Archive for the 'Publication' Category
If you’re wondering what iCloud is or know but just need to know how to use it, then you may be interested in the new book from Joe Kissell entitled Take Control of iCloud from TidBITS. The 143-page ebook will help you understand the differences between MobileMe and iCloud and what stays, goes away, and what’s new. Examples of how to configure aspects of iCloud, such as syncing your calendar, are all part of this new digital release. Get it and learn the iCloud.
Sebastopol, CA—The rollout of Apple’s new iCloud service has not been without problems, and many people have questions about how best to sign up, switch to, and use iCloud. To answer those questions, TidBITS Publishing Inc. is pleased to announce the release of Take Control of iCloud ($15.00 USD), a 143-page ebook that helps readers successfully migrate to iCloud and its many services.
Written by tech expert Joe Kissell, Take Control of iCloud explains how to handle a variety of setup scenarios and concerns (including multiple Apple IDs and upgrading from MobileMe, iCloud’s predecessor), and how to best use the many features in iCloud: iTunes in the Cloud, iTunes Match, iCloud Backup, Photo Stream, Documents in the Cloud, Find My iPhone, Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and more.
Readers will learn the answers to questions such as:
What are iCloud’s primary features?
How do I set up iCloud-based calendar and contact syncing on my iOS device?
How do I share calendars with people who are not using iCloud?
How quickly should I expect iCloud to sync my data?
How do I configure my email software to use my iCloud email address?
How do I add files to my Photo Stream from Windows?
How can I configure my AirPort Extreme to work with Back to My Mac?
And for those making the jump from MobileMe, Kissell also explains:
How iCloud’s feature set compares to MobileMe’s.
Which MobileMe features will disappear after you switch to iCloud, and which will stick around until June 2012, when Apple has announced it will shut off MobileMe.
Handling old data stored on MobileMe, such as photos in Gallery and files in iDisk.
Converting a MobileMe Family Pack to iCloud accounts.
Replicating MobileMe-based group calendar sharing in iCloud, especially if not everyone can upgrade to iCloud.
For a review copy or more information please email takecontrolpr@oreilly.com. Please include your delivery address and contact information.
Additional Resources
For more information about the book, including table of contents, author bios, and cover graphic, see: http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781615423958
Take Control of iCloud
Publisher: TidBITS
By Joe Kissell
Ebook ISBN: 9781615423958
Pages: 144
Ebook Price: $15.00
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000
About Take Control Ebooks
The Take Control series is published by TidBITS Publishing Inc. TidBITS co-founders Adam and Tonya Engst have been publishing highly regarded news and editorial since 1990 when they created the online newsletter TidBITS, which covers Macintosh and Internet-related topics. The Take Control series has helped many thousands of readers with high-quality, timely, real-world, cost-effective documentation since 2003.
About O’Reilly
O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
In light of the passing of our modern-day genius, Steve Jobs, core member of the Apple Macintosh team, Andy Hertzfeld, takes you on a journey that is as fascinating as it is historical. Hertzfeld brings drawings, images, and stories, with the help of the 34 team members and Steve Jobs himself, to compile and amazing story of an incredible computer that brought us WSYWIG, the graphical interface (GUI), and the famed mouse. Having met Hertfeld (yes, he signed my copy of the book 
), I was unable to even get even a glimpse of what he achieved in that short time with him. With Revolution in the Valley, it will be as if you have been friends with him all your life.
Sebastopol, CA—There was a time, not too long ago, when the typewriter and notebook ruled, and the computer as an everyday tool was simply a vision. Newly released in paperback form, Revolution in the Valley takes this vision back to its earliest roots: the hallways and backrooms of Apple, where the groundbreaking Macintosh computer was born. The book traces the development of the Macintosh, from its inception as an underground skunkworks project in 1979 to its triumphant introduction in 1984 and beyond.
The stories in Revolution in the Valley come on extremely good authority. That’s because author Andy Hertzfeld was a core member of the team that built the Macintosh system software, and a key creator of the Mac’s radically new user interface software. Dubbed the “software wizard,” Hertzfeld was the ultimate insider.
Revolution in the Valley evolved from stories that Hertzfeld wrote and collected on his website, folklore.org, combining his own stories with those contributed by others to tell short snippets of a long tale.
