How to Do It Yourself!

Photography in the iPhone world, part II

How to Do It Yourself!

Photography in the iPhone world, part II

Images are recorded every moment of every day from a multitude (plethora, if you will) of recording devices ranging from cellphones to traffic cameras to the Hubble telescope spacecraft. Photography, in form or another, is all around us. Given the basic definition of the process, photography can be accomplished with any device made for the purpose of recording images – moving or still. Video cameras are basically just still cameras with very, very fast motor drives and longer record times. Most cinematic features are shot at 24 fps or frames per second. That is 24 images each second, repeated until…

Fun on the Fourth and fabulous fireworks photos

How to Do It Yourself!

Fun on the Fourth and fabulous fireworks photos

While preparing for part II of my ‘Picture This’ digital photography series I discover the calendar has turned to Independence Day here in the States. Many of you will be heading out to catch your local fireworks displays this evening, and some may have already been treated to early celebrations that lit up the night skies. This is not intended to be the definitive authority on fireworks photography, but I hope to assist you in getting better images with some advice I have learned over the past digital decade. First, and perhaps foremost especially given my new series covers photography…

Ditch the Everything Bar on Google's Search Page

How to Do It Yourself!

Ditch the Everything Bar on Google’s Search Page

If you’re a heavy Google user such as myself, then you probably noticed the new mandatory “Everything” bar now located on the left side of your Google search page. Some may not care but me being a daily Netbook user, I need all the screen space I can get. A friend emailed an article from TweakGuides on how to get rid of this new annoyance. I thought I would pass along the information in case anyone else finds this new Everything bar as useless as I do. With a desktop machine or native widescreen it’s not as much an issue…

The Advantage of Being a Pack Rat

How to Do It Yourself!

The Advantage of Being a Pack Rat

I tend to hang onto odds and ends from gadgets. My justification is always “you never know when you might need a cable/case/obscure memory card format/box”. And 9 times out of 10, I forget about all that stuff until it’s time for spring cleaning. But sometimes it really comes in handy. I never threw out my Kindle 1 case even after I replaced it with a M-Edge one, since I figured it might be useful someday. Last week I was reading a few books on my Camangi Webstation, and it just highlighted how much I hated the simple slipcover that…

Apple 3G iPad on EDGE Using a T-Mobile SIM? Here's How

How to Do It Yourself!

Apple 3G iPad on EDGE Using a T-Mobile SIM? Here’s How

If you were grandfathered into a low-priced T-Mobile data plan (remember the $5.99/month deal?), if you don’t mind EDGE speeds, and if don’t want to pay an extra $30/month to use the AT&T iPad data plan, this DIY hack may be just what you have been looking for. Granted, you won’t be able to pop your T-Mo SIM back into your phone, but why let that stop you? iPadInsider has posted a DIY hack that they say will make your T-Mobile SIM work on your Apple iPad … DISCLAIMER: We have not tested this, so this information may be inaccurate…

No Picture

How to Do It Yourself!

Step by Step Android/iPhone Dual Boot Instructions

When the video of the original iPhone dual-booting Android first appeared, I was intrigued about giving it a shot. Unfortunately, I’m not super savvy on command-line activities, and I was lost about 1/3 of the way through the first how-to I found. Luckily, the sharp-eyed folks at Android Central came across more user-friendly instructions over at Redmond Pie. While it still looks like a long, time-consuming process, at least now it’s easier to understand! If you’re a visual learner, check out the above video, or hit up Redmond Pie for the text instructions if you prefer those. This weekend got…

iPhone Bluetooth: Flaky but Predictable Corner-Case Problem

How to Do It Yourself!

iPhone Bluetooth: Flaky but Predictable Corner-Case Problem

Image courtesy of Natalie Jean Lovin Holbrook I find corner-cases.  I don’t want to; I don’t try to; I just do.  Like last week, right?  I was working with some fairly sophisticated online documentation build and publish tools–and they weren’t working right.  I was making my co-workers upset.  I was making my boss upset.  Heck, I was making my wife Sami upset, because I was griping about it so much.  Was I missing something?  What had I done wrong?  Why wasn’t it working? Because there was a bug in the software.  I had found a corner-case.  Again. How Doug felt…

How To View PDF Files on iPad

How to Do It Yourself!

