If you have any Apple brand device, chances are you have at least one pair of their headphones laying around. If you use them on a regular basis, here are some tips to get the most from your Apple headphones:
During phone calls:
1 – Incoming calls: Tap the center button to answer a call
2 – Ignore a call: Long-press the center button to ignore the call – you should hear 2 ‘beeps’ and you will know that the caller was successfully sent to voice mail
3 – Swapping calls: Tap the center button once to swap calls – Hold the center button down for about 2 seconds to end the new call
4 – Disconnecting/Hanging up: Tap the center button once again to hang up
When listening to music:
5 – Toggle pause/play: Single tap the center button
6 – Skip a song: Double tap the center button
7 – Return to the previous song: Triple tap the center button
8 – Fast forward a song: Tap the center button two time; long-press the second tap
9 – Rewind a song: Tap the center button three times; long-press the third tap.
Using the camera function:
10 – Shutter Release: Tap the volume-up button to snap a picture. This trick will help you get very steady shots.
For Siri users (iPhone 4S and above):
11 – Activate Siri: Long-press the center button
Remember – any Apple device that utilizes their headphones and have these functions (i.e. iPad and iPod) can also take advantage of these features. Do you know of any headphone tricks that we’ve missed? Send them our way!
Robert Noyce is being honored by Google for his contributions to the electronic components industry on what would have been his 84th birthday. To commemorate his birthday, Google’s homepage has a doodle which etches the Google logo onto a microchip, a technology that Noyce is credited with co-inventing.
Known as the Mayor of Silicon Valley, Robert Noyce was the co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel and is credited along with Jack Kilby with the invention of the integrated circuit. He earned his nickname for the work he did as a mentor to youths aspiring to succeed in Silicon Valley and in fact was a mentor to Apple founder, Steve Jobs. Jobs was one of many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs mentored by Noyce.
The holder of 15 patents related to the electronic components industry, Noyce was a major contributor to the industry and it is fitting that Google chose to honor him and his achievements.
The iPad has been around a couple of years and has set the standard for tablet computers. Very often “iPad” has been synonymous for “tablet” the way that people use the word “Kleenex” for “tissues.” There has been just no competition.
We decided to compare the newest Kindle Fire from Amazon head to head with the iPad to see which was was preferred here at West Florida Components. Today’s comparison will look strictly at the physical aspects of both tablets.
Screen Size:
The Kindle Fire has a 7″ screen compared to the iPad’s 9.7″ display. While nearly 3 inches seems like it would be a lot, we streamed the same movie simultaneously, and the tablets were equally viewable at that size.
Point goes to: Tie
Tablet size:
The overall size of the Kindle Fire (7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″) vs the iPad (9.5″ x 7.31″ x 0.34″) was even easier to judge. The Kindle Fire is less bulky to handle and small enough to slip into most ladies’ purses.
Point goes to: Kindle
Weight:
The Kindle Fire weighs in at just under one pound while the iPad is about 21.5 ounces making the iPad about 45% heavier than the Fire. The Fire was a bit more comfortable to handle with just one hand. The lone critic here of the Kindle’s size pointed out that the heavier iPad felt more substantial.
Point goes to: Kindle
Next we will compare some of the other features of both the iPad and the Kindle Fire and you’ll see which tablet wound up on the top of our ‘must have’ list.
Every once in a while a great piece of software comes across our desks here at West Florida Components….and today we found an excellent way to recover your Macbook or iMac should it ever be stolen. It is an ingenious piece of software.
Download Hidden, and it can track your Macbook or iMac, show you where it is and who has it. When you activate the tracking, Hidden will locate your stolen computer anywhere in the world, take pictures of the thief using the computer (via webcam!) and also provide screen shots of what the thief is doing on the computer.
In addition, you will also get help from the Hidden team on working with the police to recover your stolen computer.
Think about how many Macbooks disappear every day at college campuses across the US. This software should be a ‘must buy’ for all Macbook owners.
How much do you think that this amazing software costs? The cost is $20 normally for one year BUT the Hidden team is giving away this software for FREE until 12/31/10. The software doesn’t expire on 12/31/10….the chance to get it for free for one year expires. Think of it as a holiday gift from the Hidden team. One full year of tracking protection for your iMac or Macbook, courtesy of Hidden.
If you have an iPad, you may be intrigued by the thought of jailbreaking it.
Jailbreaking a device permits you to install and use third party applications and utility programs. In the case of a jailbroken iPad, you would be able to then run apps like Adobe Flash which is not available through the Apple OS, or access files like you can on a PC. One app that caught my eye was the multitasking app which would allow you to run multiple programs without having to save/close them. Another great app called Wi-Fi Sync gives you the flexibility to sync your iPad with Wi-Fi – no plugged in USB required.
Of course, jailbreaking the iPad is not without risk (the number one concern would be warranty) but PCWorld.com has put together the definitive guide to jailbreaking your iPad. In fact, PCWorld’s guide is so complete, it even gives you instructions on how to revert back should you get cold feet (or have to go back).
Once you’ve hacked your iPad, be sure to avoid the iPad updates from Apple since your device can be reverted to the non-jailbroken state. Should that happen, you can jailbreak your iPad again after the update is installed.
No, your iPhone is not going to die, but be careful how you hold the phone for the best reception.
Originally thought to occur due to a design issue related to the wraparound antenna which is unique to the iPhone 4, it is now suspected to be a software problem as well as a design flaw. Reportedly, Apple technicians are on the case and there are rumors of a firmware update within the next week. Rumor has it that the issue is related to radio frequency calibration of the baseband. The problems are believed to occur when switching frequencies. Since the lag is (allegedly) not properly calibrated, the iPhone reports “no service” rather than switching to a frequency with the optimal signal to noise ratio.
The temporary solution is to hold the iPhone without fingers touching its antenna lines. Hands held close to the device’s antenna interrupts the signal to the point that the iPhone’s software can’t identify the connection. The update to the software should help alleviate some of the calibration issues but whether Apple decides to address the design issue won’t be known for a while – at least until Apple is able to release the update.
Have these issues hurt the sales of the iPhone4? Not at all. Sales have exceeded 1.7 million units since the iPhone4′s debut last week.
Apple sold 3 million iPads in 80 days and is still having a hard time keeping the iPads in stock – a situation that is not totally unexpected, but even analysts are revising their projected sales figures upward based on what they call the ‘strongest product cycle in the company’s history, led by the iPad and iPhone 4′.
In terms of apps, there are over 11,000 apps already developed for the iPad. What is surprising the analysts is not the number of apps available but the number of businesses that are finding new ways to use the iPad. In fact it may be the unexpected adoption of the iPad by businesses that are finding so many useful business related apps that is fueling the increased demand.
If you are using the iPad for business, here’s a short list of recommended apps from Apple’s iWork suite of products (all available for $9.99/each):
-Pages
-Numbers
-Keynote
Also of note is Quickoffice ($10 through iTunes) which is an app that brings the usability of the iPad together with the best features of Office. Definitely worth checking out if you are using your iPad as a substitute for a traditional notebook computer while traveling.
Pretty cool! Here’s how it works: If you buy a new Mac with Apple education pricing from May 25 through September 7, 2010, you can get a free 8GB iPod touch. That’s a value of $199! The $199 is in the form of a rebate which is processed online, and if it’s like other Apple online promos, it’s pretty painless and fast.
Want a bigger iPod touch? No problem. You can get the 32GB iTouch for $100 after rebate or the 64GB model for $200 after rebate.
Right now they have some other good deals going on including a rebate of up to $100 for qualifying printers, and as always, they offer to help recycle your old PC or Mac, sometimes giving you some $$ if your old computers qualify to be reused.
One other thing to keep in mind… Apple offers an educational discount for students and teachers….so current pricing on the site shows that the Mac’s are also discounted a little bit – starting at a $50 discount on the basic MacBook. Great deal all around!
If you have any Apple brand device, chances are you have at least one pair of their headphones laying around. If you use them on a regular basis, here are some tips to get the most from your Apple headphones:
