I’ve been a lifetime Apple user, so I totally sympathize with those envious PC users longing for some Mac OS X love.  Until recently, any noncovert had to depend on their hacking skills to get the slick OS installed.  Not any more, thanks to the EFi-X dongle.  It simply plugs into your PC’s motherboard and applies a Mac firmware allowing a complete install of Mac OS X plus updates.

The EFi-X dongle us currently available here (out of stock) in two versions for $155

[TGDaily]

The post EFi-X Dongle Hacks Your PC To Run Mac OS X With No Fuss Or Mess appeared first on Gadget Review.

Here’s the perfect holiday gift for the die hard Mac enthusiast in your life. The Icon Pillow Collection from Throw Boy can be purchased as a set for $149, or individually for $29.

They’re available here

[Purepleasuredesign]

The post OS X Icon Pillow Collection appeared first on Gadget Review.

Over the weekend, actually just before, rumors emerged that the latest installment of 10.5 would be available.  The weekend came and went (as did a few cold ones, if you know what I’m saying) and no update emerged.  Today I fired up my computer and got prompted with 10.5.6.  You can get also download it from Apple directly here

So what’s it fix?

Address Book

• Improves reliability of Address Book syncing with iPhone and other devices and applications.

AirPort

• Improves the reliability of AirPort connections, including improvements when roaming in large wireless networks with an Intel-based Mac.

Client management

• Improves reliability of synchronizing files on a portable home directory.
• Fixes an issue in Mac OS X 10.5.4 and 10.5.5 in which managed users may not see printers that use the Generic PPD.
• Client computers that use UUID-based ByHost preferences now respect managed Screen Saver settings.

iChat

• Addresses an issue that could cause an encryption alert to appear in the chat window.
• Setting your iChat status to “invisible” via AppleScript no longer logs you out of iChat.
• Resolves an issue in which pasting text from a Microsoft Office document could insert an image rather than text.

Graphics

• Includes general improvements to gaming performance.
• Includes graphics improvements for iChat, Cover Flow, Aperture, and iTunes.
• Includes fixes for possible graphics distortion issues with certain ATI graphics cards.

Mail

• Includes overall performance and reliability fixes.
• Improves Connection Doctor accuracy.
• Fixes an issue that could cause messages identified as junk to remain in the inbox.
• Fixes an issue that could cause Mail to append a character to the file extension of an attachment.
• Addresses an issue that could prevent Mail from quitting.
• Improves reliability when printing PDF attachments.

MobileMe

• Contacts, calendars, and bookmarks on a Mac automatically sync within a minute of the change being made on the computer, another device, or the web at me.com.

Networking

• Improves Apple File Service performance, especially when using a home directory hosted on an AFP server. Important: If you are using Mac OS X 10.5.6 (client) to connect to a Mac OS X Server 10.4-based server, it is strongly recommended that you update the server to Mac OS X Server version 10.4.11.
• Improves the performance and reliability of TCP connections.
• Improves reliability and performance for AT&T 3G cards.
• Updates the ssh Terminal command for compatibility with more ssh servers.

Printing

• Improves printing for the Adobe CS3 application suite.
• Improves printing for USB-based Brother and Canon printers.

Parental Controls

• Addresses an issue in which a parentally-controlled account could be unable to access the iTunes Store.
• Includes general fixes for time limits.
• Resolves an issue that prevented adding allowed websites from Safari via drag and drop.

Time Machine

• Fixes issues that could cause Time Machine to state the backup volume could not be found.
• Improves Time Machine reliability with Time Capsule.

Safari

• Improves compatibility with web proxy servers.

General

• Includes Mac OS X security improvements. See this website for more information.
• Addresses inaccuracies with Calculator when the Mac OS X language is set to German or Swiss German.
• Improves the performance and reliability of Chess.
• Improves DVD Player performance and reliability.
• Performance improvements for iCal are included.
• Fixes an issue when running the New iCal Events Automator action as an applet.
• Adds a Trackpad System Preference pane for portable Macs.
• Improves compatibility with smart cards such as the U.S. Department of Defense Common Access Card.
• Updates time zone data and Daylight Saving Time rules for several countries.

The post Apple OS X 10.5.6 Update Now Available appeared first on Gadget Review.

There it is folks!  Snow Leopard, aka OS X 10.6 will ship out to customers on August 28th.  If you’d like can pre-order it now straight from Apple or Amazon for $29, that is assuming you’ve got 10.5 installed.  If not, you’ll have to buy Tiger and then Snow Leopard.

Upgrade from Mac OS X Leopard with Snow Leopard, a simpler, more powerful, and more refined version of Mac OS X. It delivers a wide range of enhancements, next-generation technologies, out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange Server, and new accessibility features. It’s the world’s most advanced operating system, finely tuned from installation to shutdown.

Read

The post Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Shipping August 28th appeared first on Gadget Review.

Mac OS X 10.6.7 is now available for your computer’s consumption.  Apple’s recommending that all Snow Leopard users install it.  In short it fixes the following issues:

• Improves the reliability of Back to My Mac
• Resolves an issue with transferring files to certain SMB servers
• Fixes various minor Mac App store bugs
• Addresses various issues with MacBook Air (Mid 2010) computer performance
• Fixes a rare issue in Mac OS X v10.6.5 that could cause user accounts to disappear from the Login window and System Preferences after putting the system to sleep

The post Mac OS X 10.6.7 Is Now Available, Fixes Minor Issues appeared first on Gadget Review.

Reportedly, Apple will offer Mac OS X “Lion” 10.7 through the Mac App Store, a first for the company and perhaps any major PC manufacturer.  An optical disc version of the software will still be available for those that don’t have the appropriate bandwidth or still desire to have a physical version on hand.

A safe assumption, based on the above, is that Apple is attempting to move completely away from what are now considered traditional delivery methods of media.  The iTunes and iOS app stores are already strong indicators of this given their continued success, and the Macbook Air, which lacks an optical disc drive, seems to be the blueprint of all future Macbook laptops.

Expect to see Lion shown off at this year’s WWDC, which commences June 6th.

Just one question: what if you want to perform a “clean” install of OS X?

Read

The post Mac OS X “Lion” to be Delivered Through the Mac App Store appeared first on Gadget Review.

Word is that Mac OS X Lion will release in the Mac app store and in Apple stores tomorrow.  It will cost $30.

It terms of updates and features, here is what you can expect:

Multi-touch gestures.  Sure, the previous iteration of OS X supported this, but in this version you’ll be able to enjoy even more control, which includes rubber-band scrolling, page and image zoom, and full-screen swiping.

Full-screen apps.  We’re not sure if you’d really call this a feature, but this version of OS X supports full-screen apps that use every inch of your Mac display.  Apparently, you can switch between multiple full-screen apps, so you’re not just limited to one.

Mission Control.  This might be one if not the biggest update to OS X.  It brings together the full-screen apps, Dashboard, Exposé, and Spaces in one new feature and provides a snap shot view of everything running.  A gesture control allows you to activate or deactivate this feature.

Lauchpad.  Much like iOS, Launchpad is a full-screen view of all your apps on your Mac.  You just click the Launchpad app in your dock and it will immediately display all of your apps in a full screen.  And just like iOS you can arrange your apps into folders and place them in any order you prefer.

Resume.  Close an app and then open it and you’ll start off in the same place you left off.  Perhaps not the best in the case of surfing for porn, but a nice touch if the system crashes on you or you need to install a system update – everything is saved for you so your work isn’t lost.

Auto Save.  All of your work is saved all the time.  No longer do you have to hit the command-s keys to make sure your work isn’t lost.

Versions.  Like Google Docs, OS X Lion will track and chart the versions of your documents, displaying them side-by-side allowing you to restore previous iterations.

AirDrop.  No WiFi network needed.  This feature lets you share documents, files, pictures and more with compatible Apple laptops using WiFi Direct.  The system automatically discovers other AirDrop users within 30 feet.  To share just drag the file to that persons name located in the sidebar.

Mail.  Mail has been updated to take advantage of the full screen.  Search has been improved, but let’s just hope it’s nothing like the iOS version.

Clearly, that’s not all 250+ features that Lion OS X has to offer.  Hopefully, we can get you a review in the next 7 days.  For more details on each of these features head to Apple’s Lion OS X website.

The post Lion OS X Launching Tomorrow, Checkout the Newest Features appeared first on Gadget Review.

[Rating: 4/5]

Before reviewing the MacBook Air, I hated trackpads. It’s just a technology that I feel never really cemented itself with us, as human beings, because it requires touch, and every touch is different. A very dry finger glides well, but a moist one may not. Mushy fingertips don’t work particularly well, and stubby ones don’t always read on the surface. Touch interfaces are quickly becoming the preferred method of digital communication through smartphones and tablets, but the trackpad remains mostly unchanged. They come in many shapes and sizes and textures, with nearly all the same highlights and limitations. Frankly, I’m far more partial to what IBM dubbed Trackpoint.

That said, it’s hard to use a laptop these days without using a trackpad, so like everyone I adjusted. There are good and bad trackpads, and frankly too many reasons not to use them. Logitech’s Wireless Touchpad is, with exception to Apple products, the first trackpad I actually enjoy using.

Like Apple’s own Magic Trackpad, the Touchpad is a wireless trackpad built specifically with touch-features in mind. That means two-finger scrolling, three- and four-finger gestures, and the simplicity of a long-lasting wireless user interface device. In this respect Logitech has hit the metaphorical nail on the head. The Wireless Touchpad is large and comfortable to use, all of its features and functions work exactly as expected. The Touchpad is a good, solid product, through and through.

That being said, Windows 7 isn’t suited for good trackpad use. OS X is. The difference between them is monumental. There is no smooth scrolling, few gestures, and minimal support for multitouch devices. This, coming from a company who three years ago revealed the Surface touch-only table computer. Yet there are still around ten touch gestures for the OS. It’s disheartening, to say the least.

Which is why it’s surprising Logitech has made the Touchpad for Windows 7 only. $20 cheaper than Apple’s Magic Trackpad, the Wireless Touchpad could easily compete on OS X based solely on features, let alone price. Even without Bluetooth compliance, lord knows how many Mac users have available USB slots that they are willing to spare, and it’s not hard to imagine a Bluetooth version selling for $5-$10 more. Limiting the Wireless Touchpad to Windows 7, and undoubtedly Windows 8 when it releases, is a significant limitation.

Logitech’s use of the USB radio – part of their “Unifying receiver” dongle, which works with about two dozen Logitech keyboards and mice – will simplify your current or future wireless Logitech products by sending data through a single dongle, though I myself am still stuck with the G700 and G930 on separate dongles because gaming hardware requires more bandwidth and faster rates. Still, the dongle is tiny and is more than adequate for any desktop or laptop.

The only real problem I’ve faced with the Wireless Touchpad has been the area of the touch-sensitive surface. The 5″ area is large, but the edges aren’t pronounced and impossible to feel. Especially when using multi-touch gestures, it’s far too easy to have one finger out of bounds and accidentally do a three-finger ‘back’ command instead of a four-finger ‘screen left’ command. It’s an easy fix as we’ve seen on plenty of laptops: make the physical area for the actual trackpad lower than the rest of the surface. That way, users have a tactile feeling for the edges.

Logitech’s Wireless Touchpad is a fine piece of hardware. The trackpad is sensitive and accurate, the two mouse buttons large and tactile, though the pad itself is easy to slip out of. The Touchpad is comfortable at a distance or up close, and especially from the couch where plenty are expected to use it. Windows, however, has little love for touch-sensitive devices and frankly that severely limits what you can do with the Touchpad. It is the new de-facto mouse when not at a table or flat surface, but besides that, a mouse is a mouse is a mouse. I like it and recommend it, but it’s not magic.

You can buy the Logitech Wireless Touchpad from Amazon for $50.

Pros:

• Solid design, tactile buttons, comfortable to use for long periods on the couch or at a table
• It works just right! Wireless signal is strong at a distance of 20′

Cons:

• Windows 7 isn’t suited for touch-sensitive gestures; no OS X support
• Trackpad square has no tactile bounds, its too easy to slide a finger off the sensitive portion

The post Logitech Wireless Touchpad Review appeared first on Gadget Review.

Today Apple announced their Q3 earnings ending June 30th, 2012.  If you care, the “Company posted quarterly revenue of $35.0 billion and quarterly net profit of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per diluted share.”  But what is far more important, at least to us, is that Apple will launch Mountain Lion OS X tomorrow.  This is at least according to Tim Cook who said “We’ve also just updated the entire MacBook line, will release Mountain Lion tomorrow and will be launching iOS 6 this Fall. We are also really looking forward to the amazing new products we’ve got in the pipeline.”

So there you have it.  Mountain Lion OS X will be available in the app store starting tomorrow, 7/25.  Expect it to cost $19.99.  However, if you recently bought a Mac on or after June 11th, you’ll get it for free.

The post Mountain Lion OS X To Release Tomorrow, Free to Some (product release) appeared first on Gadget Review.

Apple has just released their latest OS X, Mountain Lion, which they say is their “best OS yet.” Touting more than 200 new and improved features, Mountain Lion is supposed to make your computing life as easy as possible while easily allowing you to shift tasks, features and functions between your iOS-based device like iPhone and iPad so that they all run like one well-oiled machine.  It also brings a lot of great things from iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to the Mac. And with iCloud, now your Mac works even better with your iOS devices. The upgrade is available now in the Mac App Store for only $19.99, which is actually $10 cheaper than last year’s OS X update.

15. Notes

The Notes app just got a whole lot better! Since they’re designed for whatever’s on your mind, you can now make your thoughts even more noteworthy with  photos, images, and attachments. You can add, delete, and flip through your notes or do a quick search. Use the Share button to send your notes with Mail or Messages. Pin important notes to your desktop so they’re easy to get to. And take them with you everywhere since it works with iCloud.

14. Reminders

Every now and then we need to be reminded of things and the new Reminder app organizes your life on your Mac even better than ever! Set due dates and you’ll get alerts as deadlines approach. Set a location from your Mac, and your iPhone or iPad will remind you when you get there. Then check off items as you go and keep track of what you’ve completed, and you can easily push them to all your iOS devices!

13.  Improved iCloud

iCloud is how a Mac, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch work together and it’s been revamped to work even better. So it keeps your entire Mac life (mail, calendars, contacts, reminders, documents, notes, and more) up to date wherever you use them. So when you add, delete, or change something on your Mac, it also happens on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. And vice versa. You don’t have to do anything at all — iCloud is automatic and effortless.

12. Improved Safari

Like iCloud, the new operating system also improves on Safari, allowing you to type both searches and web addresses in the new Smart Search Field, as well as the ability to pinch to see tabs with Tab View and swipe to switch between them. New iCloud tabs makes it the last websites you looked at accessible on all your iOS devices, too!

11. iMessage

Messages with iMessage takes your conversations even further. Allowing you to send messages from your Mac to friends with any iOS devcies. With iMessage, you can start a conversation on your Mac and then pick it up on your iPhone or iPad. Send photos, videos, documents, and contacts — even send messages to a group.  Turn on read receipts, and they’ll see when you’ve read a message and with end-to-end encryption, your messages stay safe and private.

10. Finder Share Button

Sharing just got a whole lot easier as the Share Button is all over OS X Mountain Lion. It’s the new, easy way to share right from the app you’re using, so you can share photos, videos, and other files with Mail, Messages, and AirDrop.

9. Facebook Integration

The new OS X is more Facebook friendly and has built-in Facebook support, so you can share what’s up with you right from the app you’re in. It even adds your Facebook friends and their profile photos to Contacts so you can find them fast. When friends update their information on Facebook, it’s automatically updated on your Mac.

8. Notification Center

The new Notification Center has any notices appear in the top right corner of your screen and you can open it from anywhere in OS X to see recent ones. Plus, you can easily configure your notifications to receive just the ones you want. Notifications always appear in the same spot on your desktop and disappear quickly so they don’t clutter up your screen.

7. Power Nap

Even when your Mac is asleep it’s still working and periodically updating Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Reminders, Notes, Photo Stream, Find My Mac, and Documents in the Cloud. When your Mac is connected to a power source, it downloads software updates and makes backups with Time Machine. While all that updating is going on, the system sounds are silent and no lights or fans come on.

6. Dictation

Now you can talk to your Mac and it will convert your words into text since it uses the built-in microphone on your Mac, so there’s no need to set anything up; just speak instead of type! When you say “comma” or “exclamation point,” Dictation punctuates for you. Plus, the more you use it, the smarter it gets since it learns oice characteristics and recognizes people from your contacts so it enters names accurately.

5. Game Center

Not that your Mac has Game Center, you can play anyone on a Mac, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch using your Game Center account from iOS or create one with your Apple ID. You’ll be able to check out leaderboards and see how your high score ranks against scores around the world. Game Center recommends Mac games and opponents, so you can start a multiplayer game with your friends and even challenge people you don’t know.

4. AirPlay Mirroring

AirPlay Mirroring shows your Mac Show web pages and videos to friends on the couch, share lessons with a classroom, or present to a conference room. AirPlay audio streams the music, podcasts, and other audio on your Mac to AirPlay-enabled speakers. screen on your HDTV with Apple TV.

3. Improved Preview

Now you can access PDF documents and images from anywhere since Preview in Mountain Lion supports Documents in the Cloud. You can also now quickly fill out forms since Preview now uses image analysis and detects areas that are intended for text entry, such as underlining and boxes.

2.  Improved Calendar

The Calendar app now has a cool sidebar function that keeps a list of all your calendars accessible in a sidebar and will offer you suggestions when searching for an event in the app, so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. Also, the new date picker in the inspector displays a mini calendar so you can easily change the date of an event.

1. Improved Mail

You can now indicate the people who are most important to you by making them VIPs by clicking the star next to their name, while a new VIP smart mailbox holds all messages sent from new mail comes, you receive notifications by default. You can also choose to be notified when VIPs send you messages, when messages arrive in a certain mailbox, or when you get a message from a particular person in Contacts.

The post 15 of the Best Mountain Lion Features (list) appeared first on Gadget Review.

We only just looked at the Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse, but the Redmond-based software giant is also releasing a smaller, more advanced mobile mouse to meet the requirements of an ever touchier audience. And by touchier, I mean they enjoy touch gestures, perhaps more than even pressing buttons. That sounds sacrilegious to me (after all, I love pushing buttons), but it is understandable. With so many devices gaining touch functions, and the simplicity they offer, what’s not to love?

For starters, when a touch-enabled device doesn’t take advantage of the wide array of touch features other devices employ. That’s the trouble with Microsoft’s Wedge Touch Mouse, a tiny Bluetooth travel-sized mobile mouse designed with touch in mind, but not in spirit. The mouse, tiny with only enough room to house two fingers and to grip awkwardly with a thumb and pinky finger, is incredibly potent with a completely touch-enabled face atop the two standard mouse buttons. Anyone with experience using some of the latest Windows laptops with specialized software, or OS X which integrated smarter touch gestures through giant trackpads, knows what these functions are. That’s what should make the Wedge Touch so interesting.

But that’s not what happened. The Wedge in fact supports none of the secondary or tertiary functions we nowadays associate with touch controls. There are no two- or three-finger gestures. Heck, the only one-finger gestures there are revolve around scrolling, which was never a real gesture to begin with. Worse yet, scrolling isn’t as smooth as it’s expected to be; instead it jitters along like most Windows-based devices do, because the OS simply doesn’t support smooth-scrolling in the way that Apple’s does. Logitech recently introduced software that used smooth scrolling, and enabled it for browsers, but that’s really it. There’s no solid alternative to what Apple offers, and the Wedge mouse appeared to be just that.