How To View PDF Files on iPad

When Apple announced the iPad, I immediately imagined that it would be a superior way to read PDF books in a tablet-style format. On the Apple iPad Specs page, there is a single mention of PDF support for the iPad – in the Mail application as an attachment. However, there must be a way to view PDF files on the iPad natively, right? Let’s walk through two main ways currently available to view PDF files on the iPad. Built-In PDF Viewing Mail Application – The iPad supports viewing PDF files that are sent as attachments via email in the Mail…

So How DO You Actually Load Your Own Documents onto the iPad?

How to Do It Yourself!

So How DO You Actually Load Your Own Documents onto the iPad?

Having been one of the people in my social circle to have an iPad, I have been answering a lot of questions for others who don’t have an iPad, or that can’t be answered by playing with one directly. One of the most frequent questions I get is “How do you load PDFs (and other personal documents) onto the iPad?” If you look at the iPad by itself without a computer running iTunes, you can only explain this verbally. And it’s not the most intuitive process (in fact, not very Apple-like). So, rather than re-answer the same question multiple times,…

Quick Tip: Change the name of your iPhone or iPod

How to Do It Yourself!

Quick Tip: Change the name of your iPhone or iPod

I came across this picture over at Howard Forums and couldn’t help but laugh at what the person had named his/her iPhone and what happened when it was “syncing”  (look at the text at the top-middle 😉 ) Then I thought about it and wondered, how many people even know that the name of their iPhone or iPod can be changed?  Or how many of you, in the excitement of setting up your new device simply left the default name in the set up box when you first synced it with iTunes? If you’re tired of seeing your beloved device…

Seagate DockStar + iPad = Limitless Storage On The Go

How to Do It Yourself!

Seagate DockStar + iPad = Limitless Storage On The Go

I ordered a 64 GB iPad because I have long subscribed to the belief that you should always order and purchase the device with the largest amount of memory that you can afford. (The only exception to this comes into play when you’re purchasing a new notebook. In that case I believe that you should only order an SSD drive, but still… the largest solid-state drive that you can.) So I ordered a 64 GB iPad. It should be a good amount of space, and will likely hold me for quite some time. Then again, if I end up loading…

Flip AT&T's Control over the Backflip

How to Do It Yourself!

Flip AT&T’s Control over the Backflip

If you bought a Moto Backflip, you probably noticed the odd use of Yahoo Search over Google, and the incredible amount of AT&T bloatware included on the device. Unfortunately, short of rooting it there’s not much you can do about either of those, but AT&T did something far worse to the Backflip that you WILL want to change. Every other Android phone offers an option to install apps from outside the marketplace. Sometimes it is a beta (like the Swype keyboard beta), other times it is things like PDANet, a tethering utility, that isn’t sold through the marketplace. If you…

Travel Tips on a Snowy Day

How to Do It Yourself!

Travel Tips on a Snowy Day

I got back from San Francisco just in time to be snowed in here in New Jersey. It was the quickest trip to the West Coast that I have ever taken but it was actually the easiest. I don’t tend to do a tremendous amount of traveling. In an average year I’ll be on a plane four or six times maximum. I am, however, currently in the midst of an unusual period that has me flying quite a bit more than usual. In the last 3 1/2 weeks I have been on six different flights and I have another trip…

TextExpander touch Expands App Intergration

How to Do It Yourself!

