Every Parent With Small Children Must Read This Tip!!

Yes, double exclamation points are warranted here.  Upon discovering this tip, I climbed up to my rooftop and exclaimed "Yes, genius, thank you Apple."  At this point you may be wondering, what is he talking about?  What is this wonderful tip?  Why is this guy so weird?   And you would be correct in wondering all these things!  

Have you ever handed a child an iPad with a movie playing, or a favorite monkey app he/she likes to play, only to have the "little one", shriek out as they hit the home button and lost access to the movie/app.  You just want the "little one" to be occupied for just 5 more minutes so that you can finish grocery shopping, talk to a teacher, talk to a neighbor, check out at target, return a phone call, or simply...think.  Yeah, you get the picture.  For all those moments, there is a solution!  Here it is:

Settings / General / Accessibility / Guided Access / Set Passcode / (enter in a 4 digit code that you will remember)

Guided Access, keeps the iPad / iPhone in a single app and allows you (the parent) control which features are available.  To start Guided Access, triple click the home button.

Go into your kids favorite app, click the home button 3 times.  Now you can select the following options:   Hardware button on/off,   Touch  on/off,   Motion  on/off.   and then select the start button in the upper right of the screen to enable.  (triple click the home button to end the session as well)

Your child will never again inadvertently end the movie/ favorite app again!   Okay, you can get down and stop cheering from your rooftop now.

Don't forget to share this wonderful tip with the other Moms / Dads out there.

Grandpa's Workshop App is Grand For All Genders!

Grandpa's workshop is one of my kids favorite apps.  Not only does my son love it, but my daughter finds it equally entertaining too.  The best part is not only is the app entertaining but it is educational too.  The app re-enforces measurement, spacial relationships, and fraction skills.  Team that up with a high-fiving, dancing Grandpa and you have a great app on your hands.


Nothing beats helping Grandpa in his workshop.  Purchase it in the app store today for just $1.99  or

like our page on Facebook to be eligible for a free app giveaway for Grandpa's Workshop App.

Note:  I received the product(s) mentioned above to prepare this post and no monetary compensation was received.  All opinions are my own 

If you have ever left your house, then download this app!

iExit is currently on sale in the iTunes App store for just $0.99.  Never have to rely on signs or billboards again.

Open up iExit when traveling on an interstate and it will figure out which road and direction you are traveling and the next 100 upcoming exits, all without a press of a button.

iExit’s Favorites features makes it easy to select Wendys or Starbucks as a favorite so that you only see upcoming exits with those businesses.

The Best Windows Laptop Is A.......... Mac?

A new report published by Soluto concluded that the best Windows laptop is a Macbook.  Yeah, a Macbook.

With a Mac able to run multiple operating systems Mac's OS X as well as Windows 7 / 8, why not consider it when your looking to buy a Windows based PC.

Here are the scores:

New Yahoo App is Awesome. Yeah, I Said Yahoo!

Remember Yahoo?  Yeah, they still exist and their new iPhone App is Awesome.  The layout is simply beautiful.  Who knew reading news headlines could be so pleasing to the eye.  Don't believe me, take a look for yourself, it's worth the time to download the free App.

The articles are laid out similar to Facebook's newsfeed, with a twist.  An image to the story is set in the background with the story headline over-laid on top.  It's really easy to get caught up on the news of the day in a matter of seconds.

You can taylor your "newsfeed" to include News, Entertainment, Sports, Business, Technology and Science.  

The technology behind the scenes is Summly and allows you to tell Yahoo to show more or less stories like this one in the future, which enables you a customized view of your stories.

Get the free app today.

Mac Tip: Enter Calendar Events Like a Ninja

If you use the Mac's Calendar App to keep up with appointments and events, there is a quick, painless, way to quickly enter your appointments.  Going to File / New Appointment, to enter your information is so 1990's way of thinking.  Let the computer do the work for you.  Here's How:

Click on the "+" icon in the upper, left hand side of the application.  A "Create Quick Event" box will appear and simply use natural language to enter in your event.

For example:  Hit the "+" and type  "take out garbage at 9am on Friday." and hit enter.

Whoa!  Don't you feel like a Nun-chuck ninja master now.  Yeah, me too.

Text Spam Sucks, Here is How To Fight Back.

If your like me, okay, if you are human, then you hate spam, especially text spam. I can't think of anything worse than receiving spam messages on your iPhone. Well, other than receiving spam text messages at 2AM!

It's time to fight back and kick text spams to the curb. Here's How: If you get a spam text message and your on AT&T, you can forward the spam message to the short code 7726 (SPAM). AT&T will start an investigation. (Go ahead and put #7726 into your contacts) 

Remember, never respond directly to a spam text as it will alert the spammer that your number is genuine. 

To forward a message, simply select the [Edit] button in the top right hand of the screen, then select the message in question, and then select the [Forward] button. Enter 7726 in the To field of the message to forward. Tap Send. Thank you for my public service announcement!

