Tag Archives: action

5 Automator workflows everyone should have

Posted on May 10, 2013 by admin

I meet a lot of people with Automator anxiety: they think using OS X’s built-in workflow-maker is a lot more complex than it really is. The truth is that Automator workflows are (a) pretty simple to assemble and (b) great for simple but repetitive tasks that you do all the time anyway. To show you what I mean here are five workflows that I think pretty much every Mac user should have. They do things we all need to do: Wrap text in quotation marks, for example, or count the number of words in a selection of text. There might be other ways of doing the same things, but Automator is built into your Mac and you can implement them yourself for free in a couple of minutes. Wrap text in quotes This one works with selected text to wrap it in quotation marks. To start, create a new Automator Service workflow and configure its header area to process selected text in any application. Click the Output Replaces Selected Text checkbox so the result of the workflow—the wrapped text—will be inserted in place of your selection. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Apple News, Apps, Camera, Cases, CES, Features, Inside Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Macs, Other, Reports, Styluses, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Wargame: European Escalation a challenging strategy game

Posted on May 9, 2013 by admin

Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from Macworld UK . Visit Macworld UK’s blog page for the latest Mac news from across the Atlantic. Wargame: European Escalation is a technically accomplished and challenging strategy game that will definitely appeal to hardened strategy gamers. But it could be a bit daunting for less experienced players. The game is set in Europe during the period 1975 to 1985, when the Cold War was still very much alive and kicking. It presents you with a what-if scenario in which a minor skirmish on the border between East and West Germany escalates into all-out war between the Western forces of NATO and the Russian-led Warsaw Pact. Focus Home Interactive It’s an intriguing set-up, and the fact that it’s set only a few decades in the past allows the developers to use real news footage to set the scene and create an atmosphere of tension at the start of the game’s 22 missions. However, you are thrown into the action with very little help. The game does include a Skirmish mode where you can practice against the computer in small battles, but there’s no real tutorial to help you get started and we quickly found ourselves stumped by even simple tasks, such as troop selection and movement. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Apps, Camera, CES, Features, Inside Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Mac News, Macs, Other, Reports, Styluses, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nest Learning Thermostat gets update, learns to compensate for sunlight

Posted on April 29, 2013 by admin

Nest, makers of the popular Learning Thermostat, have pushed out an update for their device, adding the ability for the thermostat to adjust its behavior to sunlight, as well as other new features. Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Apple TV, Apps, CES, Features, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iTunes, Mac News, Mac Rumors, Macs, Other | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Report: Electronic Arts laying off up to 10 percent of workforce

Posted on April 25, 2013 by admin

Layoffs are striking video game publisher Electronic Arts, for the second time in a month. According to reports, as many as one in ten employees have been axed from the company, making an estimated 800 people looking for work. This latest round of firings are part of a restructuring effort so the company can focus on “new technologies and mobile.”…         Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Apple Rumors, Apps, Camera, CES, Features, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mac News, Macs, Mounts, Other, Peripherals, Reports, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to take meeting notes that really work

Posted on April 16, 2013 by admin

As a doctor, educator, and administrator, I attend a lot of meetings. That means taking lots of meeting notes and, after those meetings are over, making sure that all of the action items we’ve decided on get done. Over the years, I’ve tried many different ways to do so. For ages, I regularly hauled my MacBook Pro along with me, and relied on a variety of apps to capture notes and to-dos. Next, I transitioned to taking handwritten notes with the Livescribe Echo smartpen ; that pen translated my scrawl into computer-readable graphics. But—true to the physician stereotype—I have awful handwriting, and my notes were illegible. To make matters worse, that workflow offered me no good way to hand over my action items to OmniFocus , my task manager of choice. Finally I hit upon an effective workflow: Using an iPad coupled with a Zagg Folio keyboard , I take notes that are immediately available on all my other devices in a format I can search quickly, and to-do items get into OmniFocus almost seamlessly. Here’s how it works. Taking notes For starters, I have two note-taking apps on the iPad (and iPhone): Drafts and Notesy . To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Apple News, Apps, Camera, CES, Features, iCloud, Inside Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Mac Rumors, Macs, Other, Reports, Styluses | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Techdy Announces ‘Game D’ iPad Mini Controller Case [iOS Blog]

