iTunes match how to turn on or enable

iTunes Match is now available via an iTunes update. There has been some delay but iTunes Match is now ready for you in install and enjoy. iTunes Match is the option that lets you play all your music on all your devices. It will also match all your songs with good quality soundtracks and replace your music with original stuff. The way this is done is that iTunes Match saves all your music in the could and therefore is accessible on all your devices an time you choose. Comes with an annual subscription fee of course $24.99/year. We have already done a post of how iTunes Match works which can be found here. 


Note: Once you enable iTunes Match all your locally stored music will be replaced with iCloud tracks.
How to enable, turn on or start iTunes Match

1. Once you download  iTunes 10.5.1 update it will be accessible

2. in iOS 5 navigate to settings ==> music and turn on iMatch
3. You can then use the option 'Show all music'. with this option you can see all your original music along with iCloud tracks. You can then download iCloud tracks by tapping the cloud that appears next to it. When you turn off 'Show all music' only music that has been downloaded will be shown.

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Sociolatte

Apple iOS 5.0.1 Software Update - helps improve battery life

Image: Apple

Apple have released the iOS 5.0.1 free upgrade and one of the benefits is that it helps improve the battery life of the iPhone 4S. According to Apple this software update helps fix the following problems. Fixes bugs that affect battery life, adds multitasking gestures for iPad, and improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation.

iOS 5.0.1 is available via iTunes or OTA - Over The Air. Over the air is available for all iOS 5 devices and you can  Click Settings > General >Software Update to get the update. 

Despite the relative small size of the update it does need some breathing room to install. TidBITS has some very interesting observations on how to free up space on an iPad since the update needs 433 MB free space. There are also hints on how to free up space and get your update downloaded and running in no time. 

Products compatible with this software update:

• iPhone 4S 


• iPhone 4


• iPhone 3GS


• iPad 2


• iPad


• iPod touch (4th generation)


• iPod touch (3rd generation)

Source: Apple Support

The video below further explains for to get the iOS 5.0.1 update and how to install it over the air

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Sociolatte

How to update Facebook status or send a Tweet using Siri iPhone 4S

Siri of iPhone 4S fame is a very powerful and useful personal voice-based assistant that comes along with the iPhone 4S. Unfortunately Siri will not be able to send a Tweet or updated your Facebook status by default. You will need a workaround to get things going. Once you set it up Siri will be able to update your Twitter and Facebook. 

How to send a Tweet and update Twitter using Siri

1. Login to Twitter

2. Click on Settings

3. Click on mobile

4. Add your mobile number to your Twitter account

5. Authenticate you iPhone 4S with the verification code that's sent

6. Once the process is complete add the short code (40404) and name it 'Twitter' (You can name it anything else if you choose).

7. Now you can activate Siri by long-pressing the home button and then say 'Send text to Twitter' followed by your Tweet

8. You're done

How to update your Facebook status using Siri

1. Login to Facebook

2. Connect your phone number to your Facebook account using this page. 

3. Once you done you can add your Facebook short code to your address book and name it Facebook. To find your country's short codes please use this page. 

4. Activate Siri and send a text by telling Siri ' Send text to Facebook' followed by your message.

5. You're done

You can use these methods to update your Twitter and Facebook using Siri. 

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Sociolatte

How to search Yahoo or Bing with Siri

Siri the iPhone 4S assistant will use Google as the default engine. So when you ask Siri to search for anything it will automatically search Google. But what if you want to search Yahoo or Bing. There are two ways to get Siri to search Yahoo or Bing.

1. If it is temporary in the sense you want Siri to search only this one time. Then you can simple Tell Siri to search Bing or Yahoo. An example would be 'Search Yahoo for my daily horoscope', Siri will then search Yahoo. You can do the same thing with Bing. Simply tell Siri which search engine to sue and it will follow. 

2. If you want to make Yahoo or Bing you default search engine for Siri to use. You would need to go to Settings > Safari and under 'General' choose your default search engine. You can then choose Yahoo or Bing. 

