For many people the similarities between the iPhone and the Mac make the iPhone the perfect mobile phone. Its ease of use, familiar operating system, and the sync capabilities between the phone and media files make a very convincing argument that if you own a Mac your phone should be an iPhone.
But, that’s not always the case. Often people want something different from their phone than from their computer. They want a different experience, cell network (Let’s face it, AT&T just isn’t all the way there), or interface than what is offered with the iPhone. Many of these types of users are turning to Android devices like the Verizon Droid or the Google Nexus One.
These new smart phones offer what is to date the most competitive alternative to the iPhone in terms of ease of use and functionality. The one area that out of the box, these phones don’t compete well with the iPhone is the ability to sync digital media with their Android devices. Thankfully, someone has helped solve that problem.
Sync iTunes With Android Devices including the Nexus One
While the software wasn’t developed by Google or Apple to help Android Devices (including the Nexus One) sync with iTunes, DoubleTwist is very powerful and easy to use. The software is available on the PC and the Mac and automatically connects to your iTunes library and playlists and makes them available in a clean interface.
To sync your iTunes Playlists with your Google Nexus One or other Android Device:
- Create your playlist in iTunes
- Download, install, and open Doubletwist
- Your media library and playlists should be available on the left navigation frame
- Connect your Google Nexus One or other Android Device to the your Mac or PC and then follow the on screen instructions. More help can be found on the DoubleTwist website for many different devices
- Once you’ve mounted and made available your mobile phone, select the playlists or drag and drop the media files from your iTunes library to your Nexus One, Android device, or other media players
- You can Sync your Nexus One with iTunes Playlists by selecting the Nexus One on the left navigation frame and checking the Sync Music button and the iTunes playlists you’d like to sync with the device
Now your Google Nexus One or other Android device should include your Songs and other playlist files and sync anytime you connect your phone to your computer and open DoubleTwist.
Are you an iPhone user or do you prefer a different type of mobile phone? Let us know in the comments below!
iChat, one of the most popular instant messaging platforms for the mac, just added a new message platform to its portfolio. iChat users can now connect with their Facebook friends without navigating to facebook.com
Thanks to the development team at Facebook, you can now stay up to date with all your Facebook friends through Facebook Chat in iChat. Utilizing Jabber, the same Instant Messaging technology that powers google talk, Facebook Chat is now available on iChat and other instant messaging software clients.
Add Facebook Chat to iChat
If you’re interested in how to add Facebook to iChat follow the steps listed below:
- Open iChat and select “Preferences” from the iChat menu dropdown.
- Click the “Accounts” tab and then click the “+” at the bottom.
- Select “Jabber” from the drop-down menu and then enter the following info:
Screen Name: [yourfullusername]@chat.facebook.com
Password: [your Facebook password]
- Click the arrow next to “Server Options” and enter the following server option information:
Server: chat.facebook.com
Port: 5222
(Uncheck the box labeled “Use SSL”)
Once you’ve finished the steps above, click the done button and your Facebook Chat list should open in iChat. It should be just a matter of seconds before your “always” available for your Facebook friends to reach out to your through iChat and instant message about the latest happenings.
If you’re not big on logging in to check on your Facebook updates, but like to quickly communicate with friends, this is a great way to keep in touch with people without all the distraction of Facebook status updates.
In what is being claimed as the first multimedia magazine published in the iTunes LP format, write2grow.org and TurboSquid, have recently announced TurboSquid Magazine. TurboSquid is reported as being the world’s largest online marketplace for 3D models for games, movies, animations and other multimedia formats. The announcement, in partnership with publisher Write2Grow, is a new and interesting approach to Apple’s latest iTunes LP file format that allows individuals to experience a more interactive environment for their music and movie collections. iTunes LP was initially designed to give a more visual experience to record albums and allow for artists another creative media platform.
The announcement of a magazine being made in this format makes many wonder if they know something others don’t about the upcoming Apple Tablet. The recent rumors surrounding the Apple Tablet that will most likely be announce on January 27th, includes potential agreements that Apple may have with content publishers of all sizes, but there has not been much discussion about the content type or file format used for the content. iTunes LP was always envisioned as a way for the next generation of music collectors to still have the feel of owning a complete album, and a way to help encourage complete album purchases, but it may also be the file format used by Apple’s tablet.
