Tips: May 2008 Archives

Official third-party iPhone apps are being announced left and right, especially now that Apple has released its SDK (software development kit) for easier iPhone development. Announcements are different than availabilities, however, and the most appealing software is still in development. Still, the most interesting ones are the unofficial iPhone apps Web sites are creating on their own.

Magazine and news outlets are giving us many different ways to get our info on the road.

Yesterday, we reported on how personal data can remain on an iPhone even after a reset and restore. An officer in Oregon was able to retrieve private information from a refurbished unit. Today, we've got a possible workaround to help iPhone owners keep their data safe when it's time to move on to a new smartphone. Securosis has posted instructions to - in their words - "minimize the chances" of data recovery from an iPhone.

In short, the process leverages large-sized playlists that, when combined, take up all the storage on an iPhone to overwrite all the data (personal and otherwise) on the device. See Securosis for the full instructions on how to perform this hack.

It's worth a try if you're getting ready to auction off that old iPhone model in preparation for a new 3G edition, when they're finally introduced. The latest rumor has Apple launching the new iPhone and the iPhone 2.0 firmware upgrade with the AppStore and everything on June 9th, during its upcoming World Wide Developer Conference.

[via tuaw]

Here's a scary story. According to a story reported on iPhone Atlas, a refurbished iPhone may still contain personal user data. It refers to a refurb iPhone, purchased from Apple and fresh out of the box that contained old e-mails from the previous user.

Apparently the "Reset" command found on the iPhone (Settings->General->Reset) and then choosing any of the 5 reset options, doesn't really wipe off all the data. It is still there on the iPhone. The restore function in iTunes doesn't do the trick either.

This is not such a surprising finding, according to much of the discussion surrounding this report. Old computers, crashed hard disks, even old ordinary mobile phone retain their data. There are only a couple ways to get rid of the old data - use a program that resets all the data to 0's, or completely destroy the hard disk, memory or computer/iPhone.

That Apple would allow iPhones out the door that could compromise the personal data of the previous owner, ones who had to exchange their iPhone for another or simply return it, is disappointing. It could especially be a problem in the near future, as thousands of current iPhone users swap their phones for the anticipated new 3G model.

Let's hope that the next version of iPhone software, called version 2.0, will allow the user to completely erase data and reset the phone.

After all, isn't iPhone 2.0 supposed to make the iPhone more enterprise friendly? So as to allow Apple to compete more effectively against the likes of RIM BlackBerry n the corporate market? This won't be the case if enterprises are going to have to worry about data on obsolete iPhones making its way into unwanted hands because Apple doesn't offer an effective way to completely remove personal or corporate information.

Apple's enterprise and security strategy for the iPhone, includes, among other things, adding support for Microsoft Exchange. This will enable the iPhone to support push mob-e-mail, calendaring, and contacts, as well as global address lists and remote wipe.

The last one is supposed to allay security concerns by allowing IT to remotely erase all data on a misplaced or stolen iPhone, so corporate secrets don’t get into the wrong hands. Let's hope it does this at the level needed to make all this personal and enterprise information completely unreadable.

Additional security feature will come to the iPhone in the form of support for the Cisco IPsec VPN, two factor authentication and enterprise-class Wi-Fi through support of the WPA2/802.1x standard.

Podcasting allows public radio junkies to take their favorite shows along wherever they may be going-and to listen to them when it's convenient, not when their local stations decide to air them. But sometimes you want to hear a story you heard teased-on the actual radio-and didn't catch. Or, a friend tells you about a great story from Morning Edition as she drops you off at the bus stop after work and you know you'll forget to stream it by the time you get home.

NPR's mobile service, m.npr.org (which you're often routed to if you access www.npr.org from your mobile) lets you listen via live stream on your smartphone or PDA or - even - dial a dedicated line to hear the story of your choice via a phone connection.

Check your data package to see whether radical cost difference might influence your choice. You'll want to have an unlimited plan if you do a lot of streaming.

In addition to the day's top news features, the mobile NPR site offers fun stuff like a Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me news quiz you can take and then send to a friend. Story of the Day and Song of the Day are also accessible from the mobile home page. Just another way to feed the habit-but don't let it sway you from contributing locally at pledge time.

The other day I tried to purchase an album from iTunes through the Wi-Fi Music Store on an iPhone. Unfortunately, the transaction couldn't be completed because there wasn't enough storage space on the device. 8GB isn't what it used to be.

While it's easy enough to delete some photos (but only from the pictures you take on the iPhone itself) and e-mails (one at at time!), like with an iPod you can't delete audio files from an iPhone without connecting to a computer. This is frustrating for those who need to make space quickly, but mostly have music on their device.

But what if you've got some videos (an even bigger memory user than music) on your iPhone? Ah, well, that's a different story altogether. You can actually delete videos with no PC or Mac present.

Here's how to do it:

First, you can remove a video from your iPod after it finishes playing, for example. Simply hit yes when you're asked by a dialog box if you want to remove it.

