MarcForrest.com

Tag: Apple

  • Garageband for the iPad Rocks !

    One of the announcement at the iPad 2 launch a few weeks ago was that Apple would be releasing 2 new Apple iPad apps, GarageBand & iMovie. I have used Mac GarageBand briefly on the Mac a few times, but never actually given it too much time. So I wasn’t in a rush to get the new iPad Garageband when it released on Friday, but after seeing a few tweets about how cool the app was, I decided to drop the measly $5 for the app. And what a good decision. Actually, I think I have probably used the app so much this weekend, I would have easily spent $50 for the app. Seriously :)

    GarageBand turns your iPad into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio — so you can make music anywhere you go. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play pianos, organs, guitars, drums, and basses on your iPad. They sound and play like their counterparts, but let you do things you could never do on a real instrument. Enjoy a full range of Smart Instruments that make you sound like a pro — even if you’ve never played a note before. Plug an electric guitar into your iPad and play through classic amps and stompbox effects. Use the built-in microphone or a guitar to record, or capture any performance. Then mix up to eight tracks to create a song you can share.

    As you can see from the app store description above, the app is full of features. The Smart Instruments for me is amazing. You select your type of instrument, (Piano, Guitar or Drums) and it almost teaches you about the instrument. You can then record your tune into a track, and mix it with other effects. I have always been a fan of drums, but never got round to playing them (apart from the pots in the kitchen & annoying my wife) and now with Garageband, it is so simple.

    I have been playing quite a bit, and put a few tracks together. I honestly have a bit of a dull ear when it comes to music, so this track below, self titled “House” might sound a bit out of sync, but you will see how simple it is to get something like this going. This track probably took me around half an hour to do with all the tweaking. To get it off the iPad, you can either email it, or send to iTunes. You can also save the files as a GarageBand file for the Mac & edit on the Mac afterwards.

    House Mix from Garageband iPad by MarcForrest

    If you own an iPad, I highly recommend you download GarageBand for the iPad from the iTunes store. At $5, it is a steal ! I am also thinking of putting up a few tutorials about how to use GarageBand and some of the features it offers.

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  • iOS 4.3 now available for download

    2 days ahead of schedule Apple have (finally) released iOS 4.3 for iPhone & iPad. This is a biggie for me, as it now turns your iPhone into a fully fledged WiFi hotspot. This means I can now use the WiFi iPad anywhere, and don’t have to worry about internet not being available. Bonus.

    Here are some of the changes for iOS 4.3:

    • Personal Hotspot
      • Share iPhone 4 cellular data connection with up to 5 devices (combination of up to 3 Wi-Fi, 3 Bluetooth,and 1 USB)
    • iTunes Home Sharing
      • Play music, movies and TV shows from a shared iTunes library on a Mac or PC (requires iTunes 10.2)
    • New AirPlay features
      • Play videos from the Photos app including the Camera Roll album, iTunes previews, enabled third-party apps and websites on Apple TV
    • Faster Safari performance with Apple Nitro JavaScript
      engine
    • HD video out using the Apple Digital AV Adapter
      • View 720p HD videos from Videos app, iPod app, Photos, YouTube, Safari, Keynote, and enabled third-party apps on an HDMI display
    • New Settings
      • Messages setting for number of times to repeat an alert
    • iPad side switch setting to lock screen rotation or mute audio notifications and sound effects

    You can use these direct download links (Thanks @MikeCTZA) to get the files now without having to wait, and then you can manually update your iPhone  or iPad

    iPad
    http://appldnld.apple.com/iPhone4/04…0_Restore.ipsw
    Size: 625814678
    MD5: 9a889ba48bc2715292f199f50c70ed60

    iPhone 3GS
    http://appldnld.apple.com/iPhone4/04…0_Restore.ipsw
    Size: 443762287
    MD5: 87ebb9b2c025fb5f87a4cab0631b1547

    iPhone4
    http://appldnld.apple.com/iPhone4/04…0_Restore.ipsw
    Size: 702264955
    MD5: e0a463bded8f5b1e076b466535b18c75

    Source: http://www.felixbruns.de/iPod/firmware/

    Looking forward to giving iOS 4.3 a run, and seeing how it works out.

