Kibbles & Bytes Blog

  • MailTags 3, Part II

    Last week, I wrote about my romance with MailTags 3. Since then, I’ve been slowly convincing my workmates to download the free trial. It was through this that I found the coolest thing about MailTags.

    Because you can set specific MailTags for a sent message, you can see all of the tags come back to you when the person replies. So if I send the email to Joe who doesn’t have MailTags and he responds, his response has my MailTags already set. But here’s what’s even cooler: If you send the message to someone who __does__ have MailTags 3 installed, they see all of the same tags!

    As I mentioned last week, MailTags 3 has a much improved interface over MailTags 2 and I didn’t realize how nice it was until I used it straight for over a week. What I also found incredibly helpful was that I can tag multiple email messages. This made tagging groups of email super easy.

    For example, I receive emails with receipts attached that I want to go through and add to an Excel spreadsheet, but I want to save them up and do them all at once at the end of the week. So, as they start to pile up, I select a bunch at once using Command-click and then just click Tag Messages. I can set a “tickle date” for Friday, and using Smart Mailboxes, I can create a wealth of search criteria based on the tags.

    In Lion Mail, there is a Favorites bar, which I didn’t realize. Just drag your most often-used Smart Mailbox for easy access to it!

    And lastly, if you are a fan of creating rules in Mail, MailTags is fully integrated into Mail’s rule engine. I created a rule “Radio tag” where IF the sender is a member of my AddressBook group “Radio,” then I can set my keyword to __radio.__ This way, all of my mail is marked with one tag without my having to do anything. I believe that this is how MS Entourage (and now MS Outlook) deals with marking messages with Projects or Groups. This was one aspect of Entourage that I really missed when I moved to Mail.

    There are other features that I probably won’t use, however, such as integration with OmniFocus* or Things, but for what I need, MailTags does fabulously.

    As a reminder, MailTags 3 is on sale through the end of April for an introductory price of $19.95. They also have a demo so that you can try the product for 10 days (which was enough to get me hooked).

    “*Click here to go to Indev.ca.*”:http://www.indev.ca/MailTags.html

    __*Editor’s Note: We’ll have a review of OmniFocus in an upcoming issue; it’s an incredibly powerful application, and now has an added bonus of compatibility with MailTags! -KH__

  • Moving To an iPhone? Read This First.

    If you’ve recently purchased an iPhone, you’re probably asking yourself, “How do I get all my stuff to it?” People have a lot of information on their phone, whether or not it’s a smartphone, and it would be a pain to enter all those contacts in again. Fortunately, there are a few options to transfer them from one to the other.

    If you’re an AT&T customer, you can transfer your contacts to one of the following: Mac Address Book, Outlook, Outlook Express, or Windows Mail. Depending on what kind of phone you have, you might be able to do it though Bluetooth, or through a USB cable specific to your phone. Once the contacts are on your computer, you can use iTunes to transfer your contacts to your new iPhone.

    Another option is to transfer your contacts to your SIM card, then put the card in your new iPhone. Tap Settings, then go to *Mail, Contacts, Calendars.* You’ll see an option to *Import SIM Contacts.* A support page that explains all this in detail can be found “here”:http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=kb81228&cv=820#fbid=uyyIJnG18C1.

    If both your old phone and your new iPhone are on Verizon, you may be able to use Backup Assistant. Before switching to your iPhone, download Backup Assistant to your old phone and sync your contacts to Verizon’s web site. (You may need to set up an online account with them first.) Once it’s complete, you can transfer your phone number to your new iPhone (this method only works if your phone number is the same between both phones.) Now go to the App Store and download “VZ Contact Transfer”:http://support.verizonwireless.com/how_to_use/transfer_contacts/iphone_vz_transfer.html. It will pull your contacts off Verizon’s storage site and put them on your iPhone. You can continue to use VZ Contact Transfer to back up your contacts, but you must sync at least once a month to keep the account active.

