Leander Kahney's Blog, page 1505

Split Your iPad Keyboard In iOS 5 And Give Your Thumbs A Workout [iOS Tips]

When Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, people either loved or hated the virtual keyboard. I still have mixed feelings about it, but I definitely prefer the one on the iPad over the one on the iPhone. It accommodates my big hands and fingers by being a lot more responsive, and with buttons so big I'm less likely to make mistakes.

Although the iPad keyboard is good enough for most people, users with smaller hands or people who like to use their thumbs for data entry will be happy to know the iPad virtual keyboard in iOS 5 can be split into two pieces that can easily be accessed using your thumbs.

If you press and hold the keyboard icon on the iPad's virtual keyboard, you'll be presented with a menu like this:

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If you select Undock, the keyboard is moved to a place in the middle of the iPad screen. That looks like this:

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If you select Split, it will look like a keyboard you can use with your thumbs while holding the iPad.

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There you go! Now you have a couple of keyboard options to use with your iPad.

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Published on November 03, 2011 12:00

Android Phones Are Pieces Of Crap Costing Telecoms $2 Billion A Year To Replace [Study]

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Think Android phones are pieces of junk? Now you've got the data to prove it. A recent study has conclusively proven that Android phones are much more prone to breaking than iPhones and even BlackBerries, and their cheapness is costing telecoms big: up to $2 billion a year, in fact.

The issue, says wireless services firm WDS, is the surfeit of cheap Android phones aimed at the low end of the market. These phones, which can cost as little as $100 to make, have helped Android increase its share of the global smartphone market to 57%, but have a tendency to break at the earliest possible opportunity.

When a device does break, it ends up being extremely expensive to replace. According to WDS, just returning a shitty Android phone to manufacturer can cost up to 127 dollars in service costs, transport fees and replacement costs.

On the other hand, there's Apple. Sure, the iPhone is more expensive than the average Android phone, but because Apple keeps tight control over every aspect of the process, from materials used to construction to replacement, not only are iPhones not as likely to break without the user being at fault, but they are cheaper for Apple to fix and repair if they do.

[via Reuters]

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Published on November 03, 2011 11:45

Awesome Stanza E-Reading App Is Dead and Amazon Doesn't Seem Interested In Bringing It Back

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About twelve hours after iOS 5 was officially released, I went through the considerable bother of downgrading my iPad 2 back down to iOS 4.3. iOS 5 was a great update, but for me, it had one fatal problem: it broke my beloved Stanza e-reading app irrevocably, and going without Stanza on my iPad was as impossible to contemplate as living without Mail or Safari.

For Stanza lovers, the situation is extremely frustrating, because Stanza breaks so totally under iOS 5 that you can't even load an ebook without the app crashing. However, the original developers can't update the app, because they sold it to Amazon.

When Amazon originally bought Stanza back in 2009, they promised that they weren't buying Stanza just to kill some of the free competition to their own Kindle e-reader. And, in fact, Amazon has updated the product several times since 2009, notably to bring excellent iPad support to the app.

But with iOS 5, Amazon appears to have abandoned all support for Stanza. That's particularly frustrating because not only was Stanza the best non-commercial e-reader around, it had many features that the competition still doesn't have: for example, it's excellent typesetting and formatting options, its wide range of supported formats and its killer swipe-to-dim feature, which makes reading ebooks easier on the eyes.

Sadly, Amazon seems to be avoiding all questions in regards to Stanza's future, having given Macworld the silent treatment when asked about what will happen with Stanza in the future.

So it appears that Stanza is now dead. However, by most reports, MegaReader is a pretty good replacement, especially considering the fact that the developer is going after Stanza's marketshare by adding Stanza's features to the app as quickly as possible. The only problem is that MegaReader costs a couple bucks, but that seems like a small price to pay to get most of Stanza's unique features back.

I suppose Amazon was bound to kill off Stanza eventually. After all, it seems pretty clear that buying the app in the first place was just a way to acquire talent and technology; the app itself never helped Amazon's bottom line. Still, just what a bummer.