TextExpander touch Expands App Intergration

It was a little over a week ago that I returned to using the iPhone of full-time. I’m pretty happy with the decision and I’m enjoying having it as the sole device I rely upon. I am still carrying my Blackberry Bold with me but haven’t really used it for more than a few seconds. One of the things I’ve discovered since returning to the iPhone full time is that typing on it seems to be far easier and more accurate than ever for me. I’m not sure why this is so, but it definitely is the case and I’m…

Alternate Android App Sources

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Alternate Android App Sources

So you’ve bought an Android tablet, but it doesn’t come with the official marketplace. The manufacturer has a less than stellar collection of apps in a lackluster “app store”, and you’re looking enviously at your friends with their Android phones and their awesome app collections. Luckily for you, there’s more out there than just the official marketplace. As I mentioned when I talked about speeding up your Camangi with an alternate launcher, you can directly install an APK, or app file, right onto your device. You do not need an app store to act as a middleman.

How to Speed up Your Camangi Webstation

How to Do It Yourself!

How to Speed up Your Camangi Webstation

If you have used a Camangi Webstation, you probably noticed one big issue: the default launcher is sloooooow. It’s also ugly as sin. Luckily, you are not stuck with it forever. Android supports multiple home replacement options, including my personal favorite, Home++. All you need to do is download the program file, or APK, and install it. Once it is installed, hit the home button and select Home++. If you like it, click the “set as default” option, and your homescreen will be set as Home++.

Free Your Mac Mail Into Google App's Cloud!

How to Do It Yourself!

Free Your Mac Mail Into Google App’s Cloud!

(photo courtesy lifehacker) If you’re like me, you probably set up the Mail application on your Mac at first. And it’s a perfectly fine email program if you want your mail stored locally. I set mine up when I bought my iBook (the last of the G3 models…what a great little computer!), using my Comcast email address. Then GMail came along and changed everything. I had always hated web-based email, preferring to use Outlook on my PCs and Mail on my Mac. But the Gmail interface was so much better than what the desktop options offered, I immediately jumped ship…

Gen. Y Dualboot lets you pick your poison...Android or Windows Mobile

How to Do It Yourself!

Gen. Y Dualboot lets you pick your poison…Android or Windows Mobile

Image Courtesy of PocketNow Tired of your WinMo OS or want to give Android a try? Pocketnow has a nice video of a simple linux bootloader that allows you to choose  between Android or WinMo as a bootup option on your  Windows Mobile phone. I don’t know what phones this is compatible with, but I’m gonna assume you can use any phone that has an Android Rom ported for it, or maybe just try out a vanilla Android Rom on your device. See it in action after the break. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Nvj4ObHmxCI Ultimately I hope to see a working Android Rom for the HTC HD2….

Having Problems Connecting to 3G on Your Nexus One? Here's A Possible Fix!

How to Do It Yourself!

Having Problems Connecting to 3G on Your Nexus One? Here’s A Possible Fix!

So you’ve just gotten your shiny new Nexus One, but you’ve been plagued by some of the problems that quite a few other proud owners of the smartphone have run into over the past few weeks?  If you’re using T-Mobile’s network, maybe you’ve been frustrated by frequent 3G connectivity drops (if you’re able to get full 3G speeds  at all).   Kevin Tofel found a workaround that may get you surfing at full mobile broadband speeds.  The best part?  It’s not a complicated “hack” or OS update.  It’s merely a few simple changes to your Nexus One settings that could make…

Staying Motivated: Learning a Language on a Budget, Week Six

How to Do It Yourself!, Reviews

Staying Motivated: Learning a Language on a Budget, Week Six

photo credit: woodleywonderworks So you’ve been at this language learning thing for a while now and you find yourself losing interest – or getting too busy – or whatever the case may be!   Now a few days or even weeks have gone by and you need to get yourself back into studying again.  One of the most important things in learning a language is to keep working at it and using it.  If you don’t, you will start to lose what you’ve learned already.  So how do you keep yourself motivated?   How do you keep things interesting?   This week, I’ll…