Speak Text

Your iPhone or iPad can read to you. Enabling the Speak option makes it possible for your iOS device to read aloud any selectable text. Launch the Settings app, tap on General, and then choose Accessibility. Scroll down to Speak Selection, and tap to turn it on.

Now, go into any app where you can highlight text. Your options include Mail, Safari, Notes, and many others. Select some text, and you’ll see a new option appear in the contextual menu (you may have to tap the right arrow to view more options). Tap the Speak command, and your iOS device will start reading the text aloud.

Enable Emoji Keyboard

Perhaps you’ve seen these iconographic symbols in emails, iMessages, and tweets, and wondered how the heck people managed to type them. Maybe you’ve mistakenly assumed that you need to purchase a third-party app to gain access to those special symbols.

You don't: Apple treats those symbols, called Emoji, as an international keyboard. Launch Settings, and tapGeneral, International, Keyboards. Then tap Add New Keyboard and find Emoji. Now open an app where you can type some text.

Next to the spacebar, you’ll see a little globe icon. Tap it to switch between your regular keyboard and the Emoji one, which contains many tabs full of different characters. Tap on those characters to insert them wherever you’d like. (If you have many international keyboards, tap and hold the globe to bring up a menu of all your options.)

Spoken Emoji. For real fun, type in a bunch of Emoji symbols, select them all, and then tap the Speak button. You’ll hear the often-entertaining names of each symbol read in sequence.

Bugs & Fixes: PDF's fail to open by Ted Landau

Recently, I tried something that had always worked before. This time, it didn’t.

Using Safari, I clicked a link to a PDF file. After the PDF opened in a browser window, I selected the Save As... command from Safari’s File menu. So far, so good. Next, I double-clicked the saved file sitting on my Mac’s desktop. Normally, this opens the file in Preview. This time, however, I was greeted with

the following error:

A similar message appeared if I tried to open the file in Adobe Reader, rather than in Preview. I next tried saving the file from Firefox

instead of Safari. It made no difference.

Returning to Safari, I selected the Print command. From the Print dialog, I selected to save the file as a PDF. This too failed to save a viable copy.

I finally discovered a route to success. If I clicked my trackpad when the pointer was over a PDF page in Safari, a toolbar overlay appeared. One icon in the toolbar was a floppy disk (really!). Clicking this icon saved a copy of the file that (at last!) opened in Preview with no errors.

The problem was not restricted to a particular PDF file saved from the web. It happened with any one I now attempted to save. PDFs that did not originate from a web page continued to open just fine.

I wasn’t certain why the problem had first popped up when it did, nor why one particular method of saving worked while other similar ones did not. However, I was fairly certain as to the culprit: I suspected the Adobe .plugin files used for PDF viewing. Two such files resided in my /Library/Internet Plug-Ins folder: AdobePDFViewer.plugin andAdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin. If I removed this pair from the this folder, Safari reverted to its built-in (not Adobe-based) method of viewing PDF files. After I did this, problems with saving PDFs from Safari vanished.

To be clear, removing these plug-ins did not eradicate problems with previously saved files. It just prevented symptoms going forward.

My next step was to check if there was a more recent version of these plug-in files that fixed this problem. At first, the answer appeared to be no. As I knew these files get installed as part of Adobe Reader, I launched the app and selected Check for Updates. It said I was already using the latest version (10.1.5).

Not ready to give up, I also checked Adobe’s website. Contradicting the Reader app, the site listed a newer (11.0.01) version as available. After I updated to this newer version, the PDF saving bug was gone!

Unfortunately, the update introduced a new bug. Now, when I select to save a PDF file from Safari, I have to save twice. At the second instance, I am asked if I want to replace the file I just created a moment before. While a minor irritation, it’s been enough to get me thinking that I would be better off giving up on Adobe’s plug-ins altogether.

Normally, I wouldn’t devote a column to a bug that is resolved merely by updating software. However, I suspected that many users would not realize that the Adobe plug-ins were the culprit. Even if they did, they might not realize that these files originate with Adobe Reader. Even then, they would likely be stopped by Reader’s erroneous update message. Not to worry. If you have this bug, you now know what to do

Now You Can Take Your iPad Where You Used to Take Your Newspaper

Do you take your iPad everywhere? Even the bathroom? You have to have your reading material right? The Pedestal Stand will make it convenient for you to bring your iPad into the bathroom with you.

The Pedestal Stand for iPad from CTA Digital was specially designed so that you can use your tablet with you are on the throne. It is made of chrome, with a heavy base to make sure it stays still and has a 10-inch bendable gooseneck stand to keep your iPad in place.

Never be without your iPad again. Oh and it also holds your toilet paper.

