All posts tagged easy

How to Let Siri Help You Remember Birthdays

photo credit: freakgirl via photopin cc

photo credit: freakgirl via photopin cc

When you filled out the contact pages on your iPhone, you put in names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.

You most likely know that you can add birthdays, too. (Just look way down at the bottom of the contact page (in edit mode), and tap on “+ field”. This will give you a whole list of possibilities, one of which is “Birthday”.)

And so assuming that you have birthdays recorded for your contacts, you can let Siri tell you when they are.

Just ask her.

Here is how to let Siri help you remember birthdays:

Push and hold the home button to activate Siri.

Ask: “When is _____’s birthday?”

That’s all you do. Now just wait for Siri’s answer. :)

Screen shot 2013-03-06 at 7.27.02 PM

6 Comments
by sharechair on April 3, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Beginners, How to's, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips, Siri
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Posted by sharechair on April 3, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/how-to-let-siri-help-you-remember-birthdays/

How to Find a Buried App on your iPhone and iPad

photo credit: Daniel Y. Go via photopin cc

photo credit: Daniel Y. Go via photopin cc

I have so many apps, that most of my icons are folders. Folders full of apps. (Good thing you can’t put folders inside of folders. :) )

I could stop here and look up the count to share with you, but I won’t, because it’s embarrassing. Just know… there are lots of apps on my iPhone and iPad.

But before I beat myself up too much, I will point out that I know I am NOT alone. I know that there are many other people (not just me!) who have oodles of apps. And folders too.

Oodles of folders full of apps.

If this describes you, you may have discovered that sometimes it is hard to find an app. No matter how you try to organize your screens, no matter how many folders you make, somehow you just can’t find the app you need.

Here is a quick way to find that needed app:

Put your finger on the left side of your home screen and swipe to the right.

This will bring you to this blank screen with a search box on the top.

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Start to type in the app you are looking for. You can see here that as I started to type “Bookworm”, I didn’t get very far until it appeared right at the top of the list. Once the elusive app appears, just tap on it and it will open.

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8 Comments
by sharechair on February 25, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Beginners, Gestures, How to's, iOS6, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips, Organization
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Posted by sharechair on February 25, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/how-to-find-a-buried-app-on-your-iphone-and-ipad/

Weekend Distraction: Jar of Marbles for iPhone and iPad

Screen shot 2013-02-22 at 8.42.16 AMThis is a special kind of game.

You don’t have to think.

You just kind of zone-out. Seriously. I often play this on my iPad before I go to sleep. It’s downright relaxing. zzzzzzzzzzzz

Not boring. Relaxing.

The basic premise is that you are given a jar full of marbles, and presented with one marble at a time to drop into the jar. Every time you click three marbles together, they drop out of the jar. Your goal? Empty the jar. Yawn, right? Surprisingly addicting!

There are LOTS of options, of course. Difficulty level, free style or timed … and the shapes of the bowls can be altered, also, to make it a bit more challenging.

This is a Big Fish game, and those who are familiar with Big Fish know that they are known for excellent graphics and solid design.

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Jar of Marbles is a free download in the iTunes store. There is an in-app purchase (if you like it) to unlock the entire game for $1.99. This works on the iPhone or iPad.

13 Comments
by sharechair on February 22, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Games, iPad, iPhone, Weekend Distraction, Zen
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Posted by sharechair on February 22, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/weekend-distraction-jar-of-marbles-for-iphone-and-ipad/

How to Save a Photo that You Receive in a Text Message: (part of the) Very Beginners Series

* Occasional posts will contain how-tos and/or hints for VERY new users of iPads, iPhones or Kindles. All new users welcome! Non-tech speak, not terribly detailed, just basic device-enhancing goodness. All part of this Very Beginner Series.

Please share with any beginners (Mom? Dad? Grandma?) in your life.*

DSC00005The other evening I was having dinner with a friend, a new iPhone user, and she wanted to show me a few pictures …. but she had to find them first. These photos had been sent to her in text messages, and she was going back through the messages to find the photos.

And so, as I watched her scroll back through her messages, the blogging bell went off in my head. “This should be a beginner post!” So here we go.

Here is how you save a photo that you receive in a text message:

Tap on the photo or the arrow area to make the photo larger.

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Once you see the larger photo, tap the action arrow up at the top of the phone.

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A new screen will pop up with all sorts of choices. Select “save to camera roll”.

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That’s all there is.

Now when you want to look back at the photos that you received, just go to your Photos app (the sunflower) and select “camera roll”. The newly saved photos will be there at the end of the photo page.

9 Comments
by sharechair on February 19, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Beginners, Camera, How to's, iPhone, Organization, Very Beginner Series
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Posted by sharechair on February 19, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/how-to-save-a-photo-that-you-receive-in-a-text-message-part-of-thevery-beginners-series/

Weekend Distraction: Finger Piano for iPad

Screen shot 2013-02-08 at 10.42.40 AMThis app is just plain fun. It turns your iPad into a piano … and a darn good one, at that!

