QR codes are those weird looking pixelated boxes you see at some retailers, events, and even some ads. The idea behind them is that you scan the QR Code, to which you will then be provided information about whatever it is you’re scanning, whether that’s jumping to a website, seeing a message, getting a coupon, or some similar action.
Some Android phones ship with a QR code reader installed from their provider as part of a suite of preinstalled applications, but older iOS software does not offer such a feature on iPhone or iPad, which means to scan a QR code on an iPhone you’ll have to visit the App Store first.
Ever had a zip file turn into a cpgz file? This is an infrequent problem, but here’s what happens; When the .zip file is attempted to be unzipped, it extracts into a .cpgz file, which then can also be launched in Archive Utility, only to then turn back into a .zip file, which then turns into a .zip.cpgz file, and basically the archive gets stuck in an infinite loop as it’s being decompressed into one variation of the other, over and over again. Annoying, right? Not to worry, this tutorial will detail how to open a cpgz zip file on a Mac.
Why this happens isn’t always completely clear, but it can be indicative of a few things: Read more »
iBooks offers a great reading experience in iOS, but it can do double duty and function as a powerful study aid too, allowing you to place contextual notes directly on words and text blocks, and even highlight important phrases just like you would on a real book with a flourescent pen. The next time you’re researching or studying, put away the paper book, post-it notes, and highlighter, and grab a digital version within iBooks on your iPad, iPod touch, or iPhone instead.
Emoji characters are a great way to have more expressive conversations and bring some fun into messaging, but tapping the globe icon on the iOS virtual keyboard to select a character isn’t exactly fast. Accessing the Emoji icons is even harder if you’re using an external keyboard with an iPad or iPhone since your fingers have to leave the keys to tap the screen, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Instead, you can type out Emoji incredibly fast by using text substitution shortcuts, which basically convert one regular keyboard sequence into another character.
iOS 6.1.1 has been released for iPhone 4S users only. The update is small but important, and is thought to resolve some ongoing network issues that the iOS 6.1 update brought for certain iPhone 4S devices on certain cell carriers, particularly in Europe. Users effected by the issue reported that after updating some iPhone devices to iOS 6.1, they could no longer place phone cals, send and receive text messages, or transmit data to and from the internet over cellular. Making matters stranger, the network problems appeared to be somewhat random.
The iOS 6.1.1 update is currently available only to iPhone 4S devices.
Download iOS 6.1.1
The easiest way to get iOS 6.1.1 is through OTA update, where it arrives as a small delta package around 20MB:
Open Settings, tap “Software Update”, and choose “Download and Install”
Alternatively, 6.1.1 firmware is also available for users who would rather update manually. Right-click the following link and choose “Save As”, the file should have a .ipsw extension and is downloaded directly from Apple’s servers:
A report late last week on MacRumors highlighted the issues for some iPhone users, noting that Vodafone in the UK went so far as to send text messages to iPhone customers to avoid the 6.1 update until a patch resolved the “3G performance issues”.
It is not clear if iOS 6.1.1 will roll out to other devices, or if it will be a limited bug fix release exclusively for the 4S.
DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, and is commonly used to configure network devices so they can communicate with one another. Typically you’ll have a DHCP server (like a wireless router), and client machines on the local network (like a Mac, iPhone, PC, etc) that pull a dynamically assigned local IP address from that server.
This is all well and good and usually functions just fine, but sometimes you need to renew a DHCP lease, which basically means you’ll be retrieving a new IP address and routing data from the DHCP server. This is a common trick for troubleshooting network issues, and can be helpful when resolving problems with internet connectivity when a wi-fi connection has been determined to be stable, or when a machine on the network can’t access the outside world after power-cycling a broadband modem or router.
The mobile world of iOS and desktop world of OS X continue to converge, but some features remain absent or different in either OS. One such example is how multitasking and running multiple applications is handled, which is managed quite simply in the multitasking bar of iOS. On the OS X side of things, the Dock sort of serves this purpose, but if someone came to the Mac from the iOS world it’s not as intuitive as it could be, and that’s where TaskBoard comes in.
TaskBoard brings that same iOS taskbar style to the Mac desktop, adding a summonable multitasking bar to OS X that looks and functions pretty much identically to what many have grown familiar with in the iOS world.
Run the PKG installer and then launch System Preferences and click on TaskBoard to make adjustments.
