Stop iPhone Apps (like Cheezburger) opening App Store at Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, Game of War and Zelda Dungeon

cheezI really love the “Cheezburger” app on my iPhone. The photo streams of “I Has A Hotdog” and “Failblog” really help to get me through the day. But lately, for no reason, the app goes away, and the app store opens up to games like Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, Game of War and Zelda Dungeon. It is SOOOO frustrating!

Game of War App Screen CaptureI have found a “Work Around” for this problem, and it’s pretty simple. To stop this from happening, open up “Settings”, and then select “General”, and there is an entry in there called “Restrictions”.

Restrictions Screen CaptureIf you are using “Screen Lock” you will have to enter your password to open this section. Once you are in, simply turn “Installing Apps” off.

Installing Apps Screen Capture

Once you have done that, you can close out of settings, and go back to browsing Uninterrupted. The only down side is that if you want to download a new app, you will have to go back in and turn “Installing Apps” back on.

3 ways to save battery power in iOS7 on your iPhone that REALLY work!

iphone-battery-iconiOS 7 on the iPhone is really great, but it can drain your battery fairly quick. I have identified 3 ways to save power that REALLY work!

httpvh://youtu.be/wMu79khieC8

To get started, drag from the bottom of your iphone screen upwards.

ios7-iphone-power-save-tip-001This will reveal the Control Center.

ios7-iphone-power-save-tip-000In control center, the first trick to saving power is to turn off any transmitters you are not using. For example, BlueTooth or Wifi. If you use Wifi at work, but not at home, turn Wifi off at home to save power.

ios7-iphone-power-save-tip-002The next power saving tip is to turn down your screen brightness. The lower the better for battery life.

ios7-iphone-power-save-tip-003The BIGGEST drain on your iphones battery in my opinion is apps that are running in the background, that you are not using. When most of us finish using an app we press the home button to close out of it, but it is still actually running in the background. You need to “Terminate” the app out of your iphones memory for it to be completely closed. To do this, double click your home button, and see everything that is still open, running and in memory on your phone…..be prepared, there’s probably going to be a lot.

ios7-iphone-power-save-tip-005To terminate apps out of your phones memory, slide/push their preview windows to the top of your screen.

ios7-iphone-power-save-tip-006Once you have closed all of the apps your are not using right now, it’s time to get into the habit of closing all of your open apps using this method a few times a day. Before using this method, I would be looking for my charger by 3-4pm. Now that I terminate running apps through the day, I still have around 50% power left in my phone when I get home around 5-6pm.

TRY IT!

Easy Fix or Work Around for iMessage bug problem on iPhone running IOS7

iMessage iconSince updating to iOS 7, a lot of iPhone users are finding that iMessage does not send their messages. It looks like it is sending, but stops or freezes at last minute. I have discovered a work around, I am not sure if it is a “Fix” but I have had good results using this method, and have tried on on some friends phones with success as well. I hope it works for you!

httpvh://youtu.be/Y0JZ0R51e9I

Firstly, go into iMessage on your iPhone.

imessage-fix-001Clear off ALL messages and threads by swiping to the left on each conversation to make the “delete” option appear.

imessage-fix-002and then press delete.

imessage-fix-003Now go into settings.

imessage-fix-004Then select “Messages”

imessage-fix-005Turn “iMessage” option OFF

imessage-fix-006Now turn your phone off by pressing and holding the power button on the top right edge, and then swipe across the red “Slide To Power Off” message on your screen.

imessage-fix-007Once your phone has completely powered off, you can press the power button again to restart it. Once your phone has booted up again, select “Settings”

imessage-fix-004Go back into Messages

imessage-fix-005Turn on the “iMessage” option and you will see your phone re-activating and syncing with the iMessage server.

imessage-fix-009When it has finished, it you should see confirmation that you can now use iMessage.

imessage-fix-010Now, Hopefully, you should be back in business.

Fix Connectivity Problems by Power Cycling your Home Network and Computers

Unplugged

Power Cycling sounds like riding a bike really fast up a hill, but in the technology field it refers to a way to get everything back online when things aren’t working right, or you have to recover from a failure or freeze.

A Power Cycle is achieved by turning everything off safely, disconnecting the power sources, and leaving everything to sit for a in-determined amount of time (some say 30 seconds, some say 30 minutes).

