Noël Flash

Blogging about Technology, Photography, Auto's & More

Using USB Keyboard on your iPad

Jan 23

Posted by Noel Adams in Ipad Tips | No Comments

 

I often hear with new iPad owners that they hate typing on the screen while using it and it would be nice to have a keyboard. Well Apple offers a wireless keyboard solution at the prohibitive price of about $70 plus shipping but you can actually create your own simple iPad keyboard for less then $35.

You will need to componets to make this work, 1 a usb camera conneciton kit (See below)  You maybe able to find these on ebay for about 6 bux but i haven't seen any made by apple for a while now.  (2) a USB keyboard, chances are you already have one of these sitting around but if not you can go to your local computer store or amazon to pick one up cheap.

source

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Jailbreaking iPhone 4s & iPad 2

Jan 21

Posted by Noel Adams in Ipad Tips, iPhone Tips | No Comments

Well the jailbreak is out now, for all those who want to try it you can head over to iphonehacks to get the full how to but thought i'd share.

Somethings you should do before trying to jailbreak your device.

1. Backup your device

2. Download the following

Download iOS 5.0.1 ipsw for iPad 2
Download 1OS 5.0.1 ipsw for iPhone 4S
Download iTunes (10.5.3)
Download Greenpois0n Absinthe for Windows
Download Greenpois0n Absinthe for Mac

Now follow the tutorials over at IphoneHacks.com

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iPad/iPhone Tip: How to Setup iCloud

Jan 6

Posted by Noel Adams in Ipad Tips, iPhone Tips | No Comments

1. Make sure you device is running iOS5, you can check this by going to Settings, General, About and look for the version, you need to have 5.0 or better (Mine is using 5.0.1).

2. Turn on iCloud (if you have setup your device yet it you will get prompted for this) Tap on settings and then tap iCloud.

3. Customizing the settings for iCloud – Tap the settings icon and select iCloud and tap the On/Off switches to enable individual services including Photo Stream, Documents, Find My iPad/iPhone, and more.  (I only sync Photos and Find My iPad/iPhone)

4. Enable Automatic Downloads - To enable automatic downloads for your music, apps, and books, tap the Settings icon on the Home screen and select Store.

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Opening Apps using Siri on iPhone 4S

Jan 6

Posted by Noel Adams in Ipad Tips, iPhone Tips | No Comments

Thought this was a neat little trick to do on your Iphone 4s with Siri so you can open apps on your phone with Siri, be default you can't so if you ask Siri to open we'll say facebook app it will come back and say it can't   Below is the how to make it work, enjoy!

Have you ever heard about the URL Scheme of Safari? URL Scheme for safari lets you to open any app directly from the safari. This trick is basically used by the developers to open their apps directly from Safari. If you want to open Youtube app from Safari, Write down "youtube://" and it will redirect you to the YouTube app on your App. Similarly some are the examples given below:

 



 

  • Itms-apps:// – This opens the app store in your iPhone.
  • maps:// – Opens the Maps app.
  • sms:// – Opens the compose window of the Messages app.
  • music:// – Goes to the currently playing song in the Music app.
  • youtube:// – Opens the YouTube app.
  • itms-books:// – Open the iBooks app

Now, How this trick will work with Siri? We will actually make a contact including the URL's for different apps and when you will ask the Siri to show the contact it will open up all the details of the Contact including URL's. you can open any app by tapping on the URL.



1. Make a contact by the name of "Shortcuts".



2. Create Multiple text fields containing these URL Schemes. You can use any URL Scheme as shown above.



3. Open Siri and say" Show me Shortcuts Contact"

 



4. All URL's will be shown. You can click on any URL to open that app.



You can also open different options in an app by using this trick. For example, Name a contact 



"Facebook Shortcuts" and add different Text fields with the following URL's 

  • fb://profile – Open Facebook app to the user’s profile
  • fb://friends – Open Facebook app to the friends list
  • fb://notifications – Open Facebook app to the notifications list
  • fb://feed – Open Facebook app to the News Feed
  • fb://events – Open Facebook app to the Events page
  • fb://requests – Open Facebook app to the Requests list
  • fb://notes – Open Facebook app to the Notes page
  • fb://albums – Open Facebook app to Photo Albums list

 

Than open Siri and say: Show me Facebook Shortcuts, Click on any shortcut to open it. 

