I finally got around to connecting my iPhone to a big screen TV to see what a movie would look like. To connect the two I got the Composite AV cable from Apple. This AV cable has the yellow video plug, and red and white plugs for audio. It also has a USB cable. I have been using this cable for awhile now in my car – the USB cable goes to a 12Volt power connector and the Red and White go to the MP3 outlet. This allows me to play music from the iPhone (iPod section) to the car stereo.
You would need to have a TV with composite in – Composite has a yellow cable for video and a red and white cable for audio. The movie played on the iPhone looks really good on a big screen tv. I would guess that movies from the iPad will also play through this or a similar cable.
One thing to be aware of – if you connect the USB cable to a computer to power the iPhone it will bring up iTunes and attempt to synch to the computer. Also if you do anything on the computer that brings up iTunes the movie play back will stop.
Another interesting thing is the movie will NOT play on the iPhone screen – when this cable is hooked up. Things like You Tube videos and camera roll videos do play through this cable to a TV but not on the iPhone screen at the same time. If there is a way to show whatever is on the iPhone screen – such as games or photos I am not seeing how to make that work. Everything other than movies comes up on the iPhone screen.
Apple apparently has a way to do this – when they do presentations they show them on a big screen hooked up to an iPhone. The big screen shows games, and iPhone screens. Anyone know how Apple does this?
Oh course the obvious question is can one record from this cable – the answer is yes if you have some sort of composite to digital converter. I was able to play the movie on the iPhone through my digitizer and record the movie on my MAC into iMovie.
If you want to watch a movie on an iPhone – including You Tube or from your camera roll I find you cannot have the AV cable connected. So if you are watching movies on your iPhone and want to externally power the phone – you will need to use the regular USB cable to a power source. Apparently when you plug the AV cable in the iPhone the output video goes to this cable and switchs off the iPhone screen. All you get on the iPhone is the title screen of the movie.
It will be very interesting to see how the iPad works with the iPad iWork software.
Tags: composite video and iPhone, iPad, iPhone, iphone AV cable
Another interesting thing at the boat show was a camper line that is very small and light. The manufacturer is Little Guy, and at the the show they had a camper that could be towed by a motorcycle.
These are called Tear Drop campers and are very light and low. Even a very small car could tow most of the models. These have an outside kitchen in the back and this seems like a good place to put an outside kitchen. One cannot stand up in this type of camper so the back hatch is about the only place to put a kitchen.
Here are a couple of photos of the model that is small enough to be towed by a motorcycle: (and yes two people can sleep inside of this camper)
Tags: Little Guy, motorcycle camper, RV Show
I was able to go to the RV and Boat show in Lexington last night. I do not have a great interest in boats, however it was interesting to see some of the latest innovations in RVs. Several of the RVs actually had lofts and a staircase to get to the loft. I would guess the lofts are a place for children – it is really amazing to see how much can be put in very small spaces.
An odd thing to me that was present on several RVs was a complete kitchen located outside the RV. Here is a photo of one that had a Microwave, Refrigerator, Stove top, cabinets, Sink and workspace. Of course this takes up space inside the RV – on this one they put in a bunk on top of where the kitchen is open to the outside and built into the wall.
Tags: Boat show, Lexington RV show, outside kitchen, RV
The iPad appears to be a really great thing for college students (or anyone taking classes or going to educational seminars or training.
You can down load books, it has Notes and appears to have a pretty good sized touch keypad in landscape mode. There is the plus of Internet access with either WiFi or 3G and special rates on 3G access.
The iPad is 7.5 X 9.5 inches and 1/2 inch thick – wieght 1.5 lbs – imagine a device where one can have their textbooks, their class notebooks, Internet access for looking things up and getting reference and fill in material. Add iWork and now you have a small light device that you can store your textbooks, take class notes, do reports, get and send email.
