Monday, April 2, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Resolving perplexing "the iPad could not be synced" problem - it could be real simple
Recently both my new iPad and iPhone4 stopped syncing with the iTunes on my Mac Mini. Plug the device in to the computer, and a couple moments later this message pops up: "the ipad could not be synced because the sync session failed to start". I tried several things at random, nothing worked. I yahoogled the phrase and found some complex discussion on the Apple Support discussion boards. For example, this problem existed for Mac OS X 10.5b1. In my case I'm on Mac OS X 10.7.3 and iTunes 10.6, so that wasn't the culprit. Other suggestions talked about doing a hard reset on the device, or a restore of the device. Someone talked of having gone to the Guru's at the Apple store, and not get any satisfaction.
My solution? I didn't want to do anything drastic.
I quit iTunes .. then plugged the device into the Mac. This restarted iTunes automatically, and then the sync started right up.
Whew, way simple.
My solution? I didn't want to do anything drastic.
I quit iTunes .. then plugged the device into the Mac. This restarted iTunes automatically, and then the sync started right up.
Whew, way simple.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Erasing all content from an iPad, so that you can sell your iPad 1 to replace it with a new iPad
If you're like me, you've just purchased a new iPad and you have an older iPad 1 or iPad 2 that the new iPad is replacing. I have my old iPad 1 on eBay right now, the auction is due to end in a few hours, I'll be getting a reasonable price for the iPad, and in any case I really want to make sure my data is completely wiped from the iPad before selling it.
Turns out that it's pretty simple.
I had envisioned it might require some magic undocumented combination of swipes and holding down buttons. Apple has this tendency to remove so many buttons that you're left with special combinations of button presses to perform some of the more rare operations. In this case it turns out to be simple.
Just head to the Settings application, and under General Settings there is a Reset choice.
It contains several choices as you can see in the images below. What we want is "Erase All Content and Settings".
In case you're not clear on what you're doing, a little dialog box pops up saying this will ERASE IPAD and delete all media and settings. Yup, that's what I want alright.
The screen blanks, and the iPad starts a reboot sequence. Actually, two reboot sequences.
Once that's done, the iPad is at the "Configurer" screen that pops up to let you do initial customization and configuration of the iPad.
Instead of going through the Configurer, I turned my iPad off so that the lucky winner of the eBay auction on my iPad will have the enjoyment of running the Configurer themselves.
Turns out that it's pretty simple.
I had envisioned it might require some magic undocumented combination of swipes and holding down buttons. Apple has this tendency to remove so many buttons that you're left with special combinations of button presses to perform some of the more rare operations. In this case it turns out to be simple.
Just head to the Settings application, and under General Settings there is a Reset choice.
It contains several choices as you can see in the images below. What we want is "Erase All Content and Settings".
In case you're not clear on what you're doing, a little dialog box pops up saying this will ERASE IPAD and delete all media and settings. Yup, that's what I want alright.
The screen blanks, and the iPad starts a reboot sequence. Actually, two reboot sequences.
Once that's done, the iPad is at the "Configurer" screen that pops up to let you do initial customization and configuration of the iPad.
Instead of going through the Configurer, I turned my iPad off so that the lucky winner of the eBay auction on my iPad will have the enjoyment of running the Configurer themselves.
Side-by-side comparison of the iPad 1 and the new iPad
Now that we've unboxed the new iPad, and set it up, how about a comparison look between the two of them? I have both on the table in front of me, and my old iPad 1 is on eBay right now, about to be sold to a high bidder, so we have no time like the present to compare the iPad 1 against the new iPad to see how they stack up.
To riff on "stack up", the first thing to note is the new iPad is a lot thinner than the iPad 1. It's also a lot lighter. This will make it more convenient to carry the new iPad around, to hold it up like a newspaper, etc. The weight difference is significant, but even with its slimness and lighter weight, the new iPad isn't quite the same as holding a newspaper. Still, it is light and slim enough to make holding it up for a long period more practical.
One of the big improvements in the new iPad is the screen. Apple is pushing this in their advertising, higher resolution, and more vibrant color. The difference is apparent even on the home screen. It looks crisper and brighter. When using applications, text is easier to read, and in general things look much nicer.
The CPU is more powerful as is the graphics processor. What this means in practical use is that applications that felt sluggish on the iPad 1 are snappy on the new iPad.
Video's look cleaner. The sound via the built-in speakers sounds richer.
Looking really good.
The new iPad also has the capability to run a whole new range of applications impossible on the iPad 1. The camera in the new iPad is pretty good, and can be used to take both pictures and movies. I have a hard time imagining one to make regular use of the iPad as a camera because it's so large, but it can be done. I have this idea in mind that someone should build something for the new iPad that looks like an old school view camera, but using the iPad as the display.
Because the CPU on the new iPad is more powerful, many applications would require an iPad 2 or now the new iPad. An example is iMovie for the new iPad, that gives more capabilities than the iMovie on the iPhone.
Am I glad I bought the new iPad? It's too early to say. I've barely had time to unpack it, set it up, and do a little playing around. I'm hoping to use it for video production and graphics editing, the latter of which should be very nice on a direct manipulation touch screen of this sort. My biggest concern about the whole iPad environment is Apple's policiies around getting files in and out of the devices. You can't just use a desktop computer to open up the file system on the iPad and drag files back and forth. Instead Apple wants you to use the iCloud system, and Apple is there with their cash register just waiting for you to use more than 5GB of storage so that Apple can start charging money for storing your data. Really?
However, having lived with the iPad for so long already, I know that it's a game changer in terms of how I think about computing devices. I frequently head out for events carrying just the iPad (and a keyboard) rather than bringing a laptop.
However, for some events I cover, I need to assemble pictures and text, resize the pictures to 500 pixels width, then upload both pictures and text to a website. I haven't attempted this yet, but what I've seen so far on the iPad says that this is going to be difficult. I rather doubt there is a file selection dialog of the sort we're accustomed to on desktop computers. And I rather think it may be tricky in iPhoto for the iPad to duplicate a picture and resize it to 500 pixels.
In other words, my personal jury is still out on whether this purchase was worthwhile. It looks very promising and I think it will shortly prove itself as a worthy addition to my gizmos.
To riff on "stack up", the first thing to note is the new iPad is a lot thinner than the iPad 1. It's also a lot lighter. This will make it more convenient to carry the new iPad around, to hold it up like a newspaper, etc. The weight difference is significant, but even with its slimness and lighter weight, the new iPad isn't quite the same as holding a newspaper. Still, it is light and slim enough to make holding it up for a long period more practical.
One of the big improvements in the new iPad is the screen. Apple is pushing this in their advertising, higher resolution, and more vibrant color. The difference is apparent even on the home screen. It looks crisper and brighter. When using applications, text is easier to read, and in general things look much nicer.
The CPU is more powerful as is the graphics processor. What this means in practical use is that applications that felt sluggish on the iPad 1 are snappy on the new iPad.
Video's look cleaner. The sound via the built-in speakers sounds richer.
Looking really good.
The new iPad also has the capability to run a whole new range of applications impossible on the iPad 1. The camera in the new iPad is pretty good, and can be used to take both pictures and movies. I have a hard time imagining one to make regular use of the iPad as a camera because it's so large, but it can be done. I have this idea in mind that someone should build something for the new iPad that looks like an old school view camera, but using the iPad as the display.
Because the CPU on the new iPad is more powerful, many applications would require an iPad 2 or now the new iPad. An example is iMovie for the new iPad, that gives more capabilities than the iMovie on the iPhone.
Am I glad I bought the new iPad? It's too early to say. I've barely had time to unpack it, set it up, and do a little playing around. I'm hoping to use it for video production and graphics editing, the latter of which should be very nice on a direct manipulation touch screen of this sort. My biggest concern about the whole iPad environment is Apple's policiies around getting files in and out of the devices. You can't just use a desktop computer to open up the file system on the iPad and drag files back and forth. Instead Apple wants you to use the iCloud system, and Apple is there with their cash register just waiting for you to use more than 5GB of storage so that Apple can start charging money for storing your data. Really?
However, having lived with the iPad for so long already, I know that it's a game changer in terms of how I think about computing devices. I frequently head out for events carrying just the iPad (and a keyboard) rather than bringing a laptop.
However, for some events I cover, I need to assemble pictures and text, resize the pictures to 500 pixels width, then upload both pictures and text to a website. I haven't attempted this yet, but what I've seen so far on the iPad says that this is going to be difficult. I rather doubt there is a file selection dialog of the sort we're accustomed to on desktop computers. And I rather think it may be tricky in iPhoto for the iPad to duplicate a picture and resize it to 500 pixels.
In other words, my personal jury is still out on whether this purchase was worthwhile. It looks very promising and I think it will shortly prove itself as a worthy addition to my gizmos.
Friday, March 16, 2012
First boot-up of the new iPad
After the unboxing of a new iPad, comes turning it on for the first time. The skimpy instruction sheet that comes with the new iPad says simply to "Turn on your iPad by holding down the Home key for a few seconds" then to "follow the on-screen instructions to set up your iPad".
