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…
iOS
Great Free Decorating Apps for iOS
It's the last month of the year and two things typically happen; we cook a lot and we clean up our cave. We cook and clean because we tend to have folks over. It's how we reconnect with friends and relatives that we may not have seen in a while, and it's a chance to…
iOS: Dismissing Banner Notifications
I've loved the banner-style notifications ever since they were introduced in iOS 5. An alert that pops down from the top of your screen and then vanishes, leaving you doing what you were before? Awesome. Sometimes, though, you can't reach a screen element that appears behind the notification until it goes away, and that's less…
iOS 6's Swoosh Sound Sending Email Signifies: Nothing
Based on evidence accumulated so far, it appears that the swoosh sound heard in iOS 6 when sending an email doesn’t really confirm that the message has been sent. Only that you pressed the Send button. This appears to be a change from previous iOS versions. I spend a fair amount of time emailing product…
How NOT to Use iPhoto to Import from Cameras & iOS Devices
Image Capture. It's an application that lives on your Mac. It's been there forever. Apple doesn't promote it. Most typical Mac users I know, support, and teach have never heard of it. Yet, it's incredibly useful. Image Capture is a simple but powerful application that lets you transfer images, video clips and MP3 sounds to…
iOS 6: Using Maps' Quick Route Feature
Though mine may be an unpopular opinion, I actually prefer Apple's Maps application to the old Google Maps one. Granted, I haven't had any issues with the app not knowing where I wanted to go, so it's likely I'd be a teensy bit upset if that were true. Anyway, what Apple calls Quick Route is…
Without Forstall, How Will Apple Change iOS?
“Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve..” — Tom Landry “The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.” — Tony Blair Scott Forstall has been the driving force behind the look and feel of…
Just in time for Halloween, Harry and the Haunted House is definitely high on my all time top ten list of favorites. It was released for iOS on October third, but it's really 18 years old. And therein lies a tale. But first, let's take a look at this excellent app.
This is one of the best designed interactive children's books I've ever seen, and time was taken to get every small detail absolutely right. The title page starts simply where Harry, the protagonist in a fantasy world of talking animals, explains the two ways the book can be used. Either it can run on auto-pilot, which incorporates many of the interchanges between the four main characters and lots of sound and animation, or you can play with it yourself, having some of the dialogue read to you while you're off exploring.
Setup Screen
Many Customizable Settings
I like this setup because it puts the child in control or seemingly so. Under the hood, accessible by the button marked options, are a wide number of controls parents can set. These options are also to be found under the iOS settings on the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.
Some things that can be set:
- Skip title page
- Bookmark setting, to get back to the page you ended the app, is on by default but can be turned off
- Patience Mode: which allows or disallows the child to interrupt dialogue or animations before they are over. For small kids this is very useful and thoughtful
- Page Swipe
- Highlight Hotspots: For very small pre-readers everything that kicks off an animation or interchange is surrounded by a red box. This is perfect for preschoolers, and I've not seen this done before.
A World of Discovery
All the words are not printed because that would take some of the fun out of discovery. There are all sorts of embedded interchanges kicked off by the child's fingers. Wanderful Inc. doesn't give away the store. There's constant excitement in not knowing what you'll find next, and the payoffs come quickly and are always fun.
At Least 20 Animated Objects
The characters of Amy, Earl, Harry, Stinky, Harry's dog, and even a bunch of singing and dancing bugs have real personalities. Mark Schlichting's writing is witty and charming with well developed characters.
Interactions Emerge From the Narrative, Not the Other Way Around
A major difference between Harry and everything else out there is that in other books tapping on something creates one action and often the action either contradicts the story or adds nothing to the narrative being employed. I surmise this is because either the designer saw it in someone else's book —like spring loaded everything— or appear for the sole reason of the designer being able to code it. Harry eschews this sort of brain dead clap-trap. Not only are cute, short animations embedded, but at least half the plot is meant to be discovered. This app is cognitive dissonance free. I only wish I could say that about the 99 percent of the available product currently on the market that can tend to confuse kids.
The Pictures Are Animated
Everything that happens adds and enhances the whimsical world where animals play baseball and the haunted house tells jokes and is a master of physical comedy. A nice addition is added dialogue and animations that happen when the reader turns a page.
Every word is recorded twice, once for narration and once for pronunciation. After it's read, tap on a word for it's individual pronunciation out of the context of the story or tap on the baseball to the left of the text block to have it read within the story.
The House is a Main Character
There is so much singing and dancing hidden away that I'm surprised that they could get the file size down to 103 MB. I can usually get through an interactive children's book in twenty minutes or less. This one took me well over an hour, and the new things I found were original. I especially loved the ending which is wonderfully satisfying and somewhat ironic.
Get To Any page At Will
Complete Curriculum and Activities Available
The app works in English and Spanish. An in-app purchase of $1.99 adds French. But for $2.99, if this is used in school, or for home schoolers, you get a premium upgrade that's worth much more than the cost: well researched and valid curriculum.
