MarcForrest.com

Category: iPhone

  • How to add GIF Images to your Whatsapp conversation on iOS & Android

    How to add GIF Images to your Whatsapp conversation on iOS & Android

    The team at Whatsapp released an update this week for iOS  & Android which now includes the ability to send GIF images in your messages. This has probably been one of the most requested features for the Whatsapp app for a while now!

    If you don’t know what a GIF is, I’m pretty sure you’ve seen one of those silly looking silent video’s of cats somewhere on the internet, much like the image below…

    Excited Dance GIF from Excited GIFs


    To insert GIF’s into your Whatsapp messages follow the steps below:

    1. Download a GIF enabled keyboard for iOS or Android. My favorite is Tenor GIF keyboard (iOS or Android) or GBoard Keyboard for iOS

    2. Once installed, open the keyboard and select your GIF.

    img_4810

    3. You then need to “paste” the GIF into your conversation, which will then show up on the other person’s phone.

    img_4813

    The process is pretty much like typing out any message or sending a photo or video, so very simple. The one thing to consider is GIF’s are a bit larger in size, so I would recommend turning off your “Save Incoming Media” on Whatsapp. I also suppose Group chats may become annoying with people sending unnecessary GIFs, but hopefully Whatsapp give an option in later editions to turn this option off :)

    Have fun with some cool GIFS :)

     

  • Chipolo – Finding all the lost stuff!! (Giveaway)

    Chipolo – Finding all the lost stuff!! (Giveaway)

    I came across a new little gadget this week called Chipolo. I honestly think this thing is going to save my life.

    As someone who is ALWAYS misplacing their stuff, from wallets to my keys, to my phone and even sometimes my mind, I have always wanted something to tell me where I put my lost items, and this does the trick!

    The Chipolo tag is a small tag (35mm wide & 5mm thick) that can fit in almost anywhere and comes in a variety of 9 different colours. The tag connects via Bluetooth to your iPhone or Android device and allows you to “ring” it from the device using a dedicated Chipolo app (iOS App & Android App) . Similarly, you can also shake the Chipolo to find your phone. Because it uses Bluetooth the max distance you can ring the Chipolo from is 60m, which is a pretty fair distance if you trying to find something around the house.

    But the best part about this cool little device is that it also works “inside a community” So what this means is, if you misplace your wallet, which has a Chipolo attached to it, at a shopping centre for example, you can mark it as “Lost” from inside the app. If anyone else who has a Chipolo walks past it, the 2 connect and it can send you a notification and email to tell you exactly where it is. Amazing!!

    I have only had mine for about 24 hours and I have already had to use it once to find my wallet. It is small enough to pop inside the coin pouch and doesn’t add any extra weight.

    The cost of the Chipolo tag is R399 and it comes with an extra battery as well (batteries last about 6 months or so) You can buy it online in SA from the iStore online store and they also available in iStores.

    Because I love this little gadget so much, I have decided to give one away. Follow the steps below in the Gleam giveaway, and we will select a winner on Friday 7th October. Shipping free to anywhere in SA. There are a 6 different ways you can enter including liking my new Facebook iGuy Page or even subscribing to my YouTube channel I recently setup.

    Chipolo Giveaway

    Disclaimer: I was not asked to write about the Chipolo Tag. I was given one as a gift from the good people at Above & Beyond distributors. The Chipolo in the giveaway is not a sponsored prize, it was purchased to give away in this competition :) 

  • iOS10 Direct Download links – Manually update your iOS device

    Today is the day iOS10 finally drops onto iOS devices around the world. Natuarally this means the Apple servers take a beating on the first day as everyone wants to update to the latest version.

