How To: Remotely Control Apple Music on Computer, Mac Using iPhone, iPad

Since its debut, Apple Music has seriously got some mixed reviews both from critics and fans alike. Some discontented Apple fans called it “a nightmare” while others lauded it as a refreshing and a nearly perfect music app.

And if you are one of those Apple fanboys who are convinced that Apple Music is the best music app in the planet, then, you don't want to miss out this one cool interoperability feature of iOS and OSX: wirelessly control, play Apple Music on your PC/Mac using your iPhone or iPad as a remote.

DokRemote: Remotely Control Your iPhone, iPod Music Player Via Web Browser

Spotify Connect is one sought-after, premium-only feature of Spotify that lets you control the music from any phone or tablet using the Spotify app. And if you're looking for Spotify Connect alternative for Apple Music, then, good news is you too can have the same wireless convenience at no cost!

Play Apple Music Through Your Speakers, Mac or Apple TV Using iPhone, iPad as Remote

Follow this step-by-step guide on how to remotely control music playback active on your PC, Mac using your iPhone or iPad as a wireless remote.

1. Download and install Remote on your iPhone or iPad

2. Once installed, enable Home Sharing on your iPhone. You'll be asked to login using your iCloud account. You should see something like this:

   

3. Turn on Home Sharing in iTunes on your computer or Mac. Go to File > Home Sharing > Turn On Home Sharing. Once enabled, your Remote app on your iPhone should automatically retrieve all your music collection and display them on your iDevice.

   

   Use IFTTT As A Spy App: Secretly Copy, Collect iOS Photos on iPhone, iPad (No Jailbreak)

4. Let's test it. Browse through your iTunes library on your Mac and play whatever playlist/albums you've got. As soon as you hit the play button, your iPhone should automatically pick the track actively playing your Mac, as seen on the video below:

You're done! You can keep the music flowing on your Mac from anywhere in your house using your iPhone or iPad as remote.

Works flawless on my iPhone 5 (iOS8.4) and Mac (Yosemite).

Caveats

Apple's official Remote app for iOS only allows you to choose music you've added on your library. The app can't let you search for new songs in the cloud just like what you normally do on Spotify Connect.

How To: Transfer Large Files Between iPhone and Other iDevices Over Existing Wi-Fi Network

YouTube Introduces AR Beauty Try-On, A Virtual Makeup Experience that Lets Viewers Try On Makeup Within YouTube App

There's no way to protest that beauty regimen tutorials and makeup reviews are increasingly becoming more popular content on YouTube. Ask any of your girlfriends who are into beauty fad and you'll immediately get a nod they get most of their makeup skills from YouTube.

Thanks to thousands of YouTube content creators who regularly feed viewers with tutorials and beauty products reviews for their millions of followers.

Now, in another Augmented Reality (AR) initiative from Google, the company seeks to give YouTubers a notch higher experience when watching makeup tutorials on its YouTube app. With the launch of AR Beauty Try-On, viewers can now virtually try on makeup within the YouTube app.

Here's How YouTube's AR Beauty Try-On Works

Once available, your iOS YouTube screen will be split into two: makeup tutorial actively playing at the top, a stream from your own front camera at the bottom. And right within that screen, a palate of colors (maybe a shade of lipstick) can be tapped and virtually applied to your own lips and you'll immediately see how it looks on your lips in real-time.

It's really one powerful feature that should help you as a consumer decide what to buy next.

How YouTube's AR Beauty Try-On Benefits Brands

Other than casual customers who turn to YouTube for beauty tips and reviews, there's another real winner here: brands. Brands including M·A·C Cosmetics can easily tap YouTube's pool of influencers and launch AR Beauty Try-On campaigns to promote their products to over two billion monthly viewers.

This Augmented Reality App Lets You Create Your Own Portal, Teleport to New Places (iOS)

Google says it already tested this new, immersive YouTube experience and revealed that 30 percent of viewers activated the AR experience in the YouTube iOS app, spending over 80 seconds on average trying on lipstick virtually.

Source: Google

Groopic Solves The Group Picture Taking Woe — Includes Photographer In A Group Picture Too (iOS)

Groopic for iOS simply merges the photographer's image to the group picture. Put simply, the photographer gets included too in a group photo. No more setting up of external tripods, using timers and chairs, and no more asking help from a stranger.

Unfortunately, in most group photos, the photographer is always left out. Or, a group photo is never complete because two photographers have to switch so one or the other is always left out. Groopic solves this problem with an app that will show everybody in every group photo. No one needs to be left out.

Take a Group Picture that Includes the Photographer with Groopic (link)

Groopic gives you complete groupie pics in 3 easy steps: Simply take two pictures, use the app to mark the photographers, and the Groopic app does the rest. It automatically combines the two pictures into one complete group picture.

Here's How It Works:

Groopic is the creation of Eyedeus Labs, a company that develops computational photography solutions for smartphones, with over 30 years of experience in innovative imaging solutions. Eyedeus is based in Lahore, Pakistan.

New iPhone App 'Yinztagram' Lets You Add Some Pittsburgh To Your Photos

The Groopic app for iOS is available from the App Store for only a $1.99 download. So far, an Android version is in the making and may be made available soon.

Long Commute? Get Power Naps and Get A Phone Call When You Arrive At Your Destination

The older we get, the less time is spent on quality slumber. Blame it to the corporate life' stress, household responsibilities, or maybe that's just how adulthood simply works?

That's why we always try to snatch that much-needed naps whenever we can, whether on a bus or a train.

So, if you're among those millions of nine-to-five warriors who commute your way to work, or you're a backpacker with long trips to the countryside, here's a neat trick how to sleep off your commute without worrying about missing your stop. Let your phone automatically alerts you when you're about to enter your destination just in time.

What you need

• IFTTT app (available on Android, iOS)
• Mobile data connection

For the uninitiated, IFTTT (short for If This, Then That) is a powerful web-based service that lets you perform actions based on user-defined triggers. We call these actions as “applets”. IFTTT works like Zapier but much easier to use.

Let Your Phone Alerts You When You Arrive At Your Destination

The goal here is to create an IFTTT applet that notifies you when you arrive at your destination. To do this, we'll use both Location and VoIP Calls services. Here's how to get started:

1. Install IFTTT app (iOS, Android), and sign-up.
2. Create your first applet by going to My Applets tab and click on + icon top right.
3. Now, you'll be asked to define the trigger and action, like this:

   

4. Tap on this and search for Location > You enter an area and specify the area you want to be notified.

   

5. Once done you'll be taken back to step 3 where you create an action. Just tap that and search for VoIP Calls service where you can fire Call my device action, as seen below:

   

6. Save your applet and ensure your IFTTT is running in the background. You're done.

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While Google Maps' previous update already has a push notification that alerts you when you're approaching your stop, I find it too unreliable to be honest. A VoIP call works better, ensuring you get off the bus or train just in time.

Apple's New Patent Gives iOS Quick Access to Camera, Bypassing Passwords & Biometrics

A once in a lifetime moment unfolds just in front of you. Maybe it's a comet, or that rare humpback whale joyfully leaps out of the water.

So you decided to take your iPhone out and capture that moment. But by the time you've slide your finger to launch your camera app, the whole thing is over. It's gone!

Well, we've all been there. Thanks to our often walled iOS where launching an app can sometimes take five seconds or more.

Groopic Solves The Group Picture Taking Woe — Includes Photographer In A Group Picture Too (iOS)

And that's exactly what Apple seeks to solve. In the future iteration of iPhone, you can snap just about anything as it happens in front of you even without sliding your finger or unlocking your phone.

Soon You'll Be Able to Snap Photos without Unlocking Your iPhone

Apple recently filed a patent that automatically activates its built-in camera app without even interacting or sliding your lock-screen. The patent describes multiple detection methods which can detect an intent to capture a photograph or a video.

This works by detecting the movements of a device using sensors such as the iPhone’s accelerometer, which can pick up movement, speed, and direction.

New iPhone App Automatically Captures a Photo of Anyone Who Touches Your iDevice

Apple pretty much sums up the inspiration behind this technology. It says:

Mobile devices often include a user’s sensitive personal information… or installed applications that provide quick access to the user’s private data [so] a user often locks these devices using a password or his biometrics.

While this locking capability protects the user from identity theft, having to take the time to enter a password or biometrics to unlock the device may not be desirable when the user requires quick access to an application.

For instance, if the mobile device is locked when the user wishes to capture a fleeting moment on camera, the user may miss the opportunity to do so since he has to take the time to enter his password or biometrics to unlock the device as well as locate and activate the camera application.

Sliding your finger to bring the camera app is one thing. But pointing your device directly to the object while lock screen is active is another thing.

How To: Remotely Spy, Monitor SMS Text Messages on iPhone, Android (UPDATED)

WARNING! The SMS spy applications detailed below are intended to be used only for private and legal purposes. They cannot be used for violating anyone's rights, spying or other illegal purposes. User of any of these spying software takes all responsibility for using these applications in any illegal use cases.

Tired of cheating husband? Do you ever suspect your wife or girlfriend is making an affair? Do you suspect your kids are secretly buying stuff they're not supposedly getting? Ever wondered who's that someone trying to interact with your daughter? If yes, then, a remote SMS monitoring spy app for Android or iPhone is all you need.

Below are some of the best and free and paid SMS monitoring apps that you can install on your iPhone, Android and even Symbian and Blackberry device. These remote SMS monitoring mobile apps allow you to remotely spy and monitor text messages, SMS of your cheating husband, kids without their knowledge.

Use IFTTT As A Spy App: Secretly Collect iOS Photos Taken on iPhone, iPad (No Jailbreak)

Best & Free Remote SMS Monitoring App For Android, iPhone

1. SMS Replicator Android Secret Spy App - Spy, Read Someone's Inbox

   SMS Replicator, one of the most controversial applications for Android, does almost the same with SMS Monitor. It automatically forwards another copy of every successful text message, SMS sent. This SMS spy app works well with Android and can be used to spy on your girlfriend/boyfriend or kids or simply for fun. Simply grab the phone while they are taking bath. Download and install SMS Replicator for Android, configure it with your number. Once done, the app will run in the background and it will forward incoming messages to you.

   If successfully installed, this SMS remote spy app for Android has no icon so it is impossible to find on phone and will run on its own. The only way to reveal the app is to text the phone with your secret password. Just text "000" to the phone to open the secure settings and choose the forwarding number.

   In my test, it really worked like a charm and felt that uncomfortable feeling of guilt of being able to monitor whoever I want to track. So please use it at your own risk.

   SMS Replicator, being a controversial Android app, cannot be downloaded on PlayStore so you have to look for it on Google or other file hosting sites. I previously hosted it at 110mb.com but apparently the hosting site is already unavailable, and I don't have backup :( Sorry about that.

2. Mobile Spy - The most advanced, next generation remote SMS spying software for iPhone

   UPDATE: I originally wrote this article back in 2011 so I can no longer vouch if Mobile Spy still works for iPhone, considering the often-updated, walled ecosystem of iOS. However, you can go give it a try, request a demo and see if it's what you need.

   However, the closest alternative I can think of to somehow monitor your kids is to use IFTTT and track every single snap without them knowing (no Jailbreak required). Follow this guide how you can Use IFTTT as a spy app to secretly copy, collect iOS photos on iPhone, iPad.

   Mobile Spy is your ultimate solution for remote mobile spying needs. This is a subscription-based app, with great handset support, and comes with advanced remote monitoring functions.

   Mobile Spy uses the Internet capabilities of your phone, records your text and call activities, and logs your GPS locations. All data are then quickly uploaded to your Mobile Spy account so that you can monitor the activity of your cheating husband or kids via web. To download, visit Mobile Spy website.

   Remotely Lock, Password-Protect Your Lost/Forgotten Phone Via SMS

   Your two timer husband is less likely to make the same crime again if you install SMS spying/monitoring app on his phone. If you manage a business, your employees are less likely to abuse their SMS privileges.

3. SMS Monitor - Get instant copy for every SMS, text message sent and received by your husband or kids

   This is one of my favourite apps back in Symbian days (Nokia) so if you have old Symbian device lying around, you can use below's app. Otherwise, you can skip this part.

   SMS Monitor is a powerful tool for remote sms-monitoring. It was purposely created for security audit and parental control. You'll be able to read every single text message/SMS being sent and received.

   SMS Monitor Key Features:

   - the app secretly sends incoming and outgoing SMS from mobile phone where it is installed to an admin number (you)

   - all messages would be sent in hidden mode

   - application is not shown in phone menu (there's no way for them to jon and uninstall)

   - the app does not keep copies of SMS in sent and reports folders

   - the app is not shown in Task List

   Free SMS Bombing Apps To Send Multiple Messages All At Once

   SMS Monitor perfectly works on any s60v3 and s60v5 Nokia Symbian handsets. Download, sign and install the app called SmsMonitor.v1.0.sis, just google it. Remember to install the app to your kid or husband's phone (of course, do it behind closed doors). After installation the application starts in hidden mode. To prepare it for work, just grab another phone -- your phone (not necessarily Symbian) and text "set admin" (without quotes) to your kid or husband's number. The message should be received and deleted automatically. If successfully installed, you should receive all inbound and outbound SMS/text messages being sent or received by your husband/kid.

If you know any other remote SMS spy app, please email me (or comment below) and I will update the list.

How To Text Blast in iOS - This Shortcut Lets You SMS Bomb Any Number from iPhone

DISCLAIMER: This is my first Shortcuts created for the sole purpose of demonstrating how powerful Shortcuts is. With the right mix of macros, it is now possible to text blast any phone number using your iPhone. Please use it at your own risk.

Have you ever thought of pranking your friends by SMS bombing them with unlimited number of text messages? Or you constantly receive text scams and you just wanted to return the favour by text blasting them?

Send Automated, Scheduled Message on iPhone - No Jailbreak and Third-Party Apps Required

Whatever your motivation is, it's now possible to text blast straight from your iPhone with ease.And no need to jailbreak or install a risky, third-party app.

Here's what you need for SMS Flooder for iPhone

• A Shortcuts app by Apple (requires iOS 12.0 or later)
• An unlimited SMS subscription from your telco

Here's how to text blast on iPhone - a free SMS bomber for iOS

1. Add this SMS Blast / Bomber Shortcut

2. To text blast a phone number, simply go to Shortcuts app library and click on SMS Blast / Bomber

   Clicking on that Shortcut prompts you to add recipient

3. Add total number of SMS to send

   

4. Add your custom text message

   

Now let the Shortcut do its thing in the background. Go get some popcorn and binge watch on Netflix while you pester that nasty spammer in the background! :D

How To: Remotely Control Apple Music on Computer, Mac Using iPhone, iPad

I'll probably go to hell for creating such Shortcut, but I find it fun to prank those spammers who keep on sending unsolicited messages.

New iPhone App Automatically Captures a Photo of Anyone Who Touches Your iDevice

Ever wanted to catch those nasty itchy fingers trying to grab your iPhone without your permission?

Well, as the popular cling goes, there is always an app for that!

Meet Guardian Cam, the iOS app that spies on anyone who tries to “spy” on your iDevice. Once activated, Guardian Cam automatically takes a picture of anyone who touches your iPhone or iPad.

Discover Who May Be Using Your iPhone Without Permission With Guardian Cam (link)

The Guardian Cam app replaces the home screen with a dummy screen. If the dummy screen is touched the front-facing camera automatically takes a picture — good news for those who want to protect their iPhone’s or iPad’s security and privacy.

Use IFTTT As A Spy App: Secretly Collect iOS Photos Taken on iPhone, iPad (No Jailbreak)

The app even has an upgrade for auto-flash in low light, an icon badge that displays the number of photos captured, and even an optional audio alarm that will not shut off until it runs after one minute. All photos are even dated and saved.

How To: Remotely Spy, Monitor SMS, Text Messages

The Guardian Cam app is useful in order to guard against anyone using someone else’s iPhone or iPad without the owner’s knowledge. It’s also a foolproof way to catch anyone in the act of spying on the contents of any iDevice. The ultimate protection of course is against anyone attempting to steal the device, since the loud alarm will discourage anyone from finishing the attempted thievery. In short, anyone attempting illegally to look at a file, open an app, make a call, or to steal the device, is automatically caught on camera or subjected to a loud alarm.

If hard proof is needed to accuse someone, the outcome from Guardian Cam is all the proof you need.

Guardian Cam supports English and Japanese. It is compatible with iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, and 5; the 3rd to 5th generation of iPod Touch; and iPad. Of course, the iDevice must have a front-facing camera.

Phone As Spy Camera - Turn Your Phone Into Remote Surveillance Camera With Motion Detection

Created by the Masatoshi Higashionna and Masaya Takahashi Co. Ltd. from Japan, Guardian Cam sells for only US$1.99 available worldwide at any App Store in the Utilities category.

New Jailbreak Tweak FaceHalt Adds Samsung's Smart Pause Feature To iPhone

The recent release of Samsung’s Galaxy S4 saw a number of unique software and app features. One that seemed to catch a lot of attention was an app with gaze detection technology called Smart Pause. It automatically pauses any video you’re viewing when you look away from the display or puts the smartphone down.

Apple iPhone owners can have this app on their device too with "FaceHalt."

FaceHalt Brings Galaxy S4's 'Smart Pause' Feature to iPhone, iPad

FaceHalt is a new copycat, Jailbreak tweak from Chris Simpson. It uses the same Samsung Smart Pause concept feature. Using the same front-facing camera of your iOS device, it can detect if you look away or put down your phone, and will automatically pause the video you’re watching.

How To: Automatically Switch Off Your Phone At Later Time

FaceHalt is compatible with Apple’s iPhone 4S and 5, and the iPad mini, iPad 2, 3, and 4, and even the 5th generation iPod Touch. It’s also compatible with most video applications except VLC.

Activating the tweak is easy. After downloading FaceHalt, go to Settings and just select from the enable or disable toggle button. You can even switch to manual control and double tap on the Pause button, and press Play to play the video again.

5 Essential Android Apps That We Wish Existed On The iPhone

Because the app is made by an independent developer for iOS users, it’s not free. But, FaceHalt is affordable at $1.99 from the BigBoss repo in the Cydia app store.

This Augmented Reality App Lets You Create Your Own Portal, Teleport to New Places (iOS)

Since the release of Apple's ARKit back in 2017, we've seen how it stirred the pot of curiosity among app developers wanting to deliver a whole new level of user experience.

Online retailers like Lacoste for instance now employs AR app to let customers virtually try on shoes. IKEA also has an AR app where customers can visualize how a piece of furniture fits and looks in their homes.

Augmented Reality isn't only disrupting retails. Right now, we're also seeing cool AR apps that virtually take you to other places around the world.

One of those apps that caught our attention is Portal: Learning with AR. It's a fun app best played with kids that let you explore the world at your fingertips.

