Friday, June 28, 2013

Inside iOS 7: Mail gets advanced gesture support and reworked UI

Inside iOS 7: Mail gets advanced gesture support and reworked UI

By Mikey Campbell

Although not as striking a change as some other first party apps in iOS 7, Apple's makeover of Mail offers a number of usability changes that are welcome improvements over its predecessor, including gesture controls and a cleaner layout.Mail in iOS 7 continues Apple's theme of an uncluttered look with maximum usability, made effective by a predominantly white background behind thin black text. Popping out from the monochrome design are blue circles demarcating unread messages, and orange circles or flags for flagged content.Starting from the Account Setup page in iOS 7 Settings, things are already a bit different. For the first time, users have a way to easily add multiple "From" addresses to one IMAP or POP account, instead of listing out each one in a single text field. With the new system, users can also choose a default account from which emails are sent directly from the Settings menu.

Additionally, iOS 7 now lets users choose whether to send a deleted IMAP or POP account message to the "Archive" folder. Previously, only iCloud supported archiving, though attached Gmail accounts had a similar method that would send messages to the "All Mail" tab in Mail.

Moving to the Mail app itself, the home screen is spartan, but not uninviting. Small tweaks have been made to the Inbox layout, like truncated message string separation bars that don't run across the full width of the display, but stop at the left border of the email title text. filling in the dead space are the aforementioned unread and flagged message symbols, making them even more visible.Also changed are the small gray boxes showing the number of messages in a conversation. Instead, Mail in iOS 7 shows either on or two right-facing chevrons, respectively denoting a single email or a message string. A quick way to check how many emails are in a conversation is to use the newly implemented gesture controls to slide a message tile to the left as seen below.

On the subject of gestures, Apple has moved to more animated swipe controls, such as those found in the iOS Gmail client Mailbox. Swiping left now reveals a "More" button as well as a "Trash" button, the latter showing how many messages will be trashed. Selecting "More" brings up a contextual menu from the bottom of the screen in which users can directly reply, forward, flag, mark as unread or move an email.

In the opposite direction, swiping right from off screen will trigger the "go back" action present in other iOS 7 apps like Safari, making it easier to navigate between both emails and inboxes.

Unique to iOS 7 is the "Move to Junk" selection, which previously required an extra step after selecting "Move Message" when viewing an email. Moving messages now triggers an animation that brings up the account to which an email was sent, with a small thumbnail of the email displayed above the various account folders. Alternatively, users can still move the message to any other attached account by selecting "Accounts" at the top left of the screen.

Other graphical changes to Mail's Inbox screen include the nixing of iOS 6's "gummy" pull-to-refresh icon, which is replaced by the spinning wheel as used elsewhere in Apple's mobile OS.

Searching has also been enhanced, with the text input field still located near the top of any Mail window. Entering a query results in the dynamic search of all mailboxes, or just the currently active mailbox, with search terms highlighted in bold lettering.

Finally, Mail now includes a "shake-to-undo" feature that can restore messages mistakenly archived or sent to trash. In the current iOS 6, shake-to-undo applies only to text.Overall, Mail hasn't been greatly changed, but the revisions and small feature additions in iOS 7 are proving to be quite useful. More importantly, the implementation makes the process of sifting through numerous emails less challenging, while the layout is devoid of unnecessary eye candy.

It is unknown what will stick and what will be augmented or added in future betas, though Mail is shaping up to be a strong addition to Apple's built-in app stable.

Losing an iPad: Simple Things to Protect Identity and Theft on Your Mobile Devices

Losing an iPad: Simple Things to Protect Identity and Theft on Your Mobile Devices

Last night I had one of those incredibly horrifying moments that I hope you never experience.

Just as I’m getting ready to go to bed at 11 PM in my hotel room I suddenly realize my iPad was missing. Losing an iPad is upsetting – knowing the damage someone could do if they accessed online accounts using my iPad was terrifying.

Fortunately I knew I had some protection because I password protect my devices and had set up Find My iPad/Phone. Which can’t be said for many of the educators I noticed using mobile devices at ISTE. But had I done enough?

Photo Credit:Miguel AngelviaCompfight

Here’s what I learned! And I’m hoping my horrifying moment encourages you to improve the security on your devices.

Enable Find My iPad

Fortunately I had Find My iPad/iPhone enabled on all my devices. It is one of the first things you should do when you set up a new iOS device.

You’ll find detailed step by step instructions here.

Enable Password Lock

It’s pointless to use Find My iPad without password lock. Anyone finding your device before you realise it is missing is able to automatically access all your logged in apps and accounts as well as go to Settings > iCloud and turn off Find My iPad.

My device had been lost for 8 hours before I realised it was missing. They could have done considerable damage if they had been dishonest and able to use the device.

