Personal Technology Tips in Plain English
iPhone
The M(oblie) Generation & The iPad Dad
Oct 19th
It used to be that you went to with your black and white marbled composition notebooks.
Then loose-leaf binders — those Trapper Keepers were the best!
These days it’s quite different, even for the littlest ones in our grade schools. . .
This month, I was interviewed as an iPad Dad for Forbes Magazine — they were looking to uncover what’s happening in our schoolhouses across the country. Originally, I thought I was at the forefront with my kids. But in reality, our kids aren’t as much of an outlier as I initially thought.
At this point, the iPad has taken the first steps for tablets in becoming the notebook killer in our schools.
According to Forbes, over 2,300 schools have brought in the iPad to the classroom. And in fact, over 600 schools have set-up a 1:1 ratio in classes.
The iPad is inspiring the sort of learning and creativity in Jahng’s kids that Heathkits, crystal radios and, let’s be frank, PCs, did for generations past.
Here’s the article that come out in Forbes:
Education no longer is just about the content, but also about the medium. That impacts creation, curation and consumption all together.
It’s refreshing to see our schools embracing the need to look at the curriculum from such a different approach. The final trajectory promises to certainly be quite different for this M(obile) Generation.
What do you think about all this tech in the classroom? Good for the kids? Bad? Share a comment below.
Are You A Text-a-holic? Yeah, I’m Talking To YOU.
Sep 17th
A friend just sent me a link to a parody video and said I was the first person to cross the mind while watching it.
Are you one of those people that have the phone handset glued to your palm? You can’t put down because you’re doing one of a couple of things, over and over and over again, even if it’s not for texting alone:
- Checking your email since the last time you pressed check email 1 second ago
- Browsing your Facebook app
- Trying to take photos and tweet them to the world that isn’t really listening since you have only have 12 followers
- Checking your email in between tasks
- Texting a friend 2 C wuzup?
- Downloading totally useless apps and playing them whenever you get a chance.
- Checking your email just in case you missed an email that might have just came in.
IS THIS YOU?
Here’s the funny video — check it out for yourself:
What do you think?
It’s funny alright. . .
But is it true?!
Frrrrrring Fring! Frrring FRING! Video Calls over 3G
Dec 31st
2010 might be remembered as the race to the face.
Why?
Because, Apple first introduced Facetime video calling over WiFi for all iPhone 4 owners.
Next, it launched Facetime for Macs.
Now, we’re seeing 3rd parties come into the game like Skype with Video Calling over 3G and the iPhone.
Here’s the latest entry into the video calling over 3G game: Fring.
I have Fring on my iPhone already, and now the app’s been updated to add a 3rd way to connect: IM, Calling, and now — Video.
Fring’s advantage is like Skype in that you can call more than just other iPhone 4 users.
And you can do it over 3G as well as WiFi networks. Since Fring is also available on other platforms like Android, you’ll be able to connect with even more people video calls now.
Talk about zany promos for these 3g video calling services. Fring’s guy seems goofier than the Skype video commercial. Check it out and let me know what you think about the Fring guy here:
But don’t worry, they have a slick corporate promo video for the new video calling feature as well:
If you don’t have it yet, go grab FRING for iPhone now. We’ll wait.
QUESTION: Have you ever made a video call to someone else on a mobile phone?
Skype 3G and WiFi Calling on the iPhone for Regular & Video Calls
Dec 31st
I personally haven’t been pressed to figure out ways to get free calling on my iPhone 4. Largely since I’ve been slowly working away at an AT&T Wireless Rollover balance of over 3,500 minutes I currently have.
Plus, when you call anyone else with an iPhone, you’re basically going to get a free call since they are covered under the mobile-to-mobile free minutes part of the cell plan. (Although with the iPhone rolling out with Verizon this year, you won’t be as confident of your free minutes.)
So for free audio calls, Skype for iPhone just hasn’t been of interest to me thus far. I know others that are big Skypers on the pc too, so it makes sense for them to download and use it with their pre-existing Skype user network. But for me – for regular audio calling, I’d just as soon use my cell plan minutes.
Video calling is a different story — Apple’s Facetime has been a huge hit with me.
It is a great way to connect with the kids when we are away from each other. I’ve even most recently Facetimed home when I was in our local ShopRite grocery picking up some milk since there’s free WiFi in many parts of town. The novelty is still there for video calling with friends and family, even though I regularly video conference for business and with my social media network of associates.
But now, it looks like you don’t have to be connected to wifi at all. 3G video calling is a reality now, thanks to Skype. The only snag here is similar to Facetime – the other party needs the same thing on their phone or PC. Of course the network effect is in play here as more people within your network use Skype, the more useful and utilized it will become.
Overall, Skype is probably going to be a game changer, unless Apple begins to allow 3rd party apps to Facetime on devices other than the iPhone/iPod Touch and on Macs.
