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.
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SuperSync today announced availability of SuperSync 4.0, the industry leading iTunes sync utility that enables users to visually compare, access, sync, and merge iTunes libraries including music, audio files, podcasts, and video, across multiple Macintosh and Windows PCs, iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
“Users now have an ALL ACCESS PASS to their iTunes content,” explained SuperSync president Brad Lowe. “SuperSync 4.0 is your music collection’s central hub to retrieve, organize, explore, and merge all your iTunes content.”
SuperSync 4.0 is available for purchase online for as little as $29 for a 2-Pak, $39 for a 5-Pak, and $49 for 10-Pak. SuperSync 4.0 is a free upgrade for all current SuperSync owners. SuperSync 4.0 can be purchased at http://supersync.com/purchase.php.
“SuperSync simplifies managing music libraries on multiple computers and mobile devices,” says Lowe. “With SuperSync, you can easily compare any two libraries and merge the content at will.”
With SuperSync’s built-in client/server software, users can instantly retrieve a song left on your laptop, play a song on your home computer while using your office PC, or copy your entire iTunes library on to a new computer.
SuperSync 4.0 updates include:
- A brand new GUI that features larger toolbar icons and graphics throughout the application that vastly improves navigation and ability to display two libraries at once.
- A complete rewrite of the SuperSync core to improve performance an extensibility
- Compare and import tracks from another user¹s iTunes Library on the same computer with read only privileges.
- Easy duplicate elimination
- One-key Internet search on any track to find out more about any artist, movie, or song on popular web sites including on iTunes Store, YouTube, Google, Amazon, last.fm, LyricsFly and other sites.
- Improved support for connecting Apple Mobile Devices for quicker access between Macs or PCs and iPods, iPhones, and iPads.
“We’ve rebuilt SuperSync 4.0 from the ground up to make it much faster and easier to use,” says Lowe. “SuperSync 4.0 now features even faster access to multiple iTunes libraries and devices.”
By placing a copy of SuperSync 4.0 on each Mac or PC, users can easily compare and merge two iTunes libraries to see what tracks are missing, select them, and click “Synchronize” to begin merging the two libraries. SuperSync 4.0 includes a basic audio player so you can organize, sync-up, and play all of your songs directly from SuperSync, with no external player required for MP3/M4A music files.
Additionally, SuperSync 4.0 now enables users to sync music libraries from other user accounts (with at least Read Only privileges) by connecting the music libraries to eliminate duplicates; perfect for families with multiple iTunes libraries.
SuperSync lets you transfer specific tracks or all of your iTunes/iPod content to any other Mac or PC running SuperSync. SuperSync helps families reduce the likelihood of purchasing the same music or videos from the Apple Store more than once. M4B files (protected by Apple’s DRM technology) can be transferred by SuperSync but need to be played on an authorized iTunes or iPod as SuperSync DOES NOT alter or remove any iTunes Music Store DRM copyright protection.)
SuperSync 4.0 includes a web browser interface that lets you browse and view your music collection over a web server‹within a local network, or from anywhere on the Internet. Now you can play your MP3 and MP4 files from any modern web browser‹including Safari on an iPhone.
SuperSync 4.0 offers complete back-up functionality that lets users quickly and easily create a ³master library² with other computers in the house or office having a subset or mirror image. SuperSync can also recover the contents from most Apple iPods, iPhones, and iPads that are paired with an unavailable computer.
SuperSync¹s lets you back up your playlists, ratings, played counts; Plus movies, TV shows, podcasts, other audio files, and other iTunes content.
Leading social shopping site LivingSocial today announced the acquisition of social adventure company Urban Escapes. LivingSocial will now be able to exclusively offer its 10 million subscribers-strong worldwide community a host of diverse, fun and unique adventures and experiences, produced by a team of on-the-ground experts.