Just in time for Halloween, Harry and the Haunted House is definitely high on my all time top ten list of favorites. It was released for iOS on October third, but it's really 18 years old. And therein lies a tale. But first, let's take a look at this excellent app. This is one of…
Just in time for Halloween, Harry and the Haunted House is definitely high on my all time top ten list of favorites. It was released for iOS on October third, but it's really 18 years old. And therein lies a tale. But first, let's take a look at this excellent app. This is one of…
Dumpster Diving in iPhoto
More often than I'd like to see, I have students and clients, overtaken by uncontrollable fear and dread, contact me about photos that once lived in iPhoto having disappeared. Or, another common issue, they were editing a photo and then come to find that they accidentally cropped out Aunt Matilda, and that was their only…
Atlas by Collins (iOS) is Beautiful but Flawed
Atlas by Collins, released October 18, is a world atlas for iOS. It has satellite, physical and political maps as well as plentiful information on population, communications and energy. You can zoom into any part of the globe to obtain detailed information about a region. Unfortunately, there are many technical flaws. ____________________ As with the…
iOS App Sizes Increase as Device Capacities Remain the Same
The average iOS app increased in size by 16 percent, to 23 megabytes, between March and September of 2012, according to a report released Tuesday by technology research firm ABI Research. The release of the third generation iPad with its Retina display, which allows for far more detailed graphical elements in applications, and Apple’s decision…
iOS 6: Per-Account Email Signatures
With iOS 6, we can now add custom signatures for each email account we own, as opposed to being forced to use just one. This is awesome for me and probably for anyone who uses many accounts for different purposes, and it's really easy to set up. I always say that, don't I? Well, in…
You’re Always In The Picture With Snap Clap For iOS
Every now and then an app will be released that is so simple, that many of us wonder why the feature is not already included in Apple’s default camera app? Snap Clap makes that distinction whilst ensuring group photographs are easily captured. Simply clap your hands when ready to capture the photograph and after a…
iTunes Match & iOS 6 - Looking at the Changes
Along with its Music app, Apple made some radical changes to iTune Match in iOS 6. While several useful features have been added to the service, several notable ones have also been removed or modified. A Unique “Thing”. Apple's iTunes Match is a unique service. Not necessarily unique in concept—both Amazon Cloud Player and Google…
Street View Returns to iOS as Part of Google Maps Web App
Street View is now available in most areas via the Google Maps Web app. The return of the popular feature, which was sacrificed for iOS users as Apple made the transition from Google’s mapping service to its own, will allay the fears of some iOS users who have struggled to find a suitable replacement since…
iOS 6: Using Lost Mode
We've had the ability to locate, lock, and send messages on lost Apple devices for some time now. But with iOS 6 and iCloud, there's a new feature called Lost Mode, which'll let whoever is keeping your precious iPhone make a call to a specified number. You can also use this to remotely track an…
Locating an App Within iOS is Too Hard
“The best way to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear is to start with a silk sow.” — Norman Augustine On the Mac, finding the location of an app and running it has always been trivial. However, in iOS, finding the exact location of an app isn’t so easy. And it’s getting worse…
How to Secure Your iOS Device with a Longer Passcode
Data security and privacy concerns are first and foremost in the minds of many iOS device users. Some are overly preoccupied about this, others don't pay much attention to it. I, on the other hand, take a middle-of-the-road approach. I tell my clients and students that security awareness is indeed very important, but paranoia isn't…
Voxer: What iMessage Should Be
The iPhone has a bunch of features that most folks never make use of. For instance, many never make use of the built in iOS emoticons. This is mainly because you have to jump through a few hoops to activate the little pictures, but once you do you'll have them for as long as you…
iOS 6: Replying to Calls with Messages
In iOS 6, we can now brush people off—I mean, respond to our phone calls more effectively. You may have noticed that when someone calls you, there's now a new little phone icon right next to Slide to Answer. HELLO? YES, THIS IS CAT. Slide that phone button upward, and you'll see new choices. You can…
The Trouble with iOS 6's Passbook App
I now know how to use Passbook. Perhaps, by now, you do as well. I don't expect to use this new iOS 6 app often quite yet, due to the limited number of companies that support it. However, I look forward to accessing Passbook more and more in the months ahead. Having a single location…
iOS 6: Seeing a List of Your Email Drafts
As I mentioned in a previous tip, there's a very simple way to access drafts you've started on your iOS device—just press and hold on the Compose button in the Mail app. But in iOS 6, this feature has become much, much better. Before, you could only bring back your last saved draft like that,…
iOS 6 Review: New Features & Rough Edges
On September 19, 2012, Apple released iOS6 with a customary wealth of new features. It’s a good upgrade, and worth installing. In fact, it's mandatory thanks to a myriad of security updates. But iOS is also showing some signs of strain. _____________________ The first thing you need to know about iOS 6 is that it…
iOS 6: A Two Map App System, Same as it Ever Was
It's been interesting watching the Google vs. Apple Maps in iOS 6 débâcle unfold. Apple is a very calculating company that rarely makes any rash moves without fully thinking them through first, which makes this all the more curious. What's interesting here is something I haven't seen noted before: With iOS 6 Apple simply took…