Fortunately I had password lock set up on my iPad.

Entering a password whenever you use your device may seem inconvenient, but you’ll appreciate having taken the precaution if you ever lose your device.

Here’s how to set up passcodes:

  1. Go to Settings > General > Password Lock.
  2. Turn Passcodes On.
  3. Create a four digit PIN and confirm it.

You can read more about passcodes here.

Enable Restrictions

Restrictions prevent changes being made to accounts or locations. It works similar to password locking your device except you need to use the correct password to make a change to accounst or locations.

If you don’t take this step, any one that finds your device before the auto-lock engages can simply turn off Find My iPad/iPhone just as fast as you activated it. When Don’t Allow Changes is enabled for locations, the Find My iPad section of Settings > iCloud is greyed out and it can’t be disabled unless you change restrictions for locations to Allow Changes using your passcode.

The idea is you use a different password from your password lock and it adds another barrier to making the change and it might not be something that someone who finds the device will know to look for.

I hadn’t set up restrictions so if someone had been able to work out my password they would have been able to disable Find My iPad.

Here’s how you set up restrictions:

1. Go to Settings > General > Restrictions.

2. Enable Restrictions.

3. Create a four digit PIN and confirm it.

4. Tap on Location Services (under privacy).

5. Select Don’t Allow Changes.

6. Tap on Accounts.

7. Select Don’t Allow Changes.

Using Find My Phone

Once you’ve enabled Find My iPhone you can log into iCloud on your computer and use it to locate or erase a lost device.

This is as simple as:

1. Log into iCloudon your computer.

2. Click on Find My iPhone.

3. Click on Devices, if you have more than one device, and then click on the name of the device you are trying to locate.

4. Now you have the option to Play a sound, enable Lost Mode or Erase the device.

You can read more about each option here.

The downside of Find My iPhone is your device must be connected to the Internet for it to work. So in my situation where I’m travelling with an iPad that uses WiFi connections iCloud won’t connect to device until the person who finds it manages to connect to the Internet. However, I still enabled lost mode so if someone did manage to work out my password, and connect to the Internet, it would immediately contact me.

Setting up Find My Phone on Android Devices

I also have an android tablet I’m travelling with. Setting up Find my Tablet/Phone isn’t as obvious as on iOS devices.

The best option is to first check if your android includes Find My Phone. I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and all Samsung devices have Find my Mobile (Settings > Security > Find My Mobile).

There are also a range of apps you can download for androids that work similar to Find My Phone.

What do you think?

This story did have a happy ending! I was fairly confident that is fell out of my bag in the hotel lobby. I went down to the hotel lobby to check and when they couldn’t find it I left my contact details.

The good news is someone had handed it into the hotel reception and the hotel manager had locked it in his office overnight. So they contacted me once he arrived to let me know they had found it.

I’m thinking:

  1. I should also add a label on the back of my devices with my email address.
  2. What type of security I need to set up on my laptop.

Thoughts? What other advice do you have? Let us know in the comments below and we will be sure to add it to the post!

Edublogs Support Manager @suewaters on Twitter

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Hidden feature of iOS 7 lets you control your iPad with your head

 DVICE6 Hours Ago

Hidden feature of iOS 7 lets you control your iPad with your head

Not everyone is a fan of the new look presented by Apple's iOS 7, but there does seem to be universal agreement that this is a real attempt by the company to launch an entirely new, more competitive version of its mobile operating system. And while the recent WWDC presentation revealed a number of cool new features embedded in the new OS, one really innovative tool has only just been widely exposed that indicates Apple has even more interesting things planned for the future of its interfaces.

Discovered by an anonymous tipster on 9to5Mac, the new iOS 7 feature allows a user to control their iPad using only head movements. The feature is located in the"Accessibility"section of the operating system's control panel, a familiar part of Apple's software designed to aid those with physical and visual impairments.

The new option uses the iPad's camera sensor to allow the user to control the tablet using left or right head motions, a feature that would be incredibly valuable to quadriplegic users as well as those with limited use of their hands. Although using the option is slow going due to menu constructs, the tool appears to be quite accurate.

With devices like the Kinectincreasing in popularity, and theLeap Motionpreparing for a big launch next month, this hidden-in-plain-sight feature in iOS 7 could hint at Apple's future plans for integrating more gesture controls in its operating system as a standard feature. You can see a demonstration of the head movement interface control in the video below.