    If you are transferring from Verizon to AT&T or Sprint, you can still use Backup Assistant to put your contacts onto Verizon’s cloud storage, but you will need to use the site’s export feature to save your contacts to your computer so you can import them into your Address Book and synchronize them via iTunes or iCloud. iCloud support is built into Mac OS X 10.7.2, or if you are on a Windows computer you can download the “iCloud Control Panel”:http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1455?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US from Apple to synchronize your iPhone wirelessly.

    If you are upgrading from an earlier iPhone or another iOS device, as long as you were already using iTunes or iCloud, then all you have to do is set the new phone up with your Apple ID, and you can restore all your old stuff easily.

  • Premium Leather Case (NEW)

    *Updated to fit BOTH the iPad 2 AND the new iPad!*

    * $59.99 MSRP
    * $35 Dealer Cost
    * High quality genuine leather
    * Available in Red or Black

    The all-new Premium Leather Case provides elegant protection for the new iPad as well as the iPad 2. It is a fashionable accessory for any person looking for a more sophisticated, business-like case and because it is made from high quality, smooth, genuine leather, the iPad will be protected in style.

    “*View more information on the Premium Leather Case here.*”:http://vendor.hammerheadcase.com/pricelists/SS_premium.pdf

  • MAC TREAT #179 (Update and Feedback)

    Last week, I wrote about deleting unwanted email addresses from Apple Mail–totally helpful if you find yourself clicking through defunct autofill suggestions constantly. I heard back from a number of you, and I wanted to pass along some further info to help with the deletion process.

    * One thing to note is that some email addresses will register with the “Remove from Previous Recipients” command, while others will only show “Remove Address” when you go to click on them. This depends on whether or not the recipient is in your Address Book. If he/she is not, “Remove from Previous Recipients” will show (along with the option “Add to Address Book”); if he/she is in your Address Book, only “Remove Address” will show and the option “Show Contact Card” will appear.

    * If you’d like to see everyone that you’ve ever sent an email to, select Window from the Menu Bar in Mail and click “Previous Recipients” there. It will bring up a new window where you can scroll through and edit.

    * Finally, this does not work in any version of the iOS, to my knowledge. So, one thing to try is to manage your addresses in Apple Mail on your Mac and then see if the edits/omissions carry over to your devices. *If you try this, let me know!*

  • Capo Case (NEW)

    *A totally redesigned hard case–fits BOTH the iPad 2 AND the new iPad!*

    * $39.99 MSRP
    * $24 Dealer Cost
    * Available in Black, Red, Blue, White, and Orange

    This is the most protective slimline case available anywhere for the new iPad. The vinyl exterior is pleasing to the touch while the polymer layer provides strength and rigidity. The positive closure keeps the new iPad safe in stressful environments.

    The five colors offered will make it stand out in a crowd. The clasp, corners and hinges are strengthened to handle impacts without failure. The Capo Case gives maximum all-around iPad protection in a slim profile.

    “*View more information on the Capo Case here.*”:http://vendor.hammerheadcase.com/pricelists/SS_capo_case.pdf

  • _Dear Friends,_

    It’s Kali writing for Don this week–he’s still off frolicking in the Far East, and as much as I thought that he was going to rush back in time to address our readers this week, he’ll in fact be back this weekend. In his absence, we’ve noticed that it’s a bit quieter in the big room as the rest of us tend not to play the music as loud! We’ve missed his quips in the corner, too, so we’re looking forward to his return in a big way.

    We’ve been very busy with our wholesale brands recently, and are happy to announce that not only are all of our Hammerhead cases for the new iPad (3rd Gen) shipping in all colors, but we’ve revamped both the Hammerhead and Chill Pill Audio websites, too! The biggest change is that we’ve streamlined them to exist as sister sites within the same website–each brand is accessible in a tab at the top of page. The best part about this is that they now share a shopping cart, a unified look and feel, and a brand new layout designed to make shopping easier.

    So, if you visit “*Hammerheadcase.com,*”:http://www.hammerheadcase.com you’ll see a tab for Chill Pill Audio (“*Chillpillaudio.com*”:http://www.chillpillaudio.com), and vice versa.