You can also swipe a finger from left to right over a video title in the iPhone's video list. This will bring up a red Delete button - the same one you see when deleting an e-mail or a picture from the Camera Roll in photos. Tap it to continue deleting. Hit cancel if you've changed your mind.

Should you delete a video from your iPhone to save space, it'll still be in your iTunes library. So, if you want, you can sync it back to your phone again later on.

Some find it annoying that iPhoto on the Mac opens every time they plug in their iPhone to synch it with the computer. iPhoto opens up as soon as the phone is plugged in – even when there are no photos on iPhone’s “Camera Roll.” To stop this from happening, there is a preference in iPhoto that needs to be changed.

Here's what you do:

Open iPhoto->Preferences->General. Change the option “Connecting camera opens” option to “No application”. Close iPhoto.

The next time you plug in your iPhone, iPhoto will not open. To synch photos from the iPhone’s “Camera Roll” change iPhoto’s preferences back so that “Connecting camera opens – iPhoto.”

Here’s an easy way to get just some of the photos you have on your computer onto your iPhone.

In iPhoto, create a new album called “iPhone photos.” (File->New Album). Then drag and drop selected photos from the iPhoto library on your computer into this album.

Connect your iPhone to the computer and open iTunes. Under the tab “Photos” check the box “Synch photos from iPhoto” and the box “selected albums.” Then scroll down the list of albums and check only the album called “iPhone photos.” Synch your phone.

All the photos on your iPhone will disappear, except for the photos on your “Camera Roll,” and a new album - “iPhone photos” - will be there.

You can add to, delete, or change the photos on your album, just by changing the contents in the iPhone photos album in iPhoto.

Delete e-mail messages without even reading or opening them.

On your iPhone you can delete e-mails without even reading. With the list of e-mail messages on the screen, just stroke your finger across the message you wish to delete. Then tap the red delete button that appears. It is that simple.

We take a close look at ringtone creation for the iPhone.  It's a process that is as easy or as involved as you'd like it to be

Author: Damon Brown

Last September'>September we did a column on the new iPhone ringtones - or, namely, the lack there of. Licensing problems with the five major music groups made only eight percent of the Apple Music Store available as a ringtone. As you may remember, out of 14.3 days worth of music, I had 14 songs I could turn into a ringtone. Therefore, we focused on a "backdoor" way to turn your music into a ringtone (which Apple blocked in iTunes update 7.4.1.2) and virtually ignored the Apple sanctioned way - simply because you probably didn't have a song that qualified.

Now there are many, many more songs that qualify as ringtones - nearly 100 songs in my collection are available. (Side note: I proudly ring Menahan Street Band's jazzy "Make the Road By Walking," as opposed to the generic tubular bells default plaguing iPhones since last June.) This is an excellent time to look at the ringtone creation process. It is as easy or as involved as you'd like it to be.

An application called iPhoneRing ToneMaker allows you to create your own ringtones from any MP3, WAV or OGG music file in your collection. The software automatically transfer the tones to iTunes or your iPhones. Apple makes you pay for ringtones, even if you already own the song. Not so with this software. The developer says the whole process takes only 30 seconds per tone. Best of all, you can supposedly do all of this without hacking or jailbreaking. Normally $19.95, the application is on sale now for $14.95.

See here for more information.

With the advent of Web Clips, iPhone and iPod touch users can now save thumbnails or icons to their devices' Home Screens that'll lead them to specific locations on a Web site. For the most part, these bookmark icons are generated on the fly. However, Apple does offer site managers and developers a way to control how these thumbnails look to iPhone and iPod touch users. All you need to do is follow a few simple steps outlined at Apple's iPhone Dev Center.

Here they are:

To specify a bookmark icon for all pages of a website, place a PNG image named "apple-touch-icon.png" at the root directory of your web server - similar to the "favicon.ico" for site icons.

To override the site bookmark icon on a specific webpage, insert a <link> element similar to <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/customIcon.png"/> within the <head> element of the page.

To specify an icon for a single webpage, or replace the website icon with a webpage-specific icon, add a link element to the webpage as in:

<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/custom_icon.png"/>

In the above example, replace custom_icon.png with your icon filename.

The bookmark icon dimensions should be 57x57 pixels. If the icon is a different size it will be scaled and cropped to fit.

Safari on iPhone will automatically composite the icon with the standard "glassy" overlay so it looks like a built-in iPhone or iPod touch application.

Author: James Maguire

Okay, you’ve bought your iPhone, showed it to all your friends, and learned to love it. The thing’s cool. But now you want more. You want your iPhone to sing and dance and play with you. You want more functionality – and more fun – and you want tons of freebies.

With that in mind, peruse this list of iPhone apps. Lots of cool tools. Weather, sports, news, personal productivity, information retrieval/search, games, music, travel, social networking an eBook reader, even time management apps: they’re all here.

Check ‘em out here.