Source Ubergizmo

Tablets and E-Readers Easier on Eyes for Older Individuals

MASHABLE.COM 14 Hours Ago
Reading on Tablets Easier for Older Eyes
by Leslie Meredith

People young and old prefer reading paper books to tablets and e-readers, but older individuals could find themselves reading faster and with less effort on a tablet. The news came from a small study released this week in PLOS ONE from researchers at the historic epicenter of the printed word — Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany.

Among 360 readers ages 21 to 34, no difference in reading speed or brain effort was detected between reading via a book, a Kindle e-reader and an iPad. But big differences were recorded among 21 users ages 60 to 77 when they read the same text on paper instead of the devices. In fact, using an iPad improved speed and reduced effort compared to paper and e-readers. Researchers measured eye movements and brain activity from EEG readings to determine ease of reading.

Traditional ereaders were no help: Reading a short page of text on a Kindle took the older group about 28 seconds, the longest of the three. Switching to the printed book shaved 1.5 seconds off the time. But reading on an iPad took just 24 seconds, that's 2.5 seconds faster than reading on paper. While that may not represent a big timesaver when skimming news headlines, it could save hours reading "War and Peace."

The researchers concluded that the iPad's backlighting, which was adjusted to the brightest setting, made the difference. All tablets use backlighting, while e-readers use what's called an E Ink display that provides less contrast than a brighter tablet (although it allows people to read in bright sunlight).

But despite the physical findings, older adults and their younger counterparts said they got more pleasure reading from a paper book. The researchers said this was evidence of a cultural bias against digital books rather than a cognitive phenomenon.

It seems that for older individuals, at least, tradition trumps ease of use.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Gavin St. Ours

This article originally published at TechNewsDaily here

Limited Time -- Box Cloud Storage

25GB of Free Cloud Storage Is Your Deal of the Day
Kif Leswing
Dropbox gives you 2GB of storage when you sign up. iCloud offers 5GB. While there are plenty of reasons to prefer those services, the storage space they offer is way less than what you can get with Box today. Usually Box only gives you 5GB of storage for free, but if you sign up with a new email address, Box will give you 25GB of cloud storage for life (or until the end of the Box enterprise.)

Box has run offers like this in the past, notably giving users 50GB of free storage if you signed up with an iOS or an Android device. But those promotions are over and they require you to own a specific gadget. The beauty of today's promotion is that anyone with a web browser and email address can get it. It's only for new signups, so if you've already got an account, you'll have to make a new one. Still — free's a damn good price for a large storage locker up in the clouds. [Box.net]


Box has run offers like this in the past, notably giving users 50GB of free storage if you signed up with an iOS or an Android device. But those promotions are over and they require you to own a specific gadget. The beauty of today's promotion is that anyone with a web browser and email address can get it. It's only for new signups, so if you've already got an account, you'll have to make a new one. Still — free's a damn good price for a large storage locker up in the clouds. [Box.net]

Cash Rules Everything Around Dealzmodo (Our CREAD):Follow @dealzmodo

CBs 10 Must Have Apps for iPad 3 or newer

1. WeatherBug for iPad -
    Live Doppler and weather cams for multiple areas

2. News -
    USA Today         
    Wall St Journal     
    Flipboard (your custom news)
    Zite (Your Custom News)
          
3. Local Services
    AroundMe   Food, Movies, Gas, Hospitals, Banks, etc

4. Communication 
    FaceTime                          
    Skype                                       
    MagicJack
                                            
5. Games
    Carmageddon                   
    Highway Rider                      
    SmashCops                    
    Real Sol Free
    Monopoly HD                    
    Hangman

6. Education    
    TED                                       
     Wimp                                  
    YouTube
                    
7. Text-publication 
    iBooks                               
    GoodReader                         
    Evernote
                           
8. Audio 
    Recorder HD   
    Tascams PCM Recorder   
    Rockmate (4 player music creation)  
    BeBot (fun music creation)
                
9. Photo Editing    
         PhotoForge                                 
    Iris                            
    Paper Camera               
    Transfer (move images to computer)
         
10. Video  
    Videolisious (Quick movie assembly)     
    iLapse (Time lapse)        
    Action Movie (Special Effects)
                                                   
11. Utilities    
    MultiConvert (number conversions)     
    Digits Lite (Calculator)          
    Speed Test (Check Net)  
                                                                        

Selection of best apps 

The question for all new owners of an idevice is what to put on the device. The following is a list of possible choices that one can consider.  

