Six Second Tech is a weekly series of short how-to video tutorials to help you be more productive with your time and your technology.
How-to videos on YouTube are too long
Let’s say you need to find out how to zoom in on Snapchat, how to take a screenshot on a Mac, or how to turn off Twitter notifications. You might go straight to YouTube to search for these kinds of instructional videos. But tutorials and how-to videos on YouTube can often be anywhere from a couple of minutes to half an hour, or more!
What if you could consume this information much more quickly, in just a few seconds?
Are you wondering if your old iPad 2 will run the latest operating system from Apple, iOS 8.2?
I stopped upgrading my iPad 2 at iOS 7.1 fearing that the iPad 2’s hardware was not up to running the more modern versions of iOS as they became more demanding. After reading that iOS 8.2 was running smoothly for many others who had an iPad 2, and not finding many negative reviews, I went and did it, I updated.
I’m very surprised by how well iOS 8.2 does run so I wanted to tell all of you who have an old iPad to try it out. Here’s a video demonstrating how there is no lag or delay when using iOS 8.2 on the iPad 2:
Don’t hesitate go and update now!
Do you like my Australian accent in the video and would like to give your iPad an Aussie accent? Check this video with Sarah Lane featuring a tip from Vintuitive on iPad Today!
I really enjoyed today’s electricity blackout that extended across the whole suburb, what I now refer to as the Great Blackout of 2013.
I had received a letter in the mail from our electricity company a few weeks earlier notifying me that the power would be turned off all day today and so I was prepared to spend the day offline but still keen to get some work done.
Fully Charged is Fully Prepared
It was important that the iPad was fully charged the night before to ensure they’d not run out during the day. I’d loaded it with the latest podcasts I had yet to listen to as well as some recently added music from Soundcloud, Jamendo and Free Audio Archive.
Humans Need Recharging Too
I knew I could use the gas stove to boil any water required for cups of tea and coffee but I soon realised that I had forgotten to grind extra coffee. I rummaged around and found the hand grinder though so all was not lost.
Sure enough, as predicted the power went off bringing with it a pleasant calm to the neighborhood. The only sounds to be heard was the occasional bird call and the gentle jingle of the wind chimes. Read More »
Have you ever worried who’s looking at you through that little camera built into your computer’s screen? It’s easy to tell when the camera is in use because that little light comes on…right? What if that light was able to be disabled by a hacker who then turns on your webcam and spies on you without your knowledge? Without the ability to simply unplug the camera that question troubles some users.
A Sticky Solution to Suspect Stickybeaks
Technology writer John C Dvorak has mentioned that he takes some fairly unusual precautions for ensuring his privacy while online. Worried about not having any sure way to turn off the built-in iSight camera in his Mac, Dvorak sticks gaffer’s tape over the lens of the camera while not in use.
Why read text when you can get your iPad to read it to you? I often get my iPad to read back to me my important emails before I send them, it gives another perspective. It’s essentially Siri’s voice, but did you know that you can give it an Australian accent, or any other accent?
I shared this little tip with Leo and Sarah on iPad Today: