Tips

Turn off camera notifications--David's iPhone tip of the week

It doesn't matter if you are a Mac or PC user; the iPhone and iPod Touch behave similarly when plugged into a computer using the USB sync cable that Apple provides. They both cause iTunes to launch for syncing media and they initiate photo and video syncing by recognizing both devices as a digital camera. This week's tip is is about disabling the digital camera notification in Windows and Mac OS X.

Steps for Windows Vista and Windows 7

1. Connect your iPhone or iPod touch to your computer. 2. Open the Windows Control Panel. 3. Choose Hardware … Read more

Not all plists are created equal: Be cautious with what you delete

In the process of troubleshooting poor application performance, the removal of preference files is often an easy remedy. In Mac OS X, preference files are usually saved in the property list format, which are identified by their .plist suffix. Since preference files are recreated by applications upon launch, the recommendation to remove preference files is relatively harmless; however, do not misinterpret these recommendations to mean any plist may be deleted safely.… Read more

Are touch-screen problems plaguing the Nexus One?

After only a few short weeks, could it be that the honeymoon phase has ended for some Nexus One owners? Forum posts are alive with disgruntled users complaining about a variety of issues, with this week bringing news of issues involving the touch screen.

A thread started earlier this week by a user reported that their Nexus One was registering the wrong keys when tapping on the screen. After a quick power cycle, the problem disappeared, but the user doesn't appear to be alone. We have yet to see such issues on our Nexus One review model.

Whether software … Read more

Useful Updates: TextWrangler, Parallels

Two notable software updates have been released today. Parallels has released a small update to their Parallels Desktop virtualization package, which patches up a number of small bugs associated with Windows guest operating systems. BareBones software has released an update to their free and popular TextWrangler program, which incorporates numerous enhancements both in the program and how the program utilizes system resources.… Read more

Do's and don'ts for disinfecting your devices

Apple has provided some tips for disinfecting your Apple devices and a list of things you should definitely not do. These tips are especially useful for computers that are used by multiple people such as school or work computers.… Read more

iPhone backups--David's iPhone tip of the week

If you've had an iPhone for a long time and you have grown to depend on it then you should know that iPhone backups are important. This week I'll focus on some good tips about the automatic backups created in iTunes each time you sync your iPhone or iPod Touch. All of the tips apply, whether you are using Mac OS X or Windows.

Speed up your backups

If you own an iPhone, you probably enjoy the convenience of using the built-in camera for both still and video photography. I know I do, but my over enthusiastic use … Read more

Quick Note: Logic and Mainstage 64-bit information

For people who use Apple's pro audio applications Logic and Mainstage, the applications were recently updated to versions that are fully 64-bit capable, which allows them to better take advantage of the hardware capabilities in Apple's computers. This enables users to run more plugins and other features at the same time without a performance hit. Despite this benefit, there may be some unforeseen incompatibilities when running in 64-bit mode that users should be aware of.… Read more

Setting up, calibrating display color profiles

When you set up a new computer or display, the factory settings may be slightly off, giving the computer a slightly washed out look. To get the colors and display to be rich and accurate, I always recommend spending time to calibrate the colors on new monitors, especially when a computer is using multiple monitors (either dual displays on a desktop or an external display attached to a laptop).… Read more

Customize your Spotlight search results -- David's iPhone tip of the week

Several weeks ago I posted a tip about discovering Spotlight searches on your iPhone or iPod Touch. The tip this week will show you how to customize the arrangement of your search results. You can decide to list application, contact, music, etc., search results in first, last, or anywhere in between order.

1. Launch the Settings app 2. Tap General 3. Tap Home 4. Tap Search Results

Initially your search results will be set up like this:

Now you can customize the order of your search results by performing these tasks while the screen above is displayed:

Tap any of … Read more