First step is to select your language. As well as your country.
Then you select enabling of "Location Services" which allows Maps and other applications to know where you are. While that's incredibly useful, some think this is a privacy violation.
Next is to configure your Internet connection. I have home WiFi.
Next we can set up as a "New iPad" or restore from either an iCloud or iTunes backup of an existing iPad. Because I have an iPad 1, I'll be restoring from the iTunes backup of that iPad. I've plugged that iPad into my computer so that iTunes has a completely up-to-date backup. Next will plug the new iPad into that same computer.
This takes you through several steps of registering the iPad with your Apple account and with iTunes.
Once that's done it squirts the backup into the new iPad.
After the restore the iPad restarts, and then appears in iTunes as itself. However once it restarts, the iPad will sync again and this initial sync is, for me, taking a long time, if only because I have a large number of applications.
Because my old iPad was 32 GB and the new one is 64 GB, there's a lot more free space.
As a new feature of AT&T's networks, the new iPad appears with the 4G notation at the top. There is a bit of controversy over whether the thing actually should be called 4G or not. Big deal.
There is some sort of Dictation support which may be related to the SIRI feature of the iPhone 4S. I'm going to leave it disabled for the moment, perhaps to try it later.
Once all that's done the iPad is ready to use.
First step is to select your language. As well as your country.
Then you select enabling of "Location Services" which allows Maps and other applications to know where you are. While that's incredibly useful, some think this is a privacy violation.
Next is to configure your Internet connection. I have home WiFi.
Next we can set up as a "New iPad" or restore from either an iCloud or iTunes backup of an existing iPad. Because I have an iPad 1, I'll be restoring from the iTunes backup of that iPad. I've plugged that iPad into my computer so that iTunes has a completely up-to-date backup. Next will plug the new iPad into that same computer.
This takes you through several steps of registering the iPad with your Apple account and with iTunes.
Once that's done it squirts the backup into the new iPad.
After the restore the iPad restarts, and then appears in iTunes as itself. However once it restarts, the iPad will sync again and this initial sync is, for me, taking a long time, if only because I have a large number of applications.
Because my old iPad was 32 GB and the new one is 64 GB, there's a lot more free space.
As a new feature of AT&T's networks, the new iPad appears with the 4G notation at the top. There is a bit of controversy over whether the thing actually should be called 4G or not. Big deal.
There is some sort of Dictation support which may be related to the SIRI feature of the iPhone 4S. I'm going to leave it disabled for the moment, perhaps to try it later.
Once all that's done the iPad is ready to use.
New iPad Unboxing - review to follow
I watched some coverage of the new iPad last week, and it fit all the tick marks over which I wanted to upgrade. I own an iPad 1 and have been happy with it, but was interested in having a camera, better iMovie, and like what I saw of the iPhoto demo. Everything looked good. This being March 16 I am among those who received their new iPad today. To start this off is this unboxing post. I'll follow it with a review or two.
First off the box is slim and I like that the packaging is entirely cardboard for easy recyclability. Those gizmos shipped in a large box and styrofoam packaging, that's traditional, but it makes for unnecessary environmental impact if you think about it. Shipping a gizmo in a bigger-than-necessary box means a less efficient use of space in the shipping containers, meaning that more shipping containers are necessary to handle the same sales volume. Also, styrofoam is pretty evil stuff, while cardboard is easily recyclable.
The ports and buttons and whatnot are similar to the iPad 1. The new iPad is lighter and thinner than the iPad 1, so I expect that it'll be nicer to use when out and about. The face of the new iPad is the same size as the iPad 1, of course.
It comes with a synch cable that also doubles as a mobile recharging thing using the power adapter. It does not come with headphones.
The little piece of metal fairly similar to a paperclip is a SIM removal tool. My iPad is an AT&T model, which I bought because it supports GSM and uses SIM cards meaning it's theoretically possible while traveling overseas to swap in a SIM card for the country I'd be traveling in. Otherwise AT&T wants to charge you through the nose for using foreign data services.
The included documentation is pretty sparse. The booklet is filled with legalese. The instructions is a simple card. All the real documentation is online.
First off the box is slim and I like that the packaging is entirely cardboard for easy recyclability. Those gizmos shipped in a large box and styrofoam packaging, that's traditional, but it makes for unnecessary environmental impact if you think about it. Shipping a gizmo in a bigger-than-necessary box means a less efficient use of space in the shipping containers, meaning that more shipping containers are necessary to handle the same sales volume. Also, styrofoam is pretty evil stuff, while cardboard is easily recyclable.
