How to Add Assorted Smiley Faces to Your WordPress Blog or Comments

Screen shot 2013-03-06 at 7.22.22 PMWhen commenting on a WordPress blog, you can enhance your words with smiley faces. As I read through comments, I see the ‘typical’ smiley face used a lot. But did you know that you can ALSO add lots of other expressive faces to punctuate your comment? :shock:

Here are SOME of the codes that you can use to add a variety of faces to your words. I’m putting the actual code in quotes, but when you use it, don’t use the quotes. (if I didn’t use the quotes for this post, they would simply show up as the smiley faces themselves). Also, when writing, remember to leave a space between your words and the codes.

Feel free to try these out in the comment section of this post.

:) This is the typical smiley face made by typing: “:)” or “:-)” or “:smile:”

:D Grinning face: “:D” or “:-D” or “:grin:”

:( Sad face: “:(” or “:-(” or “:sad:”

:o Eek! face: “:o” or “:-o” or “:eek:” (this is made with a small case letter “o”)

:shock: Shocked face: “8O” or “8-O” or “:shock:” (this is made with a capital letter “O”)

:? Questioning face: “:?” or “:-?” or “:???:”

:cool: Cool dude face: “:cool:”

:x Mad or angry face: “:x” or “:-x” or “:mad:”

:neutral: Plain, neutral face: “:neutral:”

;) Winking face: “;)” or “;-)” or “:wink:”

:cry: Crying face: “:cry:”

:evil: Evil face: “:evil:”

:lol: Laughing face: “:lol:”

:oops: Embarrassed face: “:oops:”

And last but not least, my favorite, the Rolling Eyes: :roll: “:roll:”

Have fun!

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Macro Photography on your iPhone: How to Lock the Focus

Photo Skitch Document-5Although the iPhone isn’t a replacement for a “real” camera, it can take excellent photos.

In addition to general photography, it can do an amazing job on close-up (macro) photos.

Just hold the iPhone about 4 inches from your subject, and you will be surprised at the detail you can capture.

However, while you are trying to get your subject into focus, you may be frustrated because every time you move a bit to recompose the shot, (even ever so slightly), the iPhone camera adjusts and refocuses. Argh!

There is a way to “lock” the focus in place and solve this problem, but the feature is a little hard to find.

Here is how to lock your macro focus on your iPhone:

Move your iPhone to within about 4 inches from your subject.

Put your finger on the screen on top of the subject of your photo.

You will see a square appear under your finger. Hold your finger in place against the screen and the square will start pulsating. Take your finger off the screen.

As you lift your finger, you will see the words “AE/AF Lock” appear at the bottom of the screen. This means that the focus is now locked and you can make your small adjustments to the photographic composition without the camera shifting out of focus, again.

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The lock is ‘released’ after you take a shot, so if you are going to take more photos, you will have to put your finger on the screen each time to enable the lock.

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Taking a Short Blogging Break

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While I’m gone, please take some time to look through some old posts, especially if you are a few user/follower :)

How to’s

Very Beginner Series

All Things Kindle

And for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, as you move your way toward your winter months, don’t forget this easy way to make your gloves touch-screen friendly!

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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. :)

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Apple Adds a Cautionary Warning for Apps That Allow In-App Purchases

Screen shot 2013-03-24 at 6.27.02 PMSeveral weeks ago, the internet was buzzing with the story about the little fellow who downloaded over $2500 of in-app purchases on his father’s iPad. Although this was an extreme case, it has been a problem, and now Apple is responding with a new “alert” on the purchase-app page.

For those who don’t quite understand all this ‘in-app’ purchase stuff, let me take a moment to explain: Typically, when you buy an app, it’s a done deal. Once you buy it, your new purchased app appears on your device, ready to enjoy. There are no other fees required beyond that which you paid for the app.

But SOME apps are designed to encourage more (and more) purchases as you use it. (Greedy? I think so.) For example, a simple painting app may give you a few colors and brushes to use to create your masterpiece. But soon you find you are presented with options. Options to buy MORE brushes (shapes) and/or MORE paint colors. $$$$$

If the naive user is painting or playing with this app, they might unwittingly purchase a new brush or color. $$$$$

Many apps offer in-app purchases of some sort.

Now Apple has taken a small step …. but at least it IS a step …. to help consumers be aware when they are purchasing an app that offers in-app purchases. This is especially important if you are loading a new app for your children or grandchildren.

Here is Apple’s new message. Watch for it, and make your choices wisely!

Look for “offers in-app purchases.”

