Hopefully, receiving unwanted calls or messages is not a problem for you, but unfortunately, it is for many. It can start as a minor annoyance, but quickly turn into a major probem if it isn't addressed quickly enough. No one should have to put up with this.
There are two ways to mitigate this annoyance/problem. One way is to simply avoid answering the call or replying to the message each time. The problem with this method is you are still subjected to knowing that they are calling and/or messaging you. The alternative (and much better, long-term solution) would be to add that person to a list of blocked callers
Siri is AWESOME! I use it at home, at the office, on the road, at play… it’s safe to say that I use it all the time for lots of different reasons. One of my favorite ways to use Siri is to place phone calls and send messages hands-free (speaking of hands-free, you should also read this tip!). Sometimes, Siri makes me chuckle with the way she pronounces names. Usually, she’s pretty close, but sometimes, she is way off!
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to train Siri how to pronounce names the right way. How? By just talking to her, of course!
When Apple released iOS 9.3 on March 21, it included a slew of new features. One feature in particular has caught the eye of many people, literally. The feature is called "NIght Shift" and is pretty interesting.
So what is Night Shift and how does it work? Studies have shown that too much "blue light" in the evening is detrimental to our circadian rhythm. In other words, our bodies are designed to consume less blue light as we wind down for bed time, not more. Staring at a bright computer display (laptop, iPhone, iPad... you name it) doesn't allow for that natural process to take place. Instead, the excess blue light tricks out bodies into thinking it's still day time. Hence, the disruption to our circadian rhythm. Night Shift solves that problem (well, as much as it can) and here's how.
The Notes app gained a major security feature when Apple released the free updates to iOS 9.3 and OS X 10.11.4,.. the ability to securely lock individual notes! This is a welcome improvement for many of us who store secure information in the Notes app.
Using this new security feature may not be obvious to many, but because I think everyone should know how to use it, I will walk you through it step-by-step. Here we go!
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.
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.
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!
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
