With Oktoberfest in full swing and people around the world celebrating beer, it seems an appropriate time to review some iPhone great apps for real beer lovers. No beer pong apps here; these are all about enjoying the actual beverage itself (responsibly, of course). Read more »
Like many others, I find the iPad on-screen keyboard lacking, and the problem with a combo keyboard and case is that the keyboard is limited in size by the size of the iPad. Luckily, Logitech has introduced a new accessory that works around that limitation. Read more »
For fans of streamed music, another choice has arrived on the iPhone. Turntable.fm’s official, free iPhone app hit the App Store today. It requires nothing more than your Facebook credentials to get started, and looks to bring the success of the desktop version to Apple devices. Read more »
With OS X Lion’s incredible success and high adoption rate, Apple customers and repair technicians such as myself are facing higher than usual rates of embarrassment thanks to Lion’s ability to restore your windows exactly as they were when an app was closed. Read more »
Since music subscriptions services like Spotify and Pandora are all the rage, I wanted to listen to them in my car instead of the same boring CDs. To achieve my goal as painlessly as possible, I checked out a range of Bluetooth A2DP in-car streaming solutions. Read more »
Macs are fairly dependable, but there will still be occasions when you have to take them in for service at an Apple Authorized Service Provider. This can take some doing, so here are three tips about things you might not think about when moving your Mac. Read more »
With Mac products so popular on college campuses these days, here are some tips to make sure your (or your kids’) college Mac experience goes as smoothly as possible, and won’t end up completely derailed if it does run into a few bumps. Read more »
One of the most dreaded questions in any household is “what’s for dinner?” The question is fraught with complex issues of family responsibilities, finances, and personal preferences. While it won’t do the dishes, iPhoto has become an indispensable meal planning tool in my family. Read more »
As I try to carry my iPad more and my MacBook less, one of the key reasons I still needed a portable computer was scanning. I’ve tested many portable scanners that still needed a computer, but now Visoneer offers a cross-platform, device-independent mobile scanning solution. Read more »
Over the past year I’ve been using my iPhone to help me lose weight. I lost over 70 pounds, thanks in large part to my iPhone. Here’s a list of the tools I used to accomplish my goal, and how they could help you accomplish yours. Read more »
Despite warnings that your Rosetta apps won’t run under Lion, some applications are simply irreplaceable and have no effective post-Lion alternative. All is not lost. Here are three solutions that will let you access those old applications, and only two of them require pre-upgrade planning. Read more »
While many of us figuratively feel like we sleep with our iPhone, I’ve been literally doing just that for the past few months, testing a variety of sleep monitoring and maintenance tools. Here’s what I found out about sleeping with machines. Read more »
Apple is dropping Rosetta from OS X Lion, which means PowerPC-only apps won’t work on Macs running the operating system. It might surprise you how many still-useful and used apps that will leave out in the cold. Here’s a few, and some replacement suggestions. Read more »
SSDs are making new computers blazingly fast. But how do they affect the performance of older machines? I tested an SSD in my original black MacBook (circa 2006) to find out if it could help my aging beauty get back her youthful charm. Read more »
With WWDC well underway, you might have heard a few words related to computer programming that even Mac experts have trouble understanding, but it happens to the best of us. Here’s a quick glossary of the programming terms that are probably most likely to confuse. Read more »
Although Apple discontinued new signups for MobileMe on Monday, iCloud syncing won’t be available until the fall, and most likely will only be available for those running iOS 5 and Lion. What’s an Apple fan to do in the meantime? Go to a competitor. Read more »
MacDefender is the latest, and arguably the most significant Mac malware threat we’ve seen in a long time. Apple support reportedly isn’t offering help over the phone to affected customers, but doing so could set a costly precedent, and there’s arguably a better solution available long-term. Read more »
After reading Darrell’s excellent appraisal of Apple’s new retail model, I had to run out and see fit for myself. After all, 10 years ago Apple’s minimalist approach was unusual and out of step. Is Apple Retail 2.0 a step forward, or a step back? Read more »
Most of the time what I say on iChat is unimportant and would bore any eavesdropper, but on occasion I need to communicate some sensitive info, and I feel uncomfortable doing that over an unsecured connection. Luckily, with MobileMe there’s a way to make it secure. Read more »
With my recent purchase of an iPhone 4, I began a search for the perfect protective case. Surprisingly few products offer a high level of protection, and even some previous brand leaders are opting for fashion over function. Which one can I trust my precious to? Read more »