The ports and buttons and whatnot are similar to the iPad 1. The new iPad is lighter and thinner than the iPad 1, so I expect that it'll be nicer to use when out and about. The face of the new iPad is the same size as the iPad 1, of course.
It comes with a synch cable that also doubles as a mobile recharging thing using the power adapter. It does not come with headphones.
The little piece of metal fairly similar to a paperclip is a SIM removal tool. My iPad is an AT&T model, which I bought because it supports GSM and uses SIM cards meaning it's theoretically possible while traveling overseas to swap in a SIM card for the country I'd be traveling in. Otherwise AT&T wants to charge you through the nose for using foreign data services.
The included documentation is pretty sparse. The booklet is filled with legalese. The instructions is a simple card. All the real documentation is online.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Book your airplane flights, hotels, cars and more on iPad using Travelocity
Travelocity is one of the older online websites for booking travel arrangements, whether it's hotels, or rental cars, or airplane flights. I've been using their service since the early 1990's, that's how long they've been around. They recently launched an iPad application to let you use their service with an iPad rather than their website. Their website is okay, but we all like the iPad nowadays and perhaps will eventually forget what the web is, who knows. In the meantime, here it is, Travelocity on an iPad, so lets take a look at it.
First, the app is free, just search for it in the App Store or click on the icon at the right. And get used to seeing that Gnome on every screen.
The app offers a large subset of the functions you have via the website, and most importantly without some of the clutter Travelocity has added to their website.
This is the home screen
The buttons, as expected, bring you to searching for flights, hotels or car reservations.
This is showing a prospective flight. To select parameters for a flight tap the buttons along the top of the screen, then type in airport names or select the start and end dates of the trip. You can only select One Way or Roundtrip flights, not multi-leg flights as you can on the website.
You can change the parameters at any time and tap the GO button to rerun the search. This is a lot simpler than it is on the website.
At the bottom of the screen are buttons to change the sort order and various filtering options. Again, after changing these options click GO and the search reruns. It's much simpler than the website.
Tapping on one of the flight choices gives you a very nice summary of the flight, but details don't seem to be available.
This is what you see while browsing available hotels. There is a fair amount of available data, but not as much as there is on the website. Tapping on the map gives you a nice map viewing experience.
Here we're looking at a list of available cars. The idea is similar, choose an airport at which to pick up the car, select the type of car, and select the date range.
This is the dialog to select filtering options.
Can I recommend this app? It's nicer to use than the Travelocity website, but it doesn't give as much information as the website does, and doesn't offer as much in the way of setting up a complex trip. If you need to set up complex trips, then use the website. If you need the real details, use the website. If you're okay with loss of details and have normal travel needs, this app is much easier to use than the website. Let's hope this is just the beginning for the Travelocity iPad app, and that in the future it'll be upgraded and become more feature complete.
First, the app is free, just search for it in the App Store or click on the icon at the right. And get used to seeing that Gnome on every screen. The app offers a large subset of the functions you have via the website, and most importantly without some of the clutter Travelocity has added to their website.
This is the home screen
The buttons, as expected, bring you to searching for flights, hotels or car reservations.
This is showing a prospective flight. To select parameters for a flight tap the buttons along the top of the screen, then type in airport names or select the start and end dates of the trip. You can only select One Way or Roundtrip flights, not multi-leg flights as you can on the website.
You can change the parameters at any time and tap the GO button to rerun the search. This is a lot simpler than it is on the website.
At the bottom of the screen are buttons to change the sort order and various filtering options. Again, after changing these options click GO and the search reruns. It's much simpler than the website.
Tapping on one of the flight choices gives you a very nice summary of the flight, but details don't seem to be available.
This is what you see while browsing available hotels. There is a fair amount of available data, but not as much as there is on the website. Tapping on the map gives you a nice map viewing experience.
Here we're looking at a list of available cars. The idea is similar, choose an airport at which to pick up the car, select the type of car, and select the date range.
This is the dialog to select filtering options.
Can I recommend this app? It's nicer to use than the Travelocity website, but it doesn't give as much information as the website does, and doesn't offer as much in the way of setting up a complex trip. If you need to set up complex trips, then use the website. If you need the real details, use the website. If you're okay with loss of details and have normal travel needs, this app is much easier to use than the website. Let's hope this is just the beginning for the Travelocity iPad app, and that in the future it'll be upgraded and become more feature complete.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)