In Depth: 50 really useful iPad tips and tricks

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In Depth: 50 really useful iPad tips and tricks: "

Unbox the Apple iPad and, after you shield your eyes from the glorious glow and pay homage to the Cupertino gods, you'll discover a powerful computing appliance, one that does not emit an effervescent aura but does provide some handy tools for getting your work done, watching TV shows, browsing the web, and chatting over instant message with your friends.

Beyond the basic email and photo viewing, here are 50 tips to get more from your iPad and make your life fully fulfilled.

1. Use a custom wallpaper

Like the iPhone, you can use a custom wallpaper. First, use Safari to find the image you want. (Try Interfacelift.com, which has iPad-sized images.)

View the image, then press and hold on the screen and select Save Image. Now, go to Settings, Brightness & Wallpaper. Flick to the right, go to Saved Photos, and select the image. Press the Set Lock Screen or Set Home Screen option, or Both.

2. Control iPad notifications

Have you ever played Tap Tap Revenge on the iPhone? Good, then you know how annoying notifications can be. These messages pop up on the iPad as well. but you can control them. Go to Settings, Notifications, and configure which alerts (and accompanying sounds) will appear.

3. Read iPad books in portrait

You may be tempted to read e-books in landscape mode -- with the Apple iBooks app, you'll have a few more on-screen aids and a book spine. The spine, though, has this fuzzy pattern that actually draws your eyes away from the words and ruins the immersion of the e-book. Go portrait instead.

4. Make use of the dock

The iPad ships with just a few apps on the dock, but you can have up to six. Just press and hold down on an app and drag it into position on the dock. To remove one, press and drag away.

5. Password protection

You can password-protect apps like iTunes so that a family member can't buy every U2 record with your credit card. Go to Settings, then General, then Restrictions. Press Enable Restrictions and type a password, then turn on the restrictions you want for the apps available. Note that this password is different from your iTunes password - you'll need to tap in both.

6. Keep a cloth handy

Unlike the iPhone, the iPad does not use the oleophobic coating to keep smudges from accumulating on the screen. (Our guess: it would cost too much on the 9.7-inch screen.) Second best option: keep a cloth handy to wipe off grime, or use a kit like the one from Griffin.

7. Charge at night

It might seem obvious, but the best way to charge the iPad is overnight -- it takes a good four to five hours for a full charge from near empty.

8. Use the Kindle reader

Amazon offers the free Kindle reader for iPad, and it is a welcome addition. All of your Amazon e-book purchases will be available immediately, and Amazon prices are much better than iBooks.

9. Use an Apple keyboard

Any Apple Wireless Keyboard will work with the iPad. In fact, you can prop up the device without the expensive dock, use the Pages app to type up long documents, or reply to emails.

10. Shake Facebook

The Facebook app loads in a 1/8 view, which is lame. But, it works the same as it does on the iPhone: you can shake the iPad (gently) to reload your Facebook page quickly.

11. Go full-screen with ABC

It might not seem possible at first, but the ABC Player app -- which lets you watch TV shows on the iPad, but only from that network -- starts in a vertical view. Once you play a show, though, you can turn the iPad horizontally and the show will play in full-screen landscape mode.

12. Touch differently

For those used to the iPhone, there is a new art to using the iPad. With the Photos app, for example, you can control your shots in new ways - try pressing with two fingers in the all photos view. You can then spin the photo and slide it around. (This works exactly like a Microsoft Surface table.)

13. Expand your Home

There are 11 home screens available, and you can drag icons to the right of the main Home screen at anytime, not just when you load new apps.

14. Re-install deleted apps

Once you buy an app, you can always re-install it even if you delete it from your device. Just go to the App Store and buy the app again. You will see a prompt that you have already bought this app and an option to re-install it without having to pay for it again.

15. Drag sites to the Home screen

Like the iPhone, you can add as many web sites to the Home screens as you want. Just go to the site you want, then click the Plus sign next to the URL. Press on the Add to Home Screen option.

16. Connect to an HD

You can connect the iPad to your television. You'll need the Apple iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter, which connects to the 30-pin port on the iPad and to the VGA port on your HD.

17. Use 802.11a for reliable streaming

If you want the most reliable Wi-Fi signal for streaming videos from, say, YouTube.com, use a router that supports 802.11a, which does not have the best range but does not conflict with the 802.11g signal used by microwave ovens, baby monitors, and other wireless devices.

18. Set your EQ

Be sure to set the EQ for the iPad, which makes the sound quality much more listenable. Go to Settings, then iPod, then EQ. Select the style of music you listen to most often.

19. Switch search engines

You do not have to use Google for searching from the Safari browser. To switch to Yahoo, go to Settings, Safari, Search Engine, and then select Yahoo.

20. Adjust your email signature

Using the default 'sent from my iPad' signature line for every email makes you look cool, but also tells your e-mail recipients that you do not know how to change it. Go to Settings, then Mail, Contacts and Calendars and select Signature. Type in any text you want.

21. Groups your icons

Savvy iPhone users have learned to group icons according to categories - business apps, video and music, games, etc. On the iPad, this is even more important because the screen is much larger and it is easier to get lost in app confusion. You can even group icons in their own screen.

22. Shuffle your slides

The iPad is a great picture frame, although we're still waiting for an app that streams live pictures from, say Flickr. For now, you can easily shuffle your photos when you use the slideshow mode in the Photos app. Go to Settings, Picture Frame, and enable the Shuffle option.

23. Go VPN

The iPad supports a VPN connection. To configure it, go to Settings, then General, Network. Select the VPN and move the slider to On, then add a VPN configuration with your server and account details.

24. Use widescreen for some movies

Depending on the movie you watch, widescreen mode might work better. To use it, go to Settings, Video, and enable the Widescreen option.

25. Get free e-books

The iPad supports the ePub format, and you can load these books simply by e-mailing them to yourself. Search on the Web for 'epub' to find book collections. Some libraries let you check out ePub books.

26. Mute the device

iPhone users know you can press the volume button to mute an incoming call. But there are no incoming calls on the iPad. You can still mute the device by pressing a holding the volume down button for about two seconds.

27. Type fast

The soft keyboard on the iPad does not work like the inaccurate keypads on a smartphone. You may be tempted to type slow and methodically, but no worries: you can actually type your normal speed and the iPad, using its Apple A4 processor, keeps up rather nicely.

28. Start a slide show while locked

Once you save your first photo to the device, you will see an option on the unlock screen to start a slideshow. Just click it and the slideshow will start. Under Settings, you can adjust slide timing.

29. Download podcasts

You can search for and subscribe to podcasts so they are downloaded automatically to your iPad. Go to iTunes, then click Podcasts at the bottom of the screen. Search for the one you want and select it, then select Free next to the episodes you want. Note: to subscribe to podcasts, you need to use a PC and sync with the iPad. Why this is true we have no idea.

30. Quick browser scroll

You can scroll to the top of any web site by double-tapping on the top of the title window.

31. Copy and Paste

You can quickly copy and paste text by holding down, then tapping Copy, then going to a different window, and holding down and tapping Paste. To select a paragraph of text tap four times.

32. Turn off email alert chimes

You can turn off the chime for new e-mails. Go to Settings, then General, then Sounds and disable the chimes. You can also adjust the sound level here.

33. Perform a hard reboot

You can reboot the iPad by holding down both the Home and Power button for a few seconds until the device reboots.

34. Take an iPad screenshot

Like the iPhone, you can take a screenshot by pressing Home and then the power button. Images are saved automatically in the Photos gallery. Here, you can view or email them.

35. Increase iPad battery life

The iPad battery can last for up to 10 hours, but you can squeak out a bit more usage. Drag the brightness slider (under Settings, Brightness) as low as you can stand, turn off both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (under Settings), don't play and videos or music, and avoid gaming apps.

