• Uncategorized

    iOS: Working With AssistiveTouch

    June 16, 2012 /

    Meghan came home the other day asking me how to get rid of “the little circle” on the screen of her iPod Touch.  Now Meghan has started playing with the settings on her iPod learning about what it can do so I wasn’t too worried about it, until I couldn’t figure out how to turn of Assistive Touch.

    What is AssistiveTouch?
    According to the iPod touch iOS 5.1 manual, Assistive Touch is described this way:

    “AssistiveTouch helps you use iPod touch if you have difficulty touching the screen or pressing the buttons. You can use a compatible adaptive accessory (such as a joystick) together with AssistiveTouch to control iPod touch. You can also use AssistiveTouch without an accessory to perform gestures that are difficult for you.”

    So it gives you an alternative way of manipulating your iOS 5 device if you have trouble working with the buttons or on screen controls.  OK, that’s cool.

    Turning AssistiveTouch On and Off
    To turn AssistiveTouch on, head over to:
    Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch > ON or OFF

    This was the part that threw me for a loop.  On Meghan’s iPod touch, the AssistiveTouch was set to OFF, however, the “ball” at the bottom right of the screen was still there.  I got rid of it by toggling the open ON than OFF again.
    Once you turn on AssistiveTouch you can manipulate various functions of your iOS 5 device.

    You can download the iPod touch iOS 5 manual in PDF format from the Apple website.

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  • apple,  appletv,  ios,  itunes,  itunes match,  Uncategorized

    Apple Introduces the New AppleTV with Support for 1080p Video [U]

    March 8, 2012 /

    Along side the third generation iPad, Apple introduced the third generation AppleTV.  The “tiny entertainment powerhouse” as it is referred to by Apple, now supports 1080p videos downloaded from the iTunes Store for playback on your 1080p television and had a new, streamlined user interface.

    The third generation AppleTV retains the same $99 price point.  AppleTV’s tentpole features include: video playback from iTunes Store purchase, Netflix,  YouTube and major league baseball streaming video (subscriptions maybe required), AirPlay, iCloud support, iTunes Match, and Photo Stream.

    Owners of the second generation AppleTV will gain access to the new user interface and software features by way of a free iOS software update.

    For more details or to order the new AppleTV, visit the Apple website.

    Update

    The new AppleTV will go on sale next Friday, March 16, at the same time the new iPad goes on sale.  Unlike the new iPad, Apple does not appear to be taking pre-orders for the new AppleTV and the website is still showing a 1-2 week lead time.

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  • Uncategorized

    Rumors Suggest iPhone 5 On Schedule for “Fall” Launch

    September 4, 2011 /

    A pair of iPhone 5 launch rumors suggest that the new Apple phone is on track for an October launch.  Both This Is My Next and Boy Genius Report have documents suggesting that iPhone 5 will go live in October.

    BGR has gotten their hands on an Best Buy document that says that the iPhone 5 will become available for pre-order the first week of October.  The same notice indicated that Sprint will be included along side AT&T and Verizon when the phone launches.

    Along the same lines, another Best Buy document indicates that stores will be receiving a new Apple fixture according to This Is My Next.

    “To be clear, this isn’t a run-of-the-mill installation for the big box — our tipster tells us that the request that a manager be on-hand at 6AM is out of the ordinary (they usually show up at 7AM for inventory), and that a similar arrangement was scheduled for the iPhone 4 launch.”

    It looks like things are still on track for a “fall” release of the iPhone 5 this year.  (By the way, “summer” ends on September 21.)  Could we be looking at an end of September reveal, followed a week later of pre-sales, followed two weeks later by a full on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint retail launch?  Let’s hope so, because my Palm Pre Original is starting to look really old.

    [Via This Is My Next.com, BGR.com…]

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  • Uncategorized

    Apple Wireless Keyboard + iPad

    April 21, 2011 /

    Apple Wireless Keyboard

    Earlier today I dropped by my local Best Buy. No, not to buy an iPad 2 – everyone knows that they are sold out.

    I stopped by because I had a gift card and felt like playing with other people’s money today. After looking around for a few minutes, I decided that I would “look” in the Apple Store section.

    There on the shelf was an open box Apple Wireless Keyboard. Normally, the sell for $69 dollars, but this was $61. The box appeared to be in good condition so I picked it so I can pair it up with my 32GB iPad. it seemed like a better choice than the Apple iPad dock with built-in keyboard because I would be able to use my new Bluetooth keyboard with more devices.

    After spending about 5 minutes setting it, I’m very happy with my new “toy”. I also picked up a copy of the new iPad blogging app Blogsy, with which I’m writing this post with.

    The keyboard, obviously, works with the iPad as well at other iOS devices. You can also use the keyboard with a Bluetooth enabled Mac running current editions of OS X. While I haven’t tried it yet myself, if you have a Windows Vista or Windows 7 PC, and a Mac OS X/Boot Camp disc handy, you should be able to install the Apple drive for the keyboard and use it with your Windows box too. (Not too bad, if I do say so myself.)

    The compact size of the keyboard means it is small enough to be carried around with me and my iPad so I can bang out blog post, long emails, or touch type and take notes in the many note taking and task management applications for iOS. I also like that fact that the face of the mini keyboard is metal. (The bottom plate is plastic.) The Apple Wireless Keyboard is powered by two AA batteries (included). This is a nice second keyboard, however, if it was going to be my primary, every day keyboard that I was going to use with my Mac Pro or MacBook Pro, I like the older Apple Wireless Pro keyboard better since it is larger and has a numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard.

    The Apple Wireless Keyboard is available now at Apple Stores, Apple resellers like Best Buy, and online at Apple.com for $69.00.

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