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This small data base has instructions for how to cut through to a real person when you call a company and get an IVR system -- Interactive (or Integrated) Voice Response. You know, the computer system that tries to solve your problem using stacked menu systems so they don't have to pay a real person to talk to you? Even though you know what you want can't be solved by the machine and you have to talk to a human? This site will tell you what you need to do to get the human on the phone. (USA only at this point.) From This is True for 30 October 2005 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: David Pogue List Price: $19.99 Amazon Price: $13.39 Editorial Review: iPhone: The Missing Manual Sneak Preview: David Pogue's Favorite iPhone Tricks The iPhone's finger-driven interface seems natural and obvious. But when you really think about it, making it seem that way was no easy task. There are no menus in the iPhone software, for example, and no checkboxes or radio buttons. Everything on the screen has to be big enough for a fleshy fingertip. On the other hand, the finger makes an outstanding pointing device; heck, you've been pointing with it all your life. It's much faster to scroll diagonally with a fingertip, for example, than with fussy adjustments on two different scroll bars. Here, then, are some of the iPhone's unadvertised taps, double-taps, and other shortcuts, all culled from iPhone: The Missing Manual. Double-TappingDouble-tapping is actually pretty rare on the iPhone. It's not like the Mac or Windows, where double-clicking the mouse means "open." On the iPhone, you open something with one tap. A double tap, therefore, is reserved for three functions: In Photos, Google Maps, and Safari (the Web browser), double-tapping zooms in on whatever you tap, magnifying it by a factor of two. In the same programs, as well as Mail, double-tapping means, "restore to original size" after you've zoomed in. (Weirdly, in Google Maps, you use a different gesture to zoom out: tap once with two fingers. That gesture appears nowhere else on the iPhone.) When you're watching a video, double-tapping eliminates or restores letterbox bars. See, the iPhone's screen is bright, vibrant, and stunningly sharp. It's not, however, the right shape for videos. Standard TV shows are squarish, not rectangular. So when you watch TV shows, you get black letterbox columns on either side of the picture. Movies have the opposite problem. They're too wide for the iPhone screen. So when you watch movies, you wind up with letterbox bars above and below the picture. Some people are fine with that. At least when letterbox bars are onscreen, you know you're seeing the complete composition of the scene the director intended. Other people can't stand letterbox bars. You're already watching on a pretty small screen; why sacrifice some of that precious area to black bars? That's why the iPhone gives you a choice. If you double-tap the video as it plays, you zoom in, magnifying the image so that it fills the entire screen. Part of the image is now off the screen; now you're not seeing the entire composition originally broadcast. You lose the top and bottom of TV scenes, or the left and right edges of movie scenes. If this effect winds up chopping off something important--some text on the screen, for example--restoring the original letterbox view is just another double-tap away. Secrets of the SensorsThe iPhone has three cool sensors. First, it has an accelerometer that detects when you've rotated the iPhone into landscape orientation. In programs like Photos, Safari, and iPod, it triggers the screen image to rotate as well. Camouflaged behind the black glass where you can't see them except with a bright flashlight are two more sensors: a proximity sensor that shuts off the screen illumination and touch sensitivity when the phone is against your head (it works only in the Phone application), and an ambient-light sensor that brightens the display when you're in sunlight and dims it in darker places. Apple says that it experimented with having the light sensor active all the time, but it was weird to have the screen get brighter and darker all the time. So the sensor now samples the ambient light, and adjusts the brightness; it does this only once--each time you unlock the phone after waking it. You can use that tip to your advantage. By covering up the sensor (just above the earpiece) as you unlock the phone, you force it to a low-power, dim screen-brightness setting (because the phone believes that it's in a dark room). Or by holding it up to a light as you wake it, you get full brightness. In both cases, you've saved all the taps and navigation it would have taken you to find the manual brightness slider in Settings. Earbud Cord SwitchWithout close inspection, you'd have a hard time telling the iPhone's white stereo earbuds apart from a regular iPod's--but don't get them mixed up. The iPhone's earbuds have a tiny, embedded clicker/microphone partway down the right earbud cord. That's right, "clicker/microphone." The tiny bulge is the microphone for phone calls. But if you pinch the bulge, you'll find that it clicks. Pinch once to answer an incoming phone call. Pinch for a couple seconds to dump the call to voicemail. (You can also double-tap the Sleep/Wake switch on top of the iPhone to send the call to voicemail.) During music or video playback, pinch once to pause the music; pinch again to resume playback. During music playback, double-pinch to skip to the next song. Customizing the iPod ButtonsThe iPod module on the iPhone starts out with buttons along the bottom for summoning four lists: Playlists, Artists, Songs, and Videos. But what about Albums? Genres? Composers? They're there, all right, but hidden; you have to tap More to see them. But what if you use those lists more often than Artists or Songs? No problem: you can replace one of those starter buttons with a list of your own. Tap More, and then tap the Edit button (upper-left corner). You arrive at the Configure screen. Here's the complete list of music-and-video sorting lists: Albums, Podcasts, Audiobooks, Genres, Composers, Compilations, Playlists, Artists, Songs, and Videos. To replace one of the four starter icons, use a finger to drag an icon from the top half of the screen downward, directly onto the existing icon you want to replace. It lights up to show the success of your drag. When you release your finger, you'll see that the new icon has replaced the old one. Tap Done in the upper-right corner. Keyboard SpeedupsDon't bother using the Shift key to capitalize a new sentence. The iPhone does that capitalizing automatically. Don't put apostrophes in contractions, either; the iPhone will put those in for you, too. Force Quit, ResetThe iPhone is pretty darned simple and stable, but it's still a computer. In times of troubleshooting, these tips may come in handy: Force quit a program. Press and hold the Home button for six seconds to force-quit a program that seems to be stuck. Reset. If the entire iPhone locks up--it can happen--press and hold both the Home button and the Sleep/Wake switch for eight seconds. You'll see the screen go black, and then the Apple logo appears as the iPhone reboots. McCallum's Awesome iPhone Period-Typing Shortcut I have in my possession a nugget, a secret bit of iPhone information that's so valuable, such a headache- and time-saver, that I don't know what to do with it. One voice in my head says, "Hoard it! Keep it a secret until your book is published! If you reveal it, it'll be all over the Net in hours, and all your competitors' books will have it, too." But another voice says, "But this information is too good to keep quiet. Plus, you didn't discover it yourself. And besides, you're not gonna starve, either way." Eventually, the second little voice prevailed. I'm going to share with you the solution to one of the most annoying things, if not THE most annoying thing, about typing on the iPhone: The punctuation keys and alphabet keys appear in two different keyboard layouts. So every time you want to type a period or a comma, it's a three-step, awkward dance: (1) Tap the ".?123" key in the lower left to summon the punctuation layout. (2) Type the period. (3) Type the ABC key in the lower left to return to the alphabet layout. Imagine how excruciating it is to type, for example, "a P.O. Box in the U.S.A.!" That's 34 finger taps and 10 mode changes! And therefore imagine how thrilled I was to receive an email from reader Andrew McCallum, containing a method of typing a period or a comma with only a SINGLE finger gesture. The iPhone doesn't register most key presses until you *release* your finger. But Andrew discovered that the Shift and Punctuation keys register their taps on the *press-down* instead. So here's what you can do, all in one motion: 1. Touch the ".?123" key, but don't lift your finger as the punctuation layout appears. 2. Slide your finger a half inch onto the period or comma key, and release. Incredibly, the ABC layout returns automatically. You've typed a period or a comma with one finger touch instead of three. In fact, you can type ANY of the punctuation symbols the same way. This makes a HUGE difference in the usability of the keyboard. Type on, bro. Book Description As you'd expect of Apple, the iPhone is gorgeous. iPhone: The Missing Manual is a book as breathtaking as its subject. Teeming with high-quality color graphics, each custom designed page helps you accomplish specific tasks -- everything from Web browsing to watching videos. Written by New York Times columnist and Missing Manual series creator David Pogue, this book shows you how to get the most out of your new Apple iPhone. The name iPhone may be doing Apple a disservice. This machine is so packed with possibilities that the cellphone may actually be the least interesting part. The iPhone is at least three products merged into one: a phone, a wide-screen iPod and a wireless, touch-screen Internet communicator. The iPhone's beauty alone may be enough for you to dig for your credit cards, but its Mac OS X-based software makes it not so much a smartphone as something out of the film "Minority Report." The real magic, however, awaits when you browse the Web. You get to see the entire Web page on the iPhone's screen. All of this is cooked up with Apple's traditional secret sauce of simplicity, intelligence and whimsy. Written by New York Times columnist and Missing Manual series creator David Pogue, iPhone: The Missing Manual shows you everything they need to know to get the most out of your new Apple iPhone. Full of humor, tips, tricks, and surprises, this book teaches you how to extend iPhone's usefulness by exploiting its links to the Web as well as its connection to Macs or PCs; how to save money using Internet-based messages instead of phone calls; and how to fill the iPhone with TV shows and DVDs for free.  By: Jonathan Zdziarski List Price: $39.99 Amazon Price: $35.40 Editorial Review: Certain technologies bring out everyone's hidden geek, and iPhone did the moment it was released. Even though Apple created iPhone as a closed device, tens of thousands of developers bought them with the expressed purpose of designing and running third-party software. In this clear and concise book, veteran hacker Jonathan Zdziarski -- one of the original hackers of the iPhone -- explains the iPhone's native environment and how you can build software for this device using its Objective-C, C, and C++ development frameworks. iPhone Open Application Development walks you through the iPhone's proprietary development environment, offers an overview of the Objective-C language you'll use with it, and supplies background for the iPhone operating system. You also get detailed recipes and working examples for everyone's favorite iPhone features -- graphics and audio programming, interfaces for adding multitouch functionality to games, the use of hardware sensors, and the device's vast user interface kit. This