Starting on May 2, AT&T DSL customers have a cap of 150 GB, and U-verse customers have 250 GB of bandwidth (combined upload and download) per month. Here are 10 tips to economize your bandwidth usage and prevent unexpected overages both for the newly oppressed. Read more »
Since my business runs on iCal, I approached the CalDAV upgrade for MobileMe Calendar users (which becomes mandatory May 5) with reluctance and some healthy fear. Here are my recommendations and a walkthrough of the process that should hopefully make the task less daunting for you. Read more »
As grilling season begins in the U.S., the mystery behind the “hottest” product at Macworld 2011 becomes much more pertinent: what is the iGrill and does it work? And more importantly, is it worth it? I put my culinary skills on the line to find out. Read more »
Sheet-fed USB portable scanners, like the Neat Receipts, Doxie and Fujitsu Scansnap S1100, can make tax time a bit easier and bring that paperless office dream a little closer to being a reality. But which portable scanning solution is right for you? Read more »
An iPhone stand that costs almost as much as an iPhone ($169) will raise a few eyebrows, mine included. Yet, I was simply amazed at what a masterful piece of art and engineering the RokForm folks created with the Rokstand, a mighty marvel of industrial engineering. Read more »
Recently the App Store has been in the news quite a bit for some controversial apps it accepted, and it seems a route savvy marketers can now use to skip traditional media and go straight for big exposure. But is it good for Apple? Read more »
For the average iPhone or iPad user, there’s probably no such thing as too much power. Luckily, a myriad of products in a variety of styles exist to help the power-challenged. Which is best? It depends on what you want to use it for. Read more »
I used the weekend to do some analysis of the iPad 2′s performance. Geoffrey Goetz ran the iPad 2 through a series of performance measurement tools, but I took the old-fashioned approach to see how it measured up in terms of real world usage. Read more »
As an experienced user of various credit card processing services, I know why VeriFone is concerned enough about Square to employ the kind of scare tactics found in yesterday’s “open letter” — Square is poised to revolutionize the credit card payment industry in a big way. Read more »
Virgin Mobile provides a MiFi option that doesn’t require a contract, ideal for use with your iPad. It even uses the same hardware as Verizon’s. Best of all this gives you access to a whole new network (specifically, Sprint’s). Too good to be true? Read more »
Sunday’s special meeting of Apple employees was about Apple’s “Joint Venture,” a new service Apple will reportedly unveil Wednesday that will provide extensive Mac service coverage on up to five machines to small businesses for $499 a year. Sounds good, but some stand to lose out. Read more »
Not all is fun and games in the App Store, especially in some freemium titles, where children are racking up credit card charges via in-app purchases of various game add-ons. Apple needs to move quickly to address this troubling flaw in the App Store. Read more »
If you haven’t looked at your iCal recently, we’re less than a week away from Valentine’s Day and if you haven’t made your dining plans yet, time’s running out. Pull out your iPhone and let’s look at apps that will help you with your culinary plans. Read more »
One of the sleeper features of the Mac App Store was Apple’s new approach to “suite” products. Instead of forcing users to upgrade the entire iLife suite, applications are available as individual purchases. Hopefully, it’s a model Apple adopts across the OS. Read more »
Android users have had Google Shopper for over a year now. Google finally decided to port the app over to iOS, and it became available in the App Store yesterday. We took it out for a spin to see how it performs in the real world. Read more »
Macworld Expo 2011 has drawn to a close and, despite its name, this year the show had little to do with the Mac. Instead, the iPad took center stage, and the show gave a great glimpse into the future of Apple’s supporting players. Read more »
Apple today extended its social media presence by creating a Twitter account for the App Store. After 10 billion purchases, I guess Apple realizes the store is pretty popular and might just become even more so through a little additional exposure. Read more »
Got hardware problems? There is no one clear leader in the Mac DIY repair market. When shopping for a hardware troubleshooting utility, choosing the right one can be difficult. What’s a wise shopper to do? Read this guide, of course. Read more »
New iPad ads show users effortlessly printing with the tap of a finger. Unfortunately, the reality doesn’t match the ads: AirPrint, introduced in iOS 4.2, only works with 16 printers, all from HP. Luckily, there are third-party solutions to this limitation. Read more »
Now that Verizon has the iPhone, will I switch? No, for the simple reason that AT&T has done a good job of making sure that switching would be detrimental to a number of my relationships: with AT&T itself, with other iPhone users, and with business contacts. Read more »
