A folder in OS X Lion has been discovered by Mac OS X Hints that uses iCloud to automatically sync stored documents between Macs. While iCloud stores your saved documents from Mac and iOS devices on iCloud.com, Apple has yet to implement a polished, Dropbox-like way to let users sync iCloud data between desktop machines.
Tucked in the “Library” directory in Lion, the “Mobile Documents” folder syncs iCloud documents and app data between your devices. A nifty workaround lets you use this folder as a wirelessly-updated document hub for your Macs.
No, it’s not just you: Siri is down for users around the country, hard, with no ETA or fix in sight.
Users who try to access Siri get this response: “Sorry, I am having trouble connecting to the network.”
Of course, Siri’s labeled a beta product, and it’s likely Apple is already working on this problem. We’ll tell you more once we know what the hey’s going on ourselves.
When Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, people either loved or hated the virtual keyboard. I still have mixed feelings about it, but I definitely prefer the one on the iPad over the one on the iPhone. It accommodates my big hands and fingers by being a lot more responsive, and with buttons so big I’m less likely to make mistakes.
Although the iPad keyboard is good enough for most people, users with smaller hands or people who like to use their thumbs for data entry will be happy to know the iPad virtual keyboard in iOS 5 can be split into two pieces that can easily be accessed using your thumbs.
Think Android phones are pieces of junk? Now you’ve got the data to prove it. A recent study has conclusively proven Android phones are much more prone to breaking than iPhones and even BlackBerries, and their cheapness is costing telecoms big: up to $2 billion a year, in fact.
About twelve hours after iOS 5 was officially released, I went through the considerable bother of downgrading my iPad 2 back down to iOS 4.3. iOS 5 was a great update, but for me, it had one fatal problem: it broke my beloved Stanza e-reading app irrevocably, and going without Stanza on my iPad was as impossible to contemplate as living without Mail or Safari.
For Stanza lovers, the situation is extremely frustrating, because Stanza breaks so totally under iOS 5 that you can’t even load an ebook without the app crashing. However, the original developers can’t update the app, because they sold it to Amazon.
When Amazon originally bought Stanza back in 2009, they promised they weren’t buying Stanza just to kill some of the free competition to their own Kindle e-reader. And, in fact, Amazon has updated the product several times since 2009, notably to bring excellent iPad support to the app.
But with iOS 5, Amazon appears to have abandoned all support for Stanza. That’s particularly frustrating, because not only was Stanza the best non-commercial e-reader around, it had many features the competition still doesn’t have: for example, its excellent typesetting and formatting options, its wide range of supported formats and its killer swipe-to-dim feature, which makes reading ebooks easier on the eyes.
Did you miss the Steve Jobs documentary Steve Jobs: One Last Thing that aired last night on PBS or the UK’s Channel 4? Those nice guys over at public broadcasting have slung the whole movie up online for streaming, free.
My kids are huge fans of Disney’s interactive Cars toys for iPad, but if you’re after something a little more grownup, then maybe these iPawn game pieces from Jumbo are more your thing. They’re the first iPad accessory that aim to bring board games to life, by providing real pieces that work on your iPad’s touchscreen with a variety of games.
Remember HP’s fiasco with the Slate, then the TouchPad? You’d think the company would run from the tablet market like a Silicon Valley investor with his hair on fire — but you’d be wrong.
The Library folder changed from being visible in Mac OS X Snow Leopard to being invisible in Mac OS X Lion. Apple decided to hide the Library folder from users to protect them from damaging the contents of that folder. Although that makes some sense from a security perspective, there are times when you need to get into that folder for troubleshooting or other reasons.
We’ve showed you how to make the Library folder permanently visible, but today I’ll show you how to get temporary access to this folder. Using this method will give you access when you need it and at the same time give the folder the protection Apple thinks it deserves.
Remember the old line about the enemy of your enemy is your friend? Well, that could apply to how Apple views the Kindle Fire tablet from Amazon. Originally seen as a rival to the iPad, the $199 7-inch device could actually scramble an already disorganized band of Android-based Apple competitors.
