What is Home Share on the Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple TV?

A client recently wanted to sync her music from her Mac to her iPhone. Since I am not a Geek and don't keep up with my iTunes Music much I assumed that it was automatically syncing just like my contacts, calendar, mail and photos.

I was wrong. (shocking I know!) My explanation for what things sync and what is treated a different way is ownership. I own my contacts, calendar, mail and photos. I do not own the music in my iTunes. In many cases I purchased the CD's that I copied onto my computer or paid for downloaded albums. Someone else owns the copyright, so Apple handles it differently. You are allowed to have 5 authorized computers. This allows you to put the same content on 5 different devices.

First you have to set up Home Sharing on all of the devices that you want to share. This involves going to the setup and putting in your Apple ID and Password. On your Mac open iTunes and go to FILE>Home Sharing. For some reason mine was already set up and it said Turn off Home Sharing. I don't remember setting this up, but was glad that it was already on. 

On your iPhone and iPad you do this through settings. Click on the Settings Icon and then Find Music in the list of things to set up. At the bottom it says Home Sharing and again mine already had my Apple ID entered in that space. On my Apple TV I also went to the Settings Icon. Then under General and Accounts I found Home Sharing. Again it already had been set up with my Apple ID

At that point I really wondered why my music lists were not the same on the different devices.  I was just missing one step. On each of the devices except for the computer I  had to find the place that listed what I wanted to listen to. On both my iPhone and my iPad there was a pull down menu that said Artists, Albums, Songs, Genres, Composers, Compilation and what I had not seen before Home Sharing!  Once I switched to Home Sharing the devices connected to my computer and now I can play the same music on all of them. Once I had done that magically all of the music was added to my list on the Apple TV.

Buena Vista Social Club

Right now I am listening to one of my favorite albums through my Apple TV and surround sound!

Moving Documents to your iPad from your Computer and Printing Them

Now that a lot of us have iPads and use them all of the time we want an easy solution to getting our documents from our computers and to the iPad. Even better we want them to sync so that the same copy is on the iPad that is on the Computer.  Then we want to be able to print! We are demanding!

Luckily, there are lots of ways to move your documents from your iPad to your computer and to keep them in sync.


1.  PAGES - Using iTunes you can add documents from your computer to your iPad. They don't have to be .pages documents. You can even put .doc and .docx documents into Pages for iPad. In pages you can edit the document and then instead of "Saving As" you choose "Export" and export it as a .doc or whatever other format you can choose.

To add to your Pages App on your iPad:

• Plug your ipad into your computer. 
• Open iTunes 
• Your ipad will show up on the list on the left side
• Click on it and look for the apps tab on the top. 
• The apps tab will show all of the apps that you have installed on your ipad. To get to pages slide down the page.
• Click on Pages on the left side and on the right side it will show you all of the documents that you already have on Pages in your iPad. 
• If you want to add a document click ADD at the bottom and find the document you would like to put up there.

Anything that is listed in the Pages documents can be edited with the pages application. You can then send it by email to your computer or use iTunes to move it back over or print it right from Pages if you have a WiFi printer (see below)

2.  GOODREADER -

Annotated PDF

GoodReader is an app that you can download to your iPad for free. Documents that you put here can be annotated. It is great for reading .pdf files or for teachers/professors who need to grade papers. After you have made the annotations that you want on the document you can send it by email. Goodreader always saves the annotated document and also the original that you began working with.

3.  DROPBOX - When you put a document into Dropbox you are actually putting it onto a server online. That server can be accessed by any computer that has the Dropbox app downloaded to it OR by logging in online at http://dropbox.com. Before you use Dropbox you sign up for an account. That way only you have access to your documents unless you specifically share them. When you work on the document and save it the changes are saved in Dropbox and so they are available on your iPad. You cannot edit a document in Dropbox, but if you have a word processing app on your iPad you can open the document into that app from Dropbox and work on it and then save it back into your Dropbox.



4.  MS OFFICE ON IPAD - Now you can get Office on your iPad. But wait! There are some drawbacks. It takes 450 MB of your iPad space just to load it. It is based on a subscription model that costs $99 annually.