Currently available in iOS, Portal: Learning with AR lets you create portals where you can walk right in and experience a different world (virtually of course). The portal is quite immersive; you can interact and walk around.

5 Surprisingly Cheap IoT Devices to Easily Upgrade Your Home for Less

Portal: Learning with AR is one basic Augmented Reality app that proved fun and useful. You can let your kids or students visit ancient medieval Rome or a green energy field.

LINK: Portal: Learning with AR

How To: Recover Deleted Text Messages on iPhone without Backup for FREE

If for some reason you want to restore that crucially important text message on iPhone that was deleted by accident or maybe you've bricked your phone and wanted to recover those important text messages, chances are you'll immediately hop back to your computer and look for backups to restore.

But what if you don't always have a scheduled backup and you desperately need to retrieve that lost text message?

Fret not! As dodgy as it may sound, you can fully recover deleted text messages on iPhone even if you don't have a backup. And best of all, you don't have to spend a penny to restore those deleted precious text message data.

How it's possible to recover text messages on iPhone

When you permanently delete a message on your iPhone, you're not actually deleting the data itself. What iOS' Message app does is it only removes the indexing file.

So you can imagine your actual SMS data still sits inside your iPhone's internal memory and can be fully restored even if that message is deleted.

iPhone Message Recovery: A FREE Text Message Recovery Tool for iOS That Actually Works

Everyone, meet iPhone Message Recovery. It's a tiny piece of app currently available for Mac that lets you recover accidentally deleted text messages on iPhone at no cost. I was told Windows version is in the works, so maybe a little wait is required for Windows users.

I nearly had to shun and skip this tool thinking maybe this is yet another garbage app that secretly installs malware instead of delivering the promised iPhone text message recovery as advertised. But the entire install file is just below 15MB so me being too skeptical had to give it a go.

To my surprise, iPhone Message Recovery actually works like a charm! After just a few scans, the app was able to recover my deleted text message and lets me preview those deleted text messages! Sweet.

Here's how to restore deleted text messages on iPhone without backup

1. Download and install iPhone Message Recovery for Mac (14.6MB). It's FREE, no sign-ups needed.

2. Launch iPhone Message Recovery on your Mac, it should prompt you like this

   

3. Once installed, connect your iPhone to your Mac. It should automatically detect your iPhone

   

   There are two sources for text message data recovery: Device or Backup. Be sure you're selecting Device mode.

4. Click Next, it should immediately start the scan. Analyzing your iPhone data can take a while, so wait for a few mins and do not disconnect your iPhone.

   

5. As soon as you're done with the scan, the app prompts you this:

   

   If you're recovering just standard plain text message, just toggle Messages and click Next

6. Let iPhone Message Recovery app do its thing and wait until you're taken to this screen

   

   You'll notice that two striked-through items being the deleted text messages. And see how I can easily preview them even if they're deleted inside my iPhone.

Wrapping it up

iPhone Message Recovery is not your typical dodgy data recovery app you've come to know from other data recovery apps. It's a fully functional data recovery app for iPhone that brilliantly recovers lost text messages data and even recover iMessage's photos and videos attachments in one go.

New AI-Powered Apps Help You Generate Captions, Hashtags for Instagram

Whether you're using Instagram for business or not, writing a killer caption and well-optimized hashtags is a must. Ask any Instagram marketer it's second most tricky part immediately next to generating the visuals to post on Instagram.

A good caption should drive user engagements and virality, while a relevant set of hashtags ensures you have the most optimal reach to get the exposure you need. People discover interesting posts thru hashtags, and it's a good opportunity for your brand to get discovered and ultimately earn followers.

While the best way to come up with words to accompany your Instagram post is to write it yourself, it doesn't hurt to try and get some assistance from new breed of apps to do just that.

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In this post, we'll be featuring an Android and iOS app that should help you decide what captions to post next.

Caption AI - Your Smart Instagram Caption Assistant ()

Caption AI currently hosts 15,000 captions (and growing) grouped into easy to navigate categories. Running out of caption idea for your next Instagram post? Just launch the app, open an image to post and Caption AI will automatically detect what caption and hashtags to post based on your picture.

Not happy with the generated caption? Just tap on any of the categories like Nature, Fitness, Travel, and Caption AI automatically suggests a caption for you.

Of course the auto-generated captions aren't original. They're mostly coming from third-party sources that curate popular lines and quotes from notable people and writers. Perhaps in the next update the developer gives proper attribution to each line.

This Android app can also suggest the most popular hashtags relevant to your post. So next time you're stuck deciding what to post, check out this app.

Auto Caption - Get Caption Ideas for Instagram (, )

Another app that I am pretty much impressed is Auto Caption for iOS. The moment you open a photo to post, it automatically detects whether it's ocean, mountain or food. Auto Caption will then suggest a caption and hashtags based on what it sees.

It's pretty clever and helpful app ideally recommended for Instagram marketers or casual Instagrammers.

Wrapping it up

Again, the above-mentioned apps aren't for everyone. A more personalized and well-thought out captions will still do wonders in your Instagram marketing efforts. But if doing so takes you forever, then, maybe time to explore those apps?

Finally, An AI-Powered App That Transforms Sketches Into Interactive Digital Prototypes in Realtime

The latest advancement of AI continues to offer us a whole new way to experience our digital lives. We’ve seen how Google predicts traffic delays & bus crowdedness, well, thanks to AI. We’ve also seen how YouTube enables you to virtually try on makeup and help you with your purchases decisions, thanks to its immersive AR Beauty Try-On.

With millions of power users’ growing appetite for anything automated, it’s not difficult to imagine a future where mundane, routinary tasks are being kept to a minimum. And fact is : it has already begun.

One of the coolest finds we’ve come across is Artyline, a free iOS & time-saver app that converts hand-drawn sketches into digital equivalent in realtime. All you have to do is to give a good scan on your sketches and you’re done.

Not everyone will appreciate this app, but such an app comes in handy if you’re an app developer or designer who wants to skip NinjaMock or any online mockup tools to quickly visualize your ideas.

Why Artyline is such a great app

The trouble with hand-drawn sketches is that it can potentially be misunderstood by most clients who normally aren’t adept in UX design elements. So whether it’s a simple app or not, the best way to present your idea and get their approval is to give prototypes as realistic as possible.

Excel Gets OCR Support, Lets You Snap Tables and Convert Into Editable Spreadsheet

With Artyline, generating prototypes is as simple as scanning your sketches and you immediately get an interactive version of our mockup. Think of it as an additional team member in your UX / design department where design sketches drawn from whiteboard or paper are quickly converted to digital formats. So you’d come well-prepared when meeting your client to discuss the next big app.

Artyline limitations

Because Artyline is powered by AI, it has a limited set of training to recognize basic shapes and transform them into design elements. Good thing is Artyline has this easy-to-follow guideline to make your sketches more recognizable by their AI.

Pro Tip: Use markers instead of writing pens. Don’t use pencils as they’re too illegible to recognize by Artyline scanner.

Artyline is still in its infancy and got tons of areas to improve especially in the execution side. However, I can’t easily denigrate an app idea this good just because of those hiccups. So, we are still impressed.

Give your app designs workflows an upgrade. Get this iOS app while it’s free. Thank me later!

Download: Artyline [Apple App Store]

How To: Automatically Lock, Unlock Your Computer with Siri

Near Lock, one of the coolest iPhone apps in the App Store, has just updated their iOS app with full Siri Shortcuts support.

For the uninitiated, Near Lock lets you automatically lock/unlock your Mac when you're near your computer without even touching it. It uses proximity sensor to detect your iPhone's distance and automatically lock your computer if you're away. Once you're near your workplace, Near Lock automatically unlocks your Mac.

Near Lock is really one powerful app that saves you time while keeping all prying eyes at bay, whether at home or at your workplace. You don't have to touch your machine to lock your computer for a quick break or type your password to log back in to your computer.

Now, an even more powerful Near Lock is here with full integration to Shortcuts, a Siri feature introduced last year.

How To Text Blast in iOS - This Shortcut Lets You SMS Bomb Any Number from iPhone

But why bother asking Siri “Lock my Mac” or “Unlock my Computer” when iPhone can automatically lock/unlock your computer when you're near? Isn't it a counterproductive to automation action we expect?

Well, the shortest answer is: Near Lock sometimes miscalculates your iPhone's distance to your Mac. It cannot sometimes automatically unlocks your Mac even if your iPhone sits just beside your computer. And it randomly locks your Mac while you're in the middle of something even if your phone remained just beside your Mac.

Using Siri Shortcuts to Lock, Unlock Your Mac with Near Lock

The unreliability of Near Lock's proximity sensor-based locking/unlocking makes Shortcuts integration a welcome addition to its feature packs. By simply asking Siri “Lock my Mac” or “Unlock my Mac”, that's already a nifty productivity hack.

Here's How To Use Siri To Automatically Lock or Unlock Your Computer

1. Download and install Near Lock on your iPhone.
2. Download and install its Mac App. This tiny app simply works as a connector between your iPhone and Mac.

   

3. Turn on your Mac's bluetooth and launch Near Lock on your Mac for pairing (you only need to do this once).
4. Turn on iPhone's bluetooth and open Near Lock on your iPhone. It should instantly scans your computer to pair. Once your Mac is found, it prompts you to enter your Mac's password. This is a one-time setup too.

   

5. Now that your Mac and iPhone are successfully paired, click on that tiny Mac icon.

   

6. It should bring you this.

   

   Remember Near Lock's proximity-based auto locking/unlocking unreliability so we will not use that. Leave that un-toggled/disabled as seen above.
7. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Near Lock > Siri & Search > Shortcuts and define your own Near Lock shortcuts or you can pre-made shortcuts to lock / unlock your Mac.

   

Send Automated, Scheduled Message on iPhone - No Jailbreak and Third-Party Apps Required

You're done. You can now just say "Hey Siri, lock my computer" or "Unlock my Mac". Here's Siri locking and unlocking my Mac in action:

Project Naptha: A Mind-Blowing Chrome Add-on that Lets You Copy, Extract Text from Any Images Online

How many times have you gone to situations when you needed to extract text embedded in an image but went helpless because no app can quickly and perfectly do just that?

Well, not probably once.

To anyone who wants to be more productive on their online gigs, you should go and check out Kevin Kwok's latest work: Project Naptha, a mind-blowing browser extension currently available in Chrome that allows you to copy text from any images straight from any websites.

And yes, it works great.

Use IFTTT As A Spy App: Secretly Collect iOS Photos Taken on iPhone, iPad (No Jailbreak)

But how was it possible?

As with any other text extraction software, Project Naptha is powered by a complex Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology which quickly identifies and builds a model of text regions, letters and words that you can extract and copy from virtually any images you encounter on the web.

One notable feature of Project Naptha is the "Erase Text" functionality which allows you remove text from any images -- useful if you want to grab images online free from captions or annotations.

Project Naptha has already making a lot of headlines today, and the media attention it gets can potentially attract tech giants like Google, Bing or Yahoo who might consider acquiring it and incorporate into their search engines.

Here's why:

Project Naptha is a clear demonstration that it's possible for search bots to decipher and index all images flooded online, similar to how search engines index the standard text-based websites. And that's music to the ear for search engine companies who might want to take a big step  forward in search. Sooner or later images we embed in our websites will be as valuable as text. And those online images' copyright violators will get the biggest Google slap.

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There's not such an abundance of OCR apps both desktop and online that works out of the box without requiring you to upload the source files for remote processing. With Project Naptha, OCR processing all takes place straight from your web browser. And that's a work of genius.

Project Naptha Firefox extension is expected to arrive in the coming months.



LINK: Project Naptha

Finally, Netflix Gets Offline Playback Support for iOS iPhone, iPad and Android

Call it an early Holiday treat!

After years of waiting, Netflix has finally heeded everyone's call and just rolled out an update on their iOS and Android apps which now lets you download Netflix movies and shows offline so you can watch them on your iPhone, iPad or Android even without an internet connection.

Netflix first broke the news on Twitter which must be making everyone excited, YES, me included!

Airplane mode. Road trip mode. Stuck-in-the-subway-for-20-minutes mode. Your favorite stories are now available for download any time. pic.twitter.com/g7QZA3TyE8

— Netflix US (@netflix) November 30, 2016

Netflix Now Lets You Download Movies, TV Shows To Watch Offline On iPhone, iPad, Android

So, starting today, you'll now be able to download select Netflix movies and TV shows so you can watch them on the go without mobile data. Of course, you need to update your app first to enjoy this Netflix offline playback support.

One big caveat though is that only select movies and TV shows are available for offline view, and it can vary region-to-region. But they do plan to expand their catalog as soon as the required licensing arrangements are made with its content partners.

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While not all Netflix contents are available for download offline, it is still a welcome addition considering the pricey mobile data rate which could inflate your bill.

Finally, Instagram for Android Now Available for Download

We've waiting for what feels like forever, but the Android contingent can finally carry on with life knowing that at least some things are (semi) fair. Yes, Instagram is now available for Android.

Keeping with tradition, the app itself is free to download, and the outfit seems overjoyed with finishing up what it's (accurately) calling "one of the most anticipated releases on the Android platform to date." It's also clear that the team has done more than a simple port, and while the exact same filters will be found here as on the iOS version, the team has worked to make the app responsive and fluid on Android's vast landscape. We are told, however, that there are a few features that will not be included in the first version of the Android app (Tilt Shift / Blur, Share from Feed, Live Preview and Share to Flickr), but upcoming versions are intended to bridge any differences.

For now, any phone running Android 2.2 or above (with support for OpenGL ES 2) is compatible, but Android tablets are not. There's a maximum resolution support of 2,048 x 2,048, and the company assures us that the "exact same filters and algorithms are implemented on both [iOS and Android builds], so there is no difference in the output other than the raw image quality that differs between phones." Eager to get going?

Download Instagram for Android HERE.

Source: engadget.com

Bubbli Is A Jaw-Dropping App That Lets You Create Streetview-Like, Responsive Spherical Images (iOS)

Drop Photosynth,  AutoStitch Panorama, Cycloramic, or whatever panorama-making apps you used to worship and obsessed with.

Here comes another revolutionary app that will change the way you document, snap your precious travels or events in your life. Think this is another boring Instagram or panorama-shooting apps? That's a big NO.

