How to sync your iBooks onto your iPad

Lesson time! Obviously books are a lot easier (if only because it’s more natural) to read on your iPad instead of your computer. Here’s how to sync your books from your computer to your iPad.

Connect your iPad through usb to your computer.

If it’s the first time you’re connecting your iPad to your computer, both devices wil ask if the other is trustworthy. You should say yes, unless you have sneaky suspicions, of course.

iTunes on your computer should open automatically, but if it doesn’t, you can open it yourself (look at what a big strong adult you are)

Once open, click on the button ‘iPad’ or the name of the iPad in the top right corner.

At the top of the window that opens, it will give you a range of options – summary info, apps, music movies, TV shows Podcast, iTunes U ( everyone should look into iTunes U btw), and finally, books.

( Hot tip – you can sync all these things between your devices using the same method)

Click on books.

Select the ‘sync books’ check box, then choose to ‘sync all books’ or ‘selected books’ (which you can pick from below.)

There are 4 stages of syncing – it should take about 5 minutes ( depending on how much data you’re syncing of course.)

You can also sync your Audiobooks here.

Now you have all that lovely reading material on both! We recommend Shantaram, ‘Is everyone hanging out without me’ by Mindy and Mr Mercedes by Stephen King.

Just try not to do the ‘ol lying on your back reading with your iPad held above you until it falls on your face injury, k? K.

In Paris Oui Oui? Go check out the Apple Watch!

In Paris? Because you’re lucky like that? Colette, a Parisian fashion boutique is currently prominently displaying the Apple Watch in it’s Rue Saint-Honore Location! So go check it out, Oui? ( Gosh we love saying Oui.)

This is apparently in preparation for a special event Apple has planned with Colette tomorrow, with the suggestion that the Apple Watch will indeed be a highlight of the event.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to see it, know that you are one of very few people in the world to do so. Apple has said that they plan to release the wearable device in early 2015, with some suggesting that it might be the later part of early 2015.

Plenty of time to decide which one you’re going to get, and which band you’re going to pair it with!  And to practice your watch -looking at face. So people can say Ooh La La! Tres Jolie!

Oui Oui!

Don’t microwave your iPhone, please.

So some guys from 4Chan have been doing their dastardly best to throw the iPhone owning world into chaos. You might have seen this floating around the interwebs:

A very nicely produced ad designed to look like it came direct from Apple, introducing an amazing feature that means  you can charge your iPhone in the microwave.

Last year they used their super viral internet ninja skills to spread the world that the then new iPhone 5C and 5C were waterproof, leading to Trusty McTrusterson people all over the world trying to see the proof for themselves. Of course, they weren’t waterproof.

And putting your brand new shiny iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus in the microwave will NOT charge your phone. It will kill your phone, in a horrible, sparky McDeath way.

So please, admire these guys for their ninja viral internet skills, but don’t trust them. They be dastardly.

Tips on how to prevent your iPhone being lost forever

These are the things you should do, right now, while your beloved iPhone is sitting in your hands. Right now.

Or tomorrow, we’re all for some standard procrastination, but you should do it before you lose your iPhone, and you could lose you iPhone at any time. Because the universe is random and all that stuff. PLUS it’s the weekend. Weekends, for a lot of us, have this weird thing that sucks all our money and time and makes us lose things. I think it might have something to do with beer?

You should make sure that ‘Find My iPhone’ is activated on your iPhone. The app uses the built-in GPS to track the location of the phone. From then you can choose to go and get it if it’s just sitting somewhere lost and alone, or if you suspect it has been stolen, you can lock it so the person who has it can’t use it.

If you do suspect that your iPhone has been stolen, please don’t go to the wherever the thief is to try and get it back. Tell the police, and give them the information you have. Your iPhone is not worth risking your safety for.

If your iPhone IS just lost and alone somewhere, you can use the Find my iPhone app on a friend’s device, or you can look it up on your computer here by logging in with your iCloud account.

Have a look at Apple’s Find My iPhone support page.

You should probably have a contact in your phone listed under ‘ICE’, or, In Case of Emergency. The phone number should be someone you’re close to, i.e. your emergency contact type person. Obviously. That will be the number the person who finds your iPhone will call to try and get it back to you.

Some people advise that you should make sure that you have a bunch of alternative contact information for yourself within your contacts. That way, when someone finds your iPhone, they can swipe to the top of the contacts list to find the iPhone’s ph number and from there contact you using your email address, work phone or home phone (do people still have these though?).

If you have an iPhone above the iPhone 4, and you have a passcode on the device, you should make sure Siri understands who ‘mom’ or ‘dad’ is and the phone number associated with them. Even if your Mom or Dad aren’t in your life, if someone has found your iPhone it’s who they’re likely to try and contact, and hence who they would ask Siri to call. You can put a phone number to another close contact under that name. This also works for ‘my husband’ or ‘my wife’.

If you’re ok with people knowing your details, you can take a photo of your email address or home phone number written on a piece of paper and enable it as your lock screen on your iPhone.

Finally, we here at iPhone Antidote have a friend who carries their smartphone in a sock. Yes, a sock. One time it fell off her lap when she got out of a car and she didn’t notice. The car dropping her off drove off, she walked off, and realized an hour later she was without phone.

DISASTER.

Except. Who’s going to pick up a dirty ol’ sock on the side of the road? That’s right, nobody. She went back and dirty ol’ sock was still on the side of the road, with shiny iPhone still inside.

Woot! Enjoy your weekend Kids! Try not to lose anything! Actually, try to gain things! Like Love and Happiness and Unicorn sparkle karma bi*ches!

Found an iPhone?

Our phones are so many things to us all at once – cameras, photo albums, music holders, game machines, memory keepers, etc. But they’re also little, we take them most places we go and we also happen to be forgetful beings that suffer from brain farts. Which means sometimes, we lose our phones.

Disaster.

That disaster can turn into a positive experience however if someone finds your phone and is able to get it back to you. Because then you believe in the goodness of humanity and karma and wonderful disney things like that. And you will have an excellent day, and everyone you see will have an excellent day and the world will be a better place! Easy!

So. If you happen to find someone’s iPhone, please do the right thing and try your disney hardest (singing and dancing commentary not necessarily required) to get it back to them!

Remember, they may have Find My iPhone turned on and activated and they may be coming back to the very place the iPhone was lost. If it’s a safe place to be, try to stay there whilst you’re trying to contact them.

If the phone is unlocked, you should see if there is a contact listed under ‘ICE’ ( In Case of Emergency), or try looking for relative’s names such as Mum or Dad. Call them to let them know they have their friend or relative’s phone and where they can collect it from.

You can try looking under recent calls for someone to message or call but make sure that the name you choose is one that has been called often and doesn’t belong to a recent hook up or job interview! Awks.

Alternatively, pull down to swipe in contacts, above the search box, and you’ll see the owner’s phone number. Write it down, then type it into the phone. The owner’s name should appear below the number. Find their name in the Contacts list and then use their alternative contact details to reach them.

If the device is locked and it’s a model about the iPhone 4, try using Siri to call ‘ICE’ from the lock page. You could also try to call ‘Mom/dad’ or ‘my husband/my wife’.

If the battery is dead on the iPhone, you have two choices – you can either take it home and charge it and then try to find the owner, or you can hand it in to the police to do likewise.

And then feel all kinds of unicorn sparkle karma for the rest of the day! Yess. We loves us some unicorn sparkle karma.

New Apple ads with your favourite good looking gents

Apple has released 2 new ads called ‘Huge’ and ‘Cameras’ featuring none other than everyone’s favorite ‘got it all’ guys Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake.

The new ads are all about the size and impressive camera prowess of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. So, go with us here, do you think Jimmy and Justin had a lip-synching karaoke dance off to figure out who was going to be the iPhone 6 guy and who was going to be the iPhone 6 plus guy?

Yeah. Us too. They’re so cool like that.

and

Deals of the Week Wednesday! First edition!

Welcome to our first official Deals of The Week Wednesday! Hooray!

We’ve got some excellent deals for you this week, starting with –

*New PlayStation 4 Console from Amazon Warehouse  starting from $389.69 (+$3.99 shipping) and NO tax. A range of sellers offering great prices. 

*Google Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media Player (Manufacturer Refurbished) $25 from Groupon

*Canon EOS Rebel T3 12.2MP Digital SLR Camera w/ 18-55mm Lens (Refurbished) Down from $359.99 to $233.99 + Free shipping from Canon.

