How to

Apple simplifies troubleshooting with Express Lane

In an attempt to put more troubleshooting know-how in the hands of its customers, Apple has created Express Lane, a simple to use resource for locating issues and solutions to common problems with all of Apple's products.

The site is incredibly easy to navigate, using a simple three-column approach to determine the general scope of the issue you are having. Once you've narrowed down the topic, you can select one of the thousands of helpful articles available directly from Apple about nearly any documented problem--including information for many older Macs and previous generation iPhones and iPods.

But Express … Read more

Turn an iPhone into a microscope for less than $5

If you've ever peered through a microscope, you know how incredibly cool the world can look when it's massively magnified.

Just one problem: it's uncomfortable to squint through that tiny viewfinder. Where are the microscopes with the big, comfy LCD screens?

Try looking in your pocket. Hobbyist Crabfu came up with a slick--and inexpensive--hack that turns your iPhone into a microscope. You can see it in action, and learn how to do it yourself, in this video. (Note: The actual how-to starts at the 2:09 minute mark.)

As you can see, the hack's results can … Read more

How to make calls using Gmail (video)

Earlier this week, Google introduced a feature that lets you make VoIP phone calls to landlines and mobile phones from within your Gmail account (and iGoogle). The calling service, which is available to U.S. Gmail users, integrates with the Google Talk chat app that you can find on the left-hand sidebar in Gmail.com.

Google's "Call Phone" feature has so far made a splash, inspiring 1 million calls in its first day--even before all Gmail users received the notification that they could activate the feature.

A favorable response is good news for Google, whose last … Read more

Quick tip: iPhone, iPad, iPod photo syncing could be filling your hard drive

Many users, especially those with notebooks, are at a constant battle to maintain decent onboard hard drive space without having to sacrifice too much content on their machine. Syncing the photos on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod could be costing you some of that valuable space.

When you are using iTunes to sync your photos to iPhone, iPad, or your iPod, iTunes automatically creates a folder on your machine called iPod Photo Cache. This folder contains a backup copy of the photos currently synced to your device.

If you change the folder that is syncing to your Apple device, the … Read more

How to erase an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch

For most people, the idea of having their iPad erased sounds like a nightmare. There are times, however, when it can be handy to wipe all your personal data from an iPad and restore it back to its factory settings.

I know my situation is unique, but as a CNET reviewer, I've had to erase my personal data from our shared test iPad on a weekly basis. It's not to say I don't trust my coworkers, but I feel a little funny having a device floating around the office with my personal e-mail account and Twitter login--not … Read more

Apple updates Exchange ActiveSync profile in iOS 4 to combat issues

Users who have been experiencing syncing issues with their Exchange servers after upgrading to Apple's iOS 4 may have a fix in sight. Apple has updated sync profiles in iOS 4 to combat the issues with Exchange ActiveSync. Sync issues in iOS 4 are likely due to relatively low timeout limits for ActiveSync--the default is 30 seconds. Exchangepedia reports that iOS 4 also puts a strain on Exchange Server, which could cause performance issues for Exchange 2010/2007 Client Access servers as well as Gmail, which use Exchange ActiveSync for email access.

The fix offered by Apple increases the … Read more

Easily save Web sites, documents in iTunes for use with iBooks on iOS 4

Have you ever wanted to be able to save a Web site or document you wanted to read later to your iPhone or iPad? Follow these simple steps and take any offline reading you need to get done with you on your iOS device.

This hint requires a Mac using the latest version of iTunes and an iOS 4-compatible device with iBooks 1.1 installed. Once you've completed each step, you will be able to save Web sites, documents, or any other data that any Mac OS X application allows to be printed to PDF directly into iTunes for … Read more

How to use folders in iOS 4

In the nearly two years that Apple has been selling apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch, I've accumulated pages and pages of them. I try to keep them organized, grouping games and similar apps together on separate pages--but it still involves a lot of flipping and searching to get where I want to go.

Apple's new Folders feature in iOS 4 offers a new approach to managing an ever-growing collection of apps, allowing you to group apps together under custom headings. Not only do folders cut down on the number of icons sprawling across your home screens, … Read more

5 steps for installing iOS 4

Apple's iOS4 is spreading out to iPhone and iPod Touch owners today. Upgrading the firmware on your iPhone or iPod may be old hat for some of you, but if this is your first time around, here's the iOS 4 upgrade process in five easy steps.

The iOS 4 upgrade is free for both iPhone and iPod Touch, but excludes first-gen models.