Hidden Apple TV Features

Apple TV is a wonderful little set top box with some powerful features. Here are four of my favorite hidden features. 

Quick Fix: iOS 6 Passbook (Eliminating App Store Error)

The recently released iOS 6 included a built-in app called Passbook. This feature for many has been a sore spot because of the lack of functionality. Upon opening the new application an introductory screen is shown with a button guiding the user to the App Store. However, the common reaction to the tap of the App Store button is a cannot connect error. 

While this feature is new and few app developers are supporting it currently, the "cannot connect" error limits the consumer market to even see what options are available. If you have encountered this error, there is a very easy fix to allow you access to the App Store through Passbook so that you may look at you option to take advantage of this new iOS feature.

This simple fix

The steps:

1. Open Settings>General>Date & Time. 
2. Turn off the "Set Automatically" feature.
3. Manually set you device's date to 2013.
4. Close the Settings app and navigate to the Passbook app.
5. Follow the link in the app to the App Store (A loading wheel should appear rather than the error).
6. Navigate back to setting and re-engage the "Set Automatically" feature for the Date & Time.
7. Hard reboot your device. This is accomplished by holding down the sleep/wake and home buttons at the same time until the screen goes black (ignoring the "Slide to power off").
8. Restart the device and open the multitasking tray.
9. Close from multitasking both the App Store and Passbook.
10. Done!

With these steps complete opening Passbook and navigating to the App Store through the provided button should be successful. At the time that I enabled this functionality there were only 6 apps supporting Passbook integration.

Let me know if this worked for you in the comments below. 

How-To: Stop Procrastinating

There is plenty of information online about how to stop procrastinating (here, here, here, and here to name a few). The difficulty is they are encouraging the behavior that needs to be corrected. By reading all available information about putting off procrastinating, you are still procrastinating (unless you have been assigned the task of researching how not to).

If you really want to stop procrastinating it is one simple step: Start the task. With that said, go start the task you are avoiding. By starting the task, your procrastination is cured.

Do you put things off, or get them done instantly? Leave your comment below.

Tips: Internet Automation - ifttt.com

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pintrest...) are all platforms to share information. Many of us have multiple accounts in order to interact with different groups of people. The difficulty is managing all these accounts while staying on top of other repetitive tasks. That's where ifttt comes in.

iPhone Repair

The iPhone 4 and 4S have raced to the top of the mobile phone market. With the popularity being so high, accidents are inevitable; luckily parts and tool providers are plentiful however repair-skills required go from Basic to Challenge Accepted.

How-To: Enable iPhone/iPod Emoticons

There are plenty of third-party apps in the App Store that offer additional options (or add-ons) for text messaging. One of my favorites is TextPics (or there is a free version available here). However, did you know that there is a plethora of standard emoticons available through the iOS 5 native software?
This feature has not been widely advertised, and is buried deeply within the settings menu. To be more specific, it has been camouflaged as an "international keyboard" under the language "emoji."
For full instructions, follow this easy how-to that I posted over at WonderHowTo.com.

Enjoy your new emotion-filled text conversations.

How-To: Email

No Offense

I admit, the title for this post is slightly condescending but allow me to explain. Email is one of the cornerstones of computing both in our work and personal lives, yet most of us neglect to foster good habits to ensure our inbox remains user-friendly. Surprisingly there is very little time and energy involved in making sure your digital mail experience is both friendly and rewarding.

Inbox Analysis 

How many messages are in your inbox? And I am not referring to new or unread messages.

At the peak of my email neglect I had over 2000 messages in my inbox (the email address was less than 2 years old)! All of them were marked as "read" and all of them were in various stages of completion. Now I hope that you are not in a similar situation otherwise this comic is probably an accurate representation of you email habits.
If you can relate with any of this, or are just looking to improve your own management system, keep reading. There is hope.