I wish I could say that that changes when you open up the standard Windows 8 UI, with live-tiles that seems designed solely for touch users, but again it doesn’t. Scrolling is certainly smoother, but not smooth like on smartphones or tablets. Scrolling sideways doesn’t have the same feeling as traversing webpages on Android, or heck, even on a Windows 8 tablet. That’s what’s so perplexing about the Wedge; it offers touch but it reads significantly worse than any touch device there is. I feel this is due to the software more than the hardware; typically the Wedge reads touch commands just fine, but it doesn’t handle momentum properly (flicking so the page continues scrolling), nor does it handle scrolling properly.

Worse yet, scrolling is significantly better using Internet Explorer and other Microsoft applications than it is for anything else. If you use another browser, or are making use of some program that Microsoft hasn’t built or isn’t made specifically for the Windows 8 UI, then it won’t scroll nearly as well. The one touch gesture there is will be exponentially worse.

The topping to this spinach-flavored cake is that the Wedge Touch doesn’t even work well on a Mac. It works with OS X, and I used it on the MacBook Air, but within seconds it was clear that the trackpad is far more convenient and easier to use. Scrolling is completely flawed and mostly broken on OS X, though the software in the OS clearly supports it.

There are two very smart features in the Wedge Touch – the battery clamp, which will only close if the battery is placed in the right way, and “backpack mode”, which puts the mouse to sleep when the Windows 8 computer goes to sleep or hibernates. The former is a very intelligent, almost braindead simple why-didn’t-anyone-do-this-before feature that every battery-powered peripheral should have, while the latter is smartly included to conserve battery life for anyone who doesn’t like to turn off their mouse because it’s another step that most of us don’t ever think to take.

I’m not satisfied with the design of the Wedge, which is difficult to grip and requires a claw-grip, something that only gamers really know about or employ. After several hours of use I could feel my hand hurting, though presumably users won’t have their hand on the mouse for such long periods of time. The Wedge is certainly well sized for travel; it fits nicely in the pocket, purse, or bag, and the contrasting black coating and silver sides make it easy to spot so you don’t forget it.

Microsoft’s Wedge Touch Mouse is all potential with no actualization. It has all the potential of a smartly built touch-enabled mouse, with easy to use swipe or other touch gesture functions, but nothing to actually make prospective buyers interested in purchasing one. With true and adjustable gesture controls, I have no doubt that the Wedge would make for an excellent travel mouse, especially considering the tiny size. That limitation makes it seem like Microsoft played it safe, released a travel mouse with no real functions, and is marketing it as something it isn’t. In reality it’s a very plain, average travel mouse that you might like if you want something pocketable, but that’s otherwise forgettable.

Editor’s Rating:

[Rating: 2]

Average

Bottom Line: A mouse with mediocre hardware but really lacking software functionality

Pros:

• Smart build for touch functions and battery
• Tiny; great for travel

Cons:

The post Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse Review appeared first on Gadget Review.

 Adversity makes for a good teacher. In my case, a recent fire in my apt building has forced me into temporary housing where my Mac Pro is my only solid companion. But today I learned that the restoration company wants to take away my wired keyboard and mouse in order to clean it — turning my Mac Pro into the equivalent of a very heavy aluminum block.  Or I can use the Cyclops instead.

The Cyclops has a silver/white appearance and has a solid heft to it — being made from both aluminum and plastic. The circular shape splits up the standard QWERTY keyboard into left and right “half’s”, with a touch-pad “center” to use for pointer movement. The Cyclops’ layout also places a “mouse” key near the bottom middle at each “half” of the keyboard (left/right presses), with Space and Shift keys next to them on each side. Function keys also run horizontally to the left and right below the Space and Shift keys (i.e., function, control, option and command on both sides). Additionally, there are specialized keys running up both sides: the left side has Tab, Caps Lock and Enter/Return, while the right side has Delete and Enter/Return. Running horizontally along the top are the Function keys (i.e., F1 through F12) which double as use for commands such as brightness, audio control, video and audio playback.

The topmost left has Escape, while the topmost right has a disc eject button — pointing to how this keyboard can travel between mobile and laptop use without compromising on keyboard use. The very center of Cyclops is its “eye” — a circular space that provides  a resting place for the thumbs, with the main power button directly above (pressed and held for about 4 seconds will shut it off). But that “eye” is also a trackpad.

At the left and right bottom can be found two direction pads: the pad on the right has Page Up/Down, Delete, Home and End tabs, while the right pad has directional arrows and an Enter/Return tab.

The Cyclops is best suited for mobile iOS devices because it has a round shape where the keys are arranged for “thumb” typing. This is to say that those who text a lot are already familiar with the physical key setup and, no joke here, those with larger fingers will finally have their day. That’s due to the larger size of the keys, compared to that on a mobile device’s virtual keyboard. And while it’s more than possible to type on the Cyclops with it lying flat (as I am doing right now), letting you use your fingers in a very slow touch-typing manner, the physical design and lightweight nature makes its use for mobile devices preferable (being held up and at an angle). Of course using it with a phone/tablet means that the device works best if it’s propped up on a stand, but it can be used with the device lying flat if you want — that’s no impediment to the Cyclops.

Of course nothing comes for free, and in Cyclops’ case, the $59 retail price tag is the main, but not only expense. Three “AAA” batteries must be inserted into a back battery compartment in order for the Bluetooth powered device to function. On the plus side, “AAA” batteries are pretty cheap, and even standard models will provide power for a couple of months easily (a 5 minute auto-shutoff helps with this).

Pairing the Cyclops is the same as that of any Bluetooth device (like a pair of wireless headphones) and follows the normal conventions of the operating system it is to be used with. In the case of the Mac Pro, it was similar to setting up a wireless keyboard, and it’s even faster for an iOS device since you don’t have to enter a password.

Comparing the Cyclops between use with a laptop/desktop and mobile — obviously it’s best suited for iOS devices.  However, it provides wireless control for a laptop or desktop where you don’t want to be right on top of the keyboard; for example, running a video player or cycling through music playlists.

I also found that the response of the keyboard is only slowed down by that of the one doing the typing: handing the Cyclops to my friend’s teenage son to use with his iPhone showed me that speed comes not just from being able to hit the keys quickly, but also from having texting “hard-wired” into your brain. I mean the kid was texting at speeds that I couldn’t come close to, although there were plenty of spelling errors. I also noted that regardless of whether you are a touch-typist or “texter,” you will still spend a significant amount of time looking down at the keyboard as you enter text.

Editor’s Rating:

[rating:4/5]

Great

Bottom line: The Cyclops Wireless Keyboard is sturdy and well constructed. Every key that can be found on an Apple keyboard is present, but placement keeps unneeded ones from getting in the way of those most used. It’s big enough to hold a large number of keys without any being too tiny to access, and provides a reasonable and workable alternative to using the onscreen keyboard of an Apple device.

Pros

• Well spaced out keys

Cons

• No back-light
• Touch-pad space too small for desktop/laptop movement across full screen

The post Cyclops Wireless Keyboard Review appeared first on Gadget Review.

There are mice and there are trackpads. Since Apple revamped what it meant to be a trackpad, many mouse users have flocked to trackpads, with all their touch gestures and non-moving hands. You may call that growth; I call it laziness. I don’t hate touch gestures, far from it. I use my iPad and never touch the home button thanks to the magnetic on-off switch from my case, switching apps with a four-finger swipe up, or closing apps with a five-finger pinch. As much as I like pressing physical buttons, I like doing things quickly and efficiently more.

Touchpads just aren’t there yet. Not on OS X, and certainly not on Windows 8. With the former there are a lot of great gestures but the customization options are ridiculously limited (and limiting). For the latter, by itself the touch gestures are few and far between, but with a good hardware/software maker you can have a ton of nifty features with a lot of customization. The problem is having the capable hardware and compatible software…all in one machine.

More to the point, regular mice are far more intuitive. We’ve all used them for decades, and they work really, really well. They’ve gone through a serious maturation process, all the way back to the 60’s. High-end mice range from 30-button monstrosities to very sharp, very powerful devices, many of which Logitech has built. As I write this review I’m using the Performance Mouse MX, which has so much great hardware that it’s impossible to deny that the mouse is king.

Touchpads, however, will have a place once the OS’s of tomorrow become the OS’s of today and software makers wake up. In the meantime, Logitech gives us the Ultrathin Touch Mouse T630, a travel-size mouse very similar to the Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse except that it’s way better shaped, far simpler to use, and works on any computer, regardless of operating system. In other words, the T630 is the first step into a proper touchpad mouse.

The first thing you notice is how clean the whole thing is, almost to a fault. Logitech ships the T630 in a practically-sterile clear hard plastic box (see image above). It’s a gorgeous display, and after you look at the T630 up close, it’s a gorgeous mouse too. Supremely thin, beautifully shaped with sleek, sharp lines and an incredible razor-thin black top over an aluminum undercarriage. It looks more at home on a racetrack than at a workstation or beside a laptop.

Ridiculously clean and tidy, the Ultrathin certainly lives up to its name. It’s tiny at just over an inch thick at it’s thickest point. When Logitech says it fits in the pocket, they aren’t kidding; I took it with me to work and, rushing out of the house, threw it into my pocket before a doctor’s appointment and didn’t realize it was there the whole time. Getting in and out of the car, going face-up and face-down on a table, and changing seating positions at least a half dozen times. That’s after I took out my phone, keys, and wallet. I didn’t even remember it was there.

Small size isn’t everything. One of the problems with the Wedge was that it was awesomely small, but the dimensions weren’t uniform whatsoever. Not the case with the T630, but it is very small and tough to recommend for using more than two hours at a time, especially if you’re using the mouse a lot. If that’s the case, stick with a larger mouse like the Performance Mouse MX. However, the T630 is very comfortable and I enjoyed using it a lot, both traveling about and in the office.

Like a number of Logitech’s latest products, the T630 has a Bluetooth switch so that you can assign it to multiple devices, in this case two. The switch, on the bottom of the mouse, isn’t the most useful for a mouse. While keyboards work for just about anything (computers, tablets, smartphones), mice are mostly unnecessary on “smart” devices, though most versions of Android do support it. I found it helpful as someone who bounces between multiple computers. If you travel and have to use someone else’s computer for any reason, the ability to set it up properly without disabling your own machine’s Bluetooth settings is convenience reborn.

The only part that was difficult to test was the battery, which has lasted over three weeks without the need to charge. Logitech claims that a minute of charge from completely empty will give an hour of battery life. Based on Logitech’s claims on battery life from previous products, I believe them. The placement of the USB connector does prohibit using the mouse while charging however, which is a strange choice. Considering the size of the mouse however, using it while plugged in would be difficult because the cable would cause too much negative force and make using the mouse uncomfortable.

As a “Touch Mouse”, the Ultrathin works tremendously well on all three major platforms: Windows 7, Windows 8, and OS X. Once users install the included software, a number of swipe gestures become available for customization, each limited to what the OS supports. On Windows 7, gestures include back and forward, opening the start menu, switching applications, hiding the desktop, and basic scrolling functions. Two additional gestures exist for Win8, opening the charms menu and displaying the app bar. OS X has much more functionality that includes all of OS X’s gesture commands with limited exception.

After a day of use, I thought I loved the T630, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. On my MacBook Pro I realized exactly what that was: the inability to tap instead of click. As much as the Ultrathin Touch Mouse supports touch, it only really supports touch gestures, not tapping. Users can’t tap to click, or two-finger tap for a separate function. Every machine, Windows- or Mac-based, support basic tap features, but the T630 doesn’t. As far as any touch mouse goes, that should be a requirement, or at least something that users can set and customize.

Then again, the Ultrathin Touch Mouse T630 is the best touch-sensitive mouse ever built. By a longshot. You could point to the Apple Magic Mouse as an ample competitor, and it certainly is, but the feel and design never broached the threshold of “yes, this is the mouse I’ve always wanted.” Logitech’s T630 (and T631, it’s albino twin brother) does. The fact that both models work on any of today’s main operating systems is already huge, and that the mice work flawlessly on any machine is a testament to just how well built and designed they are. It’s the first mouse that even made me think that could incorporate all of the touch features of a trackpad straight onto a moving mouse, and let the user decide what they like. It’s a glorious step forward.

Bottom Line: Good luck finding a better travel mouse. This blows everything else out of the water, no matter what kind of computer you have.

The post Logitech Ultrathin Touch Mouse T630 Review appeared first on Gadget Review.

Apple’s big October event was held today, and aside from underwhelming news on the iPad line (iPad Air, really??), we also got more insight into the Mac Pro (nothing short of amazing here… you could easily remake the entire Toy Story trilogy with the Pro), the upgraded iLife and iWork apps (big news: they’re free with new iDevices), an upgrade to the MacBook line… but what caught my attention the most was the release of Mavericks, the newest update to the Mac operating system.

