The MacTrack – iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch and Mac News

You may find this of use, originally aimed at iPhone customers on the O2 network but should work on most networks and with all handsets (details taken from O2 website):

Can I increase the length of time my iPhone rings before diverting to voicemail?

Yes, just like any other handset you can change the length of time the iPhone rings before diverting to voicemail by entering **61*901*11*NN# SEND (NN is the number of seconds in increments of 5 and a maximum of 30 seconds).

Important Note:

In the example above 901 represents the number O2 customers dial to access their voicemail (irrespective of whether you are using an visual voicemail on an iPhone, 901 always dials into your voicemail system)

If your network uses a different (short) voicemail access number then simply substitute this and do not use 901

I have tested this on the O2 network and it works perfectly on the handsets I tried:  iPhone, Nokia, Sony Ericsson.  Each handset gives a different response (text) due to their operating system but usually it confirms that a voice call divert is active or similar (which is correct as your voicemail is simply a network function diverting unanswered calls to your voicemail account).

There’s no reason why it won’t work on all handsets and networks providing the network allows it’s subscribers to configure this setting.

Entering the above string of numbers isn’t the same as dialling a telephone number, although you do dial it like you would do a normal number.  Your handset recognises it’s a network code and sends the instruction to your carrier and waits for a success/failure response which it then displays on your screen.  You are not actually placing a voice call.

Obviously I cannot guarantee that this will work for you so all the usual disclaimers apply, and your mileage may vary.

Let me know how you get on.

I love photography and also have a keen interest in gardening, plants and flowers.

Recently, I made one of my regular visits to Felley Priory, Nottinghamshire.  It’s one of my favourite gardens with rare and interesting plants and superb herbaceous borders.  It was my first visit since becoming the proud owner of my first iPhone 3GS (black 32gb).  The day was a dull and overcast (initially) but the low cloud cover was very bright.

Any keen photographers amongst you will know these can be very challenging conditions in which to shoot, whether it’s still shots (photos) or moving images (video).  Whilst the conditions were not ideal I thought it’d be a perfect chance to test the video capabilities of my new iPhone’s camera.

My previous handset (a Sony Ericsson K850i) was 5 megapixels and a very competent camera with white balance, flash and exposure overrides plus many settings and other features to improve your shots.  The iPhone’s 3 megapixel camera with auto focus and no further controls are in fact a slight downgrade for me.  I love my photography and after weighing up the pro’s and con’s decided that the extra features and use I’ll get out of the iPhone tipped the balance in it’s favour.  I miss the control and superior photo quality of the Sony Ericsson handset’s camera but it’s a small sacrifice to pay with all the extra features packed into the iPhone.

Once home I reviewed the footage and whilst a little washed out in places was pleasantly surprised.  I exported it into iMovie ‘09 and created a video sequence, shown below.  If you want to see the high quality (HQ) version you can by clicking on the HQ icon or a larger version (which is better) can be viewed directly on YouTube here, again remember to click on the HQ button on the playback control strip at the bottom of the video frame to switch on the high quality stream.

If you view it on YouTube directly it gives you a great feel for how well the video recording function of the iPhone 3GS works.  A point worth noting is that during the iMovie production the source video has been compressed and converted prior to upload and then YouTube processes the source video too.  That said, the result is still very good – although you’ll have to take my word for it that the original sequence is even better when viewed on my iMac

To see more photo’s of Felley Priory and it stunning display of borders and flowers, throughout the year, take a look at my complete Felley Priory photo stream here (may take Flickr a while to load as there’s a lot of photos, sometimes reloading the page helps).  Or for general examples shots of the iPhone’s photo quality you can see them here.  Click on the slideshow icon too if you fancy it.

I hope you enjoy the short video below or at YouTube (recommended) and my photos if you choose to take a look.

Looking for iPhone ringtones?

For superb sounding ringtones for your iPhone, delivered via iTunes every week automatically, try RingtoneFeeder, you won’t disappointed.

For only $1.98 a month or $19.98 for a whole year.

You get at least 2 ringtones each and every week.