* 2-Pack of Aduro SoftTouch MacBook Keyboard Covers for $7.99 from Groupon.

* Staples.com is currently offering $10 off your Technology and Mobile Accessories Purchases worth $40 or more with coupon code 86128. Coupon is valid through 9/27. Go to Staples.com or print off their coupon’s to take in-store from here. 

*POV Mini Waterproof Action Video Camera. $59.95 from Groupon. Good deal – but check out the reviews on Amazon to make sure you know what you’re getting, as it appears the general consensus is that it’s great- for it’s size.

* AND finally, Apple is currently offering their Apple TV for $99.00 with a $25 gift card. Buy in -store or online.

There you go! Happy dealmaking friends!

If there is a particular product you would like to find for a cheaper price let us know and we’ll see if we can scout it out!                  

Announcing our new Deals Of The Week Wednesday!

Wednesday, hump day, the day before thursday which is the day before the weekend, the day after tuesday… blahday.

So we’re going to try and make it a little more exciting! How?

DEALS!

We’re pleased to announce our new Deals Of The Week Wednesday!

How to describe the feeling when you get something AWESOME for less money? Less money than the recommended retail price, and less money than that shmuck one street over who is constantly trying outdo you. Out do YOU? Pfft. You will always get better deals.

Every wednesday we’ll be releasing the best deals in gadgetry, accessories, Apple devices and electronics across the internet and across the United States. Sometimes, even, across the world. That’s right. 

We love giving you CASHMONEY for your broken, water damaged or stinky old iPhones, and we’re pretty sure we’re going to love saving you money and helping you buy awesome things for less. Every week!

Starting tomorrow we look forward to making your life better and cheaper!

Lots of Love,

iPhone Antidote.

How many new iPhones have sold so far?

Last year the iPhone 5S and 5C broke Apple’s previous record of opening weekend sales with over 9 million units sold.

We like to think that everyone in New Jersey went out and bought one.

This opening weekend, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus broke that record, with the opening weekend ringing up sales of over TEN million units.

AND not just in New Jersey! The iPhones were on sale here in the US, as well as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK and will be available in more than 20 additional countries on September 26, with another 115 countries by the end of the year.

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin.”

Boom! Shatter those records Tim!

Thinking of becoming one of those millions buying an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus? You’re currently looking at shipping estimates of 7-10 business days for the former, and 3-4 weeks for the latter.

Paypal attacks!

It looks like PayPal might be feeling a little threatened by Apple’s announcement of their payment system Apple Pay, as they have gone on the offense. Last week they pulled a full-page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle making sly digs about Apple’s security.
“We the people want our money safer than our selfies,” reads the PayPal ad. “PayPal, protecting the people economy.”

Obviously they are referring to how some celebrities have had nude photos stolen from their Apple iCloud accounts. The conclusion they want people to have is: How can that security – that failed so many so drastically – possibly be safe enough for your money?

It’s a good effort, and I imagine that a lot of people will agree with what they say, even if it’s not strictly true. Paypal relies on passwords, as does apple, however the celebrity hack was not a security problem on Apple’s side, more so a combination of  pretty smart hackers, likely poorly chosen passwords and the mistake of not using the 2-step verification Apple offers as an option. Something Paypal is also vulnerable to. Apple pay will also have the advantage of the Touch ID.

Although not direct competitors – yet – Apple pay will be a system to contend with. It will launch next month at  220,000 retail locations as well as some big name chain stores such as Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Staples, Subway, McDonalds, Wholefoods, Disney and Sephora. And, the Apple retail stores. Duh. Online stores that will use Apple Pay such as Target, Groupon, Uber and the MLB store, will allow you to make the payments within their mobile apps.

On the other hand, PayPal processes 9.3 million payments each day online and has announced that it will be available in 2 million physical in store locations soon.

If it does come down to a choice you make about who you trust with your hard earned money, make sure it’s a personal choice, not swayed by ads like this. Both companies are obviously reputable and respectable- neither want any of your personal data hacked.

Also make sure that whichever one you choose, (if you indeed have to make a choice) you remember that you are also responsible for the security of your data, and adjust your personal passwords and 2-step verification options accordingly.

Yay for competition making it easier to spend out hard earned dollars! We think.