Category: iPad

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Adobe Creative Announcements at MAX 2011!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr_KML5H13k

Amazing Opening To Adobe MAX here in Los Angeles

 

I'm just getting back from the Adobe MAX Keynote where we announced a bunch of NEW Apps, acquisitions and the Adobe Creative Cloud. Rather than sit here and try to recap every detail it's easier just to point you to the Adobe Blog posts that have already been written on each topic (I'll personally have more to come on each of these as time goes on:)

 

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Photoshop Touch <-Photoshop on your tablet!

Adobe Touch Apps (see videos of the Adobe Touch Apps in action here)

Adobe Digital Publishing Suite SINGLE EDITION <-what so many of you have been asking for!

Adobe Acquires TypeKit

Woodwing moves their solution over to the Adobe Publishing Suite!

Adobe to acquire Nitobi, creator of PhoneGap

 



It was definitely an exciting keynote and I'm jazzed about the new possibilities!

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Adobe Shows off Carousel Cloud Based Photo Syncing to All Your Devices

Carousel running above on iPad and iPhone 4

I'm here LIVE at Photoshop World Vegas and during the Adobe Keynote Adobe introduced a new cloud based product called Carousel. With Carousel you can simply drag your images into the desktop client and they are uploaded to the Adobe Cloud in the background. You can also perform non-destructive edits and effects. Think Lightroom Develop Module 🙂 While this is cool, what makes Carousel magical is that the photos are AUTOMATICALLY, simultaneously and wirelessly sync'd to your mobile devices too. 

I've got Carousel running here on my MacBook Air. I took some photos during the keynote and they were sent via my Eye-Fi card to my iPad directly from my Nikon D7000 DSLR. I brought up Carousel on the iPad and added them and now they are on my desktop as well as my iPhone. This means that it doesn't matter where you add the photos or edit them, they will be sync'd to all your devices running Carousel. Once you have the photos in the Carousel app on your desktop or mobile device you can browse them, zoom in and share them. You can also have shared Carousels so that you and your family members/colleagues can share memories instantly.

Carousel will be available later this month (September 2011) for iOS and Mac and for Android and Windows early in 2012.

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What I’m Teaching at Photoshop World This Week

It's time for Photoshop World! It's this week in Las Vegas and I'll be teaching once again at this year's show. I've added two new classes and for whatever reason they didn't make the web schedule (hoping to get them corrected as we speak) I've also updated the information for my Intro InDesign & Facebook classes too.

  • Introduction to Adobe InDesign CS 5.5 
  • Creating Interactive Portfolios for iPad, Android & Blackberry Tablets in InDesign CS5.5 – NEW
  • Why you should be on Facebook (will talk Google+ too) Updated
  • Using the iPad in a Photography Workflow – NEW (this class replaces my Importing Images into Lightroom class that's incorrectly listed on the schedule)

Don't forget to see me on the show floor as well. I have sessions scheduled in the Adobe booth as well as partner booths such as Westcott and Manfrotto. 

See you this week and if you have an iOS device don't forget to grab the free PSW App here from the iTunes

Follow Me on Twitter, Add me on Google+ and Like me on Facebook for my live and up to the minute show updates!

 

Happy Labor Day!

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Go from Adobe InDesign to iPad a little easier

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk-LxGM4p4E

 

In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Video Podcast I'll show you the UPDATED Folio Builder Panel in InDesign CS 5 and CS 5.5. Now it's even easier to go from InDesign to your iPad, Android tablet or Blackberry Playbook for free!

See more of my Adobe Creative Suite Videos on my Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and get the App here. It features EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that no one else gets to see. This episode has a BONUS CLIP that is available only in the App:

Learn Adobe Creative Suite with Terry White - Wizzard Media

 

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Another Dual USB Charger that does Even More!

 

Last month I reviewed this dual USB charger that not only let's you charge two USB devices at once, but it has the higher 2.1Amp output on one of the ports for your more demanding USB devices such as the iPad. Well leave to to blog reader Mike to show me one that he insisted I would like even better. I took him up on his challenge and checked out the ReTrak dual USB charger. The one advantage that this one has over the others I've reviewed here in the past is that it works both as an in home AC charger as well as a Car charger too. That's right. Once charger that charges the iPad and one other device such as your iPhone, Android phone or other USB device and it works in either a standard home/office outlet or the cigarette lighter in your car.