Source:

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iPad Tip: How to Take a Screenshot

Jan 5

Posted by Noel Adams in Ipad Tips | No Comments

Need to take a screenshot on the IPad? It’s very easy: hold the Power button on the top corner and the Home button on the front bezel concurrently, you’ll know the screenshot was taken because the screen flashes white briefly. This captures the entire screen.

After you have taken a screen shot they are placed in the Photos library but if you have iCloud enabled they will also be sent to Photo Stream and be synced with other Apple devices using the same iCloud ID.

Source

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IPAD Tip: Track down a lost or stolen ipad/iphone

Jan 2

Posted by Noel Adams in Ipad Tips | No Comments

 

In case you happen to misplace or your ipad gets stolen you can now use a service called FindMyIpad or FindMyIphone to help locate it and either lock it down, display a message or remotely wipe the device.  This is done though apples MobileMe service, when you pull it up on the website you can see where your ipad is located.

link to mobile me website: http://mobileme.com

  • Download the Find My iPhone app.   Iphone (Click Here)  Ipad (Click Here)
  • Tap the Settings icon on the home screen, then select Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
  • Enter the username and password for your MobileMe account (you can use the same e-mail address and password that you use for iTunes).
  • Tap OK when you see the notification box that says Allow MobileMe to Use the Location of Your iPad?
  • Tap Done (Make sure Find My iPad is turned on).
  • From a PC, log into MobileMe. You should see your iPad on a map.
  • From this screen you can choose Display Message or Play Sound, Lock, or Wipe.

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IPAD Tip: Apps crashing try this!

Jan 2

Posted by Noel Adams in Ipad Tips, Software, Technology | No Comments

Do you experience a app that keeps crashing when you try to use it on your ipad?  A few things to try would be to close the app out and you can find out how to do that here.  The other thing to try would be to power the device off and back on.  Here is the how to for it. (Note: the button to press is the one in the top right corner not the home button)

Restarting your device

 

  1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until the red "slide to power off" slider appears, and then slide the slider.
  2. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears.

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IPAD Tip: Closing Multiple Apps at Once From The Multitasking Bar

Jan 2

Posted by Noel Adams in Ipad Tips | No Comments

 

Have you tried to figure out how to close a app on your IPAD or even close out seveal apps at once.  Here is a little tip on how you can close out multipial apps at once with the new feature in ios5 called multi touch.  

Turns out, you can use multitouch to force quit multiple apps at once from the multitasking tray.

With the iOS device unlocked, double click on the Home button, then touch and hold the app icon until app icons in the multitasking bar begin to jiggle. You can tap on the  button on multiple app icons to force quit the apps in one go rather than doing it one app at a time.

Although it's difficult to hit all four fingers at the right spot simultaneously, even closing two apps at once is a lot quicker than quitting one app at a time. The maximum we could manage is quitting three apps at a time, using two thumbs and a finger.

 

Source: reddit

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Subaru BRZ Info

Jan 1

Posted by Noel Adams in Automotive | No Comments

First going to start off with the cars spec list: 

 

Engine: 2.0L Boxer-Four
Power: 200 HP / 150 LB-FT
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual
Drivetrain: Rear-Wheel Drive
Curb Weight: 2,676 LBS
Seating: 2+2
Cargo: 6.9 CU-FT
MPG: 30 HWY (est.)

The car is has some nice body lines but my wife thinks its a mix of a nissan, toyota, mazda, and ford all put into one car.  Subaru based this car off of the Porsche Cayman, (Really?).  This is the first rear wheel drive car that subaru plans to come out with, so no longer will they be know for all wheel drive.  

This new subaru is said that the target weight of the car is only 2700 pounds and according to the numbers that a 100 lbs less than a Civic SI and 600 lbs less than a new Mustang.  Even the Hyundai Genesis doesn't compete with this car due to the BRZ having a extra 10 hp and 73ft lbs torque and not to mention its 600 lbs lighter.