36. Save space for more music

When you connect your iPad to iTunes, there's an option under summary that, when enabled, will automatically convert all songs to 128 kbps, which will save space on the device.

37. Turn off duplicate names for Wi-Fi nets

The iPad has problems if you use a dual-channel router (one that supports both 802.11a and 802.11n at the same time) if the networks use the same name. Change the SSID to different names.

38. Avoid USB docks

The iPad does not charge when you connect it to some USB docks. Instead, plug in the cord directly to a USB port. Note that, on some PCs, USB port son the front of the computer may not work either (these are considered part of a USB dock) so you will need to plug into one on the back.

39. Look for dead pixels

When you first buy an iPad, make sure you look closely for any dead pixels. You can run iBooks and flip to an empty page to help. Dead pixels are tiny dots in white or black. If you find one, be sure to go back to your retailer and exchange it for one without dead pixels.

40. Use a protective cover

The iPad does not scratch easily, but it still scratches. Apple offers an iPad case to protect the device, as does Tom Bihn and iLuv.

41. Connect the audio

The iPad has great audio quality - if you use earbuds. The speaker is not exactly robust, but you can connect the iPad to a stereo using a 3.5mm mini-to-mini cable.

42. Search with Spotlight

If you flip to the left of the Home screen, you can quickly search for music, movies, apps, and just about any text. Just type in what you want and tap on the item you want in the results.

43. Replace a word

When you hold down on a word to copy it, you will see a new option: replace. Here, you can paste in a word (one you copied before) that replaces the currently selected word.

44. Get even more dim

You can lower the brightness setting down to a low level using the Brightness option under Settings. But the iBooks app has its own brightness slider, which you can use to lower the level down even more.

45. Watch web video full screen

You can watch web videos in full screen. Just flick with two fingers. Flick back to return to browsing.

46. Zoom in on web sites

You can zoom in on any web site by flicking out with two fingers on the screen. This also makes it easier to select words and tap links. To zoom out again, just spread out two fingers.

47. Watch the heat

Despite what we hear from Apple, the iPad does get quite hot after long periods of watching a movie or playing games. Grab a magazine as a buffer tray between your lap and the device.

48. Remove The Elements

Here is one quick way to save tons of space: if you bought The Elements app, you can save about 1.5GB of space by removing the app. It also makes iPad back-ups when you connect to iTunes takes forever.

49. Watch HTML5 videos

You can watch videos in the Safari browser, once companies start supporting HTML5. The first rumor: CBS is already prepping a service that will make it possible from a web page.

50. Access the iPod

Like the iPhone, you can access an iPod pop-up by double-pressing on the Home button.

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"

(Via TechRadar: All latest feeds.)

Should You Migrate from Exchange Server to Google Apps?

I've thought about this with some smaller clients. After reading through the features left out below, this would have been catastrophic for some of the m.

Should You Migrate from Exchange Server to Google Apps?: "

The following article is reprinted with full permission by Paul Cunningham from ExchangeServerPro.com.  Be sure to check out Paul's excellent, free Exchange 2007 transition guide.

There is some recent buzz (no pun intended) around Google’s release of their Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Exchange tool.  The tool does what you would assume from its name, or as Google puts it:

Now you can migrate email, contacts and calendar data from on-premise and hosted Microsoft® Exchange to Google Apps, whether you have just a few users or tens of thousands.

Feature Overview

• Perform a centrally managed bulk migration of users


• Selectively migrate email, calendar or contacts (or any combination thereof)


• Migrate in phases for very large migrations

Businesses of all sizes are migrating their email systems to Google Apps (though many are moving from Lotus Notes or Novell Groupwise, not Microsoft Exchange).  You can see some of the case studies and stories on this Google page.  Google Apps is clearly a good fit for these businesses or they would not have made the move, but I’ll be honest, every time the idea has been floated for a customer I’ve talked to there has been some requirement that makes it impractical or impossible to move to Google.

