Why the next iPhone Might have an Inbuilt Coffee Perculator

March 13, 2015 | Comment

No sooner had the iPhone 6 been released did the tech sites start wondering just what might be in the NEXT release. Would it be the iPhone 6S? Would it have inductive charging? Might it be made from a metal only found on Mars? Could there be room for a larger battery? (actually Jony Ive says we wouldn’t like a larger battery and what the fuck do we know as users?)

This speculation is almost always unattributed and lacks any credible sources and is accompanied by a title containing the word “may“, “could” or “might… Read the rest

Setting the Nest to Away

February 9, 2015 | Comment

I love the Nest learning thermostat now that it has built up a schedule but I feel that it could be doing more to help us save money.

One way to do this is set the Nest to away when I am, well, away. I currently have two ways of doing that:

1. via the standard Nest iPhone app, or
2. via the Nest Pebble app, Leaf.

Both these work well but you need to remember to actually do it and I never do. Worse than that if I do remember I then forget to turn it back on again.… Read the rest

Adding New Fonts to iOS for use in Word, Drafts and other Apps

January 6, 2015 | Comment

I have long loved the font that is used in iA’s Writer app but while I love the app I really wanted to be able to use the font elsewhere and particularly in Drafts.

After a bit of searching it was clear that the font used in Writer wasn’t available but there was a free alternative as part of Google Fonts called Cousine. The rest of this post will show you how you can get this font onto your iOS device. Firstly download the font package from the Google site.

You will need a copy of a font … Read the rest

iStick – USB Flash Drive for iPhone and iPad

December 3, 2014 | Comment

When I upgraded my iPad Mini I made a huge mistake by not checking the memory size of my existing device. Consequently I got home and discovered too late that I had purchased one with only 16gb. I was (and am) distraught over having to judiciously manage the apps and the space they use in order to be able to do what I want and need to do. If only there was a way to increase the capacity of an iPad.

Well, thanks to a Kickstarter campaign that successfully funded last June there now is a way. Effectively it is … Read the rest

iOS 8 Quality Control

November 24, 2014 | Comment

Since it was first released there have been a couple of upgrades to iOS8 but, for me at least, problems continue, particularly around keyboards. Some of the issues I get you can see below but they seems to be concentrated around spotlight search and the messages app.

Now I don’t know if this is something that is only affecting me but I suspect not, so the question is why aren’t Apple dealing with it? The quality of this release is without doubt the worst of all that I have used so, I believe, that Apple need to concentrate to making … Read the rest

Is My Tile Here Yet?

August 4, 2014 | 2 comments

About a year ago, well to be accurate as I write this it was 382 days ago, I ordered some tiles. No not bathroom tiles but a small bluetooth device about the size of a postage stamp that you can stick to almost anything and then using a companion app hunt them down when you have mislaid them. This also included a neat feature that allows you to effectively declare a tile lost and every other tile user can then be on the look out for your lost item, which is pretty neat.

The downside of them are that … Read the rest

Creating Good Looking Product Shots on Devices

July 4, 2014 | Comment

A while back I wrote about what I described as “One of the most amazing websites” I had seen and it was great. Placeit allows you to create screen mockups by uploading a screenshot that is then rendered into a chosen device. Unfortunately when I went back recently the prices had sky rocketed. To download even the most basic image now costs $8 a pop and a “casual” plan is $29 a month. For someone that uses the service about once a year that was prohibitively expensive.

I should state at this point that I have absolutely no issue with … Read the rest

A Tale of Two Chromebooks

May 30, 2014 | Comment

A couple of years ago I spent weeks searching high and lo for a Samsung Series 3 Chromebook which was the first of the really affordable cloud laptops. I finally found one and paid £240 – nothing compared to the price of some Windows and especially Mac laptops.

Initially I was amazed at the start-up time of seconds and the fantastic battery life. I found that I could access my email and calendar through the browser (as I had been for a while since ditching Outlook) and do all my general web-browsing. I was hooked and decided that, away from … Read the rest

Acompli Email Client for iPhone Review

May 7, 2014 | Comment

Almost since the day I got my first iPhone I have been looking for a better email client and preferably one that also worked on the iPad too. I think I have tried pretty much all of them and the only one that has stuck is Sparrow which is sadly no longer maintain since Google bought it, grr.

A few weeks ago I was introduced to Acompli which merges email with the calendar, something that is so blindingly obviously that it is a surprise it hasn’t been done before. While the jury is still out on whether it stays or … Read the rest

I don’t want a thinner iPhone 6 and here’s why

April 14, 2014 | Comment

So the rumours have moved on and now the leaks are coming thick and fast. A new iPhone is on the way. Of course nobody knows what Apple are going to deliver but all the leaks point to a device with a larger screen… And thinner.

Why?!

It is pretty much acknowledged that battery technology hasn’t kept pace with all the other components in a smartphone. I have an iPhone 4S and have to charge it at least twice a day. That’s a real pain as it means I have to carry with me the means to deal with that. … Read the rest