Author: Terry White

Terry is the co-author of The Best Selling "The iPhone Book" 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th editions. He has been active in the industry for over 25 years and is the founder and president of MacGroup-Detroit, Inc., Michigan's largest Macintosh Users Group, host of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and a technology writer - Terry White Tech Blog.
Reviews / Utilities
CoverMe

AT&T or Verizon: Where’s the Best Coverage? CoverMe! has you covered

Thinking of switching to a Verizon iPhone? Well now there's an App to help you see exactly who has the (stated) best coverage in the areas that you will be using your phone. CoverMe! does a clever job of allowing you to either use your current location or an address/zip code to compare the coverage maps of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile & Verizon. Of course actual coverage and cellular performance isn't as simple as the carrier's stated coverage, but this App can definitely give you a good idea of who has coverage where. For example, my grandma lived in the boonies in Georgia so I keyed in her zipcode (30635) for fun and it was clear that If I was living there I'd want a Verizon phone. However, in areas like NYC all the carriers state that they have great coverage according to their maps. So in that case take it for what it's worth. These are maps not actual experience/testing.

What about 3G/4G data?

This App only shows the coverage maps for voice, not data. That would be a really nice addition in the next update. If nothing else this is a fun app to play with.

Happy Friday!

You can get CoverMe! for FREE here from the iTunes

News
xfinity

Xfinity TV Now Streams TV Shows & Movies to the iPad

Comcast has taken it up a notch with their latest update to the Xfinity TV App. You can now stream featured OnDemand shows/movies to your iPad as long as you have a WiFi Internet connection. This includes shows from HBO. There is no additional cost to do this as a Comcast customer!

How well does it work?

Once you get the streaming going it works great. I say this because on one iPad I couldn't get any show to stream video past the opening. The sound would continue and the video would just freeze. However, on another iPad here it works fine. The quality is good too.

What about the iPhone/iPod touch? Users on the App Store are writing some pretty negative 1 Star reviews because you can only do this streaming to the iPad and not other iOS device. It's free so it's hard to complain, but I don't see any technical reason for this not to work on other iOS devices. Nonetheless, it's a great thing to have on the iPad. It's also good to have a Hulu alternative. TiVo! Your turn…

See my original Xfinity TV review here.

You can get Xfinity TV App for free here from the iTunes

 

(more…)

News
contractmakerpro

Contract Maker Pro Goes iPad Native!

Contract Maker Pro has always been my favorite App for making highly customized contracts and agreements. There was one thing missing though and that was a native iPad version. Although the iPad doesn't have a camera yet, which makes it less optimal for including photos in contracts, I still prefer to do them on the iPad for the larger screen real estate. Contract Maker Pro being a Universal App now means that I'm more likely to use it for producing a digital agreement. One way I get around the iPad not having a camera is to either email a quick photo from my iPhone or my MacBook Pro to the iPad while on a break or wardrobe change.

Contract Maker Pro has even more customizable fields

Not only does Contract Pro let you create multiple page contracts (1-5 pages), but this new version offers 10 Custom Placeholders that allow you to create your own fields, 5 custom rollers (those spinny data selector thingys), and 6 custom checkbox placeholders. It has a total of 62 usable placeholders (fields).  By far this App allows more customization than any other contract making App I've seen to date. It even has the ability to include multiple photos in the contract (like a model shot and a photo of their driver's license). 

You can get Contract Maker Pro for your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch for $4.99 here from the iTunes

(more…)

News / Reviews
Macworld_daily_reader

Macworld Daily Reader

I've been a reader of Macworld Magazine since, well since day one in 1984. Even to this day I get each monthly issue delivered electronically to my Zinio App. The only problem is having to wait a whole month to read it. In each Macworld issue I can usually find at least one tip or product that I didn't know about and having been a Mac user since 1984 it's rare that I can find a new tip (that I need). While I do follow the Macworld website via my RSS reader App, it's just not the same. So I was more than a little interested when I saw the announcement for their new Macworld Daily Reader App for iPad. It's a free App and I downloaded it on the spot.

Nice UI, but…

The App is pretty :) In other words like the magazine it's easy on the eyes with a good use of color and graphics. Upon 1st launch the App populates with the latest content from the site. Now keep in mind that this is not a replacement for the Magazine and at the same time there really isn't much here that you couldn't get from their website. It's just nicely packaged in an App taking advantage of the capabilities of your iPad. While the App delivers, it was a tad slow when it came to loading content. Also if you don't have an internet connection you be constantly warned of that fact even when you go to view articles that you've bookmarked. What I would love to see is the ability to load up the bookmarks area with a bunch of interesting articles to read off line while on a flight or train if I didn't have an internet connection and yes I know that there are other solutions out there for that, but we're talking about this App at the moment.  The article I bookmarked was there even in Airplaine Mode, but I still got the warnings about not being online. While you can share an article via email, Twitter and Facebook, I don't see a Print command. While I could care less about printing in general, I know that many of you like to print.

Lastly sometimes the layout gets in the way. There was one article I wanted to read but by the time I got past the large picture at the top and the table at the bottom there was only about one inch of height left over for the article in the middle. 

Yes there are Ads – I know that some of you are annoyed by Ads in your Apps. This is a Free App with no paid option and you're not only going to see Ads here, but they are going to popup at random. I tapped on a article and an Epson Printer Ad loaded first. I thought I had tapped on the wrong thing at first. While I get the need for Ads, I like to see them not be a surprise and for a paid option to eliminate them.

 

The Bottom Line

If you're a Mac user or an iOS user then this is a nice App to have on your iPad. With a few simple refinements it can be a great App. 

You can get the Macworld Daily Reader App for Free here from the iTunes

Reviews / Travel
Tipping_Guide

Tipping Guide

You can't throw a rock in the App Store without hitting a Tip Calculator. There are plenty of both free and paid ones to go around. My current favorite is CheckPlease (iPhone | iPad). These Tip Calculators work great for me here in the US, the problem I have is when I travel abroad not knowing what's customary and what's expected in other countries. In some countries the tip percentages are much lower than the 15%-20% here. Other countries you're not expected to tip at all (and they look at you funny when you do). 

Tipping Guide is the answer

Tipping Guide at first glance appears to be a global directory of tipping practices and while that would have been worth the price of admission alone for me, I later discovered that it is in fact a tipping calculator too. While it won't replace CheckPlease for me here domestically (because I like the CheckPlease interface ten times more), it will definitely be both my guide and tip calculator for my international travels. Also no data connection is required. The Tipping Guide info is built-in.

The Bottom Line

This App is just what I was looking for! It has the best UI (user interface) of the ones I've seen to date. The only real reason I can't give it 5 stars is because while the built-in Tip Calculator is functional the UI for it (the calculator) is kinda lame. You have to use the spinny wheels to enter the amounts. A standard numeric keypad would be much better and FASTER. With that said, having a tip calculator built-in beats switching between Apps any day. Aside from the Tip Calculator UI, I love this App!

You can get Tipping Guide for $0.99 here from the iTunes

(more…)

Page 30 of 94« First...1020...2829303132...405060...Last »