Category Archives: iPod touch

Wireless printing coming to iOS 4

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Apple has invited members of the press to an event tomorrow showcasing iPhone OS 4. One of the things I expect to hear about is system-wide support for printing. There are already a few apps that provide printing capability for the iPhone, iPod touch, and now the iPad. But, Apple hasn’t provided the a common printing capability that all apps could use.

When I was watching Steve Jobs’ announcement of the iPad, I thought it would be a neat device but wasn’t convinced that I needed one. That is, until the end of his presentation when he announced iWork for the iPad. On seeing those apps demoed, I was immediately struck with the idea that the iPad represents the future of personal computing. But I also assumed that I’d be able to print from those apps — so that I could still share with people living in the past.

It isn’t just iWork that made me think we would be able to print from our iPads. It’s also taking a look back at Snow Leopard through the lens of the iPad. The improvements to printing in that update to Mac OS X now seem as though they were driven by the need to bring printing to the iPad (iOS and Mac OS share a foundation). They solve the problem of identifying and installing the appropriate printer driver for the printer you want to use on a device that has no slot for a disc containing printer drivers. It’s a very slick and seamless process on the Mac that makes finding and setting up printers so much easier. But these improvements are an absolute requirement to print from the iPad. I have to think this was part of Apple’s long term plan for the iPad and the new user interface for printing simply didn’t make the cut for the iPad’s April 3 release — even though the foundation was already laid.

Lending further support to my speculation that we’ll see printing as part of Apple’s announcement about iPhone OS 4 tomorrow are some iPad support documents that were discovered. Those documents state that “printing directly from iPad is not currently available.” The wording is the key here and it’s Apple’s use of currently that implies that this problem is only temporary.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s announcement. If I am right about this, it is one more step towards the iPad being able to function as someone’s only computer.

Update: Wireless printing is coming in iOS 4.2 which is the first version of iOS 4 to run on the iPad. According to Apple, iOS 4.2 will be available in November 2010 for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Sync your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad!

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You probably connected your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to your computer when you first bought it to get your music. Have you connected it since then to synchronize it with your computer? If you haven’t, you should.

Syncing your iPhone with your computer will do three key things. It’ll update the apps, music, videos, podcasts, photos, etc. on your iPhone based on whatever you have on your computer. This may be all that you expected would happen. But, it will also backup your iPhone so that if you lose your iPhone (or replace it for any other reason) you can load the new one with a backup and get everything back as it was. It’s really seamless and will appear magical the first time you setup a new device from a backup. The other benefit syncing will give you is that iTunes will periodically check to make sure the system software on your phone is the latest and greatest version. iTunes will prompt you to download and install the newest version of the OS if your phone isn’t up-to-date. You’ll get new features and/or fixes for issues when your OS is updated.

These are three great benefits to regularly syncing your device with iTunes. Do it at least monthly. You’ll want that backup one day in the future!

How to do an ad hoc install of an iOS app

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You can run iOS applications that weren’t downloaded from the iTunes App Store. This is referred to as ad hoc installation and is usually something you would do at the request of a developer for testing purposes of the app.

You’ll need to supply the developer of the app with an identifier for your device so that they can give it permission to run the application. The developer will then send you two files that are required to run the app: a provisioning profile and the application itself. You can either use the Ad Hoc Helper app to send your Unique Device Identifier (UDID) to the developer or follow these steps:

  1. Connect your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to your computer.
  2. Open iTunes if it isn’t already.
  3. Select your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad from the Devices section of the list on the left side of the iTunes window.
  4. Select the Summary tab.
  5. Click on the Serial Number field to the right of the large icon of your device. It will change to an Identifier field.
  6. Press Command-C (Macintosh) or Control-C (Windows) to copy the identifier to your clipboard.
  7. Paste the identifier into a message to the developer by using Command-V (Macintosh) or Control-V (Windows).

Once you’ve received both files from the developer, follow these steps to install an app that is distributed in an ad hoc fashion instead of via the App Store.

  1. Connect your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to your computer.
  2. Drag the provisioning profile file to iTunes (it has a .mobileprovision extension). You won’t receive any feedback from iTunes that this was successful.
  3. Decompress (or unzip) the Zip file containing the app. You’ll use the app file contained inside the Zip for the next step.
  4. Drag the application file (it has a .app extension) to iTunes.
  5. Sync your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. If the app does not appear on your device, make sure it is one of the checked apps on your device’s Applications tab in iTunes before syncing.

How to take screenshots with iOS

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Did you know you can take screenshots with iOS? Taking a screenshot is pretty easy to do. All that you have to do is simultaneously press the Lock button (on the top-right, sometimes referred to as the Sleep/Wake button) and the Home button. You’ll see the entire screen flash white and hear a camera shutter sound indicating that you’ve successfully taken a shot.

The iPhone's Photos application

But where is it? There isn’t a desktop or a clipboard for the shot to be placed on. Instead, press the Home button and select the Photos application. You’ll find your screenshots in the Camera Roll photo album.

The Camera Roll album

So, what can you do with it? They are synchronized to your PC just like you can with normal photos you’ve taken while out and about. But, you can also use it from within some of your apps like Twitterrific so you can your upload images to Twitter.