Ken Burkhalter's blog

Finally (IMHO) a Great Alarm Clock Ap

Ken Burkhalter — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:51:04 +0000

We travel around the world a lot, and with time zone shifts and exhaustive days a good alarm clock is a critical accessory to have. Due to baggage space restrictions, we have had to carry as many "Swiss Army knife" (multi-function) devices as possible. The iPhone has become our electronic Swiss Army knife, providing a traveler's delight of functionality from Alarm Clock to fight tracking to tide charting.

Use Your Ringtones for Alarm Clock Sounds

Ken Burkhalter — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:15:54 +0000

I've seen a number of posts around lamenting that various iPhone Alarm Clock applications can only play canned sounds or iPod tunes, but not Ringtones for an alarm sound (Although I've got to admit I can't imagine why anyone would want to think their phone was ringing at 6:00AM!?).

Actually, if your Alarm Ap supports iPod tune playing for alarm sounds, then, as they say, "You're in fat city".

To use a Ringtone for a

Dragon Dictation-The Killer Ap?

Ken Burkhalter — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:50:55 +0000

At last I think I've found my killer ap for the iPhone. It is "Dragon Dictation" from Nuance Software (http://www.nuance.com). Based on their "Dragon Naturally Speaking" for the PC software, they have ported a significant portion of the functionality to the iPhone platform. I found the speed and accuracy of this ap to be extraordinary... especially given that it is FREE (at the moment). Search for "Dragon Dictation" at the iTunes Application store to locate this ap.

The Ultimate Universal Charger/Cable setup

Ken Burkhalter — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:30:21 +0000

For years I have looked for a "minimalist" portable and universal charger and cable system to support our phones, cameras, GPS units and other electronic devices while traveling.

Tired of hauling around a bag of chargers and different cables to match the varying connection ports on each device, I finally initiated an exhaustive Internet search accompanied by lots of contact emails to clarify specs, etc.

All of this effort has paid off, however, in the form of a single charger that works in vehicle 12V sockets as well as international power mains (with appropriate adapter plugs) from 90-240 VAC, AND a single cable with interchangable Tips at the device end.

Tethering OS 3.0 iPhones w/o Jailbreaking

Ken Burkhalter — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:47:53 +0000

There has been much disappointment with AT&T for not enabling tethering the iPhone to your laptop for Internet connections.

iPhone 3GS Compass Calibration

Ken Burkhalter — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:43:56 +0000

A number of people have reported difficulty in calibrating their 3G S Compass.

The documentation is rather vague in the procedure. It states:

"The compass needs to be calibrated the first time you use it, and may need to be calibrated occasionally after that. iPhone alerts you whenever calibration is needed.

3G S Map Orientation from Compass

Ken Burkhalter — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:21:48 +0000

The iPhone 3G S documentation indicates that "The icon at the bottom of the Compass screen lets you find your current location in Maps. Maps also takes advantage of the built-in compass to show which way you’re facing."

Initially I couldn't make it work as unfortunately there is no more information presented on how to make that work!

Here's the secret.

Home Security & Automation Application

Ken Burkhalter — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:42:37 +0000

We travel a lot and since we live in Michigan, the weather extremes can be severe. Thus I always wanted to be able to monitor house and freezer temperatures while we were gone. We once returned home to find a freezer had failed and the resulting aroma and mess was so substantial we had to haul the freezer out of the house and to the dump!

Simplify Connecting to Your iPhone via Your Local LAN

Ken Burkhalter — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:17:25 +0000

Due to the Apple SDK constraints on developers of iPhone software, data exchanges with your phone is limited to email and local area network connectivity.

Some iPhone applications such as “Files” allow you to import and read your Word, Excel, and PDF files from your desktop computer to your phone, and move that data to the iPhone by establishing a wireless connection between the phone and desktop over a LAN.

iPhone Image Storage Locations

Ken Burkhalter — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:59:22 +0000

The Camera and Screen Capture capability of the iPhone is extraordinarily handy, but only useful if you can then use the images (which generally means getting them onto your desktop/laptop computer).

Google Earth Now on iPhone!

Ken Burkhalter — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:23:41 +0000

Due to what I imagined must be the enormous computing power required, I didn't think I'd see the day very soon when one of my favorite Applications, Google Earth, would see the light of day on the iPhone.

How wrong I was. The wizards at Google have done it again and the results are nothing less than spectacular!

Top Tap Tip

Ken Burkhalter — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:05:42 +0000

Reading almost any document, given the small screen size of a handheld device, usually requires lots of scrolling.

Contacts Browsing Tips

Ken Burkhalter — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:21:19 +0000

The “Contacts” feature of the iPhone may be one of the most useful Apps there is. The ability to always have current information on the people and events you interact with daily is “priceless.”

Here are several tips that can make your “Contacts” experience easier and more useful.

First, if you have as many entries as I do then you have probably “lost” one somewhere along the line.

For some time after getting my iPhone I was frustrated that there was not a SEARCH or FIND function to help me locate lost entries.

Home Screen Page Turn Alternative

Ken Burkhalter — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:22:27 +0000

You probably move from Home Screen to Home Screen by scrolling left/right flicking your finger to throw the pages.

There is an alternative approach, which is sometimes more convenient.

The iPhone allows you to create up to nine (9) Home Screens. The small white dots above the Dock Bar shows the number of screens you have, and indicates which Screen you are currently viewing. The image below indicates we are on Screen #2 (yellow arrow points to dot number 2 of 6).

Home Screen Icon Control

Ken Burkhalter — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:14:58 +0000

By default, the iPhone arranges icons on the various Home Screens in a tight configuration that pushes everything up and to the left, leaving all blank spaces at the bottom of the screen.

Customizing the menu Bar

Ken Burkhalter — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:29:18 +0000

The iPhone's Menu Bar at the bottom of the screen provides a means to access the most common applications across all Home Screens. While Apple's default choice of Phone/Mail/Safari/iPod may may be just fine for you, if you've ever wanted a different layout, you can have it as the four (default) icons can be readily changed to meet your needs.