Screenshot of Launchpad was taken from Vinh Nguyen's Macbook Pro!

Mac OS X Lion’s Launchpad sometimes can be very buggy.  In my case, I saw an app appears twice in my Launchpad.  Nonetheless, this app could not be removed from Launchpad since it was downloaded and installed outside of the App Store.  So, even I had tried to refresh the Launchpad, the app refused to be removed from the Launchpad.  The whole idea of removing the app from Launchpad is to stop the app to appear twice in the Launchpad.  Once the app is removed from the Launchpad, one can always drag the same app back into Launchpad, but this time it won’t appear twice!  For those who are worrying that removing an app from Launchpad might actually uninstall the app, it’s not so!

Anyhow, enough with my ranting, and here is the solution.  You need to enter the command line (sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db “DELETE from apps WHERE title=’APPNAME’;” && killall Dock) and replace the parameter where it says title=’APPNAME’ with the name of the app that you’ve wanted to remove.  So for an example, if you want to remove Spotify from Launchpad, you type in (sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db “DELETE from apps WHERE title=’Spotify’;” && killall Dock).  Once you have done the removing of the app from the Launchpad, you might want to go back into Finder > Applications and drag the app you have removed from Launchpad back into Launchpad (i.e., appearing on the Dock).  Remember, doing this correctly, the same app won’t appear twice again inside your Launchpad.

Source:  http://osxdaily.com/2012/01/05/remove-apps-from-launchpad/

Image via Wikipedia

Don’t ask me, but I’m not too clear on how one man’s iMessages has got onto another iPhone which clearly belonged to someone else, consequently allowing a stranger to basically see every single iMessage text which had been sent from this man.  This story is being reported by Gizmodo.  Gizmodo suggested there was a bug in relation to how Genius Bar technicians proceed in swapping SIM card somehow to fix an iPhone, but the end result was the tethering of the iMessage data of a SIM card onto the iPhone which it wasn’t belonged to.  Somewhat unclear of how the bug actually had happened, but this whole mess has allowed one iPhone owner to unintentionally see every iMessage text of another iPhone owner.  Gizmodo went as far as posting some pictures and iMessages of the man who got spied on unintentionally.

Source:  http://gizmodo.com/5880593/the-apple-bug-that-let-us-spy-on-a-total-strangers-iphone

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• How To Unlock iPhone 4S Sim Card (phonehour.com)
• iPhone bug opens up stranger’s life to the world (tuaw.com)
• iMessage bug shares iPhone messages with strangers if you’ve swapped SIMs (thenextweb.com)
• How To Unlock An iPhone (answers.com)
• Blog: ‘Apple bug let us spy on stranger’s iPhone’ (technolog.msnbc.msn.com)
• iPhone – Quick Guide for Beginners [Richard Burnett] (ecademy.com)
• This Apple Store Genius Had His iMessages Leaked For The Whole Web To See (cultofmac.com)
• How The Gizmodo Crew Manages Their Passwords (gizmodo.com.au)
• Whitenoise: Gizmodo Community Talkback (gizmodo.com.au)
• Apple Bug Let Us Spy On A Total Stranger’s iPhone (gizmodo.com.au)
• Win One Of 10 Laser-Etched Gizmodo Opena iPhone Cases! (gizmodo.com.au)

By the way, giving credit to where credit is due, EssayBoard YourWorld logo is using the earth photo which belongs to Woodleywonderworks (a Flickr user); this earth image has been categorized under creative commons 2.0 attribution license.  Since the earth photo is under creative commons attribution license, and so I took the liberty to edit it further by giving it a somewhat translucent look.  In case you wonder whose hand is that in the logo, it’s mine!

Finally, I want to say using Pixelmator to create logos is so easy, but this photo editing software is much more than just for creating logos since I have been using it to enhance just about any photo I have ever came across.  For your information, Pixelmator is an app which you can buy and download in Apple App Store for Mac.  Check out EssayBoard YourWorld logo right after the break!