Posted on April 11, 2013 by admin

Techdy is hoping to transform the iPad mini into a dedicated gaming device with the Game D , which is both a case and a controller for the tablet. Game D fits onto the mini like a standard Apple Smart Cover , but provides a d-pad and four action buttons designed for games. Game D is the project code name for a revolutionary Gaming Device specifically made for iPad mini. It is the most powerful yet the most portable gaming device ever made. It attaches to iPad mini magically as a gaming add-on or as a smart cover. It is designed for both portable gaming and arcade gaming. It is an open source gaming device. It opens up unlimited possibilities to all Gamers and Developers. The aluminum alloy Game D case can be mounted onto the back of the iPad mini with magnets to provide a controller for handheld gaming, or set on a flat surface to be used as an arcade-style platform in both landscape and portrait modes. At this point in time, the prototype Game D is designed to work with the games that support iCade, but an open source game developer kit will be made available in the future. Techdy is currently running its own crowdfunding campaign, offering reservations for the Game D at $39. A Pro version priced at $59 includes backlighting, dual analog thumbsticks, and vibration. If the 30-day funding campaign is successful, the developers plan on adding a joystick. The Game D is still in prototype mode and Techdy plans to let community supporters decide on a final name, custom colors, and an app user interface design. Reservations for the Game D can be placed on the Techdy website . Orders made during the funding period are set to ship before August 2013.         Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Apple Rumors, Apps, Cases, CES, Front Page, iOS Blog, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mac Blog, Mac Rumors, Macs, Other, Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Judge accuses Apple, Google of using courts as ‘business strategy’ to settle

Posted on April 11, 2013 by admin

Apple and Google-owned Motorola aren’t showing any signs of interest in actually settling their patent disputes, said one federal judge in Florida. Instead, the two firms are more interested in using the courts as a business strategy. Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Apple News, Apple Rumors, Apple TV, Apps, CES, iCloud, Inside Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iTunes, Macs, Mix, Other, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple and Yahoo In Talks Over Deeper iPhone Partnership

Posted on April 9, 2013 by admin

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple and Yahoo have been discussing how to integrate Yahoo’s services more prominently in iOS, beyond powering the Weather and Stocks apps. Yahoo also provides sports scores to Siri, but Yahoo has significant content deals related to news, sports and finance that could be tapped. Data from Yahoo Finance and its weather site already come preloaded onto iPhones and Yahoo data like sports stats help power Apple’s voice-activated “assistant” Siri. But the companies continue to discuss new arrangements, including possible deals to get more content from Yahoo Sports and Yahoo News, among other Yahoo Web properties, preloaded onto Apple devices or available through an expanded partnership with Siri, one of these people said. The WSJ also says Yahoo would like to provide search results to Apple in Safari, but Microsoft’s Bing search engine currently powers Yahoo Search and Apple has a long-term deal with Google as the default engine on iOS. The paper did note that no deal is imminent, and negotiations appear to be in the very early stages. Former Google executive Marissa Mayer took over as the CEO of Yahoo recently and has been focusing a lot of energy on Yahoo’s products and content, rather than its traditional strengths in advertising.         Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Apps, CES, Features, Front Page, iCloud, Inside Apple, iOS Blog, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mac Blog, Mac News, Mac Rumors, Other, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

DealNN: Lenovo IdeaPad S400, cut to $399, more

Posted on April 2, 2013 by admin

This week TigerDirect.com has reduced the price of the 14-inch Lenovo IdeaPad S400 notebook PC from $539.99 down to $399.99 for a savings of $140. That’s about $70 less than the lowest price we have seen anywhere else. FREE shipping is included and sales tax applies for residents of FL, IL, TX, and NC. The Lenovo IdeaPad S400 features a 1.8GHz Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Windows 8 is pre-installed and a one year warranty on parts and labor is included from Lenovo…. Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Apple News, Apps, Camera, Cases, CES, Features, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mac News, Peripherals, Reports, Speakers, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gmail for iOS Updated with Ability to Swipe Between Messages [iOS Blog]

Posted on March 27, 2013 by admin

Google has updated its Gmail app to version 2.1, adding swipe controls that allow users to navigate backwards and forwards through emails without returning to the inbox. Edit mode is now initiated when a message in the inbox is selected, allowing users to quickly organize emails into folders and add labels from the action bar at the top of the screen. -Swipe left or right to move between messages without returning to the inbox. -Take action on multiple messages more quickly: Selecting a message in the inbox now enables edit mode. Once in edit mode, tap on messages to select them and then choose to archive, delete, or more, from the new actions bar. You may select Cancel at any time to leave edit mode. -And of course: performance improvements and bug fixes. Gmail is a free app that can be downloaded from the App Store. [ Direct Link ] Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Apple News, Apple Rumors, Apps, CES, Features, Front Page, iOS Blog, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Mac Blog, Mac Rumors, Other, Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment