How To Speed Up An iPad

If you own an older model of iPad - perhaps an iPad 1, 2 or 3, or the iPad mini 1 - then the chances are that it isn't running as quickly as you'd like. Even though iOS is a modern operating system that requires minimal maintenance, it still gets full and slows down over time.

Sometimes even relatively new models feel sluggish compared to the way they soared when brand-new.

There are many different techniques for speeding up an old or slowed-down iPad, and here are some of the ones that have been found to be most effective.

     1. The first trick is to have a good software clear-out. Remove any apps that you no longer use. Apps take up storage space, and freeing up space makes it easier for iOS to operate.

Note that we're talking about deleting the apps from the device entirely, not just closing them down (by double-tapping to open the multitasking bar, then swiping up on the app you want to close). That won't make any difference. The theory that closing down a few apps will free up memory and speed up an iOS device is a myth, and anybody who understands how iOS manages memory knows that it won't work.

But deleting apps that you no longer use has a notable effect on iOS. That one isn't a myth.

     2. After you've got rid of the apps you don't need, it's time to slim down the apps you do want to keep, by getting rid of files inside them.

Click Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage. Now tap Manage Storage (under Storage, not iCloud) and look for items that are taking up lots of space. Podcasts, GarageBand and Movies are likely suspects. Tap an app to view its contents, and then swipe left across any item you don't want and tap Delete.

     3. Once you've cleared out the iPad, you should restart it. The restart refreshes the memory and enables it to start from scratch.

Hold down the Sleep/Wake button until you see the Slide To Power Off control slide and power down your iPad, then press and hold the Sleep/Wake button again to wake it back up.

Apple’s Revised iPad Strategy, More Like A PC?

Longer-than-expected tablet lifespans have led to a sluggish market for Apple's iPad, but the company seems poised to pivot by pitching the iconic device as more, not less, like a personal computer, an analyst said today.

"At the beginning of the [tablet] market, people bought tablets because they were different from PCs," said Carolina Milanesi, chief of research and head of U.S. business for Kantar WorldPanel Comtech, in a Friday interview. "That was what got early adopters interested."

Because tablets were seen as something other than a personal computer, in other words, they were attractive, especially to those who already owned smartphones -- Apple's own iPhone, in particular. The tablet, the thinking went, was simply a larger smartphone -- it relied on the same operating system, the same app ecosystem, the same touch-only user interface (UI) -- minus the calling.

That worked for a while.

Slow sales

Since then, tablet sales, iPad included, first stalled and then slumped. According to research firm IDC, tablet shipments declined by 7% in the second quarter after falling 4% in the first. Meanwhile, iPad sales have contracted for six straight quarters, falling 23% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2015, 18% in the second.

Most analysts have attributed slowing iPad sales to stretched device lifespans, longer than what they had figured when the category debuted with the original iPad in 2010. Then, many believed that buyers would refresh their tablets every two years or so, a cadence similar to smartphones.

The reality turned out differently, with intervals much more like PCs than phones.

Kantar's data supported that. Of the iPads currently in use in the U.S., more than a quarter -- 28% -- were iPad 2, the March 2011 model; one-six, or about 16%, were iPad 3 (March 2012); 8% iPad 4 (October 2012); 14% iPad Mini (November 2012-2014); 12% iPad Air (November 2013); and 4% iPad Air 2 (October 2014). Close to half -- 44% -- were models 3+ years old.

According to Kantar, 30% of the iPad owners they polled have had their current tablet for 36 months or more. ..........

"Non-tablet owners told us, 'My PC is good enough' and that they're not engaged with their PC but use the phone more. But they also don't think the tablet is as good as a PC," said Milanesi.

More like a PC

If Apple can demonstrate that the iPad is a suitable substitute for a PC, Milanesi thought that the Cupertino, Calif. company could reenergize sales. "If there's something that is as powerful as a PC but at the same time, agile like a tablet, consumers will be interested," she said.

That strategy wouldn't be new: Microsoft has relied on it since 2012 when it introduced its Surface Pro line, and the Redmond, Wash. firm's OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners have followed suit with the same pitch for their devices. "That's always been the case for Microsoft, since the Surface Pro came from the Windows side," Milanesi said.

Apple has strongly hinted that it will adopt the Microsoft angle: iOS 9, slated to launch this fall, probably next month, includes features specifically for the iPad, like split-screen and a two-apps-side-by-side mode, that have been in Windows for years, and at the same time presage a larger tablet in Apple's inventory.

"If you look at what Apple's doing, it's more and more focusing on the powerful part of the [iPad]," said Milanesi, ticking off the iOS 9 additions and the push into the enterprise through a 2014 partnership with IBM.

Not a hybrid

But while the broad strokes of a revised iPad approach may be similar to that of the Surface Pro, Milanesi expected that Apple will shun the "2-in-1," "convertible" or "hybrid" labels that have dominated Windows-powered devices with attributes of both PC and tablet.

"2-in-1 sounds like you're compromising something," she said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly belittled 2-in-1s, most notably in 2012 when he compared such devices to a mashup of toaster and refrigerator. Cook has given no clue since then that he's changed his mind. ..........

Read the complete story >> HERE.

Credit: computerworld.com

Can You Do This With Your iPad?

During the Sept. 18 Computer Club meeting Alan Marcus displayed an amazing 3min and 24sec video.

You'll want to move to Stockholm after you see this ingenious presentation. Two magicians use iPads and illusions to plug the Swedish capital.

Credit:

some text and video link - Kim Kamando

Apple could integrate projectors directly into iOS devices

Your future iPhone or iPad could come with its own projector.

Granted to Apple on Tuesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a patent called "Projected display shared workspaces" envisions a technology that would integrate small projectors into iOS devices and give users the ability to control their presentations with gestures.

The technology would rely on the built-in camera to detect the shadows and silhouettes created through gesturing at the projected areas. The projector technology also could work among multiple displays from multiple devices. Again using gestures, users could share and swap images from one projected display to another.

As the patent describes it:

In one embodiment, electronic devices each may include a projector that produces a projected display and a camera that detects gestures made with respect to the projected displays. The electronic devices may interpret gestures on the projected displays to identify image sharing commands for sharing images between the projected displays. The electronic devices may be connected through a communication link that allows the electronic devices to share image data for producing images on any of the projected displays included within the shared workspace.

There are gadgets on the market right now that can turn your iPhone into a mini projector. But Apple's integrated invention could take the technology a few steps further with its gesture-based image-sharing features.

Isn't technology amazing!