Stop iPad game distractions at school

Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to prevent your child playing games on their iPad at school.  Hopefully the school will have restrictions in place and your child abides by them. 

The perfect solution would be an app that allows you to lock a folder full of apps.  Then you could have the passcode and only unlock that games folder when your child is home.  However, the apps that allow that feature are only available to you if you jailbreak your iPad.   

  

I don’t recommend jailbreaking your iPad because it terminates your warranty, and also opens the iPad, and your child, to security issues and apps that you might not want them accessing.  Jailbreaking is a technical process, and not for the novice; each time there’s a software update you’ll need to re-jailbreak the device, and there is also the risk of permanent damage being done to the device.

So, what can you do to make sure that their games aren’t distracting your child every time they open their iPad?

Turn off notifications

Turn off notifications on the games your child plays, so they won’t be distracted by announcements of approaching tournaments, new levels or prizes they can collect in their favourite games.

• To see what Notifications are appearing on the iPad, swipe down from the top of the screen.

To turn off Notifications:

1. Go to Settings

2. Select Notifications

3. From the list of apps that appears on the right of the screen, you’ll need to select each of the games individually to access their Notification settings

4. Swipe next to Allow Notifications to turn off all notifications for each game/app.

• Be careful which apps you switch off notifications for – they might need their calendar or reminder app notifications!

FYI, this is where you can choose how and where you receive notifications from apps; you can choose where on the screen they appear and whether there is a sound notification as well.

Get to know your iPad

Setting up your child's iPad for school

Getting to know the iPad

If your family is new to iPads then you need to get to know the device.  Hopefully your child will receive some instruction at school, but it's also a good idea for you to know where to turn if your child needs help.  There are a few places you can try:

On the iPad there is a pre installed app – Tips. This app gives you single screen tips to help you get to know your iPad. Just swipe to see the next tip.  There is also a link in Tips to the iPad User Guide, which you can download for free from the iBooks Store.

If you want to know all about the latest updates and features you can download the Tips & Tricks - Secrets for iPad app. This gives you in depth information, app and hardware reviews, notifications about new apps, updates and features – basically EVERYTHING you could possibly need to know about your iPad.  There is a free version and a pro version for $7.99.

• Free iPad tutorials are available at http://www.gcflearnfree.org/devices/ipadbasics

Add your contact details to the iPad lock screen

Setting up your child's iPad for school

It's all very well having a passcode on your child’s iPad so no one but them can access it, but what if it gets lost? Sure, you can use Find My iPhone, but if it's just been left somewhere at school and needs to find its way back to your child you need to make sure it is identifiable.

Your identification choices are:

•  Add their name and a contact number to the iPad case/cover – great as long as the iPad stays in the case
• Engrave their name and a contact number on the iPad back (a permanent option, but hidden if the iPad is in a case)
• Add their name, year, class number, contact number (or any other information you want) to the lock screen, so it's the first thing that is seen when the iPad opens.  This is the easiest option, and it’s also one you can change whenever you need to, ie. change of year, change of phone number etc.

 How to customise the iPad lock screen

You don't need to install an app to add your choice of information to the lock screen. You can use any method you like to create an image that you can save as a photo which can then be chosen as the lock screen image.  You could even handwrite it and then take a photo of the paper with your child's iPad.

Alternatively, and the method I used for my boys’ iPads, was to create an image in PowerPoint.  It is likely that one of the apps you needed to download was either PowerPoint or Keynote, so why not use what you already have.  Just select a nice theme and create one slide with the text you want. Run the slide show and take a screen shot of that one slide.

I’ll run you through the instructions using the PowerPoint app, although it’s almost identical with Keynote:

1.     Open PowerPoint and select a theme your child likes

2.     Double tap each placeholder (text box) and type your text.  You can move the position of each placeholder by tapping it once so you see the solid frame around it, then dragging it to its new position.

TIP:  If you’re using Keynote, the first slide doesn’t always feature the theme you chose, so add a second slide and use that one to create your lock screen image.

