Remember the old days when you used Excel for calculations? That was the past and the future is in programs like Soulver for the Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Let me show you a few cool and awesome features.
iphone
Using Your iPhone Number to Message from Your Mac & iPad
Here’s a 7 minute tutorial on how to setup and use your iPhone Number to Message people from your Mac or iPad. iOS 6 and Mountain Lion for Macs are required for this tutorial.
The iOS 5 Camera Trick No One Knows About… Until Now
Learn my secret iPhone Camera tip that I have not seen published anywhere else… Continue reading
Help! My Hard Drive Crashed!
I am a firm believer that Apple computers are built well and last a long time. But of course, nothing lasts forever and there can always be that occasional bad part.
That being said, my friend’s hard drive crashed yesterday (just after the 1 year warranty, so you almost think they time these things). The problem was he didn’t have a good backup of his iTunes library, photos, songs, apps, etc.
They were all housed safely on his iPhone and iPad, but have you ever tried to get those files onto your computer?
If you’re thinking, just sync the thing to computer with the replacement hard drive…
If you’ve ever tried that, you know that you will get a warning to the effect that because you’re syncing with a new computer, everything will be erased off the iPhone or iPad.
No! I don’t want to format the thing, I want to back sync my library onto my computer.
In comes a program called iRip.
I have used iRip in the past to access my music collection on my second laptop, but this became a lifesaver for my friend.
The new version of iRip not only downloads the songs off the iPhone, but the pictures, movies, books, and podcasts as well.
So iRip came to the rescue and recovered my friend’s library.
So, the moral of the story is BACKUP!
You never know when a hard drive will fail, fall, or go for a swim in lemonaide (that’s another story).
Do you have another solution? How would you have handled this problem?
🙂
I’m Arlen,
I’m a Tech Geek, and I’m at your service!
Freebies galore…
Hi Friends,
Just a quick post today. If you subscribe to any number of rss feeds having to do with Macs or iPhones, you probably have heard about some of these. But I thought they were worth mentioning. Consider it my Christmas present to you.
1. Have you heard of LoJack the service that can possibly help you if your laptop is lost or stolen? Well there is an alternate program called Hidden for the mac. Hidden is usually $20 per computer, but until January, they are offering their service free. Hit their website, signup and install the software before Jan. 1st. for free or $20 afterwards. Don’t tell any theives, but I’ve had it installed on my computers for over a year. 🙂 http://hiddenapp.com/signup/
2. Myriads of free or low cost apps.
Gameloft has tons of awesome games on sale or free.
Avallon also has a ton of free games. I just downloaded a few and I can’t wait to have a free minute to try out a couple.
appventcalendar.com is a Christmas delight (although the selection was much better last year)
freeappaday.com always has freebies.
Openfeint.com also offers free games
Got any more? leave us a comment.
Well, Merry Christmas! Hope you are able to take advantage of these Christmas savings and freebies.
Aloha,
arlen
My Favorite iPhone/iPad Apps (Changes Regularly)
I get asked for App recommendations all the time, so here’s a list of my favs for my fans. Love you all! Leave your favorites in the comments section. -arlen
My Favorite iPhone Apps:
Evernote, BibleReader, ESV Bible, DocsToGo, iAnnotate, Dropbox, Kindle, Mint, Feedler RSS, TripIt, Skype, Wikipanion, IMDB, Flixster… See below for details.
Note taking App- Evernote
Sign up for a free account at http://www.evernote.com. Then you can you use the Evernote App to sync your notes between your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC. Evernote is also a good tool because it backs up your notes so you never lose or forget your notes. Evernote will also sync notes from other Apps like Bible Reader.
Bible App- Olive Tree Bible Reader
High quality often comes are a price. The Bible Reader App is free, but you will need to pay for the Bibles, Commentaries, Dictionaries, etc. That you put add to the app. That said, you can carry a substantial digital library on your iPhone and iPad.
- Steve pointed out that you can also view two bibles or a bible and commentary side by side in two windows. Great for study and comparison.
- Tap a verse to highlight or write a note, then sync and backup your notes with a free Evernote account.
- This app is fast replacing my regular Bible as a great portable study alternative.
Free Bible App- ESV Bible
The ESV is great, accurate translation of the Bible. Now it’s available free on your iPhone or iPad. Neat features include “tweeting” your notes and favorite passages.