5. GOOGLE DOCS - The great thing about Google Docs is that you can access them anywhere.  Google docs, also called Google Drive offers word processing, presentation, spreadsheet apps and others. When you type something in Google Docs it is saved on a server and you can access it through a browser anywhere that you have Internet access. If you need to access documents without internet access you can download Drive as a folder on your computer where you can access files even when you are not online. If you make changes they will upload the next time that you are online. 

PRINTING

You must have a WiFi printer and an app that can print in order to print from your iPad. You can print with Pages, MS Word, and there are many print apps (both free and up to $6.99). In my experience it takes a few times to get printing to work correctly, but don't give up. Search online for Printing with an iPad to get more information and quit when you are frustrated and start again when you are ready.

Arranging the Icons on your iPhone or iPad

The iPhone and iPad are amazing. There are so many apps that eventually you have too many and it is difficult to find anything. In this post I will go over several ways that you can organize your apps so that they are easier for you to find.

ON THE PHONE

1.  Alphabetical Order

You can only organize the apps that you have downloaded and added to your iPhone or iPad. The ones that come with the phone cannot be changed.  Go to:

• Settings 
• General 
• Reset 
• Reset Home Screen Layout

Now all of your apps, except the ones that came with the phone are in alphabetical order. If you like it this way you will have to redo this each time you download an app because they download to the first empty space or to the end rather than in alphabetical order.

2.  Putting them in Folders

It is possible to put your apps into folders so that you can sort them into types. You can name the folders yourself.

• Hold down one of the icons until they all have x's and shake.
• Drag one of the apps onto another one that you want in the same folder.
• Click the name at the top of the folder window and erase the name that is there and type what you want it to be.
• It will be the same size as the icons before, but when you click on it the folder opens to reveal all of the apps inside.

3.  Pages by subject

At the bottom of the iPhone window above the bar with the programs that do not change when you go to a different page of icons there are dots. Each dot represents a page of apps. When you swipe the dot that represents the page you are on becomes bold.

Some people like to organize their apps by making each page one of their categories. They might put all games on one page or all music apps on another page.


ORGANIZING ONLINE


Probably the easiest way to organize the apps is in iTunes on your computer with your iPhone or iPad plugged in because the icons are larger and you can use your mouse. 

1. Plug your iPhone or your iPad into the computer that you use for syncing.
2. Go to the iTunes Program and you can see all of the pages of your apps at one time. 
3. Now using your mouse you can do the same organizing that you were doing on the phone before. You can drag apps from place to place and create folders or pages with your organized apps. When you are finished click on apply at the bottom to make sure to  have the same set up on your phone.
4. The only thing that is more easily done on the device than on the computer is alphabetize the apps. Remember that alphabetization will not reorder the default apps that came with your phone. 

ON THE IPAD

The iPad works in the same way that the iPhone does and so if you follow the directions above they will help you to organize your iPad

I cannot help you with your Android or Windows devices because I am not sure if they work in the same way or not.

RUNNING OUT OF SPACE? 

I recently had to do an update to my phone and the message it sent me was that it could not download the update because there was not enough empty space on the device. 

The way to deal with that is to open your phone and go to SETTINGS.  In SETTINGS choose GENERAL

In GENERAL choose USAGE. This will give you a list of all of the apps that are on your iPhone or iPad and then you can look through the list to decide if there are apps on there that you never use.

Remember that on your computer you have a comprehensive list of everything you have had on your iPhone.  It keeps track of the apps that you have removed. You can always add them back in without paying for them again if you paid or if they were free!  

Apps for your new Device: 10 apps I use and several others to try!

Did you get a new device for Christmas? A device might be an iPhone, an iPad or any sort of tablet or phone that uses Android as an operating system. Because I use an iPhone and iPad that is what is highlighted in this post. Most of these apps have android versions.

Now is the time that you are probably looking for new apps to use on your device. Since there are so many this blog will just share a few favorites that you might want to try.

MY 10 DAILY APPS

I use my iPhone and my iPad several times a day. Here are the ways that I use them. 

