“The new MacBook Air weighs -3 ounces. Would you like me to get one down from the ceiling for you?”
I often use my iPhone to take pictures of pages or documents. It is easier than writing notes, or bringing a scanner with me. The different between using the Camera app and Genius Scan+ is that Genius Scan+ will usually recognize the border of the document and adjusts the perspective to make the document flat, as if it was scanned, even if I took the picture at an angle. Even when it doesn’t get it right, it allows me to adjust the corners so I can make it better. You can export single pages as jpeg images, and multiple pages as PDFs. You can send to services like Dropbox, Google Docs and Evernote too.
If you ever find yourself browsing over a slow connection, and you want to get to information quickly, try turning off images in Safari. Go to Safari Preferences, Appearance, and then uncheck “Display images when the page opens.”
Unfortunately, there is no way to then ask Safari to load the images. But you can leave the Appearance preferences window open, and then check the box and reload the page if you want to see the images. Or, Control+click on a specific image and open it in a new tab or window.
Since the reporting last week that iPhones keep a record of location data, information and misinformation has been inundating the tech news world. This week Apple responded to the reports.
Turns out that iPhones have been keeping cache of cell phone tower positions, not tracking your exact location. And this information is stored on your iPhone and backed up to your computer along with everything else on your iPhone. But it is not sent to Apple or anyone else. The data apparently helps speed up location determination used by apps.
“I’m concerned about my iPhone keeping track of every place I go.”
“Because it is an invasion of privacy?”
“No, because I’m afraid someone will find out how boring I am.”
Update: This technique also now works with the iPhone 4S.
Update: See episode 702 for a new method of doing this.
Another fantastic quarterly report from Apple was issued yesterday. Here are some of the more interesting points:
You can click on the wi-fi icon in the menu bar to see which wifi network you are connected to and other networks near you. But if you hold down the option key and then click, you can see other information as well, like the RSSI (signal strength), the more important Transmit Rate, and the channel you are using. Move the cursor to the other networks listed and you can see some of that information for each one. RSSI numbers, by the way, are measured backwards, with around -50 being excellent and -100 poor. But Transmit Rate is a better measurement of the connection.
One of the most anticipated game releases of 2011 arrived this week. Portal 2 is the thinking-man’s first person shooter. If you played the original, then you don’t need to be convinced that this is one of the best games of all time. If you haven’t played the original, then you may want to try that first, as playing Portal 2 first would spoil some of the fun of discovery. You can get both from the Mac Steam application.
In both games you solve levels by jumping through portals, moving boxes, making clever jumps and throwing switches. And at the end of the original Portal, you get cake. Maybe.
You’ve probably heard of, or played, this game before. It has been around for the Wii, Windows and Mac since 2008. You build structures out of goo to reach a goal. Very inventive and fun. The iPad version of World of Goo has been around for a few months, and now there is an iPhone version as well.
In the end Tom was thankful that Apple didn’t make the iPad’s screen less reflective.
Find out more about Gary’s My iPad 2 book and look for it in stores and online.
Apple’s list of printers that support AirPrint is here. They also have a AirPrint Setup and Troubleshooting guide.
Here are three Mac applications that allow you to turn your Mac-connected printer into an AirPrint device that your iPad can print to:
Spring is here and so is baseball. If you are looking for some action on your iPhone, check out Flick Baseball Pro. While it has a few bugs here and there, it is a pretty deep game that does just enough to put you in the action, while not making the interface overly complex. A lot of fun to play.
