MarcForrest.com

Category: Apple

  • Garmap iPhone App

    The guys from Garmin got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago, to let me know about the Garmap iPhone app. I been trying out for the last few weeks, and I am really impressed. I have covered a couple of the South African GPS apps, including NDrive, CoPilot & Navigon previously.

    The Garmap iPhone app (iTunes Link), which goes for $59.99 on the app store, is co-developed with the local guys from Garmap South Africa, and includes the latest mapping software & technology, as well as Turn-By-Turn voice guidance to get you to your destination. The mapset in the app is the South African are the latest 2010 mobile maps as well.The maps are pre-loaded, which means you don’t have to use your internet connection to see the maps, they are all built into the app.

    During my testing, I found the app to be one of the fastest to lock onto GPS signal on the iPhone4, meaning that as soon as you open the app, you can almost instantly see where you are.The points of interest in the app, are also very up to date, and includes all sorts of POI’s like banks, entertainment & even vehicle service centres.The app also allows you to route to a specific GPS co-ordinate, which is handy for the like of geocaching etc. Another must have in any GPS app/device is the traffic camera alerts, which the Garmap app has as well.

    There are one or two things that I didn’t like about the app though. Firstly the app does not run in background mode on iOS4 software. This means, if you exit the app, it doesn’t continue running in the background, but exits the app and then restarts it when you open it again. It would be great if the app supported background, and let it run while you on a call etc. The other thing that I found a bit hard to use in the app, is that it uses scroll up & down buttons to navigate through the menus, these should be “finger scrolling” rather, as it makes it easier to use, while on the move. This could be a personal preference thing for me though ;)

    Overall, I was pretty impressed with the app, and will definitely be keeping it in my GPS folder. For me the thing that stands out the most, is that it is from a South African company, which means the maps & poi’s are always going to the most accurate. If you looking for a GPS app for the iPhone I highly suggest this one :)

  • How to setup Find My iPhone on iOS 4.2

    As you may know Apple released the latest version of their iPhone and iPad software earlier today. This is a huge update in many regards, and especially for the iPad, which now allows multitasking. This has probably been the biggest bugbear of the iPad since it’s launch, and I honestly think it changes the whole device overnight.

    One of the coolest features of the new iPhone & iPad 4.21 software updates is a feature called Find My iPhone. This functionality has actually been around for a while, if you had an Apple Mobile Me account. But from today, Apple has made this feature free, and I know it will make a couple of people smile, including me.

    What Find My iPhone allows you to do, is pinpoint the exact location of your iPhone/iPad. So that means, if it gets stolen, you now to can log onto a website, and see on a map, exactly where it is. The feature also allows you to send a message to the device, as well as send an “alarm” for up to 2 minutes, for those (too often) times when the iPhone mysteriously creeps between the couch cushions. You also have an option to lock the phone, as well as erase everything off the phone, and make it redundant, should someone steal the phone.

    There is a downfall to this though, and that is that it is only available to iPhone, 3rd Gen iPod Touch & iPad users. I have a little “hack’ below to get round that though if you own a 3Gs :)

    To get Find My iPhone activated you can follow these steps:

    1. Ensure you have updated the firmware on your iPhone/iPad to the latest version, 4.2. To do this, you need to click the update button in iTunes once your phone/iPad is plugged into your computer.
    2. Once your phone restarts, go to:
      • Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars -> Add Account…
      • Choose the Mobile Me option
      • Sign in using your standard iTunes username and password. This is the account you use to sign in to buy apps etc. You do NOT have to set up a new account, you can use your existing account. (One of my readers pointed out you need to have a email address iTunes account for this to work, if you have a standard username, you may need to sign up for a new account)
      • Once this is done, your account will be verified
      • Turn Find My iPhone ON
    3. This will activate the Find My iPhone portion of your “Mobile Me” account
    4. If your iPhone/iPad gets stolen, or you would like to locate it, you can do one of the following
      • Go to https://me.com/find/ and log into your account using your iTunes account details that you signed up with in the step above
      • If you have access to another iPhone/iPad download the Find my iPhone App (iTunes Link – FREE) . Here you can login with your account details and perform the functions as above
    5. If you have an iPhone 3Gs/iPhone 3G and would like to use this service, fear not. Even though the feature is meant for iPhone4 & iPad users, if you want to use it on an older model phone you can do the following
      • Find someone who has an iPhone 4/iPad
      • Sign up for the feature using the steps above and make sure your account is activated
      • This will “activate” your account
      • On your iPhone 3GS/iPhone 3G, you can now setup a mobile me account as above. You can delete the account you setup on the iPhone4/iPad

