How To

Turn your iOS device into a killer Craigslist companion

I'm a bit of a Craigslist junkie. I've used it to buy everything from a piano to a loft bed to a go-kart, and to sell or give away a host of unwanted items.

But despite its spartan interface--or perhaps because of it--the service isn't particularly user-friendly. For one thing, it doesn't let me save individual listings. And adding photos to my own listing means copying them over from my camera, resizing them, and on and on. Hassle city.

That's why I'm jazzed about apps like Lifelike Craig HD, which can turn an iPhone, … Read more

Jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1 arrives, except for iPad 2

The cat-and-mouse game between Apple and the iOS hacking community is still afoot, with the recent release of an update to a tool that allows users to gain low-level system access and install unapproved third-party applications on iOS devices.

The iPhone Dev Team (not to be confused with Apple's own team that develops iOS), has released the latest version of its PwnageTool and RedSn0w tools, both of which let people jailbreak their iOS devices. The big news with this one is that it's "untethered," which means people don't have to worry about having to re-do … Read more

Apple AirPlay: 10 things you need to know

At some point you've probably heard about AirPlay, a wireless streaming feature found on your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or any Mac or Windows PC running iTunes. While some features had been available for years under the AirTunes moniker, Apple rolled out the AirPlay name and an expanded feature list in the fall of 2010. With the arrival of iOS 4.3, AirPlay has been further enhanced, and--perhaps most significantly--third-party consumer electronics manufacturers are adding it to their products.

Apple sums up the technology like this on its regularly updated "Using AirPlay" page, which has some troubleshooting tips.

With AirPlay, you can wirelessly stream videos, music, and photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to Apple TV (2nd generation) and stream music to AirPlay speakers or receivers, including AirPort Express. You can also wirelessly stream videos and music from your computer to Apple TV (2nd generation) and stream music to AirPlay speakers or receivers, including AirPort Express.

That pretty much tells you what it's all about, but here's a closer look at what you need to know about AirPlay and some tips for getting the most out of it.

Only a limited number of products are currently AirPlay-compatible: Right now, only a handful of products offer AirPlay compatibility (see slideshow, below) and they tend to be fairly expensive. The exception is the Apple TV, which only costs $99, and Apple's AirPort Express (also $99 list). The majority of early AirPlay products are speaker systems, plus a few AV receivers that offer built-in AirPlay support.

… Read more

Back up your data before April Fools' Day

Hello, world! Today it's your Backup Day. World Backup Day is a new idea promoted by a small team of Redditors, and it's a good idea. You can never be too careful when it comes to backing up.

By the way, this is about your data, and not calling your buddies over for help in a hostile situation, which is not really my area of expertise. So let's talk backups!

Basically it means putting your data in multiple places so that if something happens to one place (let's say you forget your laptop on the top of your car and subsequently back over it), that important PowerPoint presentation you've been working on isn't lost.

Backing up is much easier than you might think. For example, if you've been working on an important essay, you can just e-mail it once in a while to your mom or to yourself. Just make sure you use an online free e-mail service, such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, or all of them. This goes for photos as well. If you remember to e-mail them to your mom when you have new ones (and she'll probably appreciate that very much), chances are she'll save them for you on her computer, and even if not, they are still in the Sent Items folder of your online e-mail account in case you have lost the originals.

Obviously, e-mailing can only handle a relatively small amount of data and you'll have to remember to do that manually. If you have many files that need backing up, you'll want something more robust. This is when a backup plan is necessary.

Online backup Similar to e-mailing, an online backup plan provides you with a certain amount of storage space that you can access over the Internet, aka "the cloud." And no, your data is not flying in the sky, it's stored and managed on one or multiple servers located in different parts of the world. There are many online backup services, such as Amazon S3, McAfee, Mozy, or even Comcast. … Read more

How to download e-books from your local library

Before you purchase e-books from vendors like Amazon or from the iBookstore, see what your local library has to offer. With a library card and a free application, Overdrive Media Console, you can download free e-books and audiobooks to your iPhone (and any other iOS device), BlackBerry, Android device, or computer.

Remember, though, that most libraries might only carry a few copies of each title, so be ready to wait your turn. Additionally, most books have a loaning period of 7 to 14 days, so there's no room for procrastinating here.

Untethered jailbreak for iPhone, iPad running iOS 4.3 in beta

If you are a jailbreak fan, there's finally some good news coming from the untethered jailbreak camp, led by the hackers at the Dev Team--an untethered jailbreak is running iOS 4.3 in beta.

According to iPhone Download Blog, hacker Stefan Esser (@iOn1c) has come up with a solution, posting a tweet saying: "The iphone-dev-team is already beta-testing the untether. So it is up to them to give you your tool of choice."

Certainly if the Dev Team is running an untethered jailbreak solution for iOS 4.3, we can expect something soon. In the three weeks since the iOS 4.3 (and iPad 2) release, there hasn't been much exciting news coming from the jailbreak community. Until now, that is.

To back it up, renowned hacker MuscleNerd tweeted: "well @iOn1c's untether is solid! Just working out overall 4.3.x JB issues and Cydia :)"

There's still no official word on when the untethered jailbreak might be available, but signs are pointing to soon.

Will you jailbreak your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch? Let me know in the comments!… Read more

How to: Use Amazon Cloud Player for Android

Amid rumors of Google and Apple launching their own cloud music service, Amazon.com quickly released the Amazon Cloud Player. The service lets you upload up to 5GB of music to the cloud for free, which can be accessed from any other computer or Android device.

Sadly, iOS and other mobile platforms were left out--Amazon did not release an app or Web compatibility for them.

With the Amazon MP3 app for Android, you can play, edit, or download music stored in the cloud. Music you purchase from the in-app store can be automatically backed-up onto your cloud and won't … Read more

FaceTime freezing on iPad 2, iOS 4.3

A growing thread on the Apple Support Discussions forum suggests that FaceTime for Apple's iPad 2 may not be working as expected. The issue, which occurs during video calls made with Apple's FaceTime, may be a bug in iOS 4.3, not limited to iPad 2 owners.

ASD forum user chucknelson writes:

I had this problem on my iPad 2 as well. I restored the iPad and it was fixed, but during a FaceTime call I switched to the back camera and it froze the video on both ends of the call (but NOT the local video / video … Read more

Use iPhone 4 Personal Hotspot to add GPS to Wi-Fi-only iPads

Zachery Bir, on his Urbanape blog, explains how he used an iPhone 4 with the new Personal Hotspot feature in iOS 4.3 to add GPS to his Wi-Fi-only iPad. A tweet from Bir earlier in the day caused some skepticism when he posted:

From a technological standpoint, I must admit I was a bit skeptical as well. When deciding on which iPad 2 to get, I debated many of the same pros and cons as other customers wondering if the $130 upgrade to enable 3G on an iPad was worth the money.

Ultimately, I decided to put the extra money toward more storage and I settled on a black, 32Gb, Wi-Fi-only iPad 2. Upon seeing a post from Daring Fireball's John Gruber about Bir's findings, I feel as though my decision may well be completely justified. … Read more