That makes this the one to have for travel. I had been carrying separate chargers. One for the hotel room and another car charger for those times I get a rental car. Now I can carry just one and charge any USB powered device I carry. As an added bonus the ReTrak comes with a retractable iDevice sync cable. Cool! Thanks Mike

You can get the ReTrak Charger for $19.99 from B&H or here for $19.99 from Amazon.

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Review: Withings Smart, Connected Scale and Blood Pressure Monitor

If you're watching your weight chances are you have a scale somewhere in your home. If you are health conscious then chances are you get your blood pressure checked on a regular basis. The folks over at Withings are aiming to bring these rather mundane tasks to the 21st century with Smart and Connected devices. GEEK ALERT: The objects you're about to read about are cool gadgets. However, make no mistake that there is a very high geek factor at work here. After all, the last time I checked you could pick up a decent bathroom scale for around $25. You stand on it, look down and see your weight. That's pretty much it! When a company figures out a way to bring MORE technology into this and you're interested, then chances are you're a geek 🙂 Now on to our story…

 

The Withings WiFi Scale

I remember way back when this product first came out and saying to myself: "Cool, but I can't bring myself to pay that much for a scale." Then I saw it on sale and I snapped one up. I already knew that the product would be cool and useful, but just a tad too pricy for most. Before we get to the sticker shock let's talk about what it does. The Withings WiFi Scale looks and acts like any other modern day digital scale on the surface. However, inside it has a WiFi chip and USB port. When you first set it up you plug it into your computer via the USB cable just long enough to associate it with your free Withings account and to configure it to connect to your WiFi network. From that point on you can put the USB cable away and place the scale where you want in your home as long as it's within range of your WiFi hotspot. Now when you or a family member steps on it it will not only display the weight (in pounds or KGs – your choice), but it will also transmit the data wirelessly over the internet to your account. You can then view your information/progress at any time via a web browser or via their FREE iOS App.

iTunes

I've been working on my weight now more seriously for the past three years and I have had both successes and set backs. Any tool that can make the tracking easier is a plus for me. Prior to the WiFi scale I was using a regular scale and logging the progress into the Lose It! App. I can remember many times I'd go weigh myself, get busy doing something else and forget to log the number and of course, not remember what it was. Now I don't have to think about logging it. I don't even have to have my mobile devices turned on at the time. All I have to do is step on the WiFi scale and the numbers are automatically logged to my private account online. I look at them when I need to or feel the courage to 🙂

I was impressed by how the scale auto detects different family members and records their weight too. Yes that does mean that you can setup multiple users and whenever any one gets on it will log the weight of that person to the master account and by name.

It's more than just weight. The scale also keeps track of your Body Analysis providing info on Fat mass, Lean mass and BMI (Body Mass Index). 

Convenience doesn't come cheap. The only downside to this wonderful gadget is the price. At $159 you'll have to really really really want one to get one. I can't say "need one" because honestly no one "needs" one of these. Granted it does what no other scale I've seen does, but it does so at a steep price.

You can get the Withings WiFi Scale here for $159.

 

Still much more work to be done… Let's see how far I get by the time I see you at Photoshop World Vegas! (note: I didn't say what year 😉 )

 

Blood Pressure Monitor

The Withings Blood Pressure Monitor is battery operated device that has a cable attached with a 30 pin iOS dock connector on the end. The idea is that when you're ready to take your blood pressure you plug it in to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and with their native App your iOS device becomes not only the display, but also the record keeper. Again this is pretty cool and geeky stuff. Just like with your weight you can keep track of your readings day to day and even email them to your doctor.  The App works with both devices and can display both your weight progress and blood pressure stats at the same time.

You can get the Withings Blood Pressure Monitor here for $129

 

The Bottom Line

They're useful albeit expensive toys. I haven't had any issues to date with either device and they work as advertised. If your budget can handle it and you like gadgets then you'll love em.

