iOS

There was a time when I was chest high into deep geek doings. I wrote arcane command line scripts that did fun things like parse lists of names for certain parameters and pipe them to another list that might be used for mailing or whatever. But I was only an acolyte deep geek. There were…

There are occasions when a photographer, cinematographer, astronomer, pilot, or architect needs to know a lot more about the Sun's position than simply sunrise and sunset. Sun Seeker by Ajnaware Pty Ltd in Sydney, Australia tells you almost everything you can know about the position of the Sun for any day of the year. Plus,…

It's no secret Apple is working on a new iPhone model and a new version of iOS. Apple is always working on a new iPhone and new version of iOS. What's different this time is that there's been a changing of the guard with industrial designer and Apple Senior Vice President of Industrial Design Jonathan…

Typically when someone says “Do you know which iTunes feature I like?” I get ready to hear a long list of complaints. Occasionally, however, I get surprised when they mention something they actually do enjoy — like the ability to hide App Store purchases they no longer want to see. Your iTunes account still tracks…

OmniFocus is a great tool for keeping track of your tasks, and on the Mac it's easy to take an email and turn it into a to-do. On the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, however, there hasn't been an easy way to do that — until the clever team at The Omni Group figured out…

A certain someone mentioned in a previous article that you can turn on a preference in Mac Mail that'll only include the text you select from a message when you're replying to it or forwarding it. And if you're not using that tip, you should be, because it makes things SO much easier than trying…

Siri is great for controlling your iPhone or iPad with your voice, and OmniFocus is a fantastic task management and organization app. How do you make them better? By making them work together, of course.

The Cally app for iOS is a units and currency converter plus a scientific calculator. It is brilliant at conversions, but flubs badly as a calculator. In fact, the calculator part needs a complete overhaul. The Great Stuff As someone who has spent his whole adult life using scientific calculators, I can really appreciate a…

Sometimes an app is so nicely done for a particular discipline that it becomes, perhaps, the quintessential app of its kind. Nav Clock is one of those in my opinion. No pilot, astronomer, photographer, journalist, hiker or anyone interested in time and weather should be without it. Nav Clock was one of the earliest apps…

Should comics be considered an art form? It can be argued that, in its essence, comics can be just as expressive, emotional, and thought-provoking as any painting or photograph from any master artist. And any argument that points to more poorly executed comics as proof that the medium does not deserve to considered an art…

Amazon is warning its iPhone, iPad and iPod touch Kindle app users to skip the version 3.6.1 update because it deletes purchases from the app. Users that already installed the update can re-download their missing ebooks, and the company said a new update is on the way. Amazon's latest Kindle update clears ioS user's library…

Clarm for iOS is a Universal app that features date, time, weather and alarms, all overlaid on drop-dead gorgeous photographic backgrounds. However, for a beautiful and simple app, it also has a few serious weaknesses. The first thing to notice about this app is that it has the option to use gorgeous built-in photographic backgrounds…

E-Magazines have certainly come a long way since first appearing on the original iPad. The sparse or rehashed content, user interface problems and bugaboos, and the sheer variety of newly created formats made them as gangly, unsteady, and energetic as a day-old colt.  But colts learn to trot, then gallop with speed and grace as…

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…