One of the big, new features of the iPhone is its ability to tether. BlackBerrys have had this ability for a while, so below I have outlined how to tether your BlackBerry with your Mac to use your Internet connection to browse the web with your computer.

Some Things to Note

• This tutorial is for Leopard.
• I have successfully tested this with a BlackBerry Bold and a BlackBerry Curve 8900 using the 8800 modem drivers, but it should also work with the BlackBerry 8100, 8700 and 8800.
• Some service providers have a special tethering plan that you may need to add to your cell phone. (It will work without the tethering packing, but you might get slammed with overage charges if they catch you.)

Configure Your BlackBerry

1. Open “Manage Connections.”
2. Click the checkbox next to “Bluetooth” to turn Bluetooth on.
3. Scroll down to “Set up Bluetooth.”
4. A pop-up will come up to name your device; name it.
5. An “Add Device” pop up will come up; click “Cancel.”
6. Click the BlackBerry menu; select “Options.”
7. Set Discoverable to “Yes.”
8. Save changes.

Configure Your Mac

1. Download & Install BlackBerry modem scripts for OS X.
2. Go to System Preferences → Bluetooth.
3. Check “Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar.”
4. Click on the menu bar item and select “Set up Bluetooth Device.”
   
5. A pop-up will appear; click “Continue.”
6. Select “Mobile phone” as the type of device.
7. When the computer finds your phone, select it and click “Continue.”
8. You’ll be given a passkey. Enter the passkey into your BlackBerry.
9. After successfully pairing your computer with your BlackBerry, you will get a pop-up that asks, “Accept connection request from (your computer)?” Click the checkbox “Don’t ask again” and select “Yes.”
10. Your computer will now ask, “Access the Internet with your phone’s data connection?” Click the check box, and select “Continue.”
    
11. Enter the following information into the appropriate boxes. (This is for AT&T. Do a Google search for other vendors.):
    • Username: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
    • Password: CINGULAR1
    • Phone Number: wap.cingular
12. Save and close.
13. Now open up network preferences: Applications → System preferences → Network
14. Click the Plus Button.
    • Interface: Bluetooth
    • Service Name: Whatever you want, I named it “Tethered BB”
      
15. Enter in all the information again:
    • Username: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
    • Password: CINGULAR1
    • Phone Number: wap.cingular

    

16. Click “Advanced:”
    • Vendor: Research In Motion
    • Model: BlackBerry 8800
    • Dial mode: Ignore dial tone when dialing

    

17. Save Settings.

Connect to the Internet

Make sure Bluetooth is enabled on both you phone and your computer!

1. Click the Dialer icon in your menu bar.
2. Select Connect Tethered BB (or whatever you named your connection in step 14 of setting up your computer) from the drop-down menu.
3. After a few seconds you should be connected!

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• What to watch in mobile in 2013
• Mobile 2012 and beyond
• Takeaways from mobile’s second quarter

1. Type in and perform your search
2. On the results page click the “show options…” button in the blue bar
3. A sidebar will pop out, select “recent results”

Here’s a quick screencast video showing it in action:

WWD Screencast: Google Search Based on Time from WebWorkerDaily on Vimeo.

Another alternative to search news via Google is Google Blog Search. It specifically searches blog articles for whatever you want. One set back to just searching blogs is that you are not searching forums, and often times forums have more current and (sometimes) accurate information.

Have you been using Google’s time-filtered results? Do you think it is or isn’t an important feature based on your web search habits?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Personal tools lead to practical business
• Millennials in the enterprise, part 1: strategies for supporting the new digital workforce
• A 2011 NewNet Forecast

I recently switched from an iPhone to a BlackBerry. As I mentioned before, one of my BlackBerry dislikes is that it simply does not sync as nicely as the iPhone. Until recently, I thought I could only drag certain songs onto my BlackBerry and that there was no way to sync playlists. Turns out I was wrong, and the solution is provided by BlackBerry itself.

Below I have outlined how to transfer your iTunes playlists to your BlackBerry. This method also allows you to easily send podcasts to your phone, and the software described even has the “Automatically fill free space” option that was originally seen on the iPod shuffle.

1. Download and Install BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac
2. Fire up BlackBerry Media Sync
3. Select the playlists you would like on your BlackBerry
4. Click “Sync Device”

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Who and what to watch in the new era of the living room
• CES 2012: a recap and analysis
• Forecast: the future of the digital music industry

Some Things to Note

• This tutorial assumes you’re using a Mac on your home network with screen-sharing turned on, that it’s powered on most of the time, and that it has a static IP address (the tutorial explains how to do each of these things).
• You must have an external static IP address (my broadband Internet came with that).