This is quiet helpful if you want to shift between search engine. The temporary option is good, you can use different search engines and compare results. Especially if you prefer one service over the other for specific keywords and terms. 

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Sociolatte

How to disable to turn off Siri on a locked phone

Even if you iPhone is locked Siri is till accessible and can be activated by someone other then you. Once activated Siri can be asked to call any of your contacts, send a text message to your contacts, change your calendar, find out where someone is on your calendar or lockup and find anyone of your contacts. Siri can be asked to also change stored information. The problem is that once you lock your phone, all apps on your phone are supposed to be locked by default. This is one of the problems with Siri, you will need to use this easy fix to set things right.

How to disable Siri on a locked phone or locked screen

1. Start up your settings App

2. Tap on general

3. Tap on password lock

4. Enter your passcode

5. You will see  'Siri, next to the on/off slider.

6. Set it to Off

This will ensure that Siri is off and not usable when your phone is locked. 

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Sociolatte

Siri Funny [Pics]

Siri the voiced based personal assistant that comes pre-loaded with the iPhone 4S gotten really funny. This is fast spreading as an Internet Meme and has to do with funny things Siri says. You can ask Siri anything and some of the replies are really funny and users are recording screencaps and screenshots of their interactions and uploading it to the web. Somethings are really funny and Siri is really catching on. There are many websites you cna now go to upload your Siri screenshots to.  This is all happening real quick and the funny Siri interactions and spreading like wildfire. Here are a few Siri funnies. 

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Sociolatte

Siri: How to use

Image Credit: PCMag

Siri, the personal voice assistant for the iPhone 4S is not an app and there is no button you need to press to get it started. You would need to however set Siri up to get it working and start your voice interaction with the application. Siri already comes pre-loaded on the phone and ready to use. Siri will need to know your name and what language you speak

How to set up Siri

Go to Settings > General > Siri

From 'My Info' select your name from your contact lists

Next choose your language (English US, English UK, English Australian, French or German)

How to access Siri

You can access Siri either by holding your phone close to your ear or from afar (e.g car dashboard)

Press and hold the home button

Two quick tones and a picture of a microphone on the screen means Siri is ready to hear you speak. If you hold the phone close to your ear you will hear the two quick tones which means Siri is ready.

How to setup your relationships so Siri understands

You can tell Siri to 'Call my wife' when Siri asks you who is your wife, you cna answer and from then on your saved relationships will exist.

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Sociolatte

How to find your missing iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Mac

Apple Find My iPhone

This is another one of the good things about the release of iOS 5 it comes with an app called "Find My Device". How this essentially works is that if you loose a device and start to panic. Apple says calm down and first sign in to the App using another device and Find my device will show you on a map exactly where your device is at the current moment. Something to know is that find my iPhone must be enabled in the iCloud settings for you to be able to locate it with this App. 

How does Find My Device work

If you loose your device you will need to download and use this app on another iOS device and then sign in with your apple ID. Once your device is located it will be displayed on a map. you can then display a message or play a sound. After which you can remotely lock your device and erase your data on it. 

For it to work you would need to have iOS 3.1.3 or later

Get the Find My iPhone app now. 

Source: Apple 

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Sociolatte

Apple Find My Friends: How does it work

Apple has released the free App 'Find My Friends' with iOS and it has been getting mixed reviews on the web. If you are wondering how it works - you need to think Foursquare, as this is the easiest example to give. You can add friends and then start sharing with them. They can also share with you. The app comes with a lot of possibilities. You can flip your sharing mode on and off. so if you want to share only for a day. Which would be ideal if you were visiting the zoo and you want your friends to come too. You can share your Geo-location and invite family and friends to join you. You can only know your friends activities if you are allowed. So if you get a friend request you will first need to approve the invite before they can see you. The App also comes with parental restrictions. Find My Friends comes with a lot of privacy and so stalkers will not be able to follow random people.