Via 9to5Mac

For the latest tech stories, follow DVICE on Twitter at@dviceor find us onFacebook

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

iOS 7 for iPad Hands-On

 YOUTUBE7 Hours Ago

iOS 7 for iPad Hands-On

iOS 7 for iPad Hands-On

The iPad and iPad mini received iOS 7 beta support this week, bringing with it the design cues we saw presented at WWDC. We took a look at the newest version of iOS on the iPad today, and we'​ve got a video to go along with it.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Here's What iOS 7 Looks Like On The iPad [Gallery]

From Cult of Mac

Here's What iOS 7 Looks Like On The iPad [Gallery]

Buster Heine (1:07 pm PDT, Jun 24th)

We’ve seen a lot of what iOS 7 will look like on the iPhone, but for the past week there has been little info on the iPad version other than this video. The iOS 7 beta for iPad just came out though so we’ve already dug in and started to explore Jony Ive’s vision for the iPad.

Here is what iOS 7 looks like on an iPad:

Homescreen and Control Center
App Store
GameCenter

Maps 
Mail

Calendar

Notification Center

Camera

Newsstand

Clock

Contacts

Photos

Reminders

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Review: iPhone 5S Specifications and Features (a guess)

 ITECHWHIZ.COM3 Hours Ago

Review: iPhone 5S Specifications and Features

Apple iOS 7 is still be receiving the good reviews and hype in the iDevices fans. But this is not going to stop in fall 2013.

New iPhone 5S is coming out to the markets with Apple iOS 7 in october 2013. Apple is currently going through production of new iPhone 5S, 5th Generation iPad 5iPad Mini 2nd Generation and a Cheaper iPhone model.

Apple iPhone 5S launch in the last quarter of 2013, seems to be a perfect time for countering the competition that is coming from Samsung Galaxy S4 and other competitors.

Since, Apple iOS beta 1 is already out, we know most of the iPhone 5S features as for as software side is concerned. We have brought to you a iPhone 5S Review to give you an upfront idea of iPhone 5s specifications.

  1. iPhone 5S Display

    Apple iPhone 5S will features a super HD screen display. The iPhone 5S "Touch on Display” panel with 10 point multi-touch and a 0.5mm thickness, are manufactured by Taiwan based supplier, Innolux. This is sure to be the real deal in terms of display as the handset will have a Retina + Sharp IGZO display. The new iPhone 5S display will have a 1080p Full HD resolution for perfect clarity. To summarize it all, Apple iPhone 5s display is a huge improvement over iPhone 5 retina display with 727,040 pixels at 326 ppi resolution.
  2. iPhone 5S Camera

    Apple iPhone 5S have a beefier camera and a larger flash on the back, this is sure an improvement over iPhone 5 Camera. iPhone 5S Camera at 13MP is there to support modern art of photography. It is to be noted that 13MP cameras have already been experienced in Sony Xperia Z and Samsung Galaxy S4.

    New iPhone 5S Camera features and app to displays all of the shooting modes, and the user can easily tap them in order to frame shot like panorama, square, still or video.

  3. iPhone 5S Processor

    A processor upgrade was necessary to ensure that iPhone 5S is able to work perfectly with the added features and specs. A quad core A6X chip is highly is there on iPhone 5S to ensure the device works perfectly without any hang-ups..
  4. iPhone 5S 32/64/128GB

    iPhone 5S supports 32GB, 64GB and 128GB storage models. Apple had already exhibited its capacity of bringing 128GB model devices with the launch of a iPad 4 128GB model. Keeping in view that more storage has become almost a requirement to store photos and videos as well as professional designing, music and CAD production files, an iPhone 5S 128GB model is a good addition.

  5. iPhone 5S 4G Global Connectivity

    4G connectivity is the talk of town due to the high download speeds it is able to guarantee. iPhone 5S will be the epitome of video downloads music and movies. Recently Qualcomm has developed a 4G chip that gives a smartphone 4G Global LTE support. Qualcomm RF360 chip provides iPhone 5S compatibility with eight mobile network standards: LTE-TDD, LTE-FDD, EVDO, WMCDA, CDMA, TD-SCDMA, EDGE and GSM. This covers the full range of 2G, 3G and 4G networks. Which simply means that iPhone 5S will work with all mobile networks worldwide.
  6. iPhone 5S NFC

    In the past, Apple products with NFC was highly anticipated but never materialized, before NFC in iPhone 5S with an additional fingerprint scanner for added security.
  7. iPhone 5S Wireless charging

    Wireless charging is becoming a hit in the modern world of Smartphones, with Apple still reluctant to step in. Apple iPhone 5S specifications includes a wireless power utilization that use the near field magnetic resonance principle NFMR
  8. iPhone 5S iOS 7

