iPad

Google's social networking effort Buzz shut its doors last year but has popped up yet again, for what may be the last time. In an email that just went out to former users, Google noted it's packaging Buzz data into two files which will be stored on their Drive accounts. One is private, which will hold all of their posts both public and private, and another is public, which will contain a copy of any of their public Buzz posts, accessible to anyone who has a direct link (old Buzz links will redirect here.) One important note, is that your comments on others posts will be saved to their Drive files, and you won't be able to delete them once the shift happens "on or after June 17th." Need to do a total wipe / some selective editing? Check the link below to see your profile or the text of the message for a more thorough explanation after the break. Filed under: Internet, Google Comments Source: Buzz Profile

If you're looking to trick out your bike, Magura's eLECT might be the electronic suspension system you crave -- if you're willing to sacrifice optimal reaction time. Using a 3D accelerometer, the eLECT analyzes terrain with a 0.2 second window to adjust to how bumpy or smooth your ride is. At first glance, 0.2 seconds seems impressive, but it equates to a distance of 3.6 feet when traveling at 12.4MPH. Indeed, on challenging trails, a lot can happen in 3.6 feet, and eLect's reaction time might be a touch on the slow side. While the system isn't quite perfect, it does offer some sweet options. For example, cyclists can toggle between automatic and manual control of the compression damper using the accompanying Bluetooth remote. Magura's eLECT isn't the first of its kind -- RockShox and Fox both have their own e-suspension systems -- but it's one of the lightest; the combined weight of the damper and remote is a mere 0.2 pound. There's no word yet on availability or pricing, but you can check out the results of Bike Radar's test ride at the source. Filed under: Peripherals, Transportation Comments Source: Bike Radar

As a professional photographer, the iPhone and iPad can be excellent tools for your business. You are probably already aware that there's a lot of great apps out there focused on editing photos, but if we're being real, as a professional, you're not going to use them. However there are many other great apps that can help compliment your business, and we've rounded up some of our favorites. Shoot and Sell If you're a photographer who offers prints and canvas to your clients, then Shoot and Sell is a fantastic app to show off how your clients' photos will look on the wall, even their wall. Designed by by the creators of Photographer's Wall Display Guides, Shoot & Sell is sure to help you generate more sales from each client. $79.99 - Download now See also: Preveal for iPad - $49.99 - Download now FolioBook Photo Portfolio FolioBook is your digital portfolio. Forget showing your website with Safari and use FolioBook to show off your work to potential clients. It lets you create a custom branded home page and as many galleries you'd like with up to 200 images per gallery. You can also create slideshows with transitions and music. The amount of customization that FolioBook allows is incredible and really lets you create a portfolio that reflects you and your brand. $12.99 - Download now Square As the owner of a small business, utilizing a point of sale system like Square will simplify your life and impress your clients. People don't like carrying around checkbooks and cash, so accepting credit cards is a vital aspect of any business, and Square is a great option that will keep your costs down and bottom line up. Square Register - Free - Download now Square Wallet - Free - Download now See also: Pay anywhere - Free - Download now Paypal - Free - Download now Easy Release - Model Release App If you're a portrait photographer, you likely have your clients sign model releases and other contracts. Easy Release is a great app that comes preinstalled with some great release forms. You can also edit them to be more tailored to your business or create your own from scratch. Each release can be branded with your business and you can email to your clients immediately after they sign them. $9.99 - Download now PDF Expert If you prefer to stick with the contracts and release forms you've already created and formatted into PDFs, you can still go paperless with PDF Expert. You can easily keep all your forms organized, and since PDF Expert supports annotation, your clients can easily sign the forms as if they were printed out in front of them. $9.99 for iPhone - Download now $9.99 for iPad - Download now Rego When it comes to portrait photography, location is key, and Rego will help you keep track of all your favorite spots. With each location you can add photos and make notes about the lighting and anything else you want to remember. Free - Download now Things Running a business requires a lot of various tasks, and with Photography in particular, each shoot is like an individual project each of which has a set of required tasks. Things for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, is a great trio of apps to keep you on track and organize your business. It's a bit pricey and isn't the prettiest of apps, but it works really well. $9.99 for iPhone - Download now $19.99 for iPad - Download now $49.99 for Mac - Download now Trip Cubby As a photographer, you are likely driving all over the place to different shoots, and since all those miles are tax-deductible, a solid mileage tracking app is a must. Trip Cubby is an awesome choice and makes this daunting task a lot less cumbersome and is designed with IRS compliance in mind. Trip Cubby does not support the iPhone 5's larger screen, and this is normally a huge turn-off for me, but it's truly one of the best options out there. $1.99 - Download now Quickbooks Mobile One of the most difficult parts of running a business is keeping track of the finances. If you use Quickbooks, then the iPhone and iPad versions a

