Top Ten Shortcuts For Apple’s Shortcut App.

If you’re an Apple user, you’re probably already familiar with the convenience and efficiency that comes with using keyboard shortcuts. But did you know that there’s an entire app dedicated to creating custom shortcuts for all your frequently used actions and tasks? It’s called the “Shortcuts” app, and it’s a game changer.


Here are my top ten favorite shortcuts available in the Shortcuts app:


1. “Travel ETA” for quickly texting your estimated time of arrival to a friend or family member. This shortcut uses your location and traffic data to calculate your ETA and sends it in a text message with just a tap.
2. “Heading Home” for automating your commute home. With this shortcut, you can set up a series of actions to be triggered when you leave work, such as turning on your house lights, setting your thermostat, and sending a text message to your spouse.
3. “Order Takeout” for quickly placing an order at your favorite restaurant. This shortcut allows you to select your preferred restaurant, menu items, and delivery or pickup options, all with just a few taps.
4. “Create Event” for quickly adding an event to your calendar. This shortcut allows you to specify the details of your event, such as the name, location, and duration, and automatically adds it to your calendar.
5. “Add to Reading List” for quickly saving articles to read later. This shortcut allows you to add a webpage to your Reading List with just a tap, making it easy to save articles or websites for later.
6. “Send Message” for quickly sending a pre-written message to a contact. This shortcut allows you to create and save a message template, and send it to a chosen contact with just a few taps.
7. “Create Note” for quickly adding a note to your Notes app. This shortcut allows you to specify the details of your note, such as the title and body, and automatically adds it to your Notes app.
8. “Search YouTube” for quickly searching YouTube for a specific video. This shortcut allows you to specify your search term and opens the results in the YouTube app.
9. “Create Reminder” for quickly adding a reminder to your Reminders app. This shortcut allows you to specify the details of your reminder, such as the name and due date, and automatically adds it to your Reminders app.
10. “Play Podcast” for quickly playing a specific podcast episode. This shortcut allows you to specify the podcast and episode you want to play and opens it in the Podcasts app.

The “Shortcuts” app is a powerful tool that allows you to automate and streamline all your frequently used actions and tasks. Give it a try and see just how much time and effort you can save with these handy shortcuts!

Top Ten Obama-like iOS Tips!

As a proud owner of an iPhone myself, I often find myself marveling at the endless possibilities and features that come with my beloved device. But with great power comes great responsibility, and as any iOS user knows, there are a multitude of tips and tricks that can help you get the most out of your iPhone.

Without further ado, here are my top ten iOS tips, spoken with the rhetorical flourishes of a certain former president:

1. “Yes we can” save battery life by going to the “low power mode” in your settings. This handy feature helps conserve battery when it’s running low, so you can keep your phone running smoothly throughout the day.

2. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time” – so take control of your notifications by customizing them in the settings app. This way, you can choose which apps are allowed to send you notifications and which ones aren’t, giving you greater control over your phone’s alerts.

3. “The future rewards those who press on” – so keep pressing on with your updates! Keeping your phone up to date with the latest software ensures that you have access to all the newest features and security patches.

4. “We must be a source of hope” – and with the “find my” app, you can rest easy knowing that you have the ability to locate your lost or stolen phone.

5. “We can’t stop living our lives because of the worst-case scenario” – but with the “emergency SOS” feature, you can feel secure knowing that you have a quick and easy way to call for help in case of an emergency.

6. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” – and with the “screen time” feature, you can conquer your fear of phone addiction by setting limits on how much time you spend on your phone and which apps you use the most.

7. “Fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges” – and with the “dark mode” feature, you can save your eyes from strain and reduce your phone’s energy consumption.

8. “We are not a collection of red states and blue states; we are the United States” – and with the “unified inbox” feature, you can unite all your email accounts in one place, making it easier to stay organized and on top of your communication.

9. “The best and brightest are not confined by geography” – and with the “continuity” feature, you can seamlessly switch between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, making it easier to work on the go.

10. “We cannot solve our problems by laying blame at the feet of others” – and with the “offload unused apps” feature, you can take responsibility for the apps that are taking up space on your phone and free up some much-needed storage.

I hope these iOS tips help you get the most out of your iPhone and make your experience with your device even more enjoyable. Go forth and conquer, my fellow iOS users!