Office Suite- Docs to Go
Create and Edit all your office doccuments. Word, Excel, Powerpoint can all be managed with this App. If you want productivity to go, this is my favorite app.
iAnnotate
PDF management on steroids. I have a lot of PDF’s whether they are e-books from the Elijahlist or documents shared with me. As the name suggests iAnnotate allows you to add your highlights, comments, bookmarks, etc. to the PDFs. Dropbox integration makes storing and retrieving your files a breeze.
File Mangement- Dropbox
If you’re tired of forgetting a critical file on your computer at home, or tired of plugging and unplugging those USB flash drives, try an online alternative. http://www.dropbox.com will give you a free account to store up to 2 GB’s of files. Then access those files on the go with the Free iPhone/iPad App.
E-Book Reader- Kindle
Read, Highlight, and Annotate your favorite ebooks with this mature and proven App. Shop the vast library of ebooks on amazon.com and start reading today.
Financial Management- Mint
Manage all your financial accounts in one place. Check your credit card balances, bank account, and plan & watch your budget. Mint was recently acquired by Intuit/Quicken so you know the security and usability of the app is first-class.
RSS feed management- Feedler RSS
If you compile all your favorite RSS feeds in a Google Reader account, use this great App to read through the articles in style.
Travel Organizer- Trip it
Trip it makes is simple to manage your busy travel schedule. Simply email your flight, hotel, rental car, etc. Confirmations to tripit and your whole itinerary will be compiled for you. Find local weather and information about your destination too. Simple and organized.
Phone Alternative- Skype
If you regularly use Skype to make international or local calls, why not call from your iPhone at those same low rates? Install the app and start calling.
For Fun-
Wikipanion- A great app to access Wikipedia information.
IMDB- Get all your TV and Movie info here.
Flixster- Watch trailers, add DVD’s to Netflix and a whole lot more.
Sync Files Easily (and backup too)
Have you ever forgotten a file at home that you wanted right when you got to work? That’s when we all think, “I wish there was an easy way to have access to all my important files…”
I used to setup complicated network and file sharing solutions. But those days are over.
Enter Dropbox.
Dropbox is a simple solution to synchronize your files between multiple computers, backup your files so you never lose them, and have access to your files wherever you go.
Dropbox is really simple to use. Download the application (Windows or Mac) and install it on your computer. As part of the installation you will setup a free account with 2GB of storage.
Dropbox makes a folder on your computer called “dropbox” and whatever you put into that folder is synced between all the computers you install your dropbox to, backed up online, and you can now access the files in that “dropbox” folder from any computer just by going to their website and logging in. There’s even an iPhone/iPad app.
This was such a simple yet powerful solution that I purchased the annual subscription for a full 50GB of space and I keep ALL of my files in my dropbox. But you don’t have to purchase it. Just download it, and get a free 2GB of storage. Here’s my link…
Click here to sign up (and I will get an extra 250MB of space).
Additional features:
- Use the Public folder to share large or small files easily. Just drop your file in there, and get the link to that file from the website.
- Versioning. I don’t know if that’s a real word, but Dropbox keeps every version of your file for 30 days. So if you decide you like a previous version of that presentation you made, just go back in time and restore the earlier version.
- Security of all files and transfers.
- Drop pictures into the Pictures folder to create an instant photo slideshow online.
- iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry Mobile Applications are available free.
- Integrate with many other apps on your mobile devices.
- What’s your favorite feature? Leave me a comment.
Aloha,
Arlen
PS- Special thanks to my FB friends who are the inaugural receivers of my blog via email. Thanks Guys! If you find this stuff helpful, please spread the work. Others can subscribe at http://www.www.arlennagata.dev.
My Favorite iPhone Bible App… Just Changed…
Yes, my favorite iPhone Bible App has changed.
For a long time, I’ve been using Mantis Bible. It’s a really good Bible. I loved the notes and highlights you could add so easily.
But recently, I went back to an old favorite. When I say old, I used this app on my Palm Pilot Professional… wikipedia that…
My new favorite Bible App is Olive Tree Bible Reader.
Bible Reader is the first handheld App that makes me feel like I wouldn’t prefer a regular Bible.
Now, when I want to read the Bible, I want to pick up my iPhone and start the app.
Now, I’m craving an iPad which would be even better…
Anyway, check out my new favorite Bible App.
🙂
arlen
Arlen Nagata 