iPhone | iOS 6.1 | How to Enable/Disable Facebook Events & Birthdays from Calendar app

Personally I don't like when Facebook invades my iOS "Calendar" or "Contacts".  I've already shown you how to remove those pesky Facebook friends from your iOS "Contacts".  But what about the iOS "Calendar" app.  The one other place on an iPhone where Facebook infests.

In the tutorial below, I will show you how to remove these two Facebook additions to iOS "Calendar" 

• “Facebook Events”
• “Friend Birthdays”.

Let's start with removing "Facebook Events."  There are two methods by which to do this.

To Remove Facebook Events: 2 Methods

Method 1: Turns it off within Calendar app

1. Go into the “Calendar” app

2. Click the “Calendars” button on the top left

3. Scroll down to “Facebook”

4. Uncheck “Facebook Events”

Now, when we go back to the Calendar view, the "Facebook Event" has disappeared.

Method 2: Turn it completely off.

1. Go into "Settings"

2. Scroll down and click on "Facebook"

3. Slide “Calendar” to the “OFF” position.

4. Go back into the "Calendar" app and click on "Calendars" in the top left corner. You'll see that the "Facebook Events" option is no longer available. The option within the Calendar app disappears.

Now lets get those pesky Facebook birthdays out of my calendar.

To Remove Facebook Birthdays: 2 Methods

Method 1: Turns it off within Calendar app

1. Go into the “Calendar” app

2. Click the “Calendars” button on the top left
3. Scroll down to “Facebook”

4. Uncheck “Birthdays”

5. And now all of the Facebook birthdays are gone.

Method 2: Turn it completely off.

1. Go into "Settings"
2. Scroll down and click on "Facebook"

3. Slide “Contacts” to the “OFF” position.

4. Go back to the "Calendar" app and click on "Calendars" in the top left corner.  Scroll down to where "Facebook" and you'll notice that the Facebook options have disappeared completely.

Please Note:
Subsequently, this also removes the Facebook Contacts from your “iOS "Contacts app" as is detailed in the previous tutorial.





Note:
Be aware that if you decide to re-enable Facebook events or birthdays after disabling it through "Method #2" be prepared to wait.  It will take a few minutes for the Facebook Birthdays to propagate back into your calendar.  But you'll know they are there when you go into "Calendars" app and click on the "Calendars" button at the top left of the screen.  If you see "Facebook Birthdays" then you are ready to go.

iPhone | iOS 6.1 | How to Enable/Disable Facebook Contacts in 'Contacts app'

This tutorial is a supplement to my youtube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHN7XZll1Fw

If you are anything like me, then you do not like when your 1000 random Facebook friends invade your iOS address book (Contacts app).  Sure it's nice that 1000 people like me enough to friend me on Facebook, and sure I do know, or I am at least acquainted with every one of them from High School, College, or some sort of school... But since I will NEVER use my phone to contact these people, there is no need for them to be cluttering up my address book.

If you had the same experience that I did in trying to figure out how to remove them, you know that it is almost futile to try and just navigate through your phones settings and hope you stumble upon the answer.  And searching the internet is almost as tedious. But I have found the answer.  

In the tutorial below, I have detailed, step-by-step, how to remove all of those pesky Facebook contacts from your iOS Contacts app.

There are two methods by which to accomplish this purging of erroneous friends.  The first is a quick and easy fix.  And the second is a bit more involved.

Method #1: Turn off "Facebook Group" within Contacts app.

1. Open "Contacts App"

2. Click on "Groups"

3. Uncheck “All Facebook”

All Facebook contacts are gone from “Contacts App” but the group remains.

Method #2: Turn off Facebook access to contacts completely

1. Settings

2. Facebook

3. Slide “Contacts” to “OFF”

4. All Facebook contact are gone from “Contacts App” 

5. But you will also notice that the "Group" button is gone as well.

Now keep in mind that both of these methods are completely reversible by just going back and undoing what you did.