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  • iPad 2 Launched

    Steve & his crew announced the release of the latest iPad this eve. The new iPad is quite a step up from the iPad 1, although, quite honestly, I am not overyly blown away.

    Amongst some of the new features that were launched in the iPad 2 are:

    • 1.2GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor
    • 33% thinner than the iPad 1
    • Two built-in cameras
    • Thinner and lighter than its predecessor, weighing 1.3 pounds and measuring 0.35 inches thick
    • Gyroscope
    • 10 hours of battery life
    • Choice between a black or white iPad.
    • Pricing stays the same
    • A nifty new cover has been announced which magnetizes to the frame of the iPad as well as keeps the screen clean

    And that’s about it. The new ipad will be available on the 11th March in the US and the 25th in 24 other countries, except South Africa. No date has been given for South Africa yet. Steve also announced that iOS 4.3 will be available on the 11th March, for both the iPhone & iPad, and you will be able to use new apps like GarageBand & iMovie on the iPad2.

    I can’t see myself rushing out to get an iPad2, but if someone is in the US and can get one, I will gladly take it as a new gadget. And let the kids an have the iPad 1 :)

    For more info about the new iPad and specs about it check out the Apple iPad site

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  • How to setup AirPrint with any Printer

    With the release of iOS 4.2 Apple allowed wireless printing from a number of apps on the iPad & iPhone. This meant, that with a compatible printer, you could print a document, email etc directly from your iPhone/iPad over a WiFi network. The problem came in, where only a small number of printers had this feature enabled, and currently they are all (15 of them) only HP printers.

    From the Apple iOS AirPrint page:

    AirPrint on iPad makes it simple to print your email, photos, web pages, and documents. There’s no software to download, no drivers to install, and no cables to connect. With just a few taps on your iPad, you can go from viewing something onscreen to holding a printed copy. And because all the printing takes place in the background, there’s no waiting around. Instead, you can start printing and then go back to flicking through photos, surfing the web, or doing whatever you were doing before.

    I came across an awesome little app, which is available for both Mac & Windows, that “spoofs” your printer into allowing you to “think” it is a compatible printer, and allows you to print from your iPhone or iPad to ANY printer. The app is called AirPrint Activator (Mac download/Windows Download), and works as simply as running the app/exe and sharing & activating your printer. Really, as simple as that.

    Here is a short video that shows how to do it.

    Easy. I have tested it on my deskjet printer at home, and it works like a charm !! Now you can print from an iPhone to ANY printer :)

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  • How to update your iPhone/iPad firmware manually

    I have had a few people ask me about updating firmware manually on the iPhone/iPad manually. A huge issue we have here in SA, is that because of our sometimes “dodgy internet connectivity”, we get disconnected quite often.

    If you are using iTunes to download the latest firmware, you will notice, that if you get disconnected, more often than not, you need to restart the download every time, which can become annoying as well as expensive

    So, I thought I would show you how to manually update your firmware, after downloading the update to your PC/Mac. I recommend a copy of Firefox, and this awesome download manager plug-in called Download Them All. This will help you download the actual firmware file from the Apple servers onto your PC/Mac and then update.

    To download the latest firmware(file extension is .ispw) directly from Apple, you can go to this page at iClarified (bookmark it), and then choose to download with Download Them All. This way, if your connection gets interrupted, you can continue your download from the same place it stopped.

    Once you have your file downloaded, open iTunes and plug your iPhone/iPad in. On your main info screen, you will see 2 options, Check for update  (which will download from Apple without a download manager, and break) or Restore.


    If you are on a PC, you need to hold the SHIFT button in, and click on the “Check For Update button”. If you are on a MAC, you need to hold the OPTION key and click on “Check For Update button”. You will then be asked to locate the file you downloaded (using Firefox and Download Them All), and chose that file. Once you have selected the file, iTunes will continue the installation as per normal.

    And that it is :)

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