Happy New Year!

Today is New Year's Eve! Embrace the new year! Today's gift for the 12 Days of Gifts is an album for a New Year's Eve mix. Happy New Year! 2014!

Hugo is FREE Today on iTunes!

As part of iTune's 12 Days of Gifts event, day 5 is the most valuable gift so far. It's a movie! For U.S. and Canadian customers, it's Hugo [Direct Link]. For international customers, it's Home Alone [Direct Link]. It's only for today! Get it soon!

Remote Disc: With Two Macs

Modern day Macs no longer have CD drives. However, you can use your older Mac's CD drive as if it belongs to your new Mac. First, go to System Preferences on the old Mac. Go to "Sharing." Turn on "DVD and CD Sharing." It should show up in Finder on the new Mac. Try it!

Google Winter Wonderlabs are Closed

Today, I found that I missed the Google Winter Wonderlab to be closed. Without notice. Yesterday, they packed up. So don't plan an entire trip and find it to be gone. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas Is Free!

Probably not the best time to mention this, but the iBook "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is free this week. A true Christmas Classic! The link is below. Happy holidays!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-charlie-brown-christmas/id580252106?mt=11

Scanning iTunes Gift Cards

Want to scan iTunes gift cards more efficiently? This video is for you!

Merry Christmas!

Good morning and Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy today and relax. For those who got new tech gifts, be sure to look out for some posts about how to get started with them. Until then, have a cheerful day!

Santa is off!

This morning, Santa has lifted off from the North Pole. Google is once again sponsoring him and you can track him on http://www.google.com/santatracker/#/tracker/dashboard. Google is also offering a variety of holiday-themed games and activities.

How to Move Your iPhoto Library... The EASY Way!

To easily move your iPhoto library (say, to an external hard drive), just quit iPhoto if it's open (don't just close the window, go to the menu bar and click iPhoto > Quit). Locate the iPhoto library. By default, it's located in the Pictures folder. Simply drag and drop it into the desired location and double-click it. That's it.

* This procedure is for iPhoto 8 or later. Check your version by opening iPhoto, go to the menu bar, and click iPhoto > About iPhoto.

Mapped Pictures

See your life in maps in the Photos app. Just open it (make sure that you're on the Photos tab) and pick a location. You'll see a map of the selected location. 

* iOS 7 Only

YouTube: Try Something New!

Want to add a spin to YouTube? Go to YouTube.com on your computer and scroll ALL OF THE WAY DOWN. You will find a link that says "Try Something New!"  Click it to explore the beta stages of YouTube. 

Camera from Control Center!

To quickly access your camera, just swipe up from the bottom of your iOS 7 device and tap the camera icon. It's that easy!

Mac Pro

Today, the long awaited Mac Pro was released. The completely customizable, decked-out Macintosh from Apple. It works with up to three 4K (really big) displays. This computer is for professional movie makers and photographers. It now takes until February to ship. Remember that this was released today!

New Gift Cards!

Apple finally has new iTunes gift cards. The old ones had the iOS 6 icons of the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store. Now, they have a new design. The cards have dropped the app icons and now go back to displaying various spraypainted pictures. They are similar to the pictures at previous Apple events. 

iBookstore FINALLY Adds Gifting

Looking for a quick gift? Give the gift of reading! Open the iBooks app and hit the "Store" button. Find a book, select it, hit the share button (upper right corner), and hit "Gift." Complete the form. Try it out! Be sure that the iBooks app is updated. Most users on iOS 7 have their apps automatically update. 

Free Gift From Apple!

iTunes' 12 Days of Gifts App is giving all a free early gift. No Better by Lorde is free from the app. Be sure to get in on the offer! Just download the 12 Days of Gifts app [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/12-days-of-gifts/id777716569?mt=8]. 

Ok Google, Do a Barrel Roll!

On the desktop version of Google.com, type "do a barrel roll" to see a quick Easter Egg. The screen will do a barrel roll! It will rotate 360 degrees. Nice little secret, right?

P.S. I have a little announcement to make. I won't be able to post videos for a couple of weeks due to school and the holiday season. I'm sorry. I will be able to post some sort of post that day. For those who've heard about the new YouTube announcement and rules coming in 2014 (I will discuss in a later post), I will continue to post videos on YouTube and the blog when I continue again as I do not make money off of these videos. Again, I will explain these new conditions in a later post. 

Translate Webpages Using Google Translate

Here's a quick tip! To translate any webpage inside of Google Translate, simply type in the URL inside of the box and hit the "Translate" button (Be sure to select a language!). It's that easy!