A quick performance note for Macs with integrated video like the MacBook Air; set Display Mode to “No Preview” and TaskBoard will function much faster. Macs with GPU’s will be able to use Live Preview without the lag issue.
Also worth mentioning, the default settings include a “Mouse Behavior” option that causes TaskBoard to launch if your mouse cursor is hovered near the bottom of the screen, but if you use the Dock on the bottom of the screen it is too easy to trigger, and for those users this is best to disable.
Once you have TaskBoard working, using it is simple. As you probably know, double-tapping the Home button or using the upward swipe gestures in iOS summons the multitasking bar, but right now the best way to summon TaskBoard in OS X is by using the default keyboard shortcut to summon the task manager is Command+Control+Up Arrow.
Just like iOS, TaskBoard only includes apps that are running in the list, and you can switch between them. And just like iOS, tapping (clicking) and holding on a single apps icon causes them to jiggle around and reveal the close button, letting you quit out of applications directly from the multitasking bar.
TaskBoard is a really cool app that represents yet another way of bringing iOS to the Mac desktop. It works surprisingly well with Full Screen applications, and it feels so familiar when in full screen mode that you’d expect Apple to integrate something similiar into OS X in future versions.
Currently the app is still in beta and so there are some bugs present, but future versions should iron those quirks out and also bring some more iOS-style features, like support for iPad-style multitouch gestures to summon the taskbar. Even still, it’s fun to use, so check it out.
Nobody likes a tethered jailbreak, which is part of why it’s such a big deal when an untethered variety like the recent Evasi0n tool arrives. But not everyone was patient enough to wait, and some users have to use jailbreaks for various reasons which leaves them with no option but to jump ahead on the tethered varieties. Recently, this included a redsn0w tethered jailbreak for iOS 6.1 and the same thing for 6.0.1 and 6.0, and this simple solution is for those individuals. What you will do is install the evasi0n untethered exploit through Cydia. a process that is both easy and familiar. Read more »
This weeks great Mac setup comes to us from Luca D., a musician, who as you may have guessed from looking at the set up picture, uses his Apple gear to create music. Hardware shown includes:
Mac Pro 4,1 – 2.9GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, ATI HD6870 Video Card
Dual 24″ HP LA2405 Displays
UAD 2 Quad PCI-e card
Motu 828 MKIII Hybrid external sound card
Apple Extended Keyboard
MacBook Air 13″ (2011)
iPhone 4S 32GB
Novation 61SL MKII Keyboard / MIDI Controller
Dynaudio B5MA Nearfield Speakers
Fender Stratocaster
On the software side of things, Luca uses Cubase 5, Halion 4, Guitar Rig 5, and other VST’s. These production setups are a great argument in support of the Mac Pro line, which we all hope will be revived as a professional workhorse again soon.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know the slightest thing about music let alone how to go about making anything with a rhythm, but I do know a sweet Mac setup when I see one and this definitely fit’s the description, what do you think?
You can have your Apple desks & Mac workstations featured here too! Send in a good picture (or a few) along with a short description of the hardware and what you use it for to: osxdailycom@gmail.com
The easiest way to copy pictures from an Android device and to a Mac is using one of the image transfer apps that is bundled with Mac OS X. That’s because all Android devices, including the popular Google Pixel, Nexus, Huawei, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Samsung Galaxy series, should be treated by the standard camera apps in Mac OS X as if they were a digital camera, all you’ll need to do is launch an appropriate app and connect the Android device to the Mac with a USB cable. We say ‘should’ because it doesn’t always work that way, so another great option is to use the Android File Transfer app, and when Image Capture or otherwise fails it’s almost guaranteed to work. We’ll walk through several different methods for transferring photos from Android to your Mac with a variety of solutions.
Longtime Mac users familiar with digital cameras or the iOS world will find that with the exception of the AFT app, these are the same methods used when copying pictures from an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to a computer as well.