Among Google Apps’ benefits are cost reductions for some customers and better support than their in-house staff can provide.  Feature-wise Google Apps certainly does provide a basic email, calendar, and contacts experience.  In some areas it is lagging behind though, such as this recently announced Google Labs (ie, experimental) Smart Scheduler for Google Calendar which provides similar ‘Autopick’ functionality for scheduling meeting times to what has been in Exchange and Outlook since the 2003 editions.

Features Google Left Out

I was curious enough to read the Administration Guide for Google’s new migration tool.  The migration process is interesting enough, but even more interesting are the features that are not migrated to Google Apps.  These include:

• Public Folders


• Inbox Rules (have to recreate as Filters)


• Importance Levels (not available at all in Google Mail)


• Signatures (available in Google Mail but you can’t have multiple signatures that you manually insert as required)


• Shared Mailboxes


• Categories for mail, calendar, or contact items


• Out of Office status


• Calendar attachments


• ‘Rich’ content in calendar items (eg hperlinks, text formatting)


• Flags and follow up reminders on Contacts


• Notes


• Tasks


• Journal Entries


• RSS Feeds

Some of those are mild inconveniences at the small end of the scale, but become massive inconveniences when you scale it up to thousands of users when you consider the time and effort required to educate your user base about these kinds of impacts prior to the migration, and field the inevitable support requests that come up afterwards.

Some of these are total showstoppers, for example if your business makes use of SharePoint workflows that assign Tasks.  Public Folders, though deprecated in recent Exchange Server versions, are still critical to many organizations as well, and Google offers no direct substitute that I can see.

Some features appear on par with Exchange, such as the archiving and discovery capabilities.  Google Apps includes Postini for email spam and virus filtering, which is well regarded in the industry and performs well in my experience with good self service controls for end users to manage their own quarantines and rules.

Postini also has content based policies that are similar to Exchange Transport Rules though they appear less flexible than what is available in Exchange Server 2007/2010.

Additional Considerations

In other areas that are quickly becoming important to businesses, such as Rights Management integration and Unified Communications, the Microsoft offering seems to be well in front (particular Microsoft’s tightly integrated UC experience across its many Office application and server products).

For Google Apps I can’t find any information on what customers should do about their non-Exchange mail requirements, such as mail-enabled scanner/printer devices or LoB applications that use SMTP for routing messages to internal and external recipients.  If the solution is to keep an on-site SMTP server available that somewhat undermines the Google ‘Manage your business, not your mail server’ marketing.

Exchange Server 2010 is an outstanding product that delivers real benefits to businesses of all sizes, and has amazing integration across the Microsoft product line for collaboration and communications.  I work with customers to implement and support Exchange Server every day.

At home I’m a Google Apps user myself.  I use the free edition to host email for some of my domains because I’m a one-man business and it makes little sense to run an Exchange Server all to myself, not to mention the hardware costs which I’d rather keep invested in my Exchange labs instead.  But for customers who have taken even just a few steps away from the basic email, calendar and contacts usage of Exchange I struggle to see the benefits of moving to Google Apps.

"

(Via Petri IT Knowledgebase.)

Basics of setting up Windows Server Failover Clustering

Simple writeup of failover clustering in Windows Server 2008+ here....

Extract a complete ISO from an encrypted DVD

Extract a complete ISO from an encrypted DVD: "My search for a program comparable to the Windows' application DVD Decrypter is finally complete. If you've ever wanted to create an ISO of a DVD -- in order to keep all of the menus, special features, language options, etc. of an encrypted DVD intact -- I've got a straightforward solution:

1. Download and run the (free and open source) Fairmount from Metakine Inc.


2. Insert the DVD into your computer; in a few moments Fairmount will 'ghost' a decrypted image of your DVD.


3. Run Disk Utility and select this new image from the left hand panel (it will look something like disk3).


4. Select Images » Convert... in Disk Utilitys menu.


5. Name your file, select a location, and use 'DVD/CD Master' for the image format; click Save.

Once Disk Utility is finished, you'll have an exact copy of your DVD which can be mounted for future use by a program like DVD Player or Handbrake...