Pencil: First Impressions

Today, I received my Pencil. For those who don't know, the Pencil is a new product by FiftyThree, the same people who brought us the Paper app [Direct Link; iPad only; Free]. The Pencil is a stylus made to complement the popular drawing app. Pencil has a very clean and sleek look. From the packaging and to the product, the Pencil lives up to its name. It's simple and easy. If you need to erase, don't tap a special erase button on the iPad. Just flip the Pencil upside down and use it like an actual pencil. The battery is easy to charge with no cables or wires to fool with and the pairing is even simpler. It's called "Kiss to Pair." There are no menus to go through, nor any Bluetooth pins. Just touch the Pencil to the special button on the Paper app and it's done. A helpful video pops up the first time a Pencil is connected and gives some helpful hints. FiftyThree calls the method, "As easy as falling in love." Of course, the real test is how well the stylus works. I can tell you now that the palm protection is perfection and the erasing function is really nice. If you want some drawing examples, there are some below and be sure to check out my Twitter (@alexsmbaratti) for new pictures drawn by me and my Pencil. Be sure to follow my Twitter as well. You'll get a tweet whenever there's a new post on my blog. The Pencil has special introductory pricing at $49.99 for the graphite color and $59.99 for the walnut color.

12 Days of Gifts

iTunes has a bit of a Christmas present to all iOS users this year. From December 26th to Janurary 6th, the app, "12 Days of Gifts," will give out a gift of music, an app, a movie, or other media each day for twelve days. Be sure to get the app. It's free [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/12-days-of-gifts/id777716569?mt=8]!

D-SLR Style Focus

In iOS 7, you can focus the camera without touching the screen. Just use the volume down button (minus button) and hold it for about five seconds. Try it out!

AirDrop May Be Using Your Battery (And You Probably Don't Know It)!

Is your battery being sucked up on your iPhone 5, 5c, 5s or iPad with Retina Display, iPad Air, or another device? Try this quick fix (iOS 7 Only)! Swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Welcome to Control Center. Find the button for AirDrop. Tap on it and select "Off." Perfect. If you ever need to turn it on again, just do this procedure again, except use "Everyone" or "Contacts Only" instead of "Off."

Apple Endorses Hour of Code with Free Workshops

Are you a kid who wants to learn coding (JavaScript)? Head on over to an Apple Store from 5 to 6 PM and get in on the free seminar. Be sure to check the Apple Store App for availablity. 

Khan Academy's Hour of Code!

This week is Khan Academy's coding week. They will be showing people how to code in JavaScript (not to be confused with Java). Be sure to check it out!

Here is the link:

http://www.khanacademy.org/hour-of-code/hour-of-code-tutorial/v/welcome-hour-of-code

P.S. There will be no video this week due to time constraints. Sorry!

San Diego Mini Maker Fair

Do you love technology and robotics? Then, come on down to the San Diego Mini Maker Faire! Check out the swag and many exhibits featuring the technology of tomorrow! I'll be tweeting about it as well. The location is at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the Bing Crosby Hall and is available at the bottom of this post. 

Flashlight

Did you know that in iOS 7 there is an integrated flashlight function? Simply swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal Control Center and tap the bottom-right "flashlight" icon. There you go! Your iPhone is now shining a flashlight!

Ask Siri To Flip A Coin

Serving or returning? Who gets the last slice of pizza? Decisions, decisions. Why flip a coin in today's age? I mean, who has a quarter in today's time? Okay, a lot of people do. Either way, try this trick! Tell Siri, "Flip a coin." Instantly, she'll either say head or tails. It's completely random. Try it the next time you have to make a decision.

*Only available in iOS 7

Apple Gives Free Shipping For All Orders

The Apple Online Store (store.apple.com) is currently giving free shipping for ALL orders. This includes iPhoto print products such as photo books and cards. Be sure to get in on the offer before December 22!

Pencil

By now, I'm sure you've heard of the app Paper. It's the artisticly accurate drawing app. It is the blank canvas for the digital artist. FiftyThree, the company behind Paper, has unveiled a new product. The Pencil! Are we noticing a trend here? They also sell customizable books called the "Book." The Pencil is a Bluetooth stylus (only compatible when the Paper app is on) with palm rejection and a digital eraser. You can learn more about Pencil at:

http://www.fiftythree.com/pencil

Pencil pre-orders are currently available at special introductory pricing at $49.99-$59.99. There is no guarentee of Christmas delivery. 

Amazon Prime Air

Remember the second episode of Back To The Future predicted flying cars in the year 2015? I don't think any movie director could've predicted this. Flying packages! In as soon as 2015, you can get your packages in 30-minutes or less! While few details are available currently, Amazon seems very committed to this project and has already contacted the FAA for permission to make this a reality. Amazon currently runs other services to deliver products as soon as possible to their customers such as Amazon Prime, Kindle books, and Amazon Fresh.

The Click - Holiday Music On Demand

Need some holiday music to go along with the holiday spirit in the air? I've got just the thing!

Note: Viewers who can't view the video can view it by clicking here!