Organize Your Mac Desktop With Unclutter App

Has your desktop become a wasteland of rouge files, pictures and sticky notes.  Wish there was an easy way to get your desktop back, so that you can see that pretty wallpaper you have.  There is an easy way, it's called Unclutter and it's just $1.99 in the Mac App Store.

Unclutter, is a menu bar app that provides you with three slide down Panels.

1)  A clipboard Panel to see your most recent clipboard items.

2)  A Files Panel, to hide all those miscellaneous files and photos on your desktop

3)  A Notes Panel for jotting down those quick "sticky note" items that you don't want to forget.

All the same functionality exists when it comes to your files:  from dragging the files you need to the Files Panel for safe-keeping, to hitting the space bar to preview the file in Quick Look. 

Spend the two bucks in the Mac App Store and get back your desktop!

Note:  I received the product(s) mentioned above to prepare this post and no monetary compensation was received.  All opinions are my own 

Have an SSD? Than Daisy Disk Is For Thee

If your like me, then you too could only afford to get a 128gb or 256gb SSD drive.  That limited space needs to be well cared for, and Daisy Disk is just the app for the job.

Daisy Disk is different than other disk management apps.  With it's colorful pinwheel interface, it eliminates the "geek" part of managing disk space.  Drill down to the individual block level to determine just what exactly is taking up all that precious space.  It's categorization of your space via a legend on the right-hand side makes it super easy to know what your looking at.

It's just $9.99 in the Mac App Store, the perfect companion for your SSD drive.

Note:  I received the product(s) mentioned above to prepare this post and no monetary compensation was received.  All opinions are my own 

Get Google StreetView Back on your iPhone

With the new StreetView App, you can bypass the Apple versus Google epic battle and get Streetview back into your Maps App.

FutureTap recently released a new app called, StreetView.  The App allows you to access Googles Streetview maps.  Totally awesome!  But wait there's more.  You can even integrate it with Apple's Map App.  Here's how:

1)  Tap on the Routing button in the top left corner in Apple's Maps App.
2)  Enter in your desired end address and click on the "Public Transportation" Option and then "Route"
3)  Street View will be listed as an option to select now.

All of this map goodness is just $0.99 in the App Store.


Note:  I received the product(s) mentioned above to prepare this post and no monetary compensation was received.  All opinions are my own 

Adjust Your Mac's Volume Like Goldilocks

Sometimes your Mac's volume is a little too loud and sometimes its a little too soft.  But, its certainly never "Just Right."  Until Now!

Here's how to adjust your Mac's volume in 1/4 bar increments.  Simply hold down [Shift] + [Option] when clicking volume up or volume down.  

Go ahead and give it a try.   Ahh, just right!

Ever Needed to Take a Screenshot of Your Mac or iPhone? Here's How

Sometimes you need a snapshot of whats on your screen, either to email the image to someone else or to capture for your own purposes.  Here's how you accomplish that.

iPhone / iPad:  Simply hold down the power button and the home button at the same time.  It will take a picture of your screen and place it in your camera roll.  Cool right?

Mac:  Open "Preview" in your applications folder and select.  File / Take Screen Shot.  From this menu you can choose from the following options:  a selection, a Window, or the entire screen.

Check Out These Tips To Help Relieve Eye Strain

The Vision Council offers these tips for incorporating good "eyegonomics" into your day.

• Use the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away
• Create an ergonomically-friendly work station with proper lighting, seat adjustments, and monitor settings
• Maintain an appropriate distance from handheld and stationary device screens
• Enlarge your computer text and browser windows for easier viewing
• Clean electronic device screens frequently to eliminate dust and glare
• Remember to blink; staring at screens can dry eyes

Source: Mashable.com

Let Siri Ride Shotgun

That's right, let Siri sit in the passenger seat navigating you to your next destination.  Simply hold down your Home button and Siri will pop up.  Ask her for your directions.   "Take me to Target," or "Route me to the mall," or even "Take me to 123 main street, Anytown, USA")   Don't believe me?  Go ahead and try it....  Pretty Cool Huh?

You can even ask Siri, questions along your route, such as "Are We There Yet"

Now, if Siri could only make me a sandwich.

Sharing A Family Calendar is Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Sharing a Calendar with your family members or friends is easy; or as my five year old daughter would say: "easy, peasy, lemon squeezey!"

Here's How:  In Your Calendar App, click on the "calendar" button in the upper left hand side.  Next, select your iCloud calendar (from your @me, or @icloud account) by clicking on the little blue arrow on the right hand side.  Finally, in the "shared with" section, click on "Add Person".   Enter in the persons email address and click add.  


You can select that persons email that now shows up in the shared section and toggle the slider to Allow Editing or to not allow editing of the calendar (read only mode)

Now you'll never miss juniors game or forget to pick your daughter up at ballet tomorrow.