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• What’s in a logo (paysimple.com)
• Pixelmator 2.0 Launches on Mac App Store (themactrack.com)
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• Pixelmator Review (survivalguide4idiots.com)
• Google Created Gmail’s Perfect Logo The Night Before It Was Due (gizmodo.com.au)
• Create a Shiny Glass Logo in Illustrator (Guest Post) (theraisak.com)
• Time to Vote for your new Brethren LOGO! (deenar116.wordpress.com)

SkyDrive app for iPhone is good but can be made better!  I can’t make the same comment for Windows Phone since I don’t have a Windows Phone.  Why it is good but not really good?  Unless I’ve no idea what I’m doing, it turns out that I can only upload individual photo or video but not entire folder of photos or videos at once onto SkyDrive with SkyDrive iPhone app.  Imagine people who have thousands of photos and more than a dozen of videos on their iPhone would have to take ages to upload all their contents onto SkyDrive using SkyDrive iPhone app.

The uploading of a photo from iPhone to SkyDrive using SkyDrive iPhone app is simple and easy.  Just tap on the sharing icon on the upper right corner of the iPhone screen, you can then tap on the Add a Photo or Video button to add a photo or video.  Right underneath the Add a Photo or Video button, you’ll see Create a Folder button which allows you to create a new folder for storing more contents.  Sharing a photo is easy too.  By tapping on a photo to view, tap the photo again when it is in full screen mode to reveal the sharing button on the upper right corner of the iPhone screen, and tap on the sharing button to review the Send a Link button.  Tapping on Send a Link button, you can send a link to someone’s email to allow a person to view or view and edit your photo.  Above the Send a Link button, there is a Download button which allows you to download a photo easily in case you have deleted such a photo from iPhone and wanted to recover it from SkyDrive.  Deleting a photo or a video, users have to view a photo or video in thumbnail mode, and then slide the finger from left to right on the thumbnail photo of a photo or video to reveal a Delete button.  Tap on Delete button to remove the photo or video from SkyDrive.  You can also delete the whole folder by viewing the folder in thumbnail mode and slide a finger the same way you do with a photo or video.

In summary, SkyDrive iPhone app is very limited in features.  The uploading and sharing of photos and videos are easy as pie, and so SkyDrive iPhone app deserves a praise here.  One other cool thing about SkyDrive iPhone app is that it allows you to take a photo or film a video immediately from your iPhone and upload to SkyDrive directly.  Altogether, SkyDrive iPhone app needs more features, but it’s still awesome since it allows users to interact with a free 25 GB of storage space on the go.

Side Note:  I’m baffled of not knowing how to upload a document using SkyDrive iPhone app.  Sure, iPhone isn’t a great tool in creating and editing documents, but I think this app should allow users to upload documents nonetheless.  Just a thought!

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• SkyDrive apps for iPhone (now) and Windows Phone (soon) released – LiveSide (liveside.net)
• News: Microsoft releases SkyDrive for iPhone (ilounge.com)
• Microsoft posts SkyDrive app for iPhone, Windows Phone (ipodnn.com)
• Microsoft launches SkyDrive for iPhone: 25GB free cloud storage (digitaltrends.com)
• SkyDrive – Microsoft Corporation (itunes.apple.com)
• Introducing SkyDrive for iPhone and Windows Phone (windowsteamblog.com)
• Microsoft unveils SkyDrive apps for Windows Phone and iOS devices (news.consumerreports.org)
• Microsoft releases SkyDrive for iPhone (tuaw.com)
• Microsoft SkyDrive for iOS takes on iCloud, Dropbox (macworld.com)
• Microsoft’s Awesome SkyDrive Is On The iPhone Now (and Windows Phone) (gizmodo.com.au)
• Microsoft SkyDrive for iOS Takes on iCloud, Dropbox – PCWorld (pcworld.com)
• Microsoft brings SkyDrive to iPhone (or vice versa) (gigaom.com)
• SkyDrive Releases iPhone and Windows Phone 7 Apps to Sync and Share Data Anywhere [Video] (lifehacker.com)
• Microsoft’s Awesome SkyDrive Is on the iPhone Now (and Windows Phone) (gizmodo.com)
• Microsoft launches SkyDrive app for Windows Phone and iPhone, forms No Androids Club (engadget.com)
• Microsoft adds iPhones to SkyDrive party guest list (go.theregister.com)
• Microsoft Brings Its SkyDrive Cloud Storage Service to the iPhone (siliconfilter.com)

Once you got all the elements in place, it is easy as pie to locate your missing iOS devices virtually; you can then remote wipe your iOS devices if you feel your data are at risk, remote lock your iOS devices if you think some stupid thieves won’t be able to hack your easy passcodes.  How about remote lock first and then keep sending remote sounds and messages to annoy the thieves?  Remote wipe your iOS devices with Find iPhone app will prevent you from locating your iOS devices virtually.

