Tag: apple

EarPod Commands

Technology

As simple as they are, I always forget these commands:

Play or pause a song or video – Press the center button once. Press again to resume playback.

Skip to the next song or chapter – Press the center button twice quickly.

Fast-forward – Press the center button twice quickly and hold.

Go to the previous song or chapter – Press the center button three times quickly.

Rewind – Press the center button three times quickly and hold.

Answer or end a call – Press the center button once to answer. Press again to end the call.

Decline an incoming call – Hold down the center button for about two seconds, then let go. When you let go, two low beeps confirm that you declined the call.

Switch to an incoming or on-hold call and put the current call on hold – Press the center button once. Press again to switch back to the first call.

Switch to an incoming or on-hold call and end the current call – Hold down the center button for about two seconds, then let go. When you let go, two low beeps confirm that you ended the first call.

Increase volume – Press the + button.

Decrease volume – Press the – button.

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Google Nexus Q

Entertainment, Technology

Even though I’m an iPhone user, I like to keep up with the latest Google/Android developments. Today was a big day for Google. They announced new products, services and updates to multiple programs and Android.

One of the interesting new products announced was Nexus Q. It’s a big, black octopus that streams music and video from Google Play and your Android devices.

With a $299 price tag it sounds like a more expensive Apple TV. And, I’m not sure why Google would need this device in addition to their current tv offerings but it’s interesting to say the least. I’ll be curious to see if it sells well.

My iOS5 Update

Technology

My iOS5 update was pretty uneventful, which was a welcome surprise after hearing horror story after horror story of people trying to update. I’m not sure if the steps I followed helped me avoid disaster, or if I was just lucky enough to time it right so the Apple servers weren’t overloaded the moment my phone had to validate. But, at any rate, here are the steps I followed for the update.

  • First, I ran all the updates for my computer, including an update to iTunes 10.5. This took a while. I guess I had fallen a little behind.
  • Second, I synced and backed up my iPhone with iTunes, just for safe measure. In hindsight, I should have also set my apps to backup, because you lose them during the update if you don’t have them backed up in iTunes. I didn’t do that.
  • Third, I selected the option Download Only instead of Download and Install. Not sure if this made a difference, but it made me feel as though I could stop the process at any time and use my phone if the download took too long. It took me around an hour.
  • Fourth, after the update was downloaded to my computer I selected update and watched the fun begin. I would guess it took about 20- 30 minutes for the update to be applied to the phone and for iTunes to restore my settings (excluding the apps in my case).
  • Fifth, using the purchased section in the app store on my phone I re-downloaded all the apps I lost during the update.
  • Sixth, I started playing around with iOS5.

iCloud: A Typical Apple Move

Entertainment, Technology

I’m having a little debate with a friend regarding Apple’s new iCloud service for iTunes.

He thinks that Apple got internet music right with this new service, and that streaming isn’t necessary. I think their new service is cool, but misses the boat because it doesn’t include streaming.

Time will tell us who is right in this debate, but the debate got me thinking. Yesterday, even after the WWDC keynote, I was holding on to a thin thread of hope that Apple would see the error of their ways and open up iCloud to internet streaming. Today, I’m coming to the realization that Apple will probably not make the move to streaming.

It’s a typical Apple move if you think about it. The masses get excited about a particular service and Apple releases something that they deem superior. I think that’s what we are seeing here with iCloud for iTunes.

Apple probably thinks streaming music is messy. And, they are probably right. It is dependent on users having constant access to wifi or 3g. It puts a strain on the data networks. And, to make music stream easily you end up sacrificing sound quality.

By downloading the music to the device you are using, you have great sound quality and constant access. Sounds like an Apple argument, right? That’s why I would be completely surprised were Apple to release streaming capabilities.

I think we’ll have to live with this form of iCloud for a while, which really isn’t bad. It’s just not quite the full service many of us were hoping for. As for the little debate I was having, I still think I’m right but we’ll see what the masses say. If enough people demand streaming Apple may be forced to change their outlook on music in the cloud.