The possibilities of the iPad simply amaze me – when I was in college one carried books for each class, notebooks for each class, one would take notes as the instructor presented the material, we had to spend hours in the college library and far too often there would be only one copy of needed books and that one would be in use. One would go back to their dorm and type — as in manual portable typewriter — out class notes and then spend hours doing reports and home work. If you made a typing error it meant re typing the page.
The Internet and computers really have made changes in how students learn. I can find more detailed information in 5 or 10 minutes these days than was possible after spending hours or even days at the college library.
My guess is that the iPad will become very popular with college students and it looks like even an old geezer like me from the “boomer” generation could get a whole lot of use out of an iPad. I know I really like and use my iPhone – the bigger screen and keybaord of the iPad is really appealing. It will be more than a month before anyone can actually see on of these – so far it looks more useful than a Netbook.
The Apple presentation has finished. The latest product is called iPad
0.5 inches thick — 1.5 lbs — 9.7 inch screen
16g – 32g – 64g — costs from $499 to $829
Runs iPhone Apps – will have its own apps – WiFi and 3G with special 3G costs from At&t
And there is a version of iWork for it so that means spreadsheets, word processing, and power point type applications.
Some accessories are all ready available – like a dock with a keyboard.
This link will take you to one of the blogs.
Google Earth is a really great FREE program that works on Computers. I recently got the iPhone version and find it to be really use full go to the link and watch the video. The first thing I learned is it is linked to your contact list in your iPhone so if you have an address of a contact in your iPhone Google Earth will take you right to their address.
Tags: Google Earth, iPhone
I got the new Apple magic mouse for my MAC Pro a couple of months ago when it was first introduced. This is truly an amazing product. The Magic Mouse has no buttons. You can scroll up and down and though things like videos or groups of photos and a lot more. The place where this work very well for me is videos. You just swipe the touch surface and can go forward and back in videos, even frame by frame. Click on the photo and take a look at the Apple demos. If you use a MAC Pro or iMac this is something you “must” have. A touch surface like the iPhone on a mouse is really a great way to get around movies, files and all of the work done on MACs. It is really hard to describe what all this does. Watch the Apple video on this.
Hope that everyone had a nice holiday. This first thing I want to say is thank you to all of the people who purchased a windmill and or a weathervane. Your businesses is greatly appreciated.
The windmills and weathervanes were my best selling products this year and so as the new year starts I will be doing what I can to increase sales of these products.
I have some new products that I intend to add to the on line mix which will be showing up soon both here and on the sales sites.
The new year starts with notification that both UPS and USPS have increased their shipping rates. I charge a fixed shipping rate on the windmills and weathervanes and attempt to break even on shipping costs. There will be an increase in shipping, there just is not a way to avoid that with the shipping costs going up yet again. I do not know yet how much this increase will be. I will attempt to keep this increase to a minimum however I have to break even over all on the shipping costs.
The good news is it looks like there will be no price increase on the windmills and weathervanes.
This is my third app screen and where I keep things like games and “newer” things that I am looking at. So far as games go this is an individual thing. I recommend downloading a sample if one is available and trying it before you actually buy the app. As before app name to find out more about the app.
In the top row is Stocks, Weather and Clock which come with the iPhone.
