What I Learnt Today

iPhones and iPads are pretty easy to break, or lose. And sometimes there is a software problem that requires a full restore.

When this happens, you’ll be glad that you have a recent back up. Makes it a snap to get back all your app, songs, movies, and data.

You do have a recent back up, don’t you?

The iPhone and iPad are backed up automatically when you connect then via USB cord to their ‘mother’ computer. This is also when updated apps, new songs and podcasts that you have downloaded or purchased are uploaded to your iDevice. 

However, many people only rarely plug their Phones into their computer (Cathy), and therefore rarely back up.

iOS5 enables ‘iTines wi-fi sync’, which enables backing up whenever your iPhone and iPad are on the same wifi network as their home computer. This is ‘a good thing’.

To set it up, follow these steps.

1. Plug your iPhone into its mother computer via the USB cord (the old fashioned way). It will back up and update.

2. In iTunes, select your iPhone in the menu on the left side, (it is under the heading ‘Devixes’)

3. Click the ‘Sync with this iPnone over Wi-fi” checkbox.

4. Click Apply (bottom right)

5. When the Back Up and Sync is finished, you should be able to unplug your iPhone and it should still be visible in the Devices list.

 

That may be all you need to do.

It worked for me on one computer and its baby devices, but not on the other, even though they were on the same network.

You can check if it worked by opening Settings on your device. and selecting General>iTunes Wi-Fi Sync. If the Sync now button is greyed out, you may need to follow these next steps.

6. Restart your iPhone/iPad (turn it right off by holding down the Sleep button until the Red slider appears, and then ‘Slide to Power Off’)

7. Restart the mother computer.

 

8. If this still doesn’t work, it can sometimes help to turn your modem/router off and back on, and (perhaps) repeating steps 6 and 7.

 

Once you have it working, your iPhone will back up and sync automatically when you plug it into a charger while it is on your home network. You can make it back up and sync when it is not plugged in to a power supply by by opening Settings>General>iTune Wi-Fi Sync and pressing the Sync Now button.

 

It is worth setting this up. Let me know in the comments if you have any problems.

While you’re at it, you should enable Home Sharing on your iPad or iPhone. Go to Settings>Music and enter your AppleID and password. On each of the computers running iTunes, in the Advanced >Enable Home Sharing menu, enter the same AppleID.

Then, in the Music App, click on the More Tab, and select Shared. You’ll be able to steam music or videos from your main iTunes library to your iPhone/iPad. Cool.

 

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iMessages allows free text messaging to anyone else which has updated their iPhone or iPad to iOS5.

Like me, you may have trouble finding the new iMessages app. This is because there isn’t one. The new service is built into the old Messages app, used for SMS.  

To activate iMessages, go to Settings>Messages and switch iMessages On. 

 If you are sending a Text message to someone who doesn’t have a iOS 5 then it will go by SMS. If they do have iOS5 and have activated iMessages it will go by iMessage, which is free if you are on WiFi, and uses a very small amount of your 3G data allowance if you are not.

You can tell if someone is using iMessages as the Send button (and their text) will be blue instead of the usual green.

 Simple.

 The Messages app is now also available on the iPad. As the iPad doesn’t have a Phone Number,  it uses your AppleID to locate you.

 What if your family share the same AppleID? This is common, as it makes it easier to buy and share apps and songs. Can you still text from one family member to another, or will everyone receive the same messages?

 You can now identify different family members using their email address.

 Go to Settings>Messages, and click on the Receive At button. Click Add Another Email…., and add the email address of the person who uses that iPad or iPhone. 

 To send a message to an iPad, you send it to the email address rather than a phone number. It will arrive in the Mesages app on the iPad. (It will also arrive in their iPhone, if they have set it up with the same email address).

 You can send me an iMessage by texting tony@lemlink.com.au

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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iOS 5, the new operating system for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, was released by Apple today. You can still be one of the first in the world to try it out.

This is a free upgrade, and includes ‘over 200’ improvements and new features, including new ‘Reminders’, ‘iMessage’ and ‘Newstand’ apps.

 We have tested it out on an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2 and things have gone fairly smoothly. There were concerns that it may be ‘sluggish’ on the iPhone 3GS, but Will reports that all is fine.

There was an enormous spike in Internet traffic today, and Apples new iCloud servers were put under intense load. This caused delays for some users – but things seem to have settled down now.

 These are the steps to upgrade to iOS 5

• 1 Make sure that you are running the latest version iTunes on your Mac/PC by selecting ‘Check for Updates’ in the iTunes menu.
• 2  Plug your iPhone/iPad into the computer.
• 3. You will be asked if you want to update to the new operating system. Click Yes.
• 4. At one point in the process, your iDevice will be backed up on the computer. Although this usually only takes a few minutes, many users have reported long delays (up to 2 hours) during this process.
• 5. The software on your iPhone/iPad will be updated, it will start automatically, and then your apps and music will be restored.
• 6. Do not unplug your iPhone/iPad until all restoring is complete.

Let us know in the comments if you run into many problems.

(The SMH app kept crashing, and we had to delete it from the iPad and then restore it from the ‘Purchased’ section of the AppStore App.)

Tomorrow we will kick the tyres on some of the new features of iOS5.

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Mike Colman of the Daily Telegraph has published a masterful analysis of the RWC Semi-final to be held this Sunday (7pm EDST),

Why All Blacks will choke at Rugby World Cup

Some highlights:

THE All Blacks had lunch yesterday with the New Zealand team that won the 1987 World Cup. Ambulances stood by in case any of the current lot of players choked.

In the lead-up to this tournament all little New Zealanders went to bed with the same prayer, “God bliss Mum and Did, and don’t lit anything hippen to Dan Carter or Ruchie McCaw, eh men.”

 

What’s the difference between a tea-bag and the All Blacks? A tea bag stays in the cup longer.

What do you call 15 guys sitting around the TV watching the Rugby World Cup final? The All Blacks.

Why did Graham Henry go to the ball dressed as a pumpkin? Because he hoped when the clock struck 12 he would turn into a coach.

 

Go Mike! and C’mon the Wallabies!

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“Alan, Alan….”

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