book explains: How to access the iPhone's underlying operating system The makeup of an iPhone application How to get the open source tool chain running on your desktop The iPhone's core user interface framework, which is heavily tied to major application-level functions Using the many touted iPhone features such as multitouch, hardware sensors, and gestures Intercepting and handling event notifications for many iPhone-related events Raw video surfaces and 3D transformations that take you deeper into advanced graphics on the iPhone How to record and play simple sounds and intercept sound events Advanced digital audio output using Apple's new Audio Toolbox framework Advanced user interfacecomponents such as section lists, keyboards, and image manipulation The Appendix includes a compendium of miscellaneous code examples for cool application features, such as using the camera and creating a CoverFlow(R)-like album browser. This book is a true hacker's book, designed for the millions of users who have run third party applications on their iPhone, but its concepts and code examples have shown to be remarkably similar to Apple's official SDK, making this book a valuable resource for both camps. Any programmer can use this book to write applications with the same spectacular effects that made the device an immediate hit, and impress users just as much as the official iPhone software does. That programmer can easily be you.  By: Stephen King List Price: $26.95 Amazon Price: $9.99 Editorial Review: Witness Stephen King's triumphant, blood-spattered return to the genre that made him famous. Cell, the king of horror's homage to zombie films (the book is dedicated in part to George A. Romero) is his goriest, most horrific novel in years, not to mention the most intensely paced. Casting aside his love of elaborate character and town histories and penchant for delayed gratification, King yanks readers off their feet within the first few pages; dragging them into the fray and offering no chance catch their breath until the very last page. In Cell King taps into readers fears of technological warfare and terrorism. Mobile phones deliver the apocalypse to millions of unsuspecting humans by wiping their brains of any humanity, leaving only aggressive and destructive impulses behind. Those without cell phones, like illustrator Clayton Riddell and his small band of "normies," must fight for survival, and their journey to find Clayton's estranged wife and young son rockets the book toward resolution. Fans that have followed King from the beginning will recognize and appreciate Cell as a departure--King's writing has not been so pure of heart and free of hang-ups in years (wrapping up his phenomenal Dark Tower series and receiving a medal from the National Book Foundation doesn't hurt either). "Retirement" clearly suits King, and lucky for us, having nothing left to prove frees him up to write frenzied, juiced-up horror-thrillers like Cell. --Daphne DurhamTHERE'S A REASON CELL RHYMES WITH HELL. On October 1, God is in His heaven, the stock market stands at 10,140, most of the planes are on time, and Clayton Riddell, an artist from Maine, is almost bouncing up Boylston Street in Boston. He's just landed a comic book deal that might finally enable him to support his family by making art instead of teaching it. He's already picked up a small (but expensive!) gift for his long-suffering wife, and he knows just what he'll get for his boy Johnny. Why not a little treat for himself? Clay's feeling good about the future. That changes in a hurry. The cause of the devastation is a phenomenon that will come to be known as The Pulse, and the delivery method is a cell phone. Everyone's cell phone. Clay and the few desperate survivors who join him suddenly find themselves in the pitch-black night of civilization's darkest age, surrounded by chaos, carnage, and a human horde that has been reduced to its basest nature...and then begins to evolve. There's really no escaping this nightmare. But for Clay, an arrow points home to Maine, and as he and his fellow refugees make their harrowing journey north they begin to see crude signs confirming their direction: KASHWAK=NO-FO. A promise, perhaps. Or a threat... There are one hundred and ninety-three million cell phones in the United States alone. Who doesn't have one? Stephen King's utterly gripping, gory, and fascinating novel doesn't just ask the question "Can you hear me now?" It answers it with a vengeance.THERE'S A REASON CELL RHYMES WITH HELL. There are one hundred and ninety-three million cell phones in the United States alone. Who doesn't have one? Stephen King's utterly gripping, gory, and fascinating novel doesn't just ask the question "Can you hear me now?" It answers it with a vengeance.  By: Inc. Penton Overseas List Price: $7.95 Amazon Price: $7.95 Editorial Review: A childrens book that teaches your child how to dial 911 and what to say to get help in an emergency. By correctly dialing 911 the child hears 911, sirens, and then a rewarding Good job! from sound chip. Includes replaceable batteries.  By: Andy Ihnatko List Price: $19.99 Amazon Price: $13.59 Editorial Review: iPhone Fully Loaded is a one-of-a-kind reference that teaches you how to fully exploit the power of your Phone or iPod touch. Clear step-by-step instructions teach you how to convert any form of home, office, or online media -- dusty LPs, movies on DVD, spreadsheets, databases, presentations, downloadable books, comic books, as well as music and video to an iPhone or iPod Touch compatible format. Written by wildly popular technology expert and Chicago Sun Times columnist Andy Ihnatko, iPhone Fully Loaded is a full-color guide designed to work for both Mac OS X and Windows users. From uploading Web pages to downloading television shows and a variety of documents, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, the iPhone does much more than make phone calls, play music, and send e-mail. |
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