“When I began to write stories for my website in June 2003, I had no intention of trying to publish them in book form,” Hertzfeld says. “I was excited by the idea of developing a web site to facilitate collective historical storytelling, where a group of participants could collaborate to recollect an interesting event. I chose the format of numerous interlinked anecdotes because it seemed natural for the web and better suited to a collaborative effort than a single, continuous narrative, allowing a tale to be elaborated indefinitely without compromising the voices of the individual authors.”
When Revolution in the Valley begins, Hertzfeld is working on Apple’s first attempt at a low-cost, consumer-oriented computer: the Apple II. He sees that Steve Jobs is luring some of the company’s most brilliant innovators to work on a tiny research effort, the Macintosh. Hertzfeld manages to make his way onto the Macintosh research team, and the rest is history.
Through lavish illustrations, period photos, and Hertzfeld’s vivid first-hand accounts, Revolution in the Valley reveals what it was like to be there at the birth of the personal computer revolution. The story comes to life through the book’s portrait of the talented and often eccentric characters who made up the Macintosh team. Some 30 years later, millions of people are benefiting from the technical achievements of this determined and brilliant group of people.
With the recent death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Revolution in the Valley is a particularly resonant recollection; in fact, Jobs helped Hertzfeld collect the unique archival photos gathered here. In Revolution, Hertzfeld describes Jobs’ “reality distortion field,” how the first Macintosh was influenced by Porsche and Louis Comfort Tiffany, and how the initial machine was autographed inside the case by each of the 35 team members. Steve Wozniak wrote the book’s foreword, framing the extraordinary story of the extraordinary young men who changed tech—and the modern world???forever.
About the Author
Andy Hertzfeld was a graduate student in computer science at UC Berkeley in January 1978 when he purchased one of the first Apple IIs. He quickly lost interest in grad school as he began writing programs for his Apple II, eventually leading him to join Apple Computer as a systems programmer in August 1979. He joined the Macintosh team in February 1981, and became one of the main authors of the Macintosh system software, including the User Interface Toolbox and many of the original desk accessories. He left Apple in March 1984, and went on to co-found three companies: Radius (1986), General Magic (1990) and Eazel (1999). In 2003, he developed web-based software for collective storytelling that he used to write the stories in this book. In 2005, he joined Google, and was one of the main creators of Google+.
You can now check out a book from your “local” library onto your Kindle or Kindle app! Like the good old days of making a trip to your library around the corner, you can browse the electronic eReader list of available books from your modern online library – or access the same list at an actual library – and check out a title using your library card. Since this is all electronic, you can access the library’s selection 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Like the hardcover books that line endless rows of shelves, your electronic book on the Kindle will have an expiration date upon which the book is “returned” and no longer accessible. But don’t worry, just check it out again if you need.
The process for Kindles is a two-step procedure which requires logging into your Amazon account after checking out the library book to Whispersync it to your selected device. Once that has been done, open your Kindle or your free Kindle app on your iPad or other supported device and voila, there is your book!
I love modern technology but the thought of my children never physically entering a library as I did once as a young student is a bit odd. Check that out! 
CLEVELAND, OH, September 21, 2011 – In a move highly anticipated since its initial announcement in April, public libraries and schools in the U.S. can now lend eBooks for the Amazon® Kindle. OverDrive (www.overdrive.com) announced today that it has begun adding Kindle compatibility to all of the U.S. public and school libraries in its network and expects to have all sites updated within days. This is a very significant step in a series of OverDrive WIN platform enhancements to streamline user experience and help libraries meet the increased demand for eBooks.
OverDrive, the leading multichannel digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks and other digital content, supplies 15,000 public and school libraries worldwide and more than 11,000 in the U.S. To see if your local library is a member of the OverDrive network, visit OverDrive Search.
“Kindle compatibility will allow public and school libraries to serve millions of new readers and extend their valuable community role while providing an outstanding reading experience,” said Steve Potash, CEO of OverDrive. “This addition helps public libraries accelerate their drive to become the first online stop for eBooks, where visitors can browse, discover and sample new and popular titles and authors in virtually all subjects.”
The process for borrowing a public library or school eBook for Kindle is similar as for other devices. Most eBooks already in the library’s catalog supplied by OverDrive are compatible with Kindle, so users simply browse or search for “Kindle Book”, check out a title with a valid library card, and then click “Get for Kindle.” Access to the Kindle Book will occur at Amazon’s website after signing in and selecting delivery to the user’s Kindle device or any of the free Kindle reading apps. As with all eBooks and other digital content at OverDrive-powered libraries and schools, titles are available 24/7 and incur no late fees because they automatically expire at the end of the lending period. For more details on Kindle compatibility, including the availability of Amazon’s Whispersync technology, please visit OverDrive’s Digital Library Blog.
In addition to Kindle, OverDrive provides support for all major desktop and mobile devices, including Windows®, Mac®, iPod®, iPhone®, iPad®, Sony® Reader, NOOK™, Android™, BlackBerry® and Windows® Phone.
About OverDrive
OverDrive is a leading multichannel digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video. We deliver secure management, DRM protection, and download fulfillment services for hundreds of publishers and thousands of libraries, schools, and retailers, serving millions of end users. OverDrive has been named to the EContent 100 as a company that matters most in the digital content industry. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, OH.
Press Release
Zinio, the world’s largest and most popular global magazine newsstand, today announced it has secured a spot in the top 3 grossing iPad Apps, bested only by box office smashing blue forest dwellers, and a productivity suite. As the number one iTunes News app in 52 countries, Zinio’s popularity showcases the incredible global demand for digital enjoyment of magazines today.
Since its Apple iOS 2.0 release in July, Zinio has ranked as the number one top grossing News app in most countries, including the top free app in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan and UK.
In addition to its iTunes success, Zinio’s Android app has exceeded 300,000 installs in less than 60 days since its launch.
“The global interest in reading on mobile devices has propelled Zinio to be the magazine newsstand of choice for readers,” said Rich Maggiotto, Zinio president and CEO. “It’s nice to know that an app built to drive magazine reading can be just as addictive, if not more, than some of the top grossing entertainment apps on the market.”
The easy reading and exploration of magazines, and incredible portability, with Zinio is simply unmatched. With a laser focus in early 2011 on developing market-leading features and functionality to deliver the most compelling and interactive reading experience available, paid orders through Zinio are up 253 percent in Q2 year-to-date over last year. More than 175 million magazine issues have been delivered to Zinio readers to date.
Offering the largest selection of magazine titles today, in the most languages, is another strong focus of Zinio. In Q2 2011 alone, Zinio added 400 magazine titles from 28 countries to its 4,500+ titles. Zinio has become the largest magazine newsstand in the world, online or offline, and offers unmatched discoverability of stories and magazines through its free “Explore” section, which features top articles across a multitude of genres.
Zinio plans in 2011 to offer its newsstand on every emerging platform and device that consumers today desire – and unlike other newsstands, allow its users to access their entire library across all of their devices. Through its UNITY™ platform, readers can now access their Zinio cloud library on their Mac, PC, laptop, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows 7 devices, with others to follow. Zinio is preloaded on a growing number of Android devices coming into market through a number of partnerships.
Zinio for Android is available for free in Android Market.
Zinio for iOS is available for free in the iTunes Store.
I haven’t had an opportunity to verify one more feature, but early this year I was told that Zinio 2.0 would also support books offered for the desktop versions. Gotta see if my few books show up on my iPad now.
I love Zinio so much that I’ve refused to purchase other magazines such as Wired and AutoWeek until they wise up and appear in Zinio. Until then, I’ll browse hardcopy.
Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO, July 29, 2011 – Zinio, the world’s largest and most popular global magazine newsstand, today announced that its 2.0 App for iPad is now available in the iTunes Store. This new version of Zinio offers industry-first article exploration, stellar user interaction and in-app shopping capabilities to the most in-depth selection of premium, high-quality consumer magazines from around the world.
Unique to Zinio, the “Explore” section is front and center and offers unprecedented free access to current stories across every major magazine genre, from automotive to entertainment, and lifestyle to science and tech. Only with Zinio can users discover and enjoy the best magazine content from among Zinio’s 4,500 magazine titles, with new stories to enjoy daily from our most popular titles including Esquire, Rolling Stone, Islands and Elle.
Additional new features and updates to the Zinio 2.0 App for iPad include:
• Updated Speed and Design: Interface updates have led to a cleaner look and richer visuals that are designed to create an even more compelling reading experience. Zinio users will also benefit from up to 3x faster performance speed, allowing for a smoother experience with downloading, page navigation and interactive content.
• Bookmarks: Zinio 2.0 includes the highly-anticipated bookmark capability, which allows readers to save their favorite stories for easy access, the ability to edit/personalize the titles to suit their preference, and sort their bookmarked stories by date and title. Tracking favorite news stories, travel destinations, fashion tips, workouts, recipes and more has never been so easy.
