-anticipated March 21 media event today. The event was held at their very own on-campus theater and streamed live. Below are notes from the event.
An Easy And Effective Way to Share Tasks With a Group
I’ve had more than a few readers ask me the same question lately, so I thought I would use that question as the basis of today’s TechTalk post. The question is this: “What is the best way to share a list of tasks with a small group of people (either family members or work colleagues), without creating a complex system?”
It’s a great question, and quite frankly, one that I bet is on a lot of minds (if not already, I bet it is now!). So, here’s the answer!
Maximizing Battery Life and Lifespan for Your iOS Device
“Battery life” is the amount of time your device runs before it needs to be recharged (short-term power retention). “Battery lifespan” is the amount of time your battery lasts until it needs to be replaced (battery longevity).
In this post, we'll cover 5 simple rules to ensuring you get the most battery life and battery lifespan out of your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
The Basics of Dropbox and Beyond
There are a few key components to every computer. Storage (in the form of a hard drive or a speedy Solid State Disk) is one of those critical components. This is where our files (documents, audio, movies, pictures, etc) are stored long-term. We create a Word file and save it to our hard drive, for example. This method of storage is sufficient for most, but some of us (those who are serious about storage and want to take things to the next level), need something more. Something that allows us to easily share those files with others and have them available on any device.
To enhance our traditional “local storage” (i.e.: hard drive or SSD), we may want to consider cloud storage. Simply put, this is storage that is primarily in the “cloud”, and secondarily (and optionally) on our local hard drive. A few current cloud storage solutions include Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Box (formerly box.net), Amazon S3, OpenStack… the list goes on and on and on. I can’t possibly describe the features for all the available services, so I will focus on one. Dropbox happens to be my cloud storage solution of choice (for many reasons), so we will focus on that for this post. While some of the concepts here will be applicable to all cloud storage services, the details will be specific to Dropbox.
Saving Files to Dropbox From Your iPhone or iPad
Dropbox is a great resource for saving, archiving and sharing files with family, friends and business colleagues. Accounts start at $0, so there's really no reason for everyone not to have one. I use my Dropbox account heavily on a daily basis and would recommend it to everyone.
Historically, the challenge with Dropbox is saving files to your account from your iPhone or iPad. Sure, it's easy to retrieve and view (and even edit) files from your Dropbox, but saving back to your account is as whole different story. That changed yesterday with the latest version of Dropbox for iOS. Saving files to your Dropbox account couldn't be easier now. Here's how it works.
Quite Possibly the Perfect Discrete Recording App for Your Apple Watch
Every once in a while, I run across an app that makes it on my “must have” list. Sometimes they are big apps, but usually they are really simple apps that really help to make my life easier and more productive. I ran across an app last week that has made it on that list.
When is the last time you were in a meeting or situation where you wanted to discretely record audio for later playback, but the setting was such that grabbing your iPhone, locating a recording app and placing the device on a table was just enough of a pain to convince you not to bother? I don’t find myself in that situation every day, but it does happen occasionally. This app is the perfect solution.
Looking for a Fantastic Notes App? Here You Go!
When it comes to taking and managing notes, there are a million app options out there to choose from. Evernote, OneNote and Notability are three of the most popular options available today. They each have their strengths and weaknesses (like everything), and offer a plethora of bells and whistles.
For those who are looking for something a little simpler, yet just as effective (in my opinion) with a clean and intuitive interface (not to mention free), this tip is for you! Read on.
Turn Your iPhone or iPad into a Secondary Display for Your Mac
Every once in a while, I run across a Mac or iOS app that knocks my socks off. Today, I'm going to share one of those apps with you.
Sitting on my desk in my home office is my 15" MacBook Pro with a secondary display next to it (Apple Thunderbolt Display). It's a great setup. I find myself using both displays constantly, moving apps back and forth to match my workflow. When I am working on the go without my secondary display, it tends to slow me down a bit (the lack of screen real estate is surprisingly noticeable). With this app recommendation, you can turn your iPad or iPhone (yes, iPhone!) into a portable secondary display for your Mac. Fasten your seatbelt!
Firefox is Now Available for iOS
Rumors started years ago that Firefox would soon be available for iOS. Those rumors seemed to die down for a bit until it really wasn't talked much about anymore. Many people assumed that it wouldn't happen. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Firefox is now available for iOS!
My browser of choice is Safari. I prefer Safari over Firefox or Chrome for a few reasons (speed and syncing between devices are two of the reasons). Having said that, I also really like Firefox... it's a very close second choice for me. I know many who prefer Firefox over Safari or Chrome, so the release of Firefox for iOS is a welcome addition to the App Store for many, many people.
What's New in iOS 9?
For those of us who follow Apple news pretty closely (or at all), we know that today is the day that Apple releases iOS 9... the next-generation software for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Most people wouldn't consider this update to be earth-shattering (and I would agree), but I certainly wouldn't be too quick to dismiss it as "ordinary" either. There are plenty of great gems hidden within the release that we should all pay attention to.
There are certainly too many improvements to talk about here, so what I thought I would do is highlight my top 5 favorite improvements for the update... in no particular order.
Best Practices for Archiving Photos in the Photos App
Apple's new Photos app is a great way to import, manage, edit and share your digital photos. As you add more photos to your library, however, that Photos Library file has the potential to grow out of control pretty quickly, gobbling up every byte of free space that you have.
To avoid your Photos Library occupying too much of your drive's available space (resulting in a sluggish system), it's a good idea to periodically archive older photos. Because we're all different, there is no one-size-fits-all archival strategy, but there are some tips that will make archiving your older photos easier. To help illustrate, here is the process that I go through.
Summary of the September 09, 2015 Apple Event
Apple held their September media event today in the historical San Francisco Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, which seats an audience of around 7,000. Among other things, Tim Cook and company introduced the new iPhone. Below is a summary of the event.
Taking Advantage of the Weekly $0.99 iTunes Movie Rental
I don't know many people who don't like a good movie (at least once in a while). I also don't know many people who don't like a good deal on a movie, especially if you can watch it on demand.
Did you know that iTunes offers a weekly $0.99 movie rental via the iTunes Store? If you haven't stumbled across this feature yet, you've likely missed out on some great movies at great prices! Here's how it works and where to get it.
Behold the Power of Mail Drop
I find myself emailing files all the time to clients, family members and vendors. In most cases, these files are fairly small, so it's not a big deal to email them. Occasionally, however, I will run into a situation where I need to send a large file. This file could be a series of images, a video... anything. The problem with doing this is that Email is extremely inefficient, and most mail providers set a limit on the size of messages (in some cases, as little as 10 MB).
In situations like this, you could use a cloud-based storage system like Dropbox or iCloud Drive to upload the file to, then send a link to the recipient, but that requires a few extra steps, and it can make it a little more inconvenient or confusing for the recipient. Mail Drop to the rescue!