It's possible to forget, but Apple used to have their own line of digital cameras. Back in the mid-nineties they launched three cameras under the 'QuickTake' product banner. What we have here is the second of those; say hello to the Apple QuickTake 150. Launched in 1995, the QuickTake 150 cost new a staggering $700. Granted, this was a time when digital cameras were in the early days, but $700 meant this was not an item for the masses -- much like Apple's computers of the time. So what does an 18 year old camera provide in the way of specs? The QuickTake 150 has an 8mm fixed focus lens, a flash, and 1MB of flash storage. It's capable of shutter speeds between 1/30 and 1/175 of a second, and produces 24-bit images at 640x480. The on-board storage stores only 8 photographs taken at the full resolution, or 32 taken at 320x240 resolution. Unthinkable today that you would ever take an image so small. The QuickTake 150 also included a separate close up clip on lens as part of the kit. Battery power comes by way of 3xAA batteries, with support for rechargeable ones with the optional charger that was sold separately. By modern standards, the QuickTake 150 is a rather unusual shape. It's more akin to a pair of binoculars than a camera, with a large eyepiece at the rear alongside the main controls, with the flash together on the front with the lens. While the shape may be unusual, it's still surprisingly comfortable to hold. A neckstrap was included in the box too as part of the kit, and it is insanely long. Apple also included their own image software with the camera -- all 4 floppy disks worth of it -- along with the serial cable required to connect the camera to the computer. With the QuickTake 150 Apple added support for Windows 3.1 -- the previous iteration, the QuickTake 100 had been Mac only -- in an effort to widen the market appeal. The photos taken are stored on the camera in QuickTake file format, but can be converted using the bundled software into more regular and supported file types such as JPEG, BMP and TIFF. So, the bundled QuickTake software and the serial cable are 100% necessary to actually get images from the camera to the computer, and there lies the very reason that sadly I won't be able to use it. For now, at least. The QuickTake 150 can't be connected directly to a more modern Mac running OS X, because there is a lack of support for the Apple serial protocol used. I simply don't have any hardware old enough to support this camera, an unusual situation to be in. And, because the QuickTake 150 doesn't have any kind of display on it there's no way to preview any of the images taken without taking them off the camera first. However, thanks to the Internet -- and in this case, Wikipedia -- here is a sample picture taken at maximum resolution with the QuickTake 150. Also thanks to the Internet, the full original user manual for the camera is available to view from Apple. So, there's a quick look at a piece of vintage Apple. The camera line didn't live for long, with the QuickTake 150 being discontinued in 1997. It was though followed by a much improved model, the QuickTake 200 that looked a lot more like digital cameras of the modern day. It was also cheaper, had removable flash storage, a much wider range of shutter speeds and user-selectable focus and aperture controls. It also serves as a reminder as to just how far camera technology has advanced. Sat next to my Panasonic Lumix G2 Micro 4/3 camera, the QuickTake 150 strikes an imposing figure. So, did anyone of you purchase a QuickTake digital camera back in the nineties? What were your memories of it and what made you ultimately decide to purchase one? If you've any stories to share about your experiences with Apple's short-lived range of digital cameras, drop us a line in the comments!