“By working closely with merchants in all of our markets, LivingSocial has helped thousands of people across the country experience fun and exciting things to do in their neighborhood,” said Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO and Co-Founder of LivingSocial. “With the acquisition of Urban Escapes, we will now have the ability to help curate some amazing experiences and adventures exclusively for our members.”
From “Zen Escape Yoga Hikes” to “Boulder and Brew Tours™,” Urban Escapes redefines social adventure, and its unique itineraries promote a fun and active lifestyle and a chance to escape the day-to-day rat race. Urban Escapes staff will work directly with LivingSocial representatives in five introductory markets designing and creating one-of-a-kind experiences and adventures for LivingSocial customers.
“People who use LivingSocial are already looking for fun, new things to do in the area they live or where they’re visiting,” said Maia Josebachvili, founder and president of Urban Escapes. “We’re passionate about organizing experiences you could never arrange on your own and this acquisition is the perfect opportunity for us to expand these completely unique, guided experiences around the globe.”
As the premiere local activity discovery engine, LivingSocial lets anyone find restaurants, shops, activities and services popular in their area at a savings of 50% to 70%. Handpicked adventures from Urban Escapes offer unique adventures and experiences at affordable prices to the LivingSocial community.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The power to enhance wireless voice and data coverage at home is in customers’ hands with the launch of the Verizon Wireless 3G Network Extender.
Beginning today, customers who live in homes where location, geography or structural conditions interfere with reception can use the Verizon Wireless 3G Network Extender to instantly enhance the signal on their Verizon Wireless phones and smartphones. Now, with the new Verizon Wireless 3G Network Extender, customers can not only make calls and send text and picture messages, they can also download apps, browse the Web, send e-mails, download and play 3D games, and stream video using their home Internet connection.
Ideal for those customers who want to use their wireless devices in homes with structural barriers or homes located in remote, mountainous or hilly areas, the Verizon Wireless 3G Network Extender is easy to set up and can provide coverage within 40 feet of the Network Extender device.
The Verizon Wireless 3G Network Extender, a “mini-cell site” manufactured by Samsung Mobile, is about the size of a wireless router box or woman’s purse and routes Verizon Wireless calls through the customer’s home broadband Internet connection. Up to six Verizon Wireless customers can use their phones and monthly plans to place calls and access data using the Verizon Wireless 3G Network Extender. Customers can also use My Verizon (www.verizonwireless.com/myverizon) to set up a list of preferred users who will have access to their Network Extender. Customers do not need to update their plans or add minutes and will incur no additional monthly charges for using the Verizon Wireless 3G Network Extender.
The Verizon Wireless 3G Network Extender replaces the original Verizon Wireless Network Extender, which was introduced in 2009. The Verizon Wireless 3G Network Extender can be purchased online at www.verizonwireless.com or by calling 1-800-256-4646. The price is $249.99 plus local taxes. For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com/networkextender.
Deluxe Digital Cinema Inc., a subsidiary of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc., and EchoStar Satellite Services, L.L.C., a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), today announced the formation of Deluxe/EchoStar LLC, a joint venture to build an advanced digital cinema satellite distribution network targeting delivery to digitally equipped theaters in the U.S. and Canada.
This Deluxe/EchoStar Network brings the full power of the digital satellite technology directly to the local multiplex. With Deluxe as the leading worldwide provider of services in film and digital media to the entertainment industry and EchoStar’s veteran experience as a satellite services provider, Deluxe/EchoStar can deliver traditional 2D and 3D feature films, live events, special content, and other programming developed specifically for digitally equipped theaters at the highest quality and with the most coverage, reliably and efficiently.
“EchoStar Satellite Services has developed a strong partnership with Deluxe, one built on a common foundation of superior service and innovative thinking,” said Dean Olmstead, president of EchoStar Satellite Services. “Deluxe/EchoStar marks the next evolution in theatrical distribution and exhibition and gives distributors and movie theaters confidence in partnering with a proven digital cinema network.”