You are looking at a mockup of what the iPad 5 (right) will almost certainly look like. Side-by-side with the existing iPad (left), it’s slightly smaller with thinner bezels on the sides, and basically looks like a 10″ version of the iPad Mini. Read more »
Siri has impressive comprehension but isn’t always perfect, and sometimes Siri can just misunderstand something or have a hard time with the spelling of certain words and names. If you find that Siri has made a mistake understanding what you’ve said, or if you just want to correct or change the question or command you asked of Siri, you can do that easily by editing the query text directly at the Siri screen:
After issuing Siri a command or asking a question, tap and hold on your portion of the dialog
Use the standard iOS keyboard to modify the query, then tap “Done” to ask Siri with the modification in place
You can modify the query text to whatever you want, but it’s really most appropriate for when a misunderstanding has taken place. The example below demonstrates adjusting the text on a weather inquiry: Read more »
Between Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Canary builds, Opera, and the myriad of other apps, juggling between web browsers can be a pain. This is even more exaggerated since every browser wants to set itself as the default, and then, to go about changing the default web browser after the fact, you have to open Safari and dig around in it’s preferences even if you don’t want to use Safari. Frustrating right? If you feel that pain, Objektiv is for you, it’s a free app that makes switching between default web browsers in OS X extremely easy.
Objektiv gathers all browser apps on the Mac to reside as a menu bar item that makes managing the default extremely easy. That menu bar icon changes depending on which browser is currently set as the default. Then to switch between them, just pull down the menu item and select which browser you want to become the default, or use the accompanying hot-key keyboard shortcuts to instantly switch to a new default browser. There’s even an option to use a Command+Tab-style manager exclusively for web browsers, letting you quickly jump between them as necessary. It’s quick, out of the way, and so much faster than using each apps nag feature or poking in Safari’s preferences every time you need to swap.
For developers, designers, researchers, or anyone who does a decent amount of work in various web browsers, Objektiv is a must have app. It’s free, lightweight, and easy to use. Grab it, you’ll be happy you did.
Oh one quirk: however it decides which apps are web browsers isn’t always accurate. In testing, Objektiv identified and added Evernote and mPlayerX as browsers, which they obviously aren’t. To toss out any false positives, hold down the “Option / ALT” key and select items in the menu to yank them out of the Objektiv drop down.
The iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch make excellent digital readers, and the iBooks apps is where most people will spend their time reading books on the iOS platform. iBooks is deceptively simple though, and though it works great on it’s own, taking the time to learn a few things and adjust a few simple settings can make a world of difference in the readability of ebooks or anything else in your digital library. With that in mind, here are 5 simple tricks to get a better reading experience in iOS with the iBooks app.
Archive Utility is the little system app that launches anytime an archive needs to be dealt with by OS X, usually it launches itself, extracts a zip, sit, tar, gz, or whatever other archive file, then quits on it’s own. Lately there’s been widespread reports of weird problems with Archive Utility though, where a zip or any other archive file will not decompress, instead the Archive Utility app will just stop working completely, spinning itself into oblivion before freezing or crashing. Relaunching it just causes it to crash again. Annoying, but don’t worry, there’s an easy solution!
Those familiar with the command line know that running things with super user privileges is typically just a matter of using the sudo command. That still holds true with launching GUI apps into the OS X with root privileges, but it’s not just a matter of prepending sudo to the otherwise useful open command, because ‘open’ launches apps as the original user, with or without sudo. The solution instead is to use sudo pointing directly at the executable contained within a given applications package file.
In most cases, that will be applications stored in the /Applications/ directory, and the executable is almost always stored in Package/Contents/MacOS/ as whatever the applications name is:
We’ve shown you many of the great and legitimately useful things you can do with Siri, but there is much more to the intelligent voice assistant than meets the eye. Sure you can wing it to find out what Siri can do, but a better solution is to ask Siri directly… and it’ll tell you with a giant commands list!
The standard terminal appearance is just boring old black text on a white background. Apple included a few nice preset themes too, but to really make your terminals appearance stand out you’ll want to take the time to customize it yourself. While some of these tweaks are admittedly pure eye candy, others genuinely improve the command line experience and make using the terminal not only more attractive but easier to scan.
Follow along and try them all, or just pick and choose which makes the most sense for you.
Update: Apple has introduced QR code reading into camera app on iPhone and iPad, here is how you can use the QR code reader in iOS that is included on modern iOS releases, which require no downloads or third party apps. Nonetheless the app below continues to read QR codes on older iOS versions and should you require the capability on older devices. 
Emoji characters are a great way to have more expressive conversations and bring some fun into messaging, but tapping the globe icon on the iOS virtual keyboard to select a character isn’t exactly fast. Accessing the Emoji icons is even harder if you’re using an 
