Watching .wmv Files with Lion

If you are no longer able to watch jokes and movies that friends email to you, it’s because the Windows Media Player does not work with Lion. But these is an easy fix.

1. Click on this link to download the VLC player.

2. Click on the top VLC choice for 32/64 bit

3. It will download and appear wherever you have designated downloaded files to go. If it’s not on the Desktop, it’s probably in the Downloads folder.

4. To find the Downloads folder, from the Finder screen, click on the GO menu at the top

5. Click on Downloads and find the file titled “VLC-1.1.12.dmg”

6. Double click on the file and it will open

7. Drag the icon of the orange cone on top of the Applications folder in that window and it will copy it

8. When it’s done, close the window

9. Trash the two VLC files that are still in the Downloads folder

10. Now open an email that has a .wmv that you previously couldn’t open and it will work!

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Get a Map to a Contact’s Address

Here’s the fastest and easiest way to get a map and directions to a contact’s address:

1. Find the person

2. The fastest way to do this is not to search in the Address Book but to slide to the Spotlight screen LEFT of the Home Screen and type in who you are looking for.

3. Tap on their name and you are on their individual entry.

4. Tap on their street address and Maps will open, showing you their location

5. Tap directions

6. Enter the start location

7. Click Route and you’re ready to go!

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Photo Stream

One of the coolest features of iCloud is the new Photo Stream. Take a picture on your iPhone, iPad or import from your digital camera into your Mac and that photo can be available on all the other devices.

When turned on, Photo Stream stores up to 1000 photos at a time (for 30 days) on iCloud. The photos are automatically imported at full resolution into your iPhoto Library but you get to choose which ones you save onto your iPad or iPhone.

Photo Stream works over your wireless network, so you don’t have to worry about using up your data plan for transferring these large files.

And, if you want to edit a photo on your device that’s on Photo Stream, you’ll first be asked to make a copy to save into the Camera Roll on your iPad or iPhone, leaving the original on Photo Stream.

To turn on Photo Stream on your Mac:

1. First, upgrade to Lion and also the latest version of iPhoto ’11. Update your iPhone and iPad to the latest OS 5.1

2. Then, in iPhoto, under the iPhoto menu, choose Preferences.

3. Turn Photo Stream ON.

4. In iPhoto, in the left column, you’ll now see Photo Stream.

5. New photos from Photo Stream will automatically appear in your Photo Library

Remember, photos from your iPad and iPhone won’t appear in Photo Stream until those devices have reconnected to your wireless network.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Photo Stream on Your iPad and iPhone

To turn on Photo Stream on your iPad and iPhone:

1. First, upgrade to the latest OS 5.1

2. Then tap Settings

3. Tap iCloud.

4. Turn Photo Stream ON.

To copy a single photo from Photo Stream onto your device:

1. Tap Photos

2. Across the top tap Photo Stream

3. Tap the photo you want

4. Tap the rectangle with the arrow icon at the top right

5. Choose Save to Camera Roll

To copy several photos from Photo Stream onto your device:

1. Tap photos

2. Across the top tap Photo Stream

3. Tap the rectangle with the arrow icon at the top right

4. Tap the photos you want to copy to your device. A checkmark will appear on each picture

5. You can now either tap Save to put them in the Camera Roll or

6. Tap Add To… to create a new Album

7. Title the Album

8. The photos will now be in the Camera Roll AND in an album

Remember, photos from Photo Stream won’t appear on your device until you have reconnected to your wireless network.

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Hiding Pictures in iPhoto

If you have your Desktop Screen Saver set to use all the pictures in iPhoto, you may have certain pictures that you don’t want to include. Instead of creating a separate album specifically for the Screen Saver, you can hide selected photos.

In iPhoto, click on any picture you want to hide from view.
From the Photos menu, choose Hide Photo. An X will appear in the top right corner, indicating it is marked as Hidden.

If you don’t want to see Hidden photos when you are browsing through your Photo Library, under the View Menu, re-select Hidden Photos to remove the check mark. Now the photos you have marked to be hidden will actually BE hidden and they will not be included in any Screen Savers.

The picture is still in your Library, you just can’t see it.

To Unhide it, first, from the View menu, choose to show Hidden Pictures

Then select the photo that has the X on it and choose Unhide from the Photos menu

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

This Month’s Featured Apps

FLIPBOARD
Named one of TIME’S Top 50 Innovations, FLIPBOARD creates a personalized magazine of all the things you like to read. Choose from Entertainment, Style, Architecture, Crafts, People, Food and so much more.

BIG OVEN
Recommended by NPR’s Splendid Table, BIG OVEN contains more than 170,000 recipes, a menu planner, grocery list and more. You can add your own recipes and even add photos.

UNSTUCK

If you’re feeling stuck with a problem or decision, this app coaches you through challenges using different tools. It helps you hone in on WHY you’re stuck and what ACTIONS to take to get

All of these Apps are FREE and can be found by searching in the APP store on your iPhone or iPad.

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A Hidden Calculator

Sometimes you need to do a quick addition or multiplication. Instead of finding and opening the Calculator application, use Spotlight.

1. Open Spotlight by clicking on the magnifying glass in the top right corner of your screen

2. Use + for addition, – for subtraction, * for multiplication and / for division

3. The full equation with the answer will appear in the list next to Calculator

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Add a Web Page to the Home Screen

If you have a few favorite websites that you always go to on Safari, why not make them be icons on your home page for faster, easier access?

This is especially helpful if you are a Kindle reader, since the Kindle app no longer includes a button to go the the Kindle Store.

1. Open Safari

2. Go to the desired website

3. Click the “+” to Add a Bookmark but instead of choosing Add a Bookmark

4. Tap Add to Home Screen

Now that site is just a tap away.

To Add the Kindle store:

1. Go to Amazon.com

2. Search for Kindle ebooks

3. Click the “+” to Add a Bookmark but instead of choosing Add a Bookmark

4. Tap Add to Home Screen

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No Holiday Music When You Shuffle

Now that the holidays are over, my guess is you’ve had your fill of holiday music. So how do you NOT include those merry tunes when you set your iTunes to Shuffle?

1. If you’ve created a Holiday Playlist, select it. Otherwise, find all of the music in your Library with the word Christmas

2. Click on one song

3. From the Edit menu choose Select All

4. Yes, you do want to change information about all songs selected

5. From the File menu choose Get Info

6. Click on the Option Tab

7. Check the box next to Skip When Shuffling

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Play Music From Your Computer on Your iPad and iPhone

If all of your music is stored on your computer, you can play tunes from that computer on your iPad or iPhone when you are at home, sharing that wireless network.

1. First, in iTunes, click on Preferences

2. Click on the Sharing Tab

3. Click to Share My Library on my Local Network, either the entire Library or just selected Playlists

4. You can choose to require a password to access your music or not

1. Then on your iPad or iPhone, click on Settings

2. Click on Music

3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen to the Home Sharing section and enter your Apple ID and Password

4. Go back Home and Tap on the Music App

5. Tap on the More icon at the bottom

6. Tap on the House icon that says Sharing

7. Tap on the name of your computer

8. Wait a moment while the Library loads

9. Now you can access all of the music by tapping on the Playlists, Artists, Songs, etc. at the bottom of the Music app screen