"

(Via MacOSXHints.com.)

In Depth: Top 20 best iPad apps

In Depth: Top 20 best iPad apps: "

The iPad has arrived, in the US at least – and that means deciding which apps you should purchase and download right away.

We tested the launch apps and we've ranked them based on how they test out, if they make use of the larger screen, and any added perks.

1. Kindle for iPad

Why list a free e-book reader as the top pick when Apple's own iBook is included? Ask anyone who owns a Kindle – with this free app, you can download every book and magazine you have ever purchased for free and read them on the iPad.

The Kindle reader doesn't have the annoying grayscale book spine of the iBook reader, and books through Amazon are cheaper. There's also a much wider selection. And, one of the best ways to use the iPad is for reading books, mags, and newspapers.

2. Blackboard Mobile Learn

The second free app that tops our list, Blackboard Mobile Learn is a classroom learning tool where teachers can make assignments, interact with students, write blogs, and post grades. It requires a backend infrastructure. Currently available only for higher-ed schools, Blackboard will add K-12 support by June.

3. Scrabble

Scrabble is another app that is just an ideal fit for the iPad. The classic word-cross board game is well-designed with wooden tiles that look realistic. With the accurate touchscreen control, it is easy to slide tiles around on screen.

4. Groovemaker

Groovemaker is like having a DJ on your iPad. There's an easy to way to record and mix loops, add drum parts, and adjust sound levels to make a song. Samples clips sound great, especially on earbuds. The app is ideal for live music at parties as well.

5. Things

We know all about Things – the well-regarded task manager for iPhone and Mac. On the iPad, once again the app just has a new life because it's like carrying around a clipboard with all your to-do items in one easy-to-access bucket.

6. Fieldrunners

Fieldrunners – the classic tower defense game for iPhone where you drop cannons to shoot advancing armies – has always needed some extra screen real estate. On iPad, the game looks crisp and colorful, but most importantly there is more room to plan out your strategy and divide up your units in a logical array.

7. Netflix

Netflix is on so many devices it is becoming a legitimate standard for streaming movies over the internet. (It's on the Roku player, Samsung BD-C6500 Blu-Ray player, and many others.) Now, it is on the iPad, and it works: you can even set up a movie queue and search for films and shows, unlike other embedded devices that force you to add instant movies to your queue on your PC only.

8. Pianist Pro

MooCowMusic got an early jump with its iPhone port of this useful piano tool. On the iPad, the keys are large enough to actually play a real song. There's plenty of sampled piano sounds – even a church organ – and a quick way to record.

9. WeatherBug Elite

WeatherBug Elite is a perfect example of why the iPad is changing computing: it shows a well-detailed map of your exact location, forecasts, video, and even camera feeds from your area. There are even contour maps for wind speed and temp.

10. FlightTrack Pro

This iPhone port works exceptionally well on the iPad, mostly because you can see a large map that shows your flight departure and arrival. Pop-ups after you enter the flight info remind you about when the flight is ready to take off.

11. Pages

Apple knew full well that Microsoft would not move an inch to support the iPad, so Pages is the best (and only!) word processing app. Combined with the iPad Dock with an Apple Bluetooth keyboard, it is possible to do real work on the iPad, even if Pages lacks some key features – such as HTML mark-up support.

12. Tweetdeck

Another brilliant port to iPad, Tweetdeck shows you the feeds of your Twitter friends, your own mentions, and your direct messages. It works well because there is enough screen space to actually read all of this content.

13. Keynote

Keynote is worth the price of admission if only because you can set up an attractive slideshow – using Apple's templates and stock artwork – and run it on the iPad's crisp screen – which is viewable from side angles during a meeting.