“We began testing sites around the country with EchoStar about a year ago to determine how best to develop the network,” said Cyril Drabinsky, President and CEO, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group. “The results confirmed that delivering feature films through our satellite network would provide optimum quality and reliability for our customers and present an open platform for easily accommodating a variety of digital delivery services,” added Drabinsky.
“Wowd makes it easy to search for and find information that matters most to you in Facebook,” said Mark Drummond, CEO, Wowd Inc. who was Director of Mission Technology at NASA (JPL & Ames) working on mission technology for Mars surface operations before coming to Wowd. (Trust me, this guy is way smart having a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Calgary, and a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science from the University of Edinburgh.) “The average Facebook user has about 130 friends and sees hundreds of status updates per day. Our new Social Discovery Client makes it easy for people to filter and find the best of what’s posted and shared within their Facebook social graph so they can get back to enjoying social interactions and not get distracted by unwanted noise.”
Susan Doherty, Chief Marketing Officer of Wowd, told me on a phone conference call last Friday that Wowd surveyed 1,000 Facebook users when putting the Social Discovery client together and the number one complaint from users was game spam. You know, Jim needs you to help get gems, or Tammy’s farm is dying, and Mark’s just slain someone as a Mafia thug for something that you really don’t care about. While Facebook allows you to quiet the spam, it only allows you to do so one by one of your friends and as new games enter the social network realm, you have to continue your diligence and silence the new noise. Wowd with one click takes care of all of it. One click! Actually, I take that back, no click. By default after install, game spam is blocked. Thank you, Wowd!
Another high score in the survey results was losing touch with infrequent posters in a sea of chatter happy friends. I have over 450 friends and I know it’s common for me not see someone post to the point that I wonder if they even dropped me as a friend. Wowd took care of that by adding an easy link that you can click to keep up with all those infrequent posters. In my early pre-release version Wowd furnished me, I was able to easily “catch-up” with all those that post once in a while easily and quickly. I had to chuckle when I saw on the right column five names under the title “Most Active”. I guess even infrequent posters can still out post others. 
Search is another frustrating topic with Facebook users. As it works, or really doesn’t work, Facebook search really doesn’t give much relevance in most users searches. Facebook is a social network and the power of that is the friends that build the network. With more and more looking to trusted source for advice, Google saw for the first time in – like ever – a drop in searches last month. People are tired of SEO-tainted search results. People know they can have confidence in advice from their friends and the ability to search Facebook easily for information as opposed to just having Friends and Pages results gives Wowd’s Social Discovery client a major plus over Facebook. You can effortlessly search for opinions on the latest movie, iPhone 4 advice, or even what’s good for dinner with Wowd’s Social Discovery Client for Facebook. Enter a search term and up comes all your friends that posted on their wall with that term, highlighted, along with even a tag cloud with related topics for further drill-down. Ya, I was Wowd when I saw how effective and straightforward it was to search within the browser interface.
But hold on, there’s more. You can create custom feeds such as “groups” of friends. If you’re like me, you probably have a batch of friends from high school, a collection from one job while another batch from that other job you took later. You can now put these people into “High School”, “Job 1″, and “Job 2″ custom feeds by name to see quickly see what the Class of 1989 did today. Um, that’s not my high school graduation year. Really. I’m not that old. Really. Custom feeds can also be created using keywords as well, much like search terms. In fact, when you perform a search you can save it as a custom feed to continue monitoring that topic. So nice, so easy.
Like the much ignored official Facebook app for the iPhone, you can also have a Favorite Friends section. These would be those that you want to be on the top of your radar. Hand select those that are closest, or maybe the farthest, in your life that you just have to know what’s going on with a quick click.
What else is there? Summaries. Here’s a place to see “What’s Happening Now”, much like a trending topic section. Active friends can be found here as well as a really cool graphical view of your wall that has a cork board background with push pins holding up quick wall posts, pictures, and other tid-bits. Visually, you take it in very quickly and very effectively.