Check out the cheeky promo video that Skype just put out to announce their Skype Video Calling on the iPhone:
BTW, there *IS* a difference between Facetime and Skype Video on the iPhone/iPod Touch. You can see in this video comparison of the two, that Facetime is much clearer, less jumpy in video and overall a better experience. But Skype does two things that might let it become the default choice for many people — 1) It works over 3G, where Facetime requires WiFi on both sides. 2) You can make Skype video and audio calls with PC users in addition to Mac users. Facetime is Mac only at this point.
Go get Skype for iPhone now — and let me know what you think about the new video calling feature. Leave a comment below!
How To Perform A Hard Master Reset on the Apple iPhone 4
Dec 28th
There are a couple of scenarios when you want to do a complete master reset for your Apple iPhone4.
But remember, if you proceed with this operation: This will erase all data, all preferences, all settings and put it back to factory default settings, as if you pulled it out of the box.
It is something you should do as a last resort, but quite effective if you need it!
One circumstance would be if you’re selling or giving your phone away to someone else. In any case, be certain you want to do this before you go ahead. The process will give you one last warning on the way too.
HOW TO DO A MASTER RESET ON THE APPLE IPHONE4:
- All you have to do is go to the SETTINGS menu app.
- SCROLL DOWN to the last item — and click on “RESET”
- You’ll get several options: Settings, All Content & Settings, Network settings, Keyboard Dictionary, etc. CLICK ON “ERASE ALL CONTENT & SETTINGS”
- On the warning screen, click “ERASE iPHONE“
- Wait for the device to wipe all the data on the phone and come back to life!
Here’s a video walking you through the process in case this isn’t clear enough:
A Snapshot of the Top 5 Snapshot Cell Phones Today
Nov 10th
The photographic capabilities of mobile phones are increasing with each new batch of handsets and now it is almost impossible to find a high end smartphone which does not offer high definition video capture along with a high megapixel count for still shots.
Here are five of the best. . .
iPhone 4
With a five megapixel camera and LED flash the iPhone 4 is the best in Apple`s range when it comes to taking pictures. It also has the ability to shoot 720p video clips at a smooth 30 fps and has extra features such as touch to focus and various effects to apply. A forward-facing VGA camera supplements its rear-facing snapper for video calling and with 16GB or 32GB of storage space on board you can capture hours of footage and thousands of photos without filling it up.
Nokia N8
The N8 is intended to be a serious camera phone, so it is no surprise to see its 12 megapixel camera outclassing every other handset in this list. With a Xenon flash it is also the most capable when it comes to illuminating dark spaces. Digital zoom of up to 30x magnification is on offer when you are taking stills or recording video in 720p HD and like the iPhone it has a forward-facing secondary camera for video calls. Geotagging is applied to both videos and photos so you can find out the location later and there is 16GB of onboard storage space expandable by an extra 32GB if you buy a separate microSD memory card, which should be more than enough for all of your media.
HTC Desire HD
With an eight megapixel camera and dual LED flash the Desire HD is able to handle solid still photographs and can also shoot video in high definition at the same 720p resolution as its rivals. You can enable the LED flashes to act as a light for videoing in dark situations and you can tweak the settings from sharpness to exposure using simple on-screen sliders which are touch sensitive and intuitive. The autofocus is fairly competent although unlike other phones you do not get a dedicated macro mode for close-up shooting, which might be a problem for some users.
Samsung Galaxy S
Like the Desire HD this is an Android smartphone and it packs fairly similar five megapixel camera which matches up with the iPhone 4`s unit. Thanks to the 1GHz processor onboard it is responsive and easy to capture images or shoot video at 720p. You can find Galaxy S variants with 16GB or 8GB of onboard storage, which should give you enough room to work with as long as you upload images from time to time. Sadly the lack of any kind of flash, LED or otherwise, means that when the light is dim the Galaxy S is less than perfect.
BlackBerry Torch
Another five megapixel camera is affixed to the Torch, showing that this is the de facto image capture resolution for a high end mobile phone. An LED flash is also present although it is not as bright as the dual-LED solution of the Desire HD or the Xenon flash found on the Nokia N8. You can alternate between different shooting modes depending on the situation, but a lack of HD video capture lets it down.
DO YOU TAKE MORE PHOTOS WITH YOUR CELLPHONE CAMERA OR YOUR DEDICATED POINT AND SHOOT CAMERA?
14 Educational iPhone Apps Parents Should Know About
Sep 17th
If you’re a parent like me, making the most out of any screen time is something you have to attack with relentless pursuit. Instead of letting our kids become TV or game device zombies, there’s an alternative in today’s tech-dominated world.
With hundreds of thousands of apps being sold in the iTunes app store, there’s got to be a handful of great educational app, right?
Well, I was relieved and excited when I found out that there are in fact a bunch of really good educational apps available to choose from.
Here’s a selection of educational apps that fellow parents, teachers and app developers themselves have tipped me off about so that you can go straight to the App Store and start download these apps for your kids. . . Read the rest of this entry »
I love tech, gadgets and the web. Hope you pick-up a useful tip or two here today that helps you use technology to your advantage! Better yet, why not share your own expertise in a comment on a post today to help the other readers that land here for answers!