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Published on November 03, 2011 11:25

Watch PBS's 'Steve Jobs: One Last Thing' Online, Right Here, Right Now [Video]

Watch Steve Jobs: One Last Thing on PBS. See more from PBS.

Did you miss the Steve Jobs documentary Steve Jobs: One Last Thing that aired last night on PBS or the UK's Channel 4? Those nice guys over at public broadcasting have slung the whole movie up online for streaming, free.

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Published on November 03, 2011 10:43

Use Real Pieces For Board Games On Your iPad With iPawn

My kids are huge fans of Disney's interactive Cars toys for iPad, but if you're after something a little more grownup, then maybe these iPawn game pieces from Jumbo are more your thing. They're the first iPad accessory that aim to bring board games to life, by providing real pieces that work on your iPad's touchscreen with a variety of games.

Each iPawn kit is $16, and there are four different kinds that are tailored for different games, with promises of more on the way. There's iPawn Game of Goose, Snakes and Ladders, Fishing, and my favorite, Air Hockey. Each kit includes the accompanying iPad app for free — you just need to download it from the App Store.

The iPawn pieces are made from a special ABS plastic that absorbs the electric energy in your fingers and transfers it to your iPad's display — much like many of the styluses available for the iPad, but unlike Disney's Cars toys, which use a metal base. This means the pieces do nothing while they're sat on your display, but they become active when you touch them.

I think the pieces may be a little unnecessary for certain board games, but for things like Air Hockey, they appear to make iPad gaming all the more enjoyable.

[via Gizmodo]

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Published on November 03, 2011 09:44

HP Revives Tablet Business with Windows-Based Slate 2

Remember HP's fiasco with the Slate, then the TouchPad? You'd think the company would run from the tablet market like a Silicon Valley investor with his hair on fire — but you'd be wrong.

After pulling back from the possibility of exiting the computer making sector altogether, HP is attempting to re-enter the tumultuous (but highly profitable) tablet market. The company is launching the Slate 2, complete with 8.9-inch stylus-bound capacitive screen, Intel's Atom 1.5GHz Z670 chip, 32GB storage, forward and rear cameras and six-hour battery.

However, missing is the webOS, which HP seems to have certainly ditched for Windows 7. You might remember webOS powered both the ill-fated TouchPad and the first go at the Slate. The device is aimed at "business and vertical markets" rather the bruising consumer sector which Apple seems to own lock-stock-and-barrell. Hence, the second-tier hardware.

All of which begs the question: if HP isn't going to compete against the iPad and it isn't going to enter the Android universe, why bother?

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Published on November 03, 2011 09:43

Get Temporary Access To Your Mac OS X Library Folder When You Need It [OS X Tips]

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The Library folder changed from being visible in Mac OS X Snow Leopard to being invisible in Mac OS X Lion. Apple decided to hide the Library folder from users to protect them from damaging the contents of that folder. Although that makes some sense from a security perspective, there are times when you need to get into that folder for troubleshooting or other reasons.

We've showed you how to make the Library folder permanently visible, but today I'll show you how to get temporary access to this folder. Using this method will give you access when you need it and at the same time give the folder the protection Apple thinks it deserves.

If you need to get temporary access to the Library folder associated with your user account, this is all you have to do.

Switch to Finder by clicking on any visible desktop space and then click on the GO menu. Your screen should look like this:

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Now while the GO Menu is displayed, press the Option key and it will change to look like this:

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See the Library option become visible after you've pressed the Option key? Select it and the Library folder (~/Library) is opened in a new Finder window.

Now you'll be able to browse, modify, change or delete the contents of the Library folder. In some cases you might have to enter a user id and password for a user with administrative rights to complete the task you are trying.

I think this is a great tip for people who don't know enough about Mac OS X, but might need to get access to the Library folder when directed to do so by AppleCare or some other technical support organization. Keeping it hidden unless needed would protect new users from accidentally doing something harmful to their computer.