3.     Once you are happy with your slide, tap the play button, in the top right corner

4.     Wait a second for the tool bar at the top of the screen to disappear so your slide takes up the full iPad screen, then take a screen shot.  To take a screen shot on the iPad just simultaneously press the home and power buttons.

5.     The image has now been saved to Photos on the iPad.

To set your image as the lock screen:

1.     Go to Settings

2.     Select Wallpaper

3.     Select Choose a New Wallpaper

4.     Tap on Screenshots

5.     Tap the image you just created

6.     If it doesn’t fit the screen perfectly you can adjust it by pinching and stretching to adjust it on the screen

7.     Make sure Perspective Zoom is Off if you’ve adjusted the image

8.     Tap Set Lock Screen

That’s it – your lock screen is done!  

Getting to know Windows 10

Have you upgraded to Windows 10?  Depending on which version of Windows you came from, it could be a very big change for you.  

I've put together a list of articles and tips to help you get to know your new operating system.  If you have any questions about Windows 10 let me know in the comments below this post, or on my Facebook Page.

Get to know Windows 10

View more lists from Techie Mum

Windows 8.1 - Questions & Answers

I get lots of questions about Windows 8.1 (the latest versions of Windows 8).  I think I've found the perfect way to answer those questions and create a place where anyone can refer to if they need help. 

Windows 8.1 - Questions & Answers

View more lists from Techie Mum

Techie Mum on Radio 2GB

I was on the radio this morning – Sydney radio station 2GB.  If you’ve just found Techie Mum from my interview with Andrew Moore – welcome.  Techie Mum is where you’ll find tips, information and product reviews on the types of tech gadgets that families use, new apps and software for Mums, Dads and kids, and recommendations and advice on how to get the most out of all your family’s devices. 

If you’d like more information about what I spoke about in the interview, I’ve added the links below to my articles on these topics:

  

My three favourite apps

Wunderlist - read about it here and here

Pocket

Stocard

More about my favourite apps can be found here

When it comes to cyber safety I defer to the absolute expert in the field – Leonie Smith, also known as The Cyber Safety Lady.  

Instagram

Is instagram safe for children?   

Read Leonie's article here 

Cyberbullying

What to do

How parents can prevent it

Minecraft

Leonie has also written a very popular article about Minecraft

Public Wi-Fi

What are Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Protect yourself when using Public Wi-Fi

You can also find Techie Mum on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.  Take a look on my Home page for the links to take you straight to these sites.

I hope you enjoy reading my posts, and I hope you will feel free to comment and ask questions if there’s something techie you need help with.

If you'd like to listen to the interview it's available on the 2GB website here

Phone review: Samsung Galaxy S5

As one of the Virgin Mobile Handset Tester Team I've been trying out the Samsung Galaxy S5 for the last two weeks. 

I love this phone, and if your phone contract is up for renewal or you just want to replace your phone the Samsung Galaxy S5 is definitely worth considering.   Take a look at my review video below...

If you're interested in the apps I talk about in my review, my next post will be all about them and the other apps I use to manage my business and my life.




Disclosure:  Virgin Mobile Australia gave me a Samsung Galaxy S5 to review but all views expressed are my own.

Goodbye Windows XP

In October 2001 Windows XP was released and over the years it has become the most used computer operating system in the world.  In the 12 years since there have been three new versions of Windows released - Vista, 7, and 8/8.1, but there are hundreds of millions of computers all over the world still using XP – actually 18% of Windows PCs. 

If you’re one of them, you should spend this weekend thinking about what you’re going to do after Tuesday – because on 8 April Microsoft will cease to support Windows XP.  While XP is still a great operating system there could be some problems if you continue to use it after that date. 

Hopefully I can answer your questions about what it means to you:

What will happen on 8 April 2014?

On that date Microsoft will no longer offer any kind of technical support for Windows XP.  That means there will be no more automatic updates from Microsoft – of most concern is no more security updates. 

Support is also ending for Internet Explorer 8, which is the default web browser for XP. 

Without those security updates your computer could be exposed to malware, viruses and other security threats.

Will my computer still work?

Yes, the end of Microsoft support will have no effect how your computer works.

Should I buy a new computer?

If you've been thinking about it, then yes.  Now would be a good time to buy. 

If you've been hearing terrible things about Windows 8, then let me reassure you that it’s not that bad, it’s very fast, and if you bypass the modern tiled start screen there’s a familiar XP/Windows 7 style desktop.  It has also been rumoured this week that a future update will reintroduce the Start Menu. 

Most of the software that you used on your XP computer (unless it’s very old) will still work on Windows 8, or this could be a good opportunity to negotiate with the salesman when buying your new computer to see what software they can throw in - a one year subscription to Office 365 would be good!

To help you move your files from your XP computer to a new one, Microsoft has a free tool – PC Mover Express.  This tool will copy your files, music, videos, email, user profiles and settings from your old PC to your new computer running Windows 7, 8 or 8.1.  

If I don’t want to buy a new computer what can I do?

• Use a more modern web browser – like Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.  They are both free to download and will be supported on XP computers until at least 2015.  This will help to stop your computer being exposed to the most common threats.

• Keep your internet security software up to date.

• If your computer is suitable you could install a new operating system on it - you can still buy Windows 7 installation disks.  To check if your computer can run Windows 7 download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. 

If I buy a new computer is there anything I can do with my XP computer?

Yes, you’ll have no problems at all if you are not connected to the internet, so maybe keep it as a backup computer or for the kids for games or basic programs. 

Have a think this weekend about what you're going to do if you still have an XP computer and if you have any specific questions pop them in a comment below.

Need a new email address - create an alias

Have you ever had to create a second account on a website, but you've only got one email address?  I know I've had this problem when I've needed to create accounts for my sons (who aren't yet using their own email addresses). 

There’s a way around this.  Most web-based mail services allow you to create email aliases.   When you use these email aliases any mail to that address is still delivered to your normal email address.

Gmail

For Gmail addresses, you can add a +suffix to your email address.  Only the characters up until the first plus sign are used to determine where the mail is delivered.  For instance, emails sent to myemail@gmail.com and myemail+suffix@gmail.com will both go to myemail@gmail.com.  If doesn't matter what the suffix is – +childsname, +shopping etc. 

There is nothing you need to do to set up one of these alias email addresses - just type it when you need it.  You can keep using it or not - and there's nothing to delete either.

Outlook.com (replaced Hotmail)

Open the options screen and click Create an Outlook alias.  Email sent to the alias will appear in your normal Outlook.com email inbox.  You can keep this address and use it or delete the alias later to prevent further emails from arriving.

The Outlook.com alias feature is even more useful than the Gmail option, because you can create a completely different email address, which you can use to send and receive emails.  For example, a primary account of initialsurname@outlook.com could also have aliases of firstnamesurname@outlook.com, firstname.surname@outlook.com, or any other variation (as long as that email address hasn't already been taken).  Or, how about creating different addresses for different purposes: johnsmith.personal@outlook.com, johnsmith.accounts@outlook.com.

  

Can you think of an instance where a second (third, fourth...) email address could have been useful to you?

Another way to access new technology – rent a laptop

This post is sponsored by Flexirent

So you’re in the market for a new laptop!  Your faithful old machine is starting to slow down, it takes ages to boot and you’re getting sick of waiting five minutes before you see your emails.  Or maybe you or your child is starting university next month and a laptop is needed to take to lectures?  Those shiny new models in the catalogues are looking very attractive, except for the price!

It's great to have the latest tech gadget, but it can be expensive and often your budget just can't stretch to such a large amount at once. There is another option - renting. Rather than paying the entire amount for your new laptop up front, you can rent it and pay a monthly amount instead. 

Flexirent is a market leader in flexible and secure rental options for technology customers in Australia and New Zealand, and they work with some of the major technology retailers.

How does renting your new tech work? 

Your first step is to go shopping – either online or at one of the retailers Flexirent works with (like Harvey Norman, Domayne, and Apple premium resellers).  You choose the brand and model you want, which means you can take advantage of any special deals available at the time.

Once you've made your choice you give Flexirent a call for preapproval of the amount you need (you can even do that at the store).  You'll be asked some questions to check your credit rating and given approval to buy.  Once that’s done you can pick up your lovely new laptop and bring it home that day.  All the paperwork is finalised at the store.

One of the decisions you need to make is how long you want the rental agreement to last – 12, 24, or 36 months, and that will determine the monthly amount you pay.  If there’s other equipment you need it can all be bundled together.  You might get approval to spend $2000, but that could be $1000 for your laptop, $300 for a printer, $500 for an iPad and $200 for software. 

Yes, renting is going to cost you more than buying the laptop outright, and it definitely won’t suit everyone’s circumstances - but there are benefits to renting that you might not have considered:

Because you rent, rather than own, your laptop, if something goes wrong it’s Flexirent that takes care of it – not you.  If your laptop needs repairing you’ll be given the loan of another laptop until yours is fixed - delivered to you the next business day.    If your laptop is lost, stolen or accidentally damaged it will be replaced.  That’s especially important if the laptop is going to school or university every day.  Of course, the main benefit of a laptop is portability, so there’s no restriction on where you take your laptop – as long as it’s within Australia. 

At the end of your rental period you have the option of swapping your laptop for the latest model, continuing your agreement, returning or even buying your laptop. 

Flexirent also offers their customers up to 50% discount on mobile broadband plans with Blink.

You need to consider your individual circumstances when deciding whether renting is a viable option for you.  Those that benefit the most from renting are those who need a laptop for work, or have their own business.  If your laptop is even partly for business use it is tax deductible – 100% if it is solely for work.  If you wanted a laptop worth $900 your monthly rental payment would be around $60 on a 24 month agreement, but if that laptop is for work, depending on your tax bracket, it could work out to be around $36 (or less) a month.

If you’re a business owner your monthly rental payments are classed as an operating expense that you run through your profit and loss statement, rather than a depreciable asset.  It doesn't appear on your balance sheet as a debt or loan.

As with any financial undertaking, make sure you read all the terms and conditions first and understand the agreement before you commit to it. 

You can find out more about renting with Flexirent here.

Are you missing Techie Mum on Facebook?

If you haven’t been seeing Techie Mum posts on Facebook recently it’s because of some recent changes that Facebook have made. So how can you continue to see my posts in your newsfeed (if this is what you want)?

·       When you do see a Techie Mum post in your News Feed – Like, Comment or Share.  This tells Facebook that you want to see more of this type of content and you’re more likely to see more of my posts.

·       Go to the Techie Mum Facebook Page and hover over the Like button, then click on Get Notifications.  This means you’ll be notified whenever I post something new on Facebook.

New iPads on the way

Apple announced some new products just a few hours ago.  First the iPad news….

On 1 November you’ll be able to buy the fifth generation iPad, called the iPad Air.  So, what’s different?

It’s just under 2mm thinner (from 9.4mm down to 7.5mm), and slightly lighter.  The Pixel resolution is the same as the iPad 4, but the performance is double that of the iPad 4, and 8 times that of the first iPad. 

There are two microphones which will improve the sound quality of FaceTime calls and video recording – and important for those using dictation and VoiceOver (I’ll be writing about accessibility features on the iPad very soon).

Two antennas and new technology mean the iPad Air will be twice as fast as the iPad 4 over Wi-Fi.   There has been no change in the rear camera – still 5 megapixels, but there’s a new FaceTime HD front camera. The battery should still last 10 hours.  Pricing is the same as the past iPads, starting at $499 for 16GB.  The iPad 4 will be discontinued, but you’ll still be able to buy the iPad 2, for $100 less that the new one.

To go with your new iPad you’ll be able to buy a new Smart Cover.  Instead of folding into four sections it will fold into three to create a triangular stand.  It also features hinges that match the curve of the new iPad.  You’ll pay $39 for a cover that protects just the front, or $79 to cover the back as well.

