By Conner Carey
This year, Father’s Day is on June 19. If your dad is a gadget fidler or technological optimist, we’ve got some great present ideas for the nerd that raised you. On Father’s Day, give your dad a gift he’ll love and laugh at all his terrible dad jokes. Then leave him alone, because let’s be honest, that’s probably his ideal dad’s day. Here’s some of our favorite tech gifts for dad this Father’s day.
By Rheanne Taylor
Brace yourself—the Unicode Consortium (the non-profit organization governing emoji) has given final approval of 72 new emoji characters, which are set to be released in Unicode 9.0. That means we may very well get to see these characters in an iteration of iOS 10! Are you excited? Because I’m excited.
My coworker recently shared with me Mashable's article, “The iPhone 7 Sounds like It Will Be Totally Boring,” an opinion piece by Raymond Wong. In summation, the article states that the iPhone 7 will be boring, because we already know all the details far before the keynote. But has anyone stopped to think, “Yeah, it’s nothing revolutionary to me, but I have access to this technology and the money to own it — and that’s amazing.” Just so we can really get an idea of how fortunate we are to have any iPhone at all, let’s take a look at a map of how much of the population has access to smartphones globally. Then tell me how boring any iPhone is.
By Paula Bostrom
Now that we’re regularly using our iPhones to take videos, you may want to trim out unwanted frames to reduce file size. There are also those moments when you record preemptively in order to catch your shot, but afterward, you want to edit out the excess footage. Read on to learn how to cut a video on your iPhone or iPad to shorten it.
By Sarah Kingsbury
If you've ever wondered how to delete multiple contacts on iPhone or how to create groups of contacts (hint: it requires a computer), then you know the iOS Contacts app that comes with your iPhone has a few shortcomings. For the casual user, these shortcomings may be no more than an inconvenience; but for power users who manage hundreds or thousands of business contacts, these shortcomings may be deal breakers. If you're looking for a great alternative to Apple's Contacts app, read on for three alternative address book, phone book, and contacts apps that will meet your contact-management needs.
By Conner Carey
When you have an iPad, knowing a few keyboard shortcuts for your external keyboard is essential. Unless you enjoy touching the screen every two seconds, keyboard shortcuts are great for completing common tasks in a second. This tip will focus on two. Once you’ve used them a few times, they’ll become habit. Here’s how to Spotlight search and return to Home screen with keyboard shortcuts on iPad.
By Conner Carey
Running from the law? Stuck on a moped that can’t go over 50 miles per hour? No worries. Whatever your reason, Google Maps makes it easy to avoid highways on your iPhone. The alternate route will likely take more time, but if back roads are what you want, Google Maps can help. Learn how to avoid highways on Google Maps.
When you have an iPad, knowing a few keyboard shortcuts for your external keyboard is essential. Unless you enjoy touching the screen every two seconds, keyboard shortcuts are great for completing common tasks in a second. This tip will focus on two. Once you’ve used them a few times, they’ll become habit. Here’s how to Spotlight search and return to Home screen with keyboard shortcuts on iPad.
It’s always good to know that you can view (some of) your keyboard shortcuts from any screen by holding down the Command button. The command button is what tells your iPad you’re using a shortcut.
Spotlight search allows you to search within apps, on the web, through mail, and more. It also allows you to access frequently used apps in a snap. It’s a great way to jump right into what you’re looking for. To quickly access Spotlight,
Hold Command + Space
If you’re in an app, you’ll be returned to Home screen and Spotlight will pop up.
To return to Home screen from any app,
Hold Command + Shift + H.
Instead of having to press Home button everytime you want to get out of an app, this simple shortcut will quickly get you there.
*note: this tip works with most external keyboards for iPad.
By Sarah Kingsbury
International travel can be the adventure of a life time. It can also be exhausting and complicated. Here are 15 free iPhone apps in no particular order that will help make everything about international travel a breeze, from planning the trip, navigating airports, and finding the best places to stay, to seeing the sights, negotiating unfamiliar languages, and staying healthy and safe. Check out our list and let us know in the comments if we missed any. Bon voyage!
By Conner Carey
Did you know that you can reset your network settings on iPhone to troubleshoot internet connectivity issues? Resetting your iPhone’s network settings will usually fix the problem. Here’s how to reset your iPhone’s network settings.