Determine your External IP Address

We’re going to be referring back to this number a lot. Make sure you write it down.

1. Go to What is My IP Address?
2. Write down the number next to “Your IP Address is”
   

Set Your Computer to a Static IP Address

1. Launch System Preferences: Applications → System Preferences
2. Under the “Internet & Network” section, click on the “Network” icon
3. In the left hand menu, select the “Ethernet” or “Airport” device. (Select whichever one you are using to connect to your network, it will have a green ball next to it and say “Connected.”)
4. Click “Advanced”
   
5. Click the “TCIP/IP” tab
6. Write down the number next to “IPV4 Address” (from now on we’ll refer to this as your “Internal IP Address”)
   
7. In the “Configure IPV4″ pull down menu, select “Using DHCP with Manual address”
8. The box next to “IPV4 Address” will default to all zeros. Type in the number we wrote down in step 6 (your internal IP Address)
   
9. Close System Preferences

Set Up Screen-sharing on Your Computer

1. Launch System Preferences: Applications → System Preferences
2. Under the “Internet & Network” section, click on the “Sharing” icon
3. Select the checkbox next to “Remote Management”
4. A pop up will come up with a ton of checkboxes asking you what you would like to do when remotely managing. I checked everything and clicked “OK.”
   
5. Select the “Computer Settings” button
6. Check the box next to “VNC users may control screen with password” and enter a password in the text box next door. Click “OK” after you’ve entered a password.
   
7. Close System Preferences

Forward Port 5900

Port 5900 is the Apple VNC port. We need to forward from our external IP address to the computer that’s sharing files on our internal network.

Every router is different, so below I’ve outlined the basic steps. You’re going to have to consult your router’s documentation for exact instructions. Portfoward.com has documentation for a lot of routers and I also wrote an article for the Airport Extreme.

1. Log into your router. If you’ve left the router with the default configuration, launch a web browser and enter “192.168.1.1″ (most routers default to this IP). If this doesn’t work, consult your router’s manual for directions on how to get to the configuration panel.
2. Once you’re logged into your router, find the port forwarding section (mine was under the “Applications and Gaming” tab).
3. Forward both the TCP and UDP ports from the router to your file sharing computer’s IP Address.

Connect to your Computer Over the Internet

Now comes the fun part: connecting to our computer over the Internet.

1. Head over to SourceForge and download/install the latest version of Chicken of the VNC
2. Launch Chicken of the VNC. If you are currently on your home network (the network with the computer that has the screen we want to control) and did everything correctly by default, you should see the name of the computer you are trying to connect. All you have to do is type in the password we set earlier and click “Connect.”
3. To add a new location, click the small plus arrow in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
4. A pop-up window will ask you to name the location. Name it whatever you like.
5. In the “Host” box, replace the phrase “localhost” with the external IP address we determined earlier
6. In the “Password” box, type in the password we set earlier and select the “Remember Password” checkbox.
   
7. Click “Connect.” If you did everything correctly, you should be able to control your computer.

Optional Step: Forward a Domain Name to Your External IP Address

Remembering a domain name is much easier than remembering an IP address, so for this optional step we’re going to forward a domain name to our External IP address that we wrote down earlier. Then when we go to the “Connect to Server,” you can enter in the domain name instead of the IP address.

This guide is for GoDaddy, but the same basic procedure should apply for other domain registrars.

1. Purchase a domain at Godaddy.com.
2. Log into your Account Manager.
3. In the My Products section, click Domain Manager.
4. Click the domain name for which you want to create an A record.
5. In the Total DNS section, click Total DNS Control and MX Records.
6. Click Add New A Record.
7. Complete the following:

   Host Name: The host name the A record links to. You can enter @ to map the record directly to your domain.

   Points to IP Address: The external IP address that we wrote down earlier.

   TTL: The time increment for which the server should cache the information.

8. Click OK.

UPDATE: As some users have commented, opening ports on your firewall can pose a security risk. Always exercise extreme caution when opening ports and never give out your external IP address.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• How do developers ride the Siri wave?
• NewNet Q4: Platform mania and social commerce shakeout
• NewNet Q4: Platform mania and social commerce shakeout

1. Log into Gmail in any web browser
2. Click the “Details” button. It is located next to “Last Account Activity” below your Inbox (below your current mailbox usage info).