Cyan Worlds brings Myst to iPhone, iPod touch

By Charles Starrett, Senior Editor, iLounge

Cyan Worlds has released its classic puzzle adventure game Myst for the iPhone and iPod touch. Once the best-selling PC game of all time, Myst places players in the shoes of a character named the Stranger, who uses a special book to travel to the mysterious island of Myst. Players then explore the island from a first-person perspective, solving interrelated puzzles to complete their journey. The iPhone version includes all the areas, or “Ages,” from the original, along with artwork that surpasses the original in quality, full music and sound effects, an auto-save feature, a bookmark system to save and restore progress, touch-based controls, and original movies and animations. Myst is available now from the App Store for $6, and is a 727MB download

via Cyan Worlds brings Myst to iPhone, iPod touch | iLounge News.

iPhone OS 3.0 is coming, preview on March 17th

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Mar 12th 2009 at 12:06PM

We just got the announcement, iPhone OS 3.0 is coming. Set your clocks, mark your calendars. It’s going down March 17th. Apparently, we’ll get a sneak peak at the new OS, as well as a look at a brand new version of the SDK. Exciting stuff indeed, and we’ll be there live at 10am PST (1pm EST) with the liveblog. Apple’s calling this an “advance preview of what we’re building,” so we’re not expecting anything ready to go as of the 17th, but hopefully this will allow developers to start building toward future functionality (hey, how about some push notifications?), and presumably users won’t have too many months to wait after that for the real deal.

via iPhone OS 3.0 is coming, preview on March 17th.

iPhone 3.0 to Get MMS, Tethering, and Finally… Copy and Paste?

Friday March 13, 2009 10:03 AM EST; Category: iPhone

Written by Arnold Kim

Mac Rumors

News that Apple will be hosting a media event next week about iPhone 3.0 has generated a lot of speculation about what might be coming in the new release.

BoyGeniusReport claims to have heard two possible features that would certainly make many iPhone users happy. They believe that iPhone 3.0 will introduce MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) and Tethering.

MMS would finally offer iPhone users the ability to send photos by way of SMS, and tethering would allow you to share your iPhone’s internet connection with your laptop computer. An alleged Steve Jobs email even confirmed that Apple had been working on a thethering solution, so it certainly seems feasible. BoyGeniusReport’s record, however, has been spotty, so we can’t be entirely confident of the report.

A more interesting report comes from John Gruber about his “guesses” for iPhone 3.0 from back at Macworld:

First, a new home screen app (a.k.a. SpringBoard), designed from the ground up for a system where users have a few dozen or more extra apps installed. Managing dozens of apps on the iPhone today is simply a pain in the ass. Second, maybe an answer to the question of where the background notification API is — you know, the one we were told at WWDC to expect a few months ago, but which we haven’t heard a word about since. And maybe — pretty please, Mr. Forstall, with sugar on top — copy and paste.

While Gruber labels this as his “wish list”, we have good reason to believe that these features will indeed be found in the iPhone 3.0 firmware. That could mean a better app-managing SpringBoard (with categories?), a solution to “push” notifications (background tasks?), and, yes… even copy and paste.

Finally, there has been evidence in the latest version of Snow Leopard’s CoreLocation framework (which is shared by the iPhone) that Apple is building in support for magnetometers, which could suggest the use of a digital compass in future devices, much like the Android G1.

via iPhone 3.0 to Get MMS, Tethering, and Finally… Copy and Paste? – Mac Rumors.

If, like me, you have some smart playlists lovingly created within iTunes.

Whilst simple to create these smart playlists can be extremely powerful and can dynamically select music tracks (or other content) depending on their pre-set criteria.  By carefully selecting the criteria you can develop playlists that always have relevant and ever changing content, automatically.

Now, suppose you want to create a new Smart Playlist based on an already pre-existing smart list and then make some minor changes to it?  Apart from recreating the entire playlist from scratch again is there a way to help automate this somewhat?

Yes, there is!  Simply:

STEP 1

Select the playlist you want to base your new one on

Go-to the File Menu
Choose Library…
Select Export Playlist…

In the Format drop-down list choose XML
Save the file to your desktop

STEP 2

Next, import the playlist:

Go-to the File Menu
Choose Library…
Select Import Playlist…

Choose the file you exported in step 1.

iTunes will import the playlist’s selection criteria, not the actual tracks, and you can then edit it to make your minor changes and then rename it appropriately.

Note:  If your import result in a standard, plain track listing and not a smart playlist, ensure that in step 1 you have remembered to choose XML in the Format drop-down.  Without this important step it won’t export the selection criteria.

Below are a couple of example Smart Playlists that I use to demonstrate their power, and why you may want to copy one rather than recreating it from scratch:

LogMeIn comes to the iPhone

Yes, you read it right. LogMeIn has released a beta version of its LogMeIn Ignition software that gives Apple iPhone and iPod touch users easy, secure access to their remote office and home computers.