Business
Facebook Manager - fan page or business site
QR Reader – scan & create
PDF Expert- fillin forms, store, sync-
Dropbox-
Evernote –
Google Drive
Scanner Pro by Readdle
 iPhone 5-flattens, deskews, save to pdf, share to Dropbox/Cloud
Softsign – digitally sign doc/pdf fast & easy tap insert signature-sign-save
Square Register –used to accept credit cards
Google Maps - voice direction & turns
Skype – free c-c phone calls  

Education
iTunes U
YouTube  

Entertainment
iBooks – books to read
Kindle app- books to read
Netflix or Redbox
Open Table – reserve a table at a restaurant
Pinterest – fun browsing along with education
Xfinity Connect &
Xfinity TV Remote -

Finance
Passbook
Bank app
PayPal
Cardstar

Games
Angry Birds
Bejeweled
Crosswords
Solitaire  

Music
 iTunes
Spotify
Shazam – identify songs that you are hearing

News
6abc app- current happenings in our area
Flipboard –looks good, relaxed exposure to many magazines & newspapers
Newstand- Got magazines digitally to avoid clutter and killing trees
     Consumer Reports (paper copy gets free digital) Pocket – save later to read
USA Today Newspaper
 Zite – pulls articles based on your keywords

Photo/Video 645 Pro
Photo Collage Pro (1.99) can save a TIFF file for lossless pictures
Adobe Ideas – fun drawing app
Cycloramic – iPhone5 only vibrates a 360˚ panorama
DMD Panorama- fast and easy to use
Dynamic Light – gives HDR look to photos
FlickStackr - basic yet complete Flicker app
 iWatermark – put logo on photos going on social media sites
Photoshop Express
Photoshop Touch – basic app like desktop CS6, photos can be move right into desktop, layers,effects
Photo Sync – get photo/video from desktop to idevice or reverse
Photo Transfer – transfer files easily through the web/wifi
PicStitch – 32 layout collage, shares to
Dropbox,
Evernote,
Instagram, ++
Shuttersnitch – wireless tethering to iPad using
Eye-Fi SD card
Snapseed - (NIK > Google) edit landscapes for tones
Iris – good all around
You Tube Catcher – best app to shoot and upload

 Productivity
1 Password – secure information synced thru
Dropbox to all macs & idevices = web (PC/Mac)
Analytics – no fuss access to google analytics for my websites
Best Prompter Pro – use this to make tutorials and videos
Box Net- cloud storage
Dropbox –cloud based storage
Evernote;Skitch(graphics)&;Everclip – organization +++ sync across multiple idevices & macs
Google Drive - google cloud storage
iBooks – store all manuals and ho todo docs
Notability – organization tool, store business info Quick voice – quick dictation to a text email
Sky drive _ Microsoft cloud storage
SoundNote – records all meeting & allows taking notes
Sugar Sync – Cloud storage
Web to pdf – generate pdf from a url
Tiny scan- great scanner to digitize receipts  

Reference
Google Earth – reference for many things
Google Search – also included in
Safari
Wolfram Alpha  

Relaxation Shazam - find out what song playing  

Social Media
Facebook – social interaction & a way to see friends
Flipboard – see News, twitter, facebook, and local newspapers
Google + - communities
HootSuite - allows managing multiple twitter accounts
Linked In- professional connections in business
Tweetbot – easy to use & popular app to view
Twitter  

Travel/Navigation
Around Me – find out what is available to to you in a certain distance
Flight Track Pro – organize all travel planes with updates and storage
Gas Buddy – find best prices
Google Maps
Motion X GPS – meets all of my travel needs
Tripit – travel organizer, keeps track of itinery
Airport maps
AAA TripTic

Macwidgets Digital Newsletter

Macwidgets Digital Newsletter can now be found in our sidebar.
Check it regularly for current articles about technology and the mac or idevices.

It is curated on the Scoop.it! platform.
It works on both the computer, iPhone, and iPad.
Check it out. It is a great way to do a newsletter.

iPad Accessories at the Dollar Store

Just a note to say I picked up a couple of iPad accessories at the Dollar Tree today. I still don't have an iPad as yet, but saw a capacitive stylus for touch screen phones which I can use with my iPod touch. I also picked up an iPad screen protector with cleaning cloth. It is a big enough sheet of transparent plastic to cut into several pieces to protect the face of my iPod touch, as well as several cell phones. The prices of these two items vary greatly from store to store. I've seen them elsewhere for $5 and $10 each. At Dollar Tree, they're only a buck! Makes you think about the REAL price of things. I just picked up a new miniature USB charger AND USB-to-iPod cable for a little over a dollar on eBay, with free shipping from China! How'd they do that and still make money? I know there are some complaints about counterfeit, badly made chargers, but I carefully checked mine out, and it works just fine.