The other announcement from Apple is a new iPad Mini with Retina display.  This will be available later in November.  You’ll still be able to buy the original iPad mini, but it should be $100 cheaper, with the new iPad mini at $399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model.

Included now with the purchase of any new Mac or iOS device will be all iWorks and iLife apps for free.  iWorks is Apple’s productivity suite of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers (equivalent to Word, PowerPoint and Excel) which have all been updated for iOS7.  iLife includes a redesigned iMovie, iPhoto and GarageBand.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the other new products from Apple.

Keep that battery going

Last week my laptop battery started flashing a warning recommending that I replace my battery.  I knew it was on its way out – it was lasting less and less time between charges and the day before it had reached the stage where if it wasn't plugged into the power it would drain in about 10 minutes.

Not a problem, all I needed to get a new battery was the model of my computer and the model number of the battery.  I ordered a new battery online which was delivered within 24 hours.  Amazing what a difference a new battery can make to the functioning of your computer.  Back to super quick again.

Having a new battery got me thinking about what I could have done differently to make my old battery last longer – it was about three years old.  A bit of research produced some interesting facts, which everyone who has portable devices (that means everyone!) needs to know.

The batteries inside your laptop, mobile phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod, and some cameras are Lithium-ion batteries.  These batteries are the most popular for mobile devices because…

• They're generally much lighter than other types of rechargeable batteries of the same size.
• More energy can be stored in a Lithium-ion battery than other types of batteries.
• They hold their charge. A lithium-ion battery pack only loses about 5% of its charge per month, compared to a 20% loss per month for standard NiMH rechargeable batteries.

• They have no memory effect, which means that you don’t have to completely discharge them before recharging.

•  Lithium-ion batteries can handle hundreds of charge/discharge cycles.

However, they do have some faults:

• They start degrading as soon as they leave the factory – whether you use them or not.

• They are extremely sensitive to high temperatures - heat causes lithium-ion battery packs to degrade faster.

• If you completely discharge a lithium-ion battery, it is ruined.

•  There is a small chance that, if a lithium-ion battery pack fails, it will burst into flames.

Taking these features into account, what can I do to make sure my new laptop battery lasts as long as possible?

• Fully charge new lithium-ion batteries for the first three cycles.  New Lithium-ion batteries work best if they are fully charged, and drained for the first three charging cycles.  When you get a new battery, or new device, use it until it is completely drained, then charge it fully.  Then do the same another two times.

• After those first three charging cycles you should charge your battery occasionally, for short periods.  Don’t wait until it has completely drained.  Your battery is capable of a finite number of charge/recharge cycles.  A charging cycle means using all of the battery’s power, then recharging it to 100%, but that doesn't have to mean a single charge. For example, you could use your iPad for five hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two.  Each time you complete a charging cycle, your battery’s capacity is slightly reduced, but it will still take hundreds, up to thousands (depending on the device), of charging cycles before it drops to a noticeable level.  For example, an iPad battery should last 1000 full charge and discharge cycles before it drops to 80% of its original capacity. 

• If you need your laptop plugged in for a length of time, remove the battery (if you are able to).  I upgraded my laptop to Windows 8.1 on Friday, but I was going out for the day, so I plugged the laptop into the power, removed the battery, and left it to do the upgrade on its own.

• If you are not going to use your device for a few months store it with 50% charge.  If you leave a battery with no charge for a few months it may not be capable of holding any charge again.  Also, if you leave a battery fully charged for an extended period the battery can lose capacity.

• Keep it cool.  Lithium-ion batteries don’t like heat.  So don’t leave your devices in a hot car, or sitting in the sun all day, or you might find it has died when you return.  But don’t keep them too cool – freezing temperatures aren't good for them either.

• Don’t be too rough with them.  Impact can damage the battery’s internal cell.