    This is sure to be an even greater hit with iPhone 5S with the much waited release of iOS 7. This new software is sure to be better and swifter as compared to iOS 6 able to guarantee good speeds for multitasking. It is rumored that Apple had discussions with Beats CEO with a view of incorporating music streaming services to compete with Spotify and Xbox.
  9. iPhone 5S iTunes Radio

    iTunes Radio- This feature is an upgrade to the current iTunes and will include features like radio stations, which the users can create around their favorite artist & featured stations. It will be free & will not have any ads for iTunes.
  10. iPhone 5S Siri

    iPhone 5S features an improved Siri that has been enhanced, where the users can control phone action like play a past voice mail, increase brightness, turn on Bluetooth, etc.
  11. iPhone 5S Safari

    iPhone 5S comes out with a better Safari browser that has been improved with features such as unified search & URL field similar to Google Chrome.
  12. New iPhone 5S Colors

    Apple has released iPod Touch 5th generation in 6 colors including yellow, pink, white, blue and black. Apple next iPod Touch 6th Generation expected to come out with even more color options. Taking the cues from iPod Touch feedback, Apple plan to bring a range of iPhone 5S colors.

How To Tap Into Your Ipad’s Capabilities

How To Tap Into Your Ipad’s Capabilities

The iPad is an amazing piece of technology. You can sing, make videos, draw, take pictures, and many other things. Unless you learn the ins and outs of it, you won’t ever be able to utilize it to it’s total potential. The following tips will help iPad owners learn more about their device and use it to its full potential.

The latest operating system for the iPad supports folders. You can start by holding down on your app until it jiggles, and then place it on top of a related app. This action will make a folder that contains both apps named with whatever category the apps are. You can change the name to better describe the apps within.

You can access remote servers through a VPN network. If you want to establish a connection to a VPN with your iPad, locate the tab labeled Network and enable the VPN feature. A server address and username will be required to use this. Connect with that network administrator if the server address is something you don’t know.

Keep track of the apps your are running. Some apps can continue to run simultaneously with other things on the iPad. If you want to know which apps are currently active, all you need to do quickly tap the home button two times in succession. Current apps will show up along the screen’s bottom. To make the bar disappear, swipe downward.

Are you annoyed by how often your iPad asks you to connect to WiFi networks? You can stop this by going to settings. You will find an option that says to ask if you want to join networks. Select that and you will no longer be bugged by all of the incoming invites.

There are alternatives to viewing pictures if you do not want to click on the camera roll icon. Rather, you can swipe with one finger toward the right, and there is your video or picture! You can look at previous pictures by going left.

Lots of people initially find it difficult to type on a tablet. It is possible to have your iPad convert what you say into text. Tap the Home button two times, and then tap the Microphone button. When you finish speaking, press that icon again and the words will show up as text.

Apple iPad manuals only come in electronic form. Instead of including a manual with their products, Apple prefers that you download one.

The alert every time you have an incoming email can be very annoying. It is possible to shut this sound off. First you need to go to Settings>General. Select the Sounds option from there. Turn off sounds for New Mail or reduce the volume.

Taking care of that expensive new iPad is a very smart strategy. Quite a few people find that screen protectors work well with their iPads. This is a thin plastic film that adheres to your screen and keeps it safe. Clean the screen only with a soft, damp cloth. Never use a cleaning solution that you use around the house.

It is easy to access running applications quickly. By double clicking the home button, the apps will come up immediately on the bottom of your device. This can save you time when switching between apps because you don’t have to go back to the home screen and navigate to the app.

Do you hate it when you are surfing on your iPad and you cannot tell where a hyperlinked word will lead you? Here’s an easy tip to solve this problem. Hovering isn’t an option, but if you hold the word down your problem is solved. The URL associated with the hyperlink will be displayed.

If you’re constantly online, don’t overlook the iPad’s cloud function. This helps to safeguard and store your information on the hard drive. Be sure to store important documents on both the cloud and device.

Now that you’ve read this article, you will be able to accomplish more with your iPad. Just remember this knowledge, and share them all with your family and friends. Knowing more about using your iPad will allow you to teach and help others.

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Saturday, June 22, 2013

iPad: Open Recently Closed Safari Tabs

iPad: Open Recently Closed Safari Tabs

Do you use tabbed browsing on the iPad? If you don't, you should, and it's easy! Just touch the plus button underneath the iPad's search field to open a new tab, and then you can browse to a different webpage without having to navigate away from your original one.

Another great way to use iPad tabs is to press and hold a link on a page (rather than just tapping it to open it). That'll give you a contextual menu, from which you can pick Open in New Tab.

As you can see, that menu has some other cool choices. I like using Add to Reading List from here sometimes, too.

But what if you close a tab (or a whole bunch of them), and you didn't mean to? Instead of going back through your history to try to find what you've lost, you can just press and hold on that same plus button I mentioned above, and it'll show you your recently closed tabs.

Pick one to reopen, and you're back in business! If what you're doing on your iPad is business, that is.