Once log into the Find iPhone app, you can actually see the physical addresses on Google map that your iOS devices currently reside.  In the case of stolen iOS devices, you obviously have the knowledge of where your devices are on Google map.

Smart thieves definitely are going to delete Find iPhone app in case you try to locate them with your iOS devices.  Of course, they can’t do so if you have strong passcodes that lock your iOS devices from prying eyes.  Even though the app is known as Find iPhone, it actually works for all iOS devices.  This means if you install Find iPhone iPad app on your iPad, you will be able to locate your iPhone with your iPad (make sure the iPhone does have Find iPhone app installed, or else it won’t work).  To find your iPad, you need to install Find iPhone app on iPad and on iPhone, then use your iPhone to find your iPad in seconds.

I think this app is using the Internet and some sort of GPS capability, therefore the distances between iOS devices might not matter much.  If it’s in fact just that, no matter where the thieves who stole your iOS devices currently hide, as long they won’t be able to delete the Find iPhone app on the iOS devices, you will be able to sneak up on them and demand your iOS devices back.  Of course, don’t fight them if they have more than just iOS devices in their hands, OK?  Call the police instead!

To see if Find iPhone app actually does work for you, try sending a sound and text message to an iOS device.  You can also try unlocking an iOS device first, then using the remote lock feature of Find iPhone on another iOS device to see if the feature does actually lock the targeted iOS device.  Don’t use the remote wipe feature just yet, because once testing this feature out, you actually really wipe all your data on an iOS device, therefore this feature is for an emergency usage only and not for testing purpose.  So, you have been warned!

You do have to know your Apple ID and password before you can log into Find iPhone app and use it.  If you haven’t had an Apple account, you definitely have to sign up for one before this app can be any used to you.

In summary, with Find iPhone app installed on all of my iOS devices, I think I’m a tad safer in term of protecting my data.  At least, I know it’s easy as pie to locate my iOS devices and remote wipe or remote lock them.  You should try this app out to protect whatever important data you have on your iOS devices.  Have fun with it!

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Image via Wikipedia

HP announced that they will release webOS to the open source software community.  Why HP is so generous?  As how one CNBC commentator put, HP has lost somewhere around 3 billion dollars in trying to unwind the webOS platform (I would love to give him the credit, but I don’t know his name).  Anyhow, even though we might not know of webOS as intimately as how we are with iOS and Android, we might have to agree that webOS is pretty formidable mobile operating system for smartphones and tablets.  Unfortunately, HP isn’t doing so well in marketing webOS to hardware manufacturers right after they had bought Palm (the creator of webOS), and so there aren’t many mobile devices are using webOS.  HP knows that it’s losing money by just holding on to webOS.  If HP ditches webOS entirely, it might arouse angers from few users who are already the reluctant owners of few webOS devices.  Furthermore, ditching webOS entirely equates to accepting complete loss.  I think HP wants to dish out one last effort in salvaging whatever could be saved of webOS by releasing it to open source community.

I think if there are enough developers who take advantages of open source webOS, webOS might stay relevant enough and entice HP to jump back into the wagon of making devices for webOS and reap real profits.  The fear is that webOS might not generate enough tractions to build enough velocity onward, and webOS might just be another open source software.  Keep in mind though, webOS is designed and built with big ambition in mind and backed by huge amount of resources which are now dwindling down to open source; webOS isn’t something cheesy and it has huge potential going forward as long there are enough ongoing contributions in improving webOS as from this point onward.  It’s hard not to be excited if you’re a mobile developer, because there probably aren’t that many open source projects in the mobile category have the same caliber as webOS.  I predict (as bold and crazy as usual) that webOS will garner plenty of contributions in free codes and adoptions.  Perhaps, webOS can be reborn as something that even Android, Apple, and Windows Phone OS have come to fear.  They fear of giving up whatever size of the pie to webOS?