Be aware that when you go back into "Settings" to turn the "Facebook contacts" back on, it may take a minutes or two to get the Facebook friends to propagate to your "Contacts app"

If you are just re-checking the "Group" within "Contacts" it will be instantanious.

Happy iPhone-ing!

Apple Trackpad | Change the Direction of the Scroll

I don't know about everyone else in this world but I grew up with my mouse always being oriented to the scroll bar on the right side of the browser window.  

With the old (non-scroll) mouse, you'd click and hold the scroll bar and drag it to the bottom.

With the advent of the scroll wheel, you were able to eliminate the extra step of grabbing the scroll bar and just be able to spin the wheel Up (to move the scroll bar up) or Down (to move the scroll bar down).

So when Apple release the trackpad, my mind stayed with this scrolling mindset.  Swipe up to move the scroll bar up.  Swipe down to move the scroll bar down.

But.  Then Apple had to go and change things.  With the release of OS X Lion and Mountain Lion, the default setting for the trackpad is to be oriented to the page instead of the scroll bar.  So now, when I swipe:

Down, the page goes down, in the direction of your finger swipe, so the you move toward the top of the page.  But the scroll bar goes up.

Up, the page goes up so that you continually move closer to the bottom of the page.  But the scroll bar moves down.

I'M CONFUSING MYSELF!

So to fix this, and return it back to the old-school scroll... Back to the mouse being oriented to the scroll bar and not the page, follow the steps below.

• Go to “Settings”
• Choose “Trackpad”

• “Scroll & Zoom” tab
• Either Check or Uncheck the first option “Scroll direction: natural (Content Tracks finger movements)”

When the box is checked, the mouse is oriented to the page and not the scroll bar.

You must "Uncheck" the box named "Scroll Direction Natural" for the mouse to be oriented to the scroll bar.

Now everything should be as it was in the old days.

I find the Unchecked method more natural but it's all personal preference.

iPhone | iOS 6.0.2 | How to Activate the EMOJI Keyboard

For most of us, we got our first iPhone, and the only keyboard we've ever seen is the standard Alphanumeric keyboard that everyone has. We never knew there was anything more. 

  

Now, occasionally you'll get a text message from a friend that's got one of those really cool pictures on it, and you wonder, “how did he do that?” Which is exactly what I did when my brother-in-law sent me a text with a beer mug at the end of it. So I went on my quest for the information. The step-by-step tutorial is below.

When your normal keyboard configuration is active, it looks like the picture below.

Go to “Settings”

“General”

Scroll down and choose “Keyboard”

Then scroll down again (if needed) and choose “Keyboards”

You'll see a screen with two options (pictured below)

Click on “Add New Keyboard...”

Scroll down until you see “EMOJI” in the list and click on it.

You will be taken back to the previous screen, and the EMOJI keyboard has been added to the list.

Now when you open up the text messaging app, look to the bottom left of the keyboard (next to the numbers button). You'll see a globe.

When you click on the globe you'll have 5 different collections to choose from of these fun little EMOJI icons. Just click on them and they are added directly to the text.

But there is a 5th collection directly next to the globe.  This is the "Recently Used" collection.  Any of the EMOJI's that you've most recently and most often used will be in the list.

   

And just to alleviate any of your worries, “Yes” when you send a text to someone who does not use an iPhone (although I don't know why they wouldn't be) the recipient WILL be able to see the cute little picture you just sent. I have tested this with my wife's phone (she has a Galaxy SIII which obviously runs Android). So fear not.

Enjoy!

OS X | How to Sleep, Restart, and Shutdown the Computer Using Only Keyboard Shortcuts

This tutorial is a supplement to my youtube tutorial video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXRlA-BoPh8

Today I'm going to show you how to Sleep, Restart, and Shutdown an Apple computer using only Keyboard shortcuts. I'm a keystroke person and I like to use the mouse as little as possible.