1. I use the Clock in the morning for meditation. Once I start meditating I find that having a timer set helps me to focus on my inner self instead of what time is left. I also set it for an hour when I am with a client to help us keep track of the time we work together. I also use it as an alarm clock when I am traveling.

2. I use the Map function, either Maps or Google Maps, to figure out how to get to my next customer's house. I can even have it talk to me to tell me the directions as I drive. Once I even used it when I was already at the address I was supposed to be at, but could not find the building. By following the blue dot that showed where I was in relation to the destination I finally found it.

3. Of course I use it as a phone on a regular basis.

4. I use Messages to text my husband when I just have something short to say like, "on my way home"

5. When I am in a waiting room or flying and want time to pass quickly I play Angry Birds or Candy Crush Saga. These are the kinds of games I like, but there are tons of other games with better graphics and more action.

6. Gmail has an app that connects to my email, so if I am somewhere that I can't get it and need to I can access it. I find it harder to write back on the iPhone, but sometimes I do.

7. Contacts-I use this all of the time to find addresses, emails or phone numbers for people. I really LOVE the fact that it is with me all of the time.  I can add people into it easily.

8. Calendar-I use this all day to schedule things for the future, to see what I am doing in the next few hours or even to look back to see what I did in the past.

9. Grocery IQ - This is an awesome app that keeps my grocery list for me. I can put into it lists of items that I buy from certain stores and then when I am at the store it is easy to look and see what I usually buy there. I use it to make my weekly shopping list and then check off the items as I get them. I never write grocery lists anymore!

10. Lots of sites are websites that also have mobile apps. I use Yelp to find restaurants I am interested in going to OR to review services that I have used. Facebook has an app. These apps make working on your device a bit easier and help you skip the step of having to search for them on a browser

I use the iPhone all day. It has changed how I do things. As you can see, most of the apps that I regularly use came with the phone or are free to download. There are so many apps out there that I don't usually download anything that costs something.

Following is a list of other recommended apps that I found online with a few comments.

Waze - This is another MAP app that is free and comes highly recommended. It can also give you traffic warnings. It can be used in a social way so that others can see where you are driving and you can see their routes.

Shazam - This is an amazing app that can find the name of any music that you hear. It does have to be close enough to the origin of the sound to figure it out. I am in a coffee shop now and it is not able to find the music that is playing.  

i-nigma - By now you have probably seen those square marks that look sort of like bar codes. They are often on advertisements, but you see them all over now and they ask you to scan them for more information. These are QR-Codes. i-nigma is a QR-Code scanner. Here is one that I made with another app called QR Code maker.

Layar- This app lets you get an idea of what people who are using Google Glass might be seeing. It is sort of a futuristic app. Amazing and fun.

Lose It - This app can help you keep track of what you are eating, how much you are exercising and how your weight is changing. It works on calories and tells you the calories of food. It can read barcodes and enter the information from the barcode into the program. 

Tree ID - This is an app I downloaded to find out about a tree that I did not recognize in my yard. It walked me through the identification process. I think it is really handy to have.

Flashlight - This is not an app, but is a part of the regular operating system on an iPhone. If you slide up from the bottom after turning it on you are given a window with a lot of choices. Choose the one that looks like a flashlight and it makes the camera into a very strong light.


As I wrote this and looked for icons I realized that there are many more apps that I use often. There is just so much available!

Some of the apps in this post are from this New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/26/business/basic-apps-for-smartphones-and-tablets.html?hp&_r=0

How Can Airplanes Allow WiFi Use?

 Last weekend I flew to Chicago to visit my son. It was a new experience on a flight for a few reasons. None of the reasons had to do with weather although it was an issue this weekend.

For Christmas I got a GoGo Pillow for my iPad. https://www.gogopillow.com/
It actually fits all sorts of tablets (kindle, nook, android, mini ipad, regular ipad, etc...) The thing about it is that the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) rules have changed so that you can use small devices on the plane even on take off. They still ask that you put away your laptop because it is big. If you want to pay you can even be online while FLYING!  Since I am not a Geek, I don't really know HOW they do that. From what I have read you are connecting to a WiFi that is on the plane, but you cannot use other Internet Connections or use your phone. 