Apple has targeted a number of mobile pornography websites that use the company’s popular smartphone in a bid to attract you to their saucy, one-hand wares. The Cupertino company has filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization which targets seven hardcore websites in total, all of which use the word ‘iPhone’ in their domain names.
In the details, though, the iPad 3 report is much more interesting, because it predicts Apple will miss a March/April release window for the iPad 3 and instead launch in late summer.
According to a recent survey, if you own a smartphone in the U.S., you’re likely younger than 35 years old. By contrast, if you are older than 45, a basic feature phone is likely your preferred handset. Welcome to the Smartphone Generation Gap.
A number of early iPhone 4S adopters who chose to purchase their device with a commitment from Sprint have been plagued with painfully slow data speeds when using the carrier’s 3G network. Despite having a full signal, some users have been subjected to data connections that are just unusable.
Following a recent statement that promised its data speeds matched those of its competitors, Sprint is now investigating the issue of slow data speeds, but claims that it is unable to replicate the problem.
Apple is supposedly is preparing to overhaul its key product trifecta: the iPhone, the iPad and iMac, as well as the MacBook Air in 2012. The report, based on the tech giant’s “upstream supply chain,” echos existing chatter the company will unveil new versions of its products in the coming year.
Apple pushed out an iOS 5.0.1 update to registered developers yesterday, which fixes a number of bugs and addresses an issue with poor battery life on a number of its devices. However, it also fixes another glitch that Apple didn’t mention: the iPad 2’s Smart Cover hack, which allowed anyone to gain access to your passcode protected device using only its Smart Cover.
Nothing says “hey baby, how you doin’ ” quite like expensive, cutting edge-technology wrapped in luxurious wool. Libratone’s new AirPlay-equipped Live and Lounge speakers don’t just say it, they sing it. With a European accent.
When Apple announced iCloud, it also announced the end of MobileMe web hosting.
If you’re among the small community of iWeb/MobileMe users who’ve been wondering what to do when MobileMe finally gets switched off next June, I suggest you take a look at Sandvox as one possible replacement.
So we’re all pretty aware by now that the iPhone has regressed back to it’s 3GS days and become a bit of an energy pig again. Battery-maker Mophie is appealling to a group of people who’d feel this most keenly — namely, the outdoor set, who tend to use the iPhone’s juice-sucking GPS — with the Mophie Outdoor ($120) battery for the iPhone 4/S.
Apple has sent out an email to developers saying that iTunes Match has updated alongside the release of iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2. The update includes a “number of important stability and performance improvements” and iTunes Match has now been made available for testing on the Apple TV.
Developers that have been using iTunes Match must update to iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2 to continue using the service. Once upgraded, iTunes Match can be enabled on all supported Apple devices. On the Apple TV, select “Music” and then “Turn on iTunes Match.” Your music will then be available for streaming on Apple’s set-top box.
Walter Isaacson’s warts-n-genius biography of Steve Jobs is a publishing sensation – over 380,000 copies sold in the U.S. alone in the six days since its October 24 launch.
Not surprisingly, pirated versions of the ebook are also a hit.
PBS is slated to air a new documentary on Steve Jobs tonight, November 2nd. The documentary will feature multiple interviews with several personalities that have been in contact with Jobs throughout the years, as well as rare clips from an interview with Jobs himself in 1994.
While the documentary will be airing on PBS in the US at 10:00 PM ET, the feature will also be aired on the UK’s Channel 4 tonight at 11:05 PM.
A cash-strapped county in Ohio hopes to help social workers become more efficient by equipping them with iPads. Instead of the hand-written notes many of them now take during house calls while working with at-risk kids, they can save time by typing on the tablet computer.
Dubbed “Operation iPad,” the $300,000 purchase of 187 Apple devices is considered a major upgrade for the staff at Jobs and Family Services in Hamilton County, Ohio.
Online retailer extraordinaire Amazon wants to become your steady real-world shopping companion.
They’ve launched a free augmented reality app called Flow for your iPhone. It works like this: you see something in a store, point your iPhone at its UPC code and a stream of information comes to you including product information, customer reviews and related products.
