4 Ways to remotely access your files/PC

5. Dropbox/Box.net
Using these online storage services gives you an easy and universal method for accessing your files absolutely anywhere. Both sport online access to your files from any browser, both have desktop and mobile (iPhone particularly) clients, meaning you shouldn't have any comparability issues. The concept is simple. On your local computer, simply drop your files into a 'folder' and they go straight to the cloud, where you can work on them without getting anything out of sync or in the wrong spot. In the case of Dropbox, you can move your folder wherever you want and it acts just like a normal folder. For the more business-oriented Box.net system, it give you a nice WebDAV address that you can map as a network drive. Both services are geared up for sharing and collaboration with direct links and shared folders as well as Push functionality to keep everyone in sync fully. This model is also a nice way of backing up your data, but you'll have to keep it under 2GB of data unless you want to pay for it. Overall, if you use a lot of computers and do a lot of collaboration work, Dropbox or Box.net are extremely easy, useful and powerful.

4. Opera Unite
This new service built into the latest version of the Opera Internet browser connects your computer directly to the Internet and uses web-based apps for all of it's impressive array of functions. Once you set up an account, you get a page hosted at your own address, something like laptop.agc93.operaunite.com where you can install web apps such as a media player for your music library, a web hosting server, a messaging service, and, most importantly, file sharing. The file sharing function allows you to share any number of certain folders or drives. You can then navigate to the URL, choose File Sharing, enter your password, and voilà, all your files are waiting for you. Because it's just a web page, it's accessible in any browser and most of the applications seem to be very compatability-friendly, which is nice. If you only need your files occasionally and prefer a slicker, socially-oriented web interface, this is the best choice.

=2. FTP Server
For users who constantly access their files and need something a bit more serious, an FTP server is a powerful and functional way of remote accessing files. While the protocol itself is outdated, showing it's age and generally difficult to use, a savvy user will find a lot of possibility in it's advanced capabilities. The basic concept is that a computer (generally with a fairly large hard drive attached) is connected to the Internet with some FTP software active. Then, by logging into a Web address (using a Dynamic DNS updated like DynDNS works brilliantly) using similar FTP software or even most browsers you can access all your files as if they were on the local computer. What this also means is that you are not uploading your files to the Internet and then accessing them from a different location. What this entails is actually connectng directly to your home computer's files from another computer outside your home network.

=2. Orb 2.0
This innovative solution works fairly similarly to Opera Unite, but is a generally more complex and more advanced service. The premise is simple: log in to the MyCast website from anywhere in the world and start streaming your media straight away. In practice, after installing and configuring the client on your computer and getting yourself an Orb account, the real fun can start. Tell Orb where your music, videos, photos and documents are on your local computer and it begins to index them and (presumably) upoloads at least the index if not the files (it's all a little unclear) to the Orb servers. Then, by heading to the Orb site and logging in, you receive a browser-based Web interface for your media. While Orb can act as a full-function file sharer, it can be a little slow/clunky to use extensively. However, Orb's biggest trick is with media, especially music. Simply browse through your music library by folder, iTunes playlist, or by metadata and then choose a song or collection of songs to play. From there, Orb builds a stream which then opens on the local computer and starts playing in whatever the default stream client happens to be (usually Windows Media Player). What is great is that this stream is directly streaming your full-quality music file with only minor time lag, and the stream is very simple and stable to use. To change media, choose it in Orb and the stream re-builds to play your new choices. Video works also, but it and the photos function I haven't yet tested so I can't vouch for their abilities. For anyone with a love of music (especially those without iPods) you cannot go past Orb for easy, powerful online media access.

1. TeamViewer
This VNC alternative is simply genius. Where VNC usually involves FTP-style connections directly to the local computer complete with the complex port forwarding, strange address and Internet manoeuvres, TeamViewer revolves around Internet-based connectivity. First, youll need to install the TeamViewer application on your home computer. To connect to your computer, simply log on to the TeamViewer website and either download the client (necessary for complex operations like Presentation modes and direct File Transfers) or even better, continue with the Web interface. You'll have to sign up with an account to use the Web interface, but an account also maintains a live updating connection to your specified list of computers, which is nice. From here click on the name of your computer (that you've specified using a simple 9-digit code and password) and after a short connection wait, you'll see your computer and have full control from right within the browser. This is briliiant. A method to fully control and utilise your home computer without a direct connection with very little lag, even when both ends are working over WiFi, which is impressive. This also means that you not only have access to your files, but to your whole computer as if you were sitting right in front of it. It's amazing. And to go along with the desktop app and web interface, there is also a neat little iPhone app which uses multitouch and gestures to have full control of your computer, straight from your phone. Again, amazing!

If you want more guidance at setting up any of these, drop me a line, either in the comments or at ferretynetwork@gmail.com
Hope you enjoy it!

YouTube videos locally on the iPhone

Since the iPhone's native YouTube app has no automatic or manual cache function, watching YouTube videos (especially for offline iPod Touch users) becomes very difficult and often quite slow. So, here are a couple of ways to get your iPhone playing videos without using all that prized 3G data or waiting a couple of years for that 20 second clip to buffer.

Method 1 (Recommended) Requires $1.19 app purchase
This method doesn't need any computers at all, but still gives you the option of using it on your computer if you want. Here is what to do.
1.Find the video you want and copy the URL. This is slightly more difficult to do than it would seem. Using the native YouTube app, you can choose to email to a friend and then copy the video URL from the message, or you can use Safari to navigate to YouTube, then choose Desktop view at the bottom to get the full version, then search for the video you want. From the search results, you can just tap-hold on the name and copy the link, or go to the video page and copy the URL out of the address bar. Now, in your clipboard is the URL for your video (http://youtube.com/watch?h7T14m, for example). Next in Safari, head over to Zamzar.com. While there are other (arguably better) online video conversion sites, this one I've found to be the most reliable for iPhone-only operation. Now, choose URL jsut above the file box, then paste the URL of your video in the box, then choose iPhone as your output format. Next, enter in an e-mail address that is active/checkable on your iTouch device and click Convert. 98% of the time, it will work, there will be progress bars just under the box and it will give you a confirmation message that the upload has worked. For the other 2%, try again and if it still doesn't work, choose a different video.
2.Now, go to the Inbox of the email account you entered previously (in Safari or Mail, doesn't really matter) and after about a minute, you should've received an e-mail from Zamzar.com (longer videos take longer to arrive), not with the actual video (which would be pointlessly trapped in Mail) but with a link to a download page. Tap-hold to select, then Copy the URL for the download.
3.Now is when you'll have to pony up the money. You are going to download a download browser. There are a billion of them on the App Store, but my choice would always be hwBrowser. While it doesn't support pause/resume with downloads, everything else about it is solid, easy-to-use and it's cheap. You take your pick, but make sure it has an option to force download a link. Some browsers will see an iPhone compatible file and simply start playing it, instead of downloading it. Now, after you have downloaded hwBrowser, open it up and tap the bottom right icon and choose settings, then change the download button from Action to Toggle (Action *should* work, but I've had mixed results, try it if you want). Now choose Done and tap in the address bar, then tap again, and choose Paste, which should paste an enormous URL from Zamzar.com into the address bar, then hit Enter. Now, the download page should appear. Tap the Download icon (top left) to choose Download mode (shows DL) (if you are using the Action button, choose Download Next Link). Now, tap on the Download Now icon on the download page and choose Yes to save the mp4 file. Wait for the download to finish. If you tap X, then Hide, you can keep browsing and check the progress in Settings(bottom right)>Downloads, but it will give you a pop-up when it's done. Now, if you tap the files icon (left of Settings) you should see your file. You can rename it, create a folder for it, etc by using the folder tools button in the top left corner. Tapping on the file will start playing it, straight off your iPhone. This now means that since you can use hwBrowser without the Internet, you can watch the videos offline.
4.You can also move the videos back onto your Computer by starting hwBrowser, opening Settings>Settings and entering the address shown into a browser onto your computer. From here, you can also drop it back into your favourite app (however, but usually with WebDAV or FTP).