Author: Philip L. Graitcer

With the economy in flux, I've been checking my stocks a little more frequently. It's easy to do on your iPhone. Here's how to add a stock, index or mutual fund:

 From the home page, chose the Stocks application

 At the bottom right side of the screen, tap "i"

 Tap the "+" on the upper left side of the next screen and enter the ticker symbol of your stock, index or mutual fund. If you don't know the symbol, just type in the company or fund's name and tap Search at the bottom right side of the screen. A list of companies with similar names will show up. Tap the one you want

 Tap Done on the top right of the screen, and you will be returned to the main stock page. In a few seconds, your stock's current selling price and dollar gain (or loss) will appear.

 You'll also see a chart showing the price trend during the past days, months or even two year period. You can chose the period by taping on the time period you want.

 If you prefer seeing percentage change rather than dollar change, tap on the dollar change box.

 If you want to add another stock, just tap on the "i" again. You'll be back on the edit page. You can even change the order of the listed stocks - place your finger on the three lines to the right of the stock name and drag that stock up or down. Tap Done when finished.

Author: Philip L. Graitcer

Last week, I was on a business trip in rural Georgia without my iPhone charger. By changing a few settings, I was able to conserve power and keep my iPhone running until I returned home.

First, I kept my calls to a minimum and stopped using the iPod and Web features of the phone.

Next, I changed my iPhone settings to optimize battery life. Here's what I did:

 Changed Mail Auto-Check: Normally I my iPhone checks for mail every 30 minutes. To conserve your battery, turn off the mail auto check (Settings > Mail > Auto-Check and tap Manual), or increase the auto-check interval to every hour (Settings > Mail > Auto-Check and tap Every hour).

 Reduced the number of mail accounts your iPhone checks. You can turn off a mail account, or delete it. Then you can set your emails up so that all of your accounts forward to one account that is checked on your iPhone. (See you email service provider's instructions)

 Turned off Wi-Fi: If you are not using Wi-Fi, or are in an area where Wi_Fi is unavailable, turn it off. (Settings>Wi-Fi>Off).

 Turned off Bluetooth: Turn off Bluetooth. (Settings > General > Bluetooth > Off).

 Decreased Brightness. You can either dim the phone's brightness. (Settings > Brightness, drag the slider to the left). Also you can turn on your phone's auto-brightness adjustment so that it will only use the amount of brightness necessary (Settings > Brightness and set Auto-Brightness to On).

 Turned off EQ: Using the equalizer on song playbacks can decrease battery life. ( Settings > iPod > EQ and tap Off)

With the iPhone, you can use any picture that you've synced through iTunes or taken with the built-in camera as wallpaper. It is a great and simple way to add a little bit of your personality to your iPhone.

Here's how to do it:

Press the home button to get to the iPhone's home screen.

Select settings.

Select Wallpaper.

Choose the folder from which you want to select your wallpaper image.

 You'll see one labeled Wallpaper at the top with pre-loaded wallpaper pictures from Apple. That's where our rose in the picture above comes from. Next up is Camera Roll, where all the pictures you take with the iPhone are stored. Underneath that is the general Photo Library folder and then all the folders you've synced from your desktop.

Select an image.

What you'll see next is how the image you selected will look as wallpaper.

Thankfully, you can move and adjust the picture as much as you like with your fingers through Apple's multi-touch interface. Use one finger to move an image around. Use two, pinching them together and widening them apart, to shrink and enlarge the picture.

Once your satisfied with how the image looks, select Set Wallpaper.

That’s it, you’re all set. The next time you turn your iPhone on, you’ll be greeted by the picture of your choice. Unfortunately, that’s just about the only place you’ll see wallpaper with the iPhone. It doesn’t even appear on the home screen, which remains a dull black no matter what.

And, annoyingly, there doesn't appear to be any easy way to go back to not having wallpaper once you start using it. It seems you have to stop syncing or delete that image from your iPhone. All you can easily do, apparently, is change the wallpaper to another picture.

In addition to your own pictures, there are free wallpaper sites out there that have images you can download already formatted to fit smoothly on the iPhone's 320 x 480 pixel resolution display. Simply download them to your computer and sync them to your iPhone.

Author: Philip L. Graitcer

The mapping feature on your iPhone is great - find your current location (just tap the circle on the left side, bottom, of the screen) and then tap Directions. Enter an address (or get one from your Contacts list) and you're on your way. You can get driving directions or an overall map of your route complete with a blue line going from here to there.

But how can you see details on the map?

You can use "the two-finger spread" - put two fingers together in an "I", place them on the screen and just spread them apart into a "V"- you'll zoom in. Another way to zoom in is the just tap the screen twice with one finger. If you need more detail, tap with a finger twice again. Your map will zoom in.

Zoom back out by making a "V" with two fingers, touch the screen with both fingers, and then move the fingers together (into an "I"). An easier way to zoom out, however, is just tap the screen with two fingers. Keep your fingers an inch apart and tap. The map zooms out. You can continue tapping with two fingers until you've zoomed out to a map of the entire U.S.