This tutorial will work with all versions of the Apple OS X operating system.  In the video I use Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8.2).  On my desktop at home, I use Lion (OS X 10.7.6).

    

For Windows computer this has always been a standard function.

1. “Windows Key”
2. Press the “Up” key
3. Choose “Shutdown”
4. A window pops up with the options, Hibernate, Sleep, Restart, Shutdown.
5. Use the “Arrow” keys to scroll through them.
6. Hit “Enter” and the task is complete.

And not once will it be necessary for your hands to touch the mouse.

It's always been that way with a Windows computer, but Macintosh's have always seemed to be lacking in the area of eay keyboard shortcuts. And as they've come out with further incarnations of the OS X operating system, the keystroke shortcuts seem to be hidden more and more.

When you use your mouse to either Sleep, Restart, or Shutdown your computer:

1. Go to the “Apple” menu
2. Drag the mouse down and choose either, Sleep, Restart or Shutdown from the list.
3. After choosing an option, click either “Cancel” or “Sleep / Restart / Shut Down” and the task will be completed.

Note:

By using the mouse, you have the option to cancel out of the task.

There are no diagrams on the menu for these three tasks (like there are with other tasks).

Now the one key that is The KEY to all three of these commands is the “Eject” key (usually located at the far upper right of the Apple keyboard).

Sleep

Option – Command – Eject

Restart

Control – Command – Eject

Shutdown

Control – Option – Command – Eject

!WARNING!

When you choose one of the tasks, you DO have the option to cancel. But be aware that when you use the keyboard shortcuts I'm about to show you, “Cancel” is no longer an option.

iOS 6 | How to Reset Network Settings

For this tutorial, I used an iPhone 5 running iOS 6.0.2.

This tutorial is a supplement to my Youtube tutorial video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWGKaVSc3mM

Question: Why would I need to reset my network settings?

Answer: If you are having network connectivity issues, either data or cellular (phone) issues, this is the first step in troubleshooting.

Each time I've stopped by my carrier's store to inquire about a network issue I have either had or am currently having, without fail, no matter which store I go to, the very FIRST thing that the person does is to "Reset the Network Settings" on my phone.  I've been to four different stores as a first step to remedy a couple difference situations, regarding connectivity.  Then, without fail, the procedure, that I show you in this tutorial (and subsequent video), is the first thing that each and everyone of the stores performs on my phone.  Sometimes it fixes my problem and sometimes it doesn't.  But if I had done this myself, I would have fixed the problem and still have been sitting on my couch eating ice cream and watching Dr. Who.  Not traipsing all over town for a simple fix.

While this may or may not be a legitimate fix for any of these problems, this IS always the first step that the store attendant, and the techs over the phone do to my phone when I claim to be having network connectivity issues. They reset it, wait, then see if it fixes the problem.

So I figured why not have the guy show me how to do this so that I don't have to make a special trip to my local carrier's store.

So in the following section, I will show you step-by-step, how to reset the network setting on your iPhone running iOS 6.

1. Backup your phone within iTunes
2. On your iPhone, Go to “Settings”
3. “General”
4. Scroll all the way to the bottom
5. Hit “Reset” to go to the Reset menu, where you'll see 6 different settings (Pictured below).

!WARNING!

DO NOT touch either of the first two setting. The 1^st option will erase ALL of your current settings and the 2^nd option will erase your entire phone, back to it's factory settings.

6. Choose “Reset Network Settings”
7. Your phone will run through it's restart cycle which takes anywhere from one to 3 minutes.

If this fixes your problems then you are set and ready to go. If it does not fix your problems, then you will need to call your cell provider's tech support. Most of the time, this will be the first thing they have you do. If they ask you to do this, tell them you already did it.