And you don’t have to know how to play the piano (actually, it’s probably really only fun for those who DON’T play the piano in real-life. :) )

It comes with many Classic songs to play, with the option of using your right hand, left hand, and sometimes the option for two hands (if you are very talented).

The screen opens to the piano, and you have a few controls across the top. Tap ‘Songs’ and a large number of choices drop down.

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Select your song and play away … or listen. If you tap the ‘play’ button, you can hear how the song should sound. Of course, your goal is to sound just as good. I’ll confess, I NEVER hit the play button. I just choose songs, and tap merrily on the keys. To my ears, I’m doing fine.

To play, scrolling guides come down from the top of the screen. Your job is to tap the key as the scroll-guide passes by it. A short note will be indicated by a tiny guide, while a longggggg note will have a longgggg guide.

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Quite easy to follow, yet challenging enough to feel great when you get it right.

Truly this app deserves to be tagged a “distraction.” Quite absorbing!

There are a few other tweaks. You can select different instrument sounds, and you can alter the piano key size.

For even more fun, connect your iPad to a speaker, and you will be amazed at the music coming from your efforts on your own little (loud) electric piano.

I’m linking to the preview for Finger Piano for iPad, because this is the one that I have on my iPad and have used for a very long time. There are, however several other similar options available in the iTunes store by the same developer. Some of the other options put the Finger Piano on the iPhone, or allow you to buy other music ‘packs’. But since I have not personally experienced those other versions, I’ll only link to the one I’ve used. If you are interested in the others, just visit iTunes and do a simple search for “Finger Piano” (by the developer Junpei Wada).

Finger Piano is $2.99 in the iTunes store.

15 Comments
by sharechair on February 8, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Beginners, iPad, iPhone, Weekend Distraction
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Posted by sharechair on February 8, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/weekend-distraction-finger-piano-for-ipad/

Is your iPhone (iPad) Sluggish? Give it a Clean Sweep.

photo credit: kaiton via photopin cc

photo credit: kaiton via photopin cc

Basically we need to do nothing to maintain our iPhones and iPads. They just chug along and work brilliantly. They entertain us, they remind us, they inform us, and they help us accomplish stuff.

But actually, they DO need a little maintenance sometimes. Some TLC (don’t we all? :) )

You see, when you open an app, and then leave it, it continues to run.

Before very long, you can have dozens of apps running in the background, slowing down your iPhone and/or iPad.

In order to prevent this from happening, you must periodically close all those running apps.

Here is how you do it:

Double click your home button.

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Once you have double-clicked, you will see a line of apps appear across the bottom of your iPhone/iPad. If you swipe to the left, you will see there are LOTS of apps in that row.

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This row of apps are all the ones that are currently running. The ones on the far left are ones you most recently opened. You can see that I last used Google Maps, played Words with Friends, tinkered with my Settings and looked at some photos.

So now…. let’s close them!

Put your finger on any one of those, and hold.

The icons will start to wiggle AND you will see a red minus sign on the upper left hand corner.

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Now start tapping those red minus signs. By doing that, you will CLOSE the running app. Keep going until you have eliminated the entire row.

Then tap your home button one more time to return to your regular screens.

That’s it! Do this regularly to keep your iPhone and/or iPad from getting sluggish.

28 Comments
by sharechair on January 29, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Beginners, How to's, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips, Organization, Tech Tips
Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by sharechair on January 29, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/is-your-iphone-ipad-sluggish-give-it-a-clean-sweep/

Find a Movie with Flixster

Screen shot 2013-01-27 at 7.26.48 PMI didn’t know I needed a Movie App.

I felt quite comfortable (if I wanted to go and see a movie) just looking up my local theaters and seeing what they were showing.

But then my son suggested this app, and since the price was right (it’s FREE), I downloaded it at once.

And I must say … I’m delighted.

I don’t go to the movies very often, so I’m not “up to date” on what’s playing, or what’s hot, or what’s the next big thing. I really don’t know much.

But, when I DO want to see a movie, this app gives me everything I need, all in one place. Very very handy.

It shows me the theaters closest to me, and names the movies playing there. It shows the times, as well. It let’s me know all the showtimes for the coming week.

You can tap any movie and watch a trailer.

You can look at a list of the movies coming out next week, and the week after and the week after that.

You can read reviews of the movies, check ratings, learn about the actors and even find movies newly released on DVD.

Tapping on a movie shows you a screen like this. Scroll down the movie page for more information. Ratings by critics and ordinary folks are all included.

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Looking ahead to see what movies are playing next week or the week after is as easy as a tap. Then you are presented with a screen like the one below. Movie list on the side, just tap any to get further information.

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Very very handy to have all the information you need in one place. Flixster is free in the iTunes store. It is also available for Android, and Kindle Fire users can find this in the Amazon App store (also free).

16 Comments
by sharechair on January 27, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Beginners, iPad, iPhone, Kindle Fire
Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by sharechair on January 27, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/find-a-movie-with-flixster/

Reminder: World Book Night Deadline

Screen shot 2013-01-22 at 3.47.58 PM

Several months ago I shared my excitement with you about World Book Night by writing a bubbly post that you can read, here.

