iOS

One of the awesome ways that Siri integrates with Apple Maps is that you can ask her for updates on your route as she's giving you turn-by-turn directions. To play along with me for this tip, you'll need to be running iOS 6 on an iPhone 4S/5, an iPad 2 or later, or an iPad…

Someone famous once said that youth is wasted on the young. (I can't remember who said it. Actually, I'm happy I can remember someone said it at all.) The most obvious reference that adage makes is the comparison of the physicality of the young versus to experience of the old. What might it be like…

Last week, I got carried away with my preamble and didn't have time or room for the week's technical news debris. So, after a short preamble, I have a lot, the very best, to get caught up on. Preamble Is it time for an interface overhaul in iOS? I am one of those who thinks…

A report surfaced Friday morning claiming Apple plans to release iOS 6.1.2 early next week with a fix for the passcode bug that gives access to a locked iPhone through a series of taps and swipes. The update will apparently also include a promised fix for a Microsoft Exchange-related issue that's causing fast battery drain.…

CodeLathe's Tonido App allows users to access the unencrypted files on their Mac from web browsers and/or their iOS devices. Even though you are accessing unencrypted files, AES 256 SSL connections are used end to end, assuring your files are encrypted while using the app. The service provided by Tonido is very straightforward. Once signed…

A bug in iOS 6.1 acts as a security flaw, allowing anyone with physical access to an iPhone to bypass the lock screen and access the phone, contacts, voicemail, and photo apps. The flaw was first discovered by YouTube user “videosdebarraquito” and reported by The Verge Thursday. The steps required to take advantage of the…

MyScript Calculator for iOS from Vision Objects is an app that accepts cursive input of mathematical expressions, converts to text and then computes the answer. It's an amazing app. Best of all, it's free. Arthur C. Clarke, the legendary science fiction writer, developed three laws, observations about technology. The third law states, “Any sufficiently advanced…

As expected, the iOS 6.1 jailbreak, codenamed “evasi0n,” has been released. Developer team “evad3rs” updated the jailbreak’s website early this afternoon, Eastern time. The tool is available for OS X, Windows, and Linux, and requires an iDevice that is capable of running iOS 6.1. This list includes: iPhone 3GS iPhone 4 iPhone 4S iPhone 5…

The iOS 6.1 jailbreak is due to launch today (Monday), according to a tweet from a member of the development team, as noted by 9to5Mac. “evasi0n,” as the jailbreak will be called, will be compatible with all iOS 6.1 devices except for the third-generation Apple TV. Work on the jailbreak for Apple’s latest version of…

Passbook is a native Apple iPhone and iPod touch app that was introduced as part of iOS 6 late last year. (Sorry, iPad users; it's not there yet). It allows users to store and utilize electronic coupons, airline boarding passes, train tickets, movie and other event tickets, reward club cards, gift cards, as well as…

It's the dead of winter. Shoulder deep snow piles in drifts against all the usual exits from your home, leaving you stranded and forced to deal with … your kids!! Ok, Global Warming has evaporated not only the drifts, but the normal weather patterns that would have put and kept them there all winter. Nonetheless…

As you may know, you can use Siri to send emails (by saying something like “send an email to John Appleseed, subject 'tomorrow'”). But did you know that you can use her to reply to existing messages, too? Hot diggity-dog, my friends. You can handle this in a few different ways. To try out the…

  With the public release of iOS 6.1 now available, many iDevice users will start to look forward to an eventual jailbreak. According to a member of jailbreak team evad3rs, users won’t have long to wait and nearly every iDevice made in the last three years will be supported. MuscleNerd, a member and spokesperson for…

There are apps that help you find restaurants or movies to your liking and even apps that help you find apps. But a really worthy use of an iDevice is Art Alert, an app that helps you find art museums anywhere you may be traveling. Art Alert is from the same company, Open Door Networks,…

Some time ago, we discussed using the “Create Quick Event” feature. Depending on your workflow, though, it may be faster for you to use a bit of the same technology to enter events by double-clicking on a day instead. This can be especially handy if you use Month View most of the time. Here's how…

The iPhone 5 is having a significant effect on mobile networks in Europe, as users of the latest Apple smartphone use the most data overall and are consuming 50 percent more data than those using its predecessor, the iPhone 4S, according to a new report from mobile research firm Arieso Monday. Heavy data use by…

Happy 2013!! I hope your holidays were spent in ways and with people you care about most. This is going to be a banner year for me, lots of changes are afoot and I am looking forward to all of them. There are those who are resistant to change however. They rail against it as…

Keeping track of and paying bills can be a chore. Chronicle 5, for OS X, can turn a chore into fun and help you get well organized. With a time-ordered list, visible calendar as well as payment reminders, it's a great tool to get your bills under control in 2013. For me, paying bills has…

If you are interested in configuring and using your iOS device to write, dictate, and yes, even converse with Siri in different languages, then this article is for you. Perhaps you are learning a new language and want to “practice” with your device. Or maybe, like me, you are an expatriate who needs to occasionally…

Isn't it remarkable? I have more radios in my iPhone and iPad than I did in my “Ham Shack” back in the day when I was very active in the Amateur Radio service. When Steve Jobs announced the original iPhone in 2007, he declared that it would be a Communicator, among other things. Now, almost…

Some users keep multiple Twitter clients on their iPad or iPhone because there is no clear winner. Every other one has some major irritant or missing feature, and one can't decide. Well, I've decided. All the rest have been deleted from my iPad and iPhone. I have tested just about every Twitter client on iOS…

Our iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches are unquestionably magical devices and brought to us by The Future. Nevertheless, our wonderful iOS devices will inevitably encounter the occasional slow-downs, hangs and crashes. Even on the Starship Enterprise we see the crew's iPads misbehave on occasion. Even Jean-Luc will fix 95% of his iPad's issues by engaging…

I got several emails the other day from some guys I hadn't heard from in a very long time. Tom, Mike, Jeff and I played a game you may have heard me mention before, Avara. Briefly, Avara was a real-time, fast paced multiplayer 'Mech' fighting game. You piloted a H.E.C.T.O.R. (Kind of a Star Wars…

Up Next is a new way in iTunes 11 to choose what songs to play and in what order, sort of like the old iTunes DJ feature. Here's the simple version of how it works: Play something from your iTunes Library, and Up Next will add subsequent tracks to its list to play afterward, which…