14. Mirror's Edge

The PC and console versions of Mirror's Edge never really caught on due to minimalistic gameplay mechanics. On the iPad, the story is still confusing (is she running from enemies, trying to collect info about them?) but the action is better. You flick and jump to avoid obstacles in a side-scrolling window, and there's a few interesting additions – such as tilting the screen to run faster.

15. ABC Player

The ABC Player on the iPad is a must download – it provides the best way to watch TV shows from the US network for free. Most importantly, it works quite well over a Wi-Fi connection without some of the latency problems on the desktop.

16. Labyrinth Lite HD

More than just a simple wood-block puzzle where you move a marble from one end of the box to another, Labyrinth Lite HD has expanded to provide a tougher challenge with switches, rotating dials, and other obstacles. The iPad version is just right: it really feels like you are playing the classic puzzle game.

17. Yahoo! Entertainment

We were surprised to discover this colorful, well-designed app – which shows you TV listings for your area as well as video snippets and news.

18. SketchBook Pro

We're big fans of SketchBook on the iPhone, and this high-def version just makes it even easier to sketch out an artistic image. The tools are amazingly advanced, mirroring what you might see in Photoshop or in a real artist's shop.

19. OmniGraffle

OmniGraffle has never quite fit a device like it fits the iPad. This diagramming tool – which you can use to create flowcharts, sketch out ideas, and even plan an office floorplan – is just pick-up-and-go easy on the smooth touchscreen.

20. AIM

AOL still exists? Yes – in theory. On the iPad, this instant messaging client looks great and, coupled with the responsive soft keyboard, is actually one of the best ways to communicate with friends, short of a video chat in a future iPad version.

Four iPad apps we didn't include

You might wonder – why did we not include a few notable apps? Here are some of the near-misses and omissions along with why they did not make the list.

1. The Elements

This is an interesting app that points to some future innovations – think doctors who look up health charts and show you videos of your torn ligaments. The Elements shows you a rotating image of periodic table elements and a wealth of info culled out of Wolfram Alpha, but it's mostly smoke and mirrors. There's a lot of info, but it is not that interactive.

2. Adobe Ideas

Adobe's first try at an iPad app is essentially a sketchpad that does not do nearly as much as Sketchpad Pro. It's really one of the poorest apps on the iPad.

3. Touchgrind HD

Touchgrind is great on the iPhone, but for some reason the game feels underpowered and simplistic on the larger iPad, especially when games should be a vast improvement over any of the smartphone options.

4. LogMeIn Ignition

LogMeIn is a handy way to tap into your PC or Mac remotely. Unfortunately, for a jaw-dropping 20 pounds, and buggy operation, the app just doesn't make the cut.

Five iPad apps we want to see

Compared to the 150,000 apps available for the iPhone, the iPad has a long way to go. Here are some ideas for apps we want on the device – sooner rather than later.

1. Drum machine

Imagine tapping on a realistic-sounding drum kit – with a way to easily repeat the bass rum or cymbals and record loops, then export them. Looptastic HD offers some basic loop creation tools, but we're hoping for a full drum set rendition.

2. Hulu or Boxee player

The ABC player is great, and Netflix works well for movies, but we'd prefer a player that aggregates content from many sources and lets you access them easily.

3. Music recording

The iPhone has plenty of apps for recording music, but the larger screen on the iPad and slick portability means this device could become a musicians best accomplice.

4. Role-playing games

Otto Matic is one early example of a top-down game – but we'd like Sony and others to get on board with some robust role-playing games, or even Final Fantasy, with brilliant graphics, sound, and a deep storyline – with CGI cutscenes, please.

5. Social networking

At present, the iPad is a bit light on social networking apps, such as a true Facebook client and one for LinkedIn. If these companies can somehow integrate with email and the photo app we'd be extremely pleased and impressed.

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• Apple admits to iPad Wi-Fi issues

"

(Via TechRadar: All latest feeds.)