iMore takes a look at the best apps for planning your next vacation or business trip, and the ones you should always have while away. Whether you're planning a vacation or travel frequently for pleasure or business, there are literally hundreds of apps available in the App Store that deal with all aspects of travel. Everything from airport and transit guides to vacation home finders and more can be found. If you're looking for the absolute best ones, here's a list of the ones we'd highly recommend checking out. TripIt for iPhone and iPad If you travel frequently, TripIt is an absolute must have. It's an entire trip organizer all under one roof. While there is a free version of TripIt that can help you stay organized, the Pro version also includes notifications, the ability to track frequent flier miles, and so much more. Don't want to enter things in manually? Not a problem. TripIt gives you an email address to forward all your plans to and it'll auto-fill and populate everything for you. It really doesn't get any simpler than this for frequent travelers. TripIt review $0.99 - Download Now Packing Pro Once you've planned a trip, whether it's a vacation or a business trip, you're obviously going to have to pack at some point. All of us have always had that moment where we forget something last minute. Packing Pro can help you prevent that by giving you the option to organize your trip way before hand by creating lists of what you need to bring and in what order. Beyond that, Packing Pro also has full iCloud sync support which means your travel list is always with you, regardless what device you're on. Packing Pro review $2.99 - Download Now AirPorts by Travel Nerd Airports are always cause for stress and confusion, especially large ones. If you get nervous about making flights and being sure you're where you need to be at the right time, AirPorts by Travel Nerd is the app for you. Not only can you enter in flight information in order to check statuses, you can also view full layouts of many major airports around the world. This means you'll not only know where terminals are but where bathrooms and other amenities such as WiFi hotspots are as well. It's a great app for infrequent travels to business users looking for a place to plug in and recharge. AirPorts by Travel Nerd review Free - Download Now Travel Channel Layover Guide There's nothing worse than having a ridiculously long layover or dealing with a canceled flight, especially if you're on vacation. Instead of sitting in a hotel or wandering around an airport, Travel Channel's Layover Guide can help cure boredom and irritation by giving you lots of local spots to hang out at that you may have never decided to visit. Everything from breweries to pubs to five start dining and local attractions. Layover Guide specializes in helping you find the things that locals treasure, not your typical tourist attractions, even though there are some of those included. You can also become more familiar with an area's musical culture and download music from those countries directly via iTunes links provided to you. Whether you just want to know more about the area you're traveling to or simply want a better experience when traveling in general, you can't go wrong with Layover Guide. Layover Guide review Free - Download Now Fodor's City Guides If you're traveling abroad and want to make sure you don't miss anything you should be seeing, Fodor's City Guides is a great way to check out the culture around you. Not only can you read up on popular landmarks and attractions, the imagery to go with them is gorgeous. And who doesn't like looking at amazing photos? Fodor's City Guides has lots of information on the usual suspects you'd expect with everything from London, Rome, Paris, New York, Barcelona, and more. If any of these places are ones you'll be visiting for the first time this summer or on a future trip, make sure you check out Fodor's City Guides. Fodor's City Guides review Free -

Wow. This contest was a heck of a lot of fun. I asked you guys for damn good reasons why you need these cleaning cloths for your iPads and touchscreen devices and Oh Boy did we get some great reasons and responses. If I had to pick a single favorite it would be extremely tough. Luckily I don’t have to though – because Mobile Cloth generously let me pick 6 winners. They are: Brian Esse Lorilei Potvin Kevin Steven Servantez Wendy Rob Zombie OK, if you twist my arm I’ll share just one quick favorite among the many I had – this one from Brian Esse: I need these because I have 30 3rd grade students using 10 iPads. Thats 60 hands! We did the math. Winners – please keep an eye on your Inboxes and spam folders – as Mobile Cloth will soon be contacting you to get your shipping details. Thanks to everybody who took part in the contest and made such great...Read the whole entry... »        Related StoriesContest: Win a Free iPad Insight Branded Mobile Cloth for Your iPadDino Walk Contest – WinnersContest: 5 Free Promo Codes for Dino Walk: Continental Drift To Be Won 