In short, Wowd has put together a really exciting application that will definitely be my stop for my Facebook check-ins. Of course, without too much time even on it, I can see how valuable the free download is and I’m already itching for an iPhone version. Doherty assured me that it and Android app will be coming later. Phewf! My only disappointment is with the pop-up notifications that occur in the bottom right-hand of the screen. While nice, they are not clickable and thus offer little value other than to let you know something new has occurred.
Do realize one thing, reader, this is not a Facebook replacement as the application is far from being mature and is missing features that have become second nature to many users in using without even thinking about what they are doing. For example, clicking a friends name will not bring you to their page but rather to all of their posts. You can not dig deeper into their photos and other boxes here. You will still need to hop over to Facebooks page for full functionality.
The 25 MB package is free to install and Wowd will soon integrate text-based ads similar to Google Ads. Don’t worry, Doherty was pretty certain that image banner advertisement would not be dawning the orange-themed client and only relevant items would be displayed.
Visit Wowd for your download link now. I really think this will the be the new way to access Facebook, period. Oh, if you’re wondering how it compares to the Better Facebook plug-in for Firefox and Safari, remember what I said about the simply and static free lay out of Wowd? Ya, you won’t go wrong with the Social Discovery client. You will be Wowd.
iPhone tethering connections can now be monitored by Traffic2Net, a utility for Mac OS X by Berlin-based nova media. Traffic2Net logs the time online, the data usage and much more information of each tethered connection, which can easily be reviewed in the statistics window of Traffic2Net.
“Many cell phone providers restrict the use of an iPhone as modem. Customers are allowed a predefined data volume and have to pay hefty fees beyond that limit.” states Jan Fuellemann, PR spokesperson at nova media. “Using Traffic2Net, they will not only see the data usage and time online spent while tethering, but can set a warning, if a time and/or data limit has been reached. This way they can avoid being overcharged.”
Time online and data usage of the current connection is conveniently displayed in the menu bar. A detailed statistics window can be opend to display the details of each tracked connection. This includes the IP address used, the average speed, the peek speed, the amount of data uploaded, downloaded and the total amount of data usage. Cumulative data can be displayed for any given time period.
Traffi2Net can be used to track 3G, 2G modem connections as well.
Pricing and availability:
Traffic2Net is available today for download at nova media’s website http://www.novamedia.de. The price is Euro 14.95 ($14.95 USD for residents within the USA and Canada). Traffic2Net requires a Macintosh computer running Mac OS X 10.5.x or 10.6.x. A 30 day trial version of Traffic2Net is available for download as well.
The four new projectors also make it easy to send images from one or more networked computers. In addition, Hitachi’s Messenger function enables users to transmit text data to any or all projectors on the network. This is an easy and efficient way to send announcements, such as campus notifications, school activities and daily schedules.
The CP-X4011N, CP-X3011N, CP-X2511N and CP-X2011N also include new features such as a USB connection, allowing users to quickly and easily display content from a PC via a USB cable. Also new to Hitachi, the projectors are equipped with a microphone input which, in conjunction with two built-in 8W speakers, can be used for audio purposes, even when the projector is in standby mode.
All four projectors feature an HDMI input terminal for receiving digital video signals. By keeping the signal in the digital domain, the projector delivers high-quality images that are faithful to the original signal.
The projectors also offer easy maintenance, with features that include a hybrid filter, which requires less frequent cleaning, making longer operation possible. The lamp door of each projector is on the top, while the filter cover slides in and out from the front bottom, simplifying maintenance and replacement of these parts.
The CP-X4011N, CP-X3011N, CP-X2511N and CP-X2011N are also designed to conserve energy, as the Power Saving mode found in each projector reduces standby power consumption to less than 0.5W.
“These four new models, with new features and improved networking capability, represent our dedication to simplifying operation and facilitating communication in environments that rely on sharing information,” said John Glad, product manager, Hitachi America, Ltd., Digital Media Division, Business Solutions Group.
