Jim Karpen holds a Ph.D. in literature and writing, and has a love of gizmos. His doctoral dissertation focused on the revolutionary consequences of digital technologies and anticipated some of the developments taking place in the industry today. Jim has been writing about the Internet and technology since 1994 and has been using Apple's visionary products for decades.
By Jim Karpen
There are likely occasions when you're listening to a playlist or to shuffled music, or listening to Apple Music, and you hear an artist you like — and you want more. At that very moment you want to listen to more from the album or to hear more from that particular artist. Siri is here to help.
When Apple announced iOS 9, I got really excited about the forthcoming News app. And now that I'm using it regularly, I feel my excitement was warranted. Plus, I like the snappy and seamless manner in which one can toggle between the overview of the news and a specific story. And I recently learned there's an even easier way to return to the overview, as well as to read the next story without going to the overview.
Apple first announced HomeKit, its smart-home platform, in June of 2014, but HomeKit-compatible devices have been slow in coming. And frankly, it may not have been easy to understand exactly what HomeKit is and what the benefits are. iHome generously sent me its smart plug a few weeks ago, and now I finally get what HomeKit is. It's really cool. I want to share with you what I've learned, in case you're interested in what HomeKit is and whether you may want to start creating a smart-home environment. This is especially relevant now, because with the annual Consumer Electronics Show currently going on, more and more HomeKit devices are being announced.
By Jim Karpen
Apple introduced third-party keyboards in iOS 8 after a lot of user requests. Now, the options seem endless, from the popular SwiftKey app to adding a gif keyboard for fun communication between friends. To add a third-party keyboard, the first thing you need to do is download a keyboard app from the App Store. Once downloaded, the setup is easy.
By Jim Karpen
Walmart hasn't adopted Apple Pay, and it's not clear whether it will (though one report I read said the company is increasingly open to it). Now, however, you have another option for paying at Walmart. Last week the company launched a new mobile payment system at selected stores that lets you pay for your purchase at the checkout counter by scanning a QR code with your iPhone or iPad. (For it to work on an iPad, though, you'll likely need to have a cellular data model.) The new mobile payment system will be available nationwide by the first half of next year.
I use reading glasses for some things, a concession to middle age, but fortunately I don't ever need them when I'm using my iPad. That's because I've adjusted the settings so that the text is larger and bolded, making it much easier to see. These settings apply to all of Apple's apps and to third-party apps that support Apple's Dynamic Type. Ever since iOS 8 was introduced, Apple has gathered text size, bold, view, and brightness into a single panel in Settings.
One of the interesting new features of iOS 9 is its "proactive" smarts. Apple wants your device to anticipate what you want to do depending on the context. A good example of that is how your iPhone or iPad now responds when you plug in earbuds or headphones. Your device figures that you want to listen to something, and a small icon appears in the lower left corner of your lock screen that shows the most recent audio app you've been using, whether that's Apple Music, Spotify, Podcasts, or any other app.
By Jim Karpen
Sometimes particular conversations or individuals can become a bit of a nuisance in Messages — so much so that you'd like to stop receiving notifications for that conversation. Maybe you are part of a group conversation run amok or a family member likes to text you during work hours? Fortunately, you can turn on Do Not Disturb for any particular conversation.
By Jim Karpen
I've been using my new Apple TV for several days now and have found the interface to be quite intuitive. However, I quickly discovered there are a lot of tips and tricks that make it even better. Here's a comprehensive roundup.
By Jim Karpen
You can use "Hey Siri" to perform all kinds of operations on your iPhone or iPad, such as playing music, setting reminders, checking your calendar, and much more. We'll show you how to set up "Hey Siri" on iPhone so you can enjoy the convenience of your very own digital personal assistant.
