Terry White's Tech Blog

October 12, 2012October 12, 2012

Do you really “need” unlimited data?

If you’re an early iPhone adopter like me, then chances are you are grandfathered in to AT&T’s “Unlimited” data plan. AT&T has taken a lot of heat (and deservedly so) over playing games with this plan and doing things like throttling users back that use a lot of their “unlimited” data and holding back features ie. Data Tethering and FaceTime over Cellular, from users still on these plans.

Never gonna give it up!

Like many of you I have no plans of giving up my unlimited data voluntarily. Actually I don’t have a choice as my AT&T plan is through work. I do use a lot of data when I travel. I’m on this plan until they take it away (cold dead hands) or until work changes to something else. However, I also have a family plan with family members on it. Many of those iPhones and iPads were on unlimited plans too. A couple of months ago I decided to look not only at my bill, but to also look at usage and I found that most of these family members don’t use a lot of iPhone 3G/4G data at all. They are on WiFi most of the time either at home, work or school. I also had 3 iPads on various monthly pay-as-you-go plans. I decided to bite the bullet and move everything over to one of AT&T’s Shared Data Plans. Doing the math it would save me about $30/month and everyone (but me) would get the benefits of tethering and FaceTime over 3G/4G. I went with the 10GB/month plan because for 5 iPhones and 3 iPads the math you don’t really save anything by going with a lower plan as the cost per phone goes up!

How’s it going?

This is my first full month after the switch and as I suspected they didn’t go anywhere near the 10GBs of allotted data. Again remember this is for 5 iPhones and 3 iPads.

The Bottom Line

While I like the idea of buying data and using it anyway that I want, I still don’t like AT&T’s tactics here of not allowing you to use your device to fullest if you were an early adopter on an unlimited data plan. If you use the data (especially video streaming) then by all means stick to your unlimited plan. Stick it to the man! However, if you could save a few bucks and you’re not using that much data you might be actually better off on one of the new shared data plans. These plans also include unlimited voice and unlimited texting.

Check your usage in the My AT&T App

October 8, 2012October 7, 2012

How To Get Started With Photoshop CS6 – 10 Things Beginners Want to Know How To Do

In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast Terry White shows beginners How To Get Started with Photoshop CS6 – The 10 Things Beginners Want to Know How To Do. Photoshop has infinite possibilities and it’s impossible to cover all there is know even for a beginner in any one video. This video takes the approach of showing beginners how to do the things they usually want to know how to do right away. Including the most asked for topic of “how to remove an image from a background.”

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October 4, 2012October 4, 2012

Google Adds Street View to their Mobile Web Based Maps

I think it would be an understatement to say that there is disappointment among users of Apple’s iOS 6 Maps App. It replaces the long standing and trusted Google Maps App and it fall short in many key areas. While I wasn’t a huge Maps user to begin with, I do use the App from time to time to find local businesses, get phone numbers, websites, etc. Long ago I adopted the Navigon App as my choice for turn-by-turn voice directions. However, since the new Maps App offers turn-by-turn plus direct Siri support it’s nice to be able to simply say things like “navigate to 123 Main St” and have the Maps app find the location and start navigating to it. Just last night I had the opportunity to use that feature and this was my first frustrating experience with the new Maps App. Since I was driving I wasn’t staring at my iPhone. I was simply listening to the voice directions. One of the directions was make a u-turn in a half a mile. However, by the time I got to the point to make the u-turn I realized that it had me navigate almost a mile past my destination just to turn around and go back to it. I could have made that u-turn right at the location I was headed to. That’s a mile of my life that I’ll never get back 🙂

Another problem I’m having with the new Maps App is that it simply doesn’t have the businesses listed that Google does. I ended up looking up that address last night using a regular Google search since Apple’s Map App didn’t have it.

Google beefs up their Maps Mobile Web App with Street View

One of the other missing features of Apple’s Maps App is Google’s Street View. Before today that feature wasn’t available in the mobile browser version of their Maps. Now it is. This means that I’ll likely use Google’s Map in my mobile browser more often and definitely use Navigon for my turn-by-turn directions as I’ve learned that I just can’t trust Apple’s Map app at this point for even basic navigation. Luckily there’s even a good trick to use Siri to get the Maps App to show you where you want to go and then hand it off to Navigon. Fire up Siri and simply say “navigate to __________ by train”.

Apple’s Map App doesn’t offer public transit options and therefore you’ll be offered the choice to use another app to do your navigation. Tap the Route button for Navigon and away you go (by car or public transit). This is by far the fastest and easiest way to get your destination into the Navigon app provided that the place you asked for is in Apple’s Map app or you simply use an address. I should also point out that Navigon has Google features built-in to their app. In addition to Google Local Search for POIs, it also has a Street View feature that comes up automatically as you arrive at your location so that you can see where you’re going on foot from the car, bus, train, etc.

I’m sure that Apple will improve their Maps app over time, but at this point I definitely can’t recommend using it. The combination of Google Maps Web App, Navigon and Siri will be my solution for the foreseeable future.

October 3, 2012

Adobe Lightroom 4.2 and Camera RAW 7.2 Updates Now Available

The Lightroom 4.2 and Camera RAW 7.2 final releases are available. As usual the update to Lightroom addresses bugs and provides additional camera support

New Camera Support in Lightroom 4.2:

Canon EOS 650D / Rebel T4i
Canon EOS M
Fujifilm XF1
Fujifilm X-E1
Fuji FinePix F800EXR
Leaf Credo 40
Leaf Credo 60
Leica S
Leica D-LUX 6
Leica V-LUX 4
Nikon Coolpix P7700
Nikon 1 J2
Nikon D600*
Panasonic DMC-G5
Panasonic DMC-LX7
Panasonic DMC-FZ200
Pentax K-30
Samsung EX2F
Sony Alpha NEX-5R
Sony Alpha NEX-6
Sony Alpha SLT-A99V
Sony DSC-RX100

* Please note that the support for Nikon D600 is preliminary and there is a minor risk that the appearance of your images may change when the final support for Nikon D600 is available in an upcoming release.

Newly supported cameras for tethered capture:

Canon EOS Kiss X5
Canon EOS Kiss REBEL T3i
Canon EOS 600D
Canon EOS Kiss X50
Canon EOS REBEL T3
Canon EOS 1100D
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EOS 1D X
Nikon D4
Nikon D800
Nikon D800e

Bugs Corrected in Lightroom 4.2:

The following bugs that were part the Lightroom 4 releases have been corrected. The team appreciates the very detailed feedback the community has provided on Lightroom 4 and we’re excited to correct a number of issues experienced by our customers. These issues have been FIXED:

Stacked photos were hidden in both the Grid view and Filmstrip. This occurred when photos get unstacked as a result of enabling auto-stacking.
Folder stacks with virtual copies were unstacked when moving to another folder.
When scrolling through the filmstrip (at somewhat fast rate), occasionally a “gray” image was displayed for an instant and then replaced by the correct image preview.
The Navigator Panel in Map did not pan correctly.
Parents and synonyms of “do not export” keywords also did not export.
Occasionally were unable to publish videos to Facebook
Audio did not play in video files after creating a slideshow that contains music (Win 7 only)
Image select arrow on keyword list didn’t display when keyword list contained a large number of keywords
Unable to edit Lightroom photos as jpegs in Photoshop Elements
Carriage Return in either the Title or Caption field invalidated a Flickr upload.
Tether capture bar disappeared after deleting photo (Win only).
Back Cover of Book layout had Horizontal text on spine rather than Vertical
Sharpening was not applied to books that were exported as JPEG files
Double-byte characters were not exported to Books saved as PDF files
Unable to type accented character in book module in LR4
Luminance Noise slider was unresponsive when Clarity is greater than 0.
Develop keyboard shortcuts (+ and – keys) no longer worked in older process versions such as PV2010

Lightroom 4.2 Download Links

Windows, Mac

Camera Raw 7.2 Release Notes

These items have been FIXED in Camera Raw 7.2:

Cannot change “Erase” size, feather and flow settings while utilizing the Option key.
Cannot write metadata to images previously opened in some 3rd party software.
Luminance Noise slider is unresponsive when Clarity is greater than 0.
In certain cases, the new Defringe controls can cause vertical streaks to appear.
Some images from Canon 5D Mark II exhibited pattern noise in the form of maze/green split artifacts.
Adjusting the Blue channel does not affect monochrome images.
Certain TIFF files can cause Bridge to become unstable.
Defringe settings are not retained when editing the file in Photoshop as a Smart Object and then returning to ACR.

Download Links

Camera Raw 7.2 – Please use the update mechanism in Photoshop CS6

DNG Converter 7.2 – Windows, Mac

October 1, 2012October 1, 2012

iOS 6 Panorama Trick

Apple’s iOS 6 includes a great new Panorama feature for shooting panos on the iPhone 4s, iPhone 5 and 5th generation iPod touch (dual core iOS devices). The interface is really easy to use. You start shooting from the left of the scene and simply pan to the right with a visual arrow and line to keep your shots lined up (or tap the screen to go in the opposite direction right to lef). It feels more like shooting a video than it does the typical multiple still shots and then stitching them together.

The other advantage to this interface is that you can shoot at your own speed and that means that once you’re past the area on the left (like a person in the shot), that person can walk around you and get in the same shot on the right before you get there. Admittedly this is not a new idea and has been done before, but the pano feature in iOS 6 really makes this easy. Give it a try.

September 24, 2012

How To Create a Custom I.C.E Wallpaper for your iPhone 5 using Photoshop CS6

In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast Terry White shows how to create a custom I.C.E. (in case of emergency) wallpaper screen for the iPhone 5 using Photoshop CS6.

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September 22, 2012

iPhone 5: Too Funny Not to Share

Here are a couple videos that made me LOL about the new iPhone 5. The 1st is an actual ad by Samsung and while I’m not sure that it will change the minds of many iPhone 5 buyers, it was definitely well done.

Note: If you’re an iPhone or Android user and you are easily offended or defensive about your choice, you shouldn’t watch these or attempt to use them as “ammo”. 🙂 Lighten up a bit. It’s called humor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf5-Prx19ZM

The second one is an iPhone 5 parody. Very clever!

September 21, 2012December 26, 2013

25 New Fun Things To Ask Siri in iOS 6

This is actually a follow up to an insanely popular post I wrote last year “25 Fun Things to Ask Siri“. I was blown away by the initial response to that post and even the continued large number of views to this day. Since iOS 6 is now out in the wild I decided to do a follow up and give you 25 New Things to Ask Siri. In no particular order here we go:

Tweet “Having fun with Siri and iOS 6”

Show Tweets that mention me

Launch Terry White

Launch apps by name!

Play Angry Birds

How did the Lions do last weekend?

Post To Facebook headed to the park

Take me home

Show me the White House

Navigate to My Sister

How long woud it take to drive to Ford Field?

Take a picture

FaceTime Scott Kelby

When do the Bears play next?

Show me the Roster for the Lions

Did the Buccaneers win?

What movies are playing near me?

What time does the movie Resident Evil Start?

Who stars in the Bourne Legacy?

What is Expendables 2 rated?

Show me reviews for The Dark Knight Rises.

Which movie won best picture in 2008?

Make a reservation at Ocean Prime for tomorrow at 7PM

Is there an open table at Morton’s tonight?

Do Not Disturb

What’s the best smartphone?

7 New Things To Ask Siri in iOS 7

Check them out here.

September 20, 2012September 20, 2012

How To Create iPad Apps with InDesign CS6

The Adobe Creative Cloud offering just got a whole lot sweeter! Adobe has made the Digital Publishing Suite Single Edition (DPS SE) available to Creative Cloud Members offering them the ability to create an UNLIMITED number of iPad Apps at no additional cost. Build your Folio in InDesign CS6, use the newly update “Create App” feature of the Folio builder, which generates a .ipa (iOS App) file, upload your App to Apple or simply deploy on your provisioned iPads.

In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast Terry White shows how to use InDesign to create iPad Apps without writing code. See the complete process from InDesign to the App running on my New iPad.

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September 18, 2012

How To Use Collections in Lightroom 4

In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast Terry White shows how to use Collections in Lightroom 4. Learn how to manage your photos better and how to use all the Collection types that Lightroom 4 offers.