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Watch YouTube Videos Offline on your iPhone or iPad

Attention: as of May 2013, the ability to cache videos on this has been removed. :(

Screen shot 2013-03-14 at 10.43.24 AMWhen I look at my wordpress statistics, one of the most frequent google searches that brings people to my blog is a search looking for an app that will allow you to watch YouTube videos offline.

The awful thing about this is that I did that post wayyyyyyyy back, and named an app that would do the deed.

However, all things change, and that app no longer does it. And even worse, when they stopped doing it, their update wiped clean all the videos that were cached. Yikes. (That was a sad day.)

That post still exists, although I have put an update on it to point out that it no longer does the very thing I was applauding that it did.

But there is another! Hurray!

McTube will let you download videos to watch offline. I’ve tried it, I’ve used it, and it works great. If you are going to be offline for a while (like on a plane) just think ahead and download any YouTube videos that you would like to watch.

There is a free version and a pro version. The free version works just fine, but is loaded with ads. There is also a limit on the amount of video you can cache. I used the free version for a while, just to get used to it, and I was very happy. Videos downloaded quickly and played well. The ads, however, were flashy and annoying.

I decided to plop down $1.99 and get the pro version. Updating to the pro version actually downloads a whole new app, and therefore any videos you have already downloaded do not carry over to your new version. So if you think this app is something that you will enjoy, you might consider the paid version sooner rather than later.

The app is VERY simple to use. Just search for the video you’d like to watch. Then tap on the red download icon in the upper right hand corner.

When you would like to see the videos that you have downloaded, and/or watch them offline, just tap the “cached” button in the middle of the row at the bottom of the screen.

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McTube for YouTube Pro is $1.99 in the iTunes store. There is a free one available as well.

I used Lucy in the Chocolate Factory for the example, above. In case you’re interested in actually taking a little trip down memory lane and watching it, I’ll include it, here. Enjoy!

How to Lock the View Mode in your Kindle App on your iPhone

Screen shot 2013-03-11 at 5.06.49 PMIt is so wonderfully handy to be able to pick up my iPhone and read. So many times, I find myself waiting (unexpectedly) and it is less painful when I can whip out the iPhone and read the time away. With the Kindle app, it automatically puts me on the page where I left off the night before on my regular Kindle.

You can view the text of your book in either portrait or in landscape mode, merely by rotating your iPhone.

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The tricky part comes when you recline or find yourself turning in some way. The text bounces back and forth. Landscape, portrait. Portrait, landscape.

It is easy to LOCK the screen so the text does not shift.

Here is how you lock the screen on your iPhone:

Hold the phone in the manner that you would like to read.

Then tap on the lower right corner of the screen. This can be on any page in your book. You won’t SEE a lock, but tap anyway … and….

Poof! A lock appears. Tap on that lock icon to lock or unlock your favorite view mode.

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How to Turn Off In-App Purchases on your iPad, and Avoid a $2500 Bill

Screen shot 2013-03-03 at 7.37.01 PMLast week the Kitchen family in the UK got a shock: A bill from Apple for approximately $2500.

No, they didn’t buy 5 iPads. They merely handed the one they had over to their 5 year old son.

Apparently, Dad downloaded a ‘free’ game for his son, and gave him the iPad to play with for just 15 minutes. In those 15 minutes, the little boy managed to tap an in-app purchase button enough times to rack up the huge bill.

You can read more about this story, here.

Many apps use the “free, but with in-app purchases” approach. Sometimes this just means free-to-try for a while, and if you like it, you can buy it from within the app. Other apps charge you for ‘things’ within it. A painting app might charge you for new brushes, while a gaming app might charge you for new levels or tools to use within the game.

Personally, I don’t mind the type that lets you try before you buy. But I tend to stay away from the apps that encourage “extras” from within. Just seems a bit greedy to me.

Anyway ….. if you are an adult who finds himself/herself handing over your iPad occasionally to your child, your grandchild or any other child who wanders into your life, you should fix the settings so that you do not find yourself opening a surprise bill in your inbox.

Here is how you fix your settings to prevent in-app purchases:

Go to Settings > General > Restrictions. (if you have not tapped on restrictions before, you will be asked to enter a pin. Remember this!!) and then slide down to where you see “In-App Purchases”

Tap the button to turn it OFF.

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Happy ending for this family. Apple refunded the parents. But if your iPad finds its way into the hands of a child, it would be very wise of you to make sure the in-app purchase ability is switched to ‘off’. :)

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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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.

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