The idea of interactive content that is visually appealing and allows individuals to dive deep into information or just skim the top is an interesting concept. It could be just the recipe to put life back into the hands of large Newspapers and content providers. It also would allow for an interesting and unique way to include relevant ads to consumers. It will be interesting to see if in fact, iTunes LP is the file type designed and planned for the Apple Tablet, and we’re just a few days away from finding out all the details.
The Facebook App for the iPhone has continually seen improvements over the past year that have allowed us to keep up with the latest happenings with our friends and family as they post their information out to the world.
Just recently Facebook updated their app again, making it even easier for us to keep in contact with our friends. The latest iPhone Facebook App updates include the ability to sync our contacts in our iPhone Address Book with phone, website, email, and other information our Friends provide to Facebook. In the past we described a way to add your Facebook friends to Address Book and we wanted to now bring you the latest and greatest way to keep Facebook and your iPhone Contacts in sync.
To sync your Facebook Friends with your iPhone Contacts:
- Be sure to download the latest version of the iPhone App from the Apps Store, without it you will not be able to sync your Facebook Contacts
- After your app is updated, Open Facebook on your iPhone. For me, the App appeared and asked right away if I wanted to sync my Facebook contacts with my iPhone contacts, but in case you skipped this message we’ll provide you with the rest of the steps
- From the Facebook Landing page click the Friends button
- Next, Click the Sync button in the top right corner
- On the next screen slide to Yes the Syncing option, and if you’d like to pull in the profile pictures from Facebook, slide to Yes the Replace Photos option
- Accept the agreement screen that displays to allow Facebook to start syncing up your Facebook Friends with your iPhone Contacts
- Your Facebook Friends information should start downloading from the Facebook server and syncing up with Address Book on your iPhone to keep the contact information of your friends up to date.
Now that you’ve pulled down the latest contact information from Facebook to your iPhone you can open up Address Book and see the changes to your contacts. Many of your Friends Contact information will include their latest profile picture on Facebook as well as a “website” link to their Facebook Profile.
2009 was a great year for Maciverse.com. We’ve seen an incredible increase in traffic from the year before and have more than expected participation from readers and visitors of the site. Thanks to all of you for making it a great year.
We can only hope for this type of progress to continue through 2010 and we’re hoping to bring you a number of great and interesting articles and ideas that will help you get more from your Mac.
Welcome Suki!
Maciverse.com has always been a Mac Help site dedicated to helping users both new and old find out interesting and helpful ways to solve problems on their Mac. To continue with these articles we’ve invited another Mac user and expert to help us with new ideas and tips. Please welcome with us Suki to the Maciverse team.
Suki is a professional blogger who lives with a purpose, eliminating everything she doesn’t need. After several years of struggling with viruses and glitches, she found salvation back in 2006 with her first Macbook. Since her first bite of the not-so-forbidden Apple, she has become a devoted lover, taking great pains to find cheap, simple programs that keep her Macbook running fast, cool and long.
Looking Ahead
We’ve appreciated the comments and feedback from the community regarding the regularity of posts and hope to have multiple new articles each week for our readers. As always, articles will range from the quick and simple tips to more complicated problem solving approaches to getting more from your Mac.
Additionally, we hope to build out the Maciverse Forums to really be a location for users to ask any question about their Mac and have quick and helpful replies from the Maciverse team and community members. Forums are great ways to communicate with other Mac users and find out helpful ideas to help you with your Apple Products.
Finally, this year we hope to bring our readers our first eBook. A number of visitors to our site are looking for more and different ways to accomplish tasks on iWeb. With this in mind we’ll be writing an eBook that covers multiple different aspects of iWeb and how to make great looking and powerful website with Apple’s iWeb.
Be sure to subscribe to our site and be the first to know about the latest Apple News, new tips for your Mac, and the best guides and tutorials for Mac owners.