The NetVanta 3305 router equipped with the NetVanta 3G NIM is ideal for a number of applications including use as a reliable network failover/backup option for large businesses or as a primary connection for smaller businesses. Used in a backup configuration, network traffic can be diverted to the 3G wireless connection in the event of a primary circuit failure, guaranteeing network connectivity. The NetVanta 3G NIM in the NetVanta 3305 router can also be used as a primary connection in applications requiring broadband speeds, rapid deployment or where wireline connections are not readily available.
“The ability to use the NetVanta 3G NIM for wireless service in conjunction with our Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) has been a great asset to our bank,” said Jeremy Carrigan, network administrator, Citizens National Bank. “The 3G NIM allowed us to service a highly congested tourist area that could not otherwise be accessed via wireline service and it performed flawlessly.”
“We’re delighted to be strengthening our relationship with ADTRAN,” said Michael Schaefer, executive director-mobility solutions, Verizon. “The NetVanta 3G NIM’s introduction will give existing NetVanta 3305 customers the ability to quickly and easily add 3G services with the simple addition of a NIM.”
“The addition of 3G wireless capability to our NetVanta 3305 routers really adds to our options for backing up a failed circuit, in addition to being an attractive primary access selection for applications such as ATMs, lotteries, and kiosks, ” said Tim Saunders, vice president of Product Management, ADTRAN Enterprise Networks Division. “Now, both enterprise and Small and Medium Business (SMB) customers will benefit from the many advantages NetVanta products offer ranging from cost savings and reliability, to ease of use and support.”
The NetVanta 3G NIM is designed for use with a wide range of NetVanta platforms and is currently certified for use in the NetVanta 3305 with Verizon Wireless in conjunction with its BroadbandAccess Wireless Router service. The NetVanta 3G NIM carries a list price of $795 while the NetVanta 3305 has a list price of $1,295 both products are currently shipping. Verizon Wireless service plans are available through Verizon Wireless.
Verizon Wireless, the nation’s leading wireless service provider, and Loopt® announced today that Verizon Wireless customers can now access Loopt’s interoperable location-based service.
Loopt allows friends who opt in to be located by other friends to show where the friends are located and what they are doing via detailed, interactive maps on their mobile phones. Loopt helps friends connect on the go and navigate their social lives by orienting them to people, places and events. Users can also choose to permit sharing of location updates, geo-tagged photos and comments with friends in their mobile address book or on online social networks, communities and blogs.
“Loopt helps Verizon Wireless customers stay connected to friends and share their location in a fun and interactive way,” said Ryan Hughes, vice president of digital media programming for Verizon. “Loopt enhances our customers’ real world experiences by helping friends stay informed of their friends’ lives.”
“We are on a mission to deliver Loopt to consumers everywhere, and by offering our service to Verizon Wireless customers, we’re significantly closer to achieving that goal,” said Sam Altman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Loopt. “With Loopt, Verizon Wireless customers now have a powerful tool to navigate their mobile lifestyles and easily connect with people and places around them.”
Loopt, the social mapping industry leader, offers the most intuitive and effective privacy controls and security features for end users. Loopt is 100 percent permission-based and users share location information only with their known friends via private networks. In addition, Loopt users can easily turn location-sharing on or off at any time on a friend-by-friend basis or for all friends at once. Loopt regularly works with organizations such as the Family Online Safety Institute, ConnectSafely.org, the Center for Democracy & Technology, Progress & Freedom Foundation’s Center for Digital Media Freedom, and the Internet Safety Task Force.
Loopt is available today on select Verizon Wireless phones for $3.99 monthly access in the Tools on the Go, Featured Applications and Community shopping aisles in the Get It Now® virtual store. Customers need a Get It Now-enabled handset and Verizon Wireless digital service to access the Get It Now virtual store.