What you CAN do is connect to your email online, so that you send and receive right away. You can stream a video or TV show from the Internet to watch rather than have to take up space downloading it to your device first. You can just look up things on the Internet (maybe plan your trip or shop!) while on the plane. Our airline was offering TV shows and movies that you could purchase and watch through your device for a small amount (99 cents for a TV show). This was on a 3 hour flight where there is usually no entertainment (except for the flight attendents reading the rules).

They ask that during the take off and landing that your device (iPhone, Kindle, etc...) is in Airplane Mode. That means that you have chosen the setting where your device cannot try to connect (ping) during that time. Laptops and devices are always sending out messages to see what else is around them. Even if you are not going to get onto the Internet your computer can see what options are available. 

So, what did I do? Well, it may sound boring, but it did make the time go fast. I set my iPad up on the GoGo Pillow so that I could see it easily. Then I played Candy Crush Saga, Solitaire, and Angry Birds Star Wars. No one told me to put it away when taking off or landing!  I did check out connecting to the plane's wifi and decided I didn't want to spend any extra money to be online. 

After several hours in the airport with a flight delay because of weather I was pretty brain dead, so this was all I could do at the time!  Also, take offs and landings are times when I want to be occupied with something other than noticing how well things are going. iPad games are really good for that!

I also liked using my Gogo Pillow to as an iPad case. I don't think that all tablets will fit, but anything the same size or smaller than an iPad 2 will fit inside the zippered area.  It is pretty cool.

________________________________________________________________________

Extra Bonus Information:  How to put your iPad or iPhone into Airplane Mode. On the HOME screen choose the Settings icon. The first thing you see when you get there is Airplane Mode on the left side. Just click the slider and it will turn green. That shows that Airplane mode is on. As long as this is set you will not be able to connect to the WiFi at all.

iPad: Transferring Docs to Mac and Back

Occasionally I have worked with people who have Pages both on their Mac and on their iPad. It only costs $9.99 to put Pages onto your iPad. I had version 8 when I started and was not able to transfer documents. You must upgrade to version 9 in order to transfer documents. When I did that it automatically upgraded the copy of Pages on my Mac. I didn't know it would do that, but it did!

The process for adding pages from your computer to your iPad follows:

• Go to iTunes on your computer. 
• Plug in your iPad.
• Select your iPad in iTunes and select the apps section at the top.
• Slide down the page until you see Pages under File Sharing and click on it.
  
  
  
• Click on Add at the bottom of the page.
• Find the document by following the path on your computer.
• When you click on it you will see it added to your list in the iTunes Pages list.
• Now go to Pages on your iPad. 
• Click on the + sign.
• 
  
• 
• Choose “copy from iTunes”
• When you see the document that you want to import to your iPad click on it and it will be added to your iPad. You must have iWork 09 on your computer or this will not work, even if you have iWork 09 on your iPad.

Here are the instructions about moving the files from Pages on the iPad to iTunes and finally saving them on your machine:

• Open up Pages on your iPad Select the document you want to move and open it.
• When the document is open click the wrench on the top right corner.
  
• A window will open. Choose “Share and Print”
• That will open a new list. Choose “Copy to iTunes”
• Now plug your iPad into your computer and choose which format you would like to transfer (pages, doc or pdf)
• When you choose the file will automatically be transferred to your computer.  In order to see it you have to open iTunes.
• Click on the Apps category at the top and slide down the whole page until you see Pages. 
• Click on Pages and a list of the documents that you have transferred will appear.
• Choose the document that you are interested in having on your computer and click “save to” at the bottom. 
  
• A window just like most save windows will open and show your folders on the computer.  Choose the one you want to save it to and click Save to.
• Now you will be able to open it up on your computer.