How to get started with Find My Friends on iOS 5

Once you've downloaded the app you will need to send invites to your friends asking them to opt in to sharing their locations with you. If they choose to do so you will find all your friends with their locations on the page. By clicking on all friends location you can see all your friends locations plotted on a map.

The latest version of Find My Friends has a very interesting feature and a whole lot of potential. You can setup location based alerts -- like when your kids leave school or your loved ones reach a certain place. You can also use Find My Friends to send location based alerts to your close contacts -- this way you can stay connected and keep track of family and friends. This comes with iOS 6.

Get the Find My Friends App now. 

Source: Apple

 

How to use a different Apple IDs for iCloud and store purchases

Yes you can use different Apple IDs for iCloud and store purchases. This is totally Apple approved and so you don't have to worry. You cannot merge two apple accounts into one. You can however use multiple Apple IDs 1 for iCloud and 1 for store purchases which would include iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match. The next question that would arise would be - now that I have purchased music, apps and books using multiple IDs how to get all of it onto my iOS device.  To do that you would need to firstly First copy all of your purchased content so it is on the same Mac or PC with iTunes. This computer should be the one you sync your device with.

If you are wondering how to get all this done, apple has advanced support for it's users and you can avail detailed instructions from the Apple Support site. Using multiple IDs comes with its advantages. Now all members of the family can access  the same account using multiple IDs and purchasing and using all of this is totally legal. 

Source: Apple Support

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Sociolatte

Photo Stream for iOS 5: How does it work

Image Credit: Apple

Unlike other versions of iOS the new iOS 5 comes with the ability to completely disconnect your phone from your computer. Once you are on iOS 5 Photo Stream is a very simple feature. You take photo on any one device and it is available on all your devices. You can also import a photo from your camera to your computer. 

This is how it works

Once you take a photo iCloud will automatically push it to all your devices and apps. 

iCloud will use any available Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection

Will be pushed to all photo Apps on your devices

iPhoto or Aperture on your Mac

Pictures Library on your PC. 

Photo Stream album on your Apple TV

All the photos you take are stored in a s special Photo Stream Album which holds your last 1000 photos and is stored for a period of 30 days

You cannot edit a photo in Photo Strea so you will need to save it to your Camera Roll to touch it up. 

How to setup Photo Stream on your iOS device. (The Below guide is from a NYPost article and you can read more here) 

On a Mac: Go to the iCloud System Preferences pane and make sure Photo Stream is checked.

iPhoto: To enable Photo Stream in iPhoto, just go into the Preferences and make sure Photo Stream is checked.

Once you’ve done that, click on Photo Stream in the sidebar and you’ll see your photos.

Aperture: To enable Photo Stream in Aperture, just go into Preferences and make sure Photo Stream is checked. In this case, I’ve intentionally left Upload unchecked since I don’t want photos imported from my DSLR to go into the Photo Stream; just those I sync.

Once that’s done, click on Photo Stream in the sidebar to see your synced photos.

On a PC: First, download and install the iCloud Control Panel. Once you launch it — you guessed it — make sure Photo Stream is checked. You will also need to click on Options next to it to specify the Upload and Downloads directory.

According to the article deleting a photo is still difficult and Apple should be able to fix this in the near future. 

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Sociolatte

iMessage launching on Wednesday

iMessage will be out this week on Wednesday. We have already written about what iMessage is and how it works. Well just to recap iMessage is the messaging system that comes along with iOS 5. iPhone users can now send unlimited texts and messages to each other at no extra cost. Works on the lines of BlackBerry's BBM service. With the launch of iMessage, Service providers now have a cause for concern as people signup for texting plans but with iMessage you don't need a texting plan especially if most of you friends use iPhones. iPad and iPod users can also use the service if they upgrade their operating systems to the latest iOS 5. Once upgraded users can then send an unlimited number of texts and messages from their devices. 

This is a killer for Verizon which makes $7 billion a year from texting fees. So the waiting is over for iPhone users who have been waiting for this update and can now enjoy unlimited texting for free. 12 Oct, 2011 is the date and make sure your device has been upgraded to iOS 5 to avail the service. 

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Sociolatte