    I have previously put up a post on how to manually update your iPhone or iPad, which makes the process a whole bunch faster. Check out the step by step guide here -> https://www.marcforrest.com/2011/01/13/how-to-update-your-iphoneipad-firmware-manually/

    To download the firmware files directly for iOS10 you can get them here (Thanks to the folks at iClarified)

    Latest:
    10.0.1 (5 GSM):iPhone_4.0_32bit_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (5 GSM+CDMA): iPhone_4.0_32bit_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (5s GSM): iPhone_4.0_64bit_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (5s GSM+CDMA): iPhone_4.0_64bit_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (5c GSM): iPhone_4.0_32bit_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (5c GSM+CDMA): iPhone_4.0_32bit_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (6+): iPhone_5.5_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (6): iPhone_4.7_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (6s): iPhone_4.7_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (6s+): iPhone_5.5_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (SE): iPhoneSE_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (7): iPhone9,1_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw
    10.0.1 (7+): iPhone9,2_10.0.1_14A403_Restore.ipsw

  • How to get Pokemon Go on your iPhone in South Africa

    How to get Pokemon Go on your iPhone in South Africa

    The latest craze to hit the mobile world is the awesome Pokemon Go game. Unfortunately it has only been released in a couple of countries around the world, but you can get it in SA, if you have an American iTunes account. If you already have a US iTunes account, why aren’t you catching Pokemon ;)

    I have written a number of how-tos on how to get a US iTunes account, but if you don’t already have one you can follow these quick steps, or follow this guide. You are able to log back into your SA iTunes account once you have downloaded the app, but will need to log into the US account to update.

    Quick steps to download Pokemon Go in South Africa:

    1. On your PC open the iTunes store
    2. At the bottom left of the page click the South African flag and select United States
      Capture
    3. Select App store from the drop down on the right (Music etc) or click on this link ->  Pokémon GO Games – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pokemon-go/id1094591345?mt=8
    4. Click on Get and select the option to “Create New Account”
      Capture
    5. Go through all the T&C’s and put in your details, but ensure you use an email address that is currently NOT associated with an iTunes account (new Gmail address etc)
    6. On the Billing page, ensure you select the NONE option
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    7. You will need to put in a US based address. My suggestion is to get any address for any hotel based in the US. Google is your friend :)
    8. Once you have completed this process, you will be able to download the app from the app store. Once it has completed downloading on your PC, you can download it from your purchased items in the app store app on your phone.
    9. You can now log out of the new US account and log back into your SA account (or if you wish you can use the US account going forward)

    Enjoy catching your Pokemon !!

  • DroneDeploy App with DJI Phantom4

    DroneDeploy App with DJI Phantom4

    I recently came across a really awesome app for my new favorite tech, the DJI Phantom 4. The app/service is called DroneDeploy and offers pre-planned autonomous flights over a specified area.

    Firstly you install the DroneDeploy app (iOS & Android) on your phone, which allows you to plan your flight. Once you have done your planning, which can take a little while to get 100%, you then upload the images that have been taken to the DroneDeploy website.

    The results of the flight are then published in a number of formats including 2D Mapping, 3D mapping & modelling, Agricultural Mapping & Terrain & Elevation Mapping. I recently did a flight over an area, called Sugar Rush Park, in Ballito, and here are some of the results.

    You will see in the below embed you can zoom in quite a bit and get high a very high resolution image for the 2D Mapping

    But what really blew me away was the amazing 3D rendering of the images that are uploaded to the DroneDeploy Site.

    You can zoom in on the above image and pan around with your mouse. Although some of the textures seem to look a bit funny, you can fix this by uploading more images of the flight. All of this done with a drone!! Amazing.

    The other great feature of Drone Deploy is very useful for the Agricultural sector. The software allows you to analyze crops using some serious technology. I don’t understand all the ins & outs, but the software offers a number of farming Algorithms such as NDVI and VARI to analyze crops. This is what the image looks like once it has been processed.

    pic2

    Obviously there is a cost for this software, which comes in at $99 per month for the Pro Package. They do offer a 30 Day Trial which is handy to get your head around the software, as well as a Free Package which allows you to do 5 flights a month but no exporting. Check out some of the FAQ’s

    All in all, this is an amazing piece of software, unfortunately can’t afford it at the moment, but hopefully I will get to play around with it a bit more in the future.

    Disclaimer: I was not asked to review DroneDeploy, and this is my personal opinion of the software