Subaru has created a all new design for the engine calling it the FA, basically a perfectly square stroke of 86×86 and they added  the variable-valve control system (Subaru Calls it AVCS, for active valve control system).  The car still requires premium gas which i don't think is a good idea with the cost of gas prices going up there now a days.

The BRZ overall height is 50.6 inches with a ground clearance of 4.9 inches, it is 157 inches and its wheelbase is 101.2 inches.  The width of the BRZ is 69.9 inches with a track of 59.8 inches in front and 60.6 inches in the rear.  The balance is estimated to be 53 % in front and 47 % in the rear.  Subaru doesn't have the official numbers on gas mileage yet but it predicts 30mpg on the hwy.

First thing to do if you purchase one of these cars would be to dump the skinny 215/45/R17 tires but no details on what will fit the car yet to get a little wider track.  Aside from some appearance options you can purchase there aren't much in the performance department strait from the dealer.

I can talk more and more about this car but as more details come out everyday it seems now please check back for more info.  Now lets see some pictures of the car curisody of autoblog

Update: 1/1/2012

Subaru Official Site for the BRZ: http://www.subaru.com/brz/2013/index.html
Top Gear takes the BRZ out for a drive: http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/subaru-brz-first-drive-review-2011-12-03

"Although not yet confirmed, it is being rumored that the Subaru BRZ will go on sale at a starting price of $24,000 for the BRZ Premium and $27,000 for the BRZ Limited. The base Premium model will come with aluminum pedals, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and an 8-speaker system and Navigation as standard. The Limited version will come with the usual Subaru leather and alcantara seats, foglights in the bumper, and a boot spoiler not seen on the model in Tokyo" – MotorTrend




Videos of the Subaru BRZ:

Subaru BRZ

 

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Top IPAD Apps 2011-2012

Dec 31

Posted by Noel Adams in Uncategorized | No Comments

So you got a new IPAD 2  for Christmas and are wondering what you can do with it now. I usually only use free apps at this time but if the application I list is a paid app I'll stick the price beside the app. Also see my Article on ipad security
 
Applications List:
 
1.  Pandora - Free personalized radio that only plays music you'll love.  Just start with the name of one of your favorite artists, songs or classical composers and Pandora will create a custom "station" that plays similar music.
2.  Google+ - Connect to your friends on the new growing social network.
3.  Facebook - Must have to keep in touch for all people on facebook.
4.  Flipboard - Excellent news reading application that can tie into your Facebook & Twitter accounts and gives everything a easy to read newspaper like layout.
5.  Camera+ (Cost .99)  - Camera+ will help bring that creativity out in you, all with a fun, innovative, and beautiful design.
6. Instagram - Allows you to edit photos and give them some neat effects.
7.  Google Earth - You have seen it on the computer before, a very cool app for the ipad 2
8. Twitter - Follow you interests: instant updates from your friends, family, industry experts, favorite celebrities, etc.
9. Find My iPhone - You take your iPhone everywhere. Which means you might leave it anywhere. Whether it’s at the office in a conference room or under a pillow on your couch, chances are it won’t be lost for long.  Also see how to set this app up here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/built-in-apps/find-my-iphone.html
10.  Netflix (Existing Netflix Subscription Required) – Watch all your favorite tv shoes, movies, tech stuff and more.
11. Action Movie FX - Great movie effects application  (Free for limited time)
 
Cloud Storage: (You can pick between these or use both)
1. Dropbox - Bring your files with you when you're on the go, add files to your favorites for offline viewing, easily upload photos and videos to drop box and share them freely with family and friends.  There is a basic version which is free and gives you 2gb of storage.
2. Windows Skydrive - Same as dropbox but it gives you 25GB of free cloud storage.
3. Apple iCloud - Doesn't sync all things but more info here: http://www.apple.com/icloud/setup/  
 
Games:
1. Angry Birds - Yes that addicted game everyone has to have. This list will change from time to time as I add new apps but for the moment these are the ones I use.

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