OS X 10.9, as Mavericks is less popularly known, has over 200 new features designed to make OS X run more faster and more efficiently while allowing the user to reach their full creative potential… as big a claim as any operating system can make.  Let’s take a look at some of the key upgrades and features:

iBooks

Sadly, it appears Apple has not ditched the hated skeuomorphic design.  You still get a virtual bookcase, animated page turning, etc… Jonathan Ive must’ve lost this battle.  In any case, your iBooks collection is now available on a Mac computer running Mavericks.  As on any mobile iDevice, new books can be purchased directly from the iBooks Store.

It’s a slick way to read a book at your desk, though I doubt many people will curl up with their Macbook if they have a new, lighter iPad Air nearby.  Apple also demonstrated iBooks integration with other native apps like Pages by pulling a quote from a book to a Pages document… it showed up as a big quote that could be resized, and even had the attribute. Nice.

Maps

Maps has improved over time, just like most serious Apple pundits figured it would.  It won’t drop you off a bridge  into the ocean any longer, and most metropolitan cities are well covered.  Does it still lag behind Google Maps on features?  You betcha!  However,  like everything Apple, it’s being perfected over time.  You can look up locations in 2D or 3D, obtain flyovers of well-known sites (I love flying over the Roman Forum) and, more importantly, it links to social sites like Yelp.  A key feature: the ability to send Map information (with full details) and directions to your mobile iDevice.

Safari

Apple has maintained consistency with one of its oldest apps… the Safari browser.  Safari now offers “shared links” within the sidebar.  It’s a live feed of Twitter and LinkedIn accounts that enables clicks on any link to appear instantly within the browser.  You can also share your Web finds and re-tweet/share, all from within the browser.  It’s a useful feature, but curiously (or not), Facebook is omitted… and Pinterest is completely ignored. 

iCloud Keychain

Keychain is an old Apple utility that makes it easier to  access sites and Wi-Fi hotspots without having to constantly re-enter passwords.  iCloud Keychain now makes it easier to shop online by storing credit card information.  I’m not sure it’s for everybody, since the hassle of re-entering financial information is one of the most basic ways to protect yourself online.  I doubt the geniuses at Cupertino have found a way to make people iHonest (imagine the cool Apple video about that development!).

iCloud Keychain syncs across devices, allowing stored passwords and credit card info to be pushed to any iDevice.  Again, this probably isn’t for everyone… especially folks that frequently lose their iDevices (though they can be remotely wiped nowadays).  Many mobile iDevice apps can store credit card info nowadays, so I gather Apple wouldn’t be rolling this out unless they perfected it somehow, but I’m not aware of any encryption beyond the standard system password.  Apple at least follows one core financial security practice: you can’t store  the code number found on the back of cards.  iCloud Keychain is an optional feature in any case.

Under The Hood

There are more features within the OS such as improved management of multiple displays, improved Finder tags for better organization, an “App Nap” feature that puts individual apps to sleep for better battery life and performance, improved file sharing protocols, Expanded OpenCL supporting Intel HD Graphics 4000/5000, as well as Intel Iris Pro integrated graphics processors, and a compressed memory feature for better efficiency when running multiple apps.

[box_light]Mavericks OS 10.9 is a terrific upgrade to an already solid operating system.  Best of all, as announced today by Apple’s execs, the OS upgrade is FREE![/box_light]

Who can run it

Well, You can upgrade to OS X Mavericks from Snow Leopard (10.6.8), Lion (10.7), or Mountain Lion (10.8).  You’ll need 2GB of RAM and at least 8GB of available space on your drive.

Your Mac hardware also must meet these requirements:

• iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
• MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
• Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
• Xserve (Early 2009)

The post Here Are OS X Mavericks’ Key Features (and You Can Download It Right Now) appeared first on Gadget Review.

Apple’s newest OS upgrade, Mavericks (OS X 10.9.x) offers plenty of new features in addition to old standbys they’ve tweaked.  OS X has become part of the app-centric world where new productivity tools, games and utilities are purchased through the App Store rather than on disc or through third-party retailers, Apple has committed to making OS X more like iOS.

In that spirit, Apple  introduced features that allow Macs running Mavericks to seamlessly share key user information and other data with iOS devices, further tying users to Apple’s iWorld.  Under the hood, Apple added new memory and processor features that you won’t see, but you’ll definitely notice, as they do help  apps run more efficiently.  While those system elements are great, the really cool features are hovering around the desktop, with some pretty obvious and others slightly hidden.

Let’s take a look at a few of these features so you can start working with them…

1. YOU ARE HERE

Mobile devices are location-centric, and apps frequently rely on your location for the best way to point you places like restaurants or gas stations. Apple introduced Location Services in OS X 10.6 Lion in keeping with the goal of merging of iOS features into the OS X. Mavericks refines the feature making it more useful, especially with the new Maps app.

Do you need every app to have access to your living room location?  Probably not.  While it’s a fine mobile and laptop feature, for desktop users who don’t want to be tracked by every app Apple makes it easy to turn the feature off.  Simply go to the top menu bar where you’ll see an arrow icon (Location Services), click it and within that dropdown menu open privacy preferences.  From there simply dictate which app has access to your location.

2. MANAGING JUICE!

Want an idea of which apps or activities are draining your laptop battery?  Look no further than the battery icon in the top menu bar which drops down to reveal a list of specific apps that are using significant battery life.  This makes it easier to identify and shut down apps that may be dormant yet still draining too much energy.

While this feature is for Mac laptops only, both desktop and laptop Macs have always benefited from an older feature: The Activity Monitor buried in the Utilities Folder.  Apple has made it a less complicated and easier to use, and added an Energy menu button to view the energy impact of apps (and also to identify which apps are in App Sleep).

3. SYNC MAC MAPS AND iDEVICES

The  Maps app is brand new with the Mavericks upgrade and moves Apple further away from dependence on other mapping programs, particularly Google’s ubiquitous service.  Maps is easy to get up and running, either from the Dock or via the Launcher.

Once launched, the app works similar to the mobile app, but the key feature is syncing.  Should you use the desktop version, you can bring up a map of a particular location, add driving directions, and send them to your iPhone or iPad easily using the sharing icon.

What’s that? You don’t know what Apple’s ubiquitous sharing icon looks like…? Well, it looks like this:

Tap that icon and you can then share maps via social networks, email, iMessage chat… and send directly to your iDevices.  In addition, all locations you bookmark or search for will be added to all your Apple devices via your Apple ID account. This makes it even easier to map out destinations on your desktop Mac and have them immediately at the ready when going mobile via an iDevice.  Pretty darn cool.

4. PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD SCREEN

If you’re a fan of those quirky Dashboard widgets (small apps designed to do basic functions and tasks), but were always forgetting about them since they were either locked in Mission Control or to the left of all other Mac desktops (keeping in mind Mission Control allows for multiple desktops).