Method 2 (horrifically unreliable) FREE!
This method will download Youtube and Dailymotion videos directly to your device, but you won't be able to access them outside of the app or on your computer, which doesn't seem so bad, until you start actually using the app in question.
For this, you'll need an app bizarrely named iWoopie. It's free, which is nice. It's also an absolutely horrific app, which is unfortunate. Once you open the app, ignore the Most Popular videos which are invariably hopeless and head to the search tab. Click in the search box (more difficult than you'd think since it's hiding *under* the status bar) and type in your query. Try to be specific. Once the results arrive (if they do, and if the app hasn't already crashed, a frequent occurrence) choose a video from the list and click Download. Now, a badge will appear on the Downloads tab. Tap on the Downloads icon and watch what happens. If it says 0% and then Complete, it hasn't worked. If it just says Error, it obviously hasn't worked. On the off chance that it has worked, you should've seen the progress bar fill up and then tap on the video to check that it's playable. It often isn't. To combat this, you'll have to download about 50 different videos by about 50 different people from both site in the hope that one of them will work. For example, I've downloaded almost every video in the Top 25 results for Iron Man 2 and none of them worked. Of course, that's not a problem, because even if it does, it'll probably just crash anyway. Yes, this app is actually that bad. Use it if you really want, but believe me when I say that even Method 3 would be better than this.

Method 3 (not so fantastic) FREE!
This method will need a computer at some point, so be ready. For starters follow steps 1 and 2 from Method 1 to get your download link.
1.Now, download ByteTornado Downloader. This is actually a good app anyway with quick, easy downloads and almost-full pause and resume functions (won't work with the dynamic Zamzar servers we're using for this, so don't try). After you've downloaded it and opened it up, paste the URL you copied into the Browser tab's address bar. You should see a little yellow box and a badge on the second tab, indicating that you are downloading the file. Tap the downloads tab to watch the progress and wait until it's done. The problem here is that ByteTornado has no inbuilt preview function. It can only download and host the files from it's own file server. Even if you navigate to 127.0.0.1 (geeks will recognise this as like calling your own phone number, except with computers, it works) and trying that, it simply downloads it again, from itself. Strange.
2.Now, download another app. For this, you want a mobile disk app, with viewing capabilities. My recommended pick is Discover, a useful, powerful and easy-to-use app with an amazing web interface. I'll do the instructions for Discover, so if you're unsure, try it first, then try your own pick if you don't like it. Other choices inclued FileApp (uses FTP and has good file management capabilities) or DocumentViewer (simple and poweful, but also $1.19)
3.Now, go to your computer and open a browser, any browser should work so it's not really important. On your iTouch, open ByteTornado, then enter the address shown in the Share tab into youre computer's browser. You should be greeted with a simple page listing the files you've downloaded. Right-click>Save Target as to download the files and save them somewhere on your computer. Now, quit out of ByteTornado and open Discover or whatever you've downloaded (Some apps need to enter a sharing mode. If so, do so). On your computer, enter the address the app gives you. For Discover, it will be the same address as before, but with :8888 at the end instead of :9999. Now, choose (or create) the folder where you want the videos, then choose Add files in the bottom pane, find and choose the *.mp4's that you downloaded before, then click Upload All to push them to your device.
4.Once the upload is complete, you can simply tap the file in Discover to start watching the video
One of the biggest problems with this method is that since the video files have to go via the computer anyway, you have two far more viable options. Firstly, you could just use YouTube Downloader and a converter to download the videos on your computer in the first place and then put it on your device however you want to. Secondly, since the videos are on your computer, why not just import them into iTunes, sync your device and be done with it...

There are probably a couple of methods and feel free to let me know, but for the moment, these (especially Method 1) are pretty sound methods of getting YouTube (or generally online) videos onto your iPhone/iPod Touch. Hope it helps and Good Luck!

UPDATE: It appears that some (or all) of these methods may've been nullified by YouTube's new video page design. Unfortunate. Will keep trying and let you know if they come back online.

Transferring iTunes libraries: A multi-version, multi-device, multi-computer, multi-OS journey.

Author's Note: These were some of the worst, and most torturous hours of my life that I will never reclaim. I hope you don't have to do the same...



Moving iTunes libraries from one computer to another is a notoriously difficult process and having just upgraded from an Acer Travelmate 4602 with Windows XP running iTunes 8.2 to a Dell Studio 1557 with 64-bit Windows 7 and iTunes 9, it only got worse than it's reputation. Here are a collection of methods, problems and solutions that should help you with one of the worst bits of software ever: iTunes.

How To: Make your WiFi network secure.

Anyone with a quality Internet connection who uses a WiFi network to broadcast it always runs the risk that someone is going to steal their internet using one of the many hacking and piggybacking tools available freely from the net.

So, what do you do if you want to be able to keep that bloody expensive connection all to yourself. I'll discuss some solutions for varying levels of network size and security, and you can pick which one works best for you.

Very small-scale:
An easy one is to set a network password. Wireless keys simply block easy access unless you enter in the right password. Of course, like any password, this can be cracked with some freeware and a bit of computer smarts, but it's quick, easy and will deter the local neighborhood kids. Make sure you choose WPA, not WEP, since WEP is so stupidly easy to crack it's not even worth it. When you choose a key, my best suggestion is this : make it completely random. Basically, start punching your keyboard and keypad until you have a satisfyingly long and complex combination of letters and numbers that nobody could ever guess it. Write it down somewhere safe, and then bid good luck to anyone who tries to crack it.

Medium-scale:
Try using either WPA as above, or if you want to get more into it, you can choose WPA2 Enterprise, which requires a username and password. Of course, you're going to need some pretty serious server architecture on the server-side but it's very strong. You can even specify groups for users and limit access to connections or network resources by which groups your users belong to. This means you can even grant access to your network without endangering your internet, or the other way around. For this, you are probably best running Windows Server possibly with ActiveDirectory on your server and set it up between you router and your server from there.

Large Scale:
If you want to get really serious, you can take it to the next level. Use WPA2 Enterprise, requiring a username and password, but then also require certificate authentication. For this, you will again need a lot of server-side work to make it reliable and functional, but it could be worth it. This way, you can control who logs onto your network, and from where/what. Create a network certificate (I won't go into the details here) and specify any details you need, then distribute it to the clients you want to connect. I find the easiest way of doing this is to drop it onto a small-capacity USB drive and share that around, installing the certificate as you go. I've also heard of people programming incredibly intricate certificates with full call-home procedures to ensure security, which you can try if you're feeling a bit weird. Of course, then, you will need to configure your network to accept logins and then to check the certificate and you need to set up every client computer's network settings to submit it's certificate. But of course, by this time, there is just about nothing on the outside which could easily get in.

So, if you implement any of these, (or all of them, as I've seen before, with varying degrees of success) you should find that your connection is pretty secure from all those outside intruders and you're safe to stream, torrent and generally throw yourself about on the interwebs with a bit more confidence...

Getting your PSP "Online"

Getting "online" can mean many things, so I'm going to try and answer them all. 

Getting on to a Wi-Fi network.

To get onto a Wi-Fi network, just scroll all the way left to [Settings] in the home screen (XMB), then to the bottom to [Network Settings]. Then choose Infrastructure Mode, then [New Connection]. If you know the ID of your network, go Manual, but most will want [Scan]. Choose the desired Network out of the list to continue. It may need a security key, which you can enter at a later screen. When you get to the end of the wizard, you press Circle to save the connection, then you can Test it on the next screen. You are connected, and can use that Wi-Fi network for any Internet Functions on the PSP.

Joining PSN:

To join PlayStation Network on the PSP, scroll all the way to the right of the XMB, to the PSN icon, then choose PlayStation Store, it should prompt you for an account, then follow the prompts to create one. You can also head over to playstation.com and somewhere at the top of the Page there should be a Sign In/Sign Up option for PSN. Again, follow the prompts, then enter your newly created login details into your PSP when it asks.

For Online Gaming:

This procedure is very different for different parts of the world. I'm an Australian, so I'll use the Australian method, which is the same for Europe. North America uses a very different method, so you should check your local PlayStation.com.

Australia/Europe:

Unless you are using a very new Game, most games online functions will ask for a "Handle" and "Password". To get one of these, look in the packaging for your PSP for a small code (two parts of 7 digits). Once you have that head over to yourgamingname.com, choose your country, and enter your code on the right where it asks. Then it will give you a Handle and a Password, you can enter into your PSP Game's Multiplayer section to get online.

Vista Aero Effects without the Vista price tag...

Yes, this particular procedure has been documented so many times, i'm amazed its not in the Bible, but i have done it and am aiming to de-geek it a bit, and cover a couple of bits most of the others don't have.

In case you were about to ask, I have no clue whether this would work with Windows 7. I havent actually used a copy of Win7, so I'm not sure, but I can't see any reason it wouldn't work...

If you want the original more complex procedure, go to My Digital Life and check out his posts on the topic.

To start, go to Control Panel -> Personalisation (Make Sure you are in 'Classic View' on the left), then Colour Scheme. Make sure you don't have a Windows Vista Aero option in the list. Next, check in Window Colour and Appearance; if you get a dialog box, you don't have Aero.

Next, click Start, then 'Run', and type in 'regedit'. The REgistry Editor will start, and you need to use the tree on the left to go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM

The two keys present should be Composition and CompositionPolicy. If there not there, create new 32-bit keys with these names. Next, give Composition a value of 1, and CompositionPolicy a value of 2. Next go to Control Panel, scroll down to and start Services, find Desktop Window Management and click Restart the Service. You may also need to change this service from Disabled to Automatic.

If you think you're pretty handy with a computer, you can ignore the previous step and instead, go to Run, type in cmd, then enter net stop uxsms, wait a second, then enter net start uxsms (uxsms is the code for the DWM service).

At this point, you may have to restart your machine but that should've done it.

IF it hasn't:
That aside, now go back to Control Panel and select 'Services'. Check you are in Extended View (at the bottom) and look for Desktop Window Management. If it's there and it says Disabled, then change it to Automatic, and click Start the Service.
That usually only happens when you're on a domain, and i don't expect it to apply to many of you.

If it has worked:

You can now add some modifiers to change it a bit. The keys (32-bit DWORD's) are:

Blur
Just that, blur. Set to 1 if you want it, 0 if your machine can't handle it.

Glass
As above. nice effect

Animations
Nice animations for just about everything. 1 for on, 0 for off

AnimationsShiftKey
Great Fun! Only works if you hav Animations set to 1. Create your key called AnimationsShiftKey, set it to 1, then restart the service as mentioned above. Now if you hold down Shift whenever you click Minimise, Restore, Maximise, Close, when a dialog opens, anything with an animation, the animations will go super-slow as long as you keep Shift held down. It even slows down Flip 3D! (Windows-Tab for the uneducated)


Now if it doesn't work check around or give us a yell, because there is a million different things that can stop it from working.

P.S. Now when you choose Window Colour and Appearance in Control Panel->Personalisation you can select colours, intensities and enable transparency.

As for running DreamScene on non-Ultimate Computers, you can find a series of files and even a .bat installer, but make sure you backup, before you try, cos it often pops up nasty errors...




(Originally posted at our venerable fraternal (ferrety) ally Ferret | | | Tech, here)

How to make your iPhone immortal: Part 1

Okay, so maybe the title is a bit misleading. If you drop your 3GS off a 17th floor balcony, it will die. There is no doubt. The point of this post is so that when you wrench your new one out of the cold, clammy hands of your insurance company, Apple, the balcony owner, their dog, or the woman who your phone just missed on the way down, you can get your new iPhone working like a treat straight out of the box, but in one piece rather than many small ones...

Through this post, there will probably be solutions to all of these using iTunes. I won't use any of them. I don't like iTunes, and I don't use it very often so I'm looking for more free-spirited solutions.NEXT!

So to the first problem, contacts. When your iPhone explodes into the concrete, so will the all-important contacts that were in there. So, preventative protection 101: Get it on the cloud. I use two separate solutions because one of them  has been a little irritating. The first is the Funambol Client. This is a great little bit of freeware with some quality cloud-based backing. And is it simple! Here's the process:

1. Make an account with Funambol. It's easy, quick and free, and allows you to use everything in the extensive world of Funambol.
2. Download the App. It's free off the App Store, so stop your blithering. Then just type in your username  and password.
3. Start the App. Press the Big Blue Button that appears in the middle of your screen.
4. Done. There is no Step 4. I'm just making this 'step' and making it long, to see how many of you are fooled, and how many actually read through to the 'juicy bit' at the end. Which, unfortunately for those of you still reading, does not exist. This is just a huge pile of vapid nothingness, and you've probably read through all of this, which means I have successfully stolen a small portion of your life that you will never get back. Sorry about that.

Anyway, after following the above procedure, all your contacts and their details are now on Funambol's servers, which you can also access using their internet-based Portal, for when you need to check, restore or change individual contacts with the convenience of a computer. There is no need to use any weird apps or maintain separate lists, it all comes from the native Contacts app. This solution works brilliantly, with only one minor niggle. The iPhone's limited multi-tasking capabilities mean that you must manually go in and press the bug blue button to sync them, and there's no automatic option. That's Apple's fault, but.

And now to the second solution, the more structured solution. This also works off the native iPhone Contacts App, but doesn't use the local contacts as Funambol does. If you use Google Sync, you actually pull all your contacts off Google's Server every time you use them. This has both advantages and drawbacks.

Advantages:

• Over-the-Air automatic updates
• Keeps your contacts in perfect sync without hassles
• More accessible
• You can view the same set of Contacts from any computer, (almost) any phone, anything really
• Quicker
• All your contacts will reflect any changes done anywhere, on anything
• Instantly updates when a new one is available using Push service

Disadvantages:

• If you don't have an internet/data connection, functionality is a bit limited
• GMail Contacts aren't as full-featured and versatile as local ones
• No labels for multiple e-mails, only two addresses, a couple of other bits and pieces like that
• Uses up battery
• Push services use up battery far more than a local service would

Of course, as will become apparent, Google Sync is the better solution, but don't let that stop you using Funambol as well, since it has its charms, and some more useful bits and pieces (No problems with local/server conflicts or gaps!).

Google Sync is a bit more complex to do. It uses an exchange server that you configure under Mail, Contacts, and Calendar under Settings. Head over to sync.google.com for the best explanations, but here is the general gist:

1. Set up the Google Exchange Server, as per instructions here. Bingo. You have your Contacts (and Calendar, see Part 2) coming from Google.

By the way, this is also the only (free) way of getting Push Gmail. Because the native Mail apps support for Gmail doesn't go as far as push, you have to use the exchange server instead, so just flip all the sliders on the Exchange Server and you can receive Push emails. Hooray!

These two are, by far, the best ways to sync your contacts away from your iPhone. You can also use iTunes to sync your local iPhone contacts to Gmail. I recommend you do that once, before you start, then just rely on the Sync functionality, and ignore/delete all the local contacts.

Read on for Part 2: Calendar Backup!

How to make your iPhone immortal: Part 2

So, to the next part of your phone's semi-immortality, saving those precious calendar events. Unless you live in some kind of bizarre Apple-only I-have-more-money-than-I-know-what-to-do-with world where you use your iPhone, iCal and MobileMe, this is probably going to be a bit of a pain-in-the-arse. And whatever you do, don't go buying some weird Calendar app which claims to be just like the native one, but better. Why? Because it isn't.

Of course, one of their biggest draw cards (other than stupendously high prices) is an ability to sync with god-knows-who's secure server, and to protect your data. Of course, that's just as likely to happen as Kevin Rudd's dead body cropping up on my front step tomorrow morning. Actually, no, its less likely to happen than that.

So, don't want to spend $12 on an app that won't work? Want to keep your calendar safe? Easy. The answer, as always, lies in Google. When you set up the Sync service, as in Part 1, flip the slider for calendar, and you have your Google Calendar working like a beer-drinking local on your iPhone.

Of course, there are a couple of other things you must/should do. First up, change the default calendar from the local one to your Google Calendar. This way, when somebody invites you to an event, or another app creates an event for you, it will go into your Google Calendar, and off to that great cloud in the sky. Also, go into your calendar app, choose Calendars at the top left corner, and choose "All Google Sync" or whatever the name is for your Google Calendars. Of course, if you also use another Exchange service, you can't do this, but if not, it helps to reduce conflicts and make sure everything ends up in the same place: Google.

Now, head over to http://m.google.com/sync on your iPhone and work through the options there to choose up to 25 Calendars (if you have more you are a moron, anyway) to end up on your iPhone. Okay, now you're done and ready to go.

How to get the most out of it:

Remember, when it comes to all this work with Google Sync, that means you can use it anywhere you are a t a computer with the internet. Just log in to Google, as usual and any changes you've made will be waiting for you.
This also means that if you drop your iPhone off a balcony, don't bother trying to pick up the pieces. Leave them there for some pigeon to electrocute itself on a capacitor circuit. Just get yourself a new one, re-enter your details and you're back online. Yes, just like that.

And no, we're not offering a free Dustbuster to the first hundred callers who use their credit card...