Apple Will Continue to Grow in the Office

2021 has almost come to an end and I realize I haven’t written any post to my website this year. So here goes

Apple is a behmoth. It has a market value of nearly $3 Trillion. Amazing. The most valuable company in the world. I remember way beack in the last 1990s when Apple was hanging by a thread. About to go bankrupt. Things looked glum.

Now, Apple is so massive and so successful I feel that governments and other companies are afraid of Apple and now going after it as a “monopoly.”

I feel that Apple can still grow. For example, while many people in the U.S. have an iPhone, maybe 50% or so, not many people have a Macintosh. Nor do the majority of the people have an iPad. In most offices most businesses ae still using Microsoft Windows. The strange things is that most businesses are using iPhones for their employees as Microsoft missed the boat on smartphones. Many businesses are using iPads.

I think going forward, more businesses will drop using Windows computers and switch to devices that are iOS or MacOS. iOS devices, particulary iPads, or now so powerful that most people working in an office can use an iPad to get work done. The iPad is actually better to use than an Windows computer because 1) the iPad makes less noise, and 2) the battery life of an iPad last much longer than any Windows computer. But now, the Macs, with the M1 chips that are similar to the chips that the iPhone and iPad uses, are also really quiet and have batteries that last much much longer than any Windows computer. This is a game changer. When the people in offices realize how quiet and battery life Apple’s devices have, they will want to switch to Apple. Its a better experience.

But what about Windows? Well the thing is, Microsoft realizes that the life of Windows is coming to an end, so Microsoft if moving to the cloud. You can get Windows 365 on the cloud. More importantly, during the pandemic, many office workers accessed their Windows network virtually over vpn. I did so through my 27 inch iMac and the experience was good. As the internet gets faster and as office networks get faster, officer workers will wont care what device they are using as long as they can easily access there office network through vpn. Because Apple’s processors are so better than Intels in terms of not giving off heat and being powerful, workers will seek to switch to having such device.

Bottom line, I think Apple will continue to grow in the office space because its devices are better experiences for workers.

NFC Tag Triggers Using Launch Center Pro

 

One of the coolest things I learned and listened to recently was the Automators Podcasts with David Sparks and Rose Orchard.  They had the co-founder and owner of the Launch Center Pro App on, David Barnard.   They were talking of one of the new features of Launch Center Pro 3, which is that you can purchase cheap stickers that have NFC tech on the sticker and the sticker can basically trigger Launch Center Pro to do something on your iPhone.  They pointed out that the newer iPhones have background NFC.  That means even when you are not using your iPhone, the iPhone can sense NFC signals.    I ordered some of the stickers from here. I can’t wait to try them out.  Think about it.  You will be able to trigger things from the iPhone from a sticker you stick on something.  For example, you could put the sticker on your iPhone holder in the car, and when you put the iPhone on the holder the sticker could trigger Launch Center Pro to launch your Map program, plus you Apple Music playlist, plus sending a text to your wife saying your are leaving the garage.   Or, you could put a trigger near your door so when you leave your house or apartment you just put your phone near it and it will shut off the wifi antenna on your iPhone. I hate having my wifi on when I leave home because I keep getting these notifications that a wifi network is available.  I don’t want to joint a wifi network when I leave home.  And they keep popping up.  

I think what Launch Center Pro is doing with these NFC stickers is really cool.  Will let you know what I do with them when I get them.  I think I ordered something like 10 stickers, 5 of which are clear, and 5 of which have the icon from Launch Center pro.  

 

 

The State of Apple – Where Is The Excitement?