Well, now with Mavericks you can easily swap the Dashboard screen to any location among your desktops or full screen apps and do this easily in Mission Control by clicking on the Dashboard screen and dragging it left or right.

Mission Control and Dashboard can both be fiddled with via System Preferences (Apple Menu -> System Preferences -> Mission Control icon).

5. YOU’VE BEEN NOTIFIED

OS  Mountain Lion saw the introduction of the Notification Center (replacing the third-party Growl app).  Mavericks adds real-time Interactive Notification bubbles that appear in the upper-right.  These offer web updates and While You Were Away notifications for certain apps like Mail, Facetime and Messages. You can choose to get rid of the messages, but…

You can now reply directly within the notification bubble to any Messages, emails or Facetime calls (with a message or reminder to call back via Facetime).  It’s a well-hidden feature but can be managed within the System Preference panel (System Preferences -> Notifications).  From here, you can choose which apps will use the Notifications system.  At the moment the in-bubble reply feature works only with Messages… but, hopefully, this will soon filter down to the social network integrated features Mavericks now sports.

6. I VANT TO BE ALONE…

The Do Not Disturb feature in iOS is a favorite of mine.  I use it to block certain smartphone features without turning off the phone, and to avoid notifications when I’m listening to music.  Sometimes it’s nice to be alone and not constantly bugged by an iPhone.  With Mavericks, the Mac now features Do Not Disturb

You can toggle the Do Not Disturb feature directly from the Notifications Center using the Trackpad for Mac. Simply swipe with two fingers from right to left to reveal the Notification Center (you can also click the notifications icon in the  upper-right menu bar and get the same results).  This is a hidden feature, so once in the Notifications Center simply swipe down to reveal the Do Not Disturb button and info.

7.  TABBING YOUR WAY THROUGH THE FINDER

Tabs have been with Safari since its inception and did away with the mess of windows clutting the desktop. Within one window you can add as many tabs as you need easily and efficiently.  Mavericks brings this feature to the Finder window (taking a cue, no doubt from Google’s browser-based, tab-centric approach to computing).

Finder tabs operate exactly like browser tabs.  Open up a Finder window and from there you can either go to the menu bar (File -> New Tab) or use key commands: CMD-T to produce new tabs within the Finder window (to get rid of a tab, click CMD-W).  To the right of the tabs is the + button which can also be used to add tabs (hovering over a tab will reveal a little x to the left… that can also be used to close a tab).

The post 7 of the Coolest Mavericks Features You’ll Want to Start Using Today appeared first on Gadget Review.

Mailbox has quickly become a popular iOS app and will now be available for Android devices and soon for OS X users. The gesture-heavy email client from Dropbox was first an iPhone-only email app with support limited to Gmail, but then became a available for iPad users with iCloud and Yahoo email support also added. Besides the new availability, it will also have new features, including Dropbox account sign in and synching and delete automation coming zoo to its iPad and iPhone versions (it’ll debut first in the version available for Android). If you’re interested in the beta version of Mailbox for OS X, you can sign up now on Mailbox’s site to learn more about the launch. Mailbox for OS X is supposed to be minimal and rely on your computer’s trackpad for gesture-based commands. If you use Gmail on you Mac, you’re probably jumping for joy to now that Mailbox is coming to OS X since it has continuously been criticized for its countless issues.

The post Mailbox Now Available For Android And OS X appeared first on Gadget Review.

Time Machine is a backup utility that comes pre-bundled on all Mac computers. After hitting the scene in 2007, Time Machine has become a favorite of most Mac users for both its ease of use, and sophisticated – albeit simplistic – approach to data backups.

The automated tool runs in the background and makes periodic, user-defined backups of all their data to an external drive without any noticeable drop in performance. In fact, it works so well, that most can’t even tell when it’s running. Users operate their machines as they normally would, while an automated backup takes place behind the scenes at a pre-specified interval (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).

Once Time Machine fills the external drive – or the allotted partition of the external drive – it automatically deletes the oldest backups in order to save space. It’s truly a great option for automated backups, and if you’re ready to start using it on your Mac, keep reading.

Picking an External Hard Drive

Luckily, Time Machine (the software) comes pre-installed on all newer Macs, so set up is as simple as telling it where to store your backups.  But first, you will need an external drive to use Time Machine, whether it be an AirPort Time Capsule, or a non-Apple specific model such as Seagate or Western Digital hard drive.

How to Use Time Machine With an AirPort Time Capsule, AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme

Before we start making backups to a Time Capsule, it’s important to follow the initial setup instructions that came with your Time Capsule device. Each device has slightly different instructions, and they’re found in the product manual that came with your Time Capsule. If you no longer have your manual, you can find a new one here.

Once your Time Capsule or non-Apple specific external drive is configured:

1. Open the preferences panel by clicking the Time Machine icon (top right of the screen in the Menubar) and selecting Open Time Machine Preferences.
2. Press the Select Backup Disk… button and select the AirPort device that you wish to use as a backup disk.
3. Choose whether or not you’d prefer to encrypt your data by selecting the Encrypt Backups link.

How to Use Time Machine With a Non-Apple Specific External Drive

Most modern external drives work well with Intel-based Macs but unless they are made solely for use with Apple products, then you’ll most likely have to reformat the drive from FAT 32 or NTFS to Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) before using it.

To reformat your drive:

Note: This will delete any and all data stored on the drive. If you have files you’d like to save, back them up to another drive, your computer, or the cloud before starting.

1. Attach your drive to your Mac via USB or Thunderbolt.
2. Open Finder and choose Go > Utilities.
3. Click to launch Disk Utility.
4. Find your external drive, and click to select it.
5. Click the tab marked Erase.
6. Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the dropdown menu titled Volume Format.
7. Enter a name for the drive.
8. Finally, Click Erase.

Once your drive is formatted, just follow the installation instructions above to complete the set up.

That’s it, you’re done.

Turning Off Automated Backups / Switching to Manual Backups

Now that Time Machine is installed and configured, your Mac will use the program in order to make automated periodic backups. If you’d like to turn off automated backups, and retain control over if and when these backups happen, you can do so by clicking the Time Machine icon in the Menubar, and selecting Open Time Machine Preferences. From there, you’ll just click the On/Off slider on the left-hand side of the menu.

Time Machine is an easy-to-use, and rock solid utility that remains insanely popular among Mac users. If you’re not using it to make periodic backups (either automatic or manually), you’re missing out on a simple and highly effective utility that costs you absolutely nothing, but provides you with piece of mind in knowing that your data is always safe from system failure, device theft, or accidental deletion.