3. A pop up window will come up. Click the “Sign out of all other sessions” button.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• The 2013 task management tools market
• Web startups: How to guard against security breaches
• Personal tools lead to practical business

Here are the aliases I use, together with the labels I have set up:

• “cl” applies the label “craiglist”
• “rec” applies the label “recipe”
• “p” applies the label “pics”
• “bb” applies the label “blackberry”

To create filters to auto-apply your labels:

1. Click Settings->Filters
2. Scroll down to the very bottom and select “Create a new filter”
3. Enter your filter criteria (so in the case of my craigslist filter,  I would put “myemail +cl@gmail.com” in the “To” box)
   
4. Click “Next Step”
5. Click the checkbox next to “Apply the Label” and select the label you would like to apply from the pulldown (if the label does not exist already, select “new label”)
   This is also the step where you can forward, trash, etc. all emails from that address.
6. I always check the box next to “Also apply filter to x conversations below” and then select “Create Filter”

Bonus Tip:
This is for people who don’t have phones with email. You can use this method to create a rule that auto-forwards emails to your cell phone via text message (useful for emailing yourself directions, grocery lists, etc):

1. Click Settings->Filters.
2. Scroll down to the very bottom and select “Create a new filter”.
3. Enter your filter criteria: “myemail+m@gmail.com” in the “To” box.
4. Click “Next Step”.
5. Click the checkbox next to “Forward it to” and enter in your phone’s SMS-to-email address. Below is a list of the most popular carriers and how to figure out your phone’s SMS-to-email address:
   • T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
   • Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com
   • ATT: phonenumber@txt.att.net
   • Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
   • Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
   • Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com
6. Select “Create Filter”.

How do you use aliases?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• The 2013 task management tools market
• Web startups: How to guard against security breaches
• Personal tools lead to practical business

I recently switched from my iPhone to a BlackBerry. A few weeks after the transition, I have discovered my likes and dislikes between phones, and by far the most frustrating difference is the “syncing with computer” feature. An iPhone is literally plug and play, whereas a BlackBerry requires tons of configuration, even for the simplest tasks.

Below I have roughly outlined how to send files between your BlackBerry and computer via Bluetooth.

Pair BlackBerry to your computer

1. On your BlackBerry, turn on Bluetooth.
2. From your manage connections menu on your BlackBerry select “Set up Bluetooth.”
3. Click the menu button and select “Options.”
4. Next to discoverable, select “Yes.”
5. On your Mac, launch System Preferences (Applications → System Preferences).
6. Under the “Hardware” section click on the “Bluetooth” icon.
7. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on. Click the “Set up New Device” icon in the middle of the Bluetooth window. (If you already have a device set up, click the plus arrow in the device column.)
8. The setup wizard will pop up. Click “Continue” on the first pop-up window.
9. On the “Select Device Type” window select “Mobile Phone.”
10. Select your phone from the next screen and click continue.
11. Your computer will prompt you with a PIN to enter into your BlackBerry. Enter the PIN into the BlackBerry device.
12. If you entered the PIN correctly, your devices will be paired.
13. Uncheck the “Access the Internet with your phone’s data connection” box.
14. Your phone is now paired with your computer.

Turn on Bluetooth file-sharing on your Mac

1. Launch System Preferences (Applications → System Preferences).
2. Under the “Internet & Network” section, click on the “Sharing” icon.
3. In the “Services” column, select the checkbox next to “Bluetooth Sharing.”
   
4. Leave everything as default. (You can change the preferences if you want, but I just left as the default.)
5. Close System Preferences.

Send a file from your BlackBerry to your Mac

1. Browse your BlackBerry’s media and find the file that you want to transfer.
2. With the file selected, pull up your BlackBerry menu and select “Sending Using Bluetooth” from the BlackBerry menu.
3. A pop-up will come up on your BlackBerry asking you to select a device. Select the paired computer you want to transfer the file to.
4. A pop-up window will appear on your computer asking what you want to do. Accept the transfer, and the file will start transferring.

Send a file from your Mac to your BlackBerry

1. Pull up your BlackBerry media browser on your device.
2. Open the menu and select “Receive Using Bluetooth.”
3. On your Mac, find the file you want to transfer and right-click on it.
4. From the pop-up menu, select “More → Send [...] to Bluetooth Device” and select your phone from the pop out menu.
   
5. Make sure you BlackBerry isn’t asleep. If you make a successful connection, you will get a pop-up on your BlackBerry asking what to do with the file. Select the location you want the file to save and and click “Save.” The file will begin to transfer. NOTE: I’ve had this fail a few times, but when I hit send again from my Mac computer it works; seems like second time is the charm. Making sure your BlackBerry is not asleep is also crucial.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Mobile Q2: Smartphone growth surges; iPad’s rule continues
• How Speech Technologies Will Transform Mobile Use
• What to watch in mobile in 2013

While rehearsing the presentation, however, it became apparent that we were going to need to reorder and remove pages from the document. Turns out this is a very easy procedure in Leopard.