We are coming up to the week before WWDC, which starts on Monday, June 4, 2018, and I have been thinking about the “State of Apple.” How is it doing? As a longtime investor in Apple, I am obviously thrilled with its financial results and its stock price. Recently it reached an all time high of $190/share and it is now trading slightly above $188/share with a market capitalization of $926.7 billion dollars. Obviously investors are thrilled and are still bullish about how Apple will be doing financially. Among other things, the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, recently increased Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Apple and it is now one of the largest shareholders. Buffet is one of the most successful stock market investors, and that is why he is one of the richest person in the world.
But while Apple is really successful financially, something does not feel right for me. I don’t feel the excitement that I usually felt in the past when WWDC was approaching. In the past, I felt that WWDC was Christmas in the summer. Apple would release some application or some new IOS or Macs OSX system that had incredibly interesting features that made you feel Apple was pushing the human race forward into the future. In the past, Apple would announce a new software application that was so interesting and exciting that I could not wait to try it out. That is why for many years I participated in Apple’s Developer program. I joined mainly so I could check out Apple’s beta programs and apps. I just could not wait until fall when Apple would generally release the software to the public. Also in the past, Apple would announce some new hardware at WWDC. Many moons ago the new iPhone model would be announced at WWDC. But then Apple switched to announcing the new iPhone models in the fall.
I am also apprehensive about how exciting Apple’s WWDC will be this year because the few interesting things that Apple has announced in the last few years are overshadowed by the zillions of devices released by all sorts of companies. Of the devices Apple released in the last few years, I am really wowed by the AirPods. I use them all the time. They are not perfect, but they greatly improved how I listen to audio from my iPhone and iPad. The main thing is I am no longer hampered by wires and cords. And Siri works well on the AirPods. Of course, I am impressed with the iPhones getting better every year. But they don’t wow me. I expect that the cameras in the iPhone will get better and the processors will get more powerful. I expect that the iPhone’s screen will get better. Other devices haven’t wowed me. The HomePod has really nice sound, but the controls aren’t great (I can’t fine tune the audio volume among other things) and Siri isn’t great on it. The best thing about the HomePod is how well it recognizes one’s voice even when whispering.
In recent years I purchased AppleTVs, the upgraded ones after purchasing the 1st AppleTV many years go. They are nice and better than prior models. But gaming on the AppleTV has never really taken off. I have two kids, ages 12 and 13, and they never got into gaming on the AppleTV. They love games on their iPads and iPhones, but they never got into it on the AppleTV. As for the Macs, I guess I am wowed by the iMac Pro, but the problem is its hard for me to justify $5k or more. My 27-inch iMac from 2010 is running well. And if I want to edit videos, I can borrow one of the 2017 13-inch MacBook Pros that I purchased for my kids last Christmas. And even those computers are nice, but not a wow-factor. Among other things, there is a controversy about the keyboards on those computers. And while we haven’t had a problem with broken keys, I don’t like the keyboard action. It is too shallow. The keyboard on the Apple SmartCover for the 12-inch iPad Pro is better.
Speaking of iPads, I like them and use them heavily. I have the original 12-inch iPad Pro and use it all the time. And I would like to purchase the newer model because of the better screen and better refresh rate for the Apple Pencil, but I can’t justify getting it as the 1st generation 12-inch iPad Pro still works really well. In fact, I am writing this post on that device using the Byword app. I am bullish about the iPads future. I think Apple’s release of a $300 iPad that also works with the Apple Pencil will get more schools to adopt that device and also get more everyday people to use the iPad as their main computing device or as an auxiliary computing device. My 88-year old mother has long used an iPad as her main computing device, for surfing the internet with the Safari browser, or reviewing messages, photos and videos of the kids.
I am sure that Apple will continue to iterate on the iPad, as it does with the iPhone. Those devices will continue to get faster processors and better cameras. Also, at some point, they will get faster cellular speeds as 5G cellular services role out. And as in the past, Apple will add new sensors. Now if you could transport me 5 years from now I would be floored by the Apple iPhone and iPad models available then. The problem is that getting from here to there requires incremental steps. I am sure in Apple’s labs and internal strategic meetings they have a road map for where in 5 years Apple will be with those devices. And I am sure if I could peak at those plans I would say “wow” and be blown away. But I am pretty sure that next week I won’t be blown away. And then after I learn of the incremental improvements next week, I won’t be blown away at next year’s WWDC. What has happened is that during the last 10 years, I have gotten used to the incremental march forward of technology. Mind you, the increments are much bigger. One increment change in technology this year that Apple has put in the iPhone and iPad, compared to last year, is really like an incredible leap forward compared to the incremental change in technology that Apple had back in the mid–1990s. Can you even remember the changes in a Macintosh from 1995 to 1996?