Bubbli is the next big thing -- here's why (link)

Meet Bubble, a brand new app (currently available for iPhone & iPad) that allows you to create a beautifully stitched, dynamic spherical photo. What I mean with dynamic spherical photo is that the resulting photo is complete with encompassing sides, top, and bottom of the entire scene around you - including sound. Bubbli termed this technology as bubbles.

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Adding to that 3D multimedia feel is the Gyroscope-guided image navigation, where you can virtually span around the image by changing your device's position and orientation. The result? Not just an ordinary 360-degree shot or the streetview-like images of Google Maps; it's a visually stunning, immersive three-dimensional experience straight from your iPhone/iPad.

Demo Bubbles

Let these featured bubbles do the talk (best viewed on your sensor-enabled iPhone/iPad):







Still not impressed? I don't think so. The first time I used the app it got me thinking Bubbli is the next billion-dollar app Facebook or Google will soon snatch. It has all the potential to become the next Instagram or Snapchat and even beyond that.

Using Bubbli

As with any advance photo-snapping apps, there's a bit of trickery you need to acquaint at first. Right after you launch the app, you'll be greeted with a welcome screen with an intro video, detailing what Bubbli is all about and why it's different from standard Panorama.

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The app then serves you a sample bubble, demonstrating you how to get started. Here, you can tap "next" to proceed with registration, which is required so you can store your Bubbles online. I advise you to go download the app and browse through the manuals/demos built into the app. It got a decent collection of video demos on how to capture a perfect spherical photos.

Bubbli Features

Notable goodness of Bubbli includes: the ability to share your bubbles on social media sites. It also got "Featured" section, displaying a grid of public bubbles published by Bubbli users. You may tap on any of them to explore.

The Bad

My only problem with Bubbli is that it consumes quite a lot of resources (at least in my case). Maybe app like this is naturally a resource-hogger? But thinking of how game-changing & revolutionary the idea & the execution of this brilliant idea, I think this is forgivable.



DOWNLOAD: Bubbli

How To Attach Audio, MP3 To Twitter

UPDATE: Twitter's official iOS app now supports audio Tweets. See official announcement below:

You can Tweet a Tweet. But now you can Tweet your voice!

Rolling out today on iOS, you can now record and Tweet with audio. pic.twitter.com/jezRmh1dkD

— Twitter (@Twitter) June 17, 2020

You can now post audio/voice message as attachment to your status updates on Twitter with Twaud.io -- another cool web service that lets you share audio, MP3 with your Twitter followers. You can think of it as Twitpic but for audio/mp3s.

Get Heard On Twitter With Twaud.io [LINK]

UPDATE: Twaud.io is now out of service and redirects you to recommended alternative SoundCloud.com.

We're sorry to announce that twaud.io will be closing. New uploads are disabled but you will be download you're own content.

— twaud.io (@twaudio) June 11, 2011

Uploading audio, voice message on Twitter is really easy. Just click either upload or record, upload your mp3 file or record it directly on the site and add a message and Twaud.io will tweet it on your behalf providing a nice short link to a page where your followers can listen to and comment on your audio clip. You can even see how many visitors it has had.

Alternatively, you can email your recorded/saved audio to Twaud.io. especially if you're on the go. It works seamlessly on iPhone Voice Memos and other devices.

Twaud.io is another cool web service for Twitter that deserves a try!

Spotify To Launch Experimental Social Listening Feature That Lets Anyone Enqueue Tracks in Real-time

Remember the now defunct Party Player Android app we featured before that lets your friends update the queue and play tracks by simply sending a text message to an actively-playing phone?

It was one promising app back in the early days when subscription-based music streaming services don't exist yet.

Now, it looks like we're going to see almost the same functionality on Spotify, but this time using QR-style codes instead of SMS.

Spotify is currently brewing a shared-queue Social Listening experience that lets anyone with an invite add songs to a queue in real-time. The feature was first spotted by Jane Manchun Wong in an Android app exclusively for Spotify employees.

Spotify is working on Social Listening, letting friends to control music together with their own devices

Scan Spotify Code or open link for it to begin

For example, I'm listening Spotify right now. Feel free to introduce me new music: https://t.co/f59D0sis7Y pic.twitter.com/nPOlcPwQdG

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) May 31, 2019

Why Spotify's Social Listening Is Cool

Imagine you're chilling by the beach with your group of friends and you only have one portable speaker to share. Why not create a shared queue where everyone can become a DJ and collaborate? All you need to do is to scan a dynamically-generated QR-style code and you're all good to go.

Spotify is yet to announce the launch of this co-listening feature, which is expected to arrive on Android and iOS first. Social Listening should not be confused with Spotify's Collaborative Playlists, where the latter lets your friends update a playlist while the former is designed for a shared, real-time listening experience.

Now, your move Apple Music.

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