Source:  http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2011/12/hps-decision-
means-webos-could-end-up-more-open-than-android.ars?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=
Feed%3A+arstechnica%2Findex+%28Ars+Technica+
-+Featured+Content%29

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• HP throws WebOS to open source community (go.theregister.com)
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• HP’s final decision on webOS should come Friday (electronista.com)
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–

Image by Brian Sawyer via Flickr

The first five million or so customers now have their new Kindle Fire from Amazon. Over half of those have already played with their new gadget while the rest are being gift wrapped for Christmas. Will those people wish for an iPad instead?

Although people keep comparing them, the two are not really related enough to be an either/or purchase, but the price of the Kindle brings the tablet within the financial reach of most.

The Fire is going to set many people’s Christmas alight, but it’s what the computer doesn’t do that will disappoint so many.

Where’s the Fire’s Camera?

The recipient of your gift will want to know where the camera is. Sorry folks, there isn’t one. You might want to Skype with your new toy, but you will have to wait for the next model. The lack of a camera shouldn’t stop the purchase as everyone has a phone with a camera.

The iPad isn’t really set for camera work, either, though at least it has one. The megapixels are too low for good photography, but they will be enough to take some simple photographs if all you want to do is email them to friends or post on your favorite social media site.

All iPad owners will need a separate iPhone because holding your iPad to take shots will make you look foolish. Try imagining it: a camera that large.

Where’s the Microphone?

Looking for the mike? You won’t find one on the Kindle Fire. If you thought this could take over as your business tool, forget it. The option to take short voice notes or dictate an attachment to your essential email just won’t happen. You will still need to carry around your digital voice recorder. That’s another failing to go with the lack of Skype capability.

Where’s the Rest of the Screen?

You know as soon as you open the package that the screen is so much smaller on the Fire than on the iPad. If you use your calculator app you will find you have 21 square inches against the iPad’s more generous 45. That is less than half the viewing space, for the failing mathematicians out there.

It does give you a much smaller and more portable gadget. You can carry it anywhere and it will fit in a surprisingly high number of pockets, but this might make it the next best thieves’ target.

How the smaller screen will affect your game playing is down to your preferences, but those on public transport may prefer the smaller model. It will be interesting to see if Apple launches a 7 inch model like the Fire and the smaller Samsung or whether Amazon goes for a 10 inch screen first.

I Can’t Find My 3G

Like the Nook tablet, with the Fire you don’t get the option of 3G or, what the latest gadget people require, 4G. You will only be able to connect online via Wi-Fi with the Fire. This shouldn’t cause a problem in most stationary uses, but for those roaming in the back seat of an auto, the lack of 3G might prove costly. Wi-Fi has become free almost everywhere, so at least your 3G data costs will be low.

The Difference Is In the Price

It’s not really fair to compare the two toys/computers. While some will argue that the difference is in the availability of apps for the iPad, that bridge is closing fast. Soon that won’t even be a consideration.

Whichever model you choose, you will have to battle with the brand’s parent company who insists that you trade exclusively through them. That is Amazon’s selling point; everything is available at a click and for those replacing their Kindle reader with the Fire, as long as they aren’t outside in blazing sun, the experience may be improved.

The lack of GPS in the Fire shouldn’t be a deterrent, but the lack of gigabytes under the hood might be, so you will be forced to use Amazon’s cloud experience. (How long before they start charging for that, we wonder?)

The price difference will be the tightest call. At just $199, almost anyone can buy a Kindle Fire while the $500 to $650 required for an iPad might be a bigger stretch. Perhaps the answer is to stop seeing the Fire as an iPad competitor and buy a Samsung tablet (with better use of the screen, Android and apps) instead.
–
Olivia Lennox is a writer, bookworm, and gadget-obsessed ebook fiend. She loves digital books and the freebies made possible by paperless reading, but hasn’t quite been convinced to sell her paperback library just yet.

