Quick Tip: Print Screen in Mac and iPhone

Have you wondered how to get the PrintScreen equivalent on your Mac and iPhone? Here's how:

Macbook: Apple-Shift-3 key combination will print screen; file (PictureN.png) will be stored on your Desktop.

iPhone / iPod Touch: Press the Home and Lock keys simultaneously for print screen. Image is stored in your Photos / Camera Roll.

Update: Just discovered that Apple-Shift-4 creates a cross-hair that you can use to choose the area on the screen that you want captured.... and to think of all the pictures I have been cropping in Powerpoint because I only wanted a small portion to include in my presentation!

Additionally, if you also press the Control key in the above "3" or "4" process, the picture will be saved to Clipboard so that you can immediately Paste it into your desired application; of course, you will not find it later.

Update: TUAW reports that Snow Leopard has changed the File Name syntax for the Print Screen pictures; the Picture 1, Picture N are now gone and you have more descriptive file names (providing date & time stamps).

Extending your Wireless Network and Playing iTunes on Remote Speakers

If you are in a situation that your home (or even small office) WiFi does not radiate to all areas, you can use a great feature in Airport to extend your network seamlessly. In addition to extending your Internet connection, you can also stream music through this network as well as enable remote printing. Let me explain how I have achieved this at my home.

I have an Airport Extreme / Time Capsule (TC) as my primary WiFi router connected to my Broadband network. I created a Wireless Network (named it, password protected, etc.) using the Airport Utility. The Wireless tab in the settings has an option to "Allow this network to be extended" -- check that. The rest of the settings are as any normal setup for the TC.

Now, I got myself an Airport Express (AX, the smaller, portable WiFi access point) and located it in another room. It has to be within the range of the primary WiFi, at the same time distant enough to extend the network further. While setting up the AX, I chose, "Extend a wireless network" in the Wireless tab. I chose the wireless network I had created with TC and entered the password. Also, don't forget to check the "Allow wireless clients" option in the same tab.

The AX now acts as a seamless extension of the wireless network... the same SSID and password are applicable to both the access points. In fact , by using multiple such AX you could theoretically connect a large office or home... all you need is a power source for each AX and about Rs 4500 per piece.

Now, for the more interesting parts... the AX has an audio out jack that can be used to connect (using standard audio cables) to any music system / speakers. As soon as you do that, iTunes will immediately detect the AX (multiple speakers -- see image) and you can choose to play your music through the computer or your speakers or both. In fact, if you combine this with the Remote app of the iPhone, you can create a great home music system that can be controlled from anywhere!

Just envisage this situation: your computer with all your music (in iTunes) is in your study but you want to play music off that collection in your bedroom at night or on the terrace for a party. Connect your AX to the music system, open up iTunes on your computer using the iPhone remote, select the song and the AX speaker, and enjoy your music. You just need the computer to be ON and connected to the wireless network.

The AX also has a USB port to connect a printer, and you can print wirelessly from your computer to the remote printer. This is particularly useful when you are working on a laptop away from the printer and or need to provide printer access to multiple users at home or office.

If you have any ideas or suggestions on how to get more out of the Airport network, do write in. Or if you need any help with the settings...

Update: This site has a detailed process for the above setup. It also uses a Linksys router so you don't need an Airprort Extreme / TimeCapsule for the music streaming, just the AX.

Airport Extends Network -- iPhone Cannot Connect?

Here is a recent query posted on Apple Support Forums... will update with a solution when I find it.

I have created an Extended Network in my house using a Time Capsule and two Airport Expresses. All of them have the Green light on, and I can play music from my ITunes on to remote speakers through the Airport Expresses.

However, when I try to connect to either of the AX from my iPhone, I do not see any wireless network. (It is able to detect the TimeCapsule when I am within range, but neither of the two AX are visible.) The AX are 802.11n, new models bought recently.

I suspect this has something to do with the frequency at which the Airport works and compatibility with iPhone 3G, but am not able to figure it out. The Time Capsule is set to operate on the Radio Mode: "802.11n (802.11b/g compatible)". Even as I typed this message out, I did a walk-around with my MBA and found that it stayed connected throughout the house (and thus able to connect to the AX network). So the issue really is about the iPhone 3G compatibility.

Thanks.