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Published on November 03, 2011 09:00

Apple: Kindle Fire Could Fragment Android Tablets

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Photo: andrewchx

Remember the old line about the enemy of your enemy is your friend? Well, that could apply to how Apple views the Kindle Fire tablet from Amazon. Originally seen as a rival to the iPad, the $199 7-inch device could actually scramble an already disorganized band of Android-based Apple competitors.

Only available for preorder for about six weeks, some Wall Street analysts expect up to 5 million of the devices will ship during the holidays. The tablet, heavily intertwined with Amazon services, uses a customized form of Android not totally compatible with other versions. This is what excites Apple and why the tech giant's CEO and finance chief are not worrying about the threat.

According to Barclays Group analyst Ben Reitzes, who recently met Apple CEO Tim Cook and Chief Finance Officer Peter Oppenheimer, the company views the Fire more as a tool to divert developers from Android, fueling "further fragmentation in the tablet market." Because the Kindle Fire apps work only Amazon products, the success of the tablet could erode support for Android alternatives – and that can only help Apple.

"The more fragmentation, the better, says Apple, since that could drive consumers to the stable Apple platform," the analyst writes. Although Apple is likely to trim the iPad's price the Cupertino, Calif. company will not "compromise the product quality and experience," he adds.

The first Amazon Kindle Fire tablet, a 7-inch model, goes on sale November 15. A larger version, perhaps 10-inches, will probably launch during the second half of 2012.

What do you think? Is the Kindle Fire a threat to iPad, or just to other Android tablets? Let us know in the comments.

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Published on November 03, 2011 08:44

Apple Goes To War Against iPhone Porn Sites

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Apple has targeted a number of mobile pornography websites that use the company's popular smartphone in a bid to attract you to their saucy, one-hand wares. The Cupertino company has filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization which targets seven hardcore websites in total, all of which use the word 'iPhone' in their domain names.

While some of the domains quite clearly describe the content that is offered, such as porn4iPhones.com, others appear to be very innocent, like iPhone4S.com, which is the name of Apple's latest iPhone and would be expected to point to Apple's own website. Other domain names targeted by Apple include iPhonecamforce, and iPhonecam4S.

It is reported that the owner of the domains is unknown, with a privacy service in place that shields their personal 'Whois' information. The iPhone4S.com domain was registered back in August 2008, way before Apple announced its iPhone 4S, and even its iPhone 4.

This isn't the first time Apple has turned to the World Intellectual Property Organization to solve a domain name dispute. Just this July, the organization demanded that the domain iPods.com was transferred to Apple, and it now points to the company's website.

[via

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Published on November 03, 2011 08:28

Writing Kit Makes Writing And Research Easy On iOS [Review]

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If you need to do some serious writing on your iPad, you should give Writing Kit a try.

It's more than a text editor – the word "kit" in its name is the giveaway. This app is about the process of writing, which often (especially for non-fiction) means more than simply typing words.

Research, references and facts need to be found, checked and sometimes mentioned in the text. What Writing Kit does, with considerable flair, is combine the two tasks, writing and research, in one very attractive iOS-friendly package.

It comes with its own web browser, which uses Instapaper's text engine to reformat the web into something more suitable for mobile devices. Pages are stripped of adverts and other unwanted junk – all you get is the text you wanted in the first place.

There's also the Quick Research pane, like a mini browser for checking spellings, meanings and facts. Often, this will be all you need, but the browser proper is there if necessary.

Link Writing Kit to Dropbox and your documents are automatically saved there too, making it extremely easy to reach them on other devices when you need to.

There's so much more packed into this app: word count, document outlines, TextExpander support, browser bookmarks and a reading queue, HTML export, and that's just some of the documented stuff. There are even more tiny little extras tucked away in the corners. The only downside I've seen is one or two crashes, but neither of them resulted in my losing any work. Development of Writing Kit is very active so I'm confident any bugs will be ironed out soon.

If writing matters to you, and you're looking for a good way of doing it on your iPad, you should give Writing Kit a try. At $4.99, it's excellent value for money.

Rating: ★★★★½

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Published on November 03, 2011 08:15

Leander Kahney's Blog, page 1505

November 3, 2011