–

Please take heed of this specific warning:  This article wasn’t written by the founder of this blog (i.e., Vinh Nguyen).  This article had been submitted by a contributor, Olivia Lennox, and so the point of view, belief, and other values profess in this article might not be the same values that EssayBoard.com holds true.  If there are links within this article, please use virustotal.com to check to see if the link is indeed free of virus, trojan, and malware.  Also, you might want to use Google and other well known online resources to validate the contents of such links.  Enjoy!

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Image via Wikipedia

Mobile users who travel the world know Airplane Mode could potentially save their bank accounts from depleting.  Mobile users who aren’t travel the world probably never have had to activate Airplane Mode before, and these folks might not know what is Airplane Mode.  These are the folks who might see their bank accounts deplete without knowing why when they travel abroad.

It’s all about the roaming charges.  What Airplane Mode does is to prevent Cellular Data from working even though Cellular Data setting is still on.  Without a working Cellular Data, users who use Airplane Mode can turn on Wi-Fi to access the web without worrying about roaming charges.  Wi-Fi is local or I should say it’s local to the party that allows the usage of Wi-Fi connection.

Mobile users who travel less can still turn on Airplane Mode so they don’t have to use up their data plan.  When these folks are out of Wi-Fi range, they can turn off Airplane Mode and their Cellular Data will resume the responsibility.  You can correct me if I’m wrong, I think I’d heard somewhere that certain smartphones can drain battery fast if 3G connection is on.  I’m not sure by turning on Airplane Mode will actually save battery, but it is worth a try.

In summary, before you get on the airplane to travel the world, you should turn on Airplane Mode.  With Airplane Mode, you don’t have to worry about accidental roaming charges.  With Airplane Mode on, you can still turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.  Wi-Fi is local, therefore roaming charges aren’t possible.  It might be possible that Airplane Mode could allow battery to be charged less.  So go Airplane Mode when you travel the world, OK?

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• Nerds Bravely Fight for iPad Airplane Rights [Travel] (gawker.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Some major brick and mortar retailers are worrying how Amazon could best them at their own games by rolling out Price Check app that help customers use their stores as showrooms.  Amazon could always allow customers to see better deals on Amazon through Price Check app.  Furthermore, Amazon could possibly allow customers to purchase products directly on Price Check app, but I don’t know if this is truly possible since I haven’t yet tested the app.  I just say Amazon could do it if they want to.  If they have done so, then that’s exactly my point.  I think this could potentially cripple retailer stores.

Image via Wikipedia

I think Amazon is creating a new trend where more online stores will copy Amazon promotional approach.  We may never know, but if this specific approach becomes so effective, major brick and mortar retailer stores could lose big time.  Perhaps, in the near future, only true online retailer stores (i.e., as big as Amazon or even bigger) could afford to open brick and mortar stores so customers could experience the wall garden experience.

My use of the phrase wall garden is to compare what I mentioned to how Steve Jobs executed his business philosophy.  That is, Steve Jobs preferred in having Apple owned the hardware and software platforms through and through, and he went even further by skipping the third party retailer distributors and built the many brick and mortar Apple stores.  I think the successful existence of brick and mortar Apple stores might be an excellence model for online stores to create the wall garden experience Steve Jobs adamantly worshipped.

I think sooner or later, some smart online stores might program their apps to allow the lowering of product prices on the fly so customers will save money more and the online stores will make more money at a faster rate.  Of course, the algorithms for such apps need to be super smart, otherwise online stores could sell products way below the profitable point and end up lose more money than they would want.  Brick and mortar retailer stores might see this as constant price wars.  Obviously, I don’t think brick and mortar retailer stores can beat this kind of tactics, because such physical stores need to have ways to monitor product prices of online competitors and then change prices in the moments.

I can also see mom and pop stores that serve local communities lose out to online stores if people love to frequently use mobile apps to compare products at physical stores against online stores.  Such phenomenon will drive mom and pop stores out of business.  Perhaps, the future can only embrace brick and mortar stores that truly have big online presences.

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• Price Check! Amazon App Takes Aim at Brick-and-Mortars (businessweek.com)
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