iOS 5: Predictions

My predictions of what will be in the next iOS. More from the author: http://andrrrew.tumblr.com/

Click to read more ...

iPad 2: How to Enable Multitouch Multitask Gestures

Before the release of the Apple iPad 2, there was speculation and several rumors floating around that Apple intended on removing the home button from each of their iOS devices. These rumors surfaced once a developer beta build of iOS reached the public, showing off multi-touch gestures incorporated in the iPad's software for multitasking. These gestures included four finger swipes, as well as a five finger pinch motion. The five finger pinch gesture would direct the user out of their current app and back to the homescreen. This gesture was the basis of the rumors that future iOS devices could be without the original home button. It can be predicted that Apple will eventually incorporate these multitask gestures in a future iOS update, but whether they will choose to remove the home button from their iOS devices remains to be seen.

In this video, I provide a tutorial and demonstration on how to enable multi-touch guestures on your iPad. This option is compatible with the first generation and second generation iPad. 

Angry Birds iPad 2 Case

As with any release of a new Apple product, the world is filled up with boring black and grey cases to help protect the iPad 2 should it fall out your hand and damage itself on the pathway. Wouldn't that be terrible? But never fear, the Angry Birds are here to help protect your iPad 2 and cheer up your day.

Angry Birds; the ridiculously addictive iPhone, iPod and iPad game, is one of my all time favourite apps, without a doubt. Gear4 have announced that they will be releasing a range of Angry Birds iPad 2 cases, which are so revolutionary - they even protect the back. Those crazy birds, what will they come up with next? This has to be my favourite design.

Imagine, you're riding the train to work on a cold, wet, Monday morning and the guy opposite you whips out his iPad 2 with that case on it. I defy anyone who doesn't break into even a little smile. It's just so cheery and happy - I love it!

There are a couple other designs; one which looks like the original iPhone Angry Birds case and another which shows Birds v Pigs in a typical Nintendo Smash Brothers style. Whichever one you get though, they are all really cool. All I need now is an iPad 2.

I had a browse around the Internet and found the red one listed for £24.95 at mobilefun.co.uk, which I thought was a pretty reasonable price. I presume that the other designs will be added soon, so keep a lookout.

Jack Holmes, techByJack.com

iPad 2: A Broken Verse?

To say the least, the March 7th announcement was a dispositive settlement of all those knavish rumors that embroidered the front covers of some uninformed tabloids. But the metaphysics have taken their course back to the tilt-a-whirl, working sound, in cahoots with somewhat of a realistic measure. Indeed, Apple pulled out the big gun like Barney Fife from the The Andy Griffith Show, and dismissed its previous retort back at a CNET reporter, to which Apple claimed that camera on a tablet is like inscribing a lilliputian perforation in a well-preserved Rosetta Stone. But then again, the heifer is back to the ridge, and hypocrisies reprise themselves like Nixon’s little taradiddles.

I’m not gonna lie, but as the provoking title of this ‘treatise,’ more felicitously a rant,  implies, the iPad 2 resembles a broken verse of sorts. I’d gladly lay up a warm-handed accolade to Mr. Jobs, had it been packed with more features, like a corpulent child on a hammock on a spree of gobbling a steamer-trunk size Sasquatch pizza. At the original iPad’s inquest, we see its ‘counterpart’ rehash the advantages, which run the gamut from aluminum chassis to lightweight enclosure, take a very leery effort in trying to retain that fleeting battery life, and rub up on the speed department, in which Apple claims the graphics performance improved by nine times, and the overall speed clock by two. Having said that, I’m a stringent gendarme. I have a slight inkling that something is missing, though I could be jumping on the bandwagon here. However, with my stevedore-likened mouth, I would like to ask why the iOS 5.0 announcement was temporized. At this point, I do reckon it’s an irreducible fact that 5.0 would be strikingly similar to the current firmware, for it has long been established an insidious fact that Apple would not change its contraptions and softwares on the score of simplicity. Then again, from a circumstantial standpoint, austerity has shied away from my palate. 

When the Big A’ gives you that come-hither look, beware of its hoodwink. When you the buyer is sauntering around the hinterland, flummoxed by how bland the Dixie-horticulture is, Steve Jobs along with Apple Execs would be sitting on the lap of luxury at Cupertino, afield from you, glazing over the fact how gullible you are. They feel the pulse of the public, like they were voting for Alvin Greene on a rigged voting machine. But if you have a liability to build a credence that the new iPad is the next Holy Grail, fine. Have at it, but I do not concur. I can reel off a long parchment of a modern-day Pharisees, but that drib-and-drab approach would be rendered obsolete once you, perched on a comfy mattress, gamboling around with your expensive gimmick, come to a conclusion that you’d be better off shopping at a haberdashery. And once more, you’d inhale the redolent whiff of insularity, like that moment when you decided to supplant your iPhone 3G with iPhone 3GS, just because the brand “Apple” has become your new pas de deux, and Steve Jobs is your head capos, covertly an Attila-like existence that’s trying to hack your cynical minds away. 

How to Make Calls on Your iPod touch or iPad for Free

Many people may not know this, but if you have an iPod Touch or iPad, a pair of headphones with a microphone, and a wi-fi signal you can make calls to any phone number in the U.S for free! This all happens with an app called iCall, which is available in the app store. There are similar apps like iCall that are available, but I've honestly never tried them. For a free app, iCall works very well and can make a great backup source in case of your phone dying or breaking. Here's how to set up iCall in 6 simple steps:

1. Open up the App Store and search "icall". The first result, which is technically called "iCall Free VoIP" should appear. Then proceed to download the app.

2. Open up iCall. It may take a few seconds to load and find the server. Once iCall loads you will be presented with a terms of use page. Touch the "I agree" button.

3. The next page you will be brought to is a "Choose your account type" page. There is a paid version of iCall, but if you want the free version, touch the "Free Calling" button.

4. Now you will be asked to put in your contact information. Do so, then touch the continue button.

5. The next page you will be brought to is the "Phone Verification" page. Touch the "Place verification call" button. A prompt will pop up saying that you will have to dial a U.S phone number. Touch the ok button.

6. A new prompt will appear saying to dial a specific number on your cell phone. Once you call the number, it should hang up right away. Then press the ok button and you should be greeted with the last prompt telling you that you have successfully activated your iCall account. You will then be taken back to the dialer page where you can start making calls!

I hope this tutorial helps. Some side notes to consider are that in the beginning of your call, you are presented with a 10-15 second add. This can be a pain but it is still worth the free calling. Another note is that you have a 4 minute limit for calls. Again this is a real downside but it shouldn't be a deal breaker.

YouTube