Here’s how to edit PDFs using Preview (Preview is built into Leopard):

1. Open your PDF with Preview. (It should default to open with Preview, but if not, right-click on the file and select Open With → Preview)
   
2. You should now have a little drawer on the side of your PDF.
   
   To manipulate the document:
   • Delete a page: Command + Delete
   • Move a page: Click and hold on the page and drag to reorder
   • Add another PDF: Drag the PDF into the sidebar
3. When you’re done, make sure you save the document. File → Save As

A Third-Party (slightly more robust) Solution

Before I discovered this method I was using third-party software called Combine PDFs. Combine PDFs let me remove & reorder pages as well as combine multiple PDFs just like Preview, but it also let me add a simple password to protect my PDF files and apply different filters, including one that reduced the PDF size. Combine PDFs is free for the casual user; a license is only required if you use it regularly. Combine PDFs will allow you to test the functionality with processing up to 1,000 PDF pages, which should be fine for most users.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• How do developers ride the Siri wave?
• Connectivity means making the machine disappear
• Access vs. ownership: Why UltraViolet has already lost

I must admit, getting an iPhone has changed my media consumption habits a great deal. Pre-iPhone I would always have my iPod with me to listen to music, but that is all I would do. Now that I have my iPhone, I still listen to music from the iPod feature and stream music, but I also actually watch movies. Even though I had an iPod video before my iPhone I never watched videos on it; the screen was simply too small.

I am always on the hunt for software that makes my life easier, and I have finally found the holy grail of simple video conversion: Evom.

Before I found Evom, I was using HandBrake. HandBrake is “an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.” I will be the first to admit that HandBrake can handle pretty much any video thrown out it (and it’s free!), but it is definitely not “drag and drop.” I am sure a lot of users love the ability to tweak every little video setting, but I simply do not care. I want to drag a video into the program and completely forget about it. Enter Evom.

Converting a video is a two-step process: Select or drag movies, folders, or links into Evom, and then select your destination. If your destination is your iPod, Evom will automatically import the video into your iTunes library. Next time I sync my iPhone, my files are already there waiting for me, which is great because I usually load my iPhone with videos the night before traveling while I am trying to pack, so having my videos ready to go is a great time saver.

Another cool feature of Evom is the browser bookmarklet. Add the Evom bookmarklet to your browser, and you get one-click-downloading on flash video sites like YouTube.

As you can probably tell, I love the simplicity of Evom and am very excited for the final version to be released; however, Evom is currently in beta. There is no price listed on Evom’s web site, but after poking around in the preferences of the current version, it is clearly going to be a paid application. Unfortunately, when I clicked the “Buy a License” button in the preferences section of Evom I was brought to a broken URL, so I have no actual evidence of what the application will cost when the developers take the software out of beta.

It should be noted that a single user license of iPod Rip, the software that lets you copy music and movies off your iPod onto your computer that was developed by the same company, costs $19.95, so I would guess that Evom would be priced similarly.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• How do developers ride the Siri wave?
• When video gets democratized, who wins and who loses?
• Connectivity means making the machine disappear

As a general rule, you should calibrate your battery every month or two to keep it running in top form.

To calibrate your laptop’s battery:

1. Plug your laptop in and let it charge completely (your battery icon in the menu bar will be completely full and the charger’s connector light turns green).
2. Keep the laptop plugged in for another two hours (after it is fully charged).
3. Disconnect your laptop from power. Use it until it falls asleep from low battery.
4. Turn off the laptop and let it “rest” for about five hours.
5. Plug your laptop back in and let it fully charge.

It is completely fine to use your laptop during all of these steps (except, of course, when the computer is asleep).

Calibrating your laptop battery every few months is a great way to ensure you get the longest life out of it. If you’ve had your laptop for a little while and want to know the current maximum capacity of your battery, you can use the free coconutBattery utility.

coconutBattery isn’t just a tool which shows you only the current charge of your battery – it also shows you the current maximum capacity of it in relation to the original capacity your battery had as it left the factory. You also get information about the battery-loadcycles (how often did you fully load your battery), the current charger (coconutBattery even warns you if you plugged in a wrong charger for your Notebook) and last but not least information about the age of your Mac.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• New challenges for the IT organization
• Mobile Q2: Smartphone growth surges; iPad’s rule continues
• What Google’s Honeycomb Means for Apple and Microsoft