    “*View the new cases and accessories for iPad (3rd Gen) on Smalldog.com here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Hammerhead/iPad_2_and_iPad_3rd_Gen/
    “*View the new cases on Hammerheadcase.com here.*”:https://www.hammerheadcase.com/category/4

    Let us know what you think of our new cases and the new websites!

  • New iPad 3rd Gen Cases: Now Shipping in All Colors!

    *Hammerhead designs products that “connect and protect”* — our way of saying that you’ll be able to take your device anywhere with peace of mind.

    All of the Hammerhead Cases that are compatible with the new iPad are now shipping.
    Hammerhead Cases for new iPad are fully compatible with iPad 2.

    * Hammerhead Capo Case in 5 colors: Black, Red, Blue, White and Orange.
    * Hammerhead Premium Leather Case in Red and Black
    * Hammerhead Leather Bluetooth Keyboard Case in Red and Black

    Full details below. Order now from Tony Amenta at “*tony@hammerheadcase.com*”:mailto:tony@hammerheadcase.com or your Tech Data representative.

  • TT SPECIAL: Original iPads Under $300!

    Don’t have the $$ to splash on a new iPad? An original iPad might be just what you’re looking for…

    You may know that we currently offer a “*Trade-In Program*”:http://www.smalldog.com/tradein for both Macs and mobile devices (iPods and iPads), and right now, we still have some of the original iPads in stock at great prices.

    You’ll have to call or come in to one of our stores to take advantage, but you can “*see all models in stock here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Apple/iPad/iPad_/

    We currently have stock starting at just $259.99 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model! __While supplies last.__

  • Updating iLife on Lion

    If you bought a Mac with OS X 10.7, Lion, preinstalled, it also came with iLife ’11. You’re probably used to updating your applications through Software Updates, however on your new system, you’re not getting updates for your iLife apps. Software Updates tells you that you have to update iPhoto from the App Store, but the App Store tells you there are no updates available.

    The preinstalled version of iLife ’11 is the beginning of Apple’s gradual move toward using the App Store for all software updates. If you click on the App Store, then look under the Purchases tab, you will see iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand listed, along with a note that says you have to activate them with your Apple ID. Follow the prompts, log into the App Store using your Apple ID (or create one if you didn’t set one up earlier) and you will now be able to download iLife updates via the App Store.

    The App Store doesn’t really make it all that obvious that you need to do that, so most people click on Updates, see nothing listed, then close the App Store. They don’t think to click on Purchases, since they haven’t purchased anything, but in fact that’s where they need to look.

    Anything you download from the App Store, whether free or a paid app, is recorded on Apple’s servers. If you ever have to reload your operating system from scratch using the Recovery Partition, this only downloads Lion. The next step is to go to the App Store and get anything you have previously downloaded, including iLife ’11. However, if you hadn’t previously registered iLife, you may not be able to download it. Make sure you register it now so you don’t run into trouble later.

    When Mac OS 10.8, Mountain Lion, comes out this summer, all Mac OS updates will be downloaded via the App Store, including drivers for printers and scanners. It makes sense to unify the update method–why have one way for applications and a different way for the operating system? This new “one stop shopping” will make things quicker and easier.

  • The Great Rice Debate

    In today’s episode of Mythbusters, we find out whether putting your phone in a bag of rice will bring it back to life after it’s taken a swim! (Wait, what? What do you mean no one is willing to volunteer their phone for the cause? Argh…)

    But seriously…we occasionally get customers who have spilled liquid on/dropped their iPhone, then bring it to us to see if it can be fixed. Many say that they’ve put the phone in a bag of rice, but alas, it did not “fix” the device. While this “solution” may have worked in some cases, most of the time, it’s already too late. The damage was done once the liquid hit the components inside the device.

    It’s a well known fact that water and electronics don’t mix. Water is a conductor, so any power flowing through the logic board will short through the liquid, causing power to go places it was not meant to. This damages the components almost immediately, which is why simply drying out the device is not going to magically repair it.