With one-click from their iPhone or iPod touch, customers can connect to their computer and work as if they were sitting in front of it. LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone and iPod touch connects to desktops and laptops running LogMeIn Free, LogMeIn Pro or LogMeIn IT Reach and can be used to control Windows-based and Apple computers.

Some of the Key features are:

* One-touch access to remote access of PC/Mac

* Full keyboard, mouse, zoom and scroll control using touch screen

* Securely saves login information

* Option settings for optimizing the experience of connecting to and controlling the remote computer, including locking the remote computer’s keyboard, blanking the screen of the remote computer and screen resolution

The iFone Blog: LogMeIn comes to the iPhone.

Middleburg Heights, Ohio – Grantwood Technology, LLC today announced the release of the tuneband(TM) for the 4th generation iPod nano, an armband product designed to comfortably secure the iPod nano 4th generation in place during exercise, including Nike+iPod compatibility.

Each tuneband consists of a comfortable and flexible armband strap that can accommodate both large and small arms, a durable silicone skin that allows access to all ports on the iPod nano, and a low-tack, cut-and-peel screen protector that helps guard against smudges, moisture, and daily wear-and-tear. The silicone skin of the tuneband was specifically designed for runners and walkers fully covering the bottom corners of the iPod, securely holding it in place, yet allowing access to the USB port and headphone jack. The silicone skin also does not cover the click wheel to allow it to be used without interference.

“By using the best design features of our previous tuneband products,” states Michael Banks, co-founder and CEO of Grantwood Technology, LLC, “we made this the best iPod armband for the 4th generation iPod available at a very competitive price,” states Michael Banks, CEO of Grantwood Technology.

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San Diego, California – Siavash Ghamaty introduces Recycler, the first recycling-friendly iPhone application for free download. “Recycler”, by developer Siavash Ghamaty, untangles those complicated and seemingly arbitrary PEC plastic codes on the bottom of your recyclables. Acceptable plastic recycling codes vary from location to location. Recycler allows users to add their location’s codes into an attractive interface that makes a green-conscious lifestyle easy.

“I created this application to remind myself of what items I can throw into my recycling and which just don’t go,” Ghamaty says, “After using this application for a couple of weeks, I ended up memorizing the plastic codes and hope other users do the same. It’s a win for the land fills and environmentalists either way.”

When asked how this excells over use of a standard notes application to store this information, Ghamaty replied, “It’s not just a Post-It note or reminder on your fridge that triggers memory, especially for the Mac-friendly user. Everything must look as good as the iPhone, visually appeasing and an overall nice experience. I feel I nailed this on a certain level and hope the audience agrees. Mainly, I just want people to recycle more.”

The App Store features other environmentally friendly tools such as Green Meter which focuses on fuel consumption. Ghamaty’s application is the first of its kind, blending answers to everyday recycling challenges with the convenience of the iPhone.

Ghamaty Website
Recycler
Download Recycler from iTunes
Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2
Screenshot 3

Siavash Ghamaty is a computer programming professional and has built other applications for the app store in the games and utilities genres. He runs Ghamaty.com, the home of an Adobe Flex/ Flash and iPhone development blog, as well as support for his iPhone applications. Copyright 2008 Siavash Ghamaty. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Namibia, Africa – White Wizard Productions is proud to announce MConvert 7.4. MConvert is the prime software for converting measurements (metric/imperial) and currencies, and the most comprehensive and accurate converter available. It’s a great tool for education and reference.

MConvert includes the following 26 conversion groups and many subgroups: Acceleration, Angle, Area, Base, Consumption, Currency, Data, Density, Energy, Energy/Mass, Force, GPS, Illuminance, Length, Luminance, Mass, Permeability, Power, Pressure, Radioactivity, Temperature, Time, Torque, Velocity, Viscosity, Volume.

Feature highlights include:
* Anytime currency updates online
* Support of multi conversion
* Export results
* Ergonomic and user-friendly
* Educational display of all units in one window
* Flexible display of units
* e=mc2 calculations

Read the rest of this entry »

American Fork, Utah – MileBug LITE, a lite version of the premier iPhone mileage log application, is now available for only $2.99 (compared with $6.99 for Standard). MileBug LITE helps those driving their own vehicles for business, charity, medical, or other reasons receive their reimbursement and/or tax deduction. In the U.S., IRS business rates are up to 58.5 cents/mile. MileBug LITE for the iPhone/iPod Touch helps people track their miles and provides emailed reports for easy submission to employers, accountants, and the IRS.

