Category: Apple

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If You Have an iPhone 7 You Need This Adapter

Although I don’t generally miss the headphone jack on my iPhone 7 Plus, there is one scenario that I do miss it. With only having the Lightning port this means that you have to decide to either charge or use a wired headset. Like I said, this generally isn’t a problem because I’m either using a wireless headset or I’m sitting at my desk and my iPhone 7 Plus is sitting in a iPhone dock which also has a wired headset attached to it. However, for those times when I want to plug in a headset and charge at the same time I’ve found the Belkin Lightning Audio + Charge Rockstar adapter. This adapter give you TWO Lightning ports instead of one.

It works great as long as you know the limitations…

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iPhone 7 Plus Review

iphone7plus-in-my-hand

I know this review is way overdue. I have reviewed the new iPhone each year on the Monday after release since 2007. Why the delay on my iPhone 7 Plus review? There are a few reasons, but the main one was that I was waiting on one of the hallmark features that is promised for the iOS 10.1 release. I was hopeful that since I’ve waited this long that the new “Portrait” aka shallow depth of field camera feature would be released. As of the writing of this review, it’s still in beta. So I don’t want to give an opinion based upon unreleased software. With that said, let’s get to it…

My iPhone 7 Plus order got off to a shaky start

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I Have Lightroom in my Living Room on the Big Screen

Lightroom Apple TV

Yesterday, Adobe released the Lightroom Apple TV App. With this App installed on your 4th generation Apple TV you can log in with your Adobe ID and access/view any of your sync’d collections/photos.

Why Lightroom Apple TV is a big deal

The more Adobe Photoshop Lightroom becomes the center of my photography, the more I will want “Lightroom EVERYWHERE!” I already have Lightroom on my computers, my iPhone, my iPad Pro and the web. The next logical frontier was the living room. I use Lightroom not only to organize my photos and do non-destructive edits on them, but I also use Lightroom to “show off” my photos. I can do that one-on-one with my various “portfolio collections” via my iPad or iPhone or I could share a link to a specific collection allowing anyone to view on the web.

Lightroom_Portfolio_Collections_Sync

With the Lightroom Apple TV App this means that I can also show off my photos on the big screen anywhere in my home. There’s no need to export my photos and load them onto another device. There’s no reason to tie up my iPhone/iPad via AirPlay. I can just fire up the Lightroom Apple TV App, choose a collection and hit the Play button on the remote.

See it in action from setup to delivery

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Ecobee 3 Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat Review

ecobee-3-on-my-wall

I know it’s been a while since I’ve done gadget reviews here. However, I’ve just moved into a new home and for the first time in several years I’ve been looking at and buying smart home gadgets. I must admit that the amount of choices out there now are quite daunting. Even if you find the right gadget based upon the feature set that you’re looking for you also have also decide which platform to go with. Platform?

smart home platforms

Yes, just like you decide to go with iOS or Android, Mac or Windows, etc, your smart home gadgets work together based on alliances and partnerships. For example, I was pretty sure that I would go with a Nest thermostat. I had been looking at them for years. I liked the design. Nest even acquired Dropcam, the company I was using for all my wifi cameras. However, somewhere along the way Nest was acquired by Google. That acquisition put them at odds with Apple. I have nothing against Google or the Android platform, but all of my mobile devices are iOS based. Therefore I wanted to go with devices that work with Apple’s HomeKit platform.

The Ecobee 3 Remote Sensor Advantage

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Adobe Apps on iPad Pro and Intro to Photoshop

IMG_1814-Edit_sm.jpg

As expected, Apple just took the wraps off the latest addition to the iPad family, the NEW 9.7 inch iPad Pro! I’m excited about this one because it’s the iPad that I really wanted. When the iPad Pro was introduced last year, the first thought that came to mind was “I don’t really want/need a bigger iPad.” However, after experiencing the fidelity of the Apple Pencil, I knew that this was the iPad to have for all things creative. Now that there is a 9.7″ iPad Pro with the same speed and Apple Pencil support it’s clear that Apple is serious when it comes to enabling creatives to be creative on mobile devices…

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5 Things Apple Got Right and The 5 Things They Got Wrong in 2015

apple_store

I’ve been a user and fan of Apple products since the first Macintosh in 1984. However, as fan I also recognize that one of my favorite companies in the tech world doesn’t get everything right every time. It’s a company of humans! Anytime you praise or criticize anything Apple, people come out of the woodwork to either chime in in agreement or tell you how much of an idiot you are. It’s also hard to criticize the richest company in the world. After all, they are a business that continues to make billions of a dollars every year, so who am I to judge? I’m a customer….

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5 Things the Periscope App Could Learn from the Facebook App

Facebook Live Streaming Button

Twitter launched Periscope on March 26th, 2015 and so far it has been a hit with many. It’s estimated that Periscope has 12 Million Users. It even got Apple’s prestigious “App of the Year” for 2015. Yes, all things are pointing to Periscope only getting better from here on out. However, Periscope is in an ever increasing crowded field. While we don’t see Meerkat in the new much anymore, there are others like Blab and yes the 800 lb gorilla, Facebook. Facebook has dipped their two into the live streaming pond a little at a time. Well recently, they waded out a little farther by starting to turn on Live Streaming in their regular Facebook iOS App for “regular folks”. I say “regular folks” because before this advancement, Facebook only allowed Public Figures (and people with Verified Pages) to stream in their Facebook Mentions App. Now keep in mind that this is a slow rollout. You may not have it yet. This feature only started rolling out since December 14th, 2015. I only just got the feature (a button shows up when you have it) right around Christmas day. I have other friends that still don’t have it yet. Whether you have it yet or not, you will ultimately have this ability (at least in the iOS App). It’s just a matter of time as they turn on more users each day.

The Periscope App Could Learn a Few Things from the Facebook App

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