I find Power Cycling makes all my devices talk to each other quicker. As I have a somewhat sophisticated home network, yanking the cord on everything from time to time allows new routing tables to be created, and old machines that are no longer connected to the network (That may have been a Master Browser (Machine that tells other machines where everything is located)) to be removed from the environment.

We’ll use my network as an example to go through the procedure, as things do need to be done in a specific order. Using a IP Scanner (There’s lots of free ones available – just Google IP Scanner) I generated this view of my home network.

IP-Scanner

To begin a Power Cycle, I turn all off the Computers and my Server off. Once they are safely and completely shut down I yank the power cords from the sockets (This is important, if it is still plugged in, there is still power going in, keeping things in memory – So YANK IT!). With my Laptops, I take the batteries out. Next, I shut down and unplug my WD TV media machines and the “Elements” hard drives attached to them. My iPhone and iPad are now shut down by Pressing and holding the Sleep/Wake button (Power Button on top right side of device) for a few seconds until the red “slide to power off” slider appears, and then slide the slider. Lastly, My Airport Extreme Router, D-Link Switch, and ADSL Modem are all disconnected from the outlets.

Now I go throw a tennis ball with my Dog Benson for about 10 minutes. This allows plenty of time for any power left in the devices to drain away, and all caches and memory to clear.

Benson

After playtime I get ready to restart everything. First, I plug the modem back in and let it initialize and connect to the internet. Then I turn on my Switch, and my Airport Extreme Router is next. When they are all operational and happy, I turn my computers on one at a time, beginning with the one I use most, first (So it can become the Master Browser). Once it is up and connected to the internet, I turn the next one in my usage order on, and let it connect, then the next, etc, etc. Then, I boot up my WD TV Live Hub and reconnect the “Elements” storage drives, and lastly, I power on my iPhone and iPad by holding down the Sleep/Wake (Power Button on top right side) for a few seconds until I see the silver Apple logo appear.

Everything should be back up, running, and happy!

Some people will tell you there is no advantage to power cycling. I personally, do believe it helps, and if you are undecided, Try it for Yourself and make up your own mind! What have you got to loose?

 

Make Songs Play In Track Number Order Instead Of Alphabetically On iPhone, iPad and iPod using Play Order in iTunes

Aerosmith MelbourneI was lucky enough to go and see Aerosmith at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena – It was a KICK ASS show!

After the show, we really wanted to have a souvenir, and thanks to Youtube, we got one. Some other folks at the show recorded it on their phones and uploaded it. Using Flash Video Downloader I was able to download their vids, and using the awesome and FREE MacX Video Converter, I was able to save the audio from their video files to MP3, then to iTunes, and then sync the songs to our iPhones, so we have a playlist of the show. How cool huh!

The problem was, that the songs played in alphabetical order instead of the order they played the songs on the night (Track number order).

Grrrr!!!
I did the whole Get Info thing in iTunes and set the track numbers….which didn’t work….

iTunes Track NumberI sync’d and sync’d to no avail. And then out of the blue, I right clicked the playlist, and there it was….PLAY ORDER!

homer-woohooThis is SO hidden! I learned that if your songs are listed in alphabetical order in the album view in iTunes, with the highlight in the song name column, and you right click (command click) the playlist and select “Copy To Play Order”, and then sync your device your songs will play in alphabetical order.

Play Order

copy-to-play-order

If you want your songs in your playlist to play in track number order on your device, click and highlight the track number column in iTunes,

Play Order

Then right click (command click) the play list and select “Copy To Play Order”

Play OrderNow Sync your device…….

YAY!

Move and Insert Cursor anywhere in text on iPhone and iPad

magnifying-glass-icon

Have you ever typed out a bunch of words on your iPhone and wanted to go back and delete, change or insert something? There is an easy way to do it.

magnifying-glass-iphone

Just put your finger on the word or place you want to change, and leave/hold it there for a second or so, and a little magnifying glass will pop up. Without taking your finger off the screen, just move your finger left, right, up or down, and you will see the cursor inside the magnifying glass moving around the text. Just move the cursor to the place you need it to be, take your finger off the screen, the magnifying glass disappears and your cursor is right where you need it to be to make your changes.