 

 

See them in Action

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Wacom Outs A New iPad Stylus and Sketching App

 

The great folks over a Wacom have shpped their NEW Bamboo Stylus for iPad (or any other touch screen mobile device). Ever since I started using the iPhone and then the iPad for doing model releases I realized that having a stylus was a must have accessory. While I've enjoyed my Pogo Sketch (the Targus one is OK too), I couldn't pass on the opportunity to try the one from the same company that makes my graphics tablet (Intuos 4). After all Wacom has had MANY YEARS of experience in designing tablets and pens to go with them. I figured that if anyone could design a good stylus for touch screen devices like the iPad it would be Wacom. Unfortunately the iPad doesn't offer pressure sensitivity like the Wacom tablets do. However, I have found the tip of this new stylus to be very comfortable to work with and smooth for on screen writing, signing and drawing. 

 

The Little Things

You might ask yourself "what is there to innovate in a stylus for an iPad?" That's a good question. After all, once you make a tip that works with touch screens what else is there? Surprisingly a lot. One thing I couldn't figure out with other styli is why there were designed to be so small? The first thing I noticed with the Bamboo Stylus was that it had a nice thickness to it as well as some weight to it that made it feel more natural in my big hands. Speaking of weight the other nice thing is that the slight weight differential of it is pushed to the tip end. This means that when I pick it up I can tell which end is the writing end without even looking at it. While I do wish that it was about a half inch longer, I found the length to be reasonable. Now on to the tip. This is probably the most important feature as it will either make it or break it for me when it comes to using a stylus. I prefer a tip that glides more easily on the touch screen. Some of the cheaper ones have more of a "rubber" feel, which is fine for "tapping" onscreen buttons, but horrible for writing/sketching. I'm happy to report that the Bamboo Stylus has a nice blend of easy gliding, but just enough grip for precise tapping. This is also due to the design of the tip and how it comes to a nicely rounded point. Again, there was some thought put into this and I would expect nothing less from Wacom. 

 

If you're in need of a stylus for your mobile touch screen device, it doesn't get much better than this. You can get the Wacom Bamboo Stylus for iPad here for $29.95 or less.

 

One more thing…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgByFtjYotQ

There's an App too. Wacom introduced a NEW iPad App called Bamboo Paper (see my review here). This App is a virtual notebook for your iPad. If you hurry you can grab a copy of the App for FREE until the end of June here from the iTunes

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Charge your iPad and Phone at the Same Time

I'm always on the look out for ways to reduce the number of chargers I travel with and while I have found some great 4 Port USB Chargers in the past the one thing they all seem to lack is the 5V 2 AMP (10W) power requirement for the iPad. Granted the iPad will still charge on the lesser current, but it will take longer. Recently I found a dual USB charger that has one port that operates at the higher voltage. The other USB port is a standard 5V 1 Amp port for your other USB devices such as your cellphone. This is GREAT! This means that I can charge my iPad 2 at full speed and still have a port to charge my phone. The other requirement I have is that any charger I buy has to also work on the higher powered International plugs and this one does (with an appropriate wall plug adapter).

I have replaced my standard iPad white chargers with these for on the road. Yes it comes with a sync cable too. The only annoyance is the bright blue LED that lets you know it's plugged in. You know how I feel about LEDs 🙂

You can get the Dual Port USB Charger here for about $12 or here on eBay for about $12.

A standard Apple iPad charger retails for $29 (granted it does come with a long cord too).

 

Here's one for the Car too:

Order it here.

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BlackMagic Intensity Pro: Capturing an iPad 2 Demo via HDMI Out

One of the main features of the iPad 2 that I use the most over the iPad 1 is the ability to mirror my desktop out to a projector when doing demos. I've been using this feature extensively on my latest Adobe CS5 Evolution Tour. You can use either the original Apple VGA Adapter or the NEW Apple Digital AV (HDMI) Adapter. While this works GREAT for live presentations I also wanted to take advantage of it when recording tutorial videos or App reviews. The problem was finding a solution that allowed me to take either the VGA out or HDMI out of the iPad 2 back into my computer.