For new readers of this blog: World Book Night is an amazing initiative. Many, many, volunteers, publishers, authors and organizations come together to offer a BOX of FREE BOOKS to “givers” who hit the streets at the end of April and distribute the books. They just give them away. Sharing the love of reading.

It is great fun to be a giver, and pass out these books. I know at first glance it seems suspicious to some. But … it is REAL. It is LEGITIMATE. It is AWESOME.

Last year I was selected as a giver. It was an amazing experience.

Once I was notified that I had been chosen, everything followed easily and smoothly.

I was asked where I would like to pick up my books (I selected my local library).

I was given a window of dates to retrieve them. When I went to the library, there was a nice neat box with my name on it, full of 20 new books to give away.

On the designated date I did as instructed and just gave them away.

That’s all there is. Spreading the joy of reading. What a pleasure!!

You can be a giver.

All you have to do is answer a few questions on the website of World Book Night. It costs you nothing, and the benefits are awesome.

The deadline has been extended to January 25. This deadline is coming soon, so hurry hurry!

Just visit the World Book Night Website to learn more and apply to be a giver.

8 Comments
by sharechair on January 22, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in My Thoughts About Things, News
Tagged , , , , , ,

Posted by sharechair on January 22, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/reminder-world-book-night-deadline/

How to Buy a Kindle Book without a Kindle (for your iPhone or iPad)

There are a lot of new iPhones and iPads floating around after the holidays. If you are one of those new owners, you might be surprised to know that you can read a Kindle book on your device. No need to own a Kindle.

Screen shot 2013-01-03 at 6.01.44 PM

This blog has touched on some of this before, when we talked about getting samples, for example. But I neglected to do a tutorial specifically for getting a Kindle book on your device, so I’m going to rectify that, now. (thanks, Gina!)

On your computer, go to Amazon. If you do not have an account, sign up for one. You’ll link this to your credit card for buying books (and other things) from Amazon.

Screen shot 2013-01-03 at 5.58.12 PMIf you have not already, install the Kindle App on your iPhone or iPad. The Kindle App is free in the iTunes store. It is this Kindle App that allows you to buy (or collect free) Kindle books, and read them on your device.

You will need to register your device with Amazon. They will walk you through that process when you get started with the app.

With a Kindle app, and an Amazon account, you are now ready to send books to your iPhone or iPad.

Head over to Amazon, and navigate to a book that you are interested in.

(Keep in mind that there are always daily deals and sales. As a savvy shopper, you should be able to nab books at great prices. Make sure you always check out the deals! There are daily deals. And monthly deals.)

Once you have determined a book that you would like to buy, make sure that the “Kindle edition” is highlighted.

Then look over to the top right. You’ll see a spot to select your device … just below a ‘buy’ button. It will say “deliver to” and you can toggle to select your iPhone or iPad to appear in that spot.

When you buy your book (or maybe you’ve found a great one for free) it will be sent directly to your device. Click to buy, wait a minute or two, and then check your Kindle app on your iPhone or iPad. The book will appear there, ready and waiting for you.

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10 Comments
by sharechair on January 3, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Beginners, eBooks, How to's, iPad, iPhone, Kindle
Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by sharechair on January 3, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/how-to-buy-a-kindle-book-without-a-kindle-for-your-iphone-or-ipad/

Another Podcast Recommendation (for Readers!): Books on the Nightstand

Screen shot 2013-01-01 at 4.40.35 PM
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I am a big huge fan of podcasts. I am also a huge fan of books. Bring them both together, and, well… I’m happy.

The only thing thing that limits my podcast listening is time. There are so many wonderful choices, that it is tough to narrow them down.

In the past, I have shared some of my favorites, A Way with Words and the Moth for starters. Today I will be suggesting another, a podcast for readers, called Books on the Nightstand.

But before I do, let’s digress a moment to talk about the Podcast App. I had some misgivings when it first appeared, but all is well, now. It is a great app, and I use it every day. Podcast subscriptions update automatically, and I am notified when I have something new to listen to. The timer is absolutely the best thing ever invented. :) All’s good with the Podcast app. No iPhone or iPad is complete without it!

If you are a reader, and you like to read/think about/learn about/chat about books, this podcast is made for you. I have listened to many others, but I keep coming back to Books on the Nightstand.

It is a regular (usually weekly) conversation about books between two folks who are part of the book business (altho they make the point that this podcast is totally separate from their jobs). Ann and Michael chat about their favorites, or about general topics, and every week after a listen I always add more books to my “to read” list.

Their conversation is always interesting and their recommendations are sound. They also maintain a website where you can listen to the podcast, and look over previous episodes.

They have developed a marvelous database on their website of books that they have discussed, with references to the posts and podcasts where they have been mentioned. This is an awesome resource.

And finally, if you get really involved, they organize several gatherings during the year, throughout the country, called “Booktopia”, bringing readers and authors together.

Subscribing to Books on the Nightstand is free in the iTunes store.

8 Comments
by sharechair on January 1, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Beginners, iPad, iPhone, Podcasts
Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by sharechair on January 1, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/another-podcast-recommendation-for-readers-books-on-the-nightstand/

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