This is a lot of work to go through if you have lots of documents to transfer. You may want to consider using the cloud in order to keep your file system and import all of the files at once. Here are steps to do that:

• To Set up iCloud go to Settings on your iPad.
• Click on iCloud on the far left list.
• Sign in with your account.
• Use the sliders next to each of the apps to show what you would like to sync.
• Make sure that Documents and Data is turned on.
• Scroll down to Apps on the left side of the settings window and tap Pages
• Slide “use iCloud” to ON.

To put new folders on your iPad in Pages: 

First hold your finger on a document you want in a folder until it wiggles. Then drag this document on top of another one that you would like to have in a folder. A window will open up with Folder 1 as a name. You can type to replace the name with a new name.

 

I learned most of this from:

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH3567?viewlocale=en_US

Using Outlook for eMail

Lately I have been getting a lot of questions about using Outlook, especially on a Mac. Below are some of the questions and my response.

I use two different email addresses.  How can I set them up to both send to my same Outlook account?

There are two ways to do this.

1. If you want to have two separate mail boxes which you open separately and that keep one account separate from the other you need to set up a second profile.  Here are the instructions for setting up a second profile. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KbzzVjjn
   
   In this scenario your set up is almost like having two different email accounts. You read and send mail with one account and then switch and read and reply with the other account. You will always have the correct account in the from: area where people reply.
2. Another option is to have two email addresses that both send to the same mailbox. Here are the instructions for setting that up.
   
   Go to Tools>Account Settings in Outlook.  Click "new" and then add your second mail account. Now you have two different accounts that both have the same mailbox.

I have two different email addresses that both feed into my Outlook account. How can I reply to someone with the account I want to use with them?

When you send mail you will notice that below the send button is the word Account with an arrow. If you click the arrow it will give you a list of the accounts that are set up in your system. Choose the account you want to use for your reply and then click send.

You can change the default address for replying if you find that you are having to switch too often.  To do this look under the Tools menu for Account Settings or Email Accounts. You should see a list of which email accounts you have set up. Highlight the one you use most often and click "set as default".

How do I get my Outlook calendar to sync with my phone?

The main thing to realize is that your calendar is a part of your email set up and so when you set up your email you are also setting up your calendar. 

Windows Phone - Flick left to the app list, tap settings, tap email and accounts, tap Add an Account, Depending on your Version of Windows Phone choose Outlook or or Windows Live. Enter your Outlook. com address and password. Tap sign in. 

iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch - Go to Settings-Mail, Contacts, Calendar and choose HOTMAIL. Fill in your Outlook email and passwords. Choose what you want to sync and tap SAVE.

Other Phones - You will need to download an Android app. Go to this link and follow the directions. 

http://tinyurl.com/cobm3rq

Unfortunately this app has fairly poor reviews. Maybe it will be improved in the future. 

What is the difference between an Outlook Exchange account and Outlook that I have at home? 

Outlook Exchange is a set up of Outlook that is run from a server (a server is just a computer that can share everything through a network). The reason that employers like it is that it is a closed system that allows workers from the same company to interact and share among other workers in the same company easily and safely. As a user you do not see a lot of difference between Outlook Exchange and regular Outlook, which is what people use on a home computer.

 If you are using Outlook Exchange at work and you want to access information on a home computer you will need to talk with the System Administrator to get information about how to connect.

Can you explain Outlook Express and Outlook 365?

Outlook Express was a free version of Outlook which came with some versions of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office. It was meant for personal use rather than the more robust Outlook that was designed for offices. Right now you are encouraged to download Windows Live Mail instead if you want a free email client (program that works on your computer). 

Outlook 365 is a service with a monthly or annual fee. It uses Windows Sky Drive as an online server which saves all of your mail. Signing up gives you 20 Gigabytes of Sky Drive storage. It does allow you to install it on five machines, so it can be cost effective even though it is a subscription rather than a one time purchase.

If you have a Mac and want a shortcut to get to your Outlook mail the MailTab app for Outlook will do that. Here is a link to the app on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mailtab-for-outlook/id582581625?mt=12  

Here are links to some of the sites where I found the best information:
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Outlook

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTSn_z3OrpM

Microsoft
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/what-is-a-microsoft-exchange-server-account-HA001230171.aspx

PC World
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2026710/why-office-365-is-a-better-deal-than-office-2013.html

DISCLAIMER: I learned these things from looking them up on the Internet and have not experienced them. I use Gmail and the mail app on my iPhone and iPad. They work well and easily for me.