What’s New?
* Option for kilometers vs miles (General Settings)
* Custom deduction rates
* Define multiple business rates (reimbursement vs. deduction)
* “Other” business category for percentage tax filers
* Foreign and other special characters supported in reports
* Notes included in reports
* SPANISH version

MileBug LITE answers the call from the many international customers. Inside the General Settings is now an option to select kilometers instead of miles. From within the Presets, users can define custom rates for business, charity, medical, and other categories. If you get one rate from your employer for reimbursement, and another rate from the IRS for your side business, you simply create two different business rates.

As an added bonus, MileBug LITE supports Spanish. Simply select Spanish as the language of your iPhone or iPod Touch in the General Settings –> International area and restart MileBug LITE. Bienvenido a MileBug!

MileBug LITE
Download and Purchase

Izatt International is an iPhone/iPod Touch application development company in American Fork, UT. Izatt develops applications internally as well as accepts outside development projects. Fingerspell is another application developed by Izatt now available on the App Store. Copyright 2008 Izatt International. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Google Earth now available for iPhone

Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 9:49 PM

(cross-posted from the Official Google Mobile Blog)

The world just got a little bit smaller. Google Earth is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing you to fly to the far reaches of the world from the palm of your hand. Since we launched Google Earth for the desktop in 2005, we’ve had over 400 million unique downloads, and people from around the world have used it to view their house, research travel destinations, learn how to make the world a better place, find local businesses, and view geo-located photos. Now, with a free download from the iTunes App Store, you can fly through the same 3D immersive world of Google Earth you’ve come to love, without having to fire up your desktop computer.

Check out this video tour to see Google Earth for iPhone in action:

Not only is having Google Earth on your iPhone convenient, but the touch interface is a very natural way to interact with the Earth. Just swipe your finger across the screen and you fly to the other side of the globe; tilt your phone and your view tilts as well. You can pinch to zoom in or out, or just double tap with one finger to zoom in and two fingers to zoom out. We also integrated the My Location feature, so with a touch of a button, you can fly to where you are in the real world on your phone. In addition, we have over eight million Panoramio photos, which are geo-located photos of places, and you can view any and all of them from your iPhone. Besides being beautiful, high-quality pictures, they’re specifically of places, so you don’t have to see some guy’s family on vacation in Thailand–you can see the beaches, the temples, all the things that give you a real sense of the place. Here is a nice shot of the Grand Palace that I found on my virtual tour of Bangkok:

Google LatLong: Google Earth now available for iPhone.

This is a tale of a crashed iPod Touch and it’s subsequent painless restore:

A few days ago my iPod Touch (16GB) crashed and went into restore / recovery mode, or perhaps I put it into restore / recovery mode accidentally. At boot-up it showed the restore / recovery screen: a USB cable being plugged into iTunes (see image on the right).

In case you don’t know:

• to quit a hung application you press and hold the home button, for 5 to 10 seconds
• to force a complete device restart you press and hold the lock/unlock button along with the home button for about 5 to 10 seconds

I’d been having a few problems with it, prior to the crash: it wouldn’t stay connected to my home wi-fi network and had started behaving strangely. I forced a device restart (maybe 2 or 3 times) and it then showed the ‘restore-me’ icon (as described above).

Maybe it ‘decided’ it needed a restore (as system problems were apparent) or maybe I didn’t let go of the home button – I was distracted reading a web page at the time about the upcoming Apple event ( New  MacBooks look amazing BTW).

I re-connected it to iTunes which detected an iPod Touch in restore/recovery mode and offered to re-flash/reload the firmware and operating system and I accepted – the firmware and OS were loaded, verified and the iPod Touch rebooted (took about up 30 mins up until the reboot I think).

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Nashville, Tennessee – RingtoneFeeder has evolved since its launch in April 2008 and the subscribers are getting more value for their money now than when they signed up originally. When RingtoneFeeder first started the subscribers would be getting just a single ringtone every week.

Currently the subscribers are receiving 4 ringtones every week. One vocal and one instrumental ringtone, both of them in two versions, with and without a ringing sound embedded. This option was made available recently based on user feedback, but the price structure remains the same.

The annual subscription which is priced at just $19.98 will now provide 218 ringtones as the subscriber will

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iPhone Spoof Ad