The post How to Prevent a Digital Death By Setting Up Automatic Backups On Your Mac appeared first on Gadget Review.

In our previous post, we detailed this process of setting up Time Machine, and included a step-by-step guide on how to use Time Machine to create automated backups to a Time Capsule or third-party external drive. It’s a good place to start if you’re new to the program.

The automated nature of Time Machine, as well as its relative ease of use make it a popular choice for Mac users when it comes to automating the backup – or restore – process. In fact, the utility is so useful, that it’s not only great for backing up your system, you can also browse through these backups using a graphical user interface that allows you to sort previous backups visually in order to find the one that you’d like to use.

In addition, you can also use these Time Machine backups when restoring your system after a crash, or when migrating to a new Mac (more on that later).

Restoring Data From a Time Machine Backup

To restore data, you simply open Time Machine from the Finder window and browse the previous backups of your files. You can use any of the normal view options (timeline, list grid, coverflow, etc.) to sort your files and decide which one(s) you’d like to restore.

To restore a file, select the file or folder you’d like to use and click the Restore button. The file automatically gets copied to the previous location of the existing file, or the desktop. From here, you’ll also have the choice to replace the existing file, or to keep both of them. If you’re unsure you are restoring the correct file, you still have the option to use “Quick Look” just like you would when browsing files in Finder.

Restoring and/or Reverting Files Within Apps

Time Machine also has the capability of restoring apps, or reverting them to previous versions. For me, this is a huge bonus to using Time Machine. I write about a lot of apps, and doing so means that I often have to upgrade an app to a version that I know others aren’t too fond of (I’m looking at you Skype), or test the beta version of an app that I’m already using. Now, I can update the app, review it as I normally would, and then use Time Machine to revert to a previous version so that I’m not stuck with a newer version that isn’t quite as good.

To do this, you simply click Enter Time Machine from the Time Machine menu and then select the file you’d like to revert before clicking Revert to, and then selecting a previous version. While you wait, the current version gets removed in favor of the older version in a matter of seconds (typically).

Using Time Machine for System Recovery After a Crash or Hardware Failure

If your system fails, or experiences issues with corrupted data, you can always back up from a Time Machine backup store on your Time Capsule or an external drive. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Ensure that your Mac and Time Machine backup disk are connected to the same network.
2. Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the menubar and select Restart.
3. As your machine restarts, hold Command and R until the Apple logo appears.
4. Release the keys.
5. Select Restore from a Time Machine Backup.
6. Click Continue.
7. Select your backup source from the menu.
8. Enter the approximate date and time you’d like to restore to. Time Machine will find that backup, or the one closest to it.

Using Time Machine and Migration Assistant to Move Files to a New Mac

With Time Machine, you can actually use your previous backups to move all of your files to a new computer without having to manually move everything over. To do this:

1. Connect the Time Capsule or external drive to your Mac
2. Open Migration Assistant (Go > Utilities > Migration Assistant).
3. Enter the admin password and click OK.
4. Select From a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk and click Continue.
5. Select the drive that contains your Time Machine Backups and click the Continue button.
6. Enter your Time Capsule password and click Continue, or skip this step if you’re using a non-Apple external drive.
7. Select the Time Machine backup you want to migrate data from, and click Continue.
8. Select the files and folders you’d like to move, or select all to move everything.
9. Click Continue, and wait for the Migration Assistant to finish.

The post How to Use Time Machine to Take Control of Your Backups appeared first on Gadget Review.

According to Consumer Reports, over 3.1-million smart phones are stolen each year in United States alone. Of those, iPhones are certainly an attractive target due to their high resale value, and relative ease of wiping existing user data by connecting the phone to a new iTunes account and re-installing the firmware.

Because of the rise in the number of instances in smart phone thefts, Apple actually became the first smart phone manufacturer to enable a remote “kill switch” that disables the phone if it should go missing. This kill switch technology effectively bricks the phone and ensures that the person who possesses the phone after it goes missing is unable to use it. After enabling the technology, thefts and robberies of iPhones fell 40-percent and led to law enforcement officials to lead a charge for all smart phone manufacturers to adopt similar security measures.

While it’s certainly possible to disable your iPhone if it’s lost or stolen, it’s often more convenient just to find the phone itself. Luckily, Apple developed an app that does just that, and it works not only on the iPhone, but the iPad, iPod and the Mac as well. Using “Find My iPhone” allows users to pull GPS data from their iOS device – or Mac – in order to obtain a map view which pinpoints the location of their lost or device. Users can view this map on a separate iOS device or PC (Mac or Windows) as the technology is cloud based, which makes it accessible through your existing iCloud account. This app is free to download on the App Store (for iOS or OS X), and works with any iOS version 5 or later as well as OS X 10.7.5 (Lion) or later.

Setting Up Find My iPhone on Your iOS Device (iPad, iPod or iPhone)

1. Tap the Settings icon on your home screen and then tap iCloud.
2. Enter your AppleID to sign in. If you don’t have on, create an account by clicking the Get a Free AppleID link.
3. Tap Find My iPhone (or iPad/iPod depending on the device you’re using) to turn on the service.
4. Add a passcode by navigating to Settings > Passcode or Touch ID & Passcode – or – Settings > General > Passcode Lock (on iOS 5 or iOS 6 devices).

Setting Up Find My iPhone on Your Mac

1. On your Mac, navigate to System Preferences (Apple menu > System Preferences)
2. Enter your AppleID or create one by clicking the Create New AppleID link.
3. If “Find My Mac” is turned off, click the button to turn it on.
4. Add a password and ensure that automatic login is turned off in Users & Groups preferences.

Finding Your iPhone/iPad/iPod/Mac If It’s Lost or Stolen

1. Sign in to iCloud from your PC (Mac or Windows) or the Find My iPhone iOS app from a different iOS device.
2. If using a PC, click Find My iPhone icon if you’re using iOS, skip to step 3.
3. Click All Devices and then select the device you want to lock, or track.
4. Click Lost Mode for devices running iOS 6 or later, or Lock for versions running iOS 5 or OS X 10.7.5 or older.
5. Use your passcode to lock the device.
6. Locate your device if it’s online. If it’s not online, the passcode lock and tracking feature will appear next time it comes online.

From iCloud, you also have the option of securely wiping all of the data from your phone remotely. Utilizing this option resets your iOS or OS X device to its factory condition and keeps sensitive data from being discovered by whomever possesses your device. Of course, you also have the option to lock the phone, which would keep them from accessing information without actually wiping it, but the choice is ultimately yours.

The post Don’t Be a Victim, Learn How to Set Up Find My iPhone to Recover Your Lost or Stolen Device appeared first on Gadget Review.