Getting the Most out of your iPad

Tomorrow I am doing an iPad seminar for Austin Computer Learning Center. I have created a handout for the session and I think it might be helpful to share it here. Please ask questions!  You can do it by pressing the word COMMENT at the bottom of the blog post and typing in the window that comes up. You can do it anonymously or sign up if you want to.

Setting up your iPad

The set up icon looks like this and can usually be found in the bottom row of icons.

Use settings whenever you want to set something up. 

Under the category of General you can find:

• eMail

• Clock

• Calendar

• iCloud

• Gestures

• Brightness and Wallpaper

There is also set up available for all of your apps. It is a good idea to click into all of these and see what they can do for you. You can always get back to the original setting if you change anything by accident (or on purpose!)

Getting Around

The HOME Button - Whenever you are done with an app click on the home button to return to the desktop with all of your apps.

This does not close the application. To do that you need to use 4 fingers and slide the screen up. All of the applications that you have used should show up there.

Hold your finger down on one of the icons until all of them start jiggling and have the red minus sign next to them. Completely close the programs by touching the red minus sign one at a time. To get rid of the - signs click once on the home button.

What is on my iPad?

The iPad comes with some interesting apps.

• Weather

• Clock

• Map

• Contacts

• Safari

• Calendar

• Notes

• Camera

In the session I will take a little time to show each one of these and answer any questions.

The Search Window

When you are looking for an app, but do not see it you can just swipe to the right to get the search window. Type in the name of what you are looking for and it will show up in a list.

Typing

Anytime you click on something and have a cursor the keyboard opens up. The keyboard is sensitive and takes some getting used to.

If the keyboard is in the way just press this key and it will disappear. 

 

Gestures

You must turn this on in settings. Under GENERAL. It is called Multitasking Gestures.

Use different numbers of fingers for different effects.

1. One finger to scroll up and down and to click on things.
2. Two fingers to pinch and make something smaller or to move out and make it larger.
3. Three fingers to tap the screen for it to temporarily enlarge the print. Tap again the same way to return to normal.
4. Four fingers to scroll up to see what programs are open.
5. Four fingers and a thumb to close an app and go to the desktop.

Setting up an account

In order to download anything, even free apps, you must have an account with iTunes. This will help you keep track of what you have downloaded so if you lose your device or it gets erased for some reason you can download them again. You should sync with a computer on a regular basis, so that it keeps a record of what you have downloaded.

To get an account:

1. From your home screen click on settings and then choose store.

2. Choose "create new account"

3. Choose your country, then tap "next"

4. Choose to agree to terms

5. Fill in your email, a password of your choice, and question to be a password hint. Click next

6. Put in your billing information. Once it is in there you will not have to type it each time. This info has to be in there even to get a free app.

7. Click done and check your email account for verification.

After you have verified this you can try logging into make sure it works.

Downloading apps

1. Find the App Store icon

   The little red number in the corner is the number of apps you already have that need updates.

2. After you click on it several choices will appear at the bottom of the screen.    
3. For this example I am going to use Web MD because I have heard good things about it.  Type it into the search window in the App Store.
4. Notice it is free and has been rated with 4 stars. 
5. To get it I just click on the word FREE. 
6. After I click on the word "FREE" it changes into the word INSTALL.
7.  When I click on the words install app it asks for my password. 
8. When I put it in the app starts to install. 
9. You have to put your account password in even when something is free. 
10. Once I put a password in the app downloads right to my iPad.

Apps to Share

• Web MD for iPad
• Crossword Puzzles/Word Search Puzzles
• Skype
• AARP magazine
• Flight Status
• Silver surf-high contrast
• Mobile me gallery
• ABC
• Netflix
• NPR
• Google Earth
• Pandora
• Smule Instruments 
  
  
  There are so many cool and helpful apps. What is your favorite?