 

BlackMagic Intensity Pro to the rescue

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10 Things I Want To See in iOS 5

I've been an iPhone (iOS) user since 2007. Yep, that's when the 1st iPhone hit the scene. While the iPhone back then was revolutionary I still had a running list of improvements that I wanted to see. I even went back to dig up my original "50 Ways To Make The iPhone Better" post to have a look to see what was still missing today in iOS 4?The good news is that the vast majority of my original list has either been addressed via iOS updates or 3rd party Apps. Four years later I'm asking myself what do I still want? Having looked at the current iOS 4, 3rd party Apps and the Android platform, there are still a few things I'd like to see:

  • Over the Air Updates – It's time to cut the cord and receive iOS updates over the air. The only time I should have to plug in a sync cable is when I'm doing a full restore or if I want to have things go faster. Android already has this.
  • WiFi Media Syncing  –  I would be putting it mildly when I say that it totally sucks having to plug in a cable anytime I want to sync a new playlist, movie, podcast, etc from my iTunes library to my iOS Device. Apple let's you download gigabytes of data from the iTunes store directly to your device via WiFi, why not allow syncing of your OWN media via your OWN WiFi network? Long overdue!
  • Multiple Mail Signatures – We've had multiple email accounts since day one, but only one email signature since day one. Yes there are 3rd party Apps to work around this, but this should be built-in like it is in Mail on the Mac OS X desktop.
  • Set a 3rd Party Browser as your Default – Mobile Safari is cool, but iCab blows it away! I could easily make a list of 10 or more things I'd like to see in Safari. However, I've found all the missing features I wanted, in iCab. While Apple does allow you to download and use 3rd party browsers, you can't set them as the default browser. This means that any tap of a link inside another App always launches Safari instead of your preferred browser.
  • Spam Filtering – Need I say more?
  • Widgets – One thing on Android OS that I really like and wish were in iOS is the concept of Widgets. These on screen "widgets" show you information (current weather, latest tweets, email subjects, etc.) without having to launch an App. iOS really needs this!
  • Sound Profiles – This one goes way back to my Treo days. Mute is not enough! I'd love to setup profiles that will allow vibration, emergency calls to ring through, silence (no vibrating), etc. etc. If this were a "smart phone", it would be possible.
  • Notification Schedules – Currently, Notifications are either on or off. I'd like to setup a schedule in which my device doesn't make a sound or pop up a notification during night hours or meetings. Sure I can just turn them off, but then I'd have to remember to turn them back on.
  • Email a Group of Contacts – If I email the same 3, 5 or 10 people all the time, why do I have to manually enter their names in each new email? Group support in Mail please!
  • Ability to Assign Ringtones to Groups of Contacts – one of my oldest requests! Although we got custom ringtones years ago, there is still no ability to assign the same ringtone to multiple contacts (groups) at the same time. It's still a painstaking one-by-one task.

 

Why not just switch to Android completely?

I actually have an Android based tablet (Motorola Xoom) and phone (Motorola Atrix 4G). Like comparing ANY two things, there are going to be things I like in one that aren't in the other. So it's no surprise that there are things I like in the Android OS that aren't in iOS and vice versa. I have the luxury of being able to use any device I want whenever I want. Overall though (at least for now), I find iOS to have MORE things I like about it than Android. Sure, Android OS answers the majority of my list above, but I could easily come up with a list of 10, 20 or 30 things that are missing from Android OS that are currently in iOS. Not to mention a huge existing investment that I have in iOS Apps that I'd be leaving behind. Even if I were willing to leave my Apps behind, Android Market doesn't have all the same Apps or equivalents for all the Apps I use. There is NO PERFECT! Just like there are things I like even in Windows 7 over Mac OS X. I use Mac OS X most of the time because it has more things I like over Windows, but Windows 7 is only a reboot away when needed.

 

WWDC Kicks off Today

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference kicks off today with news around iOS 5 as well as iCloud and maybe even some hardware announcements. It will be interesting to see how much of my remaining wish list is addressed.

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