Unblock Me – Kira Games – in this game you slide wooden brown wooden pieces so that you can free up the red piece and slide it off to the side. So far I have just the Free version and find it challenging. I probably will upgrade to the expanded version for $0.99. Free
Boulder Dash – I used play this on my Commodore C-64 and on my Commodore Amiga. This version has the “old” graphics as well as new and far better graphics. This version irritates me, each level is timed and there does not seem to be a way to change or turn off the timer. I mostly always run out of time before I solve the level I am on. Unlike most of the apps I use I paid for this one. $4.99
eBay on iPhone – You can actually see eBay sales, look items and bid on eBay items with this app. It is eBay approved and it is actually useable. Free
Free Mahjong – Sunsoft – the free version only has a couple of trial layouts. It does have some settings and play goes pretty well, however it is difficult to see the tiles – they are fairly small. I am still looking for a version of Mahjong that I like. Free
Solitaire 3D – This is a great solitaire set that tried the free version and went ahead and bought the full version even though it was a bit pricey but is worth the cost. Lots of different solitaire games – lots of ways to set it up. Game play goes fairly well considering the small screen. $7.99
Marble Maze Lite – Sort of interesting – very realistic steel balls roll around in a wood maze. The ball is moved by tipping the iPhone. I find it frustrating – one must hold the phone flat and be very steady. The Free version if more than enough for me. Free
Trism – This has become an iPhone classic. Color matching puzzle type game. Good game play, easy to learn, nice way to waste some time. $2.99
Broadcaster – This is a new app for me that I am just starting to learn. With this app you can capture and upload live video to the UStream or to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. It turns the iPhone into a web cam. Free
UStream Viewer – this is the other half of the UStream package, this app lets you view streamed video and web cams on your iPhone. Free
TUAW -The Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple information, rumors, app reviews and lots more. Apps and accessories, lots of very current Apple information constantly updated. This is a must have app if you have an interest in Apple and Apple products.
Stanza – Stanza works like Kindle, it is a place where you can download and read books on your iPhone. The biggest difference is Stanza has hundreds of free books that you can download. There are also thousands of books for sale in many cases a lot less than Kindle. Really a great app if you like to read books. Free
MahjonggLite – This is a trial version. I like this version of Mahjong and very well may buy the full version. I have been trying various version of Mahjong on my iPhone and so far this is my favorite. Free ($2.99 for the full version)
Tips & Tricks – if you are really new to the iPhone this collection of tips and tricks is sort of like an eBook. It is a good reference but all of the information here is available other places. I already knew most of the things here. There were some I had known but forgotten and some that were new to me. I think it is worth the $0.99 especially for someone new to the iPhone.
That end my list of iPhone apps. As you can see I have a number of free apps that I use and some paid apps. The highest price I have paid for a single app is around $10 – several apps are only a dollar or two. When I get some more apps on another screen I will go over them later on.
Tags: Boulder Dash, eBay app, iPhone, iphone apps, iPhone tips and tricks, Mahjong, Mahjongg, marble maze lite, Solitaire 3D, Stanza, trism, TUAW, Unblock, ustream broadcaster, ustream viewer
Here is my iPhone home page and the apps that I have there. The links below will take you to the apps webpage.
Top row – Messages – Photos – Camera & Maps come with the iPhone
Second Row
AccuWeather – This app can be set up to get the weather for several different locations. Has hourly weather, 15 day forecast, weather maps storm alerts and so on. To me it just works beter than the one from the weather channel (which I had and removed) – Free
WeatherBug – there are two versions – the free version gives basic weather information. I use the elite version which has some additional features and better mapping – and no ads. The elite version costs $0.99
WeatherAlert – This is supposed to use push to bring in NWS weather alerts. It only will do one zip code and often misses alerts. It has had some updates but I would say do not waste your money on this one. – $0.99
AP Mobile – This is a great news app. It is very flexible in how it is set up, you can get national and international news and have several local news sources. It uses push and will bring breaking news stories to an iPhone that is “off”. You can add news feeds to match your interests. To me this is a “must have” app. Free
Third Row
Around Me – great app – your iPhone knows where it is at and this app will give you information about services and businesses around you where ever you happen to be. Gives a list or places businesses on a local map you can see where you are and where the place of interest is. Gives phone number and links to the phone in the iPhone. A must have app – Free
Trapster – Shows where the police are known to “hang out”. Users post where speed traps are, where police activity is and so on. Gives push messages as you are driving, however it is best just left on instead. Free
Where – Also show businesses and services around you where ever you are at. Shows the local gasoline prices near you. Interactive mapping. Has yellow pages and look up. Free
Finally on my home screen are Compass, Settings, iTunes and the App Store. These come with the iPhone.
Tags: AccuWeather, AP Mobile, App Store, AroundMe, Compass, iPhone 3GS, iTurnes, Settings, Trapster, Weather Alert, WeatherBug elite, Where
