Adobe is finally making its first venture in to the hardware market, and it's doing so with the highly anticipated stylus and ruler combo it first teased a year ago. That combo, Ink and Slide, work together to turn your iPad into a full-on art tablet, but not like any stylus that's come before. At…
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3 Free Do It Yourself Apps for iPhone and iPad
That's when I ran into a huge list of stuff I should have done over the years, but haven't for some reason. (Laziness is likely the real reason). There's a door that needs to be trued, a bathroom that needs painting, some patches on the lawn that defies every attempt to keep it sodded, a…
Samsung Galaxy S5 Misses Sales Targets, Disappoints Korean Securities Firms
Analysts sour on Samsung over missed Galaxy S5 shipment goals Analysts had expected the Galaxy S5 to give Samsung's smartphone sales a big boost, but that hasn't been the case. With declining faith in Samsung's ability to compete with the iPhone and other smartphone makers, analysts are becoming more critical of the company. Shipping 15…
NSA Eavesdropping: Your iPhone isn't Safe Even when it's Off
Think your smartphone is safe when it's off? The NSA may still be able to activate it's mic. The idea that the NSA, or National Security Agency, can remotely activate your iPhone's microphone and listen in on your conversations surfaced when Edward Snowden leaked secret government documents a year ago documenting widespread surveillance on U.S.…
WWDC14: Why No New Hardware Was Announced
Tim Cook at WWDC keynote. Credit: Apple First, when we look at Apple's traditional line of products, the dates of the last updates are as follows, from oldest to newest. Mac mini – October 2012 Apple TV – March 2013 iMac – September 2013 MacBook Pro – October 2013 iPad Air – October 2013 iPad…
The Most Important Thing to Know About Apple Makes All the Difference
________________________ There are many things that a company can do with technology these days to make money. In fact, the Internet age seems to be about nothing else than dreaming up new software schemes to make money even if it means deceiving the customer, say, in a EULA or probing into people's lives to make…
How to Make the iOS 7.1.1 Touch ID Fix Work For You
Touch ID is capable of scanning and storing up to five fingerprints With the release of the iOS 7.1 update last March, Apple acknowledged these issues by including an “improvement of Touch ID fingerprint recognition.” While I continued to enjoy flawless access via Touch ID on my iPhone 5s, I was indeed aware of several…
Why Apple Didn't Try to Copy Google Glass
Google Glass had a nifty sci-fi feel to it when the product first came out. Along the way, however, Google apparently failed to fully appreciate both why the product should exist in the chosen form and the social aspects of the device. Calls for Apple to quickly follow Google's lead now look silly. ______________________ The…
Microsoft Word for iPad Gets Touch Word Processing (Mostly) Right
Through the decades, we've never known anything else but Microsoft Word for Windows and Mac. In late March, however, Microsoft brought its monolithic word processing software to the iPad, a totally new paradigm from its PC legacy. Right away we see the familiar workings of Word, including cross-platform file compatibility. But it's also developed with many of the key…
A Next Generation Stylus: TruGlide Apex Uses Electronic Magic
Introduction – Why a $60 Stylus? Apple's iOS devices are designed to work without a stylus. There's a reason for that: Steve Jobs didn't believe in them. “God gave us 10 styluses, let’s not invent another,” he told Walter Isaacson, his biographer. And yet. There are times when a stylus is useful. Indeed splendid. It…
3 Free iOS Apps For Those Who Love To Read
Unlike the skill of cursive writing, reading appears to be an ability we must have even as the technology that supports and present the text we read is changing. In fact, it is because of rapidly evolving technology that being able to read and read quickly has become almost as essential to our social lives…
What's the ONE New Thing You Have Time For in Your Life?
______________________ When the original iPad came out in 2010, its was after there had been a lot of discussion about how a tablet would fit in between a notebook computer and an iPhone. Some thought there was no room, but then they were proved wrong. The tablet concept, as instantiated by Apple, was so brilliant,…
Just How Does Apple Make its OSes so Desirable?
______________________________ In the days of the PC wars, in the early 1990s, Apple struggled mightily against Windows with a superior OS. But then Microsoft made a giant leap forward with Windows NT in the early-mid 1990s, leaving the technically inferior Mac OS in the dust. To make a long story short, that we know well,…
Digital Content: How to Avoid Paying for Everything
___________________________ The idea must be that if enough content is thrown out there, things like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, and a couple of million iOS and Android apps, people will just keep buying stuff and corresponding revenues will rise. The guiding principle I've always used to fight this assault is Sturgeon's Law. That is,…
Power Practical's Lithium 4400 Is a Battery Charger and Lantern
The Lithium 4400 Battery Bank is a handy, hand-size rechargeable battery from Power Practical. It also provides a white LED lantern with the flick of a switch. Lithium 4400 battery charger It charges an iPhone up to three times between charges and on average it can charge a smartphone in 60-90 minutes. Included with the…
Samsung Delay Tactics: Beyond Reason
Apple called out Samsung in court for over the top delay tactics Apple was handed a major win in August 2012 when a Federal Jury returned a verdict that Samsung was infringing on a long list of mobile device patents while at the same time finding that Apple wasn't infringing on any of Samsung's patents.…
How to Manage and Troubleshoot Touch ID on iPhone 5s
As of this writing, the iPhone 5s is the first iOS device that supports Apple’s new fingerprint identity sensor called Touch ID. With this novel approach to data access via biometrics, getting into your phone couldn't be faster and easier. Now that iPhone has been on the market for over six years, it comes as…
iPhoto 9.5 for OS X Shows Little Change but Still Shines
iPhoto is Apple's easy-to-use but essential and free photo browser, manager and editor. iPhoto helps you easily manage and edit your digital photos in exciting ways. You can easily share your favorite memories with family and friends. iPhoto has been with us a long time – since 2002, in fact. As part of the iLife…
How to Manage Your iOS Device Backups
Backups – some of us love them, many of us love to hate them, a good number of us don’t even bother. The fact is, most typical personal computer users (including those who use smartphones and tablets) are unclear about their own data backup status or consciously choose not to back up. Happily, with a…
Hackers Work Around iPhone 5s Touch ID Security
The iPhone 5s has been available for only three days and already a group has found a way to bypass the smartphone's Touch ID fingerprint-based authentication system. The group concocted an elaborate system to replicate a fingerprint that's associated with a particular iPhone 5s, and the hack requires physical access to the device. Apple's Touch…
iOS 7: Far More than Another Pretty Face
You know when someone says they remodeled and you show up expecting to see a fresh coat of paint and a new rocker chair from Ikea, but instead find a new kitchen, hardwood floors instead of shag carpet, and a bathroom with a heated floor that's been enlarged to take up that old spare bedroom?…
iPhone 5s: It Doesn't Make Sense to Steal Your Finger
The iPhone 5s includes Touch ID, Apple's new fingerprint recognition technology. You can use it to unlock your iPhone and authenticate for iTunes Store payments, but Touch ID is raising concerns that criminals will now cut off your finger when they steal your shiny new iPhone. The crooks that want your iPhone are better off…
Just Mobile's Gum++ Battery Charger Is Small And Solid
Just Mobile has added to its line of battery chargers with the introduction of the Gum++. This charger, which offers a 6000 mAh battery capacity, is encased in a glossy, “hard-wearing” ABS plastic shell and is available in black, silver and white. Gum++ battery charger The battery will recharge a smartphone up to three times on…
Canaccord Raises AAPL Target on iPhone 5s Expectations
Following the introduction of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley raised his target price for Apple's stock from US$530 up to $550. Mr. Walkley thinks Apple's aggressive rollout plans, plus the strong feature set on the iPhone 5s will drive up revenue during the holiday buying season. Canaccord Genuity: iPhone…