The iPad is a wonderful device. You can type, sing, record, draw and do so much more with it. However, if you don’t have thorough knowledge about an iPad, then you can’t completely utilize it. Keep reading for some useful tips on using the iPad, from people who have learned to master them. You can now use folders on the iOS iPad. Start by tapping and holding your finger on the app you desire. It will begin to jiggle. Then you can drag it onto another icon and release it. The result will be a folder containing both of your apps together. You can rename these folders. Are you frustrated with your iPad because it wants you to join every wifi network it detects? This feature can be turned off in your settings. Select Wi-Fi, and from there, you can turn off this feature. Adjust the settings in order to see more than just two lines from emails prior to opening them. In your Settings menu, click on Mail, and then find the Preview setting. Here, you can alter the preview that you see to 5 lines. This should help you decide if you really need to read the entire email or not. To include Google calender events on the iPad, select Mail > Contacts > Calenders. You need to go to the area that allows you to add an additional account, then hit Other. Choose Add CalDAV Account and enter your Google information. Now leave the settings area and access the calendar app. All of the information from your Google Calendar should now be at your fingertips. Bookmarks Bar Do you find it annoying to have to tap your bookmarks icon whenever you need to go to the websites you use the most? You can easily do this by always showing the bookmarks bar. In Settings, open Safari and select the option to always show the bookmarks bar. Simply turn it on. Taking screenshots on an iPad is a cinch. Click both the Sleep and Home buttons and you will get a nice picture of your screen. Instantly, a screenshot will be taken and stored with the rest of your images. Because the iPad is not the cheapest gadget around, it’s important that you care for it properly. A lot of people buy iPad screen protectors. Screen protectors are simply thin plastic and give you more protection. When cleaning your iPad’s screen, be sure to use a cloth that is soft and lint-free. You may lightly dampen the cloth with water to aid in the cleaning process. Don’t ever use products such as common window and household cleaners on the iPad’s screen. You can shortcut to your most used apps. Press the home button twice and a bar will appear with all the running apps. This single trick is a great way to save time as opposed to needing to scroll through every screen. Your iPad is more useful after you implement the information presented here. You can even share this advice with other iPad owners you know. You’ll be of service to others if you are well informed.

I love my Apple TV, but what I'd love even more is a healthy dose of regional content on it. AirPlay is OK, but I see it more a means to an end in certain circumstances, not an integral part of my experience. When I'm relaxing watching TV, I don't want to have to reach for my iPhone or iPad, or even my Mac in order to put something on there to watch. The major free-to-air channels in the UK -- BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 -- all have on-demand video services. Each of them also has an iOS application to watch their TV content on your iPhone and iPad. On the Mac, you only need the web browser. On the Apple TV, I'd love each of these to have their own channel. AirPlay isn't quite the same AirPlay is great, I use it all the time. Be it sending music or video from my iOS devices or mirroring the display on my Mac to the TV. Mirroring a Mac display doesn't help in this situation though, because I can't use it for anything else. OS X doesn't provide the same media-only AirPlay options that iOS does. (Fingers crossed for OS X 10.9...) The other issue is that the apps have to be specifically AirPlay enabled. For example, this method works great on the BBC iPlayer app, but doesn't work at all on the ITV Player app, because it doesn't have AirPlay enabled. Whether it's DRM issues or contractual obligations that keep apps AirPlay free, or force strange AirPlay implementations, it makes no difference to the end user. We just think it's broken. In the absence of proper channels, AirPlay is all there is, for those that support it. I find myself using apps like the iPlayer more than ITV Player simply because I can watch them on the TV if I want to. Never mind when you try to mirror from an iPhone and the Phone app actually rings, killing the TV... The TV is for relaxing I like to relax when I'm watching TV, so when I'm using my Apple TV I just kick back, find something to watch and off I go. There's just not quite enough content to make me want to use the Apple TV more. The hardware is fine, the software is fine -- to me, at least -- I just want more content. I want to use my Apple TV more. I want to have one under every TV I have, and not have to think about whether I'll need my iPhone or iPad to help decide what I want to watch. So, coming out of WWDC I would really love to see some Apple TV news. I'd love to see Apple announce that they've struck a whole bunch of regional content deals all over the world. Or the ability for developers to make apps for the platform so the likes of the BBC could do it themselves. And I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing for a better spread of regional content. So, what would you love to see Apple do with the Apple TV at WWDC? What kind of content are you longing for in your part of the world?