Rather than by Apple, I am wowed today by the zillions of devices that are coming out that are cheap and innovative. For example, earlier this week, I ordered the Wyzecam (version 2), which that company sells for a mere $19.99 plus shipping costs. This tiny cube-like device has a 1080p Full HD camera which can stream through the internet to a Wyze app on your iPhone or iPad, and has motion tagging and night vision with no service cost and no need to purchase an SD card. You can purchase an SD card if you don’t want the internet streaming service and just record locally and also have stop time lapse shots. But it works well even without an SD card. It has a speaker in it and a microphone so you can listen in to the audio as well as watching streaming video from where you placed that camera. And you can talk through the speaker to anyone near the camera through your Wyze app. What blows me away is how cheap this device is and how well it works for that price. The people who created this worked at Amazon, so they know something about impressing consumers. Thus the low price for decent quality. But the concept that for a low price I can install video and sound monitors in all sorts of places is kind of mind-blowing.
Similarly, I was blown away several years ago, and also in recent years with updates, by the Raspberry Pi computer made by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Basically, for a price as low as $35 or even $5 you can get a computer microprocessor with ports and sensors. People have created all sorts of interesting projects with these little devices. I used a Raspberry Pi to create an ad blocker on our family WiFi network at home so that anyone using our WiFi can automatically have ads on the internet blocked when they use a browser. And other than the cost of a $35 Raspberry Pi, this service is essentially free. You download the PiHole software onto your Raspberry Pi, and hook it up to your local network and boom, that is it, you have an ad-blocker for everyone on your network.
I used another Raspberry Pi to solve a problem. I have at home a Brother laser printer that is not AirPrint-enabled. I connected a Raspberry Pi to that printer by usb connection, then downloaded some software and drivers to the Raspberry Pi, and now all our Apple devices, mainly iPhones, iPads and Macs, can AirPrint to the laser printer.
I am also blown away with the crazy advances in drones that the Apple-like company DJI undertakes. The price of these drones and their abilities are extremely impressive. Similarly, I am impressed with the advancement of personal mobility devices like electric skateboards, and the advances that Boosted Board have made in creating some of the best electric skateboards.
Whenever I see devices like these, the Wyzecam, the Raspberry Pi, the DJI drones, the Boosted Boards, I sometime wonder why didn’t Apple come out with something like that. And then I think, of course Apple cannot do that. Apple’s finances require it to produce products that it can sell to a mass market and charge at least a 30% margin. Apple can’t experiment with releasing devices that have a small market that have a small margin. From a business perspective, it makes no sense for Apple. Such efforts would distract its engineers and more importantly impact Apple’s stock price and financial statement. That is because Apple’s stock prices is tied to its revenue growth and maintaining its large profit margin.
But maybe there is a way that Apple could tinker with devices that are low margin and might not at first sell to a mass market. Remember, years ago, when it first released the AppleTV, Apple called it a hobby and did not break it out on its financial results as it was such a small part of revenue. Why cannot Apple pursue more hobbies? What if Apple embraced the 20% model that Google has. That model allows Google employees (i.e. engineers) to spend 20% of their work time pursuing projects they find interesting. Many services that Google launched have come out of those efforts. Why not allow engineers at Apple to tinker with releasing innovative devices with low margins and smaller markets? I guess executives at Apple would worry that releasing such devices could hurt Apple’s brand. Apple is known for releasing polished products and maintaining secrecy until launch. Apple is know also for its premium products. If Apple engineers released various experimental devices that were cheap, it could hurt Apple’s brand. But what if Apple carefully rebranded that effort as something experimental that was apart from Apple’s regular brand. Apple could give it a name and call it the “Beta Hardware Program.” Apple could also tell its engineers to try to create projects that further Apple’s services. For example, there are devices that act as buttons to trigger HomeKit functions. You can hack an Amazon Dash button to work with services like IFTTT and even as a HomeKit trigger. Apple’s HomeKit service is competing with Amazon’s Echo service and Google’s Home service. If Apple released all sorts of devices that were cheap and worked well with HomeKit it would help HomeKit to dominate that market. Similar, Apple is competing with Spotify as well as Google Music and Amazon Music to become the dominant music streaming service. What if Apple released all sorts of cheap devices that have quality and work well with Apple Music and HomeKit? Wouldn’t that help Apple Music overtake Spotify? The AppleHome Pod is too expensive to count as such a device. Not enough people are going to pay $350 for a HomePod.
What I am proposing goes against what Apple had done to become the most valuable company in the world. But undertaking such efforts that allow its engineers to release cheap and innovative devices could help Apple engineers’ morale. Let the engineers experiment and release some devices. It will not only raise the morale for engineers to tinker and release devices, but it also could then make us consumers go “WOW” when something truly crazy is released. Apple, make me go “Wow” on WWDC’s first day this year.