    If you have any hassles with the above leave a comment below, and we will try to give you a hand. Enjoy this amazing free service :)

  • ESET Cybersecurity for Mac

    On Monday morning a really large package arrived for me at reception. After ripping the packaging off, I was presented with a couple of really cool gifts from the chaps over at ESET. ESET are one the worlds largest antivirus companies, and have been around for a couple of years. Included in the package was a disk which had the latest offering from the guys, ESET Cybersecurity for Mac.

    To give you a better idea about what the product is about, this from the ESET cybersecurity website:

    It is a generally accepted fact that Mac/Linux-based operating systems are safe, compared to Windows® platforms. However, no system exists in a vacuum and writers of malicious software are hard at work looking for weak-spots and devising exploits that can run across multiple platforms. Additionally, third party applications run on Mac systems can become easy targets for hackers. Unprotected Macs in a networked environment, where cross-platform sharing is taking place, can act as malware carriers.

    ESET Cybersecurity shuts down all attack vectors, neutralizing threats designed to attack Windows or Linux systems, along with emerging exploits against the Mac platform – to keep your sensitive data and identity protected around the clock.


    I installed my copy on my machine earlier this week, and had no issues at all. In fact, the setup & activation was so simple, it was over in a flash. Once I had activated my copy with the username and password that I had received, I rebooted my machine, and ran a full scan. The scan took about an hour and a half, and found no threats (sjoe) :)

    The very cool thing about this software, is if you run a bootcamp Windows partition, or use a virtual environment, you have full access to the Windows NOD32 antivirus software, under a license called “Unilicence”

    If you have a Mac, I would highly recommend grabbing yourself a copy of ESET Cybersecurity. A 1 year licence for 1 computer costs around R355. The Apple Retail stores around the country are also stocking them at the moment. You can also download a 1 month free trial from the ESET site to give it a run before you buy it.

  • Computicket iPhone app

    The guys from immedia down here in Durbs have done it again, and produced a cracker of an iPhone app, in the (iTunes Link – FREE). The app went to number 1 on the SA iTunes app store yesterday.

    The app allows you to book and pay for upcoming Computicket events. You can search using the regional search, as well as for a specific event. The app is pretty simple to use, and the interface is clean & simple.

    There are small 2 issues I have found though. 1. You can’t book for movies through the app, and 2. the app doesn’t show seating plans, which, for me, is a big factor when booking for an event. Hopefully these 2 issues will be sorted in the next version.

    Well done immedia boys, looks like Durbs is growing our secret little IT hub quite nicely :)

  • iTunesUSA introduces payment via EFT

    Remember a while back I told you about the local site called iTunesUSA.co.za which sells iTunes vouchers at very reasonable prices ?

    Well, they have just introduced a new payment method  into their site, through PayFast, which allows you to purchase your vouchers using EFT through the site. Which means…no need for a credit card !!

    To make use of this awesome feature, once you have selected your voucher and go through to the payment section, select “Pay via Internet Banking“, as your option. You will then be given a selection of ABSA, FNB, Nedbank or Standard Bank. Once you have selected your bank, you are redirected to login to your internet banking, and you can make the payment. Payment is then sent through immediately.

    The beauty about this is that the iTunes voucher is delivered immediatly after you have made the payment. No 2 day waiting periods, and no need to fax proof of payment. I know I will use this option quite a bit.

    Another option which the guys offer is payment via UKash vouchers. These are vouchers you can buy at Pick n Pay or Checkers, and then all you need to do is enter the voucher number when making payment. Simple.

    If you have any questions, leave a comment below, and I will get the guys from the site to answer for you :)