• Enhanced Library Management: Storing and managing a library just got a lot more convenient. A highly visible arrow appears on issues that have yet to be downloaded, so readers can be sure they have downloaded all of their issues for offline reading during travel.
• In-App iTunes Purchasing: Zinio offers a frictionless, digital shopping experience. Not only can users explore and browse items within Zinio that catch their eye, but they can also purchase single issues, back issues and subscriptions in-app, simply using their iTunes account.
• In-Zinio Shopping: Shopping is fast and simple. Readers can now buy clothing, accessories, furniture and a ton of other things – from within their favorite magazines. There is no need to leave Zinio to purchase things that catch a reader’s eye.
“Magazine readers expect and love high-quality, premium content – and Zinio’s 2.0 app for iPad goes far beyond today’s norm to deliver stories in a visually rich, immersive and interactive new way,” said Rich Maggiotto, Zinio president and CEO. “Our new Explore section is a first, and creates the ability to browse and enjoy content you might never even knew existed from trusted editors around the globe. We’ve focused on satisfying the curiosity of our passionate readers, and delivering stories that personally matter to them, across all areas of interest.”
Continually advancing interactive capabilities allow readers to experience stories in new and immersive ways with a text view option, interactive graphics, animated illustrations, videos, in-Zinio shopping and more.
Another reader-friendly advantage with Zinio is its UNITY™ platform, which allows users to store and enjoy their library across the most popular devices and platforms today, including Mac, PC, laptop, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows 7, and soon WebOS and BlackBerry. Users can access their entire library on every device that they use Zinio on – there are no complicated rights issues that only allow one issue on one device.
There are literally thousands of commands and sub-commands available to configure a Cisco security appliance. As you gain knowledge of the appliance, you will use more and more of the commands. Initially, however, there are just a few commands required to configure basic functionality on the appliance. Basic functionality is defined as allowing inside hosts to access outside hosts, but not allowing outside hosts to access the inside hosts. Additionally, management must be allowed from at least one inside host. To enable basic functionality, there are eight basic commands (these commands are based on software version 8.3(1) or greater):
- interface
- nameif
- security-level
- ip address
- switchport access
- object network
- nat
- route
It’s no surprise to tell you about our love for Logos (review) on the desktop but how about on the iPad? Well, I spent a few months digging into Logos for iPad and have just released the review of my experience. Give it a read to find out if Logos hit a grand slam with its iOS version or if got away with a base-hit.
If you’re looking to make a verbal contract, you may wish to think long and hard about that prior to the agreement as many states do no enforce verbals. But how to make a quick contract – on the spot even – when you need one? Re-Evolve has put together Contracts HD that allows you to create a Non-Disclosure, Non-Compete, General Release, Property Release, Commitment, Model Release, Underage Model Release, Bill of Sale, Resignation, Photo Permission, Blank Contract, Actor Extra Contract, or Rental/Lease Contract right from your iPad. Once your contract is brought up and reviewed by both parties, simply use your finger to endorse it and it’s done! Take a look at the press release below.
Press Release
There’s a common misunderstanding about the term “Verbal Contract” and most people have asked the question, are verbal agreements legally enforceable? The answer is simple, depending on your state and circumstances some are and some aren’t. Obviously not that simple, however, Re-Evolve LLC today introduces Contracts HD, an iPad app with an entirely new approach to simplifying agreements between two parties.
Built specifically to handle the most common types of verbal contracts, Contracts HD allows any iPad user to create, collaborate, sign, and email completed contracts using iPad’s dynamic touch-screen interface. Aside from signing contracts, Contracts HD also provides a database of contract templates for which anyone can add an addendum to all existing contracts, auto-fill appropriate fields within the contract with your exact information, and allows both parties to sign contracts safely and securely by using a fingertip.
“You make a verbal agreement with someone like a friend, neighbor, gym partner or business associate at least once a day,” said Preston Tucker, Business Development Manager of Re-Evolve, LLC. “In most cases the other party holds up to their end of the deal, but sometimes they develop selective memory or an exact detail was heard wrong. Contracts HD can be used to help them recall their agreement.”
Standard Contracts Include:
Non-Disclosure
Non-Compete
General Release
Property Release
Commitment
Model Release
Underage Model Release
Bill of Sale
Resignation
Photo Permission
Blank Contract
Actor Extra Contract
Rental/Lease Contract
Coming Soon:
Promissory Note
Letter of Intent
Contracts HD can be purchased in the App Store (iTunes Link) for $9.99.