Finally, if you do replace your device’s battery remember to dispose of the old one correctly.  Apple stores will replace and recycle your old batteries, and most local Councils provide e-waste collection and recycling points.  Lithium-ion batteries cannot be put in your normal household garbage.

iOS7 Tips

I have been posting tips on iOS7 all week on Facebook.  These posts have generated a lot of comment and have been very popular.  I’ve collected them all here together in case you missed any of them, and added a few new ones too…..

Do you have to upgrade to iOS7?

Not yet - you can easily wait a few days or even weeks. There are sure to be a few small updates over the next week or so to iron out some minor annoyances - there's already been one update.  However, it's not something you can avoid altogether - some applications are going to start requiring the new operating system. 

Free ebooks on iOS7

Have you upgraded to iOS7? Are you still working out the changes? Or have you just bought your first iPhone or iPad and you're not sure how it works?  iTunes has FREE iOS7 guides that you can download and read in iBooks: 
iPhone:         http://bit.ly/1eyPbh6
iPad:             http://bit.ly/16pf4qz
iPod Touch: http://bit.ly/1byI0Va

App Auto-Update

iOS 7 will now update your apps in the background whenever you are connected to a Wi-Fi (or mobile) network; without letting you know there are any updates.  While this does mean your apps will always be up to date, it also consumes data and power, and should be restricted for when you're free to plug in your iPhone or iPad to charge, or when you can connect to your home Wi-Fi.

You can turn off auto-update: Tap the Settings icon, scroll down to iTunes & App Store and turn off Automatic Downloads for Apps and Updates.

Moving wallpaper

If you slowly jiggle your iPhone or iPad you may notice the "parallax" effect of three-dimensional icons sitting on top of your wallpaper. This effect uses internal hardware to sense the direction, speed, and motion of your movements. You might like this effect (or not), but it does drain the battery, and it is there just for appearance. 

To save a bit more power on your device you can disable the "moving wallpaper" feature: head to Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion, then flick the switch in the on position.

iOS7 battery saving tip – Background App Refresh

Apps that receive constant updates, usually those that are syncing across a number of devices, are automatically refreshed in the background in iOS7 so they are always up to date – rather than receiving an update when you open that app. However this feature is very heavy on your precious battery power and it has been reported as causing some issues with logging users out of sessions on some apps so they have to log back in. 

I think that’s two good reasons to disable it: Just go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. You can then see which of your apps are using this feature – in my case it’s Evernote, Google Maps, Pocket and Springpad. You then have the choice of disabling Background App Refresh on an app by app basis, or disabling it all together. 

Don’t worry, your apps will still be updated – it will just happen when you open that app, which is how it was in iOS6.

Turn off AirDrop except when needed

iOS7 Tip of the day:  AirDrop is a brilliant tool that allows you to share files between devices when they are in close proximity. But its use can take a heavy toll on your battery, particularly when AirDrop is always trying to ‘discover’ if there are any friends close by. 

To save your battery, you can just activate AirDrop when you need it.  To turn it off, swipe up from your home screen to bring up the Control Centre, then tap AirDrop. Select Off when you're not using it.  This is also where you choose who can 'discover' you using AirDrop.

Don't use moving 'dynamic' wallpapers

The new dynamic wallpapers do look great, especially when they move when you move your device.  However, they are another drain on your battery power.  Would you rather have bubbles floating around on your screen or have your battery last longer?  Instead go for a ‘still’ wallpaper – and there are some new ones to choose from in iOS7 – or use one of your own pictures.  Go to Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness > Choose Wallpaper > select Stills and select your background (or Camera Roll or My Photo Stream to select your own photo).

Switch off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you don‘t need them

If you are not near or not using a Wi-Fi hotspot, or sending items to other devices using Bluetooth, these can be turned off.  Swipe up from your home screen and you’ll see the Control Centre, tap the Wi-Fi button and the Bluetooth button to off. 

Close any apps you’re not using

Double-press the Home button and all your open apps will appear as a scrolling banner across your screen.  To close one, just swipe it up.  Press the Home button again to return to normal.