Tips and Tricks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

(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…


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…



Android Tip – Stopping Apps Using Any Cut

One of the first things that people install on their Android phones is some sort of application to kill background applications. In fact, as Carly noted today, Verizon employees suggested she install “Advanced Task Killer” to help stop applications running in the background. Why not use the functionality that’s already built-in to Android for this?


Is a Task Killer Necessary For Android?

I was perusing Androidforums.com today for some software tips and stumbled on a few threads that maintained there was no reason to use a task killer with Android. These posters maintained that the OS was efficient enough to shut down programs that weren’t necessary and manage memory without a 3rd party intervention.


A Low Tech Suggestion to Protect Yourself from Internet and Credit Card Scammers

Ah yes… the holidays. Times for family, food, drink… and scammers! Elana received an email from her aunt last night that included the above credit card scam “transcript”. It has been checked out by Snopes and looks to be legitimate. Even if it is not legit, Snopes points out that the elements of it certainly are and “anyone who holds a credit card is a potential victim of this type of fraud”. The scary thing about this scam is just HOW much information the scammers have. They have your name. They have your address. They have your credit card number……


Making a bootable USB stick to upgrade to Windows 7

So you have Windows 7 and you are all fired up about installing it on your netbook. The problem is that your netbook doesn’t have a CD or DVD player built in which means that DVD media that Windows 7 comes on is pretty much a coaster. You can solve the problem by popping $80-90 bucks on an external drive, but what if you could make that 4GB USB flash drive do the magic for you? Well you can, and it is pretty straight forward to do. All you need is a 4GB or bigger USB flash drive, a little…


Twitter rolls out lists – once again you can view your contacts through the noise

Twitter has started to offer the ability to create lists of contacts within your Twitter account. This feature is being rolled out to a few users right now so if you don’t see the feature in your account when you log in then you’ll likely have to wait for it to be added. What do Twitter lists add? Well for one it’s an opportunity to quickly view similar types of contacts. For example I’ve set one list to display my company contacts and another list displays all the Gear Diary team writers.


Monolingual: Delete unused language packs on your Mac.

I personally use only one language on my Mac computers, English.  Unless you’re multi-lingual or unless you’re like Judie and plan on taking up another language, chances are you only need one language on your computer as well. The Mac comes preinstalled with several language packs.  These packs includes fonts, and other things which all take up hard drive space. That’s where Monolingual comes in.  Monolingual is a free application (donations are accepted) which allows you to selectively remove any language pack from your Mac that you choose.


How to enable, discover, and use Gmail keyboard shortcuts

Gmail has enabled increased productivity for those who large amounts of email due to its unique interface (conversations, labels, to name two!). Not everyone uses keyboard shortcuts, but they can be a big time saver in processing email. Read on to learn more about keyboard shortcuts and how to quickly learn them. Keyboard shortcuts are very useful because they quickly allow you to navigate your inbox quickly. You can also do things like select many messages at once and archive them, delete them, and even mark them as spam. Keyboard shortcuts are disabled by default. To enable them, simply go into…


Understanding and Removing the Application Lock on Windows Mobile Standard Devices

One of the more frustrating things about owning a Windows Mobile Standard device, particularly the ones which are tied to a certain carrier, are the sometimes you’ll find that there are these inane application locks in place. You usually won’t even know about the lock until you try to install a program that you think will make your life easier or your device usage more satisfying. When you try the installation, it is error city and the application will fail every time. I ran into this with the Pantech Matrix Pro that Julie and I reviewed this spring: Is the…


A Quick Tip For iPhone Users Living On The Edge

This quick tip may be obvious to many but it is easy to forget (as I did) so I thought I might share it with everyone. It is especially useful for iPhone 3G and 3GS users but really applies to anyone using a data connected phone and living on the edge… of a 3G signal. Here’s the story…


How to get more than 11 pages of iPhone Apps

By default the iPhone limits the user to a total of 11 visible springboard aka home screen pages. Dayna from PHP-Princess has discovered a way around this limitation. Yes needing more than 11 pages of applications (180) is truly for the hardcore iPhone app user, but there are a lot of them floating around. This was a trick I discovered while moving around my icons. First, you have to be an app-aholic and have 11 pages of iPhone apps (and more hidden ones since they can’t be displayed). Then move some of the default apps you do not use like…


iPhone 3.0 and 3G S Impressions Tips Tricks and More

As the dust continues to settle on “The Week Of The iPhone” we’re all getting increasingly used to devices with a new OS or entirely new devices. That’s means the list of wishes for OS 4.0 begins now. It also means increasing familiarity and impressions that are more valuable than the initial “OMG did you know it can do this?” and “Wow! Wow! Wow!” What follows are some likes, dislikes, tips, treats and more, disappointments and dreams for future updates.