About Re-Evolve, LLC.
Re-Evolve was founded in 2010 and is a leading developer in mobile and social apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and Web applications. Based in Boca Raton, FL, The company is dedicated to developing innovative iPhone and mobile applications. Contracts HD is the first of many applications the company will be launching over the next year. More information about Contract Apps can be found at www.contractsapp.com.
Seems like news apps are dime a dozen in the App Store but some seem to stand out among the thousands available and News360 is one of them. Applying some Artificial Intelligence (AI) to figure out what is the freshest and most relevant news for your interests, News360 has been impressing many iPhone users with the results. Today, News360 comes to the iPad to fill the big screen with even more news.
Finding news that applies to you is a tricky job and a Google News search usually puts a news seeker through a frustrating task of clicking, reading, returning to the Google results, and looking for another possible link to your story you seek. For local news, the frustration is even more maddening. News360 uses over a thousand top news sources to aid in your search weeding out noise Google will often produce. This sets it apart from other news apps I’ve used that are just one source. In essence, you have a better chance of finding your article of interest. News360 even uses the iPads location finder to zero in on your local news.
News360 looks to be an interesting product that all news readers should give a look at.
Press Release
Palm Desert, CA – February 28, 2011 – DEMO Spring 2011 – News360 (Moscow) www.news360app.com – an emerging leader in applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and semantic analysis technology to news stories – today announced the next generation of the company’s acclaimed news discovery and analysis platform for the Apple® iPad at DEMO Spring 2011.
News360 enables users to browse real-time information from hundreds of thousands of news articles (both local and worldwide), with the ability to achieve expert levels of depth on any given topic cited in the story. Each article is algorithmically evaluated for news “freshness” and source credibility in addition to a qualitative analysis of both text and photos. The previous iPhone-only generation of the platform was named by Apple as one of the top worldwide news apps in 2010 and became a best-seller in the App StoreSM.
The News360 app not only aggregates articles from more than a thousand leading news sources – it also uses semantic analysis and natural language processing to automatically identify and hyperlink more than 500,000 companies, people, brands and locations within the stories. A tap on any one of them leads the user to encyclopedic, interlinked wiki-like dossiers, filled with background information.
News360 uses the iPad’s GPS to show focused local news, anywhere in the world, and also allows users to connect to TripIt® and obtain news about upcoming travel destinations. The app also automatically generates live Twitter® feeds for each story, and allows the user to partake in the real-time conversation around a particular news event.
Users can use their Facebook® profile information to auto-create a personalized news feed based on their publicly-stated interests, or delve deeply into News360’s customization system, which allows them to create multiple customized feeds around varying preferences.
News360 allows users to manage the deluge of real-time news by bundling same-topic articles from different sources under one “story” umbrella and by providing a user-customized stream of headlines that have been matched with pictures identified by facial recognition and/or AI analysis as relevant to the story.
“News360 only gives you what you can consume at any given time,” said Roman Karachinsky, Chief Business Development Officer. “It doesn’t overwhelm you with a counter saying you have 5,000 unread articles, nor does it simply provide a pre-filtered magazine-style view with no deeper levels of content. With News360, you always feel in the loop because it delivers the cream of the crop in news – in the right sequence, in an entertaining and addictive format – from all sources. Tell it what you like, and it can become an indispensable tool, personally and professionally.”
“The events of the world, the news stories that shape and touch our lives both locally and globally, can become overwhelming,” concurs Matt Marshall, executive producer of DEMO. “News360 provides a level of not just clarity but understanding of the events, people and facts behind the news. The focus on iPad as a delivery mechanism for their new platform provides users with a truly mobile and innovative experience allowing them to not just read the news, but become immersed and interactive with it.”
Readers know that SvenOnTech are huge fans of Zinio, the eMagazine reader for every platform you can think of. We told you in our review of Zinio’s iPad app last year that it was the reason to purchase an iPad alone. We still feel strongly about it and to give you another push toward trying it, we’re passing on a great deal for you all. Zinio – the app is free – is giving you a free try with its VIV magazine. Filled with multimedia as well as your standard magazine content one comes to expect off the news stand, VIV will give you a great feel for what Zinio is. Try it out now before the offer ends on the 31st!