For years now, some techies have complained about Apple’s overabundance of skeuomorphic design. While it has been the company’s traditional look, rumors have been swirling that Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design has something to say about it. Since Jon Ivy is leading the charge to overhaul iOS, we may see some major design changes that will leave Apple’s next mobile operating system a bit flat. According to 9to5Mac, unnamed sources that claim to have seen iOS 7 say that the new update deals more with the “look and feel” of the iOS software than a bunch of new features. The sources describe iOS 7 as “black, white, and flat all over.” Calling the operating system “flat” means that heavy textures and shadows are being dropped in exchange for a less realistic, more modern look. Ivy has openly stated his dislike of skeuomorphism interfaces. In a meeting 9to5Mac writes that one source quoted Ivy as saying, “software designs filled with physical metaphors do not stand the test of time.” According to the source, Ivy also pointed out that iOS’ design is all mixed up and not cohesive. For example, the Notes app looks significantly different than the Maps app, which is also designed different than the Game Center app. According to 9to5Mac, iOS 7 will feature a black interface for the time bar instead of the shiny, transparent one that currently exists. The square grid for unlocking your phone will be rounded out and have black buttons with white text and borders. Many of the linen and leather textures will be dumped in exchange for a flat white and black color. iOS 7 Concept Notification Center will see additional widgets, like localized news feeds. Apple is also testing a dedicated easily accessible panel for Wi-Fi, Airplane Mode, and Bluetooth. Home screen icons will lose their shininess and shadows and will have a flatter design with fewer textures. Panoramic Home screen images will be available so that, when you swipe between app screens, your background image will move with it. Navigation bars will lose gradient textures and some will include a minor “blurring” effect. The touch screen keyboard will be a lighter shade of gray and does not include shadowing. The Notes app will exchange the yellow legal pad look for a flat, white look. Apps like Mail, Calendar, and Maps are more uniformed with a flat, white design. The App Store, Newsstand, Game Center, Safari, Camera, and Weather apps will all look significantly different. The Weather app will feature animated images to notate current weather conditions. Apple’s iTunes related apps, like App Store and iBook Store will have a flatter, white look. The iPhone will regain a dedicated FaceTime app. According to the sources that described the above design changes, Apple has re-architected iOS 7 several times. By the time the software is demonstrated at Worldwide Developer Conference, it may look dramatically different than what Apple has been testing in recent weeks. In less than a month, Apple will host a keynote address where iOS 7 will likely be shown off. According to AllThingsD, The WWDC keynote address will take place at 10:00 a.m. PT on Monday, June 10. » Related posts: Apple Management Shake-Up Results in Better Collaboration Between Apple Design Teams, New “Flat” Design for iOS 7 Suppliers Claim 2nd Gen iPad mini Ready to Ship by 3Q13 Siri Coming to iPad with iOS 6 Update?

If you’re looking for a deal on a 4th Gen iPad or iPad mini, check out the recent price drops on Apple certified refurbished models. A buyer can save 15 percent on most models. This is the second time Apple has dropped prices on refurbished tablets. The first set of mark downs came in March 2013, as these tablet models arrived in Apple’s refurbished store for the first time. All of Apple’s refurbished products come with a 1-year warranty, so you can buy with confidence. The savings break down as follows: iPad mini - 16 GB Wi-Fi: $279, down from $299 previously and $329 brand-new - 32 GB Wi-Fi: $359, down from $389 previously and $429 brand-new - 64 GB Wi-Fi: $439, down from $489 previously and $529 brand-new - 16 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $389, down from $429 previously and $459 brand-new - 32 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $469, down from $519 previously and $559 brand-new - 64 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $549, down from $619 previously and $659 brand-new Fourth-generation iPad - 16 GB Wi-Fi: $419, down from $449 previously and $499 brand-new - 32 GB Wi-Fi: $499, down from $549 previously and $599 brand-new - 64 GB Wi-Fi: $579, down from $649 previously and $699 brand-new - 16 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $529, down from $579 previously and $629 brand-new - 32 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $609, down from $679 previously and $729 brand-new - 64 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $689, down from $779 previously and $829 brand-new Want a 128 GB 4th gen iPad? Still plan on paying full-price for the large-capacity tablet because you won’t find this model in the refurbished store, at least not yet. Are you tempted by these refurbished deals or are you holding out for the release of the iPad 5 and the second-generation iPad mini, whenever that may be. [via MacRumors] » Related posts: Deal Alert: Refurbished iPad Mini and Fourth Generation iPads Now Available from Apple Refurbished 3rd Gen iPads Now Available at Apple Online Store Reported Apple iPad Mini Prices and Specs Leaked – Are they Right?