    A quick check of Google brings up several pages that say that if your device gets wet, immediately take out the battery. Unfortunately you can’t easily do that on an iPhone, which requires a special screwdriver to remove the back plate. One article I found suggests using a can of compressed air to blow out the water–again, a bad idea, since all you’re doing is spreading the liquid to more exposed (live) circuitry. Then you’re supposed to stick the device in a bowl of rice overnight to “wick away” any remaining moisture.

    Liquid is a funny thing when it comes to electronics. Depending on how much liquid was spilled, where it landed, and what type of liquid it was, your phone may die on contact, or it may come out just fine. The other thing is that the damage is not always instantaneous; water tends to flow over components quickly, so if the device was off when it happened in some cases it may be fine. Soda or juice that contains sugar, however, tends to stick around. The sugar will not only make things sticky, but will slowly corrode the internals. Your device may work today, but in a few days it could start to show signs of failure, such as a battery that will no longer charge. It could also just quit entirely.

    Another suggestion I have heard is to douse the affected device in alcohol, since alcohol will help dissipate the liquid inside. This is a BAD idea. Alcohol will dissolve trace connections between internal components, causing more damage than the initial liquid spill did.

    Of course, the best thing is not to let it get wet in the first place. Check pants pockets before you do laundry, don’t use your phone near the pool, etc. Accidents happen, however; the important thing to remember is if you bring it in for service, be honest about it. For one thing, there are liquid sensors inside that change color when exposed to liquid, so Apple CAN tell if it has gotten wet.

    I can think of at least one repair where we were asked to replace a screen that “mysteriously” died, only to find a grain of rice stuck inside the dock connector. Your warranty does not cover liquid spills, and Apple will charge you for the replacement phone if you try to pass it off by saying, “it just died one day.”

  • Multi-Touching Your iPad

    Interacting with your device by touching it is the way of the future. We’re only a few steps away from having a portable or desktop Mac that is touch sensitive. If the rumor mills are right, we’ll have a new version of the desktop OS by the end of the summer that will have even more integration of iOS-like features than Lion has.

    The iPad is a natural fit for the Multi-Touch universe. I’ve become so accustomed to just using gestures to navigate that I rarely use the home button anymore. I’ve even caught myself reaching up to touch the screen of my iMac rather than grabbing my mouse.

    I wanted to give a quick rundown of the various gestures within iOS 5 that you may not be aware of. The most common one I use is the four-finger (or five-finger if your thumb wants to play, too) upward swipe. This will bring up the task bar from the bottom of your screen. This shows all the recently used applications that have their last state saved. Swiping down will make that bar disappear.

    If you use the same amount of fingers to swipe to the left, your currently running app will switch to the last one you used. It essentially cycles through the apps in that task bar we just saw. This function will not work from the home screen.

    If you’re in an app and you want to get back to the home screen, you do a four or five finger pinch. So put all your fingers on the screen and pull them all inwards like you’re one of those claw machines trying to get the elusive kewpie doll.

    The speed at which the effects happen is dependent on how fast you pinch–graphical candy.

  • Welcome to another issue of Tech Tails! The rainy season has set in, taking us from 80 degree temperatures back down to the damp, cold 40s and 50s. This is New England though, so we’ll be back to the warm sunny days soon enough.

    For the first time in a while, the Apple newsfront is kinda quiet. Sure, we still get the occasional call about “is my Mac infected?” because they saw it on the news, but for the most part that crisis has passed now that Apple has patched the Java exploit. In the aftermath, we’re seeing discussions about “who’s fault is it?” and “who is responsible for security?” In the absence of a real cause, it’s always fun to assign blame. It doesn’t help, but it makes people feel better.

    I feel that a Mac is still the safest way to surf the net, provided you’re smart about what kind of information you give out. Ultimately, it’s up to everyone–all of us–to make sure our computers and our personal information remain secure.

    This week we talk about how using gestures on the new iPad can speed up your navigation, updating iLife on Lion, and whether or not one of those Internet rumors really…er…holds water.

    Stay dry!

    Glenn
    “*glenn@smalldog.com*”:mailto:glenn@smalldog.com