Coolbook for Macbook Air

Are you a Macbook Air owner who spent nearly 90000 INR to get this sleek and sexy device, and now suddenly worried that you made the wrong decision? Many MBA users have been facing a major speed-heat performance issue. While the MBA is a beautiful device and has many advantages, it is not really cut out for heavy duty use. However, in recent times, it has been found that using even a few applications simultaneously causes the Air to heat up and slow down.

The basis issue is that the MBA does get overheated when its CPU is fully activated. This problem is exacerbated in areas where the ambient heat is higher, including obviously in India. Apparently, Apple has introduced some form of a speed-breaker to slow you down, so that the heat issue can be addressed. But it has been done in a funny way... they have introduced some activity called "kernel_task" which blocks most of your CPU and leaves you with very little to do. So your Air does not get overheated (relatively) but performs worse than a Windows machine.

The solution to this can vary depending on your situation. Try the following.

1) Temporary Solution: Try an SMC reset.. Shutdown your MBA. Then press the (left) Shift-Control-Option along with the power button once. Wait for 5 seconds and restart. The laptop should race for a while, but when the heat overtakes it, kernel_task will get back into action. More details on the SMC reset here.

2) Working Solution: Lots of people have successfully adopted the Coolbook option. It is an expensive solution ($10) but it works as advertised. Apart from the cost, the issue to keep in mind is that you will end up tinkering with some core hardware settings at the CPU level. If you are not the tech risk taking type, avoid it.

How does it work? Very simply, it undervolts the CPU by providing it lower voltage than what is provided by default, the presumption being that Apple has provided for the Max settings but the CPU can work even with lower voltage.

Does this work? Ever since I installed Coolbook, Mr. Kernel_Task has disappeared (I disabled Coolbook the other day just to check, and Mr. K_T made a quick appearance!). What's the downside? The CPU does get heated up much more than before, sometimes crossing 90 degreesC from the usual 70-odd... and the MBA can "hang" and get locked for a few seconds... this has happened a few times (once a day on an average) but that is worth the speed and performance recovery that I have seen.

Hope this is helpful...

MMS Not Working on Vodafone India

A quick note to confirm that I tried using MMS on my iPhone (3G; OS 3.0) but could not send an MMS. I don't know if there is any tariff plan issue involved (Vodafone did not communicate anything about the 3.0 in any case... see my other earlier post on how telcos are missing the game!)

The only good news is that the MMS option is available ... appears as a camera icon in the Messaging application, and you can add an existing or new photo.

3.0 is Here!

I downloaded the 230MB OS 3.0 last night, but was able to install it only this morning... the iPhone activation servers were too busy for a while.

My First Impression

Actually, upon first impression there isn't much of a change, except for the new Search screen that has been created, to the left of the Home screen.

About Time!

The Spotlight (search) feature is extremely good, just like what we have got used to on the Mac... Given the extent and diversity of the content you could end up with on the iPhone, this was extremely essential. The copy-paste has been executed very well... very easy to use, and also very useful. Similarly, the ability to forward SMS'es is also welcome. (These are features that Apple should have introduced on Day 1... for a mini-computer, at least the first two are table-stakes.)

Vodafone India: Ages Behind!

There has been a huge hue and cry against AT&T for not enabling many of the iPhone features... Vodafone (at least in India) is no better off! We have not yet got access to Visual Voicemail that was introduced in OS1.0; MMS which is part of 3.0 is also not activated. I haven't tried Tethering, but I am not sure about that too... anyways, with the relatively low speed of the GPRS/Edge network, fat lot of difference that will make.

Stereo BT and More...

An interesting update is that of stereo bluetooth... now you can use the various stereo headsets that you have to listen to music from your iPhone... (considering that the speaker is quite weak and mono...)... For me the interesting implementation of this is to use it with my Samsung Home Theater that has bluetooth to play songs from the phone (again nothing new, most phones today can do that!)... what I would have loved to see was the ability to play songs from the iPhone directly to my Airport Express using WiFi (the only advantage being greater range)...

There are several other improvements like landscape keyboard, parental controls, within-app sales, ... when I get to use them (if at all), I will speak about them.

All in all, OS 3.0 has helped iPhone catch up with its competition on several basic features, and overall has made iPhone one of the smartest devices in its category.