Each time I've stopped by my carrier's store to inquire about a network issue I have either had or am currently having, without fail, no matter which store I go to, the very FIRST thing that the person does is to "Reset the Network Settings" on my phone.  I've been to four different stores as a first step to remedy a couple difference situations, regarding connectivity.  Then, without fail, the procedure, that I show you in this tutorial (and subsequent video), is the first thing that each and everyone of the stores performs on my phone.  Sometimes it fixes my problem and sometimes it doesn't.  But if I had done this myself, I would have fixed the problem and still have been sitting on my couch eating ice cream and watching Dr. Who.  Not traipsing all over town for a simple fix.

Note:

Once you have reset your network settings, you will have to re-establish password setting for your local WiFi at home or any place else you have saved as a network. All of these passwords have been erased.

OS X | How to Show and Re-Hide Hidden (system) Files

There are many important system files that Apple does not want you messing around with.  Deleting any of these files or folders could irreparably mess up your system and would require a complete re-install of the OS.  But of course there are other temporary files such as Cache files that don't need to be seen, as they just work in the background.  

For example:  .DS_Store - This file is created in every folder.

You can read the long-winded explanation of this file on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.DS_Store

But to summarize, It's an OS X hidden file to store custom attributes of a folder, such as the position of icons or choice of background image.

In this image you can see the translucent Hidden files.

To Show All hidden system files:

• Open “Terminal”
• Type either of the following (without quotes): Or "Copy and Paste" the line below.
  • “defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 1;killall Finder”
  • “defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE;killall Finder”
• The Finder will restart then you will see the hidden files. They will be light and translucent.

To Re-Hide System Files:

• Open “Terminal”
• Type either of the following (without quotes): Or just Copy and Paste
  • “defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 0;killall Finder”
  • “defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE;killall Finder”
• The Finder will restart and files will be hidden once more.

1 and TRUE denote the same value with the command string.

0 and FALSE denote the same value with the command string.

Note:

This will also make the Library file visible. It will be Transparent like all of the other hidden files. And once you re-hide the hidden files, it will disappear as well.  It is a much better idea to use the previous tutorial to make it permanent.

OS X 10.7 & Up | 3 Methods to Un-Hide the User Library Folder

Beginning in OS X 10.7 (Lion), Apple began hiding the User "Library" folder.  Unfortunately there is a lot of information that many users must access within this folder, on a regular basis.

At first, I thought that they had just done away with the folder all together, and restructured the file system.  It was only after scouring the internet for various tutorials on different things, that I noticed that they all had one thing in common. OS X Lion and Mountain Lion tutorials were still adding the step of going to the User "Library" folder.

So I soon realized that Apple hadn't done away with the thing, they had  merely hidden the precious container of vital information.

So in this tutorial, I will show (3) ways to make the User "Library" folder visible.  Two are temporary and one is permanant.

    

Temporary Method #1:

1. Go to finder.
2. Press cmd + shift + g (opens Go To Folder box)

• Or hit the 'Go' menu then choose 'Go To Folder' (either way it's the same result) and a search-type box appear.
  
  
  

3. Type “~/Library” (without quotes) in the search box and the Library folder will open.
4. After the folder opens, grab the title icon with the mouse and drag it to either:
   
   
   
   

• Top of the "Toolbar" of the Finder window.

• To the "Favorites" in the Sidebar of the Finder window.

Temporary Method #2

1. Go to Finder
2. Hit the 'Go' Menu
3. While the list is visible, press the 'Option' key and you will see “Library” appear and disappear as you push and release the Option key.

Make Library folder visible permanantly.

In the image below, you see how the User's home folder looks by default.

1. Launch 'Terminal'
2. Enter the command (without quotes)
   
   
   

• "chflags nohidden ~/Library"
  
  
  After entering the command, the "Library" folder will instantly be visible.
  
  
  

3. To return it to a hidden state of being, enter the command (without quotes).

• "chflags hidden ~/Library"
  
  
